HONOLULU – One fisherman's big catch turned into a nightmare that left him stranded in the water off the coast of Hawaii.
However, through a stroke of luck, the man was able to keep his life and his catch.
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The U.S. Coast Guard says 54-year-old Anthony Wichman's boat capsized when he hooked a 230-pound Ahi. When the boat capsized, the fishing line wrapped around his leg, dragging him underwater.
Wichman freed himself, climbed on top of the hull and called his wife for help. A Coast Guard rescue team rushed to his location and lifted him to safety.
Coast Guard crew members stayed at the scene and waited for Wichman's friends to arrive to salvage his boat. As they worked to right the capsized boat, his friends realized the Ahi was still hooked on the fishing line. They reeled in the Ahi, flipped the boat and towed it back to port.
"At the end of the day, we couldn't have asked for a better rescue," said Lt. Jessica Mickelson, Public Affairs Officer for the Coast Guard's Honolulu sector. "Mr. Wichman was delivered safely to shore with minimal injuries and he and his friends will have quite the indisputable fish tale to tell."
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