She was fishing in Mozambique off Barazuro archipelago with friend Andy Moyes aboard Kevin Hodgson’s boat “Big Bob,” skippered by Jason Holtz hen the huge marlin was hooked.
Stephanie , realized that she might never get the chance in her lifetime.
Not only did Stephanie catch her first black marlin, she landed her first grander, a 1,018-pound fish that weighed 893 pounds more than her.
Stephanie Choate with her grander; photo courtesy of Pelagic
The only reason the anglers knew it was a 1,000 plus pound fish was because the big black marlin died during the battle, allowing them to weigh the fish at the 73 foot mother-ship " QuoVadis".
All the anglers had intended to release the fish, as they usually do. But after
Stephanie
had fought the black marlin for 55 minutes, the fish became dead weight after one last major run, indicating it had expired.
It took over 25 minutes to get the huge marlin into the boat with
Stephanie
holding open the small tuna door while pushing down its pectoral fins as the four anglers pulled it in.