At a time when fishing for giant and medium bluefin tuna was considered to be a sport for the wealthy with big boats and fighting chairs, Capt. Fred Moore was taking anglers from Great Kills on Staten Island to battle those huge fish at nearby grounds with Penn Senator 16/0 reels and stout rods over the rail of an anchored party boat. Moore was quite successful in boating 400-pounders, even if IGFA rules may not have been strictly adhered to.
The skipper who accounted for over 10,000 tuna in his time will always be remembered as a pioneer of that sport in New York Bight. Moore passed away on March 18 at Mariners Hospital in the Florida Keys, just a month short of his 82nd birthday. His family’s party boats now sail out of Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, and his ashes will be scattered in the ocean he loved from Capt. Richie Moore’s Teal out of Atlantic Highlands.
