At one time the Pacific Coast of South America offered the greatest potential for massive fish anywhere on Earth. Alfred Glassell's 1,560-pound black marlin was caught off Cabo Blanco, Peru, as was the women's all-tackle record black, which weighed in just a few pounds under Glassell's. In addition, the largest swordfish ever landed on rod and reel, 1,132 pounds, was hauled in off Iquique, Chile, a feat that unfortunately is unlikely to be beaten. In the '50s, Peru and Chile continued to produce giant fish, and a mystique quickly surrounded the area. But then suddenly everything changed, and these once magical places disappeared altogether from the big-game scene.

With waters that have long been cleared out by commercial endeavors, Peru and Chile remain dormant from an offshore fisherman's standpoint. Ecuador, on the other hand, sat quietly, closely guarding its secret, until recently springing to life with a buzz -the buzz of a fishing reel's drag. Interestingly, Ecuador was largely idle during the heyday of the '50s, with little in the way of offshore fishing occurring, compared with what was happening a short 70 miles to the south. Anglers were fishing here (in fact the largest sailfish ever taken on rod and reel, a 221-pound monster, was taken off Ecuador in the late '40s), but it was nothing to the extent of what was happening just to the south in Peru and Chile.

Over the past 20 years or so, a small group of Ecuadorian anglers slowly revealed the great opportunities to be found here. Apparently what Peru and Chile lost, they lost to Ecuador. Throughout the '70s and '80s local sport fishermen proved how productive Ecuador's waters were, and recent exploits have continued to produce a combination of numerous striped, blue and black marlin, as well as giant tuna, dolphin and wahoo. Stories of titanic battles with massive fish are on the rise again, and it seems that Ecuador is taking up right where Peru and Chile left off. Even more intriguing is the added potential for the innumerable large striped marlin found off the islands of the Galapagos.

An Equator Runs Through It
Thanks to our elementary geography classes, one of the first things that pops into most people's minds when you mention Ecuador is that the equator runs through it. After all ecuador is Spanish for "equator." Many may even correctly associate the Galapagos Islands with the small country. However, most probably don't realize that this country, jammed between Colombia and Peru, is home to the farthest reaches of the Amazon rain forest, the second highest city in the world (Guayaquil at almost two miles up) and one of the largest tuna fleets anywhere.

Being so close to the equator stabilizes the weather almost to the point of monotony. The average difference between the hottest month and the coolest month is only about 10 degrees. Offshore, the cold, nutrient-rich Humbolt Current collides with the local currents right off Salinas, concentrating massive schools of tuna and other baitfish - which, of course, brings billfish.
Many local anglers feel the best conditions occur around the new and full moons, when the currents actually meet. "When the local current runs south to north, the conditions are better for marlin. When the current runs north to south, we have to work a lot harder to find the fish, and fishing isn't as good," says Ernesto Jouvin, owner of the Paper Moon, one of the charter boats that run out of Salinas.

To make things worse, the direction of the local currents changes frequently, and marine reports are all but nonexistent. Fortunately, that's not as much of a problem as it sounds. Jouvin's answer when asked what the conditions were going to be like was a cryptic, "It's a surprise." When it comes to fishing, I don't like surprises that revolve around the weather or sea states. What I quickly discovered was that the lack of reports stems from a lack of need.

"The conditions are always reasonable here," Jouvin says. "The worst we get is maybe a sloppy 3 to 5, but mostly the seas are very calm." In fact, the area is practically immune to serious weather, and even the rainy period averages only 4 inches a season, so weather presents few problems. Even so, Jouvin feels the rougher days actually produce more bites; after all, he caught the country's second and third largest blues, a 903-pounder and an 880-pounder, in the local version of sloppy seas.

Hot Times
Peak marlin season runs from October through April when the water is warm, but not hot. Most local anglers in Salinas quickly point out that January represents by far the best month, citing recent results of the Salinas Yacht Club Invitational Billfish tournament as proof. The three-day, all-release event this past January saw 29 boats raise 367 marlin, with 158 fish released.

Blues and blacks tend to be very seasonal here, but striped marlin maintain a year-round presence in the waters off Salinas. All three species can be so plentiful at times that catching what the locals refer to as a "triple play," or one of each species, is almost commonplace. During peak season, boats raise an average of 15 fish a day with an added bonus of the occasional big Pacific sailfish or even swordfish.

Sails are never predictable, even though four IGFA records have been pulled from these waters, but broadbill show up in December and remain through February. Like most broadbill found along the Pacific Coast of the Americas, they sight-fish them here and regularly encounter fish estimated at up to 400 pounds. The marlin here average 300 to 500 pounds, but monsters do frequent these waters. Several years ago, an angler fought a fish estimated at well over 1,000 pounds for over 12 hours before breaking her off, and a husband and wife boated a fish over 800 pounds quickly followed by a 600-pounder. So there is no arguing the area's potential.

In addition to the billfish, wahoo, dolphin and record-sized tuna abound in these waters all year. Both yellowfin and bigeye tuna reach monster size here. Recently, Francisco "Paco" Sola aboard the Sea Baby II broke the 80-pound record for bigeye tuna, and four other bigeye records have also fallen here.

The only downside to fishing Ecuador is that fishing options are currently very limited, which to some extent is a good thing. Right now you'll find only two charter operations, and both operate out of the resort town of Salinas. The fishing grounds sometimes begin only 11 miles out of port, but depending on the current and the time of year, that distance can change tremendously. When Salinas isn't productive, or even when it is, overnight runs of up to 50 miles north to get to Isla de la Plata or Manta are worth the trip. In fact, the largest marlin taken in Ecuador, a 1,014-pound blue that still stands as the 80-pound IGFA record, was taken off Manta.

Ecuador Style
Capt. Juan Figueroa and his brother Jesus make the fishing aboard the Paper Moon seem more like a day sail than a hard day's trolling for marlin. In peak seasons action can be almost nonstop, but off peak requires lots of exploratory trolling. As is true with most places, the marlin congregate near the drop-off, which runs north-south off Salinas. Reviewing the GPS waypoints that mark the marlin caught aboard the Paper Moon reveals a neat line right on the outside edge of the drop.

Penn 30s, 50s and 80s make up the standard gear, and they fish with a five-bait spread. Local ballyhoo are used almost exclusively for bait, rigged with single or double hooks and trolled behind a lure. The local 'hoos get massive, with some approaching 2 pounds and close to 18 inches in length without beaks. Rigging techniques remain simple, and the crew prepares baits only as needed. A pin-rig with a rubber band to secure the mono leader keeps things simple and quick when the fishing heats up. Normally, the crew trolls three baits deep, usually from the riggers and down the middle, with large lures trolled midrange off the transom or from the short riggers.

When tuna pop up, and they will, additional rods are set out with tuna plugs, and the larger baits stay out just in case something comes up to feed on the tuna. The small yellowfin school so thick here that it's staggering. Literally thousands of tuna pile up and break the surface as they feed, showering as they chase and get chased. The trick is to keep your attention off the melee of tuna behind the boat and search for feeding marlin. Unfortunately, crews here don't practice live baiting and bait-and-switch yet, although the two techniques should prove productive. The lack of experience with bait-and-switch means fly-rodding remains almost nonexistent here as well. In fact, I got doubtful smiles and snickers when I pulled my fly rod out to show the crew.

Resort Town
The limited number of charter operations doesn't present too much of a problem because fishing Ecuador remains largely unexplored territory for foreigners. Of the fewer than 40 fishing boats in Salinas, all are privately owned and run. Even the Paper Moon, one of the two boats for charter here, is regularly fished by its owner. As a result, however, the Paper Moon offers about as luxurious a charter boat as they come. Capt. Figueroa and his brother have fished here their entire lives and know the waters off Ecuador as well as anyone, and they have handled numerous big fish. In addition, Capt. Figueroa is the closest thing to a gourmet chef you will find on a charter boat. And somehow that seems to fit: Everything here is upscale.

Salinas itself is a modern resort town complete with casinos, condos and clubs. The sprawling city occupies the westernmost point in South America and maintains one of the largest tuna fleets in the world. Perhaps because Salinas is a resort town, things stay relaxed. During the week, even in peak tourist season, the town remains all but empty. Weekends are another story altogether. Rooms book well in advance, and the streets and beaches become packed.

Unfortunately, the peak fishing season and peak tourist season coincide. Both fall during Ecuador's "winter," which corresponds in timing to winter north of the equator.

The Downside
Although Ecuador's past as a predominantly kill-fishery has dramatically changed to a release fishery in the past few years, commercial fishing is on the rise. Anglers frequently see many commercial boats plying these waters daily. Everything from massive longliners and purse seiners to smaller three-man tiburones, so named because of their sharklike shape, fish constantly. The nearshore fishing has definately felt the commercial impact, and even the small commercial boats move farther offshore to fish. Dozens of small tiburones raft up to a mothership and head 30 to 40 miles out, where they fish all night, taking anything and everything they hook. Jouvin and others express concern that the commercial fishing here will eventually lead to the same fate that Peru and Chile met.

"One of our biggest concerns is the rumor that the commercial boats are now working the Galapagos heavily. It's the major reason we've been afraid to go back," says Jouvin. "They can catch a big marlin or tuna here one day, and have it back in port and off to the commercial airport and to market by the next morning."

The local recreational contingent does what it can to combat the threat of overfishing, but its numbers are small. "The impact of recreational fishing on the economy should help," says Daniel Garcia of Magellan Offshore, the charter service for the Paper Moon. "If we can demonstrate that recreational fishing is a viable and sustainable industry, we may be able to gain a foothold and create a platform to counter the commercial threat to these waters."

One thing's for sure - the more anglers fish these waters, the more they reveal its true potential. And it won't be long before stories of legendary fishing off the Pacific Coast of South America abound once again.