Madeira trip July 08

[Patudo]

Hey guys,

No section for reports from Europe so I put it in the Africa section. Besides, Madeira is closer to Africa anyway.

This was the eighth year in a row I visited the Portuguese island better known to most people here for producing cakes, wine and Cristiano Ronaldo. In the fishing world Madeira is famous for blue marlin fishing, with some very big fish being hooked and fought every year. When I first started coming here in 2000, working as crew, fishing was pretty poor, but every year the fishing seemed to improve. I have had the good luck to learn from some very experienced skippers and the last few years as the fishing has gotten better, I have been lucky to see some good fishing. This year was the first year I took along my new digicam, here are some photos from my visit.

The very first day I went fishing with my old friend Jose Serrao, who owns the 'Our Mary', the boat I had worked on in 2001 and 2002, we raised a fish on the long corner that took its time before deciding to strike. It got hooked and after 15 minutes we released this blue marlin. Small fish by Madeiran standards but a nice welcome home for me and a nice birthday present for our angler, who 10 years ago had released another blue marlin fishing with the late Captain Ron Cowling, the skipper who taught both Jose and myself.



There were quite a few smaller blues around this year, which is unusual, but it was nice to go out fishing and know you had a good chance of getting a strike every day. There was a really good run of fish just before the 4th of July Blue Marlin World Cup when boats were consistently getting 2 bites, 3 bites. I was on a private boat for a few days and on the 4th July we relased this fish, sadly he was nowhere near big enough to make the 500 lb minimum weight, but he fought very well with lots of jumps and I was glad to be able to release him.








(to be continued)

Regards

P.

[Patudo]

Later in my trip, some big eye tuna started to appear. Most Madeiran fishermen would rather catch a bigeye than a marlin because they can kill and sell the tuna. Over the years I never had much success with the big summer tunas, partly because they were quite rare when I was working there, and partly because they are always quite a difficult fish to hook. But on the one half-day I fished with veteran local skipper Anibal Fernandes on the 'Balancal', we found them. The same area had produced a bigeye of 250 lbs earlier in the day for another local charterboat and we worked this area hard until we got a crashing bite on the right rigger. This fish stayed on the surface like a marlin, in fact we thought he was a marlin at first, and we chased after him hard. Here is a photo of our angler Nick cranking as we go back after the fish.



We got the leader in 15 minutes but sadly pulled the hook just as Captain Anibal saw that it was a tuna. Major disappointment for everyone.

But the next day I was back on board the 'Our Mary' and fishing the same area we had a blind strike on the left rigger. We did not see any jumps and thought it was another tuna at first, but another boat saw the fish jumping far away, confirming it was a marlin and a big one too.

Big English guy fishing an even (much) bigger fish:



After about 1 hr we got the leader and I was treated to one of the most difficult fish I've ever wired. This thing kept trying to get under the boat every time I tried to lift him, and when Jose went forward to keep the fish from taking the leader under the keel, it really stretched me out. I had the leader three times and the last eight feet or so our other crewman, Joao, and myself were both pulling hard before he came up to the boat. It was a little difficult taking photos with shaking hands, but this is what a pretty good shot of what a normal Madeira blue marlin looks like:



Jose releasing the fish. We actually caught this fish on a four hour trip, although of course as with all fishing, if you can fish for the full day you have a better chance of being there when the fish decide to feed.



I didn't wire the last fish I was on board for - aboard the 46 Hatteras 'Grumpy' skippered by Miguel Gavina. I did get some nice photos of him coming up to leader though. This fish hit in the afternoon, after we had spent a few hours chasing schools of bigeye tuna that refused to bite our lures.



Our happy Russian anglers:



That was the last fish I saw - another good trip, being able to fish with some good friends and take away some great memories. Its a really special place for me and I can't wait until I can get back...

Regards

P.

[Blackfish]

Great photos and report there Patudo.
Looks like the fishing is not far off the mainland. In Australia the Blue Marlin fishery is normally a long haul off the coast.

[Makaira]

Nice one Dustin!

[edylie]

thank you for the report Dustin!

Edy

[MarkR]

Fantastic stuff, thank you sir!

[Setúbal]

Very nice report, its one place that i wont to go fish, Madeira island, from my country : Portugal

[Patudo]

I was back in Madeira again for two weeks in late June early July this year. This trip was very interesting but at the same time had some tough fishing. To begin with, there had been some really good fishing the two weeks before I arrived, but the day I flew in conditions started to change. The fish hung on for a while and we were able to get 2 blue marlin bites the first day I went fishing of which we missed the big one and caught the smaller one, but after that things got tougher. One more blue and a few white marlin bites that were not hooked on the big lures and then things got really tough. Zero current even on maximum tides, no bait and no signs of life in our usual areas. Then followed by some SW wind that really screwed things up, rain and green water. Good fishing was happening further to the west so we had to trek there to get to where the best fishing was happening, but we didn't have much time to work the area. We would get there, see great signs of life, fantastic blue water, current lines, birds, baitfish, skipjack etc... then have to go back and one hour later hear other boats hooking up. The boats further west had some really good fishing at that time, some nice marlin, bigeye tuna to 200 plus pounds... Then the last 3 days of my trip the conditions changed round again and the fish were right back to where they should be. For four days the area right outside of Funchal harbour produced blue marlin bites. I fished the 4th July World Cup as wireman on board a friend's boat, we killed a 595 lb fish that led the tournament for several hours before being beaten by a much bigger fish caught in Bermuda. I felt bad about killing it but at the time no qualifying fish had been caught and the fish was well over the qualifying weight. Prize money well over US$200,000. Tough decision.

Some photos of the trip

Hooked up during the 4 July World Cup on board the HAWK EYE skippered by Miguel Gavina. This is the only day in the calendar that the Madeira charter boats go to sea with the intention of taking a blue marlin. Angler is Peter from Sweden. That's Miguel's son Tiago on the deck.



We boated it in about 20 minutes, I wired it and Tiago, his grandfather Virgilho and crewman Jeff Knapp gaffed it. Here's Virgilho looking at the fish after it was boated.



Tail of the 595 lb blue showing the vivid colour you often see when you release them.



My good friend Jose Serrao of the charterboat OUR MARY giving instructions. "Please remember sir, don't touch the drag when the fish is running..."



Blue marlin coming to the leader. This one on the OUR MARY with captain Jose.


By the boat.


Jose prepares to release the fish. I like this much better than killing them.


Two small Sperm Whales just lying about in flat seas doing nothing. Madeira was one of the last places where men went to sea in small boats to kill whales with harpoons. This ended in the late 1980s and the area is now a sanctuary for whales and dolphins.


Best regards
patudo

[Makaira]

Hi Dustin

You never fail to pay homage to Madeira every year. Nice fishing as usual!

Best regards,
Makaira

[Patudo]

Every year for the last 10 years KK. Very special place to me with many unforgettable memories. Would love to get you out there, or with my friends in Cape Verde but it's a long trip from SG.

[regue]

Ohhhhh I've fished in Our Mary for jigging in October Jose was my captain