Fishing, as you know by now, can either be a “walk in the park” easy or “swimming against a strong current” difficult. Seasoned anglers have graduated way past easy fishing experience and always want to test their limits by challenging themselves to catch one of the most elusive and stubborn fish species that exist in the ocean. Fishermen do this mainly for two reasons: first is for bragging rights; they want to flex to their fellow fishermen that they caught one of the most prized fish (that means one of the hardest fish to catch ever) and bask in the glory of this achievement. The second reason is that they can make big bucks when they sell them. A lot of hard-to-catch fish are considered delicacies and are usually served in high-end restaurants globally.

Catching these fishes requires a lot of skill, strength, stamina and experience; sometimes seasoned anglers find this task gruelling. Anglers also need to have quality-made fishing boats, such as Pioneer Bay Boats and Quintrex Trident  (with lots of space) when catching these monsters as most of them are heavy and huge.

Below is a list of five of the hardest fish to catch in the ocean (you might be surprised to see that most of them belong to the billfish family!):

Blue Marlin

Blue marlin definitely tops the ‘hardest game fish to catch of all time’ list, and naturally, it’s also considered one of the greatest trophy fish to catch by anglers. They are highly desirable because they are ginormous, beautiful, and rare. They’re also extremely strong, fast swimmers, and their endurance is off the charts. All of these factors make blue marlin a triple threat for anglers. However, this doesn’t sway them from trying to catch them as blue marlin are the peak of sports fishing. Even though they are incredibly hard to catch, it’s not impossible and a lot of anglers from around the world have proudly caught these majestic beasts.

Swordfish

These fish species are one of the most elusive in the ocean since they like to spend their time in the deeper parts of the ocean. They only come close to the ocean surface at night to feed on small fish. Most anglers look for them at night, which can be hard to do with limited visibility. Another factor that swordfish are gruelling to catch is that they are also nervous critters. They don’t bite into baits easily and even if they get hooked, it’s difficult to tug them into the boat because of their gigantic size and their soft mouths make it tough for hooks to stay.

Sailfish

Just like the blue marlin, sailfish are humongous (they can grow up to 100 kilos) and they are notoriously fast swimmers and love to hang around ocean bottoms. Just like dolphins, they love to do aerial acrobatics just for fun. All of these factors, including the fact that sailfish will put up an onerous fight once you hook them, make sailfish one of the most difficult fish to catch of all time.

Pacific Bluefin Tuna

Tunas are generally a pain in the neck to catch since these water critters are back-breakingly difficult to catch, but the Pacific bluefin tuna takes the cake. Just like all of the fishes mentioned so far, these species are mammoth in size (they can weigh up to 400 kilos and grow as long as 3 metres in length), infamously evasive, and vigorous stamina makes them one of the most challenging fish to hook. Catching these ocean leviathans makes all the blood, sweat, and tears shed by anglers worth it.

Wahoo

Wahoo has a slender and elongated build, which makes them efficient swimmers. They are also aggressive fighters and will do everything in their power to fight you off. If an angler who caught one of these monsters is not strong enough, he will literally be swept off his feet or worse, even off the boat. However, unlike other fish species mentioned here, they are quite easy to locate compared to other fish mentioned, as they usually hang out near reefs and shipwrecks since they feed on smaller fish.

To be able to catch these giant marine critters, an angler should have quality-made marine accessories and gear that are made solely for catching the big game. They need to be sturdy enough not to break even with hooking the most stubborn and aggressive fish and they need to be able to support the angler well from keeping him from getting injured. You can purchase these items in your local marine shops.