Jake Jordan’s HUGE Blue Marlin
My friend, Captain Jake Jordan, recently landed what would most certainly have been a new world record Blue Marlin on the fly rod. He refused to kill the fish, and so it will have to stand as an unofficial record. He deserves praise and thanks for this unselfish act.
Here’s the report from his skipper:
“Another notable day was on January 17th 2011 which was the finally day of a Jake Jordan Fly Fishing School. In the closing hours of a day of catching several sails on the fly, there was a huge explosion on my flat teaser. There was no doubt it was a marlin. As Flaco began to tease the fish in I saw that not only was it a blue marlin but a Big One. Jake quickly got the marlin fly in the water. The fish teased in and we got the cast off, but she didn’t bite. It took several re-teases and recasts and then Jake got the bite. It was an amazing fight that lasted an hour and twenty minutes and then we got the legal release (being able to grab the leader–GB). Ten minutes later the fish was tired out and laying on her side swimming behind the boat (Jake was actually able to reel down on the fish and touch it with his rod tip–GB). This is when I saw actually how big she was, a good 400 lbs or more. This is the largest marlin I have caught fly fishing and if we would have chosen to kill it, it would have been at least 100 to 150 lbs larger then the current world record. I have many great memories fishing aboard the Intensity and have caught many marlin but this one is up there as one of the very best.”
–Captain Mike Sheeder
Not only is this a noteworthy accomplishment, but the fighting sequence was unique. Jake has been fighting these huge blue-water beasts for years, practicing on large tarpon in between blue-water trips. He fights the fish strictly from the reel, never bending the rod, using the boat to help in positioning and line retrieval. His technique will be detailed in my forthcoming book, The Angler as Predator. Watch this site for announcements on all the forthcoming books, and time-to-time excerpts from them.
Jake's Blue Marlin showing off its size.
Gary, this story is inspirational.. It leaves me pondering the question “How many magnificent records have been released to swim again, known only by the angler?” It resembles the anynomous act of charity made meaningful by only being known by the soul that gave it. Kudos to such respect for the prey.