BAZARUTO HOT MARLIN BITES CONTINUES - (11-16 October 2016)

It has been a great start to the heavy tackle Marlin Season of the Bazaruto Archipelago with nice numbers & quality fish. Despite the unseasonal late winds we have been having great fun out there everyday, getting good fish on a daily basis and the Ocean is just alive with bait and game fish, especially Yellowfin tuna, wahoo, skipjack, king mackerel, bonnies, Giant Trevally and all other trevally species.

After finishing Emmet´s and Patrick´s first ever trip to Bazaruto (where in 5 ½ days five we relased a sailfish, a Striped Marlin, four Black Marlin up to 900+ pounds, a bunch of big sharks and Yellowfin tuna, wahoo, skipjack, cuda, bonnies and other game fish) we had regulars Ian, Gideon and Dean from South Africa start the very next day, the 11 of October.

They have done numerous trips to Bazaruto fishing with us over a period extending more than 10 years. Being the plugging fanatics they are, most trips have been targeting GT´s and other game fish species, with only two Marlin trips in between. Altough they have caught a couple of small Black´s, a big fish still eluded them. Last year Ian had missed a real horse that we estimated to be in the 950 +++ category in late November. As they always do, they had brought all their plugging outfits and apparel along, but from day one it was clear our main focus was going to be on the Marlin side.

The very first day started with a #300 pounder coming into the long left lure early in the morning. But, despite having a lazy go at it three times it failed to hookup and merely knocked the rigger clip open. There where a lot of football size Yellowfin around and we switched to live bait for the morning altough the sharks where having a meal at it. The first four baits where taxed and this resulted in a couple hooked and releasing a #350. A number plate we have not seen before and which are still trying to identify…

Luckily there was no shortage of YFT and bait was easy to come by. We got another bait and this time we finally raised a Marlin on it, but the small 200 pound rat droped the rather large 8kg Yellowfin. In the afternoon we pulled lures for a couple hours but besides a few more yellowfin and wahoo did not raise another fish.

There where only another two boats fishing heavy tackle that day and Watamu released a # 550 Black on a lure. Spanish Fly lost a # 700 pound 45 minutes into it and raised another two fish on the baits that would not eat.

There was a slight breeze from the NE the next morning has we started making bait in the morning in the V to VI mile area. It turned out to be an amazing, altough frustating, morning. We raised no less than 8 fish in the space of four hours. There where many small rats along with some big girls in the mix, all in a very confined area. We raised every single fish on the live baits but amazingly only got three serious bites out of them. Looking at the fish´s behaviour, especially the small boys which where all erractic and colorful there was probably some shagging going on :-)…

After picking up a +- 7 kg Yellowfin we baited and within an hour, at 8h50 we hookup Dean´s first ever Marlin, a really good #600 Black that took just under 30 minutes for the release. Great feeling and Dean was absolutely over the moon….by the end of the week he was still in awe!

It took us about 20 minutes to find another bait, this time a skipjack which was inhaled by a 300 pound fish 15 minutes later, unfortunately the fish spit the bait right up at us straight after the bite! We could not get a bait after that so we switched to lures. We got a nice wahoo and about an hour later got 2 YFT which we baited. From there on it was madness and we raised 6 within the next 2 hours. First a # 150 come on the rather large baits. It knocked the long bait three times but would not mouth it and after ages it eventually went down. Ten minutes later an even smaller Rat appeared and was on the baits for about 3 minutes before fading. Two tacks and twenty minutes later another fish, this one looking about # 250 pitched up, all electric blues and purples, moving between both baits, disspearing, reappearing again for an easy ten minutes – beautiful but frustating. He had dissapeared for no more than 2 minutes, the long bait still deep and nervous when we finally get a strike. Seeing we had just seen those three small fish and one no more than two minutes before on the big baits, we acted acordingly and gave a longer drop – this proved to be fatal.

A solid fish looking at least # 700 started jumping way to soon as we started coming up on the drag, a obvious indication that something was not right. Ian jumped in the chair and the fish did some more jumping to our port and I could not see the bait. We where connected for a good while while the fish ripped line at strike drag, we turned chased and all of a sudeen come undone. Upon inspection I reckon the fish was just holding on to the bait deep within it´s gut´s. Well, tough luck!

We still had our second bait and carried on working the area and fifity minutes later raised a # 300 that come in all blue, was there for a minute or so and faded. Twenty minutes later we raised our last fish for the day, a little guy that wacked the big YFT twice but could just not put it down. The now white, scarfull YFT still swam strong for another 40 minutes but it was eventually sharked.

There where three other boats fishing for Marlin and Spanish Fly missed a 400 and raised a 500 that would not bite next to us, also on the baits. Beluga released a 500 and had another one that would not bite. Little Hooker raised two small fish on baits that would not bite as well.

The wind had switched to the SE by the morning of the 13th blowing at roughly 15 to 20 knots. The water was still a beautiful deep blue, however all bait had vanished and we decided to put the lures out. It was the right choice and still early at 8h10 we get a 400 pound Black come hot on the short rigger Pulsator Marlin Magnet and hookup on a fantastic bite. Ian jumped in the chair and the fish behaved really strangely as we cleared. It simply just swam towards us. Coming in so easily I did not even turn to chase has Ian was just picking up line as he wanted. I was just thinking maybe I had misjudged the weight on the hot bite when the fish decided to go down on a blistering run. I told Ian to crank up the heat to 40 pounds and eventually to the corner. But this fish would just not bulge. Now I was thinnking I had misjudged it the other way. Eventually after 50 minutes of excelente angling by Ian he managed to bring the fish on the leader where everything become clear; the fish was hooked on the dorsal, having all the leverage. We released the fish and put the lures back out.

Half an hour we get a skipjack on the bait rods but it was taxed within 30 mins. Back to the lures and at 11h40 had a real nice one come on the short corner Pulsator Predator and make a blistering 200 yard run before coming off. Just after 1pm and an hour before lines out we had another one, this time on a deep tack out of Giant´s. The #250 fish took a swipe at the Phoebe on the SR and faded. No other boats fishing…

The next day it was blowing a good 25 knots and altough the sea was not on it´s head due to the weak current the guys choose to have a break – a Naval day as we call it. We parked off at Clube Naval enjoying the vistas, the great pizza´s and of course a few good Double Black´s…

Rested and eager we where out there early and again decided to put the lures out straight away as the bite had been early the past few days. Once again, it was the right decision and we hooked up in less than ten minutes after setting the spread. It was a small fish but a intensive bite on one of the shorts and Gideon brough in the #150 for his first ever Marlin release. We raised another 2 fish for the day that would not bite and caught a bunch of Yellowfin tuna and wahoo.

Big Bob had a good day going 3 for 4 on fish up to #300, Cool Runnings also released a small fish, and Marlin released a #400, Fish Therapy lost a small fish right by the boat and Spanish Fly raised 2 that would not bite.

The guy´s last day turned out to be the slowest for the trip and we finally ended our good run of 10 fish in 10 days. We only had one Marlin bite on a fish that took the long left lure, peeled 300 yards and come unbottoned. We had 3 sharks on the baits and got a bunch of wahoo and YFT on the lures. There was a strong NE in the afternoon and we had a early return home.

Big Bob let a #400 go, Spanish Fly lost a really nice fish right next to us that looked every bit of #800 and Cool Runnings missed a #400.

Fishing was not as hot as the previous week mostly because there where bigger numbers of small fish around, loads of raised fish where unwilling to commit and conversation rates dropped. Most times mixed fish where congregated in a very small confined area which suggests breeding and thus eating not being a priority. The exceddingly big full moon tides by the end of the week might have had some direct influence for the sudden scarcity of bait and less fish around as well.

But, it´s still incredible fishing when you have an average of more than three fish per day on the baits.

The numbers for the 5 fishing days where;

Raised: 17 Strikes: 8 Hookup´s: 5 Released: 3