From left, Andy Payne, Kristen Krantz and Capt. Jeremy Webb with their 485.0-pound blue marlin caught on Exact II.

LAHAINA – The Exact II weighed a nice 485.0-pound blue marlin for 21-year-old wahine Kristen Krantz. She was fishing with Capt. Jeremy Webb and deckman Andy Payne.

Jeremy was trolling down the 200-fathom ledge past Manele Bay, Lanai. The glare was really bright as he tried to watch the pattern, so he turned the boat right, angling in toward the golf course. About five minutes after the turn, all of a sudden, the short corner reel started screaming off line.

When Jeremy turned around, the marlin was heading straight down the middle of the prop wash. It came up about the long rigger position with its dorsal fin cutting through the surface. It ran out about 400 yards of 100-test line and then started greyhounding.

The marlin made six full-body jumps out of the water. On its last jump, it flipped 180 degrees and came crashing down on top of the line. This made Jeremy a little nervous. Without slowing down, it ran out another 200 yards, getting them dangerously close to being spooled. Andy estimated it at 50 yards left.

Andy was cranking in the long rigger last, so Jeremy started backing down as he brought it in. Jeremy reversed the boat after the marlin for five minutes before it finally slowed down. Andy had the reel into low gear as Kristen started to gain some good line.

The marlin headed down 200-300 feet, but they still had a good angle on it. Jeremy was working the boat in and out of gear, with Kristen regaining half-a-spool in 10-15 minutes. The wind and swell were pushing them toward the marlin.

About 20 minutes into the fight, Jeremy lost the starboard engine. He had to work the rudders to keep the fish straight off the stern with one engine in and out of idle reverse. Other then that, he just stopped backing after it. Andy had the reel in low gear and let Kristin crank in her fish. “She was awesome,” mentioned Jeremy. “She just kept going after it.”

Once the marlin started to come up, Andy put the reel back into high gear. The fish broke the surface 200 feet out. Jeremy had the one engine bumping in and out of gear as Kristin slowly cranked in the line, keeping it tight. The fish was coming right to them.

The marlin came up perfectly vertical on the port side first and then started changing directions. Jeremy was directing Andy from the bridge as he watched the fish cross the stern.

Everything went really smooth at leader. Andy followed it around the backdeck a couple of times, not really pulling on the line. Once it got back to the port corner and paused, he took a couple of wraps and pulled it up close enough for Jeremy to get it secured.