**Warning, first big Blue Marlin of the season is mentioned in this post!!**
I guess the Tropical Storm season is upon us now. While Beatriz was nearly 400 miles away, those tropical storms have a way of really moving things around in the surrounding waters. A week ago we were stoked with 80 degree water, and Marlin, Tuna, Dorado and Wahoo less than 10 miles from the Marina. Things changed with Beatriz. The winds picked up, water temps dropeed and the fish scattered.
Sunday was really the first day we felt the effects. Steve Selby and his boys, Patrick, Evan, and Kelly along with family friend Gary Holbrook were our lone fishermen on Sunday. They worked the Herradura Bank towards the 95 and couldn't get into the fish. Finally, they got word of some Tuna a few miles further out and got into 4 nice Tuna, the largest being 35lbs.
Monday was just a mess, winds made the water super choppy and the cold water moved in. Derrick Thrappas and his crew hooked into a Marlin that they lost and came back with 1 Yellowfin, but they said it was a rough ride.
Randy Harris and his family from the Los Angeles area also hooked into a Marlin and a Dorado but missed both fish. They too said it was a bumpy ride out there. Damn it Beatriz, you are messing with my customers! The Harris' were super cool and understood there was nothing we could do about the weather or the fishing conditions so that was nice. Nothing worse than angry customers who are mad about things completely out of our control.
Yesterday, things got a little better fishing wise but it was still rough out there. As Tropical Storm Beatriz was still 350 miles away and dissipating, we were still experiencing some of it's effects.
Carrie and Jerry Peck wanted a Marlin in the worst way and you know the the guys from Team RedRum always do their best to make that happen. Carrie was a trooper, getting sick all day, but sticking with it. It was all worth it in the end as they caught and released a 9', 150lb Stiped Marlin.
Steve Selby and his son Evan, along with Gary Holbrook were back at it for day 2 of 2 with the boys on RedRum. They knew fishing would be tough with the weather, but made the best of it and caught and released a nice 150lb Striped Marlin.
Finally, "Rob and the Philly Crew," had a phenominal day on the water. They had me worried when they still weren't back at 3:30, then 4:00, 4:30, and even 5:00pm... This usually means one of two things. A) They had a problem with the boat (which would not have been good since we couldn't get in touch with them as they were out of cell range, but we weren't hearing anything on the VHF either.) or B) They had a Big fish.
B) It was, and by "B" I mean Blue Marlin, Big, and Badass!
I finally talked to another Captain about 5pm that told me he saw "Rob and the Philly Crew" doing battle with a Big Blue Marlin near the 1150 bank and it was pulling them further offshore. Thus the reason we couldn't reach the cell phone of the Captain or Mate, and also the reason we didn't hear any radio (VHF) chatter. The Captain was busy manuevering the boat and the mate was working with the clients. I am intentionally not telling you which boat or crew because I don't want you guys picking any favorites.
Anyway, as luck would have it, the Big Blue, estimated by the boys at over 500lbs hit a rigged Ballyhoo on a Penn 30 loaded with 40 lb test line. A daunting task for even the most experienced angler. After 4 plus hours of passing the rod and reel back and forth and getting pulled a total of close to 40 miles offshore, the line finally reached it's breaking point. Rob said it was an awesome experience and they got to see the fish jump out of the water completely several times. They had it as close to 50 feet from the boat a few times, but this was just too much fish for the reel and line. They did manage to catch and release another small Striped Marlin and also caught a small Yellowfin.
The Blues are around and it shouldbe a great season if we are getting into them already!
-Ryan
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
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