Laurel's First Blue Marlin

As most everyone who is reading this knows, my son James, who is only eleven years old, is a fisherman with the skills and experience well beyond his years. On this day, however, it was my daughter Laurel who is only eight, who showed she can more than just hold her own!

Debbi, James, Laurel, and I met Matt early in the morning and jumped on the classy 37 Merritt Northern Lights, eager to begin another day of fishing in Kona. We left the harbor and ran for less than five minutes until the water depths plummeted to over three-thousand feet. James and I quickly set the lures. As I glanced at the mountain, waiting for the sun to rise, I couldn't help but to feel so lucky to be fishing in such a beautiful spot. When I focused on the lures dancing behind the boat, I could not believe what I saw. The dorsal fin of a nice size blue marlin was racing toward the short outrigger lure. "Marlin!" I yelled just seconds before the fish ambushed the lure and became hooked up solid. As everyone frantically cleared the remaining lines I couldn't help but think, could this really be happening? Laurel was in the chair and we were in hot pursuit as the fish jumped repeatedly away from the boat. Laurel kept tight and gained back some line as the fish headed for the depths. We switched the reel to low gear as my eight year old angler slowly pumped the fish back to the surface. With a look of sheer determination, she inched the fish closer and closer. A short while later, the leader was within reach. As soon as the marlin felt the additional pressure I applied to the leader it threw itself into the air and charged directly at the boat. Then the fish changed its coarse and jumped away from us, with an awesome display of both power and grace. Again Laurel inched the fish closer as I thought to myself that if I was able to get a hold of the leader again I would not let go. A few minutes later when the fish came up again. This time it was much easier to handle and we slid Laurels prize into the boat. I was soooooo proud of my girl and it was a moment I will never forget. We pulled into the weigh station at 6:45 am. Laurel's blue marlin weighed in at 165 lbs and it made me the proudest father on earth!