My First Marlin by Rachel Larratt
We set out towards the same area that we’d been fishing before. We spotted a school of pilot whales and changed course to get a closer view. The Sea of Cortez is an amazing place. Everything from Sea Lions to Whale Sharks live here and it’s not uncommon to spot more than one amazing species on a day trip!
Suddenly I heard the ZIP of the line and I watched as a small Dorado launched into the air. It was a beautiful sight but it didn’t last for long. Again the line went quiet. I started to feel a little sick to my stomach. The long swim and the heat out on the water started to get to me. At this point I’d begun to feel like we weren’t going to catch anything so I went into the cabin to have a short nap in the air conditioning. The gentle rock of the boat almost lulled me to sleep. From inside the cabin I heard that sound. ZIP!! I jumped off the bunk bed and ran outside. I waited for a second before getting my hopes up and then I saw the marlin jump into the air. It was an amazing rush!
I took my position in the chair. Keep in mind; I’d never gone salt water fishing before. I’m used to catching sunfish in a pond behind my house! I reeled the fish in for 10-15 minutes. It looked like it was half a mile away. I was worried about the line snapping or the hook coming out of the marlin’s mouth. Just something happening that was out of anyone’s control. I switched places with Heather when I just felt like I couldn’t reel it in any more. She rocked back and forth pulling the marlin in for another 10 minutes and we switched a couple more times. It was excruciating work and I can’t imagine what it’s like to pull in a 700 pound marlin.
I was finally able to reel it in and from my seat I could see the color starting to show under the water. The reflection from the sun was amazing. There were greens and golds and blues flashing beneath the surface. David reached down and pulled the fish up by its mouth, and then he proceeded to gaff it. It was definitely a shock to see. I thought that was all that had to be done until I saw the small aluminum baseball bat that looked like it had met with one too many rocks. The striped marlin was hit over the head a few times and then placed into our boat after a few photos were taken.
Click image to enlarge
We decided to head in since we’d caught a marlin. David was surprised but I figured we had caught a great fish that day and we didn’t need anymore. I don’t think I could handle anymore reeling!
Once the fish was filleted, it was split up into 6 giant freezer bags. We left one with the captain and one with David. I’m guessing about 80 pounds of fish was filleted from the marlin.
As soon as we got home we grilled some marlin with olive oil, garlic and lemon and had a great dinner. All in all this was definitely a great day on the ocean.
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