Keith Drouet said that the massive yellowfin tuna he caught last Saturday, while fishing with friends off Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, nearly yanked him off the boat.

“The drag was buttoned down, and when I pulled the rod out of the rod holder I almost went overboard,” Drouet, 44, told FTW Outdoors. “It made a humongous run, taking about two-thirds of my line. I thought I was going to get spooled.”

Keith Drouet (top right, light-blue shirt) and his group pose with massive yellowfin tuna. Photo: Marla’s Sportfishing

But the San Diego-based angler landed the tuna after a 45-minute fight, only then realizing the enormity of his catch aboard El Pescador out Marla’s Sportfishing.

The yellowfin, caught on the second day of a 3.5-day offshore expedition, measured more than 7 feet in length (88 inches) and 5 feet in girth (64 inches).

Capt. Roberto Osuna, using a time-tested tape-measure formula, estimated the tuna’s weigh at 450 pounds. That’s 23 pounds heavier than the all-tackle world record – a 427-pound yellowfin caught off Cabo San Lucas in 2012.

Drouet’s tuna is one of only a handful of “ultra cows” – yellowfin weighing 400 pounds or more – ever caught.

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But because the vessel was not designed to store such colossal whole tuna in a manner by which to keep them fresh, it was processed on the boat as fishing resumed.

Capt. Roberto Osuna poses with giant yellowfin tuna. Photo: Marla’s Sportfishing

Marla’s Sportfishing boasted on Facebook: “World class, epic 3.5 day trip on the legendary Marla’s Sportfishing out of Puerto Vallarta. Six anglers from around the US came to PV to catch a fish of a lifetime….an insane 450 lb class YFT hit the deck on day 2, which was followed by 13 additional YFT, ending the trip with a 315-lb super cow.”

Capt. Osuna wrote, “The fish took 500 yards of line. Incredible! The fish did one long run – went straight down and that was it!”

Keith Drouet with the catch of a lifetime. Photo: Marla’s Sportfishing

Drouet was using live squid beneath a balloon attached to his line when the yellowfin struck. His Okuma Makaira reel was spooled with 130-pound-test spectra line.

“I knew I had a big fish, but I was not thinking it was record size,” said Drouet, who was on his fifth fishing trip out of Puerto Vallarta. “It was a pretty easy fight after that first run. I got most of my line back after 25-30 minutes.”

The 315-pound yellowfin, caught by another angler, circled the boat seven times before it was subdued.

Drouet said his group ended up with 14 tuna, the smallest weighing about 80 pounds. In all, his group flew home with about 1,000 pounds of processed fillets.

–Images are courtesy of Marla’s Sportfishing