Even After Death, Huge Marlin Still Did Its Damage

Ed Velasquez, a physician’s assistant from Riverside, recently returned from Baja California’s East Cape, where he confirmed a report that he landed a 1,000-pound blue marlin and denied one that the big billfish charged the boat, causing it to spring a leak.

“It put its bill through the boat,” Velasquez said. “But it was dead when it did. After we killed it we tried to get it onto the swim-step to cruise quickly in. But we couldn’t lift it. The captain tried to pull it to the side of the boat and its bill hit the transom area and put a hole in it.”

Oh well, Velasquez has a good story to tell his friends nonetheless.

His first marlin is still a “grander,” one of only a half-dozen or so ever caught off Baja. Not too many people will ever be able to boast of such a catch. And it was an epic battle, lasting . . . well, nobody is quite sure.

“My dad said it took 4 hours 20 minutes, and the skipper said it took 5:20,” Velasquez, 50, said. “I have no idea how long it took. All I know is my dad took three naps and ate his lunch while I was doing it.”

Velasquez said he killed the fish rather than let it go because it was his first marlin and because nobody was quite sure how much it might weigh.

One thing became apparent on the beach: It was too big for the Hotel Palmas De Cortez scale, which broke under the weight of the massive marlin.

“It came crashing down on about 15 guys and skinned up a couple of them,” Velasquez said. “They finally hung it back up and it exceeded the weights on the scale. They said the only way to weigh it was to cut it in half.”

Both halves were weighed and combined, they equaled 1,014 pounds. Bobby Van Wormer, who runs the fishing operation at the hotel, said that before the fluid loss the fish was probably closer to 1,100 pounds.

Velasquez said what he had accomplished had yet to fully sink in. But he added that the memory of the fight will probably linger for some time.

“My left arm was tired and the reel was hot and I had blisters on my hand, but I wasn’t about to give up,” he said. “It was as exciting as I thought it would be.”

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Board mightier than sword: Tracy Ehrenbergh, owner of the Pisces Fleet in Cabo San Lucas, reports a strange-but-apparently-true incident involving a swordfish that ran aground while chasing baitfish near a local beach popular among surfers.

“So intent was the predator on its prey that it didn’t notice its proximity to the sandy beach and, aided by the size of swells we’ve been having recently, was swept right up onto the shore,” Ehrenbergh said via her weekly fax. “Being locals, [the surfers] recognized the culinary possibilities before them and swiftly clubbed the fish with their surfboards--their catch, a swordfish, was trucked over to the scale and weighed in at 300 pounds!”

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No license required: The first of two free fishing days designed to lure new people into the sport is Saturday, and the Department of Fish and Game is conducting clinics in Los Angeles and Orange counties. One will be at the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area from 7 a.m.-noon. Instructors will be on hand and gear supplied to those in need. Details: (310) 590-5151.

Another will be at Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve in Newport Beach from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Details: (714) 640-6746.

For competitive types, tournaments for beginners will be held at Lincoln Park Lake in Los Angeles and at Tri-City Park Lake in Placentia. Details: (310) 590-4835.

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Call of the wild: Well, sort of. A predator-calling and hunting seminar, sponsored by the California State Varmint Callers Assn. and Turner’s Outdoorsman, will be held Saturday 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Elks Lodge in Fullerton. Experts will teach calls designed to lure such prey as coyote, fox, bobcat, badger and black bear. Cost is $10. Details: (714) 974-0600.