Striped Marlin April 25 2002

 

I caught this, my largest single catch ever, on a family trip to Los Cabos in 2002.  It weighed 135 lbs and was eight and a half feet long.  If I recall correctly it took a bait as we were trolling.  Bringing it in was a lot of work.  I wasn't in a fighting chair, but I did have a belt to hook the butt of the rod into.  Still it took 45 minutes, during which time the fish dived deep and then came back up and jumped several times trying to throw the hook.  It was breathtaking to see it flying and feel its great strength.  By the time we got it to the boat, my hand were blistered cramped claws and my arms and back ached.  I decided to keep it rather than release it, which is a decision I've thought about a lot since then.  We had it smoked and the mount of it hangs on my wall today, but I feel a bit bad about killing it.  It was an amazing thing to see alive.