October 15, 2018 12:42 pm ET
On the last day of a month-long angling adventure based in Madeira, southwest of Portugal, Gary Carter and crew spotted the largest blue marlin they had seen the entire trip.
But rather than reach for a big-game fishing rod, Carter requested a 20-pound outfit designed for much smaller fish. The renowned angler from Georgia, realizing that the marlin weighed at least 800 pounds, knew he was looking at a potential line-class world record.
Gary Carter (second from left) and crew pose with 807-pound blue marlin. Photo: Gary Carter/Marlin magazine
Despite the long odds of landing such a massive billfish on light tackle, Carter succeeded after a 70-minute fight and appears to have added another world record to his long list of angling achievements.
The Atlantic blue marlin, caught toward the end of summer, tipped the scale at 807 pounds. The International Game Fish Assn. lists as the current line-class record a 714-pound blue marlin caught off Africa’s Ivory Coast in 1990.
Carter, after returning home, submitted a world-record application to the IGFA and is awaiting record approval. That might be a formality since Carter and his team of professional anglers always fish in adherence with IGFA rules. (The approval process typically takes several weeks.)
Gary Carter and wife Sherrell
Details of the catch were featured last week by Marlin magazine.
Carter, who always fishes with his wife, Sherrell, said the Silver-Rod-O crew had begun to store gear for its final run to port when the giant marlin appeared near teaser lures behind the stern.
“This was by far the largest fish we had seen in 35 days of fishing in Madeira this summer,” Carter recalled.
With the 20-pound outfit, Carter cast a squid and the bite was immediate.
He and his crew were fortunate in that the marlin didn’t sound.
Quite often the larger marlin will dive so deep that it becomes nearly impossible to land them on light tackle, or in adherence to IGFA rules.
Instead, this marlin stayed near the surface and leaped often, revealing its location and allowing Capt. Yoan Alcala to keep the boat close and pointed in the right direction.
After 70 minutes, crewman Andy Dow had the leader and Carter’s marlin was eventually secured.
Carter told Marlin magazine that fishing for records is a team effort, even though only one angler is allowed to handle the rod.
“The angler is just one part,” he said. “Yoan Alcala is Venezuelan; he celebrated his 20th year as our captain in September. Andy Dow is from Cairns, Australia; Yefry Garcia is Guatemalan; and Brad Batterton is from New Zealand, but we all work very well together. And this is the end result.”
–Images showing Gary Carter with the marlin (second from left) and with his wife Sherrell are courtesy of Gary Carter
