Few fish encourage anglers greater than the highly effective, stunning billfish patrolling the blue waters of the world’s oceans. That is partly as a result of marlin themselves are such majestic fish. However it’s additionally as a result of iconic authors like Zane Gray and Ernest Hemingway wrote well-known tales that motivated generations of anglers to dream of preventing the mighty marlin.
The Worldwide Gamefish Affiliation acknowledges 5 species of marlin in its report books. Here’s a have a look at the present all-tackle report holders and some angler achievements the place monster fish have been caught on extremely gentle line.
In line with IGFA, any marlin bigger than 300 kilos is more than likely a feminine. 5-hundred-pound males are rarities. A fish bigger than 1,000 kilos is often referred to as a “grander.” Marlin bigger than these recorded within the the IGFA data have been reportedly caught throughout industrial fishing operations or by anglers who weren’t following IGFA guidelines. These are the largest marline ever caught, in accordance with the IGFA.
Black Marlin, 1,560 Kilos
Alfred Glassell, Jr. is the all-tackle report holder with a 1,560-pound black marlin, caught Aug. 4, 1953 off Cabo Blanco, Peru. The marlin was 174 inches lengthy with an 81-inch girth. Glassell was utilizing a Tycoon rod and 12/0 Fin-Nor reel. He was trolling a mackerel.
One other superb report is within the males’s 6-pound line class, which is about by Enrico Capozzi who caught a 735-pound, 3-ounce marlin. Capozzi’s marlin was 133 inches lengthy with a 66-inch girth. He caught the marlin off Port Stephens, New South Wales, Australia, on Feb. 7, 2000. He was utilizing a Invoice Boyd customized rod geared up with a Shimano TLD20 reel. The road was 6-pound Stren Hello Influence Gold. He was additionally trolling a mackerel.
The black marlin is a well-liked gamefish, prized for its energy and measurement. It likes the tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans and is likely to be discovered wherever in open waters however congregates extra in coastal areas and close to islands. The marlin can vary nice distances. In line with IGFA, some black marlin swim round Africa’s Cape of Good Hope into the Atlantic. Black marlin have even crossed the Atlantic, making it so far as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the Atlantic coasts of the Lesser Antilles.
Black marlin are readily differentiated from different marlin species by their inflexible, airfoil-shaped pectoral fins that can’t be folded flat up towards the physique. The ventral fins are brief, hardly ever over a foot lengthy. The highest half of the black marlin is slate blue, altering to silvery white beneath the lateral line. Some black marlin can have a silvery haze, a attribute that had Hawaiians believing it a separate species and referring to it as “silver marlin.”
Black marlin are normally caught when trolling giant, complete baits reminiscent of mackerel, bonito, flying fish, squid and others. They’ll additionally take synthetic lures and reside bait.
Atlantic Blue Marlin, 1,402 Kilos
Paulo Amorim holds the all-tackle report with a 1,402-pound, 2-ounce Atlantic blue marlin caught Feb. 29, 1992 off Vitoria, Brazil. The marlin was 161.81 inches lengthy with a 98-inch girth. Amorim was utilizing a Capt. Harry’s rod and Penn Worldwide 80 STW reel spooled with 80-pound Ande line. He was trolling a Moldcraft lure.
Utilizing simply 4-pound line, angler Leo Cloostermans caught a 573-pound Atlantic blue marlin to assert the boys’s world report for that line class. Caught Aug. 1, 1995 off Horta, Faial, Azores, Portugal, Cloosterman’s marlin was 116.14 inches lengthy with a 60-inch girth. He was utilizing a Rod by Dru rod with a Shimano reel spooled with Stren line. He was trolling a squid.
Blue marlin are famend as highly effective fighters. They’ll strip line, burning up a drag earlier than sounding deep after which exploding above the floor with spectacular leaps. Most anglers catch them by trolling giant complete baits or a wide range of synthetic lures and strip baits. However, like many different marlin species, the fish might be induced with teasers to eat pitched baits near the boat.
Atlantic blue marlin discovered are present in tropical and heat to temperate ocean waters. Regardless of their title, they can be discovered within the Pacific and Indian Oceans (and the Gulf of Mexico).
The blue marlin’s again is cobalt blue and its flanks and stomach are silvery white. Gentle blue or lavender vertical stripes could also be current on the edges when the fish is alive. The fins haven’t any spots.
In contrast to black marlin, a blue marlin’s pectoral fins are by no means fully inflexible. Besides within the largest fish, the pectoral fins can fold flat towards the edges. Blues even have a tall, pointed dorsal fin and huge, pointed anal fin.
Pacific Blue Marlin, 1,376 Kilos
Jay de Beaubien’s 1,376-pound Pacific blue marlin is the all-tackle world report. The marlin, caught Might 31, 1982 off Kaaiwi Level, Kona, Hawaii, was 193 inches lengthy with an 82-inch girth. The angler used an Erskine rod and Fin-Nor 12/0 reel. The road was 130-pound Erskine. He was trolling a Kita lure.
The ladies’s 16-pound line class report is held by Linda Miller, who caught her 632-pound, 12-ounce marlin on Might 8, 1984, fishing off Piñas Bay, Panama. Miller was utilizing a Sabre rod and Penn Worldwide 20 reel spooled with 16-pound Amalon T line. She was trolling a bonito. The marlin was 120 inches lengthy with a 66-inch girth.
Some professionals who focus on classifying species consider there isn’t a lot distinction between the Pacific blue marlin and its Atlantic blue relative. In line with IGFA, some apply the scientific title Makaira nigricans, Lacepede to the Atlantic species solely and the title Makaira mazara to the Pacific and Indian Ocean species. Others deal with the 2 populations as subspecies, Makaira nigricans nigricans and Makaira nigricans Mazara
The coloration, fin traits, striping are the identical, as are the fishing strategies and combat upon hook up. The Pacific fish are mentioned to develop barely bigger.
Striped Marlin, 494 Kilos
Invoice Boniface is the present all-tackle report holder with a 494-pound striped marlin caught Jan. 16, 1986 off Tutukaka, New Zealand. The marlin was 115.67 inches lengthy with a 57-inch girth. Boniface used a Wilkinson Sports activities rod and Penn Worldwide 50 reel spooled with 24-kilogram Ande line. He was trolling a kahawai, also called Australian salmon.
The lads’s 6-pound line class report is held by Man Jacobsen who caught a 385-pound, 5-ounce striped marlin on April 30, 2010, fishing off Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand. This fish was 118.11 inches lengthy with a 53.54-inch girth. Jacobsen used a Daiwa Saltiga rod with a Shimano Tyrnos 2011 reel spooled with Moimoi line. He was reside baiting with a bonito. Clearly a lightweight deal with professional, Jacobsen additionally holds the 2-, 4-, 8- and 12-pound line class data.
Striped marlin are additionally typically known as stripers or, in Japan, as pink marlin. These are among the many most aggressive and acrobatic of the marlin species, normally making a number of, sensational leaps and tail-walking the water’s floor. In contrast to blue marlin, they’re usually caught pretty near shore. Anglers troll complete fish, strip baits, or lures. Stripers additionally readily hammer reside bait choices.
This pelagic, seasonally migratory species inhabits tropical, heat waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Striped marlin don’t like chilly water, they usually migrate nearer to the temperate waters of the equator in chilly seasons.
Striped marlin have lengthy, pointed first dorsal fins with the fin normally at the very least as lengthy or longer than the deepest a part of the fish’s physique, measured prime to backside. Anal and pectoral fins are also pointed, flat, and simply folded flush towards the fish’s facet. Their backs are steely blue fading to bluish silver on the higher flanks and white beneath the lateral line. Iridescent blue spots might seem on the fins. Pale blue or lavender vertical stripes are on the facet. The stripes are extra vibrant than these seen with different marlins and, in contrast to different species, this marlin’s stripes stay after the fish dies.
White Marlin, 181 Kilos
Evandro Coser holds the present all-tackle world report with a 181-pound, 14-ounce white marlin caught Dec. 8, 1979 off Vitoria, Brazil. Coser’s marlin was 107.5 inches lengthy with a 37-inch girth. He used a Magnaflex rod with a Penn Worldwide 30 reel spooled with 30-pound Ande line. He was trolling a baitfish.
Anglers fishing out of Mohammedia, Morocco between Aug. 31 and Sept. 4 2018 noticed unimaginable motion with massive fish on very gentle deal with. The two- and 4-pound line class data have been set in that brief window.
Leo Cloostermans (who additionally has the 4-pound Atlantic blue marlin report) managed to catch a 93-pound, 12-ounce white marlin, setting the 2-pound line report. His 75-inch-long, 29-inch-girth fish was caught September 4 on a Eustom rod with Shimano reel. Cloostermans was bait fishing.
On August 31, Ibrahim El Ouafi caught a 114-pound, 11-ounce white marlin to set the 4-pound line class report. His fish measured 80.91 inches with a 32-inch girth. He was additionally bait fishing and used an Alten Kirch rod with Shimano reel.
In September of 2013, Laurent Sahyoun was additionally fishing out of Mohammedia when he caught a 116-pound, 13-ounce fish to set the 6-pound line class report. He was trolling a mackerel. His marlin was 79.53 inches lengthy with a 32-inch girth. Sahyoun was utilizing a Melton rod and Fin-Nor reel spooled with Ande line.
White marlin, a fall favourite within the heat Gulf Stream alongside the US Mid-Atlantic coast and Outer Banks, are sometimes discovered all through the Atlantic Ocean, starting from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean and western Mediterranean Seas. When the fishing is nice, you possibly can catch a number of white marlin in a single day.
White marlin aren’t thought of finicky. Anglers troll small, complete or strip baits, spoons, feathers and plenty of different synthetic lures. Reside bait favorites embody squid, ballyhoo, mullet, mackerel, anchovies, herring, and extra.
The smallest of the marlin species, its most distinctive characteristic is the rounded tip on the pectoral fins and the primary dorsal and anal fins. They’ve lengthy first dorsal fins, like striped marlin, in addition to flat, foldable pectoral fins. White marlin are normally lighter in coloration than different marlin species, tending to have extra inexperienced hues. They, too, are acrobats, preventing laborious and leaping excessive from the water.
