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Article Courtesy: msn.com | Originally Published: July 30, 2019 | By: David Strege | Please click here for original article.
After a three-hour battle, fisherman Bwiji Aliven landed a 946-pound blue marlin off the Marshall Islands last week in what was a record-setting achievement, and he did it all by himself, acting as skipper, fisherman and crew.
“It’s an historic catch,” Marshalls Billfish Club president Larry Hernandez Jr. told Radio New Zealand. “It’s the biggest ever caught by an angler here or in the Micronesia area.”
Hernandez was present at the Robert Reimers Enterprises Shoreline Dock to handle the weigh-in and confirm the blue marlin’s weight.
The previous record in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands was a 941-pound marlin caught in 2012 by Saipan angler Mike James.
“I felt excited when he pulled up to the dock with the fish tied up alongside his boat,” Kyle Aliven, a brother, told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. “He’s doing well for himself, and he is putting Marshall Islands Big Game Fishing on the map.
“His 946-pounder proved that there’s big fish in our waters, despite commercial purse seiners and long-line commercial fishing within our waters.”
Bwiji is considered one of the top fishermen in the Marshall Islands, having won the Marshalls Billfish Club’s President’s Cup seven times since 1994.
He routinely fishes alone as it’s his profession.
“He makes his income by selling his catch to local restaurants and stores,” Kyle told For The Win Outdoors. “He normally goes out fishing by himself almost every day when weather permits.”
So if anybody can catch a 946-pound blue marlin by himself, it’s Bwiji. “But it comes with years of practice and thinking safety,” said Kyle, a great fisherman in his own right, as he holds the local tournament record with a 719-pound marlin.
Bwiji knew it was a “monster” when the fish did its initial jumps. Several times he had reeled the fish in close to the boat only to see it run off again.
“So it was a battle of tug of war for three hours,” Kyle explained to For The Win Outdoors. “When the fish got close to the boat he kept the boat straight, set his starboard motor to forward idle and slowly pulled the leader up on the port side of his boat. When the fish was in gaffing range he made a final wrap on the leader with one hand.”
He was then able to gaff the “exhausted” fish, secure it alongside his 23-foot Grady-White boat, and take it back to Majuro.
“He feels happy not just for himself but for our local fishery knowing that there are beasts in our backyard and that one person can win the battle with a monster like this 946-pounder,” Kyle said of his brother.
Photos courtesy of Kyle Aliven.
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