PORT ARANSAS, Texas (AP) _ A Houston fishing team has set the state saltwater record after reeling in a nearly 973-pound blue marlin.
The Legacy Fishing Team caught the roughly 11-foot marlin on Friday at a fishing competition in Port Aransas. It landed them first place in the tournament and a $40,000 prize.
The captain of the winning crew told the Victoria Advocate (http://bit.ly/1woI4fW ) they fought with the fish for 20 minutes. He says it took 40 minutes to get it in the boat.
The catch beat the previous state record by nearly 100 pounds. The previous record was set in 1988 when a blue marlin was caught in the Gulf of Mexico near South Padre Island. The International Game Fish Association says the world record for a blue marlin is 1,376 pounds.
