As close as it gets. A deckhand was blindsided by a billfish when it leapt over the gunnel and nearly stabbed him in the back. The crew of six anglers aboard the 68-foot-long Hatteras Jubilee out of Orange Beach, Alabama, were fishing in the Gulf of Mexico when they hooked a relatively small, but very active, blue marlin at about 4 p.m. One crew member trying to handle the marlin with the leader was nearly struck by the marlin as it sailed into the air. Instantly the thrashing, twisting marlin skids across the gunnel, passing the crewman with the leader. Slashing with its bill, the fish instead collides with another crew member, Thomas Arendall, whose back was to the crazed marlin. Tap the link in profile for the full story 🔗⁠ #fishing #fishingtrip #fishingseason #marlin #marlinfishing #bluemarlin #bluemarlinfishing #outdoors #nature #outdoorlife 🎥: alongbeard Story by: Bob McNally