Massive Blue Marlin Goes Airborne Repeatedly In Rare Southern California Encounter

An estimated 300–400-pound blue marlin was hooked aboard the Patriot out of Newport Landing Sportfishing in a rare encounter off Southern California.

The Patriot was on a 6 AM–6 PM full-day fishing trip with Captain Kyle. After yellowtail and good bonito fishing, the boat headed offshore in search of tuna and dorado.

As fishing slowed, the crew put out a marlin lure and hooked the estimated 300–400-pound blue marlin.

Angler Nathan Ortiz captured video after the fish had been fighting for approximately 10 minutes and came within about 60–70 feet of the boat.

The marlin suddenly began “greyhounding” across the bow, moving at high speed and repeatedly launching completely out of the water as passengers and crew screamed with excitement.

The fish ultimately shook the hook and was not landed, but the encounter produced remarkable footage of an extremely unusual visitor to local waters.

Blue marlin are highly tropical, warm-water fish and are extremely unusual in Southern California waters. They can reach up to 16 feet long and weigh more than 2,000 pounds, and are typically found in tropical and subtropical waters such as Hawaii, Mexico and Bermuda.

The rare encounter comes as El Niño conditions are present and ocean temperatures off Southern and Central California are unusually warm. Fishing boats have already been landing tuna, yellowtail and dorado off the coast this summer.