Adam Fisk was busy hooking broomtail grouper and big jack crevalle from his kayak when his live-bait rod went off.
After paddling out from the beach off Panama, in late August, Fisk had hooked a small bigeye trevally earlier and had put it out in hopes of catching a big roosterfish.
![Massive Black Marlin Caught By Solo Kayaker](https://www.sportfishingmag.com/uploads/2021/09/spf0918-kayaker-black-marlin1-1024x671.jpg)
As he held the rod, the hook came tight not in a rooster, but in a massive black marlin which cleared the water while Fisk held on as his kayak took off toward deeper waters off the Azuero Peninsula.
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Fisk radioed Los Buzos, a new resort just west of Cambutal that specializes in kayak-fishing. By the time a panga made it out to get photos and offer support if needed, Fisk had been towed a mile. The black continued to jump — Fisk counted nearly 30 leaps in total during the tremendous four-hour battle which saw him towed nearly 10 miles.
![Massive Black Marlin Caught By Solo Kayaker](https://www.sportfishingmag.com/uploads/2021/09/spf0918-kayaker-black-marlin2-1024x552.jpg)
Not long before dark, he leadered the fish, which then swam away from the kayak. The catch is easily one of the largest marlin ever caught and released by a kayak angler, unaided.
Fisk fished from a Jackson Coosa FD kayak, using an Accurate Valiant 1000 two-speed spooled with 80-pound Diamond line. Fisk says he has hooked other marlin and notes that the year-round fishery out of Los Buzos also offers kayakers action from sailfish, yellowfin tuna, roosters, cubera and many other game fish of Panama’s Pacific waters.