Maine tuna fishermen look to reel in some bragging rights on 'Wicked Tuna'

Zack Plante, left, and Charlie Boivin will be featured on the new season of the TV show "Wicked Tuna" starting tonight (Photo courtesy of PFTV/Eric Goodwin)

LEBANON, Maine - A tuna fisherman from Lebanon will be featured in this season's Wicked Tuna on the National Geographic station.

Charlie Boivin, will join Zach Plante, 28, of Shapleigh on Boivin's 38-foot Saco-based boat Wasabi as they battle it out for supremacy against seven other boats that were all based out of Gloucester, Mass., for the show's ninth season that began last July.

This season's boats boast many tuna fisherman who have far more experience than the co-captains from Maine, but Boivin, 38, told the Portland Press Herald recently they plan to give the veteran competition a run for their money.

"These veterans who've been on the show for a while think they're much better fishermen than everyone else," Boivin told the Press Herald. "Fishing for bluefin tuna is not an easy thing, but I know we're as good as anyone else."

The premise of the show is pretty clear. Whichever boat hauls in the most lucrative catch during the season wins. Last year's winning boat hauled in 19 tuna worth $120,318.

Wicked Tuna captures the drama of day to day fishing of these mammoth fish that can take hours to reel in.

A New Hampshire fishing boat out of Seabrook will also see its first Wicked Tuna competition.

The season's premiere episode will be tonight at 9 p.m. The season runs for 15 weekly episodes.