Galapagos Islands
San Cristobal
Over the past few days we had the opportunity to host a group of 16 from North Carolina. The anglers were led by Captain Barrette McMullan from Ocean Isle Fishing Center. Everyone in the party enjoyed the thrill of catching striped marlin and visiting the Galapagos.
This was a fun loving group that showed tremendous spirit. Some anglers were more experienced than others and although some were not familiar with catching marlin on circle hooks they eventually were able to hook and catch their own fish. I have tried to compile the numbers as accurate as I can. Keep in mind that what the captain sees from the bridge often differs from what anglers see from the cockpit.
Feb 1, 2011– we had a group of 16 North Carolina anglers fishing on the Jhonamar 2, Patricia, Blue and Big Fish. The dark blue water was calm and temperatures ranged on the various mounds from 77 to 79 F. Some birds and plenty of dolphins on the banks were feeding throughout the day. Some bait was found scattered on the bank but it was not the large balls we are used to.
Blue– captained by Julio Rodriguez had 10 raises, 5 bites and caught 4 fish on circle hooks. Anglers were Tom Bordeaux, Blair Bordeaux, Ken Hill and Kennan Hill.
Patricia– captained by Yury Gutierrez Junior had 12 raises 7 bites and released 1 on circle hooks. Anglers were Brant and Amy McMullan, Brian and Stacy Allen and Stacy.
Jhonamar 2– captained by Edwin Buenanio raised 16, had 6 bites and released 1 on circle hooks. Anglers were Benji Faulkner, Andy Erbacher, Rube McMullan and Barrette McMullan.
Big Fish– Captained by Fernando Yepez raised 15, had 12 bites and released 3 on circle hooks. Bryan Freeman, Brian Robbins, Rick Blase and Steve Austin. On the Hook- Captained by Gustavo Hernandez raised 11, had 8 bites and released 5 on lures.
Feb 2, 2011– the OIFC group of 16 headed to Rosa Blanca to find calm seas, blue water and a nice sunny day. The story was the same across the board. The fish were not aggressive and acted pretty shy making it quite difficult to get them eat the baits and get a good hook set with circle hooks.
Patricia Raised 13 stripes had 4 bites on the circle hook and released 2 fish. Fish were not very aggressive and seemed to shy from the bridge teasers. Anglers Ken Hill, Kennan Hill, Barrette McMullan and Benji Faulkner.
Blue raised 5 had 5 bites released 3 stripeys on circle hooks and headed inshore to catch a few wahoo for dinner. Anglers Tom Bordeaux, Blair Bordeaux, Brian and Stacy Allen.
Big Fish raised 10 stripeys, had 4 bites on circle hooks and released 1. Anglers Brant and Amy McMullan, Rube McMullan and Andy Erbacher.
Jhonamar 2 raised 9, had 7 bites and released 1. Anglers Bryan Freeman, Brian Robbins, Rick Blase and Steve Austin.
Feb 3, 2011 Two boats the Patricia and Big Fish head north to Black Sheep Bank 68 miles to check out the fishing. Water was 77-78 F and dark blue. The morning started out with a slight chop but the wind died down and it became a very nice day. Black Sheep bank was not s loaded with bait as other times but there were marlin present. Not the high numbers of raises we are used to but there were some fish. Blue and Jhonamar 2 stayed back to head out to Rosa Blanca.
Big Fish raised 16 stripes had 7 bites and caught 3. The fish were finicky and captain Yepez opted for combining lure on the long with baits on the shorts which produced some better results. Anglers were Blair Bordeaux, Bryan Freeman, Rick Blase and Barrette McMullan.
Patricia– had a 7 raises 3 bites and no releases. Just one of those days where the fish would not react much to anything tried. Hard to admit but yes there are a few days a year that one of our boats won’t catch marlin. However it is a little hard to catch fish if they don’t bite. Anglers were Rube McMullan, Andy Erbacher, Brian and Stacy Allen.
Blue Being the lucky boat the days before went to Rosa Blanca where they raised 6 had 5 bites and released 2 on circle hooks. Anglers were Brant and Amy McMullan, Tom Bordeaux and Benji Faulkner
Jhonamar 2 reported raising 10 having 5 bites and releasing 1. Anglers were Ken and Kennan Hill, Bryan Freeman and Steve Austin.
Feb 4, 2011– was the final day for the group and all 4 boats headed out to Rosa Blanca. Blue water in the 76.8 to 78 F range. Very calm seas and overcast skies.
Patricia arrived first on the Honey Hole and after seeing the bait there stuck on it and managed to raised 18 stripeys, have 12 bites and released 5. There were several hookups of fish that should have been caught but as luck would have it there were several spit hooks. The fish were quite finicky but reacting much better to the teasers so a combination of lures on long and baits with circle hooks on the shorts were used. Anglers included all the McMullan clan of Barrette, Amy, Brant and Rube.
Jhonamar 2 fished the Honey Hole but did not keep the faith and headed back to Rosa Blanca. They quit early to go inshore fishing and ended up only raising 2 stripeys, 1 bite and 1 release. Anglers included Tom Bordeaux, Blair Bordeaux, Benji Faulkner and Andy Erbacher.
Blue raised 6 had 3 bites and released 1. Anglers were Steve Austin, Bryan Freeman andRick Blase.
Big Fish reported raising 9 having 6 bites and 1 release. Anglers were Brian and Stacy Allen and Kennan Hill.
Well folks don’t let the numbers fool you. There are plenty of fish here and these are common cycles that the fish don’t bite much and then all hell breaks loose and we will have much more raises and bites. We have very few dates open between now and May so if you want to experience this incredible fishery you need to get in touch with us now.
