Koen Norton, who caught a 500-lb tuna at the end of August, truly outdid himself on the weekend
Originally Published by CBC News, October 6, 2015
Koen Norton, the 10-year-old P.E.I. boy who made headlines for landing a 486-pound bluefin tuna at the end of August, has outdone himself.
Norton, from Naufrage, on the northeastern end of the Island, nearly doubled his record on Sunday by reeling in an 847.7-pound tuna on his dad Greg’s charter boat.
The young fisherman said the fish “felt like a giant” on his reel.
As it turned out, it was twice Norton’s height and about eight times his body weight.
“He was pulling and dragging me around, but I handled him. He was pretty big,” he said.
“When I saw it come out of the water I thought I had a record that was never going to be broken.”
It took Norton an hour and 35 minutes to land the massive fish, about half an hour longer than it took to bring in the tuna in August.
There was a great deal of excitement in the boat with “a lot of hootin’ and hollerin’,” he said.
Norton, who has been fishing since he was five years old, practised his fishing technique all summer.
Jack Vitek, world records co-ordinator of the Florida-based International Game Fish Association said the current bluefin tuna record in the male-smallfry category for ages 10 and under is 48 pounds, 9 ounces.
“That said, a fish of 486 pounds would certainly be heavy enough to qualify as the potential new male-smallfry world record,” said Vitek in an email to CBC News.
“We have not yet received this application, but I have heard of it from several sources.”
Next year Norten will be considered a junior angler.
Photo courtesy of Greg Norton
