Tourists may travel to Montana to fish our lakes and rivers, but some natives look elsewhere to test their fishing abilities — and senior Ryan Moore is no exception. Over spring break, Moore, an avid fisherman, took to the brilliant waters of the Baja, Calif., to try his luck at deep-sea ocean fishing. Moore hooked a 97-inch striped marlin while fishing with his father as part of a charter fishing package. “We went around two hours without any action,” said Moore. “Then one of the lines shot out all of a sudden. It was awesome.” Moore then took his place in the “fighting chair,” where he battled the marlin for 45 minutes before hauling it into the 32-foot boat. “The skipper knew what it was right away,” said Moore. “I didn’t know what it was until it jumped.” After regularly fishing in the Flathead Valley, Moore never expected to catch a fish of that size. “I knew it was possible, but I didn’t think it would happen,” said Moore. “Six other people caught the same (type of) fish the same day.” When the marlin was brought back to the docks, it was weighed, measured and cut up for packaging. According to Moore, many locals helped out with the process in hopes of gaining a portion of the fish. “There was a kid helping us out when we brought it to the docks,” said Moore. “We gave him a piece for his family to eat.” From the docks, the marlin was transported back to the motel, where it was packaged for shipping to Kalispell. It now fills the Moores’ freezer. “We already had a little bit of it the other night,” said Moore. “It tasted pretty good.” Now that Moore has fished the rough waters of the Baja and the running rivers of Montana, he is able to draw a comparison between the different types of fishing. Said Moore: “I think fishing here takes more skill. In ocean fishing you just throw it (the line) out there and wait — of course it’s a lot tougher to bring it in. “ |
