Must be something in the name of the boat that encourages blue marlin to challenge her. A couple years ago, with Capt. Ed Williams at the helm, an estimated 400-plus-pound blue turned a half-day charter on the Fighting Lady into a full-day excursion when it ate a greenie tied to 20-pound mono on a Baitrunner spinning reel in 70 feet of water east of Stuart. Over the next four hours, anglers tag-teamed the marlin and continued to catch dolphin, kings and amberjacks off the stern while Williams patiently followed the billfish around much of the Atlantic Ocean.
Last week, a fish estimated at over 300 pounds tried out the new Fighting Lady now captained by Jim Sullivan in 210-foot waters east of the previous hookup. The mate, Capt. Mike Reesch, dropped back a naked ballyhoo being trolled on a dinky TLD 15 with 20-pound line and a 60-pound mono leader, hooked up and handed the rod off to angler John Durie of Philadelphia.
Captain Sullivan spent the next four and a half hours backing down on the fish, finally releasing it 15 miles away near the Fort Pierce Inlet.
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