Giant Tuna Drags Rubber Dinghy in 8-Hour Battle

türkçe links to original Turkish article.

(Hürriyet Newspaper, 14 February 2020)


   The big one that didn't get away.  Sıtkı Tuğcu, at left.

12 o'clock noon, the day before yesterday: amateur fishermen Sıtkı
Tuğcu (50) and Yaver Eren (33) left the port of Karaköy in Datça and
went out into the Gulf of Gökova to fish with fishing rods in a rubber
dinghy.  For 5 hours they didn't get a bite so when the weather began
to turn bad they decided to return to Datça;

17:00: While returning, a giant tuna -136 kilogram (300 lbs) -latched
onto Tuğcu's line and dragged the rubber dinghy and the two friends
first to Greece's Kos (İstanköy) Island and then to the open waters off
Bodrum (!);

23:00: With their fuel running out, the two fishermen called for help
to their friends Celal İşci (34) and Emrah Ermiş (18), who rushed
to their aid;

01:00: The four friends struggled for two hours to bring the 1.95 meter-
long  (6.4 feet) tuna into their boat.  The 8-hour battle ended in victory
for the fishermen.

As for the technical details, Sıtkı Tuğcu explained that "while catching
the fish I used equipment in accordance with international rules: 80-
libre fishing line and a 130-libre leader.  Normally, with such equipment
one can catch a fish up to 37 kilograms in weight.  If I had used other
equipment it would have been easier.  But I don't even use an electric
reel.  For me it's important to fish with the right standards.  By
alternately pulling and leaving the line dead we were able to wear out
the fish and bring it onto our boat."



Karaköy port in Datça (blue dot): Greek island of
Kos (İstanköy); and Bodrum.