A team of anglers participating in the Louisiana Gulf Coast Billfish Classic ended up sailing a massive 683.5 pound bluefin tuna off Grand Isle. The striking hook was weighed in at Hurricane Hole Marina earlier this month, according to a Facebook post and video.

But the tuna didn’t even win a prize, because all the marbles were for billfish – not sushi.

“Bluefin tuna does not count in the tournament,” event director Robbie Carter told the Louisiana sportsman. “They are weighed for the spectators, especially the children, who love it. The Bluefins are absolutely huge.

The crew of the Devotion out of Orange Beach, Alabama, sailed the Big Tuna. It took fisherman and boat owner Josh Tice just under two hours to catch. The Devotion crew also caught four blue marlin during the three-day event, earning them the tournament. There were 65 anglers on 13 boats that caught 18 blue marlin and one white marlin, all of which were released.

The teams also caught 15 yellowfin tuna, four of which each weighed over 100 pounds (one of which tipped the scales at 155 pounds). Yellow fins are much more common in the Gulf than the much larger blue fins, which makes the 683.5 pound behemoth even more impressive. the Devotion The team were using live bait for blue marlin, and after one tuna struck and made a meteoric run, a second bluefin tuna took on a second live bait.

“We decided to go after whoever had the most lines on the reel,” said Jason Hallmark of Destin, Fla., And the captain of. Devotion. “The owner hung it up and picked it up by himself.

Eventually, the second fish broke up.

“It was probably for the best,” Hallmark said. “Trying to handle two of these things of this size is almost impossible, so it worked for us.”