Watch: Deckhand nearly skewered as blue marlin leaps into boat
Marlin are powerful game fish that occasionally leap into boats, creating hazardous situations.
The accompanying footage, shared via Instagram by Chasing Nature, shows a hooked blue marlin soaring over a yacht’s stern and flooring deckhand Thomas Arendall.
“Fishing can be a dangerous game,” Chasing Nature’s Jonathan Schell stated, adding that Arendall was not seriously injured.
The chaotic scene unfolded last week in the Gulf of Mexico aboard the Jubilee.
Footage shows the estimated 300-pound marlin leaping beyond the stern as a different deckhand tugs on the leader. The marlin then flies over the rail and slams into Arendall’s upper body, knocking him down.
One commenter observed: “An inch away from getting stabbed in the jugular. Count your blessings mate.”
Schell told FTW Outdoors that Arendall “got scratched up on his back and had about an inch-deep, 2- to 3-inch laceration on his forearm.”
The Jubilee was fishing out of Orange Beach, Alabama, and the marlin broke the line and swam free after flopping back into the water.
As Schell noted, the catch was “official” once the other deckhand had grabbed the leader.