CASSEROLE FOR THE WHOLE COUNTY

BIG FISH STORY: Angler battles for hours to land 1,152-pound tuna (DOUG PIKE, June 7, 2003, Houston Chronicle)

The bigger the fish, the longer the story. That is why, nearly two weeks later, it still takes Ron Roland considerable time to recount his battle with a 1,152-pound bluefin tuna, the largest fish ever caught on rod-and-reel in the western Gulf of Mexico.

During the Memorial Day weekend, Roland and three more fishermen aboard the 50-foot Hatteras, Miss Cathy, were participants in the Baton Rouge Invitational out of Venice, La. They targeted blue marlin, wahoo, dorado and yellowfin tuna in near-perfect conditions but for many hours had missed their marks.

Most of their time was spent trolling around two deep-water production platforms, Ursa and Mars, both of which are traditional stops for Louisiana's sportfishing fleet. They dragged baits elsewhere, too, but caught nothing.

Around 10 a.m. Saturday morning, after spending the night offshore, they heard radio chatter about a rip line near another platform, Lena, 25 miles off the delta and on the way home. Boats already there had hooked a variety of fish, including a couple of blue marlin. With little to lose, they spooled up and sprinted north.

"There were chicken dolphin all over that rip," said Roland, who lives near Dallas and is a longtime friend of the boat's owners, brothers Paul and Michael Ippolito. Hours passed, and still no bites. The engines fell idle, and Roland figured that someone had called it quits.

Instead, Michael had spotted a violent surface commotion in the distance and was convinced it was caused by bluefin tuna, although Gulf fishermen rarely have encountered these giants since the 1980s.

Michael repositioned the boat, and his crew dropped six large lures into the wake.

"About 30 seconds later," Roland said, "the flat line screamed."

Should we assume that the author is pseudonymous? Posted by Orrin Judd at June 10, 2003 10:59 PM