In the summer of 1987, a personal friend of mine, Dr. Stan Rude, asked me if I wanted to go sport fishing for Blue Marlin. Without much thought, I agreed to go. Details about time and place, etc. would follow. I didn’t care. I’ve fished my whole life, so agreeing to go without thinking wasn’t exactly a reach for me. But, after I stopped to think about it to tell you the truth, I had never done sport fishing before, and I didn’t know much about blue marlin. What the hell. I had been deep sea fishing before so I thought I was up for the challenge and besides, fishing is always fun.
As I received the details about the trip, my excitement began to grow. We had booked a 35 foot cabin cruiser called “Miss T”. She was a fairly new good boat using top quality equipment and the latest electronics with a flying bridge. The ship was docked at the “South Jersey Marina” in Cape May, NJ. We were scheduled to leave the dock at 2am on August 24, 1987. I didn’t realize at the time that it was the best time of year for marlin. fishing in this area. We were headed for the Baltimore canyons. This was a 3 to 3 1|2 hour trip with the west wind at our back. Returning home took longer due to the west wind that usually hits you in the face.
Captain Dan and his partner Wayne were very capable sailors and certainly gave confidence to everyone on board. Not only in your ability as an angler, but also in your ability to have a safe and accident-free fishing trip. Being so far out at sea, almost anything can be happy. Because the boat had a mate, he was responsible for all the baiting, rigging, and setting up all the outriggers. The famous “Canyons” of the mid-Atlantic are a deep part of the ocean, where you can trolling for Yellowfin, Longfin and Big Eye Tuna along with Wahoo, White and Blue Marlin and Mahi Mahi. This area is known for big fish. If you like deep sea sport fishing, it’s worth the long boat ride. Actually, the outward journey isn’t bad, it’s the return journey that’s a killer when you’re tired.
We caught our first fish almost immediately, a nice 70lb fish. Yellow fin. Not long after that, we nailed a couple of small Mahi Mahi. That’s when the fun began. We had a hit that appeared to be a sizable tuna. But Captain Dan, who was spying on the bridge, flew down the ladder and yelled “drop the line, there’s a scoop on the line.” This is a nickname for Blue Marlin. We had hooked on a big one and we were in for the fight of our lives. The first time he made his jump out of the water it was at a distance of about 100 meters, so it was difficult to realize how big he was. We eventually got him close to the boat and he did another jump right next to the boat. This fish was huge. Captain Dan’s best estimate was 800 pounds.
Four and a half hours after shooting, we had the first leader. This was a battle. All five members of the ride participated by taking a turn to wobble. My forearm was dead. At that point, Captain Dan approached each of us and asked “do you want this fish?” None of us were prepared for this. I know myself, I never expected to catch such a big fish the first time. I think we were all stunned. We decided to return this huge and beautiful fish to the ocean. After the launch, we all stood still and silent for quite some time. I guess we were just taking it in. We feel good about making a sporty gesture with the launch. Why waste such a magnificent fish? The fact that the fish was brought to the first leader makes it an official catch.
Captain Dan said we would have the honor of flying the Blue Marlin flag on the boat for the trip home. And it was an honor and a thrill. Then I heard about a fisherman who had been fishing for marlin for thirty-five years and had never smelled a thing. Beginner’s luck I guess. I give Captain Dan and his partner Wayne all the credit in the world. Very professional and the “Miss T” was a good boat.
In case anyone thought of this as a big story, we’ve got the whole thing on videotape. Great to keep this once in a lifetime memory.