U.S. A Hawaii man told his friend he had hooked a "huge" tuna while deep-sea fishing. He went overboard and is still missing. JANUARY 18, 2023 / 6:17 AM / CBS/AP
Rescuers searched for a third day Tuesday for a Hawaii fisherman who went overboard from a boat after hooking a tuna over the weekend, authorities said. Mark Knittle, 63, of Captain Cook, was fishing with a friend off Honaunau on the Big Island on Sunday, when he hooked an ahi, or tuna, police said.
"The friend heard Knittle say, 'The fish is huge,' then saw Knittle go overboard into the water," according to a police news release.
The friend tried to grab the line, but Knittle disappeared within seconds, the release said. The friend jumped in but couldn't see Knittle.
The Hawaii County Fire Department was helping the Coast Guard search from the sea and air. They were expected to continuously search the area for 72 hours, police said.
"Usually our incidents like this are along the coastlines. This is a different situation because it's out in the deep," said Darwin Okinaka, Hawaii County Fire Department assistant chief of operations.
According to police, Knittle and his friend were 4 miles from the Honaunau Boat Ramp.
"If there's a fish that's actually pulling him around, you don't know where he could go," Okinaka said.
Ahi can be up to six feet long and weigh up to 400 pounds, according to NOAA Fisheries. Police described Knittle as 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 185 pounds.
The Coast Guard said he was last seen wearing dark shorts and a dark shirt, Jan. 15, off Honaunau, Big Island.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Coast Guard's Sector Honolulu at 808-842-2600.
It happens, my chair came off when I hooked a 300lb bull shark, the wet floor conditions and shark fighting about pulled me overboard, while still "hooked" in my seat. I caught myself in time to prevent being pulled out of boat.
He's likely shark dinner, the erratic sounds a big fish makes during the fight brings in sharks often BIG sharks. Sharks that have learned that boats make catching dinner much easier, like bears that go towards gun shots. A human being towed along by a fast swimming big game fish would be hammered by sharks. The older guy was probably drowned within seconds.
I fished in the biloxi big game fishing club for three years and always had a line-knife around my neck. They look like a magnum envelope opener and will cut 700lb. mono leader with one swipe. We won the season championship every year, the club started sending/paying for 2 teams to travel to Hawaii Big Island so that others would get to go, laf. I've been there twice. We stayed at the King Kamehameha hotel, in the lobby was a 1650+ pound taxidermist blue marlin , > beast of a fish. A local Tackle shop had one 1800+ pounds.
This guy is paying attention to the fish and not the fishing line, he let the line get enough slack that it tangled, very dangerous for him and the wire-man. He's lucky to be alive. Never let line pile up under the wire-mans feet.
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Tying myself to a rod and reel doesn’t appeal to me at all even though I’d love to get to catch large fish like many do. I’d think the man passed quickly which is better than many get to do and was doing something he loved. Sad loss but could have been much worse.
God bless Texas----------------------- Old 300 I will remain what i am until the day I die- A HUNTER......Sitting Bull Its not how you pick the booger.. but where you put it !! Roger V Hunter
God bless Texas----------------------- Old 300 I will remain what i am until the day I die- A HUNTER......Sitting Bull Its not how you pick the booger.. but where you put it !! Roger V Hunter
Damn! I once thought that was about to happen to me!
About 84 or 5 miles outta Galveston, on a friends cuzzin boat. H Had a big ol shark eat a snapper I was pulling in..somehow shark got hooked. Drag was cranked to tight on 80 lbs braid.. Cousins tackle, new Penn and fairly expensive rod... did not want to let go! . I realized I couldn't hold on just in time, and let go of the rod...Thank goodness it was tethered to the boat ! [bleep] happens quick !
During small boat Bluefin commercial fishing we used a harness with a Dring attached to boat as all was done standup. There was one fisherman here off of Morehead that harpooned a good Bluefin and line tangled around his foot and pulled over board and drowned. Was fishing by himself. Been number of years ago. RIP fellow fisherman....
