( CNN ) -- Anthony Wichman probably rather would have told the story of the one that got away . Instead , the 54-year-old Koloa , Hawaii , man won his one-hour battle with a 230-pound Ahi tuna -- but only after the fish nearly drowned him and left him clinging to his capsized boat . The Coast Guard said it rescued Wichman by zeroing in on his cell phone signal about 10 miles southwest of Port Allen , Kauai , Friday morning . While gasping for air , the stranded fisherman called his daughter , Anuhea Wichman . She told CNN affiliate KHON her father hooked the tuna and got it onto his 14-foot boat after about an hour . `` He gaffed it once in the back , and the second gaff went straight into the fish 's eye and that caused the fish to take a final dive . And he dove straight down , and the line wrapped around my dad 's ankle and pulled him overboard , '' Anuhea Wichman said . When she answered his phone call , she said , `` All I could hear was him hyperventilating , and I could hear him puking . '' He managed to say `` sinking '' and `` Coast Guard . '' After that call , the Coast Guard reached him on the phone and worked with 911 operators to determine his position . A rescue diver dropped from a helicopter and helped hoist him aboard . See also : Waterproof phones and tablets make a splash . Wichman suffered only a few bruises and a rope burn , KOHN reported . Even better , two friends who arrived to tow Wichman 's boat to shore discovered the tuna still was hooked and attached to the capsized vessel . Wichman 's family asked the fishermen to keep the tuna as a token of their appreciation , KOHN said . Nantucket man wrestles sharks . CNN 's AnneClaire Stapleton contributed to this report .
Wounded fish dives off boat with line still around fish 's ankle . Dramatic emergency phone call to daughter alerts Coast Guard . Fisherman survives with minor injuries . They salvage boat and find tuna still attached .