While fishing southwest of Port Allen, Kauai, on Friday, a man caught a 230-pound Ahi tuna, which capsized his boat and nearly killed him. Luckily, the Coast Guard was able to rescue 54-year-old Anthony Wichman before it was too late.
CNN reports that after hooking the tuna, Wichman battled with it for an hour before managing to bring the catch onto his 14-foot boat.
"He gaffed it once in the back, and the second gaffe went straight into the fish's eye and that caused the fish to take a final dive," Anuhea, Wichman's daughter, told CNN affiliate KHON. "And he dove straight down, and the line wrapped around my dad's ankle and pulled him overboard."
The fisherman, though gasping for breath in the water, gave his daughter a call on his cell phone. The Coast Guard was then able to reach Wichman on the phone and eventually determine his position.
When rescuers arrived, Wichman was found sitting on his capsized vessel, according to Inquisitr, and was then taken by helicopter to a local hospital.
“At the end of the day, we couldn’t have asked for a better rescue. Mr. Wichman was delivered safely to shore with minimal injuries and he and his friends will have quite the indisputable fish tale to tell," Lt. Jessica Mickelson, sector Honolulu’s public affairs officer, said.
As for the tuna, two friends of Wichman's (who arrived to tow the vessel) found the fish still attached to the boat, and the crew was asked to keep it as a token of his family's appreciation.
Check out a video of the rescue below:
Image: Twitter