Tabla de contenidos para October 2021 en Marlin

One of the most accomplished ambassadors in saltwater angling, Joan Vernon has traveled to the world’s best destinations to fish in—as well as host—tournaments, raising funds for conservation initiatives as well as overall awareness for sport-fishing tourism. Early in her career, Vernon was one of the few professional female light-tackle guides in South Florida. Decades of service earned her a well-deserved spot in the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame in 2013; she was also named one of Field & Stream’s Heroes of Conservation in 2007. Today, she splits her time between the Florida Keys and Costa Rica, where she hosts several events under the Presidential Challenge Charitable Foundation banner. What are your earliest memories of fishing? My parents were from Arizona and Michigan, and they were both avid anglers. In…

While it wasn’t a wire-to-wire win, the team that eventually emerged victorious in the Gulf Coast Triple Crown series was the same one that led the series after the first week, nine tournaments later. Boat owner Josh Tice, Capt. Jason Hallmark and the team on board Devotion, a 61-foot Viking from Orange Beach, Alabama, won the catch-and-release division of the Louisiana Billfish Championship in May. After falling out of first place, they scored a second-place finish with a 472-pound blue marlin in the Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic, moving them into third place in the series with two events remaining in the season. A second-place showing in the Pensacola Big Game Fishing Club International Tournament put them in first going into the season finale: the Blue Marlin Grand Championship. Ten…

For many fishermen, this passion transcends time on the water. Not only do we enjoy the act of catching billfish, but we also enjoy the learning process. Fishermen often—and some might say always—think about fishing, even in their downtime. One of the byproducts of this affection is the book. For proof that fishermen enjoy reading about fishing just as much as they enjoy the sport itself, just take a picture of yourself reading this article and circle back. We’ll wait. Beyond the pages of Marlin, there are a number of books that have been written by—and about—notable captains. Here is a rundown of four recent fishing books for your reading enjoyment. Rather than providing our limited take on the books, we decided to let the authors sell you on their…

What exactly can marlin “hear”? As I started to dive into this topic, I immediately hit a roadblock. No one has been able to keep a billfish alive in captivity, so unfortunately, unlike some other penned species such as tuna, no studies have been conducted on what and how marlin hear. ¶ This inquiry brings on another question: What do billfish hear down there, and how are sounds perceived? Ironically, this is the same question I began asking as I was putting together a piece on raising fish, and what we can do to turn our own vessels into fishy boats. Have you ever run over a mark on your screen that looked like a nice marlin sulking in the depths and wondered what it is that actually brings it…

Whenever contemplating whether to put a sportboat on a transport ship, I ask myself, Would a true seaman put their vessel on a ship? There’s a certain feeling you might get when considering the option, similar to a sense of discomfort, as if it undermines the boat’s ability to make the journey on its own bottom. But there is also that feeling of accomplishment you get when you have finally reached that faraway destination that’s hard to beat, and there’s also something to be said about the adventurous feelings you get by traveling in general—a certain sense of excitement. YEA OR NAY? There are several factors to consider when it comes to cost, safety and potential damage to the boat during a long trip—on the boat’s bottom or via transport…

COSTA UNTANGLED PERFORMANCE COLLECTION The use of recycled materials was one theme at this year’s show. Costa—winner for Best of Category in eyewear—introduced the Untangled performance collection. The four new styles—Antille, Pargo, Caleta and Santiago (shown)—are built with a functional and durable NetPlus material that is made from 97 percent recycled fishing nets. costa.com PENN SLAMMER IV REEL The new Slammer IV is optimized for hardcore offshore fishing, with an improved IPX6 sealed body and spool, as well as a redesigned drag system that delivers a much wider range of usable drag, all while being bearing-supported for extra smoothness. There’s all-brass CNC gear technology and an 8-plus-1 stainless-steel bearing system inside, and a new hydrophobic line-roller bearing as well. penn.com AFTCO ADAPT TACTICAL PHASE CHANGE HOODED SHIRT We really like…

Many recreational anglers will not catch 4,000 dolphin in their lifetime, let alone tag and release that same number in the name of conservation and science. Working with the Dolphinfish Research Program since its inception, Capt. Don Gates and the Killin’ Time II fishing team achieved that impressive milestone this summer. For recreational anglers, this tagging program provides the best opportunity to understand a vitally important fishery, crucial to not only countless recreational anglers along the entire Eastern Seaboard, but to an incredibly wide array of bluewater predators as well. The program has been remarkably successful in revealing new information on the mahi population in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. BY THE NUMBERS While the DRP has been extremely successful in its 20-plus years, it has been so only…

If you should find yourself lucky enough to be in a position to catch a pile of billfish in one day, then you might need to reexamine your technique when it comes to turning one bite into two, three, or even four or more. While not all billfish species give you such an opportunity to catch high in the double digits, sailfish and striped marlin often will. To learn more about how boats are getting covered up by multiple billfish, I called on two captains who have a great amount of experience in Mexico’s Magdalena Bay, a location known for being one of the best places on the planet for encountering multiples. Shoe’s Devin Silas and Big Oh’s Newt Cagle have racked up unbelievable numbers over the years, and Mag…

There are big sport-fishing boats, pretty sport-fishing boats, fast sport-fishing boats—and then there is Warpath. Hull No. 29 from F&S Boatworks is a 75-foot beast that meets—and exceeds—all of that criteria. The second 75-footer to come out of Bear, Delaware, this build showcases what a true custom boat can be. Created precisely to the owner’s specifications—and then some—Warpath includes the ability to travel and fish the world extensively, and live aboard in ridiculous comfort…all the while showing off her striking lines with the speed of a bullet. The owners had a dream layout in mind, and F&S delivered. As you glance around the project, unable to focus on a single standout detail, you suddenly realize everything is a standout detail. From the custom, curved side glass to the unmistakable F&S…

I never thought that I would be on the rules committee for a high-profile billfish tournament, much less become a tournament director. In the early 1990s, I became involved with the Fort Lauderdale Billfish Tournament, just to help out because it was the first tournament I had ever fished in. They put me in charge of the observer program, where we assigned the observers to the boats. Back in those days, we had only a few observers but lots of boats, so we decided to put the older observers on the bigger boats to keep them from getting beaten up too badly, and the younger observers on the outboard boats that had done well in the past. After the first day, we would put the younger observers on the boats…

While it’s difficult to emerge victorious in a highly competitive tournament series like the Bermuda Triple Crown without a decisive win in at least one leg, having a “down but not out” mindset can prove to be the deciding factor. That was the case in this year’s series aboard Steve Deckoff’s Pescador, an 80-foot Bayliss captained by Jeremy Fowler and based in the US Virgin Islands. On just their fourth visit to Bermuda, the team stayed the course and walked away with the big win this year. The Triple Crown consists of three events held throughout the month of July each year. First up: the Bermuda Billfish Blast. Osceola, a 74-foot Viking owned by Alexander Fanjul and based in Palm Beach, Florida, came from behind on the final day of…

BILL HAUGLAND LIGHTS OUT PALM BEACH, FLORIDA A great captain needs to be the whole package: fully understand all the boat’s operating systems, and have strong people skills with an ability to develop relationships with the owner, his family and guests, and the mates, all of which requires great tact, discretion, and more than a dash of diplomacy. Successful fishing trips always begin with a positive attitude and enthusiasm as well as having a great time while rallying the troops. I’m extremely fortunate to call my captain a friend. He has the highest of personal integrity and a sixth sense when it comes to finding fish, which is why we’ve been together for more than a decade. DAVID SYKES SYKED OUT ISLE OF PALMS, SOUTH CAROLINA To me, some of…

Technology is changing more rapidly than ever before in the marine industry. Diesel-electric hybrid engines. Thumb-size satellite communications devices. Cool new anodized coatings. More power and more control are now standard, not optional. We examined a cross-section of the industry, from propulsion, electronics and systems to tackle and gear, for some of the most significant advances to hit the water in 2021—and well beyond. PROPULSION CATERPILLAR C32B The much-anticipated new high-performance offering from Caterpillar is now available with a roaring 2,433 metric horsepower power rating, plus the reliability and near-worldwide support that legions of Cat fans have come to expect from the brand. All new from the block up, it’s built on the reliable C32 platform, which also makes it a perfect option for repowers because it’s a drop-in replacement…

During the blazing heat of the summer months, it’s typical to find multiple sport-fishing boats trolling a 4-by-6-mile area located just over 50 nautical miles from the rainbow-hued homes of historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina. While these crews are busy monitoring teasers, changing baits, hooking fish and making memories, a submerged city of South Carolina’s old infrastructure—swing bridges, barges and shipping containers—lies more than 300 feet beneath them. Here, at the bottom of the ocean, you’ll find the Charleston Deep Reef site. But to those in the Lowcountry billfish community, this bluewater destination is more than that. It’s hallowed ground, and home to the South Carolina Memorial Reef. A PERFECT PARTNERSHIP The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources first selected the site as a suitable location to establish a deepwater…

In a multimillion-dollar bluewater battlewagon, fighting for hundreds of thousands—perhaps even millions—in prize money, it seems that no price is too high for a competitive edge. Ten years ago, when full chirp sonar technology came to recreational boating, skippers reacted like they were whistling-gopher priced. “What’s that go fer?” “$4,500.” And then they’d let out a shrill whistle. Today, you wouldn’t build a serious offshore boat without dual-frequency chirp capability, and builders design their hulls to accept the boxy transducers. Now there is a new whistling-gopher sonar on the market, and the price tag makes the original chirp tech look cheap. But it’s not exactly new—just new to tournament fishing. Omnidirectional sonar by makers such as Furuno, MAQ, and JRC scans the water under and around the boat in a…

A tender is essentially a boat used to support a larger vessel, whether it’s for entertainment or some form of service. As sport-fishers continue to grow in size and capabilities, tenders have become increasingly more commonplace, and can include anything from a micro flats skiff to personal watercraft and even large center-consoles. Tenders are often included in the purchase of a larger vessel, but from the parties’ standpoint, they are often an afterthought in the overall transaction. MAINTAIN YOUR DOCUMENTATION It is crucial for owners and captains to maintain the proper documentation on each of their tenders. Failure to have the proper documentation can cause an extension of closing dates and even cause for a transaction to be terminated. I have personally witnessed a multimillion-dollar deal fall apart over a…