Grander Blue Marlin Isabela Island, Galapagos Delivers! Striped Marlin Bite Going Strong San Cristobal Island, Galapagos

Fellow Anglers,

Could there be a more complete angler’s paradise than the Galapagos Islands? When hot you can expect double digit striped marlin bites daily, endless topwater tuna action and now grander marlin! Yes you read right, grander marlin out of Isabela is a true possibility.

The Ecuagringo team just completed 10 full days of fishing and scouting the waters off Isabela Island. See full report below of the action in two 5 day fishing trips. San Cristobal Island is still going strong with lots of bait off Española Bank and plenty of striped marlin.

Galapagos Islands:

Isabela Island

The next best giant blue marlin hotspot is here! Anglers Rick Riggle and Steven Hurt fished 5 days from March 18 to 22, 2019 out of Isabela Island with Captain Braden Escobar leading team Ecuagringo. Escobar is retired now from being a captain but lead the 10 days of fishing exploration out of Isabela to deliver the fishing trip of a lifetime for Rick and Steven.

They saw surface swiming swordfish, humpback whales, birds, sharks, manta rays and lots of bait to make the fishing days even more entertaining. Rick Riggle released a nice 250# blue marlin, a nice striped marlin and briefly fought and pulled the hook on a blue marlin about 600#. Meanwhile on the same trip Steven Hurt fought and broke off a blue marlin well over 1000# after 45 minutes when his own line broke on his 80# gear that he brought down. The very next day he would hook, fight and release a blue marlin estimated at 1000#. What a trip!

March 26-30, 2019– Shelley Bergman, Wylie Berg, Robert Berg and Robert Bornholtz fished with Braden Escobar on a very exciting trip. The first half hour of fishing gave up a ferocious bite of a blue marlin estimated over 900# that spooled the Penn 70#, jumped and broke the line as Robert Berg sat in the chair fighting this amazing fish. Next Shelley Bergman released a nice blue about 300#. Robert Bornholtz wanted a striped marlin really bad but the two fish we saw did not hook themselves.

He caught a nice cow dolphin. Robert Berg released a nice Mako about 150#. The icing on the cake was a giant blue marlin estimated at over 1200# that came and played in the spread for almost two minutes giving everyone a good look at the huge breeder. The fish inspected teasers, dredges and just put on an unbelievable show. Fish was over 16 feet long and had solid shoulders and an enormous head.

Wylie Berg struck her as she bit and got a solid hook up. When the fish shook its head and came out of the water we mistaked her for a black marlin because the head was so big. After a set of jumps we confirmed it was a blue marlin. Everyone scrambled to try to get some good pictures. Wylie at 20 years old and after 45 minutes later got the leader into the guides and the fish was considered a legal IGFA catch.

He fought the fish for 4 more hours getting the leader 6 more times but we could not get the fish to surface before the 80# mono gave out after almost 5 hours. We will be switching to mainly 130# tackle next year.

San Cristobal Island

April 3, 2019– Tyson Whitney with Captain Gus fished Española Bank. Gus delivered with 15 striped marlin raises, 11 bites and 7 releases plus 1/1 on blue marlin. Seas were a bit choppy but there was plenty of life on the bank and bait.

If you want to be a part of some of the best marlin fishing on the planet then the time to book is now. Ecuagringo offers the best crews and boats available to fish the Galapagos. We are taking very limited 5 days minimum bookings for Isabela Island for 2020 and will be announcing available dates for these special giant marlin trips soon.

April 4, 2019– Tyson Whitney with Captain Gus returned onboard On The Hook to Española Bank and raised 20 striped marlin. They had 13 bites and released 5.