The amount of time spent on the hunt varies, Levine says. "Back in 2008, a woman from Chicago named Carrie Poleski went on a charter fishing trip on the boat Wound Up with Capt. James Robertson in Bermuda. She was there on business and had never done any offshore fishing. She ended up catching a 1,049-pound blue marlin on her first try. But that's unusual. You normally have to put a lot of time in before you see a fish like that. It can be an expensive hobby. In terms of fighting the fish itself, it helps to have a good captain who will chase the fish with the boat and back down on it."