As a journalist, I spend a fair amount of time looking for stories. Apparently, another option is to put on a fishing shirt and go to the gym.
Recently, I was working out in a Fury Sportfishing shirt when a woman at the gym recognized it and started talking to me. We chatted about the Fury, Dana Point Harbor and Dana Wharf Sportfishing before eventually getting around to what I do for work.
I told her I’m the editor of The Log, which led to more boating talk. She told me about her boat, mentioned that her husband reads the paper and then casually dropped a much more interesting piece of information into the conversation.
Her grandfather was Alfonse Hamann.
The name didn’t immediately register with me, so she filled me in. Hamann was a local pharmacist who, nearly a century ago, caught a 692-pound blue marlin off Southern California.
Oh, and 95 years later, it’s still the California record. So much for that El Nino.
But not bad for gym small talk.
I went home and, naturally, looked it up. Sure enough, there it was in the California Department of Fish and Wildlife record book: blue marlin, 692 pounds, A. Hamann, Balboa, Aug. 18, 1931.
At that point, I figured The Log readers deserved to hear about my coincidental fishing-history lesson too.
Hamann’s catch is impressive even before you get to the part where it has survived nearly a century of anglers trying to beat it. The blue marlin measured approximately 13 feet, 5 inches long, and weighed 692 pounds (yes, I’m repeating myself because did I mention it was 692 pounds….). Hamann reportedly fought the fish for nearly two hours before finally getting it alongside the boat.
Then came the next problem.
The fish was too big to bring aboard.
That is a pretty good problem to have and while I’ve never had that problem myself I’d imagine my cortisol levels would be spiking.
Instead, the marlin reportedly had to be towed back into Newport Harbor, where it was weighed at the Balboa Angling Club on Balboa Island. The scale stopped at 692 pounds, and California anglers have been looking up at that number ever since.
What else weighs 692 pounds?
- A medium-sized grand piano.
- Roughly 86 gallons of water.
- About 346 2-pound lobsters.
- Three average adults American men, give or take.
If you had read my article, “Why Does a 17-Pound Fish Feel Stronger Than a 17-Pound Labradoodle?,” from The Log’s Sept. 25th issue, you’d be well aware how 692 pounds of fighting fish force can pull you along. (If you didn’t catch the story, go to: thelog.com/digital_edition/september-25-to-october-8-2026-log-digital-edition)
Now, think about how much fishing has changed since 1931. Today’s anglers have GPS, sonar, sophisticated fish finders, satellite information, modern reels, advanced line, and boats capable of covering serious distances offshore.
In 1931, Hamann had none of those modern advantages.
And somehow, everyone is still chasing him.
There have been some serious contenders. In September 2026, anglers aboard the Pegasus out of San Diego landed a 648-pound blue marlin. Under just about any other circumstances, a 648-pound marlin gives you considerable bragging rights.
Unfortunately, Hamann left them another 44 pounds to find.
What I liked most about learning the story, though, was how randomly it happened.
I went to the gym. I wore a Fury shirt. Someone recognized it. We started talking about Dana Point. Then boats. Then The Log. And before I knew it, I was getting the family version of the story behind a California fishing record set in 1931, and a pretty creative story idea for the paper.
Southern California’s fishing community is funny that way. Before I became part of it, I had no idea just how far it reached into so many different communities. Since then, I’ve found it’s surprisingly easy to strike up a conversation with someone about boating or fishing almost anywhere. Spend enough time around boats, harbors and fishing, and you quickly realize there never seem to be very many degrees of separation between people.
I suppose the real takeaway here is that wardrobe matters
Had I donned a Taylor Swift shirt that morning, this story could have been about the Eras Tour — a topic that’s hardly Log appropriate
Instead, it’s about a 692-pound marlin (about the size of three Travis Kelces.)
And I got a whopper of a fish story to tell.
So, lesson learned: Wear your fishing shirts in public.
You never know whose granddaughter is doing deadlifts next to you.
