Young Canadian Angler Challenges Junior Tuna World Record OutdoorHub Reporters 08.27.15



A 10-year-old Canadian boy is making a run at a fishing world record. With a massive 486-pound bluefin tuna he caught on Sunday near Prince Edward Island, he is looking to blow away the competition.

As the son of a charter boat operator, Koen Norton was introduced to angling at an young age. His father, Greg Norton, said the boy had been fishing since he was five years old and was already catching his first tuna not too long afterwards. Aiming for junior world record had been a longtime goal of young angler.

“He’s talked about this record for quite a while,” his father told the BBC. “We waited until he was 10 because it gave him the advantage of being as big as he could be. We go fishing every chance we get.”

Anglers under the age of 11 have the opportunity to submit their catches for the “Small Fry” record, which is recognized by the International Game Fish Association. Currently, that record is just a measly 60 pounds. However, just earlier this month another 10-year-old from Tasmania managed to reel in a 262.35-pound bluefin tuna. That is only slightly more than half the weight of Norton’s massive catch. According to the young angler, he has been training all summer to get the proper technique down.

“You do a squat, and then when you go up you reel, and then you keep doing it,” he told the CBC, adding that it took him about an hour to catch the tuna. “When he stops pulling me to rest, I just reel it to him so he can’t stop and get a rest.”

Despite the relatively short fight for such a large fish, Norton said the battle was intense and chaotic. You can watch an interview with him and his father below: