Kayak Fishing for Marlin on National Geographic TV

Is kayak fishing for marlin safe? Of course not! It was something that I felt compelled to do when I was head over heels in love with big game kayak fishing. I decided to take the risks after a lot of thought and years of preparation. It was a calculated risk, just like surfing large waves, but I imagine surfing large waves takes more skill. Kayak fishing for marlin takes more foolhardiness than skill..maybe a lot of foolhardiness.

When you think about it, many people engage in activities that are known to be dangerous, it's just that kayak fishing for marlin is less common than, say, riding a motorcycle, or skateboarding down a handrail at top speed only four feet above the cement. Other people have caught marlin from kayaks, and bigger ones at that, so it's not a singular feat, but it sure was a HUGE thrill!

Tune in to Nat Geo TV this week to see some work I did that ended up on their show called "Hooked: Monster Fish II". Several years ago I went down to Cabo San Lucas during a crazy red hot bite and caught and released 8 marlin from a kayak in a two day period. I hired a videographer and photographer who got hours of incredible HD footage and stills of the fish going ballistic right next to my kayak. I released them all by hand after hooking them by trolling mackerel behind my kayak. If you go to Kayak Fishing For Marlin: Story and Photos you can read about some related big game marlin kayak fishing that I did. Here's a video on Youtube that shows some of the wild footage:

The trip that we documented for Nat Geo TV represented the highpoint of my kayak fishing fun and after that I transitioned into a somewhat more mellow role as a standard fishing and travel writer and photographer. I haven't been kayak fishing in quite awhile but one of these days I'll get back in the saddle for some more adventure.