Last Sunday, one of the largest billfish ever caught was landed off the coast near Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Weighing in at an unbelievable 972 -1,213 pounds, the blue marlin was a fabulous catch that took more than 28 hours to reel in.  The weight is given as a range as the scale only registered 972 lbs but the hook was not tall enough to bring the entire fish off the ground for a proper weighing.  The 1213 lbs was determined using a time-tested method using length and girth.

The lucky angler who caught the billfish is Richard Biehl of Traverse City, Michigan, and according to reports it took the help of the entire crew to land the catch. The ship, which was named Go Deep, was traveling along the Pacific coastline just north of the Cabo San Lucas resort district in Baja California. The men had been out on the boat since early Saturday morning, so by the time of the catch at noon on Sunday they were feeling a bit worn out when the giant blue marlin jerked everyone into action.

“That was the hardest think I ever did in my life by far,” Biehl told Pisces Sportfishing general manager Tracy Ehrenberg. “I’ve shot bull moose and trekked out with 200 pounds on my back and it doesn't even compare.”

The men were actually going after much smaller striped marlin when the huge fish hit one of their trolled lures and took off into the distance. The passengers and crew all worried that the 60-pound test line wouldn't hold; fears that were heightened when the marlin jumped for the first time. At a distance of around 400 feet from the boat the men guessed that the fish was at least 700 pounds – a number that was soon proven to be a far cry from reality.

The marlin was measured at 137 inches (11.4 feet) long, without including its bill or tail, and it was a full 75 inches (6.25 feet) in girth. The ship's captain, Luis Abaroa, said the electronic scale used to weigh the fish was not high enough to allow all of it to clear the ground, which accounts for the low-end weight of 975 pounds.

Biehl reportedly fought the enormous blue marlin himself until the sun went down, then allowed a deckhand to help. Since the men had used up all of the food and water on the boat, Abaroa's brother was radioed and asked to bring supplies to get them through the night. As the billfish grew weary and was finally reeled in, Biehl chose to claim his prize. “It's a once-in-a-lifetime fish. I want to take him,” he reportedly stated.