For those interested there's an article by Jan Fogt, a Dutch photo-journalist, regarding 'granders' - 1000lb plus fish - on the Marlin Magazine's web site - http://www.marlinmag.com/artic…0083956&cmpid=enews062910. It describes the capture of two 'granders' - a Bluefin Tuna and Black Marlin - and several near misses on Blue Marlin from the Azores by a New York lawyer, Mel Immergut. His wife Babara also features with a potential - again lost - 1400 pounder off Brazil.
Intriguingly, from my perspective, in that Mel's second Azorean fish is apparently estimated by the crew at 1200lbs. I say 'intriguingly' because I can vividly recall discussing the 'battle' with Don Merten, the skipper of Double Header, at the start of the following season. Whilst Don, certainly to me, describes its power - despite leadering it on several occasions an experienced crewman was unable to turn its head - its sheer size - 'round like a Bluefin' - and its apparent ability to still chase bait shoals whilst hooked he would not venture an estimate of its size. And I have to say in that period, the late '80s and early '90s, both Don and Ted Legg hooked or saw perhaps five fish that were not 'conventional' granders - fish neither despite prompting would ever estimate.
So how BIG were they really? Well we're unfortunately never going to know. Why would neither skipper estimate their weights? Um ... all I can do is to leave you to draw your own conclusions. But remember, Don in particular, had seen a number of big grander Black Marlin on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Let me also throw in this comment. Again not to pass judgement but to illustrate the sheer bulk of some of those Azorean Blues.
In August 1988 I, and three other members of our Club, cajoled Ted Legg skippering a boat called Cecilia at the time to venture out to the Princess Alice Shoals, a renowned Tuna bank some 46 plus miles South of Horta the capital of Faial. Other than Chuck Tedder who'd fished out there in October 1986 and caught some big Yellowfin Tuna I cannot think of any other sportsfishermen who'd been out there. But it was slow on the usual marks and from earlier conversations with commercial Tuna skippers I knew they frequentley spotted Marlin out there. Any rate on that first day we had 10 bites from Blues, including one big fish that looked 'grander' size, releasing three. We also had two Bluefin Tuna up in the spread.
Three weeks later though, September, Don Merten was out there with a charter with, from memory, his brother Denis and Ted on the deck. They had a big fish up on a set of 50 and, just prior to release, Don altered his call. He thought it might go 850lbs and as such was a potential European record. The fish caught by Lawerence Furman though weighed 1146lbs and is still the IGFA line class record.
