FishRook
“The marlin just charged the bait and took off on a blistering run”
Capt. Jeff Shoults and crew with the heaviest blue marlin ever weighed at the tournament. Courtesy of Jeff Shoults
The sun was still a promise early on May 19 as Capt. Jeff Shoults and crew started a day of marlin hunting in the Gulf of Mexico. Competing in the Orange Beach Billfish Classic aboard the 66-foot Mollie, the anglers found themselves 150 miles off the Louisiana Coast and some 250 miles southwest of Wharf Marina, where the tournament was based.
Later that morning, the crew landed a massive marlin weighing over 776 pounds. More than big enough to earn them a top spot on the podium, the fish is also the heaviest blue marlin ever weighed during the tournament’s 27-year history.
“It was just before daybreak, and with our sonar we [saw] a big fish about 200 feet deep,” says Shoults, 59, who…
