In case you haven’t seen it yet, this is the blue marlin that blew away the Texas state record when it was caught off Port Aransas July 11. Texas barely missed out on achieving its first grander. Weighed in at Rockport Harbor, The 972.72-pound monster measured longer than 137 inches and was caught by Richard B. Richardson Jr., of Houston.
Richardson was fishing as part of the eight-man Legacy Fishing Team during the Bastante John Uhr Memorial Billfish Tournament. Capt. Kevin Deerman captained the 56-foot Viking that put the team on the fish. They were trolling a live tuna about 130 miles off Port Aransas when the fish hit. The fight lasted only 20 minutes, with several series of jumps, but it took at least another 20 minutes and every man on the deck to get the fish on the boat.
The marlin earned Legacy the $40,000 prize for first place in the billfish division. It also beat the more than 25-year-old previous state record by almost 100 pounds. The previous record, caught in 1988 off the coast of South Padre Island by James Farrow, weighed 876.5 pounds.
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