All of this month, we have seen some good Marlin fishing, with many fish over 500lbs. and lots of double hook ups - even a few triples! My good friends, Jimmy Bayne & Capt. Steve Richardson, brought Jimmy’s boat, the “Sniper,” across from Virginia Beach to fish the Bermuda Classic and, in 10 days of fishing, they tallied up a very impressive score of 14 Blue Marlin released, with their largest @ 800lbs. plus!!  Great job Steve - you’re the best!  I am looking forward to fishing with you again next year.

“DeMako” has also been busy catching Marlins, with the best day of fishing being yesterday. “DeMako” and “Sniper” were red hot, with both boats getting six shots each at Blues, with the final tally being “Sniper” with 5 Blues released (largest @ 800lbs. plus) and “DeMako” with 4 released Blues (largest also over 800lbs.). What a day, when two boats can leave the same dock and return with 9 Blue Marlins caught and released - this is Marlin fishing at its best!! It does not stop there! My charter for yesterday (Dario Brisighella Sr. and Jr., and David Lewandowski) also had “DeMako” booked today. The final tally for my Wisconsin trio, for two days of fishing, was 11 Blue Marlins seen, two no-biters, 6 released and three losses. Now, that’s action or, as my friend Matthew would say, “So Much Action!!”  And, with the full moon tonight, we will see some hot Marlin fishing for the rest of this month!

It’s the time of year for good Wahoo & Dolphin catches around any floating debris, so keep a sharp lookout for anything floating, as it could make your whole day.  (Mako’s best catch around a floating coil of rope was 37 Wahoo’s & 7 Dolphin’s, so do not take floating debris for granted!)

The Seahorse Billfish Tournament was played out last week, with 14 boats fishing 4 days, with 28 Billfish caught - all but two fish were released.  Top honours was a three-way battle between “Treasure Isle,” “Sea Wolfe” and the “New Nuts” until the last day, with the “Treasure Isle” taking top boat, with four released Blue Marlins, and “New Nuts” taking top angler, with four Blue Marlins -  one boated & three released.

Congratulations to Jason Schumacher for his large Spearfish release, est. weight of 40lbs.  Anglers who are seeking to catch all seven Billfish will tell you this is the hardest to find, so Jason, the rest should be easy for you!

Congratulations to all the lucky anglers who released Marlins on “De Mako” this month!

August 19th - Tuna! Tuna!  We started the week with 100 pound plus Yellowfins, and ended it with lots of footballs (small Tunas).   All the action is on the East & Southeast side of Challenger Bank, with the best fishing method being slow trolling, with small baits.  There has also been some good Dolphin catches.  As many as 30 fish being caught around floating debris, like the ones we talked about last week, so keep looking - you may be the next lucky fisherman to find the jackpot!  Although most of the Dolphins are small school fish, there are a few nice ones, like the 40 pounder caught on “DeMAKO” & the 45 pounder caught on "Ocean Girl."

The Wahoo fishing has also improved a bit, with some of the best action also coming from floating debris.  One exception being the 12 Wahoo caught by the “Sea Wolfe,” using live Robins.

The Marlin fishing is still steady but, with the improvement in the Tuna fishing, we are seeing less effort toward the Marlins, but with the Full Moon next week, I am sure we’ll see some hot action, so don’t pack up your big gear yet!

September 9th - The last three weeks, we have seen some great fishing - lots of Yellowfin Tunas & Marlins!  The Marlin fishing in August was as good as it gets, with a good number of fish over 500 pounds.  The two most notable catches this month being “Treasure Isle’s” 800lb release and “Overproof’s” catch of 906lbs, both great fish!  We on “De Mako” have had a great month with lots of action and many releases, putting us at 36 releases for 74 bites.  Hopefully, we can tag a few more before the Wahoo’s take over the fishing scene!

The Tuna fishing has also been great, with catches as high as 30 fish a day.  Most of the fish are on the small size, 12-20lbs., but if you put your time in, you will end up with a few nice ones, 60 – 120lbs. The best part of all this good fishing is it is all taking place close to home, on the inside edge of Challenger Bank. There has also been some good Wahoo catches reported as close as down South Shore!  

September 26th - Action, lots of action!  We are seeing some great Wahoo fishing all around the Island, with some of the best catches coming from the East End.  Although most catches range from 6 –10 Wahoos per trip, there have been as many as 28 caught in single day outings!  Some of the hot spots are: SE edge off  St. George’s, East of North Rock, SW edge and the southern & eastern sides of both banks.  Not much happening in the way of live baits, so your best bet is just keep trolling!

Now, if you like Tuna fishing, well guess what? - the Yellowfin are biting just as good as the Wahoo.  The best Tuna fishing is taking place on the inside edge of Challenger Bank, but make sure you bring lots of troll baits & small lures, as the tide (current) is at high speed into the west.  Chumming is a waste of time -  a drift lasts about 5 minutes. The good news is you will not be trolling for long, as you will get a bite soon after your lines are out..  it is that good.  Catching as many as 30 fish is not a problem ,although you will release about a third of them.  Many of them are small (less than 15lbs.)

Although most of the Tuna are less than 40lbs., watch out, as there are still a few 100 pounders around, plus a few Blues ready to steal all of your line, if you are not prepared.

All in all, it has been a great month, with plenty of action all round,. I hope it keeps up through October!