It's not every day that a 1,000-lb plus fish is caught in the waters surrounding Bermuda, but that's just what happened during the Blue Marlin World Championships recently.

Here's the tale of how the titanic struggle between man, or in this case woman, and fish played out, as reported on sportfishermen.com.

It's no secret to the big game fishing world that Bermuda marks an amazing billfish outpost in the middle of the Atlantic. Ocean currents and the will of the sea cause some years to be more memorable than others.

This year has been one that will dot the scrapbooks of world class anglers everywhere as reports of brutish blue marlin have circulated one after another. The island was just edged out for the Blue Marlin World Championship with a 718-pound marlin hitting the scales courtesy of the Que Mas.

Captain James Robinson led the Wound Up out on Monday, July 7, just a day after the tournament ended and set up on the troll working the grounds for a bite. It was around mid-day when the right long rigger, running a purple and black Joe Yee Super Plunger got drilled by one of those fish that give fishermen both dreams and nightmares.

The angler was Carrie Poleski and the fight was quickly on as the fish peeled 800 yards of IGFA-rated 130-pound line off of the Shimano Tiagra 130, headed for the horizon. Soon James was looking "at a spot on the line not since we spooled the reels" as the blue ran against 20, then 40, then 60 pounds of drag.

Robinson quickly made a move that he credits reading in magazines from legends like Captains Roddy Hays and Barkey Garnsey with teaching him, lifting his outrigger and turning to run down the fish and regain some line. The fight continued with the massive fish becoming tail wrapped as things turned into a dogged grind. The fish, unable to swim properly soon died and a second challenge and fine balancing act began as 1,049 pounds of dead weight was winched from the deep.

While the fish had come unwrapped, it was hooked in the bottom jaw and gliding through the water belly up. The normal tactic of planing the fish towards the surface and slowly gaining line was proving fruitless as the marlin pulled downward with the action of a diving plug. With the 130-pound IGFA-certified Momoi Hi-Vis straining against 100 pounds of drag. The battle became one of vertical winching, with a nervous eye on the strained line.

After battling for two and a half hours, the leader came to grip, gaffs were set and while tragically dead from the fight, the 11-foot blue marlin was secure at boatside.

The exhausted Carrie could finally rest with the fish of a lifetime ready for the next challenge, boating the huge blue. The 37-foot Duffy has a transom door, but it was no match for the 78-inch girth of this beast.

Over the side it would come and brute force was the way. The weight and pressure was so much that one line cut almost cleanly through the fish's throat latch.

Word spread as the Wound Up headed back into harbour where a crowd of onlookers and a crane waited to see the size of the monster blue. The fish was quite obviously large, and assumed to be over the 900-pound mark but it was a great celebration when the scale read out at 1,049 pounds.

The fish was one of two fish that were considered over the half ton mark as the Last Stall released a blue the same day that was estimated at 1,200 pounds. The list of numbers sound like a lottery drawing, rather than the weights of fish, 1049, 1,200, 832, 842, 718.

If you have the chance and a desire to match up with the top class of gamefish worldwide, head east and get to Bermuda, the fish already have.