The cold fronts that kick up the seas all winter start to mellow out this time of year as well, and light southeast winds take over, making for great conditions to target a mixed bag of blues, whites, sails, yellowfin and dolphin. That's why Holder and his crew hold the resort's annual Billfish Blast each May. The event, which celebrates its 10th year in 2010, always attracts some great crews who know how to throw a party. I timed my visit to coincide with the tournament and got treated to some island hospitality as well as a decent marlin bite.
If for nothing else, Billy Bowman's barbecue is reason enough to make the trek down to Cat Island. A rancher from Okeechobee, Florida, Bowman owns a home on the island and brings his boat, Cow Hunter, a Cabo express, down every year. When Bowman shows up, there's bound to be a dock party. He kicked off the 2009 Billfish Blast in high fashion, going to town in his custom-built blue marlin smoker. Anyone who has ever seen Bowman's smoker will instantly remember it. Built in the shape of a blue marlin and expertly painted, it actually produces smoke out of the marlin's mouth as he slowly cooks his famous barbecue. A crowd of finger-licking fishermen gathered to dine on ribs, brisket and smoked turkey as they plotted their fishing strategies. The camaraderie was infectious, and you instantly got the feeling that everyone is part of the family on Cat.
For the first day of the tournament, I fished on board Hawg Wild, a 60-foot Spencer owned by the father-and-son team of Don and Neal Vanosdol. Don, at 80 years young, caught 13 marlin, 74 dolphin and eight yellowfin tuna in a 13-day stretch in 2008, so I knew I was in good hands. Neal monitored the spread down in the pit, and Jimmy Freitas manned the helm. Freitas, originally from New Jersey and transplanted to Fort Pierce, Florida, has fished these waters for more than a decade and helped start the Billfish Blast. Freitas steered Hawg Wild toward Devil's Point, and we trolled in 2,000 feet of water less than a few miles off the virtually untouched shoreline. The boys in the pit put out two double dredges and four lines, including two lures and two Ilander-ballyhoo combos. Two pitch-bait rods also stood at the ready — one with a horse ballyhoo for blues and one with a dink bait for whites. The spread looked fantastic, but mad packs of dolphin hounded us the entire day, swiping baits and becoming a general nuisance. After lunch we found a huge concentration of bait and scored one mystery bite that we surmised was a white marlin, but we never did get the blue we were hoping for. However, two boats in the tourney, Reel Healthcare and Perfect Parts, got on the leaderboard, each one scoring a blue marlin release.
I spent the next two days fishing with the crew on Allan Bir's 74-foot Tribute, Perfect Parts. I mostly hung out on the bridge listening to Capt. Steve "Snag" Holmes, who schooled me on the local fishing scene. Holmes has fished these waters since the mid-1980s and decided to motor away from the fleet a bit. We headed to Columbus Point, the southeastern-most point of the island some 15 miles from the marina. We then moved off to the deeper water and finally got a big bite on the left long. The 300-pound blue crushed the lure from below, coming clear out of the water and ripping off a good hundred yards of line. Unfortunately, just as the angler got settled in the chair, the line went limp. A 40-pound wahoo saved the day a few hours later.
"The fish tend to congregate along the points at the end of the islands," Holmes says. "There's blue marlin here all year. We've caught one every month. Cat also puts you in a perfect spot to fish Long Island, Rum Cay or San Sal to the east. One of those spots is almost always hot, and they're all within range."
On the final day of the tourney, Holmes headed to the point on the northeastern side of the island, expertly crisscrossing through some skinny coral patches. We found some giant clusters of bait and birds and trolled just behind the foaming waters.
