Weekly Fishing Report

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Fishing is still slow, sometimes very slow. There are no real signs of Tuna anywhere, just a few here and there. The Wahoo fishing is not much better. We are just picking up one or two here and there and, if you’re lucky to keep most of them on the hook, you’ll end up with an okay day.

DeMako fished both days of the weekend. Saturday, we had the “Chumster” on board for his Birthday trip.  Everyone had a great time, even though fishing was slow, with only 4 bites. We had some bad luck, so we only boated 1 Wahoo. On Sunday, we fished with Dave & Terry and managed to rack up 6 Wahoos out of 7 bites, a couple of small ones and 3 good ones (30-45lbs).

For all you Whale watchers, the time is now! The Humpbacks are everywhere, but don’t wait, as they will be gone in a few weeks.

On Sunday, we had Bob Imsho and his friend, Eddie, from  New Jersey.  Bob is a regular and had chartered the boat when one of his friends caught the 1,352 lb Blue Marlin, on August 1, 1995.  On this charter, there was no Blue Marlin caught, but they did get six Wahoo strikes, but only managed to boat two of them.  Regardless, Bob and Eddie had a great time and it was good to see him again.

Hurry up, May.  You KNOW we have to catch fish in May!  There is no such thing as poor fishing in May - always lots of Wahoo & Tunas then, right?

With the slow fishing comes slow bookings.  Charters are spotty, making it even harder to find out where the fish are hiding, but that will change, too, very soon.  So, look out for next weeks report.  There will be fish to write about!

Average Wahoo size is good (30-50lbs.), not the spring lizard we are used to seeing this time of year.  Still no Blue Marlin sighting, although with those small Tunas showing up, you know Mr. Blue can not be far behind.

De Mako’s biggest catch was on Monday, with 13 Wahoo’s and a Spearfish.  All in all, we had a good week, catching 53 Wahoo’s, a few Dolphins and a few Tuna’s. 

But, our big day came today!  We had the pleasure of the Collins family trip and, after catching 3 Wahoo’s and some Tuna’s for the kids, it was Dad’s turn!  We had just left The Bank, heading back to The Edge, and the 80 wide started screaming.... yes, we had our first Blue Marlin encounter.  After a 35 minute battle, Mr. Collins successfully released this season’s first Blue Marlin - a nice sized one, too, at 450 lbs.  Congratulations, Michael Collins, on your fine catch!

Well, the first one is history, so let the games begin!  Let’s go fishing!

The next bite we had was about 20 minutes later.  My mate, Peter Lewis, spotted a much larger fish behind the teaser.  I quickly pulled the teaser out of the water and the fish once again ate the flat line.  This was no ordinary fish, it was very large and moving very fast.  In less than a minute, the fish had all but spooled 1,000 yards of line off of the 130 pound reel.  It was time for drastic measures.  We had to spin the boat around and chase the fish down to stop him from taking the remaining line on the reel.  After chasing her for more than 15 minutes, we finally managed to get our first inch of line back.  The battle endured for another 45 minutes and four miles from where the fish was originally hooked, until she was brought to the boat for photographs and to be released.  I estimated the fish to be at least 1,000 pounds. This was a day that none of us will forget for sure!  Congratulations to Bill for a fine job.

But, it does not stop there - the Blues are definitely here in numbers, early.  Per Arneberg and son went 3 for 3 on Blues with us today.  A 500lb, 150lb, and a 125lb,  plus 3 Wahoo’s. Two dream days, back to back - can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring!

Personal Note: Peter and I have received lots of congratulations and compliments for the catch and release of such a magnificent fish.  There are a few people who cannot understand why we release such a great catch and ask:  "Don’t you want to know the exact weight?"  Sure, I would love to know the exact weight, but I am not willing to kill such a magnificent fish to find out. I have been fortunate enough to have caught a few Grander class Marlins that have unfortunately died on the line and have been brought to the scales.  Like my Bermuda record 1,352lb in 1995, plus the 1,031lb and the 996lb.  Fish of this size, you do not forget what they look like next to the boat.  So, I am very confident that I can recognize a Grander when I see one!

To catch a "Grander" is an angler's, mate's and captain’s dream of a lifetime but, to catch two, only seven days apart, is out of a fisherman’s fairytale book!

DeMako’s  catch, this week, consisted of a few Wahoo’s and Tuna’s, a couple of White Marlin releases, plus a nice 650lb. Blue Marlin, released on Friday by my angler, Michael Burke.  Not a bad week but, on Tuesday, we made history.

Alastair Barbour, a long time friend and client, booked DeMako for June 6 & 9.  On the first day of fishing, the game plan was to mainly look for Mister Blue, but also to try and catch a Tuna or two for dinner.  By 2.30 p.m., we had released a White Marlin, caught a small Dolphin (MahiMahi) and a Tuna, and were back out in the deep water looking for trouble - and boy, did we find it!

Alastair, who has caught many Marlins, told me that he was only interested in catching a Big Blue Marlin and anything else, he would have his guest catch.  "Allen," he said, "just say 'big fish' and I’ll pick up the rod, okay?"  Well, down comes the right short rigger and the line slowly starts coming off the reel.  Alastair looks at me for the call, but I did not see the bite.  Pete says, "Me, neither."  Alastair says, "Okay, Keith, you take it." Keith gets in the chair; oh yeah, now, she want to show her real size!   The line starts melting off the reel and out of the water she comes.  I shout, "Big fish, Alastair!" Alastair looks up at me and says, "I can see that now!"  The big Marlin jumps in circles so many times that she gets tangled up in our 25ft. leader.  Ten minutes into the fight, we have her close enough for Pete to grab the leader and get the release, but hey, there is no leader to grab - it is all wrapped around her massive body.  Opportunity lost, she runs deep, too deep, and the long 4 hour battle to get her back up begins.

Keith Falconer, of Edinburgh, Scotland, was a real trooper, enduring a 100lb. drag setting on the reel, on his body for 4 hours!  But, he stuck it out to the end.  The fish came up, tail first, with the leader wrapped around her tail and, unfortunately, she was dead - there was no releasing this one.  Pete and I both agree that she is a lot smaller that last week's fish, and call her in at 900lbs.

Back at the scales, she weighs in at a massive 1,048lbs.  Another Grander for the 2006 season!

Better come on down and join us!

The Marlin bite is still the main topic, with an unusual amount of Whites around.  Wahoo fishing, Marlin fishing or even while chumming, everyone is getting attacks from White Marlins.

 On the Blue Marlin scene, Bigger James, on his new boat the ‘Wound Up,” has been #1 this week, almost catching a Blue everyday - what a start for the new boat!   Congratulations to Capt. James and crew!

 There is at least one more Grander class Marlin swimming in Bermuda waters, as the “Nothing Easy” crew found out, on Wednesday.  While reeling in a Wahoo on Argus Bank, this dark shadow appeared under the Wahoo.  It was a real big Blue that had decided that this Wahoo would be nice for lunch!   In one motion, the huge Marlin ate the Wahoo and ran off, leaving the Bean brothers with one less Wahoo!

Talking about Wahoo, there are only a few here and there, and the ones being caught are Summer Lizards (12-25lbs).

Yellowfin Tunas..... where are you??  The few that are being caught are coming off the SE corner of Challenger but, if you catch a few today, do not bank on catching any tomorrow!  That’s how it’s been - tough!

The U.S. boats are coming in steady.  We should see about 20 or more here for the upcoming July Marlin tournaments.