I fish a 22 Mako, and had a 89" 475 lb +/- fish a couple weeks ago and it took me around 3 1/2 hours to get back from 24 miles east of Chatham in near FAC seas. It was a sweet ride, but very nerve racking at the end when the seals were menacingly close to chomping my fish at the Fish Pier. I slipped a hauser through the gill plate and out the mouth and towed in with the tail rope to one cleat and the head as close on the corner as I could get her. I had a block and tackle and my T-Top fabricator swore I could haul on it as much as I chose, but I really didn't want to do anything dumb for the sake of two hours - my time is not worth it. I'm not sure how the boat would ride with an 800lb fish on the stern, but I still think we could do it.
That was me and a charter back in flat calm August. 55 minutes standup on a fifty. really. We have put a lot of giants into small boats over the years and this was a borderline fish. 101" and 712 whole it was a push. With a fellow charter captain on board and with his boat standing by we put it in the boat and went and sold it, as always. However, I don't want to endorse people in center consoles lifting giants, block and tackle or otherwise especially from your t-top. Ours is built heavier than most and the center of gravity in that old Silverhawk is substantially more stable than most, and as the picture shows it's close. Thanks for the kind words regarding the catch, it was a long time charter client named Ron Butler who did the real work, after already tagging two 68" fish that day. heres a link to more pics and the rest of the story http://www.firstlightanglers.com/bul...pic.php?t=2132
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