Captain reeled in with Tuna

[fishsmith]

I heard this on the radio this morning:

- MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. - A fisherman discovered an empty boat cruising off the North Carolina coast with its harpoon line in the water. When he reeled in the line, he found a live bluefin tuna speared on the end - and the captain's entangled body.

The captain, Bruce Bartlett of South Plainfield, N.J., apparently harpooned the fish, then got his left leg caught in the 200-foot line, Coast Guard officials said. When the tuna swam away, Bartlett was pulled into the ocean off Morehead City on Tuesday and drowned. Bartlett was a commercial fisherman who traveled up and down the coast, Guard officials said. He was alone in the 35-foot boat, named Flat Calm, fighting a fish that can weigh from 200 to 500 pounds.

"They're not easy to handle by yourself," said Ensign Andy Greenwood of the Coast Guard.

- Raleigh News and Observer