iStockphoto / chaney1
Jimmy Johnson and the Miami Dolphins held the 25th annual Fins Weekend this past weekend and this year’s fishing tournament made history when angler Bob Kowalski reeled in an IGFA fishing world record for blackfin tuna.
The previous IGFA fishing world record for blackfin tuna was a 49 pound, 6 ounce fish caught in nearby Marathon in the Florida Keys by angler Matthew E. Pullen back in 2006.
This new world record blackfin tuna was caught by angler Bob Kowalksi and was certified by a biologist at 50.1-pounds and is now pending IGFA world record, assuming all the paperwork is being filed. For context, the average blackfin tuna caught in Florida weighs only about 7 pounds and while delicious, at that size they often make great marlin bait. A video made the rounds of this incredible fish:
Angler Bob Kowalski who caught the record-setting blackfin tuna was fishing with the Sinnick Family onboard the Miss Britt 34 Express. All of the boats left out of Regatta Harbour Marina in Coconut Grove in search of tuna, mahi mahi, and kingfish with prizes being paid out for each of those pelagic species.
Sinnick, who Kowalksi was fishing with, has participated in 21 of the 25 Fins Weekend fishing tournaments with Jimmy Johnson and the Miami Dolphins but this was the first time he’s been a part of something this special as this blackfin tuna was the first world record-setting fish caught in the tournament’s history.
Players and coaches all fished the event including Raheem Mosert, Zach Sieler, and others. According to a press release from the Dolphins, the largest kingfish caught weighed in at 35.3 pounds and that was landed by MacDaddy. Knot The Same won the Mahi Mahi (dolphin) division with a 16.3 pound fish. And Miss Britt Express, of course, won the tuna division with their new fishing world record for blackfin tuna.
Blackfin tuna are by far the most common species of tuna caught on the Atlantic coast of Florida. The area from Ft Lauderdale south to the Florida Keys offer up arguably the best blackfin tuna fishing in the world. So this is a particularly important fishing record in my home state of Florida.