By Pete Thomas/GrindTv
Cabo San Lucas is one of the world’s premier marlin-fishing destinations, but even so, it’s a rare day when two giant marlin are hooked on the same day, at about the same time, and battled well into the night.
On Tuesday, word rapidly spread through the Mexican resort town at Baja California’s tip that town that a large marlin–perhaps a grander weighing 1,000 pounds or more–was being fought aboard the yacht, Mucho Loco.
Tracy Ehrenberg, who runs Pisces Sportfishing, stated on the company blog that she received a call at 9 p.m., informing her that a large marlin was being weighed at the main scale in the marina.
She and her employees rushed over to discover that a marlin weighing 683 pounds was hanging on the scale. But part of its head and bill resting on the ground, so the actual weight was in the 700-pound range.
The 13-foot marlin had been hooked at 10:15 a.m.; the battle lasted nearly 10 hours. Presumably, the fish was too close to death to be released.
Kevin Lautt, from North Dakota, was one of the anglers, and is quoted as saying, “This is my first time in Cabo and my first time deep-sea fishing. The biggest fish I’ve ever caught is a 15-pound northern pike.”
But this marlin was caught aboard Bad Medicine, not Mucho Loco.
Ehrenberg figured that she had simply received incorrect boat information, but wondered why Mario Banaga, who is always on hand taking photographs when a big marlin arrives in the marina, was not present for the weigh-in.
It turned out that Banaga was at a different scale on the other side of the marina. Mucho Loco had pulled in with its blue marlin, which tipped the scale at 773 pounds.
Two men, aged 74 and 79 years, teamed to fight this marlin for 5-plus hours; a remarkable feat considering their ages.
Most marlin caught in Cabo are released; that practice is strongly encouraged. But for whatever reason, this marlin also was brought in.
Wrote Ehrenberg:
"There is always a tinge of sadness to see these magnificent creatures on the dock and not in the ocean, but this is great news for Cabo San Lucas, helping the town hold its position as one of the top fishing destinations in the world.
"A lot of families still being affected economically from [Hurricane Odile, which slammed Cabo in September] will have plenty of quality food for weeks to come and the anglers will have memories to last a lifetime."
It was a loco day at Land's End, to be sure.
–Image showing both blue marlin is courtesy of Pisces Sportfishing
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