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On the final day of the 2025 Spicy Tuna Tournament—June 28th, at precisely 2:09 PM—Team Rum Knuckles got the bite they’d been dreaming of.
The fish first appeared on the teaser. It made a pass, circled back, and came again—this time, fully committed. As the teaser was pulled, the pitch went out to 20 feet with a purple Polu Kai Caveman lure in frigate color. The marlin charged in, swallowed it whole, and peeled off in a blistering run. Hooked up—right on the top of the mouth—using a Mustad 7961SS hook and 400-pound twisted leader.
What followed was pure adrenaline.
The fish dumped line off the fully packed Tiagra 50W, spooled with 80lb braid and matched to a Tallus 40–60 chair rod. It sprinted an explosive 400 meters. Liam and Paul immediately sprang into action, clearing the deck, soaking Josh down with water, and keeping morale high with constant encouragement. Their quick thinking and steady execution helped keep the chaos in check.
Meanwhile, Capt. Steve Parkinson backed down hard from the bridge of the 44’ Henriques, covering nearly half a mile in reverse to keep the team tight on the fish. Josh fought fiercely from the chair—an intense test of will and endurance. The braid was eventually recovered, only for the marlin to take off again in another scorching run. After a grueling 20-minute tug-of-war, the 80-pound monofilament top shot finally came back on the reel.
Soon, the leader came into sight. That’s when mate Sandy Dabreo stepped up and executed a flawless job leadering the fish—no small feat against a marlin of this magnitude. Just as it seemed the fight was over, the fish surged one last time. Another ten minutes of sheer determination followed.
Then—leader in hand and fish alongside the boat—that’s when the true scale of the catch hit home. The marlin had a mahi still lodged in its throat, likely causing its death mid-fight.
The team knew what had to be done: bring her in.
But the marlin was simply too big. Despite the combined strength of Capt. Steve, Sandy, Liam, Paul, Richard, and Josh, the fish couldn’t be brought aboard—the towering dorsal fin wouldn’t fit through the transom door. With no other choice, they secured the fish and towed her back to the dock.
When they arrived, it took over 10 men to hoist her up—and when the scale finally settled, it revealed the truth: 919 lbs.
This shattered Grenada’s previous national blue marlin record of 669 lbs—a record that had stood unchallenged until Team Rum Knuckles rewrote history.
A catch of a lifetime, achieved through skill, teamwork, and true Caribbean determination.
