Massachusetts Fishermen Catch 1,260-Pound Blue Marlin, Potential East Coast Record

Two veteran Massachusetts fishermen captured what may be an East Coast record: a 1,260-pound Atlantic blue marlin, after first mistaking it for a shark. Damon Sacco, a Massachusetts charter captain, spotted an enormous fin about 100 miles off Cape Cod on Wednesday and initially believed it was a huge shark. But when he got a clearer look, he recognized the marlin’s distinctive pointed shape. His client, retired fisherman Walter Chapman of Plymouth, hooked the fish and battled it on rod and reel for about three hours, saying it was the biggest he’d ever fought on a line. The marlin’s bill punched holes in the charter boat’s transom, described as “war marks.”