Similan Islands Marlin

[Makaira]

Here's a photo of an estimated 300 pounder my friend tagged & released fishing in the Similans over Christmas 2006. See how the pectoral fin & tail are all lit up iridescent blue ....... really beautiful!!!

[stickbom!]

Woah... nice!

[Kaix]

very big splasp...swee....

[MarkR]

Nice

Marlin on jig...akan datang!

[DaFrogman]

Mak,

Woah, radioactive Marlin, really nice dude...

Saimee

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by DaFrogman

Mak,

Woah, radioactive Marlin, really nice dude...

Saimee

Tagging & releasing a fish all lit up like that takes a lot of care & experience. If the fish cannot be brought under proper control, the leader man is all ready to dump the leader and the angler is ready to fight the fish somemore should the fish decide to run again.

Most of the photos we see of the sails brought up to the boat in Rompin are all "bronzed out" -- system pumped full of lactic acid. I believe this happens more because of a prolonged fight rather than being subduded in short order with the right gear. Imho, many anglers are undergunned or choose to use light gear for the fun factor. I have nothing against having fun, nor am I suggesting that anglers risk the danger of trying to bring in a "green" fish for release, but anglers have to bear in mind that proper revival of a bronzed out fish resulting from a prolonged tussle is absolutely necessary before letting it go.

Another point I would like to address is that perhaps anglers do not have to pull every fish they catch out of the water into the boat to take a picture. After an angler's "virgin" catch, or first fish of the new season, or first sail on jig, or first sail on popper, perhaps a picture of the fish in the water for subsequent catches would suffice because that would certainly help the survival of the fish post release. Opinions differ of course.

[arowana]

wah.....my dream fish!

[hdmcgatha]

WOW!!!! That is NICE !!! One of these days it will be my turn...

[stickbom!]

Originally Posted by MarkR

Nice

Marlin on jig...akan datang!

A friend of mine caught a baby black on jig when we were jigging in Indonesia. Quite an exciting fight considering my friend was using a Calcutta 400 and a 2pc Shakespeare Contender Think I might still have the video footage somewhere. I wish you all the best and hope you land a big mama marlin on jig soon!

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by hdmcgatha

WOW!!!! That is NICE !!! One of these days it will be my turn...

Keep at it Dan ........ you will get one sooner or later with the regularity you are fishing those waters. Imho, if you want to target Marlin, concentrate on the pinnacles off the southern tip of Racha Noi, or the dropoff. The pinnacles between Racha Noi & Racha Yai also hold some Marlins if the bonito schools pass through that area. The best bet is still Don Mai off the Similans.

Use a bird in front of the lure on a short corner or the centre flatline & let one far out on either of the riggers. We get most of the big hits on these positions. Good luck!!!

[Makaira]

Yo Mr Richards ........ please make sure the video camera is running when you get your bill on a jig!!!! Should be fun to watch

[Narc]

Originally Posted by Makaira

Yo Mr Richards ........ please make sure the video camera is running when you get your bill on a jig!!!! Should be fun to watch

To think you actually believed him....
I'll bet he'll be cursing and swearing if a marlin took his jig....if the jig is cheap, he might just cut the line...

psst... he is only keen on giant Amberjacks now.

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by Narc

To think you actually believed him....
I'll bet he'll be cursing and swearing if a marlin took his jig....if the jig is cheap, he might just cut the line...

psst... he is only keen on giant Amberjacks now.

Yo Narc ....... a marlin on jig would most likely be an incidental catch. Let's hope he snags a BIG one on the tail with a Sanme & he gets spooled!!!!!

[MarkR]

Originally Posted by Narc

psst... he is only keen on giant Amberjacks now.

Tio suan again...you guys very mean...haiz

[edylie]

Yo Makaira,

That is a very nice Marlin!!! I would love to have one at the end of my line

Cheers,
Edy

[fran7737]

nice catch

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by edylie

That is a very nice Marlin!!! I would love to have one at the end of my line

Yo edy .... then you gotta take those marlin lures out of storage and put them to work every opportunity you get, like everytime you cross the channels in Maldives or move from spot to spot over deep(er) waters.

On behalf of my buddy, thanks fran7737

[edylie]

Hi KK,

We have tried actually using my puny reel and jigging rod as trolling setup and JJ's bird + lure ... thanks god there was no mama hitting it.

Actually I dont think trolling is a game for me ... it is utterly boring

Cheers,
Edy

[Makaira]

Originally Posted by edylie

Hi KK,

We have tried actually using my puny reel and jigging rod as trolling setup and JJ's bird + lure ... thanks god there was no mama hitting it.

Actually I dont think trolling is a game for me ... it is utterly boring

Cheers,
Edy

Trolling isn't for everyone, just as bottom bashing, popping or jigging isn't for everyone either, but there is no harm doing it when you are crossing channels with the potential of catching a bill dude. Especially when in the Maldives, where there is a possibility of catching a Blue.

However, only do it if you have the proper gear on board. No point leaving a few hundred meters of whatever line trailing in the open sea or a broken rod or reel when a big mama whacks the lure

[DaFrogman]

Originally Posted by Makaira

Trolling isn't for everyone, just as bottom bashing, popping or jigging isn't for everyone either, but there is no harm doing it when you are crossing channels with the potential of catching a bill dude. Especially when in the Maldives, where there is a possibility of catching a Blue.

However, only do it if you have the proper gear on board. No point leaving a few hundred meters of whatever line trailing in the open sea or a broken rod or reel when a big mama whacks the lure

Well Mak, I think we once got a decent sized bill at night on jig over here. Unforunately, the angler was using a kinda low end Penn spinner and the fish spooled him in less than a minute... and then spent the rest of the night crashing the bait around the boat just to show off and tease us...

I reckon that unless the fish really sounds, if you have a good captain and crew in a suitable vessel, then you could probably bring a reasonably sized fish to tag or gaff range, but of course if the fight extends for a long period, you run the chance of killing or exhausting the fish beyond resuscitation.

But good luck to all who are out to target big bills on spinning or jig gear.

Saimee

[Makaira]

Hiya DFM,

I have no doubt some marlins can be brought to the boat using decent jig / pop gear .... when jigging or popping. What I was referring to was trolling with the proper gear. Imho, trolling with popping or jigging gear for smaller game, even juvenile marlin & sails, is definitely possible & can be very fun. Hoever, when a momma marlin hits the lure with the fish going one way & the boat going the other, "poof" the reel can be dumped even before you can reach it in time to take it out of the rod holder; especially if it is a Blue, which is can be found in the Maldives

Dude, so when does your season start in ernest again?

Best regards,
Makaira

[DaFrogman]

Mak,

No worries on the light trolling man...

As for my "Season".... your guess is as good as mine, 'cos it seems that half the time the weather forecasters around here seem to wanna kill us or just stop us fishing on the good days... E.g. yesterday, the wind was blowing at least 20-30 knots and the forecast was apparently for 0.5m seas??????. Man, they're nuts.

Anyway, probably mid next month at the soonest, over the last 3 years, I prefer to fish on CNY as the first Hit&Run of the new year in the forlorn hope that the fish will be in Angpow mood and Angpow colours.

Wiv Me Best Regards dude,

Saimee

[Blackmarlin]

Originally Posted by MarkR

Tio suan again...you guys very mean...haiz

Mark, That the way of life. hahhahaha

[Patudo]

Pretty shot. Black marlin can light up incredibly blue. In fact blacks often are bluer by the boat than blue marlin which, unless you chase them pretty hard often come up bronzed like a sailfish. Blacks on the other hand often seem to come to the boat lit up and ready for a fight.

I'll always remember one fish that we hooked on the old 'Wahoo 1' while sail fishing at the NE corner of Racha Yai. It was hooked on a light 50 lb otufit at around 3.00 or 3.30 and fought for, if my memory serves me correctly, 2 hr and 45 minutes. Our angler started off standing up with no harness. After 45 min he called for the harness and one hour after that he sat down in the chair. He was pretty wrecked towards the end. But the fish wasn't. It was getting dark as the fish came up to the leader and the water had turned so dark it was almost jet black I'll never forget the image of that big fish (it was about 100kg and I thought at the time it was huge) with its glowing blue and purple colours lit from within so unbelievably vivid against the black water. What a fish.

From what I've seen, without a doubt marlin are a more attainable target in the Phuket area than most people realize. But the way most charters fish is not geared towards marlin. You shouldn't expect to get one every day but you are hunting a top predator here, you won't succeed in shooting a tiger every time you go hunting either. For me the adrenalin shot when you get a bite is more than worth the effort. I try to avoid fishing for anything else whenever I visit Phuket now.