Grander Released off Hannibal Bank, Panama

Shawn Weaver, owner of Parrot Bay Village, a fishing lodge in Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica, was on the final of several days fishing Hannibal Bank on one of his own lodge's 30 ft Seavees, some 68 miles south of Point Burica.  It was June 18, 2005, Father's Day, and Captain Donald MacGuinness's father had fished this Bank all his life.   They were fishing a ten pound live bonito, and the strike sent the 100 lb Spiderline singing off the Tiagra 50 Shimano.  Weaver fought standup for four hours around a diameter of one and a half miles on the Bank before bringing the leviathan to the boat.  In a mere 300 feet of water, the monster never got the opportunity to sound, and from measurements (12.6 ft chin to tail, 7.5 ft pectoral to pectoral), the black marlin calculated out to 1250 lbs.  After 45 minutes of flooding its gills with waters, the fish revived, and was released.  Happy Father's Day.  .

Shawn Weaver (left) and Captain Donald MacGuinness.  The weight estimate reported in black marker was a calculation based on a blue marlin rather than black.  Calculated on the black marlin, the weight estimate is 1250 lbs.