IGFA Yellowfin Tuna
It’s official. Guy Yocom’s 427-pound yellowfin tuna, caught 100 miles off Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, was approved as the world’s new All-Tackle record. Over the past 90 days, the International Game Fish Association’s World Record Review Committee reviewed Yocom’s record submission, including the tackle used, the supporting photographs, and witness testimonies. They determined that all IGFA rules were successfully followed for his record catch.
Guy Yocom was fishing aboard his boat, El Suertudo, on September 28 when the fish hit. Yocom and another angler were chunking baits to a school of yellowfin. Yocom happened to be the angler who fed the record fish. Yocom’s boat El Suertudo translated means “the lucky one.”
“We started hearing about the catch almost as soon as it was back at the docks,” IGFA World Records Coordinator Jack Vitek said. At the docks in Cabo, Yocom’s fish was weighed on a certified digital scale that was successfully re-certified in San Diego just a few days after the weighing.
“Yocom and his crew knew they had a shot at the record and they made sure all their gear and techniques were compliant months before the catch was made,” Vitek said. “So once the weight was confirmed, Yocom immediately got to work on submitting the application and all the other requirements.”
Yocom’s fish earned him both the new All-Tackle record and men’s 130-pound line-class record, which previously belonged to angler Mike Livingston. Livingston broke the record less than two years ago with a 405-pound yellowfin caught off Mexico.
“Breaking the All-Tackle yellowfin tuna record within two years of Mike Livingston is really remarkable,” added Vitek. “Prior to Livingston’s catch in November of 2010, that record had stood for 33 years. Many people thought we’d never see a yellowfin tuna over 400 pounds, and in the past few years we’ve had two 400-plus-pound fish submitted for records and even more reported.”
