New Record in Cabo? Blue Marlin 1213 lbs!

A 1213 lb Blue Marlin was caught in Cabo San Lucas yesterday, or should we say Saturday, as the fish took 28 hours to boat!

“That was the hardest thing I ever did in my life by far. I’ve shot bull moose and trekked out with 200 lbs on my back and it doesn’t even compare. It was the greatest experience of my life. I travel all around the world, Africa, Asia and nothing comes close to this”. Angler Richard Biehl,  Traverse City, MI



The monster, which could be a new Cabo record was caught by Richard Biehl from Traverse City, MI, aboard a 31 ft Blackfin “Go Deep”. We had a chance to speak with the crew and get the whole story. Captain Luis Abaroa comes from a long line of fisherman, all great in their own right; his grandfather, father, uncle and brother have all landed fish over 1000 lbs.

They took off from the dock at 7.00 am on Saturday morning with two anglers on board and headed to the 95 spot, where Luis thought he could find some marlin. Lines were in the water by 7.30 am and they started to troll. At 8.20 am a huge marlin crashed on the right outrigger which was set up with a small Zuker guacamaya lure (orange/green/yellow) intended more for striped marlin. They saw the fish jump completely out of the water about 400 feet from the boat and looked at each and other and told the angler, “That’s a big fish, around 700 lbs”, the fight then began, with the captain being super careful, knowing he only had 60 lb line, on a Shimano 50. Luis would wait for the fish to take out half the spool then quickly follow him, recover the whole spool of line and then follow again; his objective was to not let the fish go down but to follow him around , as he said “kind of like taking a strong dog for a walk on a leash”.

 Poor Richard slaved away at the reel, barely seeming to make a dent in the brute strength of this fish. By 5.00 pm they were out of food and water and had to resort to drinking the melted ice water in the cooler. Luis called his brother Frankie another captain, who showed up with supplies and to keep them company. The fish jumped one more time before sunset, this time closer and they reconsidered their size estimate, to 800 to 1000 lbs. By this time Richard could not go on and, Frankie’s deckhand went aboard to work on the fish, reeling and waiting. They continued to be patient and settled in for the night, with the guys struggling to stay awake at times. Frankie’s boat provided light so they could see the line. As the sun rose the fish continued to fight on and the deckhand was relieved by the angler. By 9.00 am the crew decided they had to do something; they rigged up a special snag set, consisting of four hooks, tossed it  at the fish and hooked it in the cheek. Now with two anglers pumping away at the fish it finally tired and they were able to get it alongside the boat. 



Frankie rigged up a snag set to help bringthe marlin to the boat.

Even With Two Anglers on The Fish It Still Took Another Three Hours to Bring to the Boat

Richard the angler, said, “It’s a once in a lifetime fish. I want to take him”. That said, they gaffed him and tried to get him on board, but the huge body would not fit through the transom door, so they had to leave half of the fish in the water and motor back to port. The fish had taken them a long way, with them ending up 30 miles off of the Old Lighthouse. The leader was 300 lb but had stretched so much, it looked like 100 lb, and one of the hooks in the lure had also sheared off.


The Fish Was So Large That It Wouldn't Fit in the Boat

 Back at the dock, they had to borrow an electronic scale from another boat which showed 972 lbs, however they could not get it completely clear of the floor, so measured the fish which was 137 inches long, without the bill and had a girth of 75 inches. According to the formula used the fish was 1213 lbs. Richard must be a real aficionado though, he went out again today and released a striped marlin and caught a tuna, but then believe it or not got sea-sick! Anyways just shows Cabo and Mexico are still the best spot in the world for fishing

The Boat Motored Back with Half  the Fish in the Water

*please note the fish was not caught aboard a Pisces boat. Fish was caught aboard a local charter boat "Go Deep"