Australia’s First Grander Blue Marlin Caught New Year’s Day

The first day of the year could very well be the best day of the year for a group of anglers in Australia. On January 1, 2018 Captain Eddy Lawler and crew of Black Marlin caught a 1,089-pound blue marlin off Exmouth, Western Australia. It was the first grander blue marlin (those 1,000 lbs or greater) caught in Australia, and the first anywhere in the world for 2018. Anglers Hayley Dellar, Leigh Freestone, and Clay Hilbert were on board that day, all of whom are part of The Billfish Foundation’s Tag & Release database. Hilbert is credited with fighting