Pick a popular game fish and you’ll find multiple places designating themselves as “capital of the world” for that species. But it’s hard to imagine any spot on the globe more justified in claiming the title of “sailfish capital of the world” than the Pacific coast of Guatemala, south of Guatemala City. The stats don’t lie. Guatemala is among few places that boast good sailfishing year-round, with an annual release average of 12 sails a day per boat, and 20 to 40 shots per day not unusual. 

Or how about 124 sailfish released by a single boat in a day? That’s the highest one-boat total — so far — claimed at Casa Vieja (casaviejalodge.com), the largest sailfish lodge on this coast. Other landmarks for the lodge’s fleet include 300 billfish (sails and marlin) released by one boat over three days, and 57 sails released on fly-fishing gear in a day.

Anglers who visit here regularly have their favorite months or seasons, says David Salazar at Casa Vieja. “But they’re always out there, all year. And it seems like in every month of every year, we’ll usually have at least one exceptional week.”

Casa Vieja boats are pretty single-minded in their approach to finding sails, which they do by trolling ballyhoo (on circle hooks). If sails are around, they seldom resist. But with so many sailfish, fly-casting to them has become a prime sport for many of the lodge regulars.

Most anglers find the resort’s standard Alutecnos reels filled with 30-pound line to be ideal for Pacific sails. Compared to Atlantic sailfish, Pacific sails run on the large side, with 60- to 80-pounders very common, and some growing considerably larger.  

While sails dominate the fishery, they’re not alone, often accompanied by the man in the blue suit, as anglers often label blue marlin. Typically, at least one blue will be hooked every few days, on average. Like sails, they’re around all year, though Salazar says the April through August period offers higher chances. Black marlin also figure in the mix, but considerably less often than their blue cousins. Casa Vieja boats keep a 50-pound outfit rigged for a pitch bait to put out when a marlin is spotted.

Like sails, yellowfin tuna and mahi are caught throughout the year, but April to August is prime time to encounter large schools of these tasty game fish. Nonstop action for 40- to 80-pound tuna can test an angler’s arms.

Fishing along the shore offers action of a different sort, and it’s not unusual for anglers on the water for several days to spend one day fishing for roosterfish, as well as skipjack, Sierra mackerel, rainbow runner, and crevalle and horse-eye jacks. So far, slow-pitch and speed jigging hasn’t taken off here, but Salazar mentions that one of the resort’s skippers enjoys doing this on his own time with great success.

Planning a Trip

When to Go: The billfish grounds are a trek offshore, with an average run from the lodge of 25 miles. But again, Salazar points to the variability: “Some days it may be a five-mile run, and others 50 miles.” Fortunately, the seas here are known to be tranquilo mostly, only occasionally becoming uncomfortably choppy. Salazar acknowledges that the area gets more rain from about mid-June through mid-October, but unlike many Central American regions on the Pacific, heavy, monsoon-type rainfall is rare.

Where to Go and How to Get There: Getting to Casa Vieja means flying into Guatemala City. A flight is two hours in the air from Miami and 3 ½ hours from either Dallas or Atlanta. From there, a Casa Vieja Lodge van takes anglers the two hours south to the coast, Puerto San Jose and the lodge.

What to Expect: There is more to see and do here in addition to the fishing. Salazar notes increasing numbers of families in recent years.  Guatemala City offers a variety of art galleries and museums, including collections of pre-Columbian art.

Also in the area: Lake Atitlan, one of the most beautiful lakes in the world; the Pacaya Volcano (try a guided hike or trail ride); and Tikal National Park, in the northern Guatemala rainforest.

The post Guatemala’s Pacific Coast is Billfish Central appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Researchers and scientists know surprisingly little about the migrations of many offshore sportfish. But with determined efforts by anglers to tag released fish for tracking, steady progress is happening in real time.

One example of fishermen-fueled research is the Dolphinfish Research Program that relies on anglers to tag mahi, but also report back captured tagged dolphinfish, with the goal to identify this gamefish’s long-distance migration routes. Over the last 16 years, 32,630 dorado were tagged and 784 were recaptured, according to the program.

Different billfish species, such as blue marlin, have also received major attention, thanks to the International Game Fish Association and supportive fishing teams.

The IGFA Great Marlin Race is a billfish research and conservation initiative that allows recreational anglers — armed with expensive satellite tag technology — to become citizen scientists and deploy tags on the billfish they catch. Each year the race takes place from Oct. 1 – Sept. 30. The winning team is decided by the tagged billfish that travels the farthest distance. But the race is just one part of it. The larger goal is for scientists, anglers, and policymakers to better understand billfish migration patterns and habitat utilization.

“The IGFA Great Marlin Race was established [in 2011] to involve the angling community in citizen science,” said IGFA President, Jason Schratwieser. “By coupling competitive spirit with conservation, we’re able to gather invaluable data that helps ensure the survival of these magnificent species. This year’s winners exemplify the heart of this program: a deep commitment to conservation and the betterment of sport fishing.”

The SAT tags deployed on marlin and sailfish transmit information to researchers at Stanford University who analyze and disseminate the data, leading to a better understanding of these incredible animals and how to better manage them. To date, the IGFA Great Marlin Race has deployed nearly 600 satellite tags on billfish around the world.

In 2023, a total of 59 satellite tags were deployed across five billfish species during 23 global tagging events. Often, these events might be billfish fishing tournaments, such as the Bermuda Triple Crown. While some tags are set to provide data for the 2023-2024 race, 29 tags surfaced during this year’s race. This year’s winner (2022-2023) was the Waste Knot fishing team, a longtime supporter of the program. The tag was deployed during the 2022 Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, with the tag sponsored by Scott and Ven Poole of Waste Knot.

• First Place: The winning blue marlin, caught by Ven Poole and tagged by Scott Poole, traveled an impressive straight-line distance of 4,149 nautical miles from the US East Coast to the coast of Brazil. This route was this year’s longest — also the 5th longest in the program’s history and the 3rd longest for a blue marlin — with a total estimated track of 7,819 nm.
• Second Place: The runner-up, a blue marlin tagged aboard Stream Weaver during the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament and deployed by Bobby Schlegel, marked a straight distance of 2,543 nm, with an estimated total track of 3,689 nm.
• Third Place: The third place was claimed by a striped marlin tagged off New Zealand, sponsored and deployed by the crew of Trident, which traveled 1,545 nm in just 85 days.

The post Where Do Blue Marlin Go? appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Spend much time on the waters of North Carolina’s Crystal Coast and the origins of that moniker should be pretty clear. The waters here are some of the clearest in the Mid-Atlantic. The Crystal Coast, what can be described as the Southern Outer Banks, is a designation for roughly 85 miles of beaches (56 of which are protected) and coastal towns from the New River north to Cape Lookout. This includes Beaufort, Morehead City and the Cape Lookout National Seashore.

There’s no shortage of fishing opportunities on the Crystal Coast. Many are seasonal, but whatever the season, there are fish to be caught. While many destinations require bringing or hiring a boat, the coast of North Carolina boasts some of the world’s best surf fishing. Among the many species taken on beaches here, the two high-status game fish are red drum and striped bass. Very large reds prowl along the beaches in the fall. How big? Consider the IGFA all-tackle world record that angler David Deuel landed on an Outer Banks beach in November, 1984 — a fish weighing an extraordinary 94 pounds, 2 ounces.

Those without a boat can also hit the piers that jut out 1,000 feet from the beach into the ocean — the Bogue Inlet Pier (at Emerald Isle) and the Oceanana Fishing Pier (at Atlantic Beach). In addition to the many species that surfcasters catch, pier anglers target red drum, cobia and kingfish spring through fall, as well as croaker, bluefish, flounder and more.

Yet another land-based fishery involves wading in inshore waters, but these waters are much more accessible to those with skiffs or kayaks. Kayakers can access Back Sound and Bogue Sound from Fort Macon State Park and several spots around Harkers Island.

Located near the easternmost protrusion of the Outer Banks, the Crystal Coast offers a relatively easy run to the Gulf Stream and blue water often teeming with prized game fish. The list of summer-time targets includes marlins (blues and whites), sailfish, mahi, wahoo, tunas (yellowfin and blackfin) and more coastal species such as cobia, snapper, amberjack and kingfish.

One of the most exciting cold-weather fisheries here sees larger charter and seaworthy private boats running out to fish just a few miles off the Outer Banks for huge bluefin tuna. Bluefin approaching the grander mark have been taken on sport-fishing boats, and tuna larger than 1,000 pounds have been caught commercially. The past season, in fact, was one of the best ever, and included not only giant bluefin but those of a more modest size (relatively speaking). While not as coveted as bluefin, blackfin tuna can be caught in numbers here at times and in the winter will run 25 to 30 pounds — large for the species.

Tournament fishing is big on the Crystal Coast; you’ll find offshore, inshore and surf events here. Notably this includes one of the fishing world’s premier tournaments, the Big Rock Blue Marlin, as well as other billfish tournaments in the summer. The fall schedule includes plenty of events for king mackerel.

Planning a Trip

When to Go: Everyone wants to be here in the summer. That translates into lots of visitors, higher rates, busier roads. But it is a wonderful time of year to enjoy the beaches and offshore variety, along with calmer seas. Just book far in advance, as much as a year ahead. On the other hand, fall and winter offer special fisheries — big drum in the surf and then giant bluefin just offshore — at a time when visitors find things considerably more laid-back and less crowded here. Certainly, things get windier in mid-fall and winter; those who want to fish beyond the inlets would be wise to plan to stay at least a week, looking for a calm day or two.

Where to Go and How to Get There: The closest major airport is in New Bern (EWN), just over 30 miles away, served by a number of major carriers. Raleigh-Durham International Airport is just under three hours by car. More distant air options include international airports in Norfolk, Virginia (NIA), or in Charlotte (CLT), about a 4- or 5-hour drive, respectively. Many choose to drive to the Southern Outer Banks. From Atlanta, figure nearly eight hours drive time; from Boston, about 13 hours.

What to Expect: For visiting anglers, the infrastructure is generous, with plenty of inshore guides, offshore charter, launch sites and marinas. Also, take advantage of local bait and tackle shops, often the best source of information, especially for surf and jetty anglers. Private boaters fishing offshore will need a boat large and seaworthy enough to negotiate Bogue and Beaufort inlets; like all inlets, they can be tricky. Check the shoaling alerts online for up-to-date information when planning routes.

Crystal Coast accommodations are many and varied from budget (hard to find in high season) to five-star. Check with various local real estate brokers since they handle vacation rentals for the many amazing ocean-front homes along this coast.

Families who join anglers here need not be bored. Besides enjoying the endless Cape Lookout National Seashore beaches, visitors can paddleboard and kayak inshore waterways and marshes; climb to the top of the iconic Cape Lookout Lighthouse (Wednesday through Sunday); make historical visits to Beaufort’s North Carolina Maritime Museum and to Fort Macon; see the famed wild horses of Shackleford Banks Island; hike the Croatan National Forest; and plenty more.

Helpful Links

• The Crystal Coast
• Crystal Coast Visitors’ Guide

The post North Carolina’s Crystal Coast is a Gem appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

We were feeling pretty lucky: Fishing 50 miles off Virginia Beach on the hottest day of summer, my friends and I had already fooled two white marlin that came in on the left teaser. One fish peeled off to the right flat line and the other circled back on the left long.

Mid-Atlantic anglers dream all winter about hooking and releasing white marlin, and practice all summer, so the guys managed the chaos like clockwork. The anglers dropped back baits as the captain put the boat in a circle. Then, a silent 10-count.

The guys on the rods engaged their drags and cranked tight. Five feet of blade-wielding muscle exploded out of the water on both sides of the boat.

The engines revved to an angry growl, and we gave chase as the anglers cranked like hell. In a couple of minutes, we had two fish tap dancing off the port side. Black smoke erupted from the exhaust as the skipper spun the boat and backed toward the fish. With waves of electric-blue Kool Aid crashing over the stern, the mate reached out, grabbed the leader, gave it a tug, and the first fish was freed.

We repeated the process with the second fish: crank, black smoke, blue water sloshing in the cockpit, and a quick marlin release celebrated with hoots and high fives. Still buzzing on our success, we went to work resetting the lines and preparing for the next bite.

A few hours later, a blue marlin slashed at the squid chain like Freddie Krueger. Someone grabbed a heavy rod and reel and deployed a whole Spanish mackerel. In seconds, the giant exploded out of the water and disappeared with the bait. Two hours later, we saw the fish again as the angler slowly worked it to the surface. The mate reached out, grabbed the lure, and slashed at the leader with his release knife.

The crew broke out in cheers. I slapped the angler on the shoulder and could feel his muscles still tight. Celebration was short-lived: We jumped back into the action, resetting the lines and rigging a fresh ­mackerel on the pitch rod.

As calm returned to the cockpit, the drone of the engine lulled us into a silent realization. I was the first to utter the unspeakable dream: “Hey, we’re two-thirds of the way to a slam.” My buddies chuckled nervously, and the captain replied, “That would be a freaking miracle.”

Mid-Atlantic Miracle
Catching three species of billfish in one day ranks as one of the greatest accomplishments for any angler. Crews fishing from North Carolina to New Jersey can target five billfish species, including swordfish and spearfish, but the best chance at a slam comes from targeting a blue marlin, a white marlin and a sailfish. While scoring a slam is possible almost anywhere these fish are caught, heading out to target such a feat would be almost folly. Capt. John Bayliss, of Bayliss Boatworks out of Wanchese, North Carolina, has several slams under his belt, but he’s the first to point out that each one was influenced by chance. “It’s the luck of the draw,” he admits.

One of his favorite hat tricks combined good friends with new anglers on a fun trip on a late-summer day. “We caught eight white marlin and a blue,” he remembers. With a great outing already in the books, and a slam on the line, the crew decided to focus on catching a sail. “We trolled until dark before we hooked the sailfish,” he remembers, glowing about the excitement of sharing the experience with anglers who had never caught a billfish.

Bayliss’ home waters, along the famed Outer Banks, offer the best chance at hitting a slam in the mid-Atlantic region. Anglers can encounter blues, whites and sails in any of the warmer months; the largest body of fish pass by in May and June, and then again in August and September.

In late spring, warm Gulf Stream water rushes up the East Coast, hitting the Outer Banks and swirling to the east. Starting in May, marlin ride the highway north, typically congregating in cooler eddies with less current.

Bayliss monitors satellite water-temperature images looking for anomalies where the current whips a lasso of cooler water. The outer edges of the loop are warmer than the center, where the current sometimes flows downstream. “The water ­temperature can be 3 degrees cooler, and the current will often turn southwest,” he explains.

Early in summer, boats leaving Oregon Inlet head south and fish off Hatteras Inlet, where the marlin — especially blues — stage before catching a ride north on the stream.

Late in summer, billfish return en masse riding the same spiraling eddies south. From late August through early October, Bayliss heads east or ­northeast to find the fish along the continental shelf.

Again, the first step is finding marlin water. Bayliss describes perfect conditions as blended water — clear blue with perhaps a little green mixed in — and no current or a little down-current. He looks for water temperatures between 78 degrees and the low 80s. The fish can stage offshore in water deeper than 1,000 fathoms (1 fathom equals 6 feet) or inshore as shallow as 40 fathoms.

In late summer, those conditions can occur anywhere between Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Hatteras Island, North Carolina. The fish move based on where the cooler eddies break off the Gulf Stream and how they spin south. Bayliss points out, “Some years, they are straight out of the inlet, and some years, the fish stay north off Virginia Beach or Ocean City, Maryland.”

Scoring a slam requires perfect conditions, but when water temperature and current match up, anglers get a shot at blues, whites and sails.

Spread Thin
Virginia Beach is marlin central, a jumping-off point for Washington and Norfolk canyons and the fertile waters offshore of Oregon Inlet. Fishing out of Rudee Inlet, Capt. Jimmy Bayne keeps his 58-foot sport-fisher, Sniper, in the middle of the action. After years of experience, Bayne has honed his trolling spread to its simplest form. He says with a laugh, “I’m almost embarrassed to admit, I’ve been doing the same thing for years.”

Like most captains, Bayne leaves port with white marlin on the mind. The mid-Atlantic in late summer offers some of the best white marlin fishing in the world. “Blue marlin and sailfish are mixed in,” Bayne adds, but the focus is on “Mr. White.” Since the development of dredge-fishing, crews on both ends of the white’s range are pulling variations of the same spread.

The layout starts with a pair of dredges. “You can go two or three tiers,” he says. Mullet or ballyhoo, with half the baits behind Iland skirts, comprises the most popular combination. But Bayne has started to experiment. “We’ve had good results using Sassy Shads and Ilands on the inside of the dredge” he says. The artificial shad “thicken up the dredge,” providing a heavier profile to attract blue marlin with a big appetite.

The dredge swims just below the surface behind a 6- to 8-pound trolling sinker. On the surface, outside the dredge, he pulls a chain of six or eight rubber squid punctuated with a large ballyhoo behind an Iland skirt. The most popular combo is a green chain on one side and pink on the other, but Bayne experiments with colors and squid sizes if he’s marking fish and bait but getting no love.

To keep things simple for the fish and the ­fishermen, Bayne and crew limit the spread to four small, naked ballyhoo and one Iland Xpress and large ballyhoo. He also keeps two dink baits and a rigged Spanish mackerel ready to deploy.

He fishes the dink baits on the flat lines, one long rigger and one short rigger. The ballyhoo and Xpress go on the other short rigger, or on a long rigger. He keeps the lures close to the dredge and teaser, making them easier to watch. The combination of small and large baits gives him something to offer blue marlin, whites or sails. “You just have to drive in front of the right fish,” he says.

That’s how Bayne scored one of his most memorable slams. He laughs again, saying, “It was total luck.”

He remembers his crew catching several whites and a blue marlin. “We decided to try for the slam.” Bayne trolled inshore and turned his attention to finding a sailfish. “We fished late and didn’t see a sailfish,” he remembers. A little disappointed, Bayne called the day, and the crew brought in the lines and raised the riggers.

“We were running in when I spotted something on the surface,” he says. He slowed the boat to ­investigate. “A pack of sailfish was cutting a school of bait.”

No time to waste, the anglers dropped four dink baits off the rod tips. Bayne put Sniper in a circle around the action, and the rest was history.

Make Your Luck
Luck be damned — when the opportunity arises, it also takes skill to close the deal. Some people say Capt. Jon Duffie is one of the luckiest skippers out of Ocean City: He set the local record with 57 white marlin releases in one day. Fishing with his family, his Billfisher team is a regular on the tournament scene. Duffie’s good, but he’s not too proud to admit that catching a slam is a crapshoot. “It’s like getting struck by lightning.”

Duffie says he’s caught slams in 700 fathoms at the mouth of the Washington Canyon and 50 fathoms at the base of the Norfolk. Despite the distance, skill and strategy increase the chance at a blue, white and sail.

“The sailfish is the wild card,” Duffie says. Chances are better for bites from blues and whites. “When I catch a sailfish, I really start to feel the pressure.”

With a sailfish and white marlin in the books, Duffie changes up the spread in hopes of scoring a blue marlin. If he’s marking bait in the area, he’ll add an Iland Xpress and large ballyhoo to each short rigger and beat the water. If he’s not seeing signs, Duffie goes on the hunt. “We’ll switch the natural dredges for Mudflaps,” he explains. And he’ll change one or both squid chains for a big swimming lure.

Read Next: Billfish Teaser Tactics of Tournament Experts

Duffie might keep the dink baits in the mix, but he’ll change the short riggers to slant-faced ­swimming lures. Trailing big lures and an artificial teaser, he can bump up his speed to about 8 knots to increase chances of crossing paths with a blue marlin.

For the best shot at a blue, he usually heads deep, trolling through the mouth of the canyon toward the corners and over deep humps. But a blue isn’t ­guaranteed. “I’ve gone many days with the sail and white and never found the blue,” he admits.

If the scenario finds Duffie with a white marlin and blue and looking for a sail, he keeps the dink baits, chains and dredge, and beats the area looking for bait and cutting dorsal fins. Other times, he’s had the opposite luck. “I once had four sails and couldn’t catch a blue or white,” he says.

Duffie and the other captains admit that ­conditions really have to come together for the best slam chance. “A day with a lot of fish is a good start,” Duffie says. He looks for a hard temperature break, light winds, flying fish, scattered sargassum and pretty blue-green water. “The times I’ve caught slams, all the conditions were perfect.”

The mid-Atlantic angler’s moral? To score a mid-Atlantic billfish slam, take advantage of ­opportunities, and sprinkle in a little luck and perfect conditions.

About the Author
Ric Burnley is an angler, editor, author and teacher who lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia. When he isn’t fishing or writing, he’s in the classroom teaching at-risk ­teenagers that the pen is mightier than the sword.

Slam Stats
Scoring a white marlin, blue marlin and sailfish off the mid-Atlantic coast takes a bit of luck and a lot of skill. Learning how to pattern these fish as they migrate through is key to finding them when the time and conditions are right.

One of the world’s great sport fish, white marlin offer it all: fast action, exciting bite, violent fight, ending in a clean release. Mid-Atlantic whites average 50 pounds, with bruisers pushing 80.

The fish arrive off Hatteras in June, then skip up the coast through summer. The best action is late in the season as the fish amass and move south. The key to finding white marlin is ­interpreting satellite water-temperature images for eddies of cooler water swirling off the Gulf Stream.

To indicate the number of marlin released, anglers hang flags from their outrigger halyards. To increase the number of flags, smart crews cut the spread to four small rigged ballyhoo, keeping confusion to a minimum

Weighing up to 1,000 pounds, Atlantic blue marlin are among the largest sport fish on Earth. Big and bold, blues do their own thing: They go where they want, and are just as likely to travel the eddies and temperature breaks as to range into the deep blue or push shallow.

Blue marlin prove most predictable when they arrive at the rock piles and cliffs off Hatteras in April. The season starts with a series of blue marlin tournaments, wherein crews troll artificial plugs to cover the most water in search of an encounter.

It takes a ton of food to fuel a sea monster. Blues follow their stomachs to feed on dolphin and tuna moving up the coast through summer. Blues join their white and sail-finned cousins, cruising down-current on late-summer eddies.

To entice blue marlin to the spread, add a large ballyhoo behind a large skirt. Locals call a pink Iland Express “Ol’ Pinkie.”

Sailfish represent the anomaly in a mid-Atlantic billfish slam. Blues and whites act more predictably, but sails can be anywhere. The best place to intercept a sail is inshore off Hatteras. Look for sailfish around wrecks and rock piles in spring and early summer before they join their billed brothers on the ride north.

In fall, the fish roll south on the edge of the Gulf Stream, following schools of bait. The rule of thumb: Fish as shallow as 20 fathoms. Sails often hunt with white marlin.

The smallest slam member, sailfish weigh less than 50 pounds but put on an incredible aerial display with their expansive dorsal fin. Once you release a white and a blue offshore, head inshore to troll dink ballyhoo around humps and drops.

The post Score a Mid-Atlantic Billfish Slam appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Power and Grace

Full-Charge Mode

Tagged and Good to Go

700 Pounds Airborne

Upon Further Reflection

Greyhounder

Sideswiper

Takeoff Near the Airport

Emerging Monster

Handle with Caution

Intense Hues

Tagged and Ready to Go

On the Slide

Just Off the Beach

Incoming!

About the Artist

Carol Lynne

Carol Lynne’s Distinctive Tribal Fish Art

Tribal Marlin

Mahi II

The post Kona’s Magnificent Marlin appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

For these guys, tuna catches are routine, but some of their (often incidental) billfish catches have sent shock waves through the Kona fishing community. Anglers like Matt Reed, Andy and Steve Cho, Rob Wong Yuen and Devin Hallingstad have repeatedly caught sailfish and an occasional black marlin. (In fact, from his kayak, Hallingstad caught the island’s biggest black marlin in 2014.)

It’s only a matter of time before a Big Island yak-angling enthusiast beats Hallingstad’s 175-pound yellowfin, or the state-record wahoo of 80 pounds, or a mahi of 82. More and more anglers here are taking on pelagics from kayaks: The fishing is outstanding, conditions are often near-perfect along a widely accessible coastline, and costs are minimal.

Playing with the Big Boys

Early morning launch

Top prize for Kona kayak anglers

Hard-earned prize

Productive Waters

Nearshore Giants, Too

A Stone’s Throw to Blue Water

Plenty Pupule

Wahoo City

Opelu — Prime and Primary Baitfish

Wahoo Want Wire

Gaff Alternative

Game Over for an Ono

The post Hawaii’s Kayak Fishing Hot Shots appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

NORTHEASTERN AUSTRALIA

KONA, HAWAII

BERMUDA

THE AZORES

MADEIRA / CANARY ISLANDS

CAPE VERDE

ASCENSION ISLAND

PIÑAS BAY, PANAMA

FIJI

ST. THOMAS, USVI; VANUATU; AND CABO SAN LUCAS

The post 10 Top Places to Catch Monster Marlin appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Ascent to Glory

A heart-throbbing scene unfolds on the deck of a sport-fisher as a marlin pops up in the trolling spread, dorsal flung high and pectorals aglow. With powerful, staccato sweeps of its massive tail, the billfish bursts toward the right flat line. All hell breaks loose as the billfish attacks. The crew scurries to action. A rod bends double. A clicker screams. Line melts away in a high‑speed blur.

It is what offshore anglers live for.

Yet when it comes to big-game fish, this scenario seems to repeat more for some boats than others. Such “lucky” sport-fishers seem to possess mythical powers, raising innumerable fish from the depths as if by tractor beam.

But do boats really attract offshore species such as mahi, marlin, sailfish, tuna and wahoo? Are some boats more apt to raise offshore fish than others? And if so, what is it that causes fish to home in on such an unnatural object as a boat?

These are the questions to which I sought answers from a variety of offshore-angling experts who have fished around the world, from Hawaii to Cape Hatteras to Guatemala.

Passing FAD

More than one expert has likened a boat to a floating object on the offshore grounds, where game fish are attracted to things such as weed lines and kelp paddies, as well as discarded pallets, offshore weather buoys and man-made FADs (fish-aggregating devices). In their shade and sanctuary, these floating objects often harbor a community of marine life spanning the food chain. So why wouldn’t fish view a boat — despite its transient nature — in the same way?

Anecdotal evidence suggests that a boat in and of itself — whether moving or stationary — will attract fish, according to most of the experts I talked with. What’s more, most believe that visual cues associated with the boat have a stronger influence on fish than do sounds or vibrations.

Supporting these assertions are observations by Hawaiian fishing authority and writer, Jim Rizzuto, who tells of two large yellowfin tuna swimming in the shadow of a 30-foot sport-fisher as it trolled for marlin. “The ahi were snuggling up against the hull and seemed not at all upset at the sight and sound of the boat,” Rizzuto says.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that a boat in and of itself — whether moving or stationary — will attract fish.

In addition, a big blue marlin showed about the same time. He estimated the fish in the 1,000-pound range. “All of these big fish seemed to be attracted to the boat and didn’t want to swim away” Rizzuto said. They appeared to make the boat their home, at least until the crew caught the yellowfin, though they failed to get the marlin.

During a recent trip down the Pacific Coast of Baja California, I witnessed a similar phenomenon in which a huge school of mahi vacated their residence under the floating carcass of a dead seal, preferring the shade of our drifting 39-foot SeaVee. The school stayed with us as we caught and released fish for more than two hours until we decided to throttle up and head for port.

Big Teaser

In some ways, a moving boat might be even more attractive to predatory fish than a stationary object. This is due to what some might call the big-teaser effect. Like a large, hookless teaser lure designed to create a commotion on the surface to simulate a school of fish attacking bait and draw the attention of a curious predator, the prop wash, froth, and splashing of the boat hull may accomplish the same thing.

Most big-game anglers assume that a boat moving through the water is your biggest teaser and the first thing that notifies a billfish of your presence. A boat is larger than any teaser, attracting fish from a distance. They see the boat, the teaser, then your bait.

Some captains believe that the boldest fish are also the largest ones, at least when it comes marlin, and so they are more likely to get close to the boat. “In Hawaii, the lures closest to the boat often draw strikes from the biggest fish,” Rizzuto says. Yet, the longer trolling lines usually take smaller fish.

A boat is larger than any teaser, attracting fish from a distance. They see the boat, the teaser, then your bait.

“As a result, big-game trollers generally position their largest lures just a few wakes back,” the Hawaiian angling expert explains.

The type of wake a boat lays down can also affect success, according to Randy Ramsey, president of North Carolina-based Jarrett Bay Boatworks. “Billfish are sight feeders, and a clean wake allows them to see the baits or lures more easily,” Ramsey explains.

Three factors that help keep create clean wakes include a hull that’s free of fouling, properly aligned running gear and well-tuned propellers, Ramsey believes.

Animal Magnetism

Pied Piper

Most experts agree that sound also plays a role in how well a boat raises offshore fish. While no one has conducted empirical testing, boats emitting the thrum from a pair of big diesel engines certainly catch a fair share of offshore fish. Yet, could this be the result of the greater number of twin-diesel sport‑fishers out there trolling?

Plenty of fish have also been caught by anglers trolling with multiple four-stroke outboard engines. That number seems to be on the rise as more and more supersize center-console boats head out to pursue big-game fish.

Many assert that the key seems to be the resonance set up between two or more marine power plants, rather than the type of engine. This results in a pulsed low-frequency sound underwater that draws in fish from a distance.

It has been long established that sharks are attracted to low-frequency, pulsed white noise, much like the sound of injured baitfish or a pair of out-of-synch diesel engines. We can only assume that billfish are attracted to this noise as well.

The correct harmonics make a big difference in whether fish will come to the boat to look at the lures, according to Capt. Brad Philipps, who runs Guatemala Fishing Adventures and has released more than 25,000 billfish.

“A captain’s preference for a -particular trolling speed may reflect his boat’s ‘sweet spot,’” he says. “Engines turning at a certain rpm range may produce a set of harmonics that raise billfish like the Pied Piper.”

How does he know when he has achieved this? The fish tell him so. “I know I’m pulling at the right speed when we’re getting as many or more bites than the boats around us.”

The type of hull construction might also play a role, Ramsey contends. “I look at boats such as Big Oh, Chainlink, Inspiration and Sensation — boats that have been successful with different crews,” he says. “One thing they all have in common is that these are wooden-cored boats. While these hulls might not be popular, wooden-cored boats might make them better at raising fish.”

Stay Tuned

Sometimes the harmonics can turn sour. This was the case with Kona, Hawaii, Capt. John Bagwell, according to Rizzuto. Bagwell and his boat, Silky, had been on a hot streak. He and his crew had won the 2013 Skins Tournament with a 645-pound blue marlin, and followed it up a few weeks later with Henry Chee Award for the highest-scoring skipper in the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (Aug. 3-10, 2013).

“Later in the year, however, Bagwell began to wonder if his 45-foot Viking had lost its competitive edge,” says Rizzuto. “The captain began to think the engines didn’t sound right.”

The fish evidently felt the same, as the boat was not getting as many blue marlin strikes as earlier in the year. So Bagwell had the boat hauled and ordered tune-ups on the twin 485 Detroit diesels, transmissions and running gear.

After the tune-up, Silky was again running as smoothly as its name, according to Rizzuto. And the fish returned to its wake. Silky and its crew picked up the pace, releasing a steady stream of billfish, just as before.

The lesson here: Sport-fishers require regular tune-ups if they are to maintain the harmonics that attract fish. “A squeaky bearing or bent prop blade could blow up into expensive problems,” says Rizzuto, “but none bigger than dragging down the fish count.”

Echoing that sentiment is Jarrett Bay’s Ramsey. “One thing is for sure,” he says, “if a boat has a bad vibration, bearing noise, bent prop shaft or other issues, this hurts the boat’s ability to raise fish.”

Ramsey points to evidence based on the success of new boats. “Have you ever noticed that new boats seem to catch better than older ones?” he asks. “I think it is because the bearings and running gear are tight. Crews and owners should pay attention to this as their boats age, and ensure everything is running properly.”

Size Can Matter

It seems that bigger sport-fishing boats consistently rack up higher scores than do smaller boats. But again, this might simply be a matter of numbers: In most parts of the world, there are more large sport-fishers offshore at any given time than there are smaller boats. And because of their size, larger boats can go big-game fishing on days when marginal weather and large seas force smaller boats to stay in port.

Yet, according to many experts, fish don’t care what kind of boat you are on. In my experience, I have found success in raising striped marlin off Southern California behind even smaller boats, including a -single-diesel-powered 26-foot convertible and a single-outboard-powered 22-foot center-console. Yet in most cases, the marlin were as thick as fleas offshore. On tougher days, the larger boats with twin engines seemed to hold the advantage when it came to trolling.

Running large hookless teasers, daisy chains of artificial squid, or dredges can help create more -commotion and enlarge your offshore “footprint” while trolling in a boat that’s smaller than rest of the fleet, and this can help level the playing field when fishing among the big boys.

Large and In Charge

Sounder Proof

How can you tell if your boat’s fishy? There is a way to test its fish-attracting power, according to Rizzuto, but it relies on keeping your eye on the fish finder. Sport-fishers equipped with high-quality fish finders — especially the newer CHIRP high-definition sounders — can mark fish such as marlin and tuna as deep as 20 to 30 fathoms.

“When you spot a marlin or tuna down deep on the fish finder, turn your head around and look at your wake,” Rizzuto advises. “Then count to 20.” It takes about 10 to 20 seconds for a curious blue marlin to swim to the surface to investigate, he contends.

“If you don’t see the fish slashing at your lures or tracking them, mark the spot on your GPS chart plotter and circle back after you are sure your lures have cleared the area with no interest from a billfish,” he adds. “Troll over the area again, and give the fish another chance to investigate.”

Raising fish such a marlin or tuna in this manner will prove that your boat has fish-attracting power, Rizzuto claims. “Every week I hear stories from skippers who have marked fish down deep and brought them up successfully for a solid strike,” he adds.

Men and Machine

Of course, a boat alone will not catch fish. The experience, knowledge, and hard work of an energetic captain and crew rank as essential elements of offshore success. It is the crew’s intimate understanding of how to take advantage of a boat’s fish-attracting characteristics that proves critical. The crew’s ability to select the best lures, gauge the proper trolling distances and choose the right speed — not only for the boat, but for the ever-changing sea conditions — can often mean more than anything else.

Just as a fine guitar requires a talented musician to make music, a modern fishing machine requires the skill of its captain and crew to make fish rise to the trolling spread. And when it comes together, there’s nothing in this world that’s more exciting. That’s why I call it raising havoc.

The post How to Use Your Boat to Catch Big-Game Pelagic Fish appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

Reporting from home port of Los Suenos, Costa Rica, Temple tells Sport Fishing that anglers aboard the 60-foot Carol Libby — a Spencer and American Custom Yachts hybrid — on June 26 released billfish number 430.

That breaks the record of 422 releases previously set by Capt. Bobby McGuinness on the Cazador out of Golfito in 2010.

Temple, with boat owner Greg Brandner and team, set out to nail down a new record for billfish releases this past February. In total 765 blue marlin were raised in 61 days of fishing (blacks, stripes and sails were not counted), with 614 bites and 430 releases of fish to an estimated 475 pounds. Most of the fish were caught by angler Keith Brandner. Also, Temple says, the team placed The Billfish Foundation tags in 310 of the fish released. “We also broke The Billfish Foundation’s record for the most blues tagged in one season, the most tagged in one cay and the most released in one day by a single anger (Keith Brandner single-handedly released 19 on two different days).”

He cites some amazing numbers for three consecutive days, going 10 for 13 on June 25, 12 for 21 on the 26th and seven for 10 on the 27th. Temple tells SF that on June 21, the boat enjoyed a one-day total of 21 blues released out of 25 strikes and went 21 for 26 on June 17. April 11 offered the highest one-day tally of all, with 22 released for 37 bites.

Though the record is broken, Temple says, the quest continues and these numbers will keep climbing. “We expect to set a whole lot more records before this is through!”

Breaking New Ground with 430 Billfish Releases

Happy Anglers and Crew

War Whoop of Victory

High Fives Well Earned

Another Tag About to Go

The post New Records for Blue Marlin Releases Set Off Costa Rica appeared first on Sport Fishing Mag.

The coastal and canyon waters off Long Island’s south shore are, in fact, for a brief 10-week period each year, one of the most prolific blue marlin hot spots in the western north Atlantic. That’s not urban legend but documented fact.

So let’s head offshore to find out where, when and why Long Island may be the home of the next grander blue marlin.

Science Lesson

To better understand why blue marlin find these coastal waters so attractive, I went to one source who could explain the science of it all. Few experts are better qualified than Dr. Mitch Roffer, president of Roffer’s Ocean Fishing Forecasting Service (roffs​.com) and adjunct professor in the department of marine biology at the Florida Institute of Technology.

According to Roffer: “The key to finding big blue marlin is to locate the clockwise eddies that form along the northern side of the Gulf Stream and work their way inshore, getting trapped along the walls and drop-offs of the various northeast canyons that are prevalent in the New York Bight and New England areas.”

These pinch-off eddies effectively trap blue water and the migratory fish that are using the Gulf Stream to aid their seasonal migration movements. The best conditions for productive fishing action are where the combination of Gulf Stream and continental-shelf waters mixes to form blue-green water. This brings together baitfish from the continental shelf and migratory marlin that leave the Gulf Stream to feed. The best location to find this phenomenon is where the current pushes into structure in one specific location for three to seven days. This allows enough time for the ocean’s convergent forces to concentrate phytoplankton, then zooplankton, and then baitfish such as flyingfish, squid and anchovies.

“If the water’s too turbid, visual-feeding billfish will not be successful in finding their prey, and they won’t stay in the area,” says Roffer. “Water that’s too clear indicates there’s no substantial abundance of plankton or baitfish.”

For surface trolling, blue marlin prefer waters from 72 to 78 degrees F, he says. When water temps get above 78 degrees, the fish simply swim deeper in the water column near the thermocline. Favorite forage baits for marlin in the Northeast are squid, small mahi, tinker mackerel, skipjack and other small tunas (such as yellowfin, albacore and false albacore, which are called “little tunny” in the Northeast).

Time of the Season

Looking back at my detailed offshore fishing logs starting from 1980, the optimum 10-week period to target blue marlin in both near and offshore canyon waters is from the middle of July through the end of September, when the dreaded alphabet-storm season is in full swing.

One positive indicator that big blue marlin might be in town coincides with the arrival of dorado in Long Island’s offshore waters. The first mahi usually show up in shark fishermen’s chum slicks somewhere between July 4 and mid-July, when inshore shelf waters warm up to 73 degrees. I have taken dozens of dorado from lobster-pot buoys dotting the Hudson Canyon, the Dip, and Block Canyon, including the near-coastal weather buoys, that all sported fresh slash marks on their sides from being battered by big blue marlin.

Not coincidentally, many reports of monster marlin catches and sad tales about ones that got away take place the last two weeks of July. One eventful day back on July 20, 1986, put Long Island on the blue-marlin map and made everyone take notice.

Big-Game Hunters

Capt. Harry Clemenz of Montauk, New York, is no stranger to the offshore scene. He was one of the first canyon explorers in the early 1960s who discovered the prodigious blue-water fishery south of Long Island. Clemenz rocked the fishing world with an incredible New York state record that still stands today as the largest blue marlin caught off the East Coast of the continental U.S. The 1,174½-pound behemoth was bested by 19-year-old angler Bill Sweedler Jr., under Clemenz’s command, on July 20, 1986, after a five-hour slugfest. Now in his mid-80s and still a Montauk legend, “Clem” shared his blue marlin moment with me.

“I was running the 46-Bertram Tempo for Bill Sweedler Sr. back then. We set up this offshore trip around a favorable weather window,” Clemenz says. “At the last minute, Bill had to commit to a golf outing, but his two boys and a few friends were looking forward to the trip offshore to the Block Canyon Fish Tails, so we left Montauk in the dark and arrived at the 100-fathom line just before daybreak.

“We started trolling south of the Tails. I was working a 68-to-72-­degree temperature break near the 500-fathom Lobster Claw when a big blue came into our spread and approached a modified blue-and-white Hakuna Hawaiian lure. This lure was dancing on the third wave, attached to a Penn 80 on a flat-line clip, when the marlin struck it with a vengeance.

“There were a series of surface jumps, and then the big girl sounded in 2,500 feet of water,” says Clemenz. “Bill Jr. got in the chair and I ran the boat, trying to get some line back on the reel. It was a down-and-dirty fight, but after two hours, the rod suddenly snapped in half. At that point, I jumped down from the flybridge and stripped some line from the Penn 80 International before the marlin could go on another run.”

Acting decisively, Clemenz removed some Dacron from a Penn 130 outfit to make room for the 80-pound line that was already in the water. He connected the two lines with a blood knot, and now Sweedler was fighting the marlin on the 130 outfit. Three grueling hours later, they were able to get the blue up on the surface, and it started coming to the boat backward — it was tail-wrapped!

“Backing down toward the billfish, we were able to get a tail rope around the big girl, but then the fun started,” Clemenz says. “How were we going to get her on board for the ride back to Montauk?”

Fortunately, the Tempo had a tuna door in the stern. When they returned to the Montauk Marine Basin, the fish measured 15 feet, 4 inches in length with a 7-foot-9-inch girth. Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute who examined the billfish determined it was a 30-year-old female. This fish of a lifetime put Montauk on the map as a prime spot for catching big blue marlin.

Always Be Ready

Clem’s story isn’t the only tale of big blues off Long Island; plenty of other oversize billfish have been tagged and released, or lost after heartbreaking battles. In July 2011, Dr. Lou Pastore of the Moriches Anglers Club had the good fortune of catching and releasing his sixth blue marlin while fishing Long Island’s offshore waters. His most recent catch, an estimated 850-pound female, was caught just south of the 100-fathom line near the Dip, the confluence of two canyons (Ryan and McMaster, recently named by the U.S. Geological Survey) ­positioned between the Hudson and Block canyons. The big blue hit a green Moriches Mauler lure and was angled boat-side on a 50W outfit in only two hours. It was tagged, revived and released.

Clem’s record blue surpassed a pair of 940-pounders caught off Long Island back in 1981 and 1984 respectively. Pete Fisher, an East Coast marlin fanatic from the mid-’80s, boated an 835-pounder in 1985 and an 800-pounder that was weighed at the Montauk scales a week before the Tempo’s catch.

But big blues are not limited to deep canyon waters, and will venture inshore to 20- and 30-fathom depths to seek their favorite forage. Last year, Capt. Nick Savene from Oceanside, New York, trolled up an estimated 550-pound blue marlin south of the wreck of the British tanker Coimbra. His angler fought and released the billfish in 180 feet of water south of Shinnecock, New York. Back in the late ’90s, Capt. Billy Martin and “Mako” Mike Townsend lost an even larger blue in only 17 fathoms, southeast of Fire Island, after a punishing nine-hour fight. The moral of these stories is that if you have 73-degree water off Long Island with an abundance of forage like dorado, skippies and other small baitfish in the area, a hungry marlin can make an appearance without warning. If you fish the Island’s fertile offshore waters and get the chance to tackle a big blue marlin, consider tagging and releasing it to fight another day.

Best of Both Worlds

Most big blue marlin caught in Long Island waters are hooked accidentally while fishermen troll for tuna. With seven species of tunas in the neighborhood (bluefin, yellowfin, ­albacore, bigeye, skipjack, Atlantic bonito and little tunny), someone is usually around and always hungry. This fact is a reason that many marlin are broken off by shocked tuna anglers.

If you scale down your tackle to catch 10- to 40-pound tuna, and a big blue comes calling, in all likelihood your small outfit will fail. If you run heavier tackle for that once-in-a-lifetime grander marlin, that takes some of the sport and enjoyment out of catching smaller tunas.

I have solved that problem by going with reels capable of heavy, 25- to 40-pound-strike drag settings, such as the Penn 30 and 50 VSX reels, and filling them with braided line. They are relatively lightweight, and hold impressive quantities of line (650 yards of 100-pound braid for the 30; 875 yards of 130-pound braid for the 50) that will come in handy if and when that big blue hits a lure. Attach the reel to a 6-foot (50- to 130-pound) stand-up stick of your preference and a heavy-duty harness-and-belt setup (like those made by Braid or AFTCO).

Many marlin specialists will eschew this “mouse tackle,” and go right to the big guns in the form of bent-butt 80Ws and 130s. If this heavy-duty gear is your preferred route, you’ll need a quality fighting chair and footrest, along with an adjustable bucket harness, all of which can set you back $8,000 or more.

When it comes to lures, usually bigger is better to attract big blues into your spread. Hawaiian swimmers such as Black Bart, Joe Yee, Melton and Polu Kai catch marlin with great consistency worldwide. You’ll need larger 11/0 and 12/0 hooks to rig these lures. Since all of the 800- to 1,000-pound blue marlin you’ll meet have significant mass and length, a 20-foot leader is a must, which will require your leader man to really have his act together when bringing any large billfish boat-side.

I’ve had a number of run-ins with blue marlin off Long Island during my charter operations. They are definitely here and ready to rumble.

About the Author

Capt. John N. Raguso runs MarCeeJay Sport Fishing (marceejay.com) out of Long Island, New York. He has published more than 3,000 articles since the mid-’80s on topics including saltwater fishing, boating, marine electronics, guns and ammo.

Long Island Blues

Long Island Blues

Long Island Blues

Long Island Blues

Long Island Blues

Long Island Blues

Long Island Blues

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