Weekly Fishing Report

Archives

Great friends, great fishing, just another day on the bank, aboard De Mako.

We arrived at the dock, greeted by Captain Allen.... you're late? You know those Wahoo like to bite early. Yes it was true, we were late and our captain was not happy. That and he would never miss a chance to rib a life long friend Allan "Heads" De Silva. I went along, of course, even though Allan was kind enough to pick me up at the hotel.

Always wanting to produce for his clients and friends, Captain Allen was fired up to get to the Banks and take advantage of the aggressive feeding hours. Arriving at the short course about 8:00 a.m., we put out high speed Wahoo lures and one Marlin lure, just in case. Once we reached Challenger Bank, we switched out to skirted ballyhoo on down riggers and surface lines. The first bite on the downrigger produced what we call a Weehoo, due to its small size. After a long lull, captain Allen said to reel them up - we were going for live bait. He knew we needed live bait to have a chance at the now finicky Wahoo that would not hit our trolled dead baits and lures. Anchoring up on the crown, we started chumming. With his crew striking out on catching bait and doing foolish things like casting lures and jigging bottom, Allen had to come down from the bridge and catch most of our bait. So, with a full live well, our hopes were high as we headed back to the drop. By now, the whole fleet fishing Argus in the early morning was at Challenger, but we had the live bait!  It didn't take long, as the rigger line came crashing down with a nice Hoo attached. Jenni, our female angler, grabbed the rod as the line quickly disappeared from the reel. After a good fight, a nice 45-pounder hit the deck. Now we were cooking with fire, as the live Robins did the trick. For two hours, Allan, Jenni and I kept busy reeling in Wahoo, while mate, Pete Lewis, expertly handled the gaffing and re-baiting. Now since we were all friends, the banter was comical as each time one of us would lose a fish or screw up a drop back. There was also a competition on to get me my personal best Wahoo, which was 60-pounds. Since Allan "Heads" put me on my best Wahoo aboard his boat, Treasure Isle, last September, Captain Allen's "Mako" had to try and top it. Captain De Silva did his usual magic, making sure we got our shots at Bermuda's incredible Wahoo fishery. By the end of an incredible day, we totaled 11 Wahoo boated, with half as many coming off. Back at the dock, we had a little red wine and weighed the fish to see if my largest of the day would beat the 60-pound mark? Well, would you know it weighed exactly 60-pounds. So, for now, Treasure Isle is leading De Mako on time. We also had three in the 55 pound class, three in the 45-pound class, two in the 35-pound class and two Weehoo. What an awesome day on the Banks off Bermuda!

I am fortunate to have fished all over the world, through my job at Marlin and Sport Fishing magazines. So, when I say the De Mako and captain De Silva represent one of the finest charter operations in one of the best Wahoo and Marlin fishing destination, I know what I'm talking about. If you want to have a great experience and fish with one of the sports' best, book a trip aboard De Mako with Captain Allen De Silvia and mate, Pete Lewis.

Written by Chummy

Quick summation: "Big Bite, Big Fish"

My mate has asked me to submit this week's fishing report as I had the pleasure of fishing with him on Saturday, the 21st and Monday, the 23rd.  However, in order to get a flavor for how good "the bite" has gotten, I thought a sequence of events, chronologically, would be of interest to his many readers.

Thursday, June 19th - nursing a hangover, as a result of Jeff's 40th birthday bash the night before, Jeff, Sacha and De Mako decided to venture off shore (late start) to grab some much needed fresh air and, of course, try their luck with a couple of 130's over the side.  With the spread set and Sacha in the chair, it didn't take long for the 130 to make that sound that we all love to hear.  You wouldn't think that it was Sacha's first Marlin, as she made relatively short work of the experience - it must have been all the coaching from the tower and the side line!  De Mako released a fish weighing approximately 600lbs. Congratulations, Sacha, and nice work on leadering, Jeff!

Friday, June 20th - De Mako was ashore, undergoing some routine maintenance of both boat and equipment.

Saturday, June 21st - Big Blue, Lou Petty, was in the house, celebrating his 50th birthday – again!  The posse consisted of the Cuban (Prado), the Steeler (Hank) and yours truly.  For those of you that don't know Lou, he also goes by the name of "luck box" when it comes to Marling fishing.  The spread consisted of three 130's, packing the usual suspects and one 130 featuring a special guest, an 80 and a 50 in the tower, with skirted ballyhoo and, of course, two big teasers.  With the spread set and the crew settled in with some green libations, it wasn't long before Lou's luck made an appearance.  The fish came up and pulled on the right teaser before settling back and piling on the right short.  Of course, the birthday boy nestled into the chair and the fish put on a magnificent display of break dancing across the surface.  After about 30 minutes, Petie had the leader in hand and did a fantastic job at dismantling the imbedded hooks from the Marlin's bill.  The fish weighed approximately 350lbs. Pretty work, Lou, and happy birthday.  Oh, by the way, the special guest lure in the line up was a lure manufactured by Hi-5 out of Cabo, which made its debut and was positioned on the right short!  You could have not scripted it any better. Hank did a good job on a 40lb Wahoo, which decided to play later in the day.

Sunday, June 22nd - why take a taxi to the airport when you can take De Mako? With a pending 4 p.m. departure, Jeff, Dave & Mick decided to take De Mako on a three quarter day excursion, trolling down the northern side of Bermuda.  After reconfiguring the GPS, De Mako headed out through Western Blue Cut and was immediately attacked by a White Marlin, which unfortunately missed the hooks.  However, shortly before noon and just behind the Northeast Pointer, the 130 peeled and Mick was in the chair, fighting yet another sea monster.  Leader in hand, the fish was successfully released and was estimated to be in the 600lb range.  Nice work, Mick, and congrats on your first Blue.  Must admit, not a bad way to travel to the L. F. Wade International Airport!

Monday, June 23rd - Client appreciation day.  Some business associates kindly offered to take us out for a day of fishing, so we boarded De Mako at 7 a.m. and headed west.  The crew consisted of Neil, Aaron and Katarina, Peter and yours truly.  The game plan was the same as on Saturday; same spread laid out behind the boat, including the special guest (not sure if I can get that lure back).  At about 8:45 and coming up on the Eastern turn of Challenger, we spotted a pod of Porpoises and I said to Captain Allen, "You know, the last time I saw a pod of Porpoises, we had a Marlin bite."  No sooner did I get the last word out, the long left Joe Yee super plunger got smoked.  This fish was BIG!  Aaron got into the chair and did a great job at keeping the line tight.  The fish tried to get airborne, but couldn't muster up enough strength.  After about 20 minutes, and with the fish down deep, the dreaded happened - the hooks parted.  Captain Allen estimated the fish to be "well over" 800lbs. Keeping the disappointment level to a minimum, we reset the spread and, within 20 minutes, got attacked by a White Marlin.  Unfortunately, it was more of a courtesy pull down just to let us know that they, too, were around.  Heading back up towards the Eastern turn, the 80 on the bridge came crashing down and Katarina did a great job in bringing a small White to the boat.  It was her first time fishing and she did a great job - congrats.  After about 20 minutes, that favorite sound re-appeared and Peter managed to bring to leader another small White.  It was his first time fishing, as well.  Neil and Katarina each nabbed a Wahoo in the 30 to 40 lb category, with both fish eating the ballyhoo rigs.  Just after noon, the right short (Hi-5!) lure got attacked and Aaron climbed back into the chair.  It was a decent size fish but, unfortunately, we couldn't get the hooks to stick.

Needing to be back at the dock by 5 p.m., we left the Eastern corner at around 3:30 p.m. and headed for Bermuda.  No sooner did we leave the bank, the left short and left long got terrorized by a nice sized Blue.  Again, we were unfortunate not to get the hooks to stick.  At this juncture, we basically resolved ourselves to the fact that it was not our day for Blues.  Continuing on, we were half way across the deep when the long left came crashing down.  Dropping that, the fish took a look at the 80 (horse ballyhoo) before pouncing on the long center.  Of course, it had to be the smallest piece of equipment we were dragging - Shimano 50 with a wired red and black sea witch and horse ballyhoo behind it (your typical Wahoo rig).  And yes, yours truly was given the chair (reluctantly as I always hesitate to touch the centre rigger!).  Captain Allen initially estimated the fish to be in the 200lb to 250lb range so I thought to myself that this couldn't be that bad and I will make short work of the fish.  Also in the back of my mind was the fact that we missed a number of Blues during the day, so this could be our final shot.  To make a long story short, this fish dumped the 50 three times.  Captain Allen did a terrific job at backing down on the fish and I lived up to my end by cranking that 50 like you know what.  On the third attempt, I managed to turn its head and, once that happened, I knew it was my turn to win back some line.  After close to an hour, Petie had the leader in hand and Captain Allen estimated the fish to be in the 800lb category.  What a beautiful sight!  That is by far my personal best and tops my fish I caught on Mako III, back in 1986.  Captain Allen and Petie - thank you for the experience and a memorable day.