Local fisherman catches winning Marlin at tourney
When it comes to deep-sea fishing, nothing attracts more anglers
than the Marlin
– be it Blue, Black, White or Striped.
Throughout the world over, fishermen seek out these picturesque
fish with the huge dorsal fins. Much of the attraction is their
elusiveness, speed, power and size
– as well as their ability to put up long fights while darting
in and out of water along the ocean surface.
Local fisherman catches winning Marlin at tourney
When it comes to deep-sea fishing, nothing attracts more anglers than the Marlin – be it Blue, Black, White or Striped.
Throughout the world over, fishermen seek out these picturesque fish with the huge dorsal fins. Much of the attraction is their elusiveness, speed, power and size – as well as their ability to put up long fights while darting in and out of water along the ocean surface.
Mark Brashear grew up in Hollister fishing local hot spots such as Coyote Lake and San Luis Reservoir, always wanted to catch one of these giants of the sea. Little did he know that the first time he had the opportunity it would take full advantage of it – to the tune of hauling in the largest Black Marlin in a tournament in Mexico.
At the 52nd Torneo Nacional de Pesca, which took place the first week of February, Brashear brought home the first-place check of $4,000 for reeling in a 356-pound Black Marlin. The tournament is the second largest in the area. It is held annually off the Manzanillo coast, in Colima, Mexico.
“It was unbelievable,” said Brashear, who had deep-sea fished his whole life a total of about 10 hours prior to the tournament. “I didn’t know for sure if it was the winning fish but when it broke water about 100 yards out I could see that it was huge.”
Brashear didn’t know but the boat’s captain got one glimpse of the 11-foot-plus fish and knew that it would be the winning catch.
“The captain immediately said that’s the trophy,” Brashear said. “It was really exhilarating.”
And it was extra special too, considering that the majority of the fisherman that went out that afternoon had much more expensive equipment and used luxury fishing yachts.
“We were in a slow-trolling diesel boat,” he said. “The others were in massive yachts, but they all had to come and shake my hand afterwards. It was special to get their congratulations.”
Brashear hooked onto his fish at about 10 a.m. and battled him for about two and a half hours before bringing him in at about 12:30 in the afternoon.
“When I caught him he instantly dove down 1,000 feet,” Brashear said. “I started to bring him in and tightened the drag but the captain said that I better tire him out first and not be stupid about it.”
As the fish battled with Brashear, it broke water on three occasions and battled just below the surface for the bulk of it. The second time it dove down was the time that Brashear had finally won the battle as the pressure of the deep water ultimately killed the huge fish. All contestants in the tournament could use no more than an 80-pound test line.
“That was the real challenge of it,” Brashear said. “The line could have easily broken or been chewed. I just tired the fish out and made sure that I didn’t get slack in the line. I could feel him tugging for a long time.”
To catch the fish he had three small fish as bait on the surface as well as a lure that initially attracted the fish.
“Basically, he went for the lure and then ate the bait,” Brashear said.
In addition to hauling in the winning fish, Brashear and the other fisherman on the boat caught 26 Durango, 3 Sail Fish, and 1-70-pound Stripped Marlin.
Although he won $4,000 for his efforts, it certainly wasn’t a tournament to get rich quick on. In addition to the normal expenses of traveling to Mexico for the weeklong trip, contestants had to pay $200 for each pole they had in the water (Brashear had five) as well as the $1,500 that it cost to rent the boat. Now it will cost him another $2,000 to stuff and mount the prized fish, which he plans to hang in his office on display at Campbell Auto Finance in Gilroy.
