Jet Ski Fisherman Fends Off a Shark and Lands a Tuna That Was Too Big for His Sea Doo

Adventurous offshore angler Matt Ringot had a chaotically epic day on June 19, when he caught what he thinks is “the biggest tuna ever landed from a jet ski in New Zealand.” During his 90-minute battle with the 220-plus-pound bluefin, Ringot dealt with rough waters, fought through muscle cramps, and fended off a mako shark. 

“It just took the tail off, which basically took the motor of the fish off,” Ringot told reporters about his encounter with the tax man. “Without the shark, I don’t think I would have ever been able to land the fish.”

Ringot also thanked his fishing partner, Brady Smith, as well as the two boats who assisted him, since the fish was far too big for him and his buddy to haul aboard his Sea Doo. 

Ringot recorded a video of the catch and shared a highlight reel on his YouTube channel, French Adrift. The teaser clip shows some of the key moments from his battle, including the hook-up, his tug-of-war with the shark, and the moment of elation when the two boats arrived to help him land the trophy tuna.

“There’s no way I could have done it myself,” he said in an interview with 1News.

According to Ringot’s video description, he and Smith were fishing near each other off Waihau Bay when he hooked the bluefin. Smith would spend the next 90 minutes shadowing his buddy as the big tuna towed him around, with swells building and conditions worsening. The real struggle, though, was when a mako shark joined the party.

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“I brought the fish alongside the ski three separate times, only for it to dive back into deep water each time,” Ringot writes. “On the fourth attempt, a mako shark suddenly bit into the tuna.”

With his rod clipped into a fighting harness, Ringot felt the mako tear the tail off the tuna, which suddenly made the fish much easier to land. But when he reeled the tuna up to the water’s surface and gaffed it, he said the shark was back on the fish “like a dog with its toy.” 

After another brief tug of war, the shark released its grip but continued circling the two anglers, who were now finding it impossible to pull the heavy tuna out of the water and onto Ringot’s jet ski. So, they got on the radio and called for help. 

“We ran across these two who had just landed a very impressive Bluefin Tuna,” one of the captains who responded to their call wrote in a Facebook post. “Problem was it was too large to get on their Ski and a reasonable sized Mako was circling their ‘vessel’ after already taxing the bottom half of their catch.

“Photos don’t do it justice,” the captain’s post continues. “Epic trip lads, glad to help out.”