Sunday, September 20, 2026

650-Pound Blue Marlin Caught off San Diego Coast Breaks State Fishing Record

It took a crew of anglers to land a catch for the record books off the coast of San Diego this week — a 648-pound blue marlin, smashing the California state fishing record.

The sports fishing charter, piloted by 32-year-old captain Alec Stockfelt, showed up at the docks of the Southern California city earlier this week, wowing onlookers as the nearly half dozen fisherman wrestled the giant fish to a weigh station at Fisherman’s Landing.

The previous blue marlin sports fishing title holder weighed in at 395, caught in the waters off San Diego in 2021.

The previous record at that location for any fish caught was some 598 pounds, the captain said.

An adult male grizzly bear weighs about 600 pounds, for comparison.

Anglers and captains expect 2026 to be a robust year for records due to El Niño weather patterns bringing in more exotic sea life.

Marlin belong to a rare group, less than 1% of fish species, that exhibit regional endothermy. They maintain a “heater organ” near the eyes and brain. This organ keeps neural tissue warm even when the fish dives into cold, deep waters to hunt.

In addition, this warm-blooded adaptation gives them a massive neurological advantage. Their visual processing and reaction times remain sharp at depth. Therefore, they can detect and pursue prey far more effectively than their cold-blooded targets.

The Pacific blue marlin world record, caught off Kona, Hawaii in 1982, stands at 1,376 pounds.

Saturday, September 19, 2026

Might be an interesting read

Redwood: The Untold Story of the Cold War's Most Extraordinary Spy.

Taking readers through shadowy back alleys of Tehran, across bloody streets and into cloistered intelligence offices, Ben Macintyre unfolds a world in turmoil, where no one’s motive is what it seems, and exposure means death. As Kuzichkin helps the Soviet leadership plot an overthrow of the Ayatollah’s fledgling regime—and the American government secretly contemplates a nuclear response if they do—it falls on MI6’s resourceful young undercover officer Ian McCredie to spirit Kuzichkin’s vital information back to the West. But when both Iranian intelligence and the KGB close in on the Russian double-agent, McCredie must design an improbable high-stakes escape plan for Kuzichkin, in which failure is almost certain and the direction of the Cold War hangs in the balance.

Commission Earned