Free-Diver Spears 457.5-Pound Marlin

Free-divers Jeremiah Nathan and Jeff Albert faced off against an ono, a shark and a big black marlin – all at once—and survived unscathed.  They also came back with the marlin.
 
Jeff and "G," as he is known to fellow divers, suited up and jumped in the water at around 9:00 am off Ka`u. 
 
"Fish were everywhere," Jeff said. "Opelu, opelu kala, rainbow runners – we were stoked because there were so many fish in the water.  We were carrying 25 pounds of chum to attract fish, but the fish were coming even though we didn't scatter a piece."
 
With Jeff leading, the divers swam against the current toward their favorite diving spot and an ono swam straight at them. Jeff was in front and took the shot when the fish turned broadside. Jeff missed and the ono took off.  G. caught the ono's attention by tossing a butter knife, which wobbled and flashed as it fluttered downward.  The trick worked.  The ono wheeled and dove for the flasher, and G's shot hit the target.
 
The ono's actions attracted a bronze whaler shark, 5 or 6 feet long. The ono was able to elude the shark, and the frustrated predator turned and headed for Jeff.  "I was heading back toward the surface for air and didn't see it coming," Jeff said. "G said the shark came right to my fin tips before it turned away."
 
But now the shark had something much more impressive to think about.
 
"All of a sudden, this big black mass goes across right behind us, heading for the ono," Jeff said. "I see the bill and the big tail.  The marlin lit up with bright blue stripes and tried to whack the ono with its bill. The shark saw the billfish and took off."
 
You can certainly understand why.  Jeff later measured the fish at 11 feet long, "and it looked even bigger in the water with us," Jeff said.
 
"The marlin swung at the ono, missed and got G's tag line hooked in its mouth like a bridle," Jeff said. "It didn't like the feel of the line and it went nuts.  The ono was still on the spear at one end of the line, putting weight on that side, and G still had the other end. 
 
The strange tangle of fish and divers was about to get even scarier.
 
"The marlin started circling up toward G." Jeff said.  "I thought it was going to impale him with its bill. It came right up next to him, just a couple of feet away and then jumped straight up with nothing but its tail left in the water."
 
The marlin ended its jump by landing right back on top of G—surprisingly, without hurting the diver.  
 
Having tried jumping without success, the marlin took off, dragging G and the ono with it.  But its path took it right past Jeff.
 
"I was just waiting to see what it was going to do with me," Jeff said later. But Jeff saw his opportunity as the fish went by and he grabbed the tagline about 40 feet from the fish.  Now the marlin was towing the two divers and the ono, all the while jumping out of the water with the line locked in its jaw hinge.
 
Jeff looked back toward G and nearly lost his mask because of the water pressure from being dragged.
 
"Then the marlin slowed down, trying to figure out how it was going to get out of this," Jeff said. "I started inching forward up the tag line toward the marlin each time it slowed down enough to let me gain on it.  I still had my gun and shafted it.  When I was about 10 feet away, I was close enough to take a shot and hit it in the gill plate."
 
The shot slowed the marlin down more but didn't stop it. Both Jeff and G were now unarmed except for diving knives.
 
"By now the ono was off the spear and the shaft was dangling," Jeff said. "The marlin had stopped long enough for me to dive down 30 feet and grabbed G's shaft. On the way up I got two bands of the three loaded.  By now the marlin was close enough for a shot.  I took a ten-foot shot with just two bands.  The second shaft slowed the fish down enough so we could manage it."
 
That was it for the marlin, but the fish turned out to create almost as many problems dead as alive.
 
"It sank and got hung up on the bottom," Jeff said. "We were exhausted from the exertion and the high heart rate you get when you are excited.  But we took our time and finally worked it free."
 
They eventually inched it ashore.  Then came the even bigger ordeal of lugging a 457.5-pound marlin up, over, around and through rocky terrain to get to their vehicle.  They managed it with the help of tourists, friends, and a web of ropes.  Even so, it was a very battered beast when it arrived at the Honokohau Harbor scales.
 
Jeff believes the marlin is a free-driving record of some kind and has submitted the story to various agencies for recognition.  Regardless of how officials view the technical details, it is certainly a free-diving story for the ages.