Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2015 i Marlin

AUGUST 8 – 15, KONA, HAWAII Anglers come from far and wide to fish the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament; why is this so? The beautiful and calm Kona waters off Hawaii’s Big Island are full of surprises, and one lure might be pounced on by a 100-pound striped marlin, then an hour later the same lure could be devoured by an 800-pound blue marlin, that’s why. Huge yellowfin tuna are always lurking in the warm currents as well. These hard-fighting tuna also score valuable points in the HIBT. This year, 31 teams participated in the seven-day HIBT, which has been running now for 56 years. This is a fantastic achievement and a credit to hardworking founder and director Peter Fithian and his wife, Roberta. The team of expert officials working…

IF SANTA CATALINA IS WHERE SPORT FISHING BEGAN, THE BAHAMAS IS WHERE MODERN-DAY TACKLE, TACTICS AND SPORT-FISHING BOATS WERE PERFECTED. EVERYTHING FROM THE AGGRESSIVE FISHING STYLE WE USE TODAY TO OUTRIGGERS, TWO-SPEED BIG-GAME REELS, THE BIMINI TWIST AND 100 PERCENT ALBRIGHT KNOT GOT THEIR START IN THE BAHAMAS. THESE CAME AS A RESULT OF FISHERMEN SHARING IDEAS OVER DOCK TIME AT BIMINI, CAT CAY, CHUB AND WALKER’S CAY. Those exchanges led to the creation of organizations like the International Game Fish Association and The Billfish Foundation, and tournaments like the Bertram-Hatteras Shootout. The Bahamas is where John Rybovich got the idea to build the aluminum tuna tower and transom tuna door, where Jo Jo Del Guercio sketched the first rocket launcher and Roy Merritt the first mezzanine. Clubs like Cat…

Ever since Zane Grey shoved off from California to fish and explore the waters around the Baja Peninsula and the Sea of Cortez on his 190-foot three-masted schooner, Fisherman, intrepid anglers have pushed the limits and found ways to make traveling and fishing in far-flung spots a relative comfort rather than a chore. Grey pioneered the whole mothership experience out of necessity; in 1925 there were few places that had any kind of accommodations or amenities for either boats or fishermen along the Mexican coastline, so he had to bring everything with him. GREY OUTFITTED FISHERMAN FOR THE ULTIMATE GUYS VACATION, WHICH HE WOULD LATER CHRONICLE IN THE CLASSIC TALES OF FISHING VIRGIN WATERS. THE SCHOONER BOASTED NINE STATEROOMS, A CARPENTRY SHOP AND EVEN A DARKROOM FOR DEVELOPING FILM. HE…

Your car or truck has been running on a digital backbone for decades. Marine engines have been computerized since the 1990s. Even now, when you turn the radio or headlights on, you’re probably sending a digital signal to a digital switch. But in most boats today, electrical systems are as analog as they were in 1950. Why? Well, actually, many are not analog at all. After the Great Recession, big outboard expresses and center-consoles were being developed faster than any other category of boat, and customers were becoming increasingly affected by digital mania thanks to the touch screens on smartphones. They wanted a user interface that did away with rows of corrosion-prone mechanical switches and said goodbye to an array of analog gauges, and hello to sleek, modern and efficient…

At any given point between Palm Beach and Key Largo, Florida, you can look offshore in wintertime and see kites flying high above sport-fishing boats chasing sailfish along the edge. There is no denying the importance of live bait to captains and anglers in this region, but making bait is not as easy as it once was. Recent developments, spurred by Coast Guard initiatives and Miami’s Government Cut deep-dredging project, have taken away a valuable baitfishing spot and threatened the future of others. Vital not only from an ecological standpoint, live bait drives the sailfish fishery, which draws anglers from around the world and raises the adrenaline levels of tournament teams throughout winter. The East Range Marker, known by South Florida anglers as the Bent Range Marker, recently was on…

AS A CHILD I SPENT THE SUMMERS ON OUR BOAT AT RUDEE INLET IN VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA. I REMEMBER WINNING THE KIDS BLUEFISH TOURNAMENT AND LEAVING THE DOCK AT MIDNIGHT TO TAKE A 12-KNOT CRUISE TO THE BILLFISH GROUNDS. Every August, teams would fill up Fisherman’s Wharf and the Virginia Beach Fishing Center for the Virginia Beach Marlin Tournament. It was during those Labor Day weekends that I developed a palate, if you will, for Carolina boats. Sportsman’s Carolinian, Irvine Forbes’ My Boy and the boat that stole my heart, P.D. Gwaltney’s No Problem. I didn’t know then that each was a marvel and that I, as a small kid and later as a fish-crazy teenager, was witness to history in the making. I say that No Problem stole my…

Keeping live bait healthy and lively is a big job, but with some new tools and the proper procedures, doing so has become easier. Live-bait management is pretty much the same everywhere from Atlantic to Pacific and north to south. Some bait species are more hardy than others, but when cared for, they all make for a great day fishing. Catching the bait with care is where it all starts; if you are not taking steps to properly care for the bait as you catch it, the likelihood of that bait being stressed is high. Once you’ve caught your bait, having the right wells in which to put it can make a huge difference. The days of putting bait in an in-deck well with free-flowing holes through the bottom of…

Whether you’re meeting John Vance of Jim Smith Boats for the first time or you’ve known him for many years, it’s evident he is not only a master craftsman but also a historian of the sport-fishing industry. Vance continues the heritage that has kept Jim Smith Boats at the top of its game for many years. That tradition continues with the launch of the new 86-foot Smith, Sapelo. With classic lines designed for speed, economy and comfort, Sapelo’s streamlined look makes it seem as though it’s piercing the water even while sitting still. SPECS LOA: 86' BEAM: 21'6" DRAFT: 5' FUEL: 3,500 GAL. (as space allows) WATER: 600 GAL. POWER: TWIN 2,600 HP MTU 16V SERIES 2000 M94 SALON Upon entering Sapelo, the first thing you notice is the great…

LEFT TEASER! Jessica Haydahl Richardson shot this incredible photo of a blue marlin on the left teaser while fishing for light-tackle world records with angler Gary Carter in Panama. Pulling all teasers and working as a team, the crew decided which line class to pitch depending on the size of the blue in the spread. LOCATION Captured in December while in Piñas Bay, Panama, aboard Picaflor with Capt. Wade Richardson TECH SPECS CAMERA: Nikon D7000 LENS: Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 VR II ISO: 400 APERTURE: f/7.1 SPEED: 1/1200 sec…

Nonessentials…

Subject Chasing Light-Tackle Blues Location 8° 31’ 36.1236’’ N 85° 37’ 48.6768’’ W Date August 2015 The two-day overnighter aboard Gary Carter’s G&S Silver-Rod-O 100 miles off Costa Rica was unlike anything I could have imagined. Every 20 to 30 minutes, Capt. Yoan would scream out as the shadows of an electrified billfish entered the spread. It seemed we spent more hours in reverse than forward and raised 40 blues, releasing 21 in the 150- to 300-pound range. Several times we had two fish in the spread, and at one point even had three fish raised. Never had I seen a fish’s pectoral fins charged with intense light, glowing with piercing shades of blue and purple. It was a fishing photographer’s dream, and I just needed to keep my balance…

ANDREW WEST DR. ANDREW WEST TEACHES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NATIONS IN HAWAII AND HAS CONDUCTED SEMINAL RESEARCH ON LARVAL BLUE MARLIN THAT HAS LED TO A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF GROWTH RATES AND SPAWNING AREAS. PLUS, HIS CONSULTING BUSINESS LED HIM INTO A SECOND CAREER AS A REALITY-TV STAR. MICHAEL MUSYL AFTER ESTABLISHING THE PELAGIC RESEARCH GROUP, DR. MICHAEL MUSYL COLLABORATED WITH WEST TO DEPLOY POP-UP SATELLITE ARCHIVAL TAGS IN MARLIN CAUGHT OFF HAWAII TO DETERMINE MIGRATION PATTERNS. THEIR RESEARCH LED TO NEW AND MORE POSITIVE ESTIMATES OF POST-RELEASE SURVIVAL RATES FOR TAGGED BILLFISH; A VERY HIGH PERCENTAGE OF THE FISH THEY TAGGED SURVIVED. BILLFISH HAD AN 86 PERCENT SURVIVAL RATE, NO MATTER HOW THEY WERE CAUGHT, A SIGNIFICANT FINDING PASTOR, PIG TRAPPER, PH.D., REALITY-TV STAR, DECKHAND, PROFESSOR, FILM PRODUCER,…

Sally Girl was just back from the Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament when I saw her in her slip at Pirate's Cove Marina in Manteo, North Carolina. Like so many of Scarborough Boatworks’ creations, this boat represents a personal collaboration between the builder and the owner. Sally Girl was built for father and son Chauncey and Jason Krahenbill, of Edenton, North Carolina, both avid marlin fishermen who run and fish the boat themselves in tournaments, often against paid professional teams. In the few weeks since taking delivery, they had already taken fourth in the VBBT, fifth in the Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament and placed in the top 10 at the Carolina Boat Builders. Not bad, considering they had just a little over 200 hours on the engines. GENERAL APPEARANCE Sally Girl…

Of all the places in the world that big blue marlin frequent, the small Portuguese island of Madeira usually isn’t the first one that jumps to the front of most American anglers’ minds. Madeira’s proximity to Europe casts a unique European vibe that isn’t the palm-trees-andsand experience most blue marlin fishermen are used to. Instead, it’s like a small Portuguese mountain village that was somehow scooped up and plopped down in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. When you throw in a mix of great people, tremendous food and a reputation for truly giant blue marlin, Madeira somehow makes marlin fishing more civilized! The island itself, however, is far from civilization, lying 280 miles off the African coast, about 250 miles north of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Madeira is…