Going above and beyond the job description here.
As a fisherman, there’s no more frustrating experience than hooking up on a good sized fish only to have the line break right as you’re about to land it. Of course, that does open the door for yet another fishing story of the monster you almost caught, but I’d still rather not even get a bite and blame it on the fish rather than have to blame myself for not finishing the job.
Well, a video has surfaced of a deckhand doing literally everything in his power to help a client land a sailfish while out off the coast of St. Lucia, South Africa (that is according to a comment that we can’t verify so we’ll have to assume it’s true based on the accents we hear.)
Sailfish are in the marlin family and are known for their large dorsal fin and long, sharp bill (called a rostrum). They are found in the colder waters of all oceans and are the fastest swimmers of any marine animal, reaching top speeds of an incredible 68mph. They generally top out just under 10 feet and 200 pounds.
In the video, we see a deckhand attempting to help land one of these trophy fish for what I assume is a charter client, when disaster strikes right as it’s at the boat’s side.
With a loud twang, the line snaps and audible groans are heard all around as everyone assumes the fight was for naught and the fish will swim away to live another day.
But this deckhand was having absolutely none of it.
With no hesitation, he leaps into the water and grabs ahold of the large and dangerous fish, securing it while the captain starts to circle the boat around to help him out.
Can you even imagine trying to wrestle a massive fish with a spear for a nose in wide open ocean water? This guy is just built different.
A number of comments correctly pointed out how dangerous, albeit badass, this was:
“Pretty dope but swimming while holding onto the bill of a sailfish is moronic easy way to die.”
“Bruh you know how dangerous that is.”
“Suicide.. usually these moment brings sharks to the surface.
“Double the shark bait.”
Regardless of whether they were able to actually land the sailfish or not, have to imagine a very healthy tip is coming this guy’s way.
