This post was originally published on Ladies In Camo at http://ladiesincamo.com/lictoth/2013/04/14/diane-hassinger-marlin-to-go/
While fishing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, I was able to hook up with a huge blue marlin. I was fishing with spinning tackle with 40 pound test line. It took all of my abilities to keep this giant on the line. All the while it was jumping, twisting and racing away from us.
My husband Dale was manning the controls of the boat, and between his maneuvering and my working the rod, we were managing to gain line on him.
I was being sprayed by the salt water and occasionally a wave would crash over the back of the boat. Half of the time I was fighting by feel, since my eyes stung so bad from the salt. Several magnificent jumps were made by the marlin as it came closer to the boat. I know everyone was shouting both encouragements and directions while I was fighting, but I could only hear the blood pounding in my ears. After a ferocious fight of 15 minutes or so, water was poured over my reel to keep it from heating up even more. By this time I was soaked to the skin. Occasionally the marlin would slow down and I could gain quite a bit of line on him, other times he just made my reel whine as he sped away.
Finally after a very tough 45 minute fight, my marlin was brought alongside the boat for the last time. He was brought on board, unhooked, a picture quickly taken, and much to my Mexican crews dismay, he was released. Marlin is very delicious to eat, but this fish was not fought to the point of exhaustion, although I was! As he was release, a quick flick of his tail sent water cascading over us for a final goodbye. As he swam away, I could not help but feel a lot of admiration for this fish. It may sound funny, but I have a lot of respect for animals and fish, and if I am not trying to fill my freezer, I have no desire to kill anything. Catch and release, and a chance to fight again tomorrow!
This one was estimated to go between 340 and 370 pounds, not my biggest, but one of the most memorable! I have landed over 65 marlin, which is not to bad for a redneck girl from western Pennsylvania!
huntingmotherearth 