Africa 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

[Patudo]

I visited Madeira again for 10 days around the end of June and the first six days of July. Fishing this season has been a little different to normal. Possibly because of the cold winter we have had in Europe, ocean temperatures were cooler than normal. Air temperatures too. The first few days I definitely felt as though I ought to have brought a light jacket. Before I arrived, there had been some blue marlin around, some big fish too, but not too many the fortnight or so before I arrived. Bigeye tuna were also in the area. Maybe the cooler water and sometimes cloudy conditions resulted in more of these big tunas hooked and boated than normal. Some of these bigeyes were real whoppers of 100kg plus.

Madeira was hit by some big mudslides in the spring, with major devastation hitting some areas of the capital, Funchal, and further to the west in the town of Ribeira Brava. It was a real achievement to get the capital back to normal (relatively speaking) quite quickly. But signs of the mudslides that hit the island a few months ago are everywhere. It will take a while before all the destruction created by the mudslides is fully cleared away.

This used to be the beach... now filled with rock and rubble cleared away from the city.



Some refugees from the mudslide that took residence in the marina:


A US Coast Guard cutter that paid a visit to Funchal. I didn't know the US Coast Guard sailed that far away from American waters:


During my trip fishing continued to be fairly slow, but blue marlin and bigeye tuna were consistently hooked and caught. The Margarita team led by captain Januario Santos and their young crewman Amilcar always do well on tuna. On the day I left the island, they boated this large albacore tuna and a beautiful bigeye tuna of nearly 300 lbs:


Another great photo taken by someone (not me) near the Margarita as they fight a big blue marlin:

That's what the summer big game season in Madeira is all about. Big fish and heavy tackle.

The Balancal skippered by veteran Madeiran Captain Anibal Fernandes trolls off the majestic backdrop of Campanario:


I spent most of my time on the Hatteras 53, HAWK EYE, skippered by Miguel Gavina. Miguel is a good friend that I've known for some years and caught some good fish with. He fishes with the benefit of years of his own experience in these waters, plus the knowledge handed down to him by his father Virgilho who was one of the pioneers of big game fishing in Madeira. We fished six days in all, of which three were half-day trips. Four bites from blue marlin in total, two hooked up, one caught.

I was lucky enough to catch that fish on my last fishing day in Madeira. We went fishing with a young Swedish couple - Carl Nordenskjold and his girlfriend Josefin Westin. It was a pretty uneventful day until Miguel saw a fin cutting the water. Moved into the area and hooked up with a nice fish that took a lot of line and jumped a lot way out there. Carl did a great job working the heavy 130 lb class tackle on his first ever blue marlin and after 40 minutes of hard work, I was able to wire the fish. It was a pretty tough struggle and I had to let go three times before finally working him to the surface. We put the snooter on him and after a bit of revival, sent him on his way:







I wish I had pulled out my own camera and snapped a few shots, as the photos Josefin don't give you anything like a realistic perspective of the size of the fish. It was significantly bigger than the 595 lb fish I wired last year for Miguel in the World Cup, and much tougher on the wire. Note the bent tail hook on the two-hook rig - buried deep into the roof of the fish's mouth. This isn't the first time I've seen it happen, but I always am a little surprised to see those big 11/0s bend like that.


That was it for my trip. The action wasn't red hot, but I am glad to see my friends there regardless of how the fishing is. To catch fish there is a bonus. We did pretty well in finding the fish given the conditions, and managed to catch a nice one. Not too bad at all.

patudo

[Makaira]

Hi Dustin,

Great report!

On the last photo with the "opened" hook, is that single strand piano wire I see used to rig the hookset? First I've ever seen single strand used for this application. What number wire / poundage used?

Best regards,
Makaira

[Chris Seo]

Hi Dustin,

Super report.....enjoyed it tremendously!

Warmest regards
Chris Seo

[Chris Seo]

Hi KK,

(Dustin)Correct me if I'm wrong, it looks like the S.S. heavy duty single strand wire used for making our spreader bar (langong)? I'm using it also for tandem hook rigs. Cheers

Warmest regards
Chris Seo

[Makaira]

Hi KK,

(Dustin)Correct me if I'm wrong, it looks like the S.S. heavy duty single strand wire used for making our spreader bar (langong)? I'm using it also for tandem hook rigs. Cheers

Warmest regards
Chris Seo

Yo Chris,

Yes, looks like it.

I am lazy ... my hooksets for the trolling lures are bought from Melton & they use 450lbs S/S 49'er.

Did you manage to gather a group to go Alor. If yes, how was the catch?

Best regards,
Makaira

[Chris Seo]

No sir, the travelling there puts a lot of people off. Concentrating on nearer places where logistics aren't that pain in the butt.

Warmest regards

Chris Seo

[Patudo]

KK/Chris,

Yes that is heavy single strand stainless wire.. frankly, not really my favourite choice for the piece between the two hooks but Miguel has used it for many years and it seems to work OK for him. It does have the advantage that it will not fatigue easily. That can sometimes be a problem with stainless steel cable, I have on a couple occasions lost hooks when the cable broke through fatigue. I still find it hard to believe that such heavy cable could break but I guess trolling a lure with a strong swimming action day after day for weeks could do it. Very frustrating if the way you find out your cable fatigued was on a fish...

Chris, in your experience where would you recommend trying for blue marlin in Indonesia?

Best regards
patudo

[Makaira]

Hi Dustin,

What are the game reels most commonly used on Madeira charter boats these days --Penn International, Shimano Tiagra, Finnor Tycoons, Accurate, etc. What type of line are they loaded with? Mono, Dacron or a combination of braided topshot with mono? What is the brand of choice for the mono line they use ... Berkley, Momoi, P-lne, Hi-seas, etc? Thanks.

Best regards,
Makaira

[Sportfisherman]

Chris, in your experience where would you recommend trying for blue marlin in Indonesia?

Best regards
patudo

Hi Dustin ,

With all those years trolling , the only blue marlin ever caught on Searcher 2 was at the Seamount between Sumatra n Java islands although I have encountered a few but can show nothing due to inadequate equipments , were in Biak Island offshore reefs . So my take on this question of yours must be the north eastern part of Indonesia ( North Maluku n North Papua provinces ) which is Pacific Ocean , by the way .

Jon .

[Patudo]

It's pretty much 100% Penn International or Shimano Tiagra KK ... all the Fin Nor have been given honourable retirement... most of the Penn 130s and Tiagra 80Ws are old (mostly 10 years old or more) but give good service year after year. The old Penn International 130 (130ST) has a great service record but all that generation Penns need their drags to be checked more frequently than Tiagras. Tiagra 130 A series has some desirable new features (you can instruct the angler to go up or down in drag by clicks) and has a more user friendly gear shift. It's a more advanced product. We caught that last marlin on a new Penn 130VSX given to Miguel for testing. The reel worked just fine. It has many similar features to the Tiagra 130A although I would prefer louder clicks as you go forward or back in drag. One of my friends fishes Tiagra 80Ws loaded with 130 lb line and has caught lots of big fish with them. They work all right but... it's very spooky to look at the spool after a big fish has made a big run. When you're hooked up to a fish like a big blue marlin you need to be very aware the 80W reel doesn't hold as much line as a 130. Most anglers especially younger anglers and ladies find the 80W easier to use but the 130 definitely has more cranking power which is really nice to have on those occasions that it is needed. Penn 80SWs definitely not in the same class as the Tiagra 80W. But, Miguel just last week released one of around 800 lbs on a Penn 80SW loaded with 80 after a fight of 1hr 30 minutes plus. He ought to get bonus points for that...

Preferred set up is dacron backing with mono topshot. Topshot is replaced every season, often more frequently if the line has been stretched out on a long hard fight. Most of us spool with Momoi hi catch, some use Suffix. I have also used Amilan which I think is superb. Very thick diameter and very tough. Just what you need if you hook a super-grander and need to fight it for hours! I prefer to spool 80Ws with thinner diameter dacron backing and thinner diameter mono when spooling them with 130 line. Spooling up with 300 to 400 yards superbraid right at the bottom followed by dacron and then mono on top is maybe the best set up for those smaller reels.

[Patudo]

Pak Jon.. I don't think I can get my dad to fly over here even though I would be happy to pay for the ticket, so I would like to fish with him in Indonesia - preferably somewhere with a good chance of hooking a decent marlin or a good size yellowfin. I would really like to fish with you but if there is the chance to fish some of those areas in eastern Indonesia that would be really something.

I have heard good things about Menado and if you have any contact for a decent boat/skipper there I would be grateful if you could let me know. The difficult thing is that I don't have much holiday time so cannot really afford to spend two or three days finding a suitable boat and skipper. Boat does not need to be a purpose designed sportfisher. I know what is suitable but unfortunately my dad doesn't.

[Makaira]

Preferred set up is dacron backing with mono topshot. Topshot is replaced every season, often more frequently if the line has been stretched out on a long hard fight. Most of us spool with Momoi hi catch, some use Suffix. I have also used Amilan which I think is superb. Very thick diameter and very tough. Just what you need if you hook a super-grander and need to fight it for hours! I prefer to spool 80Ws with thinner diameter dacron backing and thinner diameter mono when spooling them with 130 line. Spooling up with 300 to 400 yards superbraid right at the bottom followed by dacron and then mono on top is maybe the best set up for those smaller reels.

Interesting ..... why dacron? Is it a cost issue or because dacron offers more stretch than braid. With the triple combo of braid-to-dacron-to-mono, I suppose you can only go for the all-tackle record should you guys decide do land one? BTW ... is the mono used tournament rated line or the underated ones. Thanks.

[Sportfisherman]

Pak Jon.. I don't think I can get my dad to fly over here even though I would be happy to pay for the ticket, so I would like to fish with him in Indonesia - preferably somewhere with a good chance of hooking a decent marlin or a good size yellowfin. I would really like to fish with you but if there is the chance to fish some of those areas in eastern Indonesia that would be really something.

I have heard good things about Menado and if you have any contact for a decent boat/skipper there I would be grateful if you could let me know. The difficult thing is that I don't have much holiday time so cannot really afford to spend two or three days finding a suitable boat and skipper. Boat does not need to be a purpose designed sportfisher. I know what is suitable but unfortunately my dad doesn't.

Difficult to find such boat in those areas , my past encounter with the blues were on an outboard powered outrigger canoe and the end results were predictable , just can't handle such fish from it .

Menado is not even high on the list for YFT anymore nowaday , peoples go there for diving rather than fishing . During the season , Pelabuhan Ratu still produces marlin but must troll all day for them and the empty days are quite common but at least there you can find a well equiped boat , my Black Watch 30SF is there !

For YFT , most of us now cast for them using popping equipments although we still catch them by trolling when they are not on the surface .

Jon .

[Chris Seo]

KK/Chris,

Yes that is heavy single strand stainless wire.. frankly, not really my favourite choice for the piece between the two hooks but Miguel has used it for many years and it seems to work OK for him. It does have the advantage that it will not fatigue easily. That can sometimes be a problem with stainless steel cable, I have on a couple occasions lost hooks when the cable broke through fatigue. I still find it hard to believe that such heavy cable could break but I guess trolling a lure with a strong swimming action day after day for weeks could do it. Very frustrating if the way you find out your cable fatigued was on a fish...

Chris, in your experience where would you recommend trying for blue marlin in Indonesia?

Best regards
patudo

Hi D,

Totally comprehend the frustrations involved when your rigs give way.

Imho, the FADs in Indonesia is the best bet for YFTs, Bigeye tunas, and Blue Marlins. There are a few fads of interest which I would recommend, P.Ratu (120nm from shore), Puger/Jember (East Java), which very recently landed 85kg of Bigeye on jigging, Fads of Bira/Selayar (80kg yft). Trolling the Straits of Bira and Takabonerate (Where Glen Chee landed a 200kg Blue and a 92kg Yft). Other than P. Ratu, all the areas mentioned has no proper boats to chase or back down on your adversary.

Warmest regards

Chris Seo