Off the hook: Fishermen catch 27 yellowfin on tuna adventure

Imagine sitting on a fishing boat 90 miles off the Atlantic coast, where the continental shelf drops. You drop your line in the water and almost immediately, boom, you hook a 50-pound yellowfin tuna. You fight your quarry all the way into the boat before casting out another line, only to repeat the scenario all over again -- and again, and again. Finally, three hours later, you motor away from the scene toting fish weighing in excess of a combined 1,000-pounds.

Greenwich residents Stephen McMenamin and Alan Freedman don't have to imagine this situation -- they lived it.

On the Fourth of July, McMenamin and Freedman joined Bethel residents James Schachtel and Greg Attori for a little holiday fishing expedition in the Hudson Canyon. Using bait that consisted of ballyhoo, a small, marlin-like fish, the quartet pulled in 27 yellowfin tuna -- along with some mahi-mahi -- making it one of the best hauls McMenamin and Freedman, both avid fisherman, have had in recent years.

"In the 80s, we used to fill the back of the boat with fish," says McMenamin, who owns the Versailles Restaurant on Greenwich Avenue. "But recently it has been a struggle and I went out thinking that there was no way we would come close to matching that."

That fact still did not deter the group, however.

"This is one of the best fishing areas," McMenamin said. "And Alan and I keep close watch of all the charts and when we saw that the combination of the water temperature, clarity of the water and moon cycle were optimum for fishing and heard the reports that the yellowfin schools were making their way up the coast, we knew we had to take a chance."

With that in mind the duo recruited Schachtel and Attori, chartered a 61-foot fishing yacht out of Point Pleasant, N.J. and began the trek to the Canyon.

"I didn't know what our chances were but I knew the odds were statistically in our favor," McMenamin said. "I was surprised to find out when we got to the Canyon that we were literally the only boat out there."

They arrived at the Canyon around noon and soon after dropping the bait, attached to an umbrella rig to simulate a school of bait fish, the fun began.

"They put up a big fight and it takes a lot to get them in the boat, get them iced and then put out another presentation," McMenamin said. "It only took a few hours for us to hit the legal limit and while some of us wanted to test out luck with swordfish and sharks we decided we were just too tired and started heading back to the dock. It was funny that as we were cruising back into the dock there were fireworks going on for the holiday."

After five hours of cleaning and butchering the fish, the day finally ended, shortly before 3 a.m.

McMenamin figures that the fish, after being properly sealed and stored in a freezer, will maintain its freshness for about six months.

"It's just never like this anymore," McMenamin said. "To be the only boat in the Canyon, which usually means there are no fish, and to be catching them the way we did was an amazing experience."