Innholdsfortegnelse for August - September 2015 i Marlin

The International Billfish Tournament of Club Náutico de San Juan, being held Sept. 24-30, is set to become a 30-pound-test event for the first time, providing anglers with increased challenges while setting the bar higher for conservation efforts. “We are hoping to increase the international angler participation with a change to 30-pound-test line,” says Ricky Jaén, chairman of the 62nd tournament. “Boats will still be allowed to fish with the same group of anglers throughout the tournament, and we will keep innovating ways to offer the best tournament.” Visiting anglers wishing to fish the peak of marlin season off Puerto Rico can also take advantage of the rotating boat system the tournament offers, allowing anglers to fish and compete on a different boat every day. IGFA PARTNERS ON CARIBBEAN BILLFISH…

For centuries, stories of jewels and treasures in the Caribbean attracted those brave enough to ply these waters in search of commerce. Things have settled somewhat since those days of glory, but one thing remains true : There are still jewels and treasures to be found. If you need proof, look no further than the Turks and Caicos Islands. To be sure, hundreds of iconic island paradises can be found in this corner of the world, but few rival the talcumlike sandy beaches, the barrier-reef environment that surrounds much of this island group, and the 60 square miles of pristine flats habitat that hold huge schools of uneducated bonefish. Landing at night in the capital of Providenciales (known locally as “Provo”), I knew not what to expect come morning light,…

May 13-17, Orange Beach, Alabama Twenty-five teams competed in the 17th annual Orange Beach Billfish Classic, kicking off the fishing season in the Gulf, where boats had released a great number of blue marlin throughout winter and into spring. With anticipation high, it was Rise Up, a 56-foot Viking, that boated the 502.2-pound tournament-winning blue marlin. Rusty Skalla and his team also took third place in the release division. Ono Ocean finished in second place, and Iona Louise rounded out the top three in the blue marlin division. The fish caught by Iona Louise had a very old Billfish Foundation tag in it, and scientists are trying to recover the historical data on the tattered tag. “I’ve never seen a tag that appeared to be in a fish as long…

In a famous 2002 interview, now-retired NBA star Allen Iverson responded to criticism that he sometimes skipped practice by saying, “We’re talking about practice. We ain’t talking about the game! We’re talking about practice, man!” That interview came to mind when I tried to rationalize J hook usage outside of billfish tournaments. Why is it that circle hooks are required when fishing in billfish tournaments but not when the majority of anglers are fishing for sailfish, white marlin and blue marlin outside of them? Professional athletes can’t change the shape or size of the ball between games and practices (except maybe Tom Brady), so why is it that we aren’t required to practice like we play when chasing billfish? Current federal regulations only require circle hooks in tournaments when anglers…

AS I DONNED AN INFLATABLE LIFE JACKET AND TOOK A SEAT IN THE HELICOPTER, MY EXCITEMENT WAS PARAMOUNT. IT WAS NOT ONLY MY FIRST RIDE IN A HELICOPTER, BUT MY FIRST TIME FISHING IN PANAMA. I WASN’T QUITE SURE WHAT THE ADVENTURE WOULD ENTAIL, BUT I LIKED IT NONETHELESS. TAKING OFF AMONG THE MANY HANGARS AT THE MARCOS A. GELABERT AIRPORT, JUST WEST OF THE CITY, I COULD SEE THE SKYLINE OF PANAMA CITY BREAK THROUGH THE LOW-LYING RAIN CLOUDS AS WE SLOWLY ASCENDED ABOVE THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE. BANKING HARD TO THE RIGHT, WE COULD SEE THE PANAMA CANAL, AND OUT IN FRONT OF US WAS THE CALM PACIFIC WITH COUNTLESS CARGO SHIPS AWAITING THEIR TRANSIT THROUGH THE CANAL EN ROUTE TO THE ATLANTIC. As the greenish-blue water turned…

With Turks and Caicos located 580 miles southeast of Miami, and 170 miles northwest of Puerto Playa, Dominican Republic, it is the perfect spot to pull in and sample the blue-water fishery on your trips traversing this area. The Blue Haven Marina is an IGY facility, and manager Adam Foster is well-equipped to help with any questions. The Blue Haven Resort offers great accommodations, with a gourmet supply store to restock the boat should food shortage be an issue. The islands have several tournaments worthy of note, with the biggest being the Caicos Classic IGFA Billfish Release Tournament in July. A qualifying Offshore World Championship event, this three-day tournament offers great fishing and an opportunity to share these amazing islands with the family for a quality vacation opportunity. caicosclassic.tc If…

With the Cabo Yachts brand getting absorbed into the fold at Hatteras, the folks at the headquarters of the storied brand from New Bern, North Carolina, had a great opportunity to increase model offerings, and the new Hatteras 45 Express Cruiser combines the best of both brands. A roomy helm deck, ample fishing room in the cockpit and a wellappointed belowdecks living area make this a desirable rig for owners wishing to run their own boat with liveaboard capacity and the social aspects that express boats offer. Hatteras offers the 45 Express in Cruiser and Sportfish configurations, as well as in two layouts: single-state and two-stateroom models. We tested the single version. This flexibility makes the boat appealing for those looking for that midsize express for living space, fishing room…

PUTTING NEW LINE on your reels always starts by taking off the old line. Because you don’t have to be as careful with the old line, and to save time, you can run all of the lines from each of your reels through one central location to help you remove it all at once. On You Never Know, I attach a dog clip to a tether and tie it off to a cleat on the transom. I then run all the lines through the clip, put the reels in free-spool and dump them all at once. If you want to do this on the run in from fishing, you can forget about the clip and run all the lines through the gimbal on the chair and pull the line off…

The islands of American Samoa could be considered the United States’ stepping stone into the South Pacific. The five main islands in the group include Tutuila, Ta’u, Ofu, Olosega and Aunu’u. In total, they have a land area of 76 square miles. Tutuila (of which the town of Pago Pago, pronounced “pango pango,” is the main center) contains about two-thirds of the total area and is home to 95 percent of the 65,000 islanders. It is believed that the original Polynesian explorers arrived around 3,000 years ago, and first contact with Europeans was with the Dutch in 1722. American Samoa has been a territory of the United States since the signing of the Deed of Cession in 1900. The Pago Pago Harbor area was the site of a coaling station…

Anyone who has fished for billfish in Central America or Mexico knows the term sancocho . Mates, captains and other anglers gleefully shout this good-natured term of derision at you when you drop back a rigged ballyhoo to a sailfish or marlin, but miss the fish and reel in only the head of the bait on the hook. That’s a sancocho. We’ve all suffered through our share of these events, as a billfish escapes with a free meal at our expense. It usually happens when you hold on to the spool too long; knowing just when to drop the bait back makes all the difference, but if you let the fish grab the tail of the bait and then hesitate, you’re on a one-way trip to sancocho city. I’ve asked…

You wouldn’t expect to see a sport-fishing boat in the little railroad town of Apex, North Carolina, but the folks at Winter Custom Yachts have put the landlocked town on the map in the sport-fishing world. The rigs they build have quickly gained notoriety for their fishing prowess and a reputation for delivering what the owner wants. Owners Tim Winters and Will Copeland began building their Carolinastyle boats in 2005, with a focus on engineering, design and high quality. The company has produced everything from a couple of 15-foot flats skiffs to outboard and inboard centerconsoles, walkaround express models with conventional and pod drives, and full-on sport-fishing boats up to 64 feet. I hadn’t had a chance to ride or fish on one until this test, so I was glad…