iStockphoto / Kelly Dalling
- A group of South Africans on a 6-day fishing trip to the Cape Verdes Islands landed the 2nd largest Atlantic Blue Marlin ever caught
- The massive Blue Marlin tipped the scales at 1,370 pounds which is just 32-pound shy of the world record for the largest Blue Marlin ever caught in the Atlantic Ocean
- Read more FISHING stories here
Three friends from South Africa were in the Cape Verdes Islands for a 6-day fishing trip where they went 14-for-18 on big Blue Marlin including the second-largest ever caught in the Atlantic. The Cape Verdes Islands are amongst the hottest billfishing spots on the planet this time of year.
The archipelago is located off the coast of Senegal and Mauritania and each year anglers there capture some of of the biggest Blue Marlin caught worldwide. Ben Vorster, Gerhardt Vorster, and Michiel Ross traveled from South Africa to Cape Verdes in search of the big blues. But it’s hard to imagine they knew they’d end up catching the second-largest Blue Marlin ever landed in the Atlantic Ocean.
1,370 Pound Blue Marlin Is Second Largest Ever Caught In The Atlantic Ocean
50-year-old Ben Vorster was the angler on the reel when Smoker captain Capt. Ryan “Roo” Williamson hooked up with the gargantuan fish near Mindelo in Cape Verdes. They ‘teased’ the big Blue Marlin up just 15 minutes after the captain sent a custom “Pulsator tube of his own design” behind the boat, according to Outdoor Life.
The captain uses teasers to get these big fish to rise up behind the boat, lures and teasers that are designed to look like small groups of fish. Then when the fish rises they tossed back a 4-pound tuna rigged up with a circle hook and it was GAME ON from there. Though, they didn’t see how big the fish was until the fight was nearly over.
He fought the fish on an 80-pound reel spooled with 130-pound test line. And it miraculously only took him about 30 minutes to get the fish to the boat.
The fish never jumped after eating the 4-pound tuna bait so they didn’t get a look at its size until the fight was almost over but when it got boat side they were awestruck. Getting the 1,370-pound Blue Marlin into the boat was a challenge in and of itself. The first gaff bent open when they tried to use it to wrangle the fish into position but they were eventually able to wrestle it into the boat.
One Of The Biggest Blue Marlin Ever Caught
Once the fish was secured in the boat they headed back to the marina where it was weighed on a digital scale. It clocked in at a whopping 1,370-pounds. The IGFA All Tackle World Record for Atlantic Blue Marlin is 1,402 pounds (caught in Brazil in 1992).
This fish was just 32 pounds shy of matching the world record for the biggest Atlantic Blue Marlin in history but it’s still the second biggest ever weighed after being caught on rod and reel. Its girth measured a 6’6″ around and it was 12.6-feet-long. It’s not unrealistic to say this Blue Marlin was bigger than many cars in Europe.
The 1,370-pound Blue Marlin was harvested after it was weighed. That meat was then distributed to the locals and will feed many families for days if not weeks.
Catching ‘Granders’
A ‘grander‘ is any fish weighing over 1,000 pounds and it’s the ultimate bucket list item of adventurous anglers. There are only a handful of species that grow this large including Blue Marlin, Black Marlin, Bluefin Tuna, Swordfish, and some sharks.
Catching grander Blue Marlin is tough and its expensive. You chase these massive fish all across the globe from the Azores off Portugal to Cape Verdes to Hawaii and Australia and down throughout South America. A single lure can cost $109 and you need an arsenal of tackle on board the boat.
In addition to the 1,370-pound Blue Marlin the three guys from South Africa, a 990-pound blue and a 782-pound fish were also weighed the same week in Cape Verdes according to local fishing reports.
If you are ever on the hunt for grander Blues then seek out someone in your life who is obsessed with fishing and ask them questions about it. The locations to catch granders are remote but they’re fairly well known. And you will want to plan well in advance because the top captains book up far in advance.