Marlin causes ‘huge commotion’ before being caught in Cabo marina

Footage shows the marlin inside the harbor at Baja California’s tip. “Of course this caused huge commotion on the docks.”

Last summer we shared footage showing a sailfish – described by National Geographic as “the fastest fish in the ocean” – swimming inside Mexico’s Cabo San Lucas Marina.

The rare appearance was brief as the sailfish soon breezed back into bluer offshore waters, where it belonged.

On Sunday a striped marlin was caught on video swimming around the docks in the same marina, at Baja California’s tip, in another rare event that did not end well for the billfish. (See footage below.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/DA1HUZ5PCoc/

“So this happened yesterday… A Striped Marlin made its way into the Cabo Marina in front of our Pisces Office!” Pisces Sportfishing exclaimed Monday via Instagram. “The Marlin cruised around the slips seemingly confused in the shallow water.

“Of course this caused huge commotion on the docks and unfortunately for the Marlin a group of men caught it later on.”

Pisces spokeswoman Rebecca Ehrenberg told FTW Outdoors that the marlin was gaffed and hauled onto a dock.

Cabo San Lucas is billed as “The Marlin Capital of the World,” but most encounters occur in the deep blue – and most anglers release the marlin they hook.

But the marina, positioned where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez, is occasionally visited by creatures more commonly found in offshore waters.

Ehrenberg said a marlin entered the marina last year, too, and that in late August a school of large squid was captured on video in an “amazing sight” under the lights at night.

“Right in front of Captain Tony’s [restaurant] – calamari anybody,” Pisces joked via Facebook. “Maybe they came for the music.”

That reel can be viewed via this link or in the player below.

Frantic scene as 300-pound marlin leaps into fishing boat

Footage shows a chaotic scene in which Thomas Arendall is knocked to the deck by the marlin, which self-releases after the collision.

Marlin are powerful game fish that occasionally leap into boats, creating hazardous situations.

The accompanying footage, shared via Instagram by Chasing Nature, shows a hooked blue marlin soaring over a yacht’s stern and flooring deckhand Thomas Arendall.

“Fishing can be a dangerous game,” Chasing Nature’s Jonathan Schell stated, adding that Arendall was not seriously injured.

The chaotic scene unfolded last week in the Gulf of Mexico aboard the Jubilee.

Footage shows the estimated 300-pound marlin leaping beyond the stern as a different deckhand tugs on the leader. The marlin then flies over the rail and slams into Arendall’s upper body, knocking him down.

One commenter observed: “An inch away from getting stabbed in the jugular. Count your blessings mate.”

Schell told FTW Outdoors that Arendall “got scratched up on his back and had about an inch-deep, 2- to 3-inch laceration on his forearm.”

The Jubilee was fishing out of Orange Beach, Alabama, and the marlin broke the line and swam free after flopping back into the water.

As Schell noted, the catch was “official” once the other deckhand had grabbed the leader.