The Bite Is On!
RECORDS FALL DURING THE HOTTEST BLUE MARLIN ACTION IN YEARS.
As fall turned to winter last year, several seemingly unrelated occurrences in the fishing world generated substantial social-media commentary. These events consisted of incredible fishing reports coming in from several distinct parts of the globe, tales of outstanding billfish action on an almost unprecedented scale.
These reports began with an outstanding fall in the Pacific off Guatemala, but that’s hardly news. Guatemala has long been the top spot for catching Pacific sailfish, and a respectable number of blue marlin get caught and released there every year, too.
Instead, the wildest reports came from the Atlantic, beginning right here in the U.S. The sailfish bite came early this year along the southeast coast of Florida. Around the first of December, Capt. Randy Yates and the crew of Miss Annie went 18 for 24 on sailfish while fishing off Palm Beach. A few days later they released 10 of 11.
Hot bites come and go, of course, and some truly spectacular flurries of sailfish activity appear and then recede each year. Such is the nature of fishing, but the sailfish bite has remained steady so far this season and hopes run high for a banner year.
While the sailfish snapped off South Florida, another hot bite materialized farther south and east, in the Dominican Republic. It began in November, when Capt. Chuck Gregory guided anglers Ken and Amanda Cofer and Kim Hermanowski to record days aboard Natural, a 52-foot Monterey.
The team fished the FADS (fish aggregating devices) off Punta Cana, in the Mona Passage between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. The first day they got 19 blue marlin bites and managed to catch and release seven fish. That’s a spectacular day of fishing in anyone’s book. But the very next day they went back and set what would become a single-day record for the DR: The Natural crew raised 20 blues and managed to catch and release 14 fish. The marlin ranged between 100 and 250 pounds, perfectly sized fish for a double-digit day.