Two brothers and the sea, a Blue Marlin, estimated at 10 feet and 450 pounds, gave visiting fisherman the thrill of their lives recently.
Captain Robert Richards’ guests aboard his sport fishing boat Mixed Bag were already thrilled to be reeling in a Mahi Mahi last week when they got an even bigger and better surprise.
Robert Borneman and his brother James, both of Long Island, New York, were about nine and a half miles off the southern shore of St. John when they hooked into the Mahi Mahi, he explained.
“We hooked a Mahi Mahi and were reeling it in when this giant Blue Marlin circled on the surface,” Borneman said. “Then the Blue Marlin took the Mahi Mahi whole and went straight down into the deep water.”
The two were in for the thrill and the fight of their lives.
“It took more than 1,500 feet of line off the reel twice,” said Borneman. “My brother Jim and I fought an hour to bring this fish to the boat.”
The Blue Marlin was estimated by Captain Richards to be between 10 and 12 feet and about 450 pounds, Borneman added.
The fish was caught in 2,600 feet of water, about nine and a half miles off the southern coast of St. John in three to six foot seas, he explained.
The catch, one of the biggest Captain Richards has seen, was a bit early in the season for Blue Marlin, according to Borneman.
“This was their first Blue Marlin of the season, which usually starts next month,” he said. “It was the second largest Blue Marlin the captain has seen in nine years fishing here.”
The fish was not destined to hang on anyone’s wall, Borneman added.
“After bringing the fish to the boat we released him to fight another day,” he said.
