Kayak fisherman towed 15 miles by ‘record’ marlin

[Mikey]

A kayak fisherman hooked up with an estimated 500-pound black marlin in front of a Panama fishing lodge and by the time the battle was over, he was 15 miles from the point in which he started.
The recent catch by Adam Fisk was unofficially considered a world record for a black marlin caught from a kayak and it came a year after he caught an estimated 450-pounder in a kayak from the same spot.

Fisk of Los Buzos Resort, a kayak fishing destination on the Pacific Coast of Panama, called it an “epic experience.” After a 4-hour, 37-minute battle, he reeled the marlin close enough to touch the 15-foot leader to constitute a catch and turned the rod over to Robert Field on a boat to ensure the marlin lived.
“We decided to transfer the rod to the boat to save the marlin’s life,” Field explained to USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. “Marlin are notorious for fighting so hard and for so long that they die of exhaustion. It’s quite common, even when the angler intends to release the fish unharmed.




“From a kayak, Adam simply could not physically put enough pressure on the marlin to shorten the fight, and we knew if he continued from the kayak, the fight would drag on for hours longer and the fish’s chance of survival would plummet. We didn’t anticipate it taking me another 90 minutes in the boat to bring her up.”
The entire battle lasted 6 hours, 12 minutes before the marlin was close enough to the panga to cut it loose.
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“The power of a monster like this is unbelievable especially when you are battling it from a kayak,” Fisk, a managing partner in the resort who is from Florida, told Outdoor Life. “I have pretty big gear that I target marlin with out here and even with it, sometimes I feel like the fish doesn’t even know I am pulling on it.”
One of the best parts about the battle is that Field, who produces new fishing episodes each week for his YouTube channel called YakFish TV, captured the entire thing on video and posted it Tuesday.

After the marlin puts on an aerial display, you can hear Field saying in the video, “That is the most insane thing I’ve ever seen come out of the water. That is crazy. It looked so ridiculous next to that little boat. It’s so much bigger than Adam and that kayak together.”
Concluded Fisk on his Facebook page, “I can’t think of a more epic experience to happen in the world of kayak fishing and the fact that Robert Field was here to capture it all is absolutely incredible. This catch is one for the books and one we will all be telling for the rest of our lives. So proud of the whole team!”

[i]By David Strege | February 8, 2020 11:12 am courtesy of Robert Field of YakFish TV[/i]