Marlin – Syndication Server

False killer whales devour huge marlin in rare event caught on video

A sportfishing guide in Fiji shared footage Monday showing false killer whales attacking a hooked 300-pound marlin, leaving only the head for the anglers.

**UPDATE: The mammals in the footage were initially identified by the fishing guide (and reported here) as pilot whales, but they are false killer whales

A sportfishing guide in Fiji shared footage Monday showing false killer whales attacking a hooked 300-pound marlin, leaving only the head for the anglers.

“Can hardly believe what we witnessed today!” Jaga Crossingham, guide at Kokomo Private Island Fiji, exclaimed via Instagram. “A fired up pack of [false killer whales] took down this 140kg+ Marlin, Swipe to see what happened!”

Viewers who swipe on the post will see a false killer whale releasing its grasp on the marlin’s head just off the stern. “Wow, they ate everything,” someone on the boat observes.

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A post shared by Jaga Crossingham (@jagafiji)

The next clip shows the mammals swimming behind the boat as if hoping to continue the feast. The final clip is a still shot of a false killer whale near the marlin’s head.

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Crossingham told FTW Outdoors that the marlin was on the hook for about 15 minutes “when I realized the [false killer whales] were starting to behave more like a pack of sharks. The whole attack was only a couple of minutes.”

False killer whales are found around the world in tropical and temperate waters, usually far offshore.

They’re highly social animals that typically travel in small groups associated with a larger pod. They prey largely on squid and fish and often share prey with other pod members.

They are so sociable that they’ve even been known to share prey with boaters and divers.

Said Crossingham: “It definitely was a strange experience, they almost were offering it back to us. They kept nosing the head back to the surface after they devoured the whole body.”

Kayak angler’s epic battle with giant marlin immortalized

Scott Mutchler pulled off a rare feat in May when he landed a 600-pound black marlin from a kayak while fishing in Panama.

A photo of the massive billfish leaping just beyond his bow was widely circulated and brought Mutchler notoriety in fishing circles.

Now the resident of Jupiter, Fla., has both the photo and a vivid painting of that epic moment to help immortalize the catch.

Scott Mutchler battles 600-pound black marlin. Photo: Adam Fisk/Los Buzos Fishing Resort

“I’m honored to have the painting legend Carey Chen paint this for me,” he wrote Friday on Facebook. “He’s as nice as he seems on videos.”

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Chen, a marine artist known for his creative use of colors, also posted about meeting with Mutchler:

“Met with the kayak legend that has the most viral fishing photo on the internet Scott Mutchler, who commissioned me to do the painting of his 600 lb black marlin he released on the kayak [at] Los Buzos Panama. Such an incredible feat not only to release a 600 lb black marlin but from a kayak this takes extraordinary skills.”

Scot Mutchler (left) poses with renowned artist Carey Chen

After the May 23 catch, out of Los Buzos Fishing Resort, Mutchler told FTW Outdoors, “Once I was hooked it was nothing like I ever could have dreamed about. I was in for the fight of my life.”

Mutchler became the first Los Buzos client to catch and release a black marlin from a kayak. Adam Fisk, a Los Buzos guide, had previously released two marlin estimated to weigh 500-plus pounds from his kayak.

Mutchler’s 45-minute fight, during which he was towed one mile against a strong current, was captured by Fisk on video.

Anglers set out for tuna, land 1,000-pound blue marlin

Anglers vacationing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on Wednesday brought to port a blue marlin that weighed an estimated 1,000 pounds and measured an astonishing 14 feet.

Pisces Sportfishing, whose fleet was not involved in the extraordinary catch, reported via Facebook that the Minnesota anglers were aboard Dream Maker with Capt. “Cheque” Cervantes.

“Happening NOW in Cabo. Another ‘out of season’ Blue Marlin today, weighing in at 660 lbs and measured out to 169 inches; 14 feet!” Pisces exclaimed.

Marshall Ryerson, who arranged the charter, told FTW Outdoors that the marlin was so long and heavy that only part of the fish could be hoisted onto a local dock scale. Based on its 169-inch length and 69-inch girth, Ryerson added, the marlin’s weight was estimated at 1,000 pounds.

Anglers pose with blue marlin estimated to weigh 1,000 pounds

That would rank as one of the top blue marlin catches in the steeped history of Cabo San Lucas sportfishing.

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(For the sake of comparison, a blue marlin caught by Pisces in 2019 weighed 814 pounds on an official scale after measuring 167.5 inches with a 66-inch girth.)

The marlin was caught by Caesar Larson and Luke Fox, who were among five anglers on a charter in search of tuna and dorado. The massive billfish attacked their lures five seconds apart and they fought the marlin with both rods for 90 minutes before it was alongside the 34-foot boat.

Ryerson, who said the marlin was in no shape to be released, addressed the greater challenge of transporting such a large marlin back to port.

“It took seven of us and every bit of energy from each of us to get the fish in the boat,” he said, referring to the anglers and crewmen. “After several attempts and help from the waves we were able to get the fish up and into the boat.”

Luke Fox (left) and Caesar Larson pose with marlin they caught off Cabo San Lucas

Ryerson added that the meat was donated to a local charity that benefits impoverished children.

Tracy Ehrenberg, who runs Pisces Sportfishing, told FTW Outdoors that a 700-pound blue marlin was landed a week earlier. Both catches were unusual because prime fishing season for blue marlin is July through October.

“However, there is always one big blue caught in the first month of the year,” Ehrenberg said. “Two is exceptional. But if you go back and examine the archives, the biggest blue marlin in my memory are caught out of season, like April or May.”

The marlin was donated to a charity that feeds impoverished children

Ehrenberg said the fleets are currently focused on striped marlin, which are more abundant during the winter, along with dorado and other small gamefish.

Catch-and-release marlin fishing is strongly encouraged in Cabo San Lucas, and the vast majority of anglers set their billfish free whenever possible.

Massive marlin landed after epic struggle; feeds townsfolk

An 849-pound black marlin landed after an epic struggle off Barra de Navidad, Mexico, may be the largest marlin ever caught in the area.

An 849-pound black marlin, landed recently after a six-hour struggle off Barra de Navidad, Mexico, is believed to be the largest black marlin ever caught in the region.

But Osiel Arteaga Aguilar’s catch, after his 24-foot skiff had been towed six miles offshore in blustery conditions, also generated some much-needed excitement for a fishing community sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tourism is temporarily non-existent in Barra de Navidad, north of Manzanillo in the state of Jalisco. Sportfishing is allowed only for personal consumption, but the enormous marlin caught on May 17 provided sustenance for dozens of townspeople.

Arteaga, 45, was interviewed over the weekend by Tracy Ehrenberg, whose family runs Pisces Sportfishing in Cabo San Lucas. Ehrenberg told For The Win Outdoors that Arteaga and two deckhands, Jesus Benjamin Samora and Jose Alfredo Zamora, had ventured 24 miles to sea a day after landing a 176-pound blue marlin.

Fishing was slow and the windswept ocean was not safe, so they began the long voyage home.

“They kept their gear in the water and when they were seven miles offshore they caught a small striped marlin, which was handled quickly, then they continued to head back home,” Ehrenberg stated in a report on the catch. “At six miles from shore something hit their lucky pink and purple lure about 220 feet behind the boat.

“Osiel assumed it was another striped marlin. Boy was he wrong! They saw the head, then shoulders then half the body emerge from the water in a powerful thrust of a massive black marlin – the moment was suspended in time.”

The powerful billfish ran and the chase was on to avoid having the reel spooled. Six hours later, in late afternoon, the fishermen were 12 miles offshore and the marlin suddenly died, so the new struggle was to somehow raise what felt like dead weight.

They managed to hook the carcass with another line and 45 minutes later they had the fish alongside the skiff, or panga.

“I have no idea how they got that fish in the panga,” Ehrenberg wrote. “But according to Osiel, they managed to get half the fish up over the side of the boat, then put a rope around the tail and swung it clockwise so the belly of the fish was across the middle of the panga with the head sticking out one side and the tail the other.”

It was dark when the anglers reached the dock, and a giant crowd was present when they unloaded the marlin. After it was weighed on a borrowed scale, they celebrated and began to process the meat.

“The fish was carved up and shared among the excited locals, but Osiel, happily giving fish away, realized it was all gone – he did not even get to try it,” Ehrenberg continued. “Nevertheless, he felt very satisfied at having caught the biggest fish of his life and to be able to help the people of his town during this difficult time.”

–Images courtesy of Osiel Arteaga Aguilar and Vidal Dávalos, via Pisces Sportfishing