Look over your shoulder, To The Limit has switched into a higher gear!
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Look over your shoulder, To The Limit has switched into a higher gear!
Looks like the water isn't the only thing heating up. I predict a 100 point bump by someone before next week is over. Come on Dan, quit sandbagging and show us how it's done.
Mike
Right on to the DOGHOUSE ! Marlin fishing just like the good ol' days. Left MB Sunday 330AM and made about 30 macks in the dark off the sunken tower; 5AM off to the lower 9 / North Island area where the bite started to take off Saturday. 545 AM find our first paddy in the grey off the middle of the 9 for nothing, travel another 2 miles for another paddy same result. head SSW for another 4 nm and see a mako and a few birds hunting. Decide it's time to start dragging the jigs so 4 lines plus a whiskey way back get set and now it's time to look. It wasn't 15 minutes when my son Chris spots a feeder about 75 yards away, I steer towards the commotion while he gets a mack from my bow tank and loads the caster rig. At about 15 yards just as Chris casts the ocean explodes with 3 feeders going off in separate directions; we drag right through and don't get bit. We pick up Chris's bait and he drop back off the stern and head SE searching. We don't go another 10 minutes before my foreman Tim spots a tailer headed downswell; he looked lethargic so I elected to run downswell and try to get him back in the jigs. We probably went a quarter mile before a PB 3.5 Zuker goes out of the starboard rigger and burns about 75 feet off the reel and then falls off. We dropped a mackeral back and I grabbed the rod to see what was up since Pat was holding the rod and didn't really know what to do, Chris took over the helm while I felt the bait get wacked and line peeled off at first then slowed way down so I figured the marlin was swimming towards the boat. I told Chris to gas it; I raised the rod to set the hook and felt it briefly before the line went slack; the marlin must have spit it or knocked it off. I reeled in the line and about 20 feet from the stern I realized I still had a bait and at ten feet away a nice lit up marlin swims alongside the bait and boat and proceeds to take off to the port side. I cast the mackeral up over the riggers which were still out, my bait lands next to the marlin and he turns and eats it. After a 7 count I set the hook and it was taking out line fast. I felt the tail hit my line three times and hen pop went the line. His tail must have hit the line repeatedly as I didn't have 100# leader above the swivel because I didn't have confidence in my albright knot tying so I just went straight 50# main line. Easy come, easy go so we headed back upswell for another shot. At 8AM the same PB rigger goes off and sticks; Pat Noll lasted 1 hour 20 minutes on a 30# set up.
134# on the swimstep for smoke and BBQ. Head back upswell and find a 350-400# swordy but thank God he kept sinking out; Chris had a 30 Trinidad with 50# ready to cast to it but I told him he needed a bigger gun! It sunk out 100 yards upswell before we could do anything.Started searching again and had 3 other jig bites; the last one was on for 5 minutes before tossing the lure. All our bites were on P&B
Caught an 11# Dodo on a blind jig strike. hit a paddy for 4YT 9-18#. One of my best days in a long time up here in the states; I hope this is just the beginning! My other neighbor John caught one also and was cut off by another boat earlier in the day. Trent Huls (Culligan Man/Marlin Man) had 3 releases. I hope they stay around awhile.
P.S. I took some digitals of the fight and the fish however what I always feared finally happened; my camera slipped into the drink after weigh in. The camera is toast and the disk won't produce. I do have a few regular film pics which i can send when developed. I think if you get a written weigh slip from a certified weigh station should be sufficient for our tournament; maybe we can add that at our next meeting.
We're HOT just in time for the BIG FISH TOURNAMENT, we need Dan's karma one more week then he can have it back! :D
Excellent Jeff. The weigh in slip was fine for Dan's halibut so it should fly for your fish too.
I'll be out Tuesday and with some luck I'll post up some fresh photos by night fall.
Mike
Congratulations Jeff. What a day! Weigh slips are OK by me and I don't think you'll get much push back from the rules committee. Got my caster from Peabod today so hope to have a shot at baiting one soon!
Charlie
Congratulations Jeff,
Way to show us how it's done. Thanks for the blow by blow report too.
Scott
Photos are required Just because we all saw the fish go up the dock in a cart doest mean we can break the rules
Just kidding sorry about the camera what a day ugh.
"We" accept pictures of the MAKOs without the Boat in the pictures, it sure look like the same fish....just kidding :D , its OK with me to accept weigh-in slips.
Phil
Knot Now