How long would you fight to try and land a trophy fish? One California angler took almost an entire day attempting to reel in a marlin that he hooked while kayak fishing off the coast. Obviously, this is one of those times where you really can quote Jaws in saying, "You're gonna need a bigger boat." If Kei Vang, the man who hooked the marlin, would have had a bigger boat, reeling the big ol' fish would have been a lot easier. Instead, the fisherman and those he was out on the ocean with had to fight one of the sea's fastest swimmers - and they were honestly outmatched. Back on August 3rd, the kayak fishing group were looking to catch some tuna and quickly got in over their head. Vang says that they were about 8 miles off the coast (at around 10 in the morning) when he decided to switch out rods to a lighter option after not having any luck. That decision immediately paid off, though it did get the kayakers into a lengthy adventure that they certainly weren't expecting at the beginning of the day:
"Within 10 minutes my MCR went bendo then I hear a splash about 150 feet away. It was a marlin jumping trying to shake the hook! I got a marlin on. The marlin jumped about eight times and almost spooled me out. I had to button down my drag and chase it down trying to gain lines back. Peddling as fast as I can I was able to get most back. The fight was on. The marlin was towing me straight out opposite from land as minutes passed, then hours passed. The whole time two of my good friend Tommy and Nasko never left my side. They pedaled out following me making sure I was gonna be okay. It never stopped until it was five and a half hours later and 11 miles from where I hooked it."
11 additional miles out, and almost six hours with one fish on the line? That's almost unbelievable, but the fishermen were determined to try and catch the marlin, even though they weren't exactly equipped to do so.
And soon enough, when they were all incredibly far from home, they had to make a tough decision. The big fish was tiring out, but Vang and his friends realized that there was just no way they could land this one:
"We were now about 20 miles out, literally not too far from the 209. The marlin got tired and was just circling around while I was fighting it. I was able to get it near the kayak multiple times and finally saw how big this fish was.
It was as long as my Hobie outback and there was no way we were gonna gaff that thing and haul it back 20 miles home. I asked Tommy and Nasko to get some photos and videos of the fight. By then it was about 4:15pm and we made the decision to just cut the line and free it instead of killing such a magnificent fish."
They didn't officially catch the marlin, though I'd argue if you have a fish on the hook for almost six hours, that's pretty much a default catch. It's definitely an interesting fishing story to be able to boast and talk about for years to come. Vang can say for the rest of his life that he got dragged out into the deep sea by a marlin that was bigger than his kayak. That's just as cool as snapping a picture with your big catch, in my opinion...
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