The recent catch of a giant blue marlin off San Pedro, Ca., is yet another striking example of the wild times being had by fishermen off Southern California during an intensifying Super El Niño.
Michael Mackenbach hooked the 595-pound blue marlin 12 miles offshore and fought the billfish for 2.5-hours aboard a 20-foot boat.
According to BD Outdoors, Mackenbach intended to release the marlin but it died during the fight.
"One for the books!" BD Outdoors exclaimed.
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The catch is noteworthy in many respects.
Blue marlin are more commonly found in areas off Mexico, such as Cabo San Lucas, nearly 1,000 miles south of San Pedro. Catches off Southern California are exceedingly rare in normal
times, when sea-surface temperatures are significantly cooler than the mid-70s still being registered offshore.
Interestingly, marlin fishing off Cabo San Lucas has been slow because of El Niño conditions, including multiple hurricanes, that appear to have altered migration patterns.
The Bisbee’s Black & Blue jackpot tournament, held last week, featured only one catch of a qualifying marlin in three days of fishing.
The blue marlin weighed 491 pounds and earned the winning team $5.6 million, a record for what's billed as "the world’s richest fishing event."
Mackenbach’s catch appears to be the second-largest from a Southern California port this season.
In September, a 648-pound blue marlin was caught during "a true team effort" aboard the Pegasus out of San Diego. That set a benchmark for the regional fleet.
The California record for blue marlin, 692 pounds, was established in 1931. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife lists the port of origin as Balboa in Orange County.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: 'One for the books' as massive blue marlin is caught off L.A. County
