Striped Marlin Off Washington Poised to Break State Record

A day of albacore trolling 45 miles off the Washington coast turned into a once-in-a-career catch when a group of Oregon anglers boated a 151-pound striped marlin — a fish now filed to become the new state record, according to Outdoor Life.

An Unlikely Hookup in 4,000 Feet of Water

Angler Tim Durheim was aboard the 50-foot charter “F/V Four Sea’Sons” with a group of law enforcement friends on Aug. 15, running with captains Robbie Norman and Danny Schenk, both of Ilwaco, Washington. The morning had already produced a couple of bluefin tuna and more than a dozen albacore.

“It was almost 1 p.m. when I saw a fish jump, and I said to Robbie I thought it might have been a marlin,” Schenk, 59, told Outdoor Life. “They’re very rare in our waters, and we were 45 miles offshore in 4,000 feet of water.”

Schenk got on the radio to tell another captain what he’d seen, then realized the fish was already hooked. He watched it jump twice, the second time in a grayhounding series of leaps.

Light Tackle, Long Chase

The marlin was hooked on 80-pound braided line off a Shimano Tekota reel paired with a comparatively light-action rod meant for fish a fraction of its size. The first run nearly emptied the spool.

“It almost got line into our prop and rudder, and the fish almost spooled our angler’s reel on the first run,” Norman said. He put the boat in reverse to chase it. “We must have backed down 10 miles following the fish so it wouldn’t take all the line off the reel.”

The fish fought deep, and the crew couldn’t confirm it was a striped marlin until it came close. For part of the fight the line was wrapped around the fish’s tail, which turned the battle into a grind for Durheim.

“The line finally came off its tail, and the fish made another blistering run,” Norman said. “The reel was so hot as it ripped line off the Tekota that we almost poured water on it to cool it down.”

The Tekota had just been serviced and held up. Durheim fought the marlin for another 45 minutes before drawing it close enough for Norman to gaff, with Schenk helping haul it aboard.

A 9-Foot Fish and a Pending Record

The crew iced the marlin for the three-hour run back to Ilwaco Marina, where dozens of people who’d heard about the catch were waiting. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists inspected the fish for positive identification.

At certified scales at Sportsmen’s Canning, the 9-foot marlin weighed 151 pounds. That easily tops the current state striped marlin record of 134 pounds, set in 2005 by angler Phil Wolff out of Westport, Washington — a mark that has stood for 21 years. Paperwork has been filed for Durheim’s catch to take the record.

“We all knew what a rare and big catch that striped marlin was off Washington and everyone was just ecstatic,” Schenk said.

The fish was processed for food, with the anglers taking the meat home to Oregon. Norman plans to have a mount made for his living room.

“There have only been a very few billfish ever caught off Washington,” he said, “and that’s a memory I want to be able to look back at for a long time.”

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