| OUTING
WAS NO TRIVIAL PURSUIT
(continued) We searched for marlin by fast-trolling big squid baits, multicolored artificial lures with a cylindrical plastic head followed by foot-long soft-rubber streamers. We ran four baits - two on outriggers about 60 yards behind the boat, and two on flat lines 35 and 45 yards back. The line was 80- to 100-pound test with long, 400-pound fluorocarbon leaders. Were targeting big marlin, Wroblewski said. In this same area, a 600-pound black marlin and two 500-pound blues were caught two weeks ago. The day was mostly uneventful, except for a quick encounter at about 11 a.m. when Captain Efren Beron Zamora spotted a marlin slashing at a lure with his bill. As he circled, First Mate Saul Kiko de la Paz Velarde readied a live bait rig using a bait fish the size of a musky sucker called a caballito or little horse. He cast the bait, let out some line and jigged it, trying to entice a bite, but it didnt work. For our second marlin day, we motored about 20 miles northwest into the Pacific Ocean to an area called the Golden Gate, a series of underwater rock mounds and canyons that extend out into the ocean. Once again, we set up the squid baits and started fast-trolling. It was about 9 a.m. when Beron Zamora spotted a marlin feeding near the surface, started yelling in Spanish, turned the boat abruptly to troll past it again, and things started happening fast. The big fish chased our lure, but didnt bite, so de la Paz Velarde threw the live bait. This time, the marlin struck and, when it did, the mate hauled back hard and signaled the captain to gun the boat to set the hook. He then jerked the hook several times to make sure it was in the marlins tough, bony jaw. Then he said: Here, Bob, handing me the rod.-- more>>> |
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