Blue Marlin have explosive power, Black Marlin have enormous bulk, and strength, Striped Marlin have dogged determination, Swordfish have deep down grunt, the big tunas are perfectly engineered for speed and power, Makos have unparalleled acceleration, and don’t under estimate the unrelenting stubbornness amongst many other sharks. But which of the big game fish is truly the toughest, and can lay claim to the title, ‘Heavy weight champion of the Ocean’?
The question has been a moot point amongst Game fishers since the birth of the sport. Answers to the question are extremely subjective, made up from personal opinion or based on the experience of others. It only takes a few tough or long fights to influence opinion; the trouble is there are so many variables to consider.
There are good anglers, bad anglers, foul hooked, mouth hooked or gut hooked fish, different tackle and different conditions. And fish can be just like people; sometimes you get big soft guys and tough scrappy little guys.
Like every one else I had my opinions, from what I had seen I believed the Broadbill swordfish to be the toughest fighter. When describing the strength of a broadbill to uninitiated anglers, I would often say, “If you tied the tail of a 300lb Broadbill to the tail of a 600lb Blue Marlin, the Broadbill would tow the Blue around with no trouble at all”.
Keep an eye out for the new series; we’re on count down now with only six weeks to go. Remember The ITM Fishing Show is now on TV3 at 4.30pm on a Saturday afternoon.
