Adonis Soriano knew it was a big catch on the end of his line – but had no idea it would be a record-breaking fish.
Soriano, a 29-year-old Hawthorne fisherman, is still in disbelief after snagging a 364.5-pound bluefin tuna recently, the largest ever caught on a Newport Landing and Davey’s Locker charter in its 62 years of operating.
Soriano has been chasing big bluefin tuna for about five years, the biggest up until last Monday about 90 pounds. He grew up fishing in Honduras with his father, a spearfisherman who showed him the ways of the sea.
His whopper of a catch came about 70 miles out from shore on a private Newport Landing charter boat called Thunderbird, a 75-foot boat organized by lifelong angler Jeff Price.
Price called the feat “incredible,” beating a big 305 pounder he caught last year.
“This one is a lot bigger, that’s for sure,” Price said.
The location on the back side of San Clemente Island took about 7 hours to get to, a 2-day trip with about 18 people aboard.
They use helium balloons that hold the fishing line out of the water, so the bluefin don’t get spooked by the lines, attaching flying fish as bait.
The bluefin jump out of the water to nab the bait, showing their backs and allowing the anglers to see how big they are – and when Price saw the one going for Soriano’s bait, he knew it would be a whopper.
“I knew he was over 300 pounds,” he said. “Everyone is yelling and screaming, it was very exciting.”
“It was pretty intense. It was really scary too, I never fought a fish that big,” Soriano said. ”They pull really hard and they start shaking their head side-to-side to try and get the hook off. It was scary.”
Bluefin tuna have been plentiful off the Southern California coast the past few years.
Something changed off local waters about five years ago, Price said, with bigger bluefins showing up.
“We don’t know if it’s the currents,” he said. “One thing is, there’s a lot of bait. There’s tons of food here. Something changed, we think there’s so much of that smaller bait, they decided to stay.”
Typically, they are found further south and spawn off Japan.
This year, they started showing in February and they typically stick around through November.
Price recalled how excited Soriano was during and after the catch, as well as everyone else on the boat.
“To see someone’s absolute catch of a lifetime, one no one had seen before – including the captain and crew. He was in shock after the big fight,” Price recalled.
It was about 10 minutes after the fish was brought to the boat’s deck, after a 40-minute or so battle, that they realized it was the biggest catch recorded in Newport Landing’s history since it started operating in 1958, based on measurements of the girth and height of the fish, which was larger than Soriano.
“It was the fish of a lifetime,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll even catch a fish that big again. …I love the crew and all the people around the community I fish with. I feel proud that I made them proud.”
Bluefin’s dark red meat is a popular seafood, especially the tender belly meat that can go for about $50 a pound.
Soriano said he’s had a few neighborhood barbecues already and his favorite recipe is a Peruvian ceviche one of his neighbors taught him to make.
“Fresh fish is the best,” he said.
Soriano said the fish has been a gift to many – friends, family, co-workers and even the people at his favorite tackle shop, Martin’s Fishing Tackle.
“If they ask me, I will never say no,” he said. “I’m always giving away fish. I just enjoy that I’m able to give it away.”
The Link LonkOctober 06, 2020 at 06:04AM
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Massive 364.5-pound bluefin tuna is Newport Landing 62-year record - Long Beach Press Telegram
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