Blue Marlin At Cabo
by Ted Glenwright

We motored out of the Cabo San Lucas harbor in our rundown Bertram 31 for about an hour and a half, looking for signs of any type of fish. We finally put our lines out when we were out about 20 miles off shore. Thinking it was going to be a slow day, I spread out on the back deck for a quick nap.

About 10 minutes later, I was woken by the gunning of the engines and a whole lot of shouting in Spanish that I couldn't understand. I looked around and there were dolphins everywhere around us—hundreds of them. I asked if this was a sign of fish and all I got back from the first mate was a shrug so I still wasn't that excited.

After another few minutes, the first line went off - ZIING!!!. I was stunned; using heavy tackle and outriggers was a new experience for me - just getting the heaving rod out of the holder is a challenge. Fortunately my guides set the hook and handed me the rod in the fighting chair. After a few minutes of hard reeling, a beautiful yellowfin tuna surfaced along side the boat whereby Tony, the first mate, expertly gaffed the fish and slung it on board.

We quickly reset the lines in the water and over the next hour reeled in four more fish. The fifth fish was exciting as we could see a whole school of tuna “boiling” behind the boat - a fisherman's dream. Having filled our holds with more than enough tuna, Capt. Victor suggested we try for something else - I suspected he was getting bored, so I reluctantly agreed. We headed back towards shore, now being about 35 miles out. Land was nowhere in sight which, for me, was a pretty eery feeling.

Even though it was still only about 10 am, I was beginning to lust of what a great day we'd had - limits on Yellowfin in a just a few hours. Then, suddenly, one of the port rigs when off—ZIIING. I looked behind the boat and, to my total amazement, saw this huge fin skimming along the water. Tony waited a few seconds for the fish to take the lure and as soon as he was about to pick up the rod to set the hook, it stopped making noise...... Bummer. I was wondering if or when we were EVER going to lose a fish and it looked like we had done just that. The adrenaline subsided almost as quickly as it had surged.

As any expert would do, Capt. Victor quickly gunned the engines and spun the boat in a tight circle for a second chance. Meanwhile, Tony readied a light rod with a live bait and cast it out behind the hot pink Aqua-Images lure we still had in the water on the starboard side. Then, ZIIING again - something hit the rod with the lure. Tony set the hook. He handed me the rod and I quickly sat in the fighting chair, not really knowing what was going to happen next - maybe it was another tuna, or perhaps the ever elusive Dorado.

For the next 10 minutes or so I reeled and reeled, not really making much headway on the 80 pound test line. Then it raised to the surface and arched - the biggest billfish any of us had ever seen! Another 10 minutes or so of reeling I thought my arms were going to completely give way.

Eventually, we finally had the big sea monster next to the side of the boat. Tony, realizing this was the Marlin of a lifetime, said a few Hail Mary's, followed by a few "Hail Mary's" of the type I remember hearing in college. While I reeled in the final 100 feet of line, Tony completely cleared the deck and got out the flying gaff - a large meat-hook with a rope on the end of it. When the fish finally got up to the boat, Tony and Victor beat it on the head with a small bat ,not unlike the kind we swing at salmon, and then threw the meat-hook into its side.

This was truly a huge fish. It was only then that we realized that the beast might actually be too big to get into the boat. With me holding onto the rope attached to the meat-hook and Tony holding onto the bill, Victor quickly summoned another Amigo who was close by. When the other boat pulled up, the captain of the other boat raised six fingers, meaning six hundred pounds!! The fishermen on the other boat scurried for their video cameras while the first mate, a guy twice my size, jumped over to our boat to help lug the monster on board. After about 10 minutes of heaving, the four of us managed to lug the big creature onto the deck of the Baja Raider.

We called it a day and motored home, albeit somewhat slowly given the additional 600 pounds of flesh now on deck. I figured after a day like today, the missed Dorado could wait for another day.

Victor continued to radio and cell phone everyone he knew including the owner of the boat and his family. Once put on the rickety scales at the local public dock, the awesome Blue Marlin weighed in at 580 pounds and 12 feet, 6 inches - somewhat shy of what Capt. Victor and many of the other local captains had estimated. There must have been several hundred people snapping photos of me, the fish and my family. Had we been entrants in last month's Bisbee Black and Blue marlin tournament, it would have won the 1st place prize of $1.5 million dollars. Oh well, timing is everything. Maybe I'll get my picture in the Western Outdoor News.

The blue marlin was drawn and quartered and we had a nice quarter of the belly section for a party of about 20 that evening hosted by the owner and anyone in town whom had ever made his acquaintance. Everyone was there, enjoying the fruits of a wonderful day.

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