The Northern Lights is put in full rack reverse as Capt Steve Epstein chases a monster blue on another series of jumps two hours into the fight. Only a few hours earlier, Steve and son Tracy were fishing around C buoy using the tuna stick to try and catch one or two of the ahi that had been hanging around. After boating a hefty 179 pound yellow fin, they put the stick back out to try for another one. Within a few moments of getting their gear back out, something flashed from one side of the boat, then underneath and out the other side. A blue marlin lit neon blue and white from head to tail had lined herself up right behind the back of the boat. She was most likely chasing tuna in the area and had one cornered underneath the transom. Within a few seconds Tracy had grabbed the first live bait hook he could find and slammed the hook through the nose of a small dead skip jack that they had lying in the fish box. At first, the blue would have nothing to do with the bait, but Steve and Tracy pulled a few tricks from their sleeves, and the large predator took a half-hearted swipe at the bait. She rolled the skip jack over her bill and missed her mouth completely. As she turned away, Tracy pushed up the drag and forced the hook into the side of her face. Stunned, she slowly paddled away.
Amazed that they had actually hooked the beast, they quickly starting clearing the tuna stick in order to go after the marlin. She stayed close to the boat and let them get everything clear before she took off on her first run. Sean McWhinney took over on the rod as the boys started what would become a two and a half hour fight to the death. Having hooked the blue in the side of the face and not the mouth, the fish had the upper hand in leverage. Not being able to turn the face like you can when a fish is hooked properly in the mouth the fight lasted much longer than they would have wanted. Knowing that the blue was close to the 1000 pound mark, they put the gaffs down just in case they decided to take her. Finally getting the leader, Tracy popped her up along the side only to have her roll on her back and give up the ghost, as some would say. Seeing her enormous size, they pulled her aboard hoping she would measure out to the magical mark of 1000 pounds. Her measurements came a little short, and the boys knew she wouldn’t make a grand, but still a fish worthy of righting home about. She measured out at eleven foot four inches short with only an eighteen and a half inch tail. The short coming in the tail would end up to be the missing weight she needed to make the mark. Their 966 would end up being the second largest blue of the year.
(Originally posted on July 30, 2007)
