This crew of Massachusetts fishermen recently landed a record-breaking fishing story that they’ll be able to tell for the rest of their lives.
Reeling in a blue marlin is every fisherman’s dream. Ironically, the actual act tends to be a nightmare. In case you didn’t know, blue marlin are massive fish, and can weigh in at over 1,500-pounds. Just try to imagine a fish the weight of a smart car swimming and surfing through the sea… that’s how big they can get. On average, the marlin weigh in at around around 300 or 400 pounds.
Even the smaller marlins can put up one heck of a fight.
But this one wasn’t one of the smaller ones. It was a massive Atlantic Blue Marlin, and in case you aren’t familiar with where marlin are usually found… it’s not off the coast of Massachusetts. The Atlantic blue marlin typically inhabits the eastern seaboard of the U.S. across the pond to the coast of West Africa. It is relatively common in the Bahamas and Caribbean. The largest recorded Atlantic blue marlin was actually more than 16-feet-long and weighed more than 1,800-pounds.
In other words, they are usually hooked in the more tropical and subtropical parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Which makes this catch such an anomaly, because this monster was caught in the Atlantis Canyon region, which is about 70 to 100 miles off the coast of New England and Cape Cod. That area is typically referred to as the north Atlantic.
Regardless of where the fish was, Walter Chapman was the man that was willing to go to war with this 1,260-pound marlin. He battled with the beast for just over three hours, and was finally able to land it and get it aboard the Castafari. Imagine trying to find the room for a fish of this size on your fishing vessel.
The captain detailed the experience:
Well it’s official. The fish clocked in at 1,260 lbs on an IGFA certified scale provided by Falmouth Bait & Tackle at MacDougalls Marina. A new blue marlin Massachusetts state record and possibly for the Western Atlantic. For anyone interested in the full tale, I will be writing/publishing it in my upcoming book of short stories “As The Spool Turns”. Coming out in 2027…I promise. (I’ve been saying this for years I know).
So here’s what happened – short version. I was doing a 4 person overnight charter at West Atlantis Canyon. The fishing was awful. I ran east. A few miles short of East Atlantis I found birds on the surface (shearwaters). Mates cursed. Reels cranked. The sea was littered with weeds. Mike and Malcom worked like dogs cleaning the spread. Then came a school of fish.. it looked like a wall of worms on the Garmin PS70 down at 100 feet.
“Watch the spread! Watch the spread!”
Boom. The ocean erupted. Bombs went off behind us as fish smashed the tackle. Clips popped. Reels screamed. The sound of chaos pulled me up. We loaded the boat with yellowfin tuna and released the rats. (15 pounders) Lures dangled. Feet shellac-ed in blood. I put the boat in gear and re deployed the right teaser. Then I saw a fin… a huge dorsal. Am I really seeing this? Four feet high but pointed. A blue hue flashed beneath it. Pecs? Holy sh*t it’s a marlin! The fin disappeared when I screamed. I dropped back the rod beside me and the tip bounced. Line ripped from beneath my fingers.
“She’s on this one!”
The fish blasted high from the ocean fifty feet behind us. Her girth was astounding. The sound when she landed – a crashing thud, like the humpbacks make. She jumped 3 times. Then took off beneath the surface while line sliced and ripped. Where the hell was she headed. The reel burned in submission. Halfway gone in ten seconds deep into the backing. The fun was over. She’ll spool us in no time. I spun the boat in a 3 way turn and pressed hard on the throttles. The engines hissed and smoked. The rod bowed even further. Please hold. Please hold. The tip began to straighten.
“Reel!”
Epic.
That’s one big fish.
Once it was officially weighed in at a staggering 1,260-pounds, it actually took the title of largest Blue Marlin to ever be caught on the East Coast. For reference, the previous state record didn’t even surpass 900-pounds. And it was only 140 or so pounds shy of the standing IGFA All-Tackle fishing world record for the marlin species. It’s also important to note that it measured in at 142 inches.
On the Water magazine shared some photos and videos of the catch once it the record-breaking marlin became official:
