Overnighter
Thought I would share this report from some friends on the Scatterbrain who just got back from an overnight marlin adventure...
Well here's the way I saw it: We left out of Los Suenos at 6PM Sunday on the 54 ft. Hatteras "Scatterbrain" with a bunch of pizzas from Rioasis, 2 big lasagnas and about 10 cases of beer. Capt. Ian, Capt. Marvin, mate Alex, Moonpie, Graham, Schuyler, Big Brian and I. We are heading for a seamount 130 miles to the south, some 80 miles offshore. We have a fresh report of a good blue marlin bite going on and we are all fired up. 10 knot cruise till 5AM then we pick up and run the last 20 miles. A big lightning storm at 2:30AM wakes me up I and spend the rest of the night on the bridge with Capt. Ian watching the show. Thankfully the squall pushes just offshore of us and we don't have to run through it. Lines in a little after 6AM. First fish that comes is a blue one, get the bite on a live bonito but it doesn't come tight. It's 6:45 AM. Next 2 blue ones just window shopped. 4th one ate a bonito but didn't come tight. 0-4 by 11AM. Then a 2+ hour lull with no raises. (Marlin raises that is, we are steady picking off sailfish all day). Great morning full of action but we are marlin-less and getting a little nervous. All hell breaks loose around 1:30PM. We start catching some small yellowfins on the planers. Put a yellowfin out. It lasts about 30 seconds before a blue about 200lbs crushes it. We come tight with that one and Moonpie goes on him and releases it in short order. Catch a couple more yellowfins, put them out. It's not long before a nice blue shows up on the short left teaser. A yellowfin is cranked up to him and he crushes it so hard that blood sprays 10 feet in every direction. Graham fights this 300 pounder for 20 minutes and it puts on quite a show before it is successfully released. Put the spread back out and 2 blue ones come in red hot shortly thereafter... and we hook both of them. One about 225, one about 375. I catch the small one sitting in the chair, big Brian beats the big one down stand-up in about 10 minutes. Double header blue marlin!! We are now 4 -8 for the day on blue ones. While we are fighting these fish an unfortunate school of bonitos is getting crushed by at least 2 big blue ones that are ripping thru them not 150 yards off our starboard. We put the stuff back out as soon as those 2 are released and instantly another one comes piling in all lit up. He goes straight for the lure we have right down the middle. He crushes it and launches himself into the air. He is horizontal to the water and 5 feet up, all 400+ pounds of him. One of the coolest things I have ever seen. Everything comes unglued when he hits the water and he's gone. We are still screaming and yelling from that sight when a different one shows up on the short left. ...#10 for the day, it is red hot and a we get the bite but no love. It's now 3:30 and we have gone 4 for 6 on blue marlin in the past 2 hours, and probably 4 sailfish in there too. Things calm down until 5pm when something big eats a yellowfin. We don't see the fish on the bite, and it never jumps. Schuyler is up and an hour later the leader parts. I got a 5 second look at it while it was 30 feet down straight below the boat, and it was mighty big and blue and shiny. I think that was the man, but we will never know. Total for the day: 4 for 10 on blue marlin, 11-17 on sailfish. At dark we settle down for pizza and lasagna, then set up for a night of swordfishing. Jigging for squid results in no squid for us, rats. We catch literally dozens of bonito vertical jigging. Send 1 of them out on a balloon rig with a flasher... about 1 AM we get a good bite but miss it. It is a calm night on the Pacific and everyone gets some good rest. Lines back in at 5:30 AM. First blue one comes in at 6AM. We get the bite but no hook-up. Then 3 sails. We need to leave at 8AM to start heading back. At 7:40AM another blue one comes in but wont eat. Nobody is pleased to crank in the stuff and start the troll back... we want another afternoon out there! We put out a Black Bart style lure and 2 Moldcraft Wide Ranges and 4 teasers and start the 10knot troll back home. After a couple hours we pick up and run to the drop straight off Cano Island. We work straight up that edge and sure enough a blue one piles on to the blue and white moldcraft, we get the bite but it pulls the hook. An hour later, a big shadow shows up under the black bart. Kaboom, big hole, bent pole. Schuyler catches this 300 pounder. Put the stuff back out and 30 minutes later the green moldcraft gets crushed. Moonpie bumrushes the rod and releases this 200 pounder and it is time to pick up and run the rest of the way in. We go 2 for 5 on blue ones for the day and 6 for 8 on sails. We finish the 2 day trip at 6 for 15 on blue marlin, with 11 bites, and 17 for 25 on sailfish. Helluva trip!!!!!!!!!!!
Well here's the way I saw it: We left out of Los Suenos at 6PM Sunday on the 54 ft. Hatteras "Scatterbrain" with a bunch of pizzas from Rioasis, 2 big lasagnas and about 10 cases of beer. Capt. Ian, Capt. Marvin, mate Alex, Moonpie, Graham, Schuyler, Big Brian and I. We are heading for a seamount 130 miles to the south, some 80 miles offshore. We have a fresh report of a good blue marlin bite going on and we are all fired up. 10 knot cruise till 5AM then we pick up and run the last 20 miles. A big lightning storm at 2:30AM wakes me up I and spend the rest of the night on the bridge with Capt. Ian watching the show. Thankfully the squall pushes just offshore of us and we don't have to run through it. Lines in a little after 6AM. First fish that comes is a blue one, get the bite on a live bonito but it doesn't come tight. It's 6:45 AM. Next 2 blue ones just window shopped. 4th one ate a bonito but didn't come tight. 0-4 by 11AM. Then a 2+ hour lull with no raises. (Marlin raises that is, we are steady picking off sailfish all day). Great morning full of action but we are marlin-less and getting a little nervous. All hell breaks loose around 1:30PM. We start catching some small yellowfins on the planers. Put a yellowfin out. It lasts about 30 seconds before a blue about 200lbs crushes it. We come tight with that one and Moonpie goes on him and releases it in short order. Catch a couple more yellowfins, put them out. It's not long before a nice blue shows up on the short left teaser. A yellowfin is cranked up to him and he crushes it so hard that blood sprays 10 feet in every direction. Graham fights this 300 pounder for 20 minutes and it puts on quite a show before it is successfully released. Put the spread back out and 2 blue ones come in red hot shortly thereafter... and we hook both of them. One about 225, one about 375. I catch the small one sitting in the chair, big Brian beats the big one down stand-up in about 10 minutes. Double header blue marlin!! We are now 4 -8 for the day on blue ones. While we are fighting these fish an unfortunate school of bonitos is getting crushed by at least 2 big blue ones that are ripping thru them not 150 yards off our starboard. We put the stuff back out as soon as those 2 are released and instantly another one comes piling in all lit up. He goes straight for the lure we have right down the middle. He crushes it and launches himself into the air. He is horizontal to the water and 5 feet up, all 400+ pounds of him. One of the coolest things I have ever seen. Everything comes unglued when he hits the water and he's gone. We are still screaming and yelling from that sight when a different one shows up on the short left. ...#10 for the day, it is red hot and a we get the bite but no love. It's now 3:30 and we have gone 4 for 6 on blue marlin in the past 2 hours, and probably 4 sailfish in there too. Things calm down until 5pm when something big eats a yellowfin. We don't see the fish on the bite, and it never jumps. Schuyler is up and an hour later the leader parts. I got a 5 second look at it while it was 30 feet down straight below the boat, and it was mighty big and blue and shiny. I think that was the man, but we will never know. Total for the day: 4 for 10 on blue marlin, 11-17 on sailfish. At dark we settle down for pizza and lasagna, then set up for a night of swordfishing. Jigging for squid results in no squid for us, rats. We catch literally dozens of bonito vertical jigging. Send 1 of them out on a balloon rig with a flasher... about 1 AM we get a good bite but miss it. It is a calm night on the Pacific and everyone gets some good rest. Lines back in at 5:30 AM. First blue one comes in at 6AM. We get the bite but no hook-up. Then 3 sails. We need to leave at 8AM to start heading back. At 7:40AM another blue one comes in but wont eat. Nobody is pleased to crank in the stuff and start the troll back... we want another afternoon out there! We put out a Black Bart style lure and 2 Moldcraft Wide Ranges and 4 teasers and start the 10knot troll back home. After a couple hours we pick up and run to the drop straight off Cano Island. We work straight up that edge and sure enough a blue one piles on to the blue and white moldcraft, we get the bite but it pulls the hook. An hour later, a big shadow shows up under the black bart. Kaboom, big hole, bent pole. Schuyler catches this 300 pounder. Put the stuff back out and 30 minutes later the green moldcraft gets crushed. Moonpie bumrushes the rod and releases this 200 pounder and it is time to pick up and run the rest of the way in. We go 2 for 5 on blue ones for the day and 6 for 8 on sails. We finish the 2 day trip at 6 for 15 on blue marlin, with 11 bites, and 17 for 25 on sailfish. Helluva trip!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by Capt. George Beckwith at
12:44 AM
