Sydney fisherman fighting marlin almost impaled when the fish launched into the boat
A Sydney angler is lucky to be alive after a marlin he hooked launched itself into his boat, and came within centimetres of impaling him and his fearless dog | WATCH the footage
NSW
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A Sydney angler is lucky to be alive after a marlin he hooked launched itself into his boat, just inches away from impaling him.
The heart-stopping footage was captured on a fishing trip outside the heads of the Sydney Harbour by veteran fisherman Al McGlashan.
It’s understood that the crew were wrapping up a day on the water before the black marlin attempted to turn the tables on the young angler.
“Small black marlin are the most acrobatic of all billfish family and also the deadliest. They can become explosive without warning and while they are spectacular, sometimes they can get a little too close for comfort as we discovered,” Mr McGlashan said.
“Coops was on the rod, and typical of a black marlin, it immediately cavorted around the ocean like it was possessed.
“The more it jumped, the quicker it tired, and this one was well and truly worn out.”
After exhausting a lot of energy with some impressive breaches out of the water, 16-year-old Cooper prepared to haul the determined marlin into the boat under the watchful eye of Mahi the kelpie.
“This is normally the dangerous period but once the fish settles down then you can move in and get them boat side,” Mr McGlashan added.
“Everything went to plan but then as we reached for the leader, it exploded.
“One minute the fish was next to the boat, seconds later it was in the boat.
“It happened so fast Coops couldn’t move, and its bill missed him by millimetres.”
In the moment of madness, the young fisherman impressively manoeuvred around the marlin’s razor-sharp bill.
“The fact that Coops had the common sense to block the fish and then somehow managed to push the thrashing beast back over the side without anyone getting hurting is either very impressive or lucky, either way he needs to buy a lottery ticket because it was close, really close,” Mr McGlashan said.
After just cheating serious injury, the crew unhooked the acrobatic marlin and let it swim to see another day.
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