After an Epic Fish Fight Seabrook, New Hampshire, Woman Reels in a 643 Pound Bluefin
I have been fishing a few times with my papa Lew. Whenever I caught a tiny scup and removed the hook all by myself, I felt like a pretty hearty woman! LOL If I want to be a bona fide badass like Michelle Bancewicz Cicale from Seabrook, I have some work to do. But hey, you gotta start somewhere!
Michelle has been fishing most of her life. Like most things, if you implement the three P's, practice, patience, and persistence you are bound to get better at it. In 2015 she started fishing mostly for tuna and in 2019 she bought her own boat. The FV No Limits (FV = fishing vessel)
"No Limits" seems like an appropriate name for Michelle's boat. Remember when she reeled in this monster of a Blue Fin on one of her first solo ventures back in July?! Can you say...BEAST MODE!?!?!
Over the weekend Michelle did it again! Except this time the fish was 109 inches long and 643lbs dressed! That sucker was not easy to get on the boat as you can imagine.
This time Michelle had some help from her first mate, Lea Pinaud.
They fought the big guy for four hours through lobster buoys and he almost spooled them 10 times! He was caught about 10 miles of Hampton Beach. Michelle told me this was by far the biggest fish she ever caught. The boat next to them captured some drone footage of the epic fish fight which will be REALLY fun to watch!
Michelle has fished on a lot of different boats and has learned from some of the best captains around. She said:
"I am very thankful for each and every one of them. They have all been super respectful and supportive of me being one of the only female captains in the area. It’s not always easy to find and female crew who loves to fish as much as I do. I am always looking for the right female crew member."
Michelle has her 100 Ton Boat Captain's License and does charters out of Hampton. She also does lobstering and has a 100 trap license. If you ever want to join Captain Michelle for a fishing trip, get in touch with her on Instagram @fv_no_limits!