The monstrous black marlin is on the bucket list of many anglers. These beautiful fish are the perfect combination of strength, speed, and size. It makes them one of the most challenging big game fish in the world to tangle with, and the waters around Panama are home to some true giants. Don't take our word for it, just watch this video from one of our favorite fishing YouTubers, Josh Jorgensen, aka: "Blacktip H." Josh is out fishing for bait when he gets a call that the black marlins are actively feeding. He heads out to help capture some of these magnificent fish. At the same time, he helps with a research project to tag these giants with $5,000 satellite tags.
The data collected will help with research efforts and help monitor how the population is doing. But the fun part is hooking them and bringing them close enough to the boat for them to tag them. The action is fast and furious, making this no less than the trip of a lifetime.
According to Blacktip H, each of those tags they deployed will track the fish's movements for up to eight months. They managed to catch and tag five black marlin. Plus, they got to catch that awesome sailfish too. We'd call that a near-perfect day on the water.
The black marlin in this video were not even anywhere close to the maximum size for this species. The current all-tackle world record, as recognized by the International Game Fish Association, weighed a whopping 1,560 pounds. It was caught off Cabo Blanco, Peru on 130-pound line by legendary saltwater angler Alfred Glassell Jr. That fish was caught in 1953. Glassell caught no less than three "granders" (fish over the 1,000-pound mark) during his career.
To be perfectly honest, we'd be happy catching any of the marlin Josh landed in this video. We're with him on this one; where do we sign up to do this catching and tagging thing full-time? Because it looks like the sort of thing that just never gets old.
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Instagram For original videos, check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
