PORT ARANSAS, Texas — Patience and determination – many say those are the keys to a good fisherman. For Port Aransas angler Troy Lancaster, they meant reeling in a record-breaking 876 pound bluefin tuna.
The 50-year-old fisherman battled the record-breaking fish for nearly nine hours last month. Today, Texas Parks and Wildlife confirm the April 13 catch is a new state record.
But landing the whopper fish happened by accident because federal laws block anglers from intentionally catching the species in the Gulf. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration regulation protects bluefin tuna in Texas waters, but those with the right permit can have a chance to catch one.
For the right price, fishermen can pay for a trophy-class fish permit and catch a bluefin tuna 73 inches or bigger – as long as it was caught unintentionally and is reported within 24 hours.
Lancaster's 876 pound find bests a previous state record of 808 pounds set in 1985. Although, not everything's bigger in Texas.
The world record for bluefin tuna is a whopping 1,496 pounds set in Nova Scotia, Canada back in 1979.