I’ll begin by saying this was the most satisfying tournament we have participated in. The communication and sharing of information between the 3 boats was fantastic.
The results proved that when we found out we won Top Club and Top Team awards plus 2nd place angler (Chris Bailey ) and 6th place angler (Zach Waters) On top of that we were so close to winning it all in a down year where only 10 fish were released.
For the club members who don’t fish for Marlin, you need to give it a try. Sure it’s boring when you troll around all day and don’t get any action but there are days when the action in non-stop. Day 1 was one of those days.
Team Jefe graciously pre-fished on Thursday. They found the fish and had a fantastic day, releasing 2 fish. I’ll let Geoff fill in the details. This information set the stage for everyone to be in the right area at lines in.
Day 1 -Showtime
I fished with Bob Waters, Zach Waters and Ryan McDonald. We got the pre-fish dope from Geoff and left the harbor at 5:20, head to the drop off at the 270. We had 2 working guys so we were late to the area (as usual) with lines in at 7:15. Water temp was 70.6.
At 8:15, at 39-36 we saw a feeder but couldn’t get on it as it was too far away
At 8:40 we get a zip on port short corner, put a drop back in the water, which ended up being a shark bite off. (1)
At 9:00, at 41-38 we see a feeder
At 9:35, at 40-37 we get a knockdown on the stbd rigger, super secret EAL lure (2)
At 9:55 at 38-38 we see a feeder
At 10:10, at 38-38 we get a knockdown port rigger(3)
At 10:50, at 36-37 we see a jumper 71.5 water then get a. knockdown on the rigger and short corner (4-5),
At 11:16, we get a double on a blue short corner and eal stbd rigger. Both fish have good hook set, both fish head to the bow and are taking a lot of line off the reels. Zach is on 20 lb, Ryan is on 30 lb. Both anglers are worried about being spooled. Ryan's fish is cut off when the fish cross each other. Zach’s fish is still on. We concentrate on that fish and release it at at 11:43. We are happy as clams but realize we should have released both fish. The worst part for me is, the magic lure is gone. That lure accounted for 7 or so knockdowns this season alone(6-7),
At 12:45, at 36-37 we see a feeder,
At 1:15, at 36-36 we see a jumper,
At 37-37, we find a school of large tuna on the surface but we think it's porpoise and just motor by.
At 1:30, at 38-39 we see a feeder,
At 2:30, at 36-39 we see a jumper,
At close to 5:30 we start heading towards the island and wanted to check out the 500 fathom drop off. At 5:50, at 39-32 we get a knockdown on the port rigger (
.
The count for the day 8,2,1. We had a lot of action. We put drop back mackerel and ballyhoo in the water but never came close to getting those baits in any fish other than the shark.
There was a lot of boat activity in the area just above the 270. At some point, I decided to find new ground that wasn’t being hit hard so we moved from the 270 towards the 286. This was the best decision of the day as it put in place to get the double hookup.
Day 2
We got a late start and head to 286 area.
At 9:30 we get a mako bite on short line and release it.
At 9:51, at 37-38 we get a knock down on the port rigger. takes a lot of line off the reel before coming off. (1). I called it in a little too soon so they counted it as a knockdown.
We worked the area we got the fish on day 1 for that single opportunity. We eventually joined the fleet above the 270. Lots of boats working that area.
At 12:45, at 40-41 a fish comes into the pattern, first on a short line, then the stbd rigger, goes to the port rigger. Zach puts drop back in water, fish goes to drop back, turns away and disappeared. Nothing else for the rest of the day. 1, 0, 0
Nice trip. Good weather. I fully believe we should have got 3 fish but that’s marlin fishing for you.
Dana Angling Club