http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/23/sports/23fishing.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
Catching Tuna and Hanging On for the Ride
Julia Cumes for The New York Times
Dave Lamoureux fishes for bluefin tuna from his kayak in Massachusetts.
By CHARLES McGRATH
Published: November 22, 2009
YARMOUTH, Mass. — Dave Lamoureux’s kayak, named Fortitude, must be the only one in Massachusetts registered as a motor vessel. That’s because a powerboat registration is required to get a permit to fish for tuna here.
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Captain Andrew Poce via Dave Lamoureux
Dave Lamoureux with the 157-pound bluefin, a record tuna for an unassisted kayak fisherman.
Apparently, it never occurred to the authorities that someone might be crazy enough to want to catch a bluefin while sitting in what amounts to a floating plastic chair and enjoying what Melville called a “Nantucket sleigh ride.”
Since the end of July, Lamoureux has caught three bluefins this way, paddling a couple of miles off Race Point, at the tip of Provincetown, hooking a tuna and holding on, the rod clipped to a harness on his chest, while being towed at speeds up to 15 miles an hour before the fish exhausts itself.
His most recent catch, on Nov. 5, was a 157-pound bluefin, a record tuna for an unassisted kayak fisherman, and a near record over all, topped only by a 183-pound halibut caught by Howard McKim, an Alaskan, in 2004. Reeling in a halibut, though, has been likened to hauling in a load of plywood, and some of Lamoureux’s admirers consider landing a bluefin, known for its power and ferocity, the greater feat. He is a hero at bait shops up and down Cape Cod. On fishing blogs, a few grumblers call him a dangerous idiot.
Until about 10 years ago most kayak fishermen knew each other by name. Lately the sport has enjoyed a growth spu
