While filming an episode for his television show, IGFA Saltwater Adventures, Bill Boyce encountered one of the strangest things he’s ever seen offshore. At first glance the crew was freaked out. Is that a dead baby floating on the surface?

After going all day without a marlin bite, the crew spotted a lifeless object floating amongst the debris. They immediately feared the worst. A dead baby floating?

Is that a dead baby? The crew went silent as their stomachs soured with the mere thought of such horror.

They motored over and Bill zoomed in on the object with his camera, then, he started cracking up. “The doll was staring right at us with this look that just said, pick me up and give me a beer!”

After going all day without a bite, the crew was feeling a bit goofy. They posed with their new catch and decided to name him Marlin Perkins. They also felt the little guy deserved an ice-cold beer.

Not 30 minutes after Marlin Perkins joined the crew, a raging 700-pound black marlin snatched up the left rigger bait, giving Bill and his team all the video they needed to make some killer TV.

After fighting the big black marlin for more than 4 1/2 hours on 50-pound stand-up, the fish was still charging, lit-up and purple!

Back at the Cebaco Bay mothership, the crew presented Marlin Perkins with a series of offerings. Marlin, not being camera shy, insisted on a few quick photos. “It was one of the funniest things to ever happen to me while marlin fishing,” Bill says (and he’s seen a few shenanigans in his day).