The Outer Banks has some of the best marlin fishing on the planet

The fight is over as this white marlin is held at the transom by the mate, who will remove the hook and release the fish.

The Outer Banks has some of the best marlin fishing on the planet, and May is a great month for the big blue ones and the white acrobats.

At the edge of the Gulf Stream, 30 miles out of Oregon Inlet, Jimmy Hillsman struggled to fit the last dolphin into the fishbox. With a limit of gaffers under their belt and the whole day ahead, Hillsman looked up at Jason Snead on the bridge and yelled, “Let’s go look for something bigger!”

Snead smiled and nodded, then spun the wheel to turn Dream Girl, a 60-foot turquoise sportfisher away from the matted weedline and into clear water. Hillsman pulled in the light “bailing” rods and deployed a spread of sea witches and Ilanders on 50- and 80-pound tackle.

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