For All You Fishermen
 

Check out this vid.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...deoID=38585707

Pretty amazing stuff. Even wondered for a minute if it was done on the computer as opposed as shown out of the chopper and into the water. Would think a marlin that size could shake a man off in milliseconds. Try holding on to a small shark sometime to see what I mean. Wonder if the ancestors of that marlin were ever plagued by diving raptors like the chopper dude only nastier a gazillion years back? When was the last time there was something big enough flying over water to catch a marlin anyway?

Speaking of hand catching large fish, I saw a clip of Manny Puig (sp?) hand catch a large goliath grouper last night. Anyone find a clip of this? He basically rammed his arm down the poor guys throat and out through his gill rakers. He then clasped that hand with his other and wrestled the big fish to the surface. After he proudly showed off his lacerated fore arm for the camera. I immediately thought, what an idiot anyone whose been around these fish should know they have very sharp gill rakers. Then I concluded he probably did know about it, but the camera and masses love a bit of theatrical blood. Give 'em what they want. Didn't that used to say that of the gladiatorial arena spectacles? We haven't come so far after all.

Hand catching marlin
 

I don't know if this is real or a hoax. The footage of him splashing into the water seems real, but the marlin was either fake or in a state of shock. When he released the fish, the video seemed pretty seamless. The fish seemed to swim away in the way one does after a long battle. Also, how was the water cameraman so right on the spot as to video the actual capture? A possibility is that the recovery boat and cameraman had just released the marlin, now with so much lactic acid in his system that he couldn't swim away. Whatever the result, it must have been an expensive video to make.

Frank

Earlier today I said what you just said in a post/reply, but didn't want to get into it, and didn't post it.
My guess is that the fish had just been released after a long battle, like you said.

There was obviously a boat in the water, and cameraman as well.
Makes more sense that they had just released the fish, than followed it around, doesn't it?

It is likely that it was a marlin about to be or just released. They have way too much energy otherwise. Good thing the guy didn't kill it by working it too hard. On the fish's side of the balance sheet, there was a much higher chance of aggressive sharks in the area after a fight.

Reminds me of another Australian we worked with in the late 1970's in the Biminis. This guy had a closed off 6 ft. long acrylic cylinder. It would act as a faring as he was towed backward behind a sportsfisherman trolling. He would shoot 16 mm film out the back of the "chube" of billfish and tuna striking bait behind the vessel and for portions of the fight. We came over to shoot cine of the operation for a BBC documentary on the Bluefin Tuna migration. It was an interesting (bizarre) trip. Didn't get much product in the can though.