One of the most frightening moments for a marlin is becoming hooked and
pulled by some unknown force toward the surface–the bad place, beyond which fish
cannot live.
One of the most frightening moments for a marlin fisherman, on the other hand, is when a panicked billfish jumps into the boat. (Video has been shortened to get right to the action. Click here for the full version.)
The accompanying footage features an angler almost becoming skewered by a 350-pound blue marlin that leaped onto a boat called Marlin Darlin, off the Dominican Republic, just as it had been reeled to the leader.
The angler got his catch, but the marlin nearly made him pay dearly for the experience.
This kind of incident is uncommon, but not super rare. Marlin and sailfish have been known to jump into boats either accidentally or on purpose, as part of an attack, while on the hook.
--Pete Thomas
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