Atlantic Blue Marlin
Makaira nigricans
The blue-water benchmark. A grander — a thousand-pound blue — remains the single most coveted fish in the ocean, and the Atlantic has produced more of them than anywhere else.
Also known as: Blue marlin · Grander
World record
Paulo Amorim · Vitória, Brazil · 1992
Overview
- Scientific name
- Makaira nigricans
- Family
- Istiophoridae
- Max length
- 16' 5"
- Typical length
- 11' 6"
- Max weight
- 1,803 lb
- Depth range
- 0–200 m
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable
- Difficulty
- Expert
- Fight
- Table quality
How to catch it
Trolled skirted lures or rigged ballyhoo at 7–9 knots along temperature breaks and drop-offs. Heavy 80–130 lb stand-up tackle and a crew that knows how to back down.
How big does it get?
What turns up on an ordinary day, and what a very good one looks like. Almost nobody catches a maximum-size fish — this is the honest spread.
1.8 m angler
Character
What this fish is actually like to catch.
Where it lives
Its band in the water column, against the ocean's real depth zones.
When to fish for it
Relative catch activity through the year, northern hemisphere.
Distribution
Trophy Score of all :n logged catches of this species. A score means nothing until you can see the population behind it.
Top catches on FishRankings
The heaviest of this species recorded by our community.
Nobody has logged one yet. Claim the top spot.
Log a catch4 Related species
| Species | Species | Worth | Max length | World record | Depth zone | Fight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Marlin Istiompax indica | 300 | 15' 3" | 1,560 lb | Sunlit zone Saltwater | Data deficient | |
| Striped Marlin Kajikia audax | 263 | 13' 9" | 494 lb | Sunlit zone Saltwater | Near threatened | |
| Longbill Spearfish Tetrapturus pfluegeri | 259 | 8' 4" | 128 lb | Sunlit zone Saltwater | ||
| Mediterranean Spearfish Tetrapturus belone | 256 | 7' 10" | 90 lb 13 oz | Sunlit zone Saltwater | Data deficient |
"Worth" is what a catch of that species is worth before any of your own skill counts — higher means harder to find and harder to beat.