Article Courtesy: brobible.com | Originally Published: 12/11/2024 | Please click here for original article.
One of the largest fish caught anywhere in the world this year was just landed in Kona, Hawaii. The crew fishing aboard the Sea Baby III landed a 1,124-pound blue marlin on Tuesday and it had the fishing world buzzing.
According to Luna Sportfishing Charters captain Chip Van Mols, this grander blue marlin is the first fish landed in Hawaii since 2015 that weighs over 1,100 pounds. Interestingly, this is the second grander that has been caught in Kona so far this year with the first one being a 1,081.5-pound marlin being caught back in August.
As I try and mention anytime I write about one of these grander blue marlins being caught, when evaluating the size through photographs try and look at the perspective between a small part on the fish and the human standing next to it. Several photos of the Sea Baby III crew posing next to the 1,124-pound blue marlin have been shared and try and focus in on how small his hand is compared to say, the eyeball on the fish.
And while the perspective is wonky in this first photograph you can scroll to the right in these pictures to see more and get a sense of how truly massive a grander blue marlin is. This really is the largest fish caught in Hawaii in nearly a decade. Let that sink in:
In Hawaii, unlike on the mainland, crews keep/harvest these massive blue marlin when caught and the meat from the fish is then divvied up among the locals and a single fish this size can feed a village for days on end. There is an enormous aspect of community around the meat that’s harvested.
For anyone thinking about booking a fishing charter in Hawaii, the vessel that landed this grander blue marlin (the Sea Baby III) has relatively reasonable charter rates. In fact, they are less than half of what you might spend for the same type of charter in Costa Rica. Their rates + booking information can be found here on their website.
For context, the IGFA fishing world record for Pacific Blue Marlin, a record that’s kept separately from the subspecies Atlantic Blue Marlin, is a 1376lb fish caught by Jay de Beaubien in May, 1982. These rare fish migrate through Hawaiian waters every year but nothing has come close to that fish back in 1982 in a LONG time.
