It might have taken him nearly three decades but on Sunday 34-year-old angler Martin Estis finally landed the big one.

And yesterday the Pembroke resident was confirmed as this year?s World Cup Blue Marlin champion and winner of the $300,000 first-place prize after landing a 1,189-lb monster.

Estis hooked his prize catch on the south-east ridge of Challenger Banks using 130-lb test line while trolling onboard Andrew Dias? 34-foot boat in some 400 fathoms of water.

It marked the third time in the tournament?s 20-year history that the winning fish had been caught in local waters and was only the second-ever blue marlin to tip the scales at over 1,000 lbs in the international competition. The other 1,000 pounder was also landed here.

Estis became the first Bermudian to capture the tournament?s top prize. Alan Card?s , with overseas anglers onboard, landed a 1,195-lb specimen in 1994.

?The adrenaline was certainly pumping,? said the winning angler yesterday as he continued to celebrate with his three team-mates.

?Everybody is so happy . . . it?s just cheers for everybody. It?s been a long time overdue. I have worked very hard to get a marlin over 1,000-lbs. I have been fishing since I was five or six years-old with Alan and Andrew Card and Russell Young. I have seen fish this size before but never had them take the bait and fight on the rod.?

In recent years, has enjoyed much success landing blue marlin. According to Estis ?it was only a matter of time before we would have our day?.

?We knew was going to have its day because we have been doing very well with blue marlin,? he said. ?The boat is definitely a fish raiser because we do have a good ratio of hook ups and releases. And everyone has been saying that it was only a matter of time before we actually caught a fish over 1,000-lbs. And it happened ? it happened on the right day.?

Estis landed the fish after a 45-minute battle in three to five foot seas.

?We had some squalls come through with the wind blowing around 30 (knots) which put a lot of chop on the water,? Estis explained. ?The hardest part was probably getting the fish on the boat. The actual angling went smooth and once we got the gaff in him it was then just a matter of getting the door (located at the stern of the boat) open and getting the fish inside the boat. It was kind of sloppy, but once that was achieved everyone was happy.?

Asked what he intended to do with his earnings, Estis replied: ?I?m really not sure to tell you the truth. But it will be shared between the skipper, myself and crew.?

The former Whitney Institute student plans to have the fish mounted on the walls of his Pembroke residence.

Meanwhile, Dias, skipper of the winning boat,took victory all in stride.

?I am not one to run around and brag . . . but it was very nice to be able to catch a fish like that. Forget the tournament and the money, it?s just an honour to achieve something like this. It?s like a major milestone for any athlete. It?s just taken things to whole new level,? he said.

?It didn?t really hit me until this morning. The whole event was overwhelming at the time, you?re excited because you have your family and friends there (at the weigh-in). And it?s really nice to see everyone come out and have a Bermudian finally win it.

?Martin is the first Bermudian to actually catch the big one. Alan Card and Alan DeSilva have both had granders (marlins over 1,000-lbs) caught on their boats before. But it has never before been done by a Bermudian. And to do it in a World Cup is unbelievable!?

Dias attributed team-work to Sunday?s success.

?This is not an individual sport. Everyone has to work together. You have to have a good wireman (Louis Cruz) and if he doesn?t do his job right along with the man with the gaff (Andrew Faries) or I didn?t do the right thing controlling the boat, then it all could have gone wrong. So it was a total team effort and I would like to congratulate all of my team-mates.?