sicsum

I’ve been very lucky to have met 2 of the nicest captains (both friends) you could ever expect to meet. These guys are great at what they do… find fish! Catching, of course, is up to the angler. ;) Over the course of the last 7 years (I go once a year) I have been fortunate enough to land some great fish. Tuna, Mahi, shark and marlin. A few years ago a buddy of mine and I were fishing with these 2 excellent captains. My friend had already been ‘hooked-up’ with his first ever white marlin on this trip. Trolling around late in the day it was looking more and more like I would have to wait until next trip for my chance at mr.white. I listened to ‘last call’ from the bridge (5 more minutes) and was just about to get comfortable on one of the couches for the long ride back to the marina when I heard the rapid buzzing and clicking of one of the reels. Fish on! My turn had come and I was glad it did. Whites are at the smaller end of their species family tree but don’t let their size fool you. White marlin are solid, fluid motion, pure muscle and fighting for their life. At just a wee bit under 6 ft. and about 65 lbs., this raging rocket of a fish had us both spent of energy after 20 minutes before it was tagged and released back to the blue. This was without doubt one of the greatest fishing experiences I have ever had even though it was not the biggest fish. Back in 2000 I was able to land a 300+ lb. blue marlin (tag and release) with the same crew. The blue took twice as long to get in but toward the end became heavy, dead weight after all it’s energy was gone. I didn’t want to or couldn’t for that matter, pick up a hooked-up set up for at least 30 minutes after that fight. I don’t use a chair, it’s all stand-up for me. It was brutal. ;)