8. Catalina Island, California
Few places, if any, harbor more big-game-fishing history than Catalina Island, just 22 miles off the coast of Southern California. In 1903, boatman Harry Wylie caught the world's first marlin on rod and reel here. Though the striped marlin weighed only 125 pounds, it sparked the beginning of recreational big-game fishing. Tourists and anglers see signs of the island's historical link to fishing everywhere they look in the town of Avalon. When visiting, make sure to stop at the Tuna Club, the nation's oldest fishing club, founded in 1889 (
www.tunaclub.com).
As far as the fishing goes, it's all about warm water. Striped marlin will ride currents up from Mexico in late summer, and during good years, crews can post very respectable numbers. If you want a fighting chance at winning one of the big-money tournaments that takes place here in September, you'll need a good pair of gyroscopic binoculars to spot the sleepers and feeders on the surface, a guy who can cast a live bait off the bow like nobody's business and livewells that can carry a few hundred baits. For more information on the local tournament scene, visit www.catalinaclassic.com.
