cape-verde-mike-curtis
My fishing partner Bill Jesberger from Atlanta and I just returned from 9 days of fishing in Cape Verde. In those 9 days we caught 32 blue marlin! The sizes ranged from one each that was 800, 700, 650, 600 and 500 pounds, and 27 others that weighed from 250 to 400 pounds. In addition, we raised another 15 to 20 fish that we lost after a short fight, just missed the strike, or that just came into the spread to look.
Anyone can do this trip! All it takes to put this trip together is a little time and a good internet connection. After we returned from a trip to Tropic Star Lodge, Bill and I decided that we wanted to take another trip to fish for marlin, so we started the process of deciding on the location for the best opportunity to catch a lot of marlin. We decided on the Cape Verde Islands after researching the best locations around the world, and simply started the process of finding the right captain for our trip, which turned out to be Capt. Marty Bates on the La Onda Emma.
Everyone should do this trip once in his or her lifetime if you truly want the marlin experience that you will talk about for the rest of your life. If you have dreamed of catching a lot of marlin, then you owe it to yourself to try the Cape Verde Islands.
The biggest challenge we had was getting to Cape Verde from the states. We flew from Atlanta to Lisbon, Portugal, spent the night, and then caught an Air Portugal flight to Mindelo, Sao Vicente, the next day. We stayed at the Don Paco Hotel, which is just a two-minute walk to the marina. It’s a great little hotel with a good morning breakfast buffet and numerous restaurants within walking distance.
There are currently 12 to 13 boats operating out of the Mindelo Sportfishing Club, and many of the world’s best marlin captains charter boats there from March through June. Finding a great captain and boat is not an issue.
Bill and I would like to thank Capt. Marty Bates and the top-notch crew on the La Onda Emma for giving a couple of truly novice marlin fishermen like us the trip of a lifetime! As Peter and Harry, our two new friends from England that we met in Cape Verde stated, our trip was “EPIC”.
****__— Mike Curtis, __Okolona, Mississippi****
