•168 pound Bluefin Tuna •2.25 Hours •Mint surface Iron, 80#braid Not even sure where to start. I’ve caught big fish, but nothing like this. I’ve spent countless hours the past few years chasing this - putting in hundreds of miles, time and the heartache of returning home empty handed. But I was always learning. This day, planned a year out with @pinnacle_sportfishing was the day I was waiting for. Captain @duanediego is arguably the best on the west coast right now, a living legend with a wealth of knowledge and the skill to execute it. There were three of us on the boat, set out from SD south a few hours into Mexican waters. Fish like this you don’t stumble across. Once we were in the approximate zone, he was in the tower with binoculars, glassing for birds, schools crashing, any indication of life in a vast, ever changing ocean. In the distance a foaming mass of tuna was crashing the surface, chasing baitfish. The boat was throttled, deftly into position. On the first cast, a small mint colored surface iron got annihilated by this beast and the fight was on. It initially took about 150 yards of line and I was able to hold it there for a while, back and forth, as it dragged our boat through the seas ever towards the horizon. At around 0:50 something in my outer left forearm snapped and I handed off the rod to @stinfluencer for a break. At hr1:30, for the first time, the fish actually started running harder, trying to spool us and take all the line, so the boat was engaged and we chased it down to gain line back. This happened 3 times. At 2:10 I was sure either the rod was going to snap or a knot would fail, it just didn’t seem possible to fight something this big for so long on this gear. And yet the will of the fish wouldn’t not break. As we approached 2:30 the fish finally surfaced about 100 yards from the boat and @duanediego pulled it into the final 10 feet where an expertly double gaff was set and we were able to hoist it into the boat. The feeling is indescribable. @fivestarfishprocessing had it turned around for me the following morning and the Collars grilled last night with help from bro @indyonerism to the delight of the whole family! 🙏🏽