After predicting he was going to catch a state-record bluefin tuna and asking several others to join him, Jake Hiles finally found someone to accompany him fishing off the Virginia coast, and went out and caught the record, landing a 708-pounder.
Then he gave away his fish of a lifetime.
Hiles, who operates Matador Sport Fishing Charters out of Virginia Beach, took the day off from work last Saturday and went fishing with a friend, Jeff Landis, in a place known as the “tuna hole” some 80 miles offshore.
“I spent about a week contacting people, telling them that we would go catch the record and no one could go,” Hiles told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors.
Until Landis came forward.
Then Hiles made good on his prediction, catching a behemoth bluefin that beat the previous record by more than 100 pounds.
Field and Stream called it the fishing equivalent of Babe Ruth standing at the plate and pointing his bat toward the fence then smacking a home run, adding that Hiles had texted one friend, “I’m gonna go catch the new Virginia state record this weekend.”
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Hiles bested the record set by his friend Chase Robinson in April 2015. That was a 606-pounder, and Hiles was on the boat that day.
“I always thought since Chase’s passing that it would be fitting if one of Chase’s friends broke his record,” Hiles told The Virginia-Pilot, pointing out that his friend died a short time after the catch.
Hiles told For The Win Outdoors that this was biggest tuna he’s caught recreationally, adding that it was “verified by the state and is pending.”
The tuna, which took an hour to bring in, measured 9 1/2 feet with a girth nearly 6 1/2 feet, according to Field and Stream. There was plenty of precious meat. So Hiles posted an invitation to those who follow him on Facebook to come down to the Virginia Beach Fishing Center to get a hunk of tuna. And they did, lining up with coolers to fill.
“I had 708 pounds of tuna that is best eaten fresh and I can’t eat it all myself,” Hiles told Fish and Stream “It’s nice to be able to share this with the community.”
Hiles told For The Win, “I probably gave fish to 300 people or more.” He said not an ounce of the fish was wasted. He kept less than two pounds for himself.
“No amount of money, or charters, or publicity is worth to me the sentimental value of this record,” Hiles wrote on Facebook. “Chase’s record meant a lot to me. I know records get broken, but I wanted to honor Chase by breaking his record. I did that and no amount of criticism or jealousy can take that away from me…
“Setting this record was a personal goal of mine. I achieved my goal. But I have received some criticism.”
The critics apparently questioned his keeping the fish, alleged it was caught in North Carolina waters, and claimed bluefin tuna are endangered. Hiles refuted it all, saying he had a legal right to keep the fish, that bluefin aren’t endangered and that it was caught according to the rules of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament (the state’s record keeper) in federal waters off the coast of North Carolina.
Hiles also pointed out the financial boom to the local fishing industry, with the record generating publicity for the entire area’s bluefin tuna fishery, and it clearly is doing just that.
As a memory, Hiles kept the tail and will have it mounted.
Photos courtesy of Jake Hiles and Buzz Hayes.