Striped Marlin Numbers Are Solid & The Blue Marlin Are Bitting!

Galapagos Islands Marlin & Fishing Report

Since the start of 2023 we have been reporting a very good striped marlin bite out of San Cristobal Island mixed in with a few blue marlin here and there.  Blue marlin are not as common on the banks.  They are generally found between banks or the drop offs in deeper water mainly caught by chance.

We believe that the faster pack feeding habits of the striped marlin make it more difficult for blues to feed in between them on sardines.  Therefore, in the Galapagos your are more likely to find the blues along the edges of the banks where you don’t usually find as many striped marlin.

No one wants to leave the hot striped marlin bite on the banks to go looking specifically for blues so reports can be spotty because they are not generally the target species out of San Cristobal Island.  On the other hand we focus our blue marlin fishing on areas such as Floreana, Isabela and Genovesa islands where striped marlin are less frequent and your chances of a big blue marlin can increase due to natural bathymetry.

Hard to believe what may happen if folks went only searching all day for blues during the striped marlin heavy runs.  Water is now averaging 81 to 83 F all over the Galapagos.  The mahi mahi are in incredible numbers at the moment.

Thanks to our good friend Peter Santini of Sportfish Galapagos for the latest fishing report and pictures:

Feb 18, 2023– Vertigo 2 with Peter Santini onboard fished Rosa Blanca Bank in the morning.  He mentioned bank was loaded with mahi mahi but no marlin to be found so by mid day they headed to banks of Española.  There they were greeted by a blue marlin about 350# which they released.  They raised 8 striped marlin and 1 blue marlin with 7 bites and a release of a blue and a striped marlin.

Vertigo 1 fished Española banks since the morning and reported 21 raised and 15 billfish bites.  They managed to release a beautiful blue about 650# and 6 striped marlin.  Lots of mahi mahi around too!

Folks what are you waiting for to book?  You are not getting any younger and you wont’t find better fishing anywhere.  Scroll below for some upcoming last minute available dates.  Contact us to day to get our best deal on any of these last minutes dates when you purchase a complete package and possibly save big!

San Cristobal Island Striped Marlin Fishing:

February: 25 – 28 up to 4 days for 1 boat available
March: 1 – 3 up to 3 days for 1 boat available
March: 8 -12 up to 5 days for 2 boats available

Isabela Island Giant Blue Marlin Fishing:
March: 21 – 25 up to 5 days fishing and 2 boats available