A gift from Tangaroa

Local fishermen got more than they bargained for when they reeled in a 250kg blue marlin on Sunday morning.

Not only did they catch the monster marlin but when cutting into the fish, they discovered a yellow fin tuna and four skip jack tunas in its belly.

Angler Jason Tuara fought the monster fish solo for an hour and 10 minutes before wheeling it on board the charter boat Dawn Breaker.

Skipper Brendon Nicholas said they were at the Tikioki Fishing Aggregate Device (FAD) when the rod went off.

“Jason hadn’t been out fishing for a while so I was joking that Tangaroa was mad with him and next thing we know the rod went off,” he says.

“The whole time we had to manoeuvre to get past floats and still fight this fish. It was definitely an adventure.”

After reeling in the beast the pair made their way back in to the harbour when the boat took on some water due to the weight and angle of the fish on board the boat.

With some help they managed to get the fish off the boat and safely on land.

Both fishermen are a bit sore and bruised from the fight but it was definitely worth the pain.

The highest recorded weight for the a Blue Marlin still stands at 380kg caught by Akura skipper Cameron Thorp and crew member Corey Fisher earlier in the year.