Earlier this month, a 12-year-old fisherman reeled in a white marlin that will likely go down as the biggest ever caught by an angler under 16. Stone Forne was fishing off the coast of Nantucket with guide and mentor Elliot Sudal when the big marlin took hold of his live scup. After a fierce fight, Forne boated and eventually weighed the billfish at 118.5 pounds—16 pounds heavier than the reigning youth record caught off Martha's Vineyard more than a decade ago.
Fornes and Sudal motored out of Nantucket Harbor at around 7:30 a.m. on August 16. Fornes told the Nantucket Current that they'd heard reports of white marlin schooling about 10 miles off shore and they planned to target the fish exclusively.
“I had never caught a billfish before this and billfish are some of the most sought-after fish in the world,” Fornes told the local newspaper. “I really wanted to get out and catch one, but it doesn’t matter how many marlins are around, it’s really hard to catch one.”
After a 30-minute boat ride at a speed of 45 knots, the duo spotted their first marlin. They saw two others chasing baitfish in the distance, then a fourth fish breached just feet from the boat.
According to Fornes, the conditions were ideal for marlin fishing that day with both calm waters and high visibility. After spotting the first four marlin, they saw an even bigger fish busting bait about 100 feet off. Sudal drove the boat in close, and Fornes tossed his live scup right at it.
At first, the marlin swam off, apparently scared by the sound of the bait hitting the water. But it quickly doubled back, Forne told the Nantucket Current, and engulfed his scup. He let the billfish run for about 10 seconds then closed the bail and set the hook six times.
Fornes and Sudal described a wild fight with the marlin that lasted more than 10 minutes. It breached the surface multiple times and kept darting under the boat. Sudal eventually burned out the 39-foot boat's bow thrusters trying to get Fornes in the best-possible position to land it.
With the fish finally on board, the anglers measured it at 80 inches—more than 16 inches longer than Forne is tall. Once they got closer to the harbor and back into cell phone service, Sudal checked the International Gamefish Association record books and realized that Forne's white marlin outweighed the number one fish in the youth category.
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"Both of us were just freaking out ... A billfish world record is not something you take lightly” Sudal told the Current. "[It] couldn’t have happened to a better kid."
