A 12-year-old girl may have just etched her name in the record books with this once in a lifetime catch.
According to The Destin Log, Elizabeth Arn and her father Jonathan of Panama City Beach charted a 43-foot G&S Boat named Dacia, captained by Randy Baker, at Cape Verde off the coast of Africa, along with first mate Stephen Hall, second mate Chase Travers, and captain Scott Murie who served as gaff man.
Needless to say, the long trip was more than worth it, because on May 31st Elizabeth successfully reeled in a 624-pound blue marlin, which is currently the pending IGFA junior world record for largest blue marlin ever caught.
The IGFA Junior category is for anglers aged 11-16.
Elizabeth weighed in on the possible record breaking catch:
“Great experience. I was very nervous every time Steve would take the leader. I was afraid the leader would break or the hook would come out.”
However, Murie said that the 12-year-old appeared to be cool, calm, and collected, and was a “pleasure to take along:”
“I’m usually telling you wind, wind, wind… and this little girl, you’re not having to tell her that. It’s her passion. She’s just incredible.”
This isn’t Elizabeth’s first rodeo, as she’s already racked up 26 blue marlin catches in her short fishing career, and she gets the passion from her father.
Jonathan weighed in on their love for fishing, and the catch:
“Marlin fishing has always been a passion of mine. If you really like fishing for blue marlin, you will eventually travel to the Eastern Atlantic.
It’s a journey to get there, but every time you leave the dock you have a chance to catch a fish exceeding 1,000 pounds.”
On their trip, they raised 13 blue marlins with six being over 500 pounds, and caught a total of four, along with the pending world record holder at 115 inches and 624 pounds.
According to Outdoor Life, the previous world record was held by Jordan McCullough, who reeled in a 549-pound blue marlin off the coast of Ghana back in 2003.
