FYI for Peninsula anglers — Central Washington University student sets state record with 39.2-pound tuna

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, November 26, 2014

OLYMPIA —

A Central Washington University student set a new state record by catching a 39.2-pound bluefin tuna off the coast, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced.

Sam Ellinger of Ellensburg caught the 41-inch fish 28 miles offshore southwest of Grays Harbor in early October while bait fishing with anchovies.

“Catching a fish this size was pretty exhausting,” Ellinger said in a statement from Fish and Wildlife. “We didn’t know what we hooked until we got it on the boat.”

According to Fish and Wildlife, “The new record exceeded the previous record Pacific bluefin tuna weight by 2.71 pounds. That record was held by Patrick Fagan on a fish caught 35 miles offshore from Westport in 2012.”