Article by Capt. Franky Pettolina
“As an interesting side note, right about this time last year I wrote a Fish Story about a Blue Marlin performing an awesome aerial display around the boat without ever striking a bait or teaser. My long time friend and client, Brooke Duvall, was fishing with me that day along with his grandson Andrew and some of Andrew’s buddies. Well, you guessed it, Brooke was with me again on this trip. Only this time it was his younger grandson Zachary, along with some friends, that had joined him on the trip. Hopefully the third time is the charm and I have a Catch Story to share with you when Brooke and his grandson Andrew head out with me again in a few weeks… Either way I am sure I will get to see something cool….”
The quote above was the last paragraph in my Fish Story from the 7th issue of the Coastal Fisherman this year. Around 430 AM tomorrow morning Brooke and his grandson, Andrew, will be climbing on board the Last Call for a day of Marlin fishing. Andrew has invited some friends along, so some of the day will be spent trying to bend a rod on some mahi or tilefish as well. I am hoping that the trip turns out to be a memorable adventure. Fish Story worthy, so to speak. The problem is that tomorrow is Friday. Past deadline. Last week Larry cut me some slack and let me submit my column a day late (a White Marlin Open extension was granted since I had been fighting a Blue Marlin late into the day). I know better than to tempt fate two weeks in a row. So here I am at my desk on Thursday afternoon. Whatever shall I write about? Hmmmm…..
Well I did fish with Brooke yesterday, and his grandson Zachary was with him again. It seems that the Blue Marlin that eluded us back in July had left a sour taste in Zack’s gullet and he wanted to exact some revenge on something with a pointy snoot. There have been a few Blue Marlin behind the Last Call lately (remember last week’s column?) and more than a couple of White Marlin, so I felt good about the prospect of getting Zachary a billfish to ease his frustration from a month ago. Blue Marlin aren’t that common though. What are the odds that a young man would get to go fishing twice in a thirty day period and see Blue Marlin on each trip in the Mid Atlantic? I mean, there are people that fish their whole life out of Ocean City and never get a shot at the Man in the Blue Suit. I would bet the odds makers over at Ocean Downs would jump at the chance to take that action against Zachary... Care to make a wager?
Around 8:30 yesterday morning I was looking at my plotter and plotting my plan for the day. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the left long rigger pop open and line started to sing off of the reel! Mr. Evans leaped into action and came tight on the fish. All eyes were glued to the water. There it was. Jumping right towards the boat… a mini mahi!
You didn’t really think a Blue Marlin was going to show up this early in the story did you?
I circled around a little bit and we caught a few mahi for the grill. Lynne, the matriarch of the family, loves fresh mahi, so Zack was being a good grandson by bringing home the groceries. It’s always a good move to keep the boss happy!
After a few more passes failed to yield any more mahi I switched back to Plan A. The bow of the Last Call was pointed to the southeast and I was splitting time between watching the baits and looking at my Garmin CHIRP sounder. There were some bait clouds down about a hundred feet or so and there were scattered flying fish on the surface. Conditions were good.
Mr. Evans was yelling. “RIGHT TEASER!!!!”
I knew the tone from experience. I knew what I was going to see. I turned to confirm it. And I was yelling back, “Get the big bait to him. BLUE MARLIN!!!”
That’s right. Zachary’s luck defied the odds in back to back trips, even if they were about a month apart. A blue marlin was charging behind the red Squidnation daisy chain teaser. Déjà vu! Sort of. This fish was aggressive. Mr. Evans was accurate. The big bait was in the right spot and the fish turned and piled on! Hooked Up!!!
Unlike the blue from last month, this one cooperated. It was a perfect bait and switch from the teaser. The big marlin was greyhounding behind the boat and Zachary was in the fighting chair. His proud grandfather was cheering him on. Also, unlike another of my recent blue marlin battles, this one was not a marathon. Definitely more of a sprint or a dash. The fish stayed on top. Zack cranked like a demon. Water was flying and the leader was breaking the surface right behind the transom fifteen minutes after the hookup. I kept the engines in reverse and moments later Mr. Evans had wraps on the leader. The fish did some close quarters acrobatics and a flurry of photos were taken. A successful release. I am not sure who was more excited, Zack, Brooke, or me. Mr. Evans was putting the baits back out. He doesn’t mess around!
The rest of the day was not quite as exciting. A few white marlin came a calling. We failed to hook the first one. The second one just liked swimming around boats and not eating anything. The third one was a touch more exciting than the first two. It followed every bait and teaser we had out. I had time to have a radio conversation with Capt. Willie on the Ro Sham Bo and give him some play by play. When it finally got around to eating something it didn’t even get that right. Somehow the fish got all wrapped up in the leader and the hook never set properly. Uggggh!
Brooke was sitting with me on the bridge when the last marlin of the day pulled free and went on its way after a brief display of aquatic acrobatics. He looked at me and said, “Oh well. Still a good day. Any day you catch a blue marlin is a good day.”
Amen to that. Here’s to hoping for another good day tomorrow! I still have to catch Andrew another fish story…
