Many years ago, Kona skipper George Parker made ­headlines around the world when he caught the first certified, world-record grander Pacific blue marlin. Since that 1,002-pound giant in November 1954, Hawaii’s lee eddies have churned up a stream of 1,000-pound blues that continues today. Kona waters usually average two or three granders per year, along with more Pacific blue marlin IGFA records than any other sport-fishing hot spot. That parade of records continues. In March 2013, Alex Nuttall boated a 958-pound blue marlin with Capt. Chip Van Mols on the Kona charter boat Monkey Biz II to claim the IGFA women’s 130-pound-class record.

Kona’s consistent billfish success sparked a worldwide revolution in big-game fishing because these big fish were caught on lures pioneered and developed in Hawaii waters. Meanwhile, big-game fishermen elsewhere had been saying you could catch billfish only with bait. Even those doubters caught the Kona wave and started catching marlin on Kona-style lures. Kona is also the perfect starting point for novices who have never caught a fish in their lives. It happens every day, 365 days a year. Newcomers are well served by a well-maintained fleet of top-of-the-line boats and expert captains.

Plus, Kona’s big fish hunt in deep, calm waters near shore. The 100-fathom line is a 10-minute run from Kona’s two main fishing fleets at Honokohau Harbor and Keauhou Bay. What’s more, the biggest fish of any week is usually a marlin in the 500- to 900-pound range caught by a complete newcomer on a four- or six-hour trip. On any day of the year, a visitor can find a suitable charter and hope to catch one or more of Hawaii’s mighty four: billfish, ahi (yellowfin tuna), mahimahi (dolphinfish) and ono (wahoo).

Billfish of Every Kind

Blue marlin, black marlin, striped marlin, sailfish, shortbill spearfish and broadbill swordfish — Kona’s waters are home to every billfish found in the Pacific. But each has a different story, and you should know those stories when you make plans.

Big blues are the billfish that pay the bills in Kona. Blues of all sizes are here year-round, but they are usually most common during the summer tournament season, from June through early September. Mid-Pacific currents can supply a fresh run at any time, however. For example, sometimes April surprises offshore trollers with fish heavier than 500 pounds on every day of the lunar cycle. Catches like these show that the lunar cycle has little, if any, influence on billfishing in Kona (unlike the effect different phases might have in other fishing areas).

Kona granders have also been landed in January, March and July. March, which might otherwise be considered the offseason elsewhere, has turned up more of Kona’s historic granders than any other month, and that includes the 1,649-pound Kona all-time record in 1984. The 1,376‑pound IGFA record for 130-pound class was caught in May 1982. Indeed, granders have been caught in Kona waters every month of the year. Licensed commercial fishermen are allowed to sell blue marlin in Hawaii, but professional skippers prefer tag-and-release for clients who want to let vital fish go. In any given week, more of Kona’s blues are tagged than kept. Visitors should make their wishes known when setting up a charter.

Hawaii’s Striped Marlin

Striped marlin cruise through Kona water’s year-round, but the big run extends from December through March. The Hawaii state record, 212 pounds, turned up here at the end of March 2011. That’s big for a north Pacific stripe, which is noteworthy because South Pacific stripers max out at more than double the weight of their northern cousins. Striped marlin are most attracted to Kona when winter waters cool down into the mid-70s. During those “chilly” times, the luckiest trollers might get up to a dozen striped marlin bites, and hook about a third of them.

Those same striped marlin ­conditions also attract shortbill spearfish of world-record size. Kona’s frisky shortbills ­presently hold 16 IGFA marks for tackle as light as 4-pound-class, and even on fly gear. Record-seekers troll hookless teasers to draw a spearfish within range, and then present a lure, fly or bait on the most sporting gear available. For most visitors, however, the spearfish is a surprise catch when trolling for blues and stripes.

For black marlin, Kona is outside the normal migration range. The entire Kona fleet sees only a handful each year, and these are much smaller than the giants of the Great Barrier Reef far to the south. Old-timers will remind you that the state record weighed 1,205 pounds, but that once-in-a-generation fish was caught in 1980.

Broadbills are the secret sensations for fishermen who know when, where and how to catch them. Most of Kona’s rod-and-reel swordies are caught at night during ika-shibi (traditional hand line) trips that target tuna. With its giant staring eyes, the broadbill is readily attracted to lights at night and to the squid schools that gather in the glow. The state record 503-pounder took the bait in June 2006 at the start of what are usually the three best swordfish months. Only a few boats cater to the night-fishing trade.

Hawaii Tuna Fuel Jet Revolution

More than fifty years ago, Hawaii troller Henry Nishikawa ignited the jet revolution when he caught a world-record ahi on a metal-headed lure drilled through and through with holes. His 269-pound yellowfin didn’t last long in the record books after anglers in the eastern Pacific discovered a tribe of bigger tuna off Mexico. Yet the IGFA record book is still overwhelmingly Kona on the ladies’ side: Kona catches made by women hold the 16-, 20-, 30- and 50-pound-class marks.

Though Kona waters attract ­resident schools of yellowfin year‑round, ahi are most abundant in late spring and throughout summer. As schools migrate west to east through the islands, the big runs reach Kauai first by Mother’s Day in May and Kona by Father’s Day in June. When the action is wide open, lucky boats can catch as many as 10 a day, all in the 100- to 220-pound range, by trolling or live-baiting with aku (skipjack tuna) or opelu (mackerel scad). During the rest of the year, ahi specialists target them with green-stick gear, and continue to catch a few each trip.

Hawaii’s state record ahi (a July catch) of 325 pounds is unusually large for central Pacific yellowfin tuna. Kona’s biggest ahi each year normally hits 250 pounds (258.5 in 2013). The state record bigeye (277 pounds in July 2013) and the biggest albacore (89.2 pounds in April 2011) both were caught on the Big Island’s windward (eastern) coast. The albacore weighed more than any on the IGFA record list but did not qualify for world-record status because it was caught on commercial-fishing gear. Kona ­fishermen regularly catch albies (tombo ahi) in the 60s and 70s on sport fishing tackle.

Mahimahi, Hawaii’s Gift to the World

Almost 70 years ago, Hawaii Big Game Fishing Club official George Perry set the 130-pound-class IGFA world record for dolphinfish with a 72.5‑pounder. That record didn’t last long, but the name “mahimahi” is Hawaii’s gift to the world, because it replaces the confusing name “dolphin” on restaurant menus. Though Hawaii has no current IGFA mahimahi records, the state-record 82-pounder confirms the potential. That record fish was a September Kona catch, but mahimahi are available any time the current drags a “floater” within trolling distance.

Mahimahi live up to their name (it means “very strong”), and the brightly colored, agile acrobats do their muscular tricks in Kona waters year-round. Occasionally huge schools gather around flotsam and jetsam for a wide-open bite that can go on for days. Then, skippers gear down to match the catch with sporting 20- and 30-pound-class rods. Unless a Kona skipper finds a floater, mahi are incidental catches on marlin and tuna trips.

By the way, the mahimahi record aside, Perry went on to catch the largest blue marlin in each of the first two Hawaiian International Billfish Tournaments (HIBT). The HIBT became an annual Kona fishing feature in 1959 and soon inspired dozens of other Kona tournaments. During the most popular tournament months of June, July and August, events compete with each other every week

Ono Blitzes, Summer Phenomenon

A Guide to Big Fish off the Big Island

Ninety years ago, a mysterious fellow known only as “J.B. Stickney” caught a 124.75-pound wahoo in Hawaii waters to set the world record. That was five years before the IGFA was founded, a time when records were compiled by Van Campen Heilner of Field & Stream and Francesca R. La Monte of the American Museum of Natural history. Ono — what wahoo are called in Hawaii — average 30 to 40 pounds, which makes J.B.’s catch even more extraordinary.

Big ones do show up now and then — state-record-holders Tom Brandt and Sky Mullins surprised their 133.2‑pound ono off the windward coast of the Big Island in December 2000. The major ono run reaches the Big Island in May of each year and hangs around into early September. Some ono are caught year-round, with early morning being your best chance. Kona skippers typically troll the 40-fathom line at the start of each trip to pick up any ono that might be harassing the nearshore bait schools.

To ward off the ono’s sharp teeth, skippers rig their special ono lures with single-strand stainless leaders. Ono slash at heavy-headed subsurface lures like weighted jets and lead-head feathers. On a typical trip specifically for ono, a successful boat might catch three or four fish. In years when ono blitz the summer currents, boats are known to hook as many as 40 on a single trip.

Other fishing areas might see the diversity of big-game fish that Kona has, but few have them in the sizes regularly seen here. In Kona, your next strike could come on any day of the year, in any phase of the moon, at any turn of the tide, on routinely comfortable seas, and be one of the Pacific’s biggest and most exciting game fish.

Shore Fishing off the Big Island

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Striped Marlin Mania

Marlin Central: Cabo San Lucas Marina

Sight-Casting to Marlin

Light ‘Em Up

Close-Quarters Marlin Fight

Ready for a Fight

Greyhounding Run

Getting Vertical

Rigging the Game

Marlin End Game

Leadering the Fish

The Wrong Tail

Prize Fighter

Lift Off!

Great Game Fish

Bright and Beautiful

At the Rail

Marlin Nears the Surface

One Last Jump

Fighting Striper

Fresh and Bright

Ready for Release

Skipper and His Mentor

Flags of Glory

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A pair of “tailers” — striped marlin at the surface

As we closed on a noisy flock of wheeling terns, I spied our target: striped marlin jumping clear of the water as they pummeled a school of baitfish below. Adrenaline sent tremors to my hands as I pinned on a live mackerel and lobbed it into the middle of the melee. Within seconds I was bit. With a count to five, I threw the reel in gear and set the hook. A 120-pound striped marlin went ballistic. We were on.

This is sight-fishing for striped marlin off Southern California — one of the most specialized, equipment-intensive and exciting styles of angling. It’s not always easy. Yet, when executed well, it can also spell the difference between success and failure, particularly when fish are not responding to trolled lures.

Keys to successfully sight-fishing for these beautiful, acrobatic billfish include teamwork, discipline, good eyes, polarized sunglasses, stabilized binoculars, an offshore boat with a flybridge or tower, specialized tackle, strong casting skills and live bait.

On the Hunt

Sight-fishing for striped marlin builds to a crescendo in the warm-water months of September and October off Southern California when this Pacific species often hunts, feeds, and relaxes near the surface. Yet there are tricks to finding these fish, which average between 100 and 150 pounds.

“We’re always on the hunt,” says Greg Stotesbury, who is national sales manager for California-based Aftco. He has fished Southern California offshore banks from his boat, Kawakawa [ITALICS], a 25-foot Skipjack convertible, for decades. No one knows the technique better than he and his brother, Michael Stotesbury; together, they won the Balboa Angling Club’s Master Angler Billfish Tournament twice (2006 and 2009). The all-release event is one of Southern California’s most prestigious marlin tournaments.

In this winning team, Michael devotes his time to scanning the distant waters with a pair of gyro-stabilized binoculars (see sidebar) for the tell-tale signs of marlin, while Greg usually mans the wheel and looks for fish closer to the boat. They usually have another angler in the boat, whose job is to watch the trolling lures and drop back a live bait if a marlin attacks the spread.

For the person using binoculars, comfort plays a critical role to minimize fatigue and lapses of concentration — factors than can allow marlin to slip by unnoticed. “Michael gets a bunch of pillows on the bridge to brace himself,” Greg explains. “And we have special elevated bucket seats with armrests to support his arms while he’s using the binocs.”

Maintaining an unobstructed view from the bridge or tower is also an important, but often neglected, element. For example, the Stotesburys keep all of the casting rods on the bow lying down with the rail-mount rod holders, angled horizontally so as not to block the forward view.

For anglers using their naked eyes, polarized sunglasses play a critical role, with top anglers carrying at least two pairs: one with amber lenses for cloudy skies and another with gray tint for sunny conditions. These help pierce the glare and allow anglers to see underwater, for not all marlin signs occur above the surface.

Sometimes you see a subsurface color spot such as a streak of blue, flash of silver or just a dark shadow, according to Gerg These are usually marlin that have turned and given away their locations.

Still, gyro-stabilized binoculars are more effective than the naked eye, particularly with marlin far from the boat. “My brother finds twice as many fish as I do,” Greg admits. “He’s seen fish as far as 3 miles away, and at 18 knots it takes only three minutes to get there — half the time, the fish is still up.”

Boat Tactics

When searching for striped marlin, the way you skipper the boat can improve your ability to find fish. The idea is to tack down-sea and down-glare, according to Greg “Tack back and forth down-sea as you’re trolling about 9 knots with sun behind you,” he explains. “This allows you to clearly see the backs of the waves, and that’s where the marlin often show themselves, tailing down-sea, especially in the afternoon.” Avoid trolling straight down-sea, as that causes the boat to go too fast, decreasing the chances that you will see a fish, he advises.

The Stotesburys network extensively with other marlin anglers in the days leading up to a trip to pinpoint the best offshore areas to focus their efforts. This might lead them to areas as close as an area known as “The 279,” 12 nautical miles off Dana Point, or the Mackerel Bank near San Clemente Island, 48 nautical miles off the coast.

Once they reach an area, they’re looking for more than just marlin. They’re also looking for signs of marine life — indicators that give them the confidence of finding striped marlin in the area.

“We’re looking for things like a flash, a swirl, a bird that dips suddenly, or a spray of baitfish,” Greg reveals. Another prime indicator is a sea lion that jumps in a tight arc known as “rainbow jumping.” This means the sea lion is feeding a tightly packed school of bait that California anglers call a meatball, and there could be marlin feeding on the bait as well.

As in most offshore fishing, birds serve as key indicators of fish. Off Southern California during marlin season (July through October), three species closely associate with striped marlin: terns, black gulls and jaegers. A dipping jaeger, in particular, is an almost-certain indicator of marlin.

“If I see any sign, you can bet I’m running straight for it,” Greg says. At this point, sight-fishing for marlin becomes a run-and-gun affair, as it is imperative to get to the action as quickly as possible. Often, the trolling lines are left out, the lures skipping behind, as the boat hustles to the action at 18 to 20 knots.

Greg is emphatic about turning and running on any sign, even something as small as single jumping baitfish, and then casting a bait to it. Sometimes it pays off with a blind strike from a marlin. If not, Greg marks each spot of activity on his Simrad GPS/chart plotter; this helps graphically define what he calls an “area of events.”

Once Greg finds such an area, he likes to stick with it, even if he hasn’t actually seen a marlin, betting on the assumption that the stripers will eventually show themselves. So after tacking through the area, he turns the boat up-sea and charges back to where they started, then spins the boat around and resumes the search. “Marlin cycle through the area in the same way,” Greg believes. “They turn around and swim back underwater, then begin tailing again once they’re in the life zone.”

Marlin Modes

Of course, sometimes you actually see marlin. In the gray light and calm waters of early morning, for example, fish are sometimes found hovering near the surface with their back and upper lobe of their tail out of the water. These are known as sleepers, and they often react negatively when presented with a live bait, as if perturbed that you woke them for breakfast.

Later in the day, when the breeze picks up, striped marlin like to surf the waves while hunting. It’s known as tailing, as you often see the upper lobe of the tail slicing through the backside of a wind wave. This behavior allows them to conserve energy while looking for prey. Tailers usually respond well to a frisky live bait such as a Pacific mackerel.

You also might see a free-jumping marlin, sometimes unleashing four or more jumps in a row. Jumpers, as they are known, move fast, and it’s tough to catch up and present them a bait, though sometimes they settle down and begin tailing.

Every once in a while, you’ll come across one or more marlin, as described earlier, attacking a school of baitfish. You can usually spot feeders from afar, as the lit-up fish often jump out of the water to pounce on the meatball from above. The commotion generates white water and usually attracts a bunch of birds. These fish rank as the most aggressive of all. Usually, casting a live bait anywhere close to feeders is like rolling a wine bottle through a jail cell — it gets picked up quickly.

The most common surface behavior is tailing, and different anglers have different methods for presenting baits to these marlin. The traditional method is to parallel the fish, placing the boat to right side of the marlin (assuming a right-handed angler). With the fish in the 9 o’clock position, an angler on the bow casts a live bait underhand so it lands just in front of the marlin.

Greg however, likes to split the difference. For both tailers and sleepers, he tries to place the fish in the 10 o’ clock position (2 o’ clock for left-handers) with the fish a boat’s length away. “All of my ‘castaleros’ throw the bait underhand for minimum splash on sleepers and flat-water tailers,” he explains.

“I keep the boat moving as the cast is happening; I don’t stop the boat,” Greg says. “We always double-bait a fish, as marlin almost always travel in groups, and double hookups are not uncommon.” If they don’t get bit, the casters walk back to cockpit to slow-troll the bait.

Live Act

This kind of fishing requires lots of live bait, but not just any bait. A 6- to 8-inch Pacific mackerel (known locally as a greenie or greenback) ranks as the most effective live bait for Southern California marlin. Second choice is a live Pacific jack mackerel (known locally as a Spanish).

Most marlin fishermen catch their own live bait using Sabiki rigs, sometimes stoking cavernous, cockpit-mounted livewells days ahead of time. It’s not unusual to find a big sport-fisher carrying 100 or more live mackerel for a long weekend of fishing. Most marlin boats also have a smaller livewell on the foredeck, as many anglers cast to marlin from the bow.

The Stotesburys bridle their baits through the nose ahead of time for casting. Bridling helps keep the bait as lively as possible, a key factor in attracting the attention of striped marlin. Their favorite light-tackle hooks are 6/0 to 8/0 Owner Aki nonoffset J hooks. Greg says they almost always hook marlin in the roof of the mouth.

Light tackle is the order of the day for the Stotesbury team, which casts with 12-, 16- and 20-pound-test monofilament main line with 60- to 80-pound-test fluorocarbon leaders. A Bimini twist to a Uni-knot splice connects the main line to the leader, with a Spro barrel swivel tied in with Uni-knots about three feet above the hook to keep the leader from twisting as the bridled bait swims in the livewell.

Live-bait rods for marlin possess distinctive traits. Most are 7 to 8 feet in length, with a parabolic action and Fuji 18- or 20-size ring guides and an Aftco Roller ring tiptop that allows knots to pass through unfettered when casting. Greg prefers a Shimano Torsa 16N for light-tackle marlin fishing.

Setting the hook on a marlin when fishing live bait is also a unique experience — a collaboration between angler and skipper. Once a marlin grabs the bait, the angler notifies the skipper that he’s bit, but keeps the reel in free-spool. After a five-count, the angler puts the reel in gear and points the rod at the fish, while the skipper briefly accelerates the boat. If all goes right, the line draws tight and begins peeling off the reel, indicating he fish is hooked.

Marlin anglers in Southern California rarely back down on fish. Instead, the angler usually stands up to fight the fish from the bow pulpit, while the boat follows it going forward. Alternately, the angler may stay in the cockpit, but remains standing, while the skipper keeps the fish at the 10 to 11 o’clock position and follows bow first.

For the end of the fight, an angler on the bow often makes his way aft to make it easier to leader and tag the fish, and get one final sighting — and a few photos — before the release.

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JasonTarpon

For those who haven’t been following IGFA’s efforts on Capitol Hill in trying to pass a law that would end the importation of billfish (marlin, sailfish and spearfish) to the U.S. mainland, I’m pleased to inform you that the Billfish Conservation Act of 2011 was officially signed into law by President Barack Obama on Friday, October 5.

Obama’s signature represented the culmination of nearly four years of trials and tribulations for IGFA and the National Coalition for Marine Conservation, who worked side-by-side with us on this initiative from the very beginning. During those four years, our hopes were repeatedly buoyed, only to be smashed time and again. However, things started to get really interesting when the House version of the bill was passed in Congress on September 10.

At this point, we actually started to believe that this deal might have a shot but were afraid to get too hopeful, as it still had to pass the Senate and, in particular, a very powerful senator from Hawaii. We waited on pins and needles for over a week as rumors circulated that the bill would be heard any day. Ultimately, the Billfish Conservation Act passed the Senate very late at night on Friday, September 22.

As luck would have it, IGFA President Rob Kramer and I heard the news at exactly the same time around 5:30 a.m the next day. No, we weren’t camped out in the office awaiting word from our lobbyists in D.C. We were actually in my truck, trailering my new skiff on our way to fish Flamingo in Everglades National Park.

Just in case, we had a press release ready to go, and we sent an email to our media specialist to let it fly ASAP. After a few moments of silence and disbelief, I looked over at Kramer and asked if we should turn around and head into the office to field phone calls. His response: “Hell no! I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than to go fishing!”

So fish we did! We had an epic day, catching loads of snook, redfish and baby tarpon on fly and light tackle deep in the Glades backcountry. In between having our popping flies and jigs crushed by fish, we’d pause every once in a while and marvel at what had happened, where we were and how we were celebrating the accomplishment. It was a great day, for so many reasons.

As fate had it, Rob, myself and several other IGFA staff were together again when we received word that the president had signed the bill into law. It was afterhours on a Friday, and several of us were enjoying a few beers in a great little bar in the Bass Pro Shops that’s situated a scant 50 yards or so from IGFA headquarters. (Those of you that visit IGFA and our neighbor Bass Pro know exactly where I’m talking about.)

This bar is filled with old pictures, tackle, mounts and other fishing memorabilia. I’ve always liked the name of this bar, but thought it exceptionally apropos that particular evening. Its name, you ask? The Marlin Bar.

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Kenneth Wright

I came across an interesting Q-and-A article today in the Gasparilla Gazette with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s new chairman, Kenneth Wright.

Wright, a resident of Winter Park, Florida, and a 5-year FWC commissioner who recently was elected to serve a one-year term as chairman, addressed several questions from the Gazette, noting that his two primary objectives as chair were to promote the state’s Florida Youth Conservation Network, as well as strengthen the state’s hatchery networks.

He also was asked about the tarpon controversy that has been brewing over the last couple years in Boca Grande Pass. Wright was aware of the issue and suggested it would be taken up in September. He also noted that a tarpon summit might be held that would bring together “representatives of the tarpon guides, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, as well as Professional Tarpon Tournament Series and get as many of those parties together to get the facts on the table.”

Perhaps Wright’s most interesting comment, however, came when asked by reporter Terry O’Connor, “What action might be taken?” in regards to the controversy.

“I’m looking into advancing a protective sportsfish category designation that would include marlin, sailfish, bonefish and tarpon,” he replied.

To read the complete Q-and-A session, click here.

Mike Mazur

Senior Editor, Sport Fishing magazine

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Great Marlin Race

I turned 40 this year, and one of the things I’ve come to realize is that time seems to fly by faster with each passing year. Case in point: We have nearly completed the first year of the IGFA Great Marlin Race (IGMR). For those who have not heard about this very cool endeavor, the IGMR is a partnership between Stanford University and the IGFA. Our collaborative goal is to deploy 50 satellite tags each year on marlin at various locations around the world. Most tags are deployed in and around billfish tournaments and other organized events that have both the right number of anglers and fish to deploy five to 10 tags at each event. To date, we’ve had tags deployed in Puerto Rico, South Africa and Australia, with more going out very soon in Hawaii, Portugal and the Canary Islands.

In the first year, we’ve already seen some amazing things. A blue marlin that was tagged off Puerto Rico traveled more than 4,776 miles in just 120 days, crossing into the southern hemisphere before the tag popped off near the coast of Namibia. Another blue marlin tagged off the coast of South Africa in the Indian Ocean made a beeline to the Cape of Good Hope and entered the Atlantic Ocean — a distance of more than 1,000 miles in just over six weeks.

But what’s the big deal about deploying a bunch of tags? First of all, this is citizen science at its best. That is, recreational anglers are directly participating in science by sponsoring the cost of the tag (no small feat at $4,000 per tag) and actually deploying it. I think this makes a hell of a statement as to how much recreational anglers value these fish. In turn, we (IGFA & Stanford) provide the information yielded from the tags to the anglers that sponsored tags and the general public through the IGMR website. In addition, tag sponsors get personalized reports on the behavior of their specific marlin during the time it was tagged. Most good anglers thirst for information about their favorite species, and the information reported on temperature preferences, depth and location are of great interest.

Putting expensive jewelry in marlin around the world is fine, well and good, but we have greater plans. The data yielded from these tags will not be proprietary to IGFA or Stanford, but will be available to scientists and managers around the world through an open-access, data-sharing system. There are a number of very talented billfish biologists and graduate students around the world who are working to learn more about marlin, and we hope that the data generated from the IGMR will contribute to this body of knowledge. In short, we hope to contribute to productive science.

Dr. William King Gregory, Curator of Fishes for the American Museum of Natural History and IGFA’s first president, had this to say about the subject in 1943:

“The motto of the IGFA, ‘For Ethical Sport and Productive Science,’ may well raise the question — what is productive science? Ichthyology, the science of fishes, does not limit itself to the task of identifying, naming, cataloguing and preserving samples of the thousands of species in the teeming world of fishes, however gigantic and thrilling that task may be. Nor would this science be complete even if all the desired data relating to food habits, time and space of breeding, migrations, etc., of all living species had been gathered and classified, card-catalogued, and micro-photographed and filed away in bomb-proof vaults. For all this is only the material for productive science. Ichthyology can only become productive when its material is being studied and analyzed in the quest for better and better answers to the enlarging problems of science as a whole. The anglers themselves, to whom we owe a great deal of important data, are a powerful aid in keeping the science of ichthyology from becoming a dead mass of statistics.”

I can’t help but think that Dr. Gregory, Mike Learner and IGFA’s other founding fathers would be proud of the work being done by all those who are involved in the IGFA Great Marlin Race.

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