CHARGED BY A MARLIN

Not everyone can tell a tale of being charged by any kind of wild critter — especially a fish, and particularly a 1,100-pound black marlin about the size of a Honda Civic. But that’s what happened to Ponte Vedra angler Craig Reagor while fishing an Australian marlin tournament with teammate Bob Rich Jr., owner of Rich’s Products Corp., whose SeaPack offices are in Brunswick, Waycross and St. Simons Island.

Rich hooked and fought the half-ton fish for several minutes, which included several 10-foot high greyhounding jumps that are amazing considering the enormity of the fish. Reagor and two mates were standing at the open stern of the 43-foot boat — with Rich in the fighting chair — when the marlin suddenly switched ends and charged the boat like a pointed Polaris missile.

The fish slammed and speared a 2-inch hole completely through the boat transom, just a couple of feet above the waterline. On a You Tube video clip of the fish fight, a clearly audible “thud” sounds as the massive marlin slams into the fiberglass hull.

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BEST BET

Cold weather and the drawdown of Rodman Reservoir south of Interlachen have made for excellent crappie fishing for oversize “speckled perch,” with many fish weighing in the 1- to 2-pound range, according to Joey Tyson in Keystone Heights.

The temporary boat ramp at Kenwood Landing is allowing anglers easy access, and some folks are catching limit numbers of crappies on jig-and-minnow combinations worked tight to hydrilla grass edges in the barge canal (where most of the lake’s water is found now).

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