Azores-marlin
I get to go on a lot of cool marlin trips, but the best ones always happen when I get a call from a buddy telling me that the bite is on and that I need to get on a plane right away. It takes all the guesswork out of whether the fish will be there or not. Sure, I guess you could miss the peak of a bite like this, but it certainly ups your odds of getting into them and beats trying to figure out when the fish will be there a year from now!
I received an e-mail late yesterday from charter-boat captain Les Gallagher([email protected]) of Brasilia Fishing Charters in the Azores that shocked me to the core. Yesterday, the seven boats fishing out of the Azores caught 26 blue marlin out of 51 strikes, with eight of those fish estimated at or above the 700-pound mark.
Two boats fished on the Azores Bank: _Brasilia_, which went 2 for 4, catching a 300- and a 400-pounder, and _Xacara,_ which went 2 for 2, catching a 250- and a 500-pounder.
_ _ The real action, however, came to the five boats that fished on Condor Bank._ Nola_ enjoyed a tremendous outing, releasing five blues out of 14 bites — a 250, 450, 500, 750 and 800._ Maikaira_, not to be outdone, did a little better on their hookup ratio, catching seven blues out of just 12 bites! They were all nice fish too — a 400, 450, 600, 800, 500, 600 and another 800!
Also on the Condor Bank, _Dois Peixe_ caught 4 out of 7 bites; _Habitat_ went 3 for 9; and _Boca Raton_ finished the day with a perfect 3 for 3.
Gallagher still has a few days left in September and early October, and since he really wants to get out and get back into the action, you should give him an e-mail if you have the time to get away. I sure wish I could.
The _Boca Raton r_eleases a 700lb blue marlin | Dimitri Gorbanov | www.Azores-Fishing.com
