Tuna squid rig in motion.

My buddy Nate ready to release a rig.

The crank system you see is a winch for pulling in tuna caught on live bait like mackerel. It is custom made by a local guy. The drag system is actually a car brake! The rod is actually a fibreglass board with an eye on the end.

Poor photo of a graph marking pods of mackerel and 200-300 lb tuna. They were rising all around us that morning and sounding under the boat. Just when we were getting frustrated, a 200 lb fish pulled the line out of the clip, but missed the squid with the hook and took a teaser instead (aarrgghhh). Had another blowup about an hour later of an even bigger fish. After that, a huge fin came out of the water chasing the squid rig. It was a thresher shark at least 9 ft. long. Just followed and glad it didn't hit because those rigs are expensive.

My buddy Nate who I tuna fish with trying to keep a tuna fresh before the fat content and quality is checked at the dock. This was quite a nice fish that weighed over 200 lbs. It tail slapped my buddy Todd's arms against the side of the boat as we all struggled to get it in. He couldn't feel his arms for 4 days after.

This fish weighed over 400lbs. It fetched around $12,000 US way back in the 1990's. They aren't paying near as much today per pound, but it would still be worth $3000 US.

A healthy bluefish caught on a topwater. I do keep the odd saltwater fish. This one went on the BBQ.

Nate with a schooly striper. We enjoy schoolies even more than bigger fish because these smaller fish love topwaters and it's a blast to watch.