Giant bluefin caught off Hatteras

[bigeasy]

This photo came from a private collection in the family of General Billy Mitchell. I copied it from a photo in possession of the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" museum.

It is reported to be a photo of General Mitchell and his wife after returning from a fishing trip off Hatteras Village in the 1920's.

As you recall, General Mitchell is one of the pioneers of military aviation, proving that aircraft delivered bombs could sink battleships. He sank two, the "USS Virginia" and the "USS New Jersey" off Hatteras. Presumably the bluefin was caught in the timeframe of the military experiments. He was court martialed in 1925 for insubordination and he retired from the military but he continued to speak in favor of aviation. In 1942, President Roosevelt elevated him to the rank of Major General posthumously. Congress awarded him a Gold medal in 1946. The General Michell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the Billy Mitchell Airstrip in Hatteras are named for him.

This photo is of interest to fishermen as it shows bluefins visited the Hatteras area prior to the mid 1990's when vast schools were found.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Mitchell

[shoefish]

Very cool pic and story!

[TROPHY SPORTFISHING]

hey Cliff got any idea where they sunk those ships whether or not it is shallow enough to be good structure?

[bigeasy]

below the 230 Rocks. The "Virginia" is located in 50 fathoms on TD's 26863.5 and 40211.9. This wreck is in several pieces. Good place to troll for tuna. The "New Jersey" is located at 26865.1 and 40217.3 in 60 fathoms of water. These are known locally as the 212 and 217 wrecks. Good areas to troll.

[hotrodmarlin]

There is an old pic of a giant bluefin at the Sanitary restaurant in Morehead too-

[squirtis]

Very cool Cliff, thanks for the pic and story

Curtis

[Glenn W]

Too cool Doc. Unfortunatly, I have not been to the new museum yet. It seems to be closed every time I get a chance to stop by, and open while I'm fishing.
What are the memories and talk of the older Hattersas gentlemen (Mssrs.Foster, Eef, Burriss, Midgett, et al about the Bluefins prior to, say the 1960's?
I remember when they started showing up in '91 or '92, and the talk was--Have they always been here (Hatteras) or is this a recent occurance? It would be interesting to know if the Giants were off HI to MHC in the 20's, 30's, 40's or 50's, disappeared for a while, and then mysteriously showed back up again in the 90's.

[softcrab]

Too cool Doc. Unfortunatly, I have not been to the new museum yet. It seems to be closed every time I get a chance to stop by, and open while I'm fishing.
What are the memories and talk of the older Hattersas gentlemen (Mssrs.Foster, Eef, Burriss, Midgett, et al about the Bluefins prior to, say the 1960's?
I remember when they started showing up in '91 or '92, and the talk was--Have they always been here (Hatteras) or is this a recent occurance? It would be interesting to know if the Giants were off HI to MHC in the 20's, 30's, 40's or 50's, disappeared for a while, and then mysteriously showed back up again in the 90's.

I just don't know the answer to above question. I have heard of unsubstantiated reports of landings as incidental catch by commercial fishermen in the winter. These fish didn't have much commercial value prior to the demand by the Japanese market made possible by Japanese prosperity following WW2 and the developement of transoceanic air transport. Sportfishing in the Atlantic in the winter is a relatively new phenomenon. Bob Eakes of Red Drum Tackle is given most of the credit for finding these fish. He went marlin fishing out of Hatteras in February in the nineties and on the way in he trolled over the "Malchase" wreck and had multiple hookups of bluefins. The following two links are newspaper reports re the bluefins- 1996 and 1997. Dr. Barbara Block and Dr. Eric Prince are biologists who study these fish. Their writings may shed some light on the subject. This will likely remain a mystery of the sea. But that is what makes it interesting.
I am using my wifes computer.
Cliff Parker bigeasy

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA...2/03120382.htm

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA...3/02030040.htm

http://www.google.com/search?source=...=Google+Search

[WAHOONBOX]

WHAT A COOL STORY LINE YOU HAVE SHARED WITH US CLIFF.....THE PICTURE IS AWESOME

[z71offshore]

neat picture. i wonder if they went home to shower and then came back for a picture with the fish. surely they did not fish in such attire then?

thats a big one though. thanks for the picture.