Lafayette angler hauls in 723-pound marlin
The Associated Press
7/24/2004, 7:57 p.m. CT
GRAND ISLE, La. (AP) — A Lafayette angler hauled in a 723-pound blue marlin at the 83rd annual Grand Isle International Tarpon Rodeo — a rodeo record.
After Louis Gotreaux snagged the marlin on Friday, it fought desperately against him.
It emptied 3,000 feet of line from Gotreaux's spool three times as his boat traveled at 12 knots to keep up with the marlin. At one point, water raced over the transom and almost spilled into the cabin.
The boat's intake collected so much water that the air conditioner and ice maker flooded.
"We were chasing her so hard, you could hear the engines kick into overdrive," Gotreaux said.
The fight ended after two hours.
The fish weighed a rodeo-record 723 pounds, 3 ounces. The marlin measured an estimated 13 feet and was the first billfish entered into the rodeo in two years.