Around this time last year Captain Julio on “Bill Collector” caught a monster blue, that was 850 lbs – he had seen it feeding on a dorado on the surface and actually mistook it for a whale in the distance. Well it seems Julio is a magnet for large fish at this time of year. He was trolling a Zuker 3.5 purple/black lure, just one mile off of La Playita hoping to pick up a striped marlin, when from out of nowhere a large black marlin attacked. Angler James Frash from Baldwinsville, NY was on board and had already fished a couple of days on Bill Collector so they had learned to work together as a team. James grabbed the rod and set the hook on the 50 lb Shimano trolling gear and then determinedly got to work, getting the fish to the leader in 30 minutes. James had not realized how big the fish was, but Julio did, calculating it at just less than 700 lbs. He knew it would not be easy to release. Twice they grabbed the leader and got a hand close its bill, but it thrashed wildly and they thought better of it. Then even though it was right at the boat, it got its head down and refused to budge. The tail was sticking out but the head was straight down, with the fish extremely strong and vigorous – nothing could move it then a touch of its bill on the line resolved the situation as the line broke on the abrasive bill and it was off .
