via Moldychum

More Baja Fly Fishing at The Reel Baja.

350lb marlin.

via Swim At Your Own Risk

Why stop eating billfish?

1. Marlin populations throughout the world are being wiped out by commercial overfishing. Most marlin mortality is a result of incidental bycatch, in which marlin are caught by commercial fishermen targeting tuna, swordfish, and other types of fish. With millions of hooks and many miles of nets in the water, marlin and other billfish don’t stand a chance.

2. Marlin and other billfish populations are not sustainable based on current demand. Their decline is being fueled by the demand for marlin meat among consumers, which corresponds with the overall growing demand for seafood both in the United States as well as throughout the world. Unlike catfish and tilapia and other “farm-raised” seafood, marlin can’t be farm-raised, and therefore can’t keep up with the demand. Besides, farming top ocean predators actually results in a net loss of available seafood because the diets required to rear carnivorous fish are comprised mostly of wild-caught fish. It would be analogous to raising lions or tigers in pens for human consumption.

3. Marlin may be harmful to eat. Marlin and billfish often contain unhealthy levels of mercury and other toxins that may be harmful to humans who regularly eat marlin, billfish and other large fish predators.

Works for me, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten marlin before!

More awesome catches at IGFA

This tattoo was done by the (in)famous Bob Paulin at Studio 123 Tattoo in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada. If the name sounds familiar, you may remember him from such shows as Live With Regis and Kelly or The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

I came across an article on firstcoastnews.com while reading up on marlin fishing and I found the wording a little strange. There is a lot of emphasis on the word “attack” but I’m sure this sort of thing has happened before, if not with marlin then with another species of fish that jumps a lot. Although it is impossible to determine whether this marlin really wanted to attack a fisherman or it was just a freak accident, science dictates that if you are pulling something towards you, it’s going to come to you. This marlin just came in a little easier and faster then anyone expected. Then again, Jon is the scientist, not me.
Photo via Marlin Nut

Watch the video.

As all deep sea fishing trips begin, we were up bright and early. It was almost 10 am as we reached the dock carrying loads of beer, margarita supplies and ample amounts of sandwich ingredients. The plan for the day was to head out from Marina Palmira in La Paz out to the area around Espirito Santo. We’d spend some of the day fishing and then a few hours snorkeling with the Sea Lions at the north end of the island.

Our boat for the day was the 38 foot Mediterranean “El Ganador” that we rented from Desea Adventures. It came crewed with our Capitan and our deck hand David. We settled in on the bow with our breakfast for the 45 minutes ride out to the open water.

Due to the fact that we’re not really fishermen and that we couldn’t be persuaded to arrive at the dock between 6-7am, we’d missed out on live bait. Our bait for the day would be brightly colored squid shaped lures. In total we had 5 rods out in the water. After trolling for about 15 minutes, I watched as a marlin leapt into the air. The zip of the line was unforgettable! My shipmates turned and saw just in time as the marlin landed back into the water. The line went silent. We all knew we lost it.

Continue reading My First Marlin by Rachel Larratt