A crew of fishermen are reeling from their newest catch — a 648-pound blue marlin.
Captain Alec Stockfelt, 32 was aboard his sportfishing boat off the coast of San Diego when he and his crew of anglers pulled the massive marlin in.
The catch weighed roughly the same as an adult male grizzly bear, setting the record for the largest fish ever weighed at Fishermen’s Landing in San Diego. The previous record at the location was around 598 pounds, Stockfelt estimates.
The crew aboard his 65-foot boat caught the record-breaking fish 40 miles off the coast of San Diego on Monday. With its massive weigh-in, nearly everyone on board had to assist in getting the marlin onto the boat.
Less than a week prior, a pair of San Diego fishermen caught a 500-pound “would-be record-breaking bluefin tuna.” However, the catch wasn’t one for the record books due to being a commerical-caught fish. Only sport-caught fish are eligible for records.
While the tuna would have marked a new state record in California, Stockfelt’s marlin takes the cake by nearly 150 pounds.
This fishing season is expected to be one for the books due to El Niño weather patterns bringing in more exotic sea life, Tunaville Market owner Tommy Gomes told FOX5.
