VIDEO: Fisherman gets pulled overboard by a Marlin

File this one in the "oh sh#t" department. Marlin fishing can be pretty intense apparently.

You can skip the first 2.5 minutes of this video and fast forward right to 2:50. The mate is trying to land a blue marlin that they've been fighting. He wraps his hand around the line to get a better grip and it looks like a combination of the boat rocking and the fish fighting causes him to fall overboard. His hand stays tangled in the line as he's swept further back behind the boat. Fortunately he was able to free himself and get back on the boat and laugh it off with injuries only to his pride. Kinda funny that everyone just keeps fishing after.

From what I could see in the video he was properly holding the fishing line with his right hand, but it looks like when he switched to his left he got an extra wrap around his palm, which ultimately snagged him up. You always want to handle fishing line carefully and never wrap it, or any other rope or line that's under load, around any part of your body.

I also think the crew of this boat could use a little extra safety training in man overboard response. If someone does fall overboard the crew should always respond by yelling "Man Overboard" and immediately throwing any floating objects, preferably a life ring or life jacket, in the water. This helps in two ways - 1 it provides something buoyant for the MOB to hold onto, and two, it helps the captain navigate back to the area that the person fell overboard in. It's also important for at least one person to keep a constant eye on the man overboard and keep a finger pointing to them at all times. All in all, the captain did respond very quickly by backing the boat down, and fortunately the MOB was not injured and hopped back in through the door.

Like most sports, fishing is generally very safe, but it's important to remain alert and avoid situations that could turn into trouble.