This 16-year-old struck gold her first time marlin fishing.
Madison Ross, a high school student from Kamo High School in New Zealand, landed a 665.79-pound blue marlin Sunday, Jan. 13 just off Cape Brett.
Pending confirmation, the fish could make her the new women's world record holder for blue marlin on 15-kilogram line, and also the junior world record holder.
Ross and her teammates, Todd Yendell, Sam Henwood, and Kurtis Bot, were fishing in the Arthurs Emporium Tutukaka Junior Tournament when she hooked into the monster fish at 11:30 a.m.
"It all happened so fast," Ross told NZ Herald. "It was a bit of a shock. It was my turn, so I got the rod and the boys helped me with a gimbal belt. Then I just started winding it in and winding and winding. Everyone was yelling and saying it was huge."
Three hours later, with the support of the others on the boat, particularly her friend Lucy Hale, the fish was close enough to gaff.
Getting the fish in the boat was no small feat, as it took a four-person gaff team—Brad Batterton, Bayley Taylor-Mackie, James Yendell, and Dylan Pilcher—to get it done.
Boat skipper Hayden Wright couldn't believe she and her supporters were able to real in the marlin on the tackle they were using, which would've been more suitable for snapper fishing.
"You can't put too much weight on the line or else you lose it in minutes," he said.
The team would end up winning the tournament, as they also caught two striped marlin and a spearfish prior to Ross' marlin.
NEXT: AUSTRALIAN ANGLER BARELY MISSES WORLD RECORD WITH 1,431-POUND BLACK MARLIN
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