TIMING, WIND,TIDE,MOON PHASE AND WEATHER FOR MARLIN

Timing your marlin fishing trip to coincide with the right moon phase, wind and tide will greatly increase the chances of success. Marlin have periods of greater and lessor activity like any other fish. Fish in general are street wise or tide wise and can figure when the greatest concentrations of bait will occur. Conditions for surface feeding will be the best a few days before the new and full moon and a few days behind the moon. That period three days before the moon (new or full) and three days behind the moon is the best time for marlin success. Other factors are that twelve hour period just before a cold front or change in the weather. On the wall along the Lower keys and Key West a strong gulfstream current flowing across the wall causing up welling bring nutrients to the surface will increase the bait and surface feeding activity. Selecting a time of the year when the marlin are accessible with the boat and equipment you have. April thru July the marlin are smaller 100 to 250 and can be found closer to shore from 640 feet out to the wall. August thru December the marlin are large and range father off shore along the wall and beyond and weather becomes a factor as winter arrives in the gulfstream. Coupling any two or all of these factors into the same time period will bring even more positive results. The angler fishing for marlin on the wall should expect to catch one marlin for every 24 hours of serious fishing time spent.(three eight hour fishing days ) We have hooked five or six marlin in one day on the wall but the average is one marlin for every three days of fishing and weather you get the fish or not depends on many factors. In 1986 an angler by the name of John Boyle an Irishman and veterinarian from New Jersey made his first trip marlin fishing to the wall aboard the Sea Boots. A strong northwest wind was announcing the arrival of a September cold front, thirty minutes after putting the lures in the water a big blue came up between the outriggers and raced back and forth all lit up electric blue trying to decide witch lure to eat. With the quickness displayed only by a marlin he greyhounded on the left rigger and the battle was on. We chased the big blue five miles east along the wall before he settled down and began to sound. Our anglers fishing harness had broken and forty minutes into the battle our angler began to wonder if he would survive this fight. Finally the big blue yield to a heavy drag and the fish was brought to the flying gaff. In a different time this fish would have been released and a replica mount made. On the ride home our exhausted angler collapsed on the bulk groaned in agony when a second blue 300 to 400 pounds took the rigger down and began screaming off line. Our angler gave a sigh of relief when the hooks pulled. John Boyle returned a year later and repeated the feat releasing a 180 # blue marlin, this time using 50 pound test tackle and again we hooked a second marlin on the way home only to pull the hooks. It was not until the third year fishing on the wall that John discovered you don't catch a marlin everyday. The statement by Earnest Hemmingway, "the longer the hunt the sweeter the kill" would not apply in the case of John Boyle. One thing I can say with conviction, speaking only for myself, is that one small marlin that I have caught far surpasses the excitement and joy that all of the yellowtail in the world could bring. 

SETTING UP THE TACKLE

Large capacity lever drag reels and matching rods are a must for marlin catching, if you just want to go marlin fishing you could use a spinning reel. Penn International, Shimano or Fin-nor reels are absolutely a must for success. These reels matched with the right rod offer the line capacity and large drag surface needed to land a marlin. The angler can expect even a small marlin (200 pounds) to run off 200 to 300 yards of line in a matter of seconds. The larger drag surface of Penn, Shimano and Finnor reels are capable of dissipating the heat build up with out drags becoming sticky and breaking off a fish. Take my word for it conventional reels will not handle the job. In the Summer along the wall marlin average from 100 to 250 pounds with occasional larger fish. International 30W 50 or 50W reels with matching rods work well. The seas are generally calm and the boat can be manoeuvred with ease. In late August the adult marlin begin to dominate the wall these fish will weight from 300 to 800 pounds and larger tackle can become light tackle indeed. I would suggest a minimum of a 50W and 80W reels. Larger marlin and ruff seas make subduing a marlin of this size a formidable task. Line must be loaded on the reels with care. Caution be sure to put enough pressure on the line as it is wound on to the reel. Check by pressing on the line already on the reel it should feel hard when pressed with the finger. If the line depresses or feels soft rewind it putting more resistant on the line as it is wound on the reel. Line wound on without enough pressure will put down into the spool and break off the fish.

RIGGING, DOUBLE LINES, KNOTS AND LEADERS

Components of the line, double line and leader are very important your line is only as strong as its weakest point and believe me when I say a 500 pound ragging marlin can find any weak point in line or angler. The double line is a part of the leader and serves as a shock absorber to prevent breaking the line under the stress of sudden surges that tend to exceed the setting of the drag during the hook-up. The double line is formed when a Bimini Twist is tied in the line. The Bimini Twist offers 100 percent breaking strength and acts as a shock absorber. The double line offers great protection to line breakage but the angler must be careful not to make the double line to long this added elasticity can make setting the hook difficult. I would suggest using four feet double line on 30 and 50 # test and six to eight feet on 80 and 130 pound test. The double line is tied to the swivel end of the double line using an offshore swivel knot. The swivel I like best is the sampo or pompanette barrel swivel, snap swivels should not be used. If the leader tangles with the snap swivel the snap could be accidentally forced open releasing the fish. Aboard the Sea Boots we have found that using a stainless thimble and aluminum crimps (leader to swivel and leader to # 10 or eleven marlin hook) offer the best resistance to chafing during long battles with marlin. The stainless thimble rides against the metal parts of swivel and hook. Depending on the tackle used the mono leader and hook size must be matched. For example using fifty pound test tackle the angler would want to use a 10/0 Mustad # 7732 hook and the leader could be reduced to 200# test to attract more strikes. Under current IGFA rules the leader length can be as long as thirty feet but the total length of the double line and leader can not exceed forty feet and the double line can not exceed 20 feet. Now this seems confusing but taking a look at the leader diagrams provided will clear the water. The important thing to note here is that using lighter tackle (30 # or 50 #) you want to use a longer leader. I suggest the maximum 30 feet, the reason is on lighter tackle the marlin will be swimming away from the boat as you back down to release the fish. Now consider the marlin is twelve feet in length and you can see that using a twenty foot leader the marlins tail will almost be in the propeller of the boat when you can reach the leader. Now marlin don't like boats anyway and this can present a real problem. The thirty foot leader allows the angler to reach the leader before spooking the fish with the boat and release the marlin easier. Using 80# or 130 you want heavier leader (300 to 400#) and the twenty foot leader is fine because the heavier tackle can over power the marlin and he will come to the boat head first eliminating the need for a longer leader.

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