Galapagos Islands
San Cristobal
Feb 16, 2013– Onboard the Vertigo with Mike Eakins and Tom Noonhan we head for 0-30 Bank. It started as a perfect day of fishing sunny, blue water and flat calm seas. This bank has not been very productive for over 5 years but when I started chartering in the Galapagos almost 13 years ago it was the best fishing I have ever seen. I have caught and released more striped marlin on 0-30 than any other bank. Mysteriously about 5 years ago the marlin seemed to vanish and other than a blue or a stripey here or there it was not very productive.
Tunas never left and the bank has been one of the best places in the Galapagos to produce big eyes and yellow fin of 20 to 60# continuously. Well today the tunas were a pest. Eating our ballyhoo and knocking our teaser all day long made it hard to fish baits and at times we had to resort to teaser or just lures. Nevertheless we manage to raise 5 single striped marlin throughout the day and get two bites on pitch baits.
Tom lost a stripey on the bite and Mike released a feisty one of around 130# on a 30# outfit. The action for tuna never slowed and each angler managed to catch a bull mahi mahi around 30# that one fish would make for a great dinner and the other would be released.
To say the marlin are back in full force in Galapagos would be premature. Are there fish here in places where they were absent in recent years absolutely This is the second time we fish this bank only 25 miles from port and both time we have had striped marlin action. I have also seen more birds and life than anywhere else so far this year. Hundreds of boobies diving, flying fish in panic, sea lions and dolphins all made for a spectacular site that we have not seen in two years.
We will be fishing hard from now until June so keep up with us and if you want to book we still have a few opening. The marlin fishing has generally been well documented as second to none but we have often disregarded the tuna fishing. I have to say tuna fishery is also probably second to none so if you want to come cast some poppers or try a hand at light tackle this is the place.
