NEW Blue Marlin III record - J.Dann from England - Dusky Grouper - 2400 gr / 5.3 pounds

QUALIFIER CREW FINISHES SECOND, REPEATS AS GAMEFISH CHAMP--


MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. --- Suzanne Phillips of Wrightsville Beach N.C., became the top competitor of the sixth annual Big Rock Lady Angler Tournament when she reeled in a blue marlin Saturday aboard Caliente to capture a $5,568.75 cash prize.

The Caliente, captained by Ryan Higgins out of Summerville S.C., released its blue marlin 40 minutes into the competition. Three hours later, Qualifier, a Manteo-based boat captained by Fin Gaddy, released a blue marlin, but the Caliente crew was crowned the winner by virtue of having scored its release first.

Caliente will receive the first billfish cash purse in the six-year history of the event. The one-day competition included a $2,700 carry over from last year when rough seas prevented lady anglers from hooking up any billfish. Sea conditions were rough again Saturday, but 28 boats and 120 lady anglers elected to battle the elements to try to capture the first billfish cash prize.

That total almost didn’t include the crew from Caliente.

“We almost didn’t go,” Higgins said when informed that his six female anglers had won the event. “I called the ladies (Friday afternoon) and let them know what the weather conditions were going to be. Some were driving in from Charleston, Wilmington and Raleigh. They told me ‘if we’re coming … we’re going.’ It’s a credit to the whole group as billfish competitors."

Phillips -- who had never hooked a blue marlin before Saturday -- didn’t even think she’d get a turn in the chair.

“We drew numbers and I got number four,” she said. “But after we dropped our lines in the water, we caught three dolphins. I was up next when (Higgins) shouted ‘Fish on.’

It turned out to be a blue marlin.

“It was just the most exciting thing … to catch a fish like that,” she said. “We were thinking Friday that we might not even go. Then we have this happen. We talked it over and decided ‘Let’s just do it … let’s go for it.’ I’m so glad we did.

Higgins said her group planned to fish event last year but dropped out when the Caliente developed engine problems. This year, there were no such problems … other than rough seas.

“We’ve had rough seas for every Big Rock Lady Angler Tournament,” said Crystal Watters, tournament director of the Big Rock. “One of these years, the ladies will get to go out in good weather. I’m just impressed with how many crews elected to go out and try to win in those conditions.”

Several captains reported 8- to 10-foot seas with wind gusting up to 30 knots. This delivers quite a pounding to the competitors as they troll at low speeds during five hours of competition 60 miles offshore.

“It was rough … but it was worth it,” Phillips said. “We heard other boats had hookups and didn’t know we’d won until just now. It was just so exciting.”

The crew of Qualifier finished second in the release division but scored a repeat victory in the gamefish division. Qualifier won the 2002 dolphin prize with a 26.65-pounder. This year, Amanda Van Staalduinen of Williamston boated a 38.25-pound dolphin to win the division.

The sixth annual Lady Angler competition helps kick off the 45th annual Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. The 45th Big Rock is a six-day competition that begins Monday. Boats fish 4-of-6 days and cannot put lines in the water until 9 a.m. Fishing stops at 3 p.m. each day … unless someone is hooked up.

TECHNIQUES FOR FINDING A FISH

We don't have any way of knowing that, because our electronics aren't going to read the bottom that well, that deep. But at 100 fathoms, we know that crevice is right there. So, if you can figure out what is causing a feeding activity to go on, or what's holding bait fish, then you can generally figure out where and when to fish. So let's say you know the current is north. That means the current is pushing up against the ledge to the north. That also means that little crevice in that north ledge could be a lively spot. That's a good place to start looking. Try out your known commodities first and if that doesn't work, try looking to find out what's behind door #2.

TECHNIQUES FOR FINDING A FISH

This would indicate something happening on some level of the food chain out there; either big fish eating little fish or little fish eating littler fish or birds eating pieces of the little fish that are left over from the big fish eating them. Or it could be birds eating the little tiny fish that are coming up to the top being chased by the smaller fish that are being eyeballed by the big game fish. You can't always find the food your fish is eating on the ledges and upwellings. Sometimes the currents are pushing everything off of the ledge. But it's a good place to start. The shallower the water is, the easier it is to fish. With most of our electronic equipment right now, we can read the bottom real well at 100 fathoms. At that depth we can find a crevice in a ledge. At 2,000 fathoms, we can't see that crevice. It's possible to be over an area out there where the fish are eating and it's related to a crevice in a ledge 2,000 fathoms down, but it might be located two miles away from where we are, because of the current.

TECHNIQUES FOR FINDING A FISH

So now, what holds the food. The food has to eat. We're looking for marlin by finding their food. We're looking for their food by finding the food's food. And it narrows down like that. For instance, the drop offs and the ledges that cause upwellings are good places to find food. You take into consideration the bottom structure, and your currents, and you know how that's going to affect the stuff that's floating in the water. The stuff that's floating in the water is either what their food eats, or it's what the food their food eats hides under. It's all related out there. Look at your maps and watch bird activity on the water. Bird activity on the water indicates activity on the surface, which means something's either getting eaten or something is eating. Those small fish aren't usually jumping around for fun. There is usually some kind of feeding activity going on when there is surface activity.

TECHNIQUES FOR FINDING A FISH

Now if you get a frontal condition coming through or something that causes them not to move around much, then they don't burn up much energy and don't eat as much. But under normal conditions they're going to be eating quite a little bit. And when you think 20% of a 200 pound marlin, that's 40 pounds of food. But that's not much when you figure they can get that in two bites. They can eat four 10 pound tunas and they're done. So they eat fast and then they're done for a while. It's seldom that you see them eating all the time. So the biggest problem we have in finding a fish is getting where the food is. For instance, in the Pacific Ocean we have 66 million square miles of water. And we're trying to find "A" fish. Talk about a needle in a haystack. That gets really crazy. However, the food that our fish eats is probably only in 10% of that. Therefore, the fish can't be in the other 90% of the ocean very much of the time because they don't have anything to eat there. So that narrows that 66 million square miles down a whole lot.

TECHNIQUES FOR FINDING A FISH

There are two things that dominate the behavior of any fish. One is breeding and the other one is finding food. Fish don't have things going on in their heads, like I got to have a new car to impress the neighbors or any of that stuff. Fish have only two things going on in their minds: Eating and making little fish. There's not much we can do to capitalize on their breeding habits, but we can capitalize on their eating habits. It's a lot easier to catch big game fish when they are eating than it is to catch them doing anything else. So finding a fish just basically comes down to, "Where is their food?" Now, there's a lot we don't know about marlin, and now I'm talking specifically about marlin. But one of the things we do know is they have a high metabolism. They'll eat anywhere from 10% to 20% of their body weight every day, under normal conditions and depending on what they're doing.


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BACK DECK BASICS
with Capt. Darrin Isaacs

WHAT A DRAG: When the day comes that all your efforts have paid off and there's a big blue marlin jumping away with your favorite lure and all your string, one of the many things that needs to be considered is the fact that as the spool diameter decreases, the drag will automatically increase. So at some point, you're going to have to back the drag off or risk breaking line. We use all lever drag reels, and to aid our anglers, we put back-off marks on the reels. I simply use a black marker to indicate the spot on the reel where I want the angler to back the drag off to in case of emergency. And, if I want to change it -- a little 409 and it comes right off.


POTENTIAL PROBLEMS: One of the things that should be done after you catch a fish is re-stack and check all the line the fish had off the reel. If the angler has done a perfect job, it will sometimes be hard to know how much line to check. But, in most cases, it will be pretty obvious. There will be crisscrosses and pileup's of line, both of which you don't want waiting for you under 100 yards of line. While I'm re-stacking the line, I use my thumb and forefinger to feel the lines as I'm level-winding to try and catch nicks and abrasions -- because if I don't, the fish will.

DIGNITY SAVER: A great application for soft or rubber lures is baiting and switching. I am definitely one of those who believes that the more natural texture of the soft lures helps to keep the fish around and aggressive until you have chosen which tackle and bait you wish to pitch to the fish. A disadvantage to the soft lures is that it's possible, if you don't have a large enough backing, that you could pull the leader right through the lure's head. Because of the soft and pliable texture, the hole going through the center of the lure will stretch enough to pull something small through, especially if there's a 500 lb. marlin clamped onto your lure and you're trying to pull it out of it's mouth to tease it up to the back of the boat. So what we do on the SUNDOWNER, is put a stainless washer on the leader behind the lurehead so that there's no way the fish is going to rob us of our lure and dignity.

MORE ON DRAGS: Once in a while you'll notice trends in how the marlin are feeding. If they are really attacking, I will have strike drag on all the reels and will try to set the hook as soon as possible. If the fish are feeding less aggressively, we will back the drags off to where there is just enough resistance to be sure that you'll never backlash on the bite. This will let the fish get its head turned and its momentum going away from the boat, which does not take long -- a second or two. I'll then push the drag up to strike and try to hook the fish. This is by no means the cure to jumping fish off, but it's something that's definitely not going to hurt and might be worth a try.



Tight Lines, Capt. Darrin Isaacs

BACK DECK BASICS
with Capt. Darrin Isaacs

LEADERING: When it comes to leadering fish, there are as many different situations as there are people that fish. There are times when the leaderman's job is to simply guide a fish along side the boat and wait for the tagman. But, there are other times when his job is to get a couple of good wraps and not let go until his feet leave the deck. The latter takes some pretty extreme situations such as world record fishing or tournament fishing. In most cases, the leaderman's job is to get the fish close enough to the boat so that it can be tagged and released, or boated if it's going to be dinner that night.

LOOK: The first thing I look for when grabbing the leader is the hook set because it's going to dictate your approach to putting pressure on the fish. There are times when you look down and can see the hook buried in the corner of the jaw and you feel pretty confident about putting the extra pressure on.

Other times, you can tell that the fish is 'foul-hooked' and if you don't take it easy, you'll rip the hooks out and not get that tag in place, which sometimes means in a tournament situation, money or no money.

GOLDEN RULE: I've been leadering marlin for most of my life and one of the golden rules is "never take your eyes off of them". Sometimes, erratic head and body movements will warn you of a fish that's about to go nuclear and jump in your salon window to say "Hi!". Something that can help make the leaderman's job safe and less painful is a thick and comfortable pair of leather gloves. Styles vary, but the most important thing is protection from the leader cutting into your hand. You don't want to underestimate how hard 500 lb. test leader squeezes your hand when there's a big fish on the other end. If you don't have the proper protection, it's just going to hurt too bad to put any real pressure on the fish no matter how strong you are.

LOW AND SLOW: A good fresh fish meal is something I rarely pass up. The thing that's on my mind when I'm leadering a 'squirrel-ly' mahi mahi or wahoo is "low and slow". What I'm trying to accomplish with the "low" part is to keep the fish in the water. If you stand too upright, you'll tend to pull the fish's head right out of the water and that, a lot of times, causes the fish to panic.

As far as the "slow" goes, it's hard to be jerky on the leader if you take it easy. Jerky movements on the leader can also cause the fish to panic, start shaking it's head and jump around making it very easy for hooks to fall out and extremely hard to make a good gaff shot. Something else I consider when gaffing dinner, is to gaff the fish as close to the head as possible. That's where sharp teeth and loose flailing hooks live. The more control you have over the head translates into less trips to the emergency room to get hooks out of you and your toes sewn back on.


Tight Lines, Capt. Darrin Isaacs

MR. WONDERFUL vs. MR. RELIABLE
It seems that we spend a lot of time trying to out think something that doesn't think. Given what the scientists tells us about the capacity of a marlin's brain, there isn't much room in there for much of anything except eating and making little marlin, and there's fairly little contemplation about the latter. The reproductive process is totally instinctive. The female sprays eggs out into the ocean and the male sprays sperm. Somewhere out there the two get together and the result is baby marlin. I might have oversimplified the process a little, but, at best, it's a pretty loose operation and not something a marlin spends a lot of time thinking about.

Rather than trying to appeal to a marlin's sex drive, fishermen have found titillating its appetite or tweaking its temper more conducive to generating the much sought after bite.

It's been my observation that there is a huge amount of difference between the levels of a marlin's aggressiveness. From Everything is sight needs to eaten, or at least beat up a little to I could care less about anything. Unfortunately, the dreaded I could care less attitude is all too frequent. Much of the time, however, marlin are somewhere in the middle. If they run across food that looks good enough (to them not us), or if something has an action that brings out their pugnaciousness, an attack is likely.

An attack, however, doesn't always mean that it's trying to eat the target, although that's often the case. Frequently, a billfish will just slap a lure or bait around, sometimes for quite awhile, and never try to actually put it's mouth on it. In these cases, if there is a thought involved, it's probably something like, This isn't food; it's competition for food. And, in any case, it needs to be killed.

There is nothing so frustrating as those cycles when marlin are in that billing mode. They scuff up a mile of leader and ugly up one beautiful lure after another and seldom get hooked the notorious Goodyear hook syndrome. So, not to be outfoxed, we switch to live bait. Sometimes this works, but then sometimes we get no strikes at all. Once again, we have managed to leap successfully from the frying pan into the fire.

Fortunately, sooner or later the cycle changes. The marlin start trying to eat everything instead of just billing everything. Our hookup-to-strike ratio soars. We forget those 17 straight strikes with no hookups and once again we are legends in our own minds and heroes of the world of marlin fishing. It makes no difference if we use live bait or lures. For a while anyway, we can do no wrong. Most of us have learned to enjoy it while it lasts, which is never, ever long enough.

During the majority of the time, which is between the extremes, we spend hours and hours, and days and days, boring holes in the ocean trying to figure out which lure works most consistently, at which speed. Various hook rigs and skirting combinations are considered, as well as colors and lure positions in the patterns - and these are just some variables. Although, someone not involved in the sport might not believe it, out of this hodge podge of possibilities, after a while, those who pay attention actually come up with some combinations that produce more consistently than others under normal conditions.

Until we find a talking marlin, we can only judge by results. What looks great to us doesn't necessarily look so hot to the fish. I have had (and I know many of you have, too) a really productive lure that got consistently nailed. Like all good lures, it ended up on the bottom of the ocean. Then I tried to replace it with an identical lure - identical to me maybe, but the fish didn't agree. A million trolling miles later, the replacement still didn't have the first scratch. Obviously, the fish saw a difference that I didn't.

During the process of filming ESPN's INSIDE BIG GAME FISHING, I've had the privilege of being aboard some of the most productive charter boats in the world. No two of these boats were the same. The array of lures used and ways of presenting them were vastly different. There were also a lot of similarities and a few lures that repeatedly seemed to pop up at some point during the course of a day.

Most of the standbys get very little attention, mainly because they're old standbys. "Mr. Wonderfuls" come and go. They're the rage for a while and everybody has to have one, but three months later they're at the bottom of the lure drawer. The old standbys and "Mr. Reliables" might get pulled out of the pattern for a day or two, or even a week, but before long they sneak back out. There are also lures that one captain swears by and that I see on some other boats, but no one else can seem to get a strike on.

So what are these lures that over and over find there way into the patterns of so many very productive boats? The medium-sized to smallish chrome jet lures with either the pointed or rounded shapes. Fancy looking ? No. Impressive action? No. Expensive? No. Fish catchers that are present on virtually every boat? DEFINITELY!

The Marlin Magic or Gary Eoff Ahi-P, another wonderfully "neck-down lure", works as well on monster marlin (as proved by Capt. Jerome Judd on the JUN KEN PO early in 1996 with his 1,100 plus pounder) as it does on tuna and mahi mahi. The Moldcraft wide range purple softhead, again, all-purpose, all-species, any speed, any position - is another no-brainer that gets hit, doesn't eat leaders and isn't really expensive. Reportedly, the first lure-caught grander in Australia was on a purple sotfhead that was "lure-knapped" from Kona. The short corner favorite still seems to be Joe Yee's Super Plunger. It has a well deserved worldwide reputation for raising big fish. I'm hardly ever on a boat that doesn't have one ready to go. There is another lure that I don't know the official name of - if it has one. It's a resin lure made on the west coast by Steve Coggin and the head is about 2 inches long above the skirts. It has a bevel with a center hole and four jets. I've had good luck on the Coggin, but there are at least a half-dozen manufacturers that turn out lures that are virtually identical and would probably work just as well. The favored color combination is a blue and silver inset with blue, silver and pink skirts. Whatever the lure is called, it has made believers out of a bunch of us here in Hawaii, myself included. It has a high hookup-to-strike ratio and everything seems to eat it.

These, by no means, are the only lures that work and nobody pulls all of these lures all of the time. In fact, some very productive boats pull none of them - ever. But, an overwhelming percentage of the high producing boats that I've been on, are pulling one or some of them a lot of the time.

There are a lot of good lures out there. Capt. Bill Ross's Big Blue and Marlin Magic's Smoky Joe catch a lot of fish, as do Norm Tepper's Holy Smoker and Honolulu's Bert Mitsuo lures. The list could go on forever. The lures that I mentioned are just some of the ones that have earned their place through proven performance.

The equipment used in this sport is ever evolving. New stuff - some good, some otherwise, hits the market every day. Through trial and error, every offshore fisherman settles on the lures that work best for him or her. The only indisputable test is results. One of my favorite quotes is "Fishing, like life, is results and satisfaction or bull- $%@# as to why there are no results and satisfaction".


Tight Lines . . . . . Norm.

MR. WONDERFUL, PART 1

Every fisherman is on an eternal search for a magic, catch'-em-every-time, never-fail lure that causes fish to go crazy to the point of trying to break into the boat at night trying to get to it. We're all searching for the one lure that gets hit (and sticks) all of the time in all conditions and seasons.

Most of us who have flailed around the high seas in search of big game for a few years have spent countless hours trying to mentally create such a lure that we can later carve, pour or machine in our workshops or garage and, Shazam! Stand back, world. Here it is -- Mr. Wonderful, the one that never fails.

Every so often, I run across a magnificent piece of work that, to me, looks like something no self-respecting fish could possibly turn down. Then, to top it off, five minutes after it's in the water the first time, it gets nailed. And again, five times throughout the course of the day we catch fish on it. We've found it! The end of the rainbow is in my lure drawer. Somebody call CNN -- no, wait, better yet, don't tell anyone. First, we'll win millions in fishing tournaments, then we'll mass produce it and make more millions selling it to every breathing fisherman in the world. Yeah, that's the ticket.

So, just to be sure, we'll try it another day or two and then put it away so it doesn't get broken off before we can put the plan into action.

The next day out, Mr. Wonderful (M.W.) comes out of the lure drawer, safely out of sight of other fishermen, because now it's strictly on a "need to know" status. After a careful inspection to be sure the leader and crimps are flawless, M.W. slides over the side to work its magic.

Hmm. Five minutes go by, and no strikes. Better check the skirts. Hmm. Two hours go by, and still no strikes. We must be in an area where there are no fish. Hmm. Four hours, no strikes, and three boats in our area are fighting fish. Maybe we have a rattle in our drive train or something. Six hours, and zip. A twinge of doubt appears on the horizon. Seven hours and M.W. is replaced in the pattern by a $4 chrome jet with wahoo-ravaged skirts and promptly gets hammered before we can get our hands off the reel.

Could we have been a smidgen premature? Does this mean we have to cancel the order for the Rolls and the new house?

Although this scenario might be slightly exaggerated, many of us are always on the lookout for a Mr. Wonderful. Alas, at least to the best of my knowledge, such a lure has yet to be discovered.

However, In the process of filming ESPN's "Inside Big Game Fishing, Hawaii", I've had the opportunity to fish with many of Hawaii's skippers on their boats, and there are a few lures that seem to be consistently preferred by these very productive captains. Every boat is different in terms of how the 'riggers are set up, preferred trolling speed, how the wake looks and other factors too numerous to list. Still, a handful of lures pop up on virtually every boat, and this is for only one reason: they produce.

In future articles, we will be taking a closer look at these consistent producers, who runs them and why.


Tight Lines . . . . . Norm.

TUNE UP FOR MORE STRIKES
When it comes to fishing, a lot of folks seem to think you just fasten a hook or two on the backside, fire 'em over the side, and drag them around until something happens. In my opinion, this approach robs the fisherman of a lot of the fun, the challenge, and a ton of the effectiveness of lure fishing. Granted, there are many times when you could throw your jockey shorts out there and if you got in front of the right fish, you would get a strike. There are other times when, no matter what your lures look like, the fish have lock-jaw and that's all there is to it. The other 90% of the time however, the difference could be - are the lures you're running, running right?

The next question, quite naturally, is what's right? Right to us, or right to the fish? I've dragged lures that I thought looked and ran great. The fish didn't agree. A million miles later - not a tap. I've also been about to take a lure out of the pattern because it was so ugly, it didn't run right and I didn't want it out there to start with, but a customer or maybe my crewman talked me into it. But, before I could get to the reel to start cranking it in, it got slammed by a good fish.

The fish is the only authority. Unfortunately, if a lure doesn't look "fishy" to us, it usually doesn't get pulled enough for the fish to pass their judgment. Most of us have been busting waves for a few years have a fairly specific idea of how we want a lure to look. That idea is generally based on what our experience tells us has worked in the past. The one thing we can all afford to pay is attention. If you don't know what your lure was doing when it got hit, you won't know when you have duplicated the look and action the next time it goes out.

Tuning lures is an important skill to develop. Just as a professional photographer doesn't just push the shutter button on his camera and hope for the best. He knows how to set up his camera for a particular shot to get exactly what he wants. We need to be able to rig our lures to get the exact look we want.

Once in a while, I'll get a hold of a lure that runs lousy no matter what I do to it, but most lures can be tuned to a large degree. Sometimes it's as easy as wedging a toothpick in the hole in the back of the lure to cause the hook or hooks to stay I a certain position. Sometimes it's not that simple. Of the different things we do to change how a lure runs, I've listed a few:



lengthen or shorten the skirts

change a skirting material

go from a one hook rig to a double hook rig, or visa versa

pin the hook or hooks in various positions

run iron hooks instead of stainless, or visa versa

run hooks closer to the lure or farther back in the skirts

change hook sizes or shapes

use lighter or heavier leader material


Keep in mind, these are just some of the things that can be done to the lure rig. Some of the other factors are boat speed, sea conditions, location on the wave, rigger or flat lin, and distance from the boat that the lure will be set.

As you can see, should a person decide to really get into it, there can be quite a number of options. The right combination can dramatically affect the results of your efforts with lures. Of course, going through the process of arriving at that right combination can put you in a rubber room if you're a little short of patience.

Tight Lines . . . . . Norm.

BAIT AND SWITCH"
Information and options are a couple of the most valuable tools the offshore fisherman can have to slant the odds in his or her favor on any given day. If plan "A" falls flat, give plan "B" a shot, or "C". Of course, if you don't have a plan "B" or "C", then they aren't options. We all have a tendency to stick to what we know or what we are the most comfortable with. Often, it's hard to change tactics just because something worked so well a day or two ago or on the last trip out. Granted, if pulling purple whomp'em, stomp'ems at 25 knots yesterday caught me a boat load of fish, I'd probably be prone to start off today at 25 knots with a covey of purple whomp'em, stomp'ems out there. It's getting locked into a certain approach and doing the same thing day after day regardless of the results, that can reduce your effectiveness. Some of that hesitancy to vary tactics stems from the fear of failure or wasting a precious day on the ocean not firing the best shot. We caught at 25 knots with the whomp'em, stomp'ems, so we know that will work, at least some of the time, why do anything else?

Well, some days are made for Big Mac's and some days the seafood platter at the Mixed Plate are the ticket. We aren't always in the mood for the same thing and neither are the fish. Live Bait is a reliable way to catch marlin, but we've all had days when we've seen fish swim up to frisky bait, check it out and split. The guys dragging lures are getting their rod tips bit off and our live bait is dying of boredom. We have also had just as many days when it was the other way around, the lure guys haven't had a snap but the bait guys can't keep one down long enough to have lunch. The point being, the conditions change, the fish change along with them. The most effective boats out there are the ones that react to what the conditions call for and aren't hesitant to push the envelope of their own experience when it comes to trying out different approaches.

One of the tactics that certainly isn't new but that you don't see anywhere close to the frequency of the normal live bait or lure fishing is the "bait and switch". We have been doing a lot of it on the SUNDOWNER over the last couple of years and have had extremely good luck with it. I know of several other boats here on the Kona coast that are also using it with a high degree of success when it comes to billfish.

For those of you who aren't familiar with it, let me first define the term "bait and switch". What I'm referring to is the baiting or teasing of a fish to a certain point with a hookless presentation and then subsequently switching the fish off to a different bait or lure for the hook-up. On the SUNDOWNER, we usually use our normal trolling lures for teasers rigged without hooks to get the fish up. Pulling the lure away from the fish and closer to the boat every time he strikes it generally gets the fish really fired up to put his lips on something. Once in a while, the marlin just goes away after the first shot, but an extremely high percentage of the time, because of the absence of hooks stinging them or looping over the bill, they stay right on the teaser until we drop a single hook rigged dead bait of some sort in front of him. The reaction to the dead bait is usually sudden and violent, not much Mickey Mousing around at that point, resulting in a very high hook-up rate. The exact procedure for doing what I just described will vary quite a bit from boat to boat, partially due to personal preference and partially due to differences in how boats themselves are set up in terms of space and rod holders.

We like to hedge our bets a little by running the long rigger and the stinger normal, hooks and all. The short rigger, and both corners are run hookless. Frequently after the marlin is teased, if we miss him with the bait, he will go back and pound one of the back two lures with hooks. Because our anglers are often charter customers with experience varying from a lot to zero, we try to simplify things for the angler as much as possible. Rather than expecting them to be able to feed a bait back to a lit up, excited marlin without over-running the reel, we run a drop back on the switch rigs similar to one that's normally used for live bait.

Let me clarify that a bit. Before the goodies hit the fan, we drop the switch bait back to where we want it to go when the fish is in the pattern. We then bring the bait back to the boat and put it in a cooler at the transom leaving the line looped out behind the boat. When it's time to feed the marlin, all someone has to do is toss the bait out behind the boat. It will automatically pop up and start skipping in the right spot which is usually next to the short corner teaser. We have just enough drag pressure on the reel to keep the bait where we want it. After the marlin has had it for a couple of seconds we smoothly run the drag up to the strike setting.

In my opinion, there is nothing in big game fishing any more exciting than seeing a good sized marlin 30 feet behind the boat, lit up and excited, wolfing a bait. It will burn a memory into your brain that you will never forget. In addition to the excitement factor, which is considerable, there are some other advantages to this type of fishing. You can cover more territory than conventional live baiting and the hook-up to fish raised ratio is generally higher than straight lure fishing, particularly after you've done it a time or two. The ability to match your tackle to the fish is also a plus. By having one bait on heavy gear and a second bait on lighter gear you can select the tackle after you have seen the fish. You can have the fun of fighting fish on lighter gear and still be ready when Mr. Oh-my-gawd shows up for dinner.

Now the down side -- actually most of it is between a person's ears. When that 300 pounder shows up on a hookless lure and hammers it, maybe twice, and leaves before you can get a bait back to it or you get the bait back and it leaves anyway. I will guarantee the first thought in everyone's head is that if we had hooks in that lure we would have had him. Anyone that has been out there a time or two knows better, but you will think it just the same. How many times have we all had fish just annihilate a lure carrying a pair of razor sharp hooks and not get stuck? There is also the ones that slap the lure with their bill and get a hook looped over it. That's usually good for a few jumps but the excitement is usually short lived. Unfortunately, nothing works every time and "bait and switch" is no exception, however, even the fish that are missed are fun because you usually get to mess with them a little. It's more than just the snap of a rubber band and it's all over with your charter looking at you thinking, 'boy, wasn't that fun'. If nothing else, it's one more weapon in the arsenal. Modify the procedure to best fit your situation and give it a try.

Tight Lines . . . . . Norm.

"BIG FISH TACTICS"
The big one got away! When it's a part of someone else's fish story, it's a shame; but when it happens to you, it's a downright crying, dirty, no-justice tragedy. Personally, I know without a doubt that the largest fish I've ever seen, let alone been hooked up to, sawed through 400 lb. test leader after a fight that lasted a little over 10 hours. We were never able to get a hold of the leader, but we had the double line on the reel at least 20 times. In 10 hours, we never once pulled the fish toward the boat. We could get line on the reel fairly easily after the first three hours or so, but only by backing the boat toward the fish, never by pulling the fish toward us, and that was with 60 plus lbs. of pressure on the drag quite a bit of the time.

The fish seemed to have a distance of about 30 feet that she was comfortable with. Anything closer than that was out of the question. She appeared so unconcerned about it all, that it wouldn't have surprised me if she had started feeding during the fight. In addition to a new respect for the power of a really big marlin, when we parted company she gave us back everything we had started with except a small fish looking lure made by Greg Brown, my crewman at the time, one 10/0 stainless hook and about 3 feet of leader. The lure got a proper burial at sea, like most good lures. The hook and the small piece of leader stayed with the fish.

We've all heard about it, and most of us have had it happen to us, so what (if anything) can be done to prevent it? I recently received a letter from Ron Akana of Waipahu, Hawaii. Ron is a regular viewer of INSIDE BIG GAME FISHING when he's not out fishing himself, and it was his letter that stimulated this bit for ESPN's SPORTSZONE. Ron explained in his letter how after a three hour fight, he and some friends had broken off a beast on 130 lb. test. The fish had hit a resin jethead that was rigged on 26 feet of 300 lb. test leader with a stainless 12/0 hook. After an hour, they had 13 feet of the leader but couldn't hold it. After two more hours with the fish "under and around the boat," the mainline parted with a subtle "tick", not the resounding "crack" that we've all learned to know and hate.

Ron's question was what could he have done differently to catch the fish. Well, Ron, about the only one who might have that magic, works-every-time answer would be one of those fellows who has been fishing offshore for six months or so and has figured it all out. We've all run across a few of those guys. I've been splashing around out there for more years than I'd care to count, and I've frequently discussed the subject with guys who have been at it as long or longer than me. The consensus is that sometimes the fish wins - period.

The way you described the line parting would cause me to be a little suspicious. If there is any flaw, no matter how tiny, a big fish will find it, even a small nick that might not have been there when you put the line out. The fish even could have swam back across the line during the course of the fight and put in a little scuff that took some extreme pressure to become a problem.

A technique that has occasionally worked in the situation that you described is to let out a little line, if necessary, in order to be able to maneuver the boat to where the pull on the fish is from a different location. This usually takes several, if not a bunch of, maneuvers. Pulling hard from one angle, then quickly making the change and pulling hard from another angle is a tedious, back-and-forth deal, but it can pay off. I don't know whether the fish gets confused, tired or careless, but this approach has shortened the fight on several occasions.

Keep in mind that it is not always the fish that gets confused, tired or careless, evidenced by the reality that it's not always the angler who wins the battle. Given the fact that there are many on this planet who have not, and never will, have the opportunity to engage in the battle, you're already a winner just to have been lucky enough to have been there.

Tight Lines . . . . . Norm.

Capt. Norm's No-No's"
Part 2

In last month's article, I started to compile a list comprising a few of the things that most of us who operate offshore fishing boats (for a living or otherwise) have nightmares about. I'm not referring to unexpected weather or water pumps shooting craps at the worst possible time. Those are things that go along with the territory, and we have to learn to take them in stride or get off the water. What I'm talking about is "people stuff". Not necessarily "the dumb things people do," even though that might occasionally fit. These are things that folks do, generally as a result of simply not having spent much, if any, time aboard a sportfishing boat and really can't be expected to know. The reason for the list is to give the prospective charter patron or guest some insight into black-belt blunders that can be avoided and thereby keep your charter crew on your side instead of the fish's or keep a host inclined to invite you back.

Last month, we touched on shoes, getting aboard and a bit on handling gear, so I'll more or less pick up where I left off. Some customers want to get as involved as much as possible, and some don't. If you want to help your crew when you get hooked up, let them know. If your crew is worth much, they have a routine worked out that gets things squared away as quickly as possible. An unexpected body running around the cockpit breaks the routine and is usually more in the way than anything else. However, if your crew knows ahead of time, they can brief you on what you can do to assist, and they will probably be glad for the help.

For instance, if you are going to crank in one of the lines to help clear the cockpit, be sure to find out what to do with it once it's in. I once had a customer (who I didn't know was going to pitch in until we hooked up) crank in a line, grab the leader and jerk the lure out of the water in an attempt to get it into the boat.

The lure lacked about a foot of clearing the transom and left an exquisite divot in the transom gel-coat (to be fixed in the next dry dock). Plus this "helper" put a chip in the lure and permanently changed the action of the lure, which had been (notice the past tense) a great producer for 10 years. I guess I shouldn't complain, because had the lure not hit the transom, I'm not sure the angler, who was trapped in the fighting chair, could have dodged the set of razor-sharp 11/0 hooks that would have been flying out of the prop wash probably directly at him.

As if we hadn't had enough of a demolition derby already, the helper decided he needed to do something with the rod that was sitting harmlessly in the rod holder, so he lifted it out. Everyone else was busy at that particular second, so while he waited for somebody to give it to (because he didn't know what else to do with it), he firmly planted the butt not on the deck, but in the deck, leaving year another memento for repair at a later date.

A minute or two later, the hook pulled and the fight was over. In less than three minutes, our helper had destroyed a lure, put two dandy hickeys in the boat and endangered the angler, and at this point he still didn't have a clue that he had done anything but help. Had we known he'd wanted to help, we could have spent a minute or two briefing him on what would help the most, which might have been cranking in that same line, and told him what to watch out for in the process.

The Do's and Don'ts

If you want to help, tell your crew. Don't drag lures over the transom; don't put rod butts on the deck. Even though you might be an experienced offshore fisherman, most crews have a routine, so ask questions so you can help without being disruptive.

One last gargantuan goof to watch for: don't try to dazzle you charter crew with your brilliance, particularly if you don't have any. Translation: don't try to convince your crew that you have more experience than you actually have. The crew will have a pretty fair idea of your experience level within about five minutes after you're on board (possibly sooner).

Just so I don't get in a rut with all the "don'ts", I'll fire out a few "do's". When you charter a boat, do feel free to ask all the questions you want. If that upsets your crew, get a different boat the next time and advise your friends which crews to stay away from. Do spend some time talking with your captain before you book, if possible, so you know that he (or she) knows what you expect; plus you'll get an idea of what kind of a personality you might be spending the day with. Sometimes the fish cooperate - sometimes they don't. Only God has a handle on that; but there is no excuse for you to be treated like anything less than a valued customer every time.

In future articles, I'll be continuing to compile a list of "Norm's No-Nos", although I certainly don't have an exclusive on them. Anybody who has taken folks offshore, particularly if they happen to be in the charter business, will have run across some, if not all, of the scenarios I've mentioned so far, plus have a few of their own they could add. At some point, I'll even be delving into the sensitive arena of onboard head etiquette. I just haven't figured a way to say all that I want to say about the subject and still be printable, but I'll worry about that when the time comes.

Tight Lines . . . . . Norm.

Capt. Norm's No-No's"
Part 1

After all my years of pushing around a charterboat, I'm still amazed at some of the things folks do, things that can be very destructive to the boat or the equipment. When someone pulls one of these black-belt blunders, my first thought, which is frequently not of the warmest nature, is generally something like, "What a jerk! Doesn't he realize blah, blah, blah, "

My second thought is, "No, he doesn't, and why should he?" Most of my customers haven't been working on a boat every day for the last umpteen years. If they had been, they would likely know better than to do whatever it was they did; but, then they probably couldn't afford to be chartering a boat. By the way, ladies, don't feel left out. The particular arena to which I'm referring is not gender exclusive. Women as well as their male counterparts are equally adept at unknowingly causing tight jaws on the bridge.

To the best of my knowledge, nobody has ever compiled a list of no-no's for people who are either chartering a boat or have been invited aboard as a guest. The result of not knowing some of these faux pas can range from simply not getting invited back to getting to spend all day where the fish aren't and rough seas are, generally with the boat abeam to the sea to achieve maximum discomfort due to the enhanced rolling action.

A complete list would be impossible, plus I would imagine every skipper with any amount of time at sea has a few personal pet peeves. Some of these would be specific to his boat and some specific to his personality. However, there are a few hall-of-fame screw-ups that most of us see over and over, so I thought I'd jot down a few tips on what not to do in this article and try to toss in a few more next time.

I guess a good starting point is on the dock before ever mounting up for the trip. Black-soled shoes - ouch! Some of the footwear people show up wearing I'm positive has been soled with recycled car tires. The black marks they leave on the deck spell countless hours of scrubbing by somebody, often to no avail. It's not a good way to stretch your time on the water when the crew knows they have an extra hour or two tacked onto the cleanup while you're back at the hotel having a cool one.

Coming aboard seems to present another opportunity for a colossal goof. Embarkment should be orderly and under control. That sounds simple enough; however, it seems every so often one of the passengers or anglers feels compelled to demonstrate his ability to leap into the air and land flat-footed on the deck. If there happens to be a hatch on the deck or a weak spot, that seems to be the target of choice. If Lady Luck is smiling, the jumper doesn't end up butt-deep in the boat with both feet firmly planted on the hull after going through the deck. While you're on board, move gently and deliberately. You'll be less likely to hurt yourself, and the crew will appreciate your not leaving a trail of destruction that they will have to repair later.

Another application enhanced by "gently" is when you're putting a rod into a rod holder. This applies to any rod, but it is a little more critical with larger gear. Firing a rod into a holder will frequently knock the pin right out of the bottom of the holder. The rod butts are usually metal, as is the pin in the bottom of the rod holder. Sometimes, it seems that if the pin doesn't engage the slot in the rod butt, the inexperienced hand will jab the rod butt in the holder a time or two -- like he's trying to stick a pitchfork in a bale of hay. Gently rotating the rod butt slightly from side to side will help the pin find the slot and keep pin replacement off the to-do list on the crew's next day off.

Speaking of rods and deliberate moves, when you transfer a rod from a holder to the fighting chair to fight the fish, be sure to keep the rod butt under control. If you don't, a couple of things - both bad - are likely to happen. One, when the fish pulls the tip down, the rod butt may come up between your legs. It's hard to tell a good fish story with a high squeaky voice, which is probably what you will be left with if this happens. Two, and even worse than number one, instead of placing the rod butt into the chair gimbals it may go onto the three coats of varnish on the seat of the chair. If this happens, you will have made an impression on your crew that they are unlikely to forget (or forgive). Putting a large unsightly scratch across a beautifully finished seat of a $10,000 fighting chair definitely costs you big time when it comes to "cool" points. Even if the chair isn't that expensive, it still probably means a lot to its owner and beating it up with the rod butt would be paramount to picking on his first born.

Believe me, I haven't even scratched the surface as far as "crew nightmare" tips are concerned; but having run out of time and space, these will have to do as a starter.

Tight Lines . . . . . Norm.

"Tagging Tips & Techniques"

It finally happened! After all the years (and there's been a bunch of them) of skippering my own charterboat, the SUNDOWNER, I had never personally been on board when a tagged fish had been recaptured. I can no longer make that statement.

In the process of filming another episode of ESPN's INSIDE BIG GAME FISHING aboard the KONA CONCEPT with Capt. John Jordan, I had the privilege of angling an approximately 150 lb. blue marlin that had to be one of the luckiest marlin in the Pacific. From previous encounters of the human variety, not only was it carrying a National Marine Fisheries Service tag in its back about halfway between its dorsal and its tail, it also had managed to cheat death at least one other time, evidenced by a longliner hook lodged in the corner of its mouth.

John and his crewman Steve Harnage removed both the previous tag and the rusty longliner hook and sent the fish on its way with a new National Marine Fisheries Service tag secured in its shoulder. The fish appeared to be in good health as it swam away a little tired and hopefully a lot smarter. The information from the retrieved tag hasn't come back yet, so it will be in a later article.

During the course of a conversation once with Capt. Dale Bourne, captain of the charterboat MARLIN MACHINE, he suggested I comment, when the opportunity presented itself, on the dos and don'ts of fish tagging. On the air, I've made comments from time to time concerning tagging, but it seems the opportunity has presented itself again as I'm pecking out this bit for ESPN's SportsZone.

Probably the most important thing to remember is don't get beat up too badly with the bill or get a hook stuck in you in the process of tagging. After your health, the health of the fish is the next most important item.

I've often seen (and probably been guilty of it myself), fishermen frazzling the fish more than necessary while trying to get the hook out when it wasn't stuck in an area that was likely to cause the fish a problem if it were left in. It's often better to cut the leader close to the hook and send the fish on its way than to traumatize the fish unnecessarily by removing the hook. There are other times when the hook is obviously likely to create a future problem for the fish and needs to be taken out, or when the fish is docile enough that the hook can be easily removed. With a two-hook rig, the hooks can get situated in such a way that they lock the fish's mouth shut. I know for some people this situation sounds like a dream come true, but for a fish, it leads to a slow, miserable death, so be on the lookout for it.

Don't be in too big of a hurry to get the tag in place. If you don't have a good shot at getting it where you want it, which is well aft of the bill slit between the top of the back and about a third of the way down to the lateral stripe, just hold your horses. Even if the fish comes off before the tag finds a home, that's better than stapling its gills together or damaging some vital organs that are accessible from the belly area.

If possible, put the tag in place from the back forward so the tag will lie down flatter against the fish as it moves through the water. Most of these offshore species of fish are so hydrodynamically clean that anything sticking out where it's not supposed to be can be more irritating that you might think.

The last point is reviving the fish when it gets to the boat exhausted. With smaller fish and heavy tackle, the fish is probably just fine for immediate release due to a fairly short fight. Frequently, however, with larger fish or lighter tackle or sometimes just a real stubborn critter that won't come to the boat, the fish is really pooped when it gets to the releasing stage. In such cases, the fish has a better chance of survival if the fisherman revives it for a while by holding it alongside the boat usually with one hand (gloved, lest your palm and fingers will resemble used leader) on the bill and the other hand on the dorsal, keeping the fish upright.

Having the boat in gear forces water over the fish's gills. Sometimes it takes a while, but after a few minutes of oxygenating the marlin in this fashion, it will usually start swimming on its own and can be turned loose with an excellent chance of survival. A word of caution -- sometimes they revive all at once, and if you have yourself in a position where you can't get out of the way, you may come back looking like the only one in a hatchet fight without a hatchet.

Tight Lines . . . . . Norm.

“MARLIN, MARLIN WHEREFORE THE @#! ART THOU?”

Many big-game enthusiasts have the luxury of selecting the supposedly optimum times to head offshore by taking into consideration tidal information and moon phases, as well as current and forecasted weather information. A trip can be postponed or even canceled without any particular consequence. As a charter boat operation, whether you are a skipper, mate, owner or any combination thereof, it's a whole different deal. When a prospective client calls and says he wants to charter your boat for three days starting next Tuesday, the operator that replies with "I’d like to, but the moon phase isn’t quite right", or "Sorry, bad tides", had better have a reliable alternate way of making a living.

Obviously, if conditions in any way, compromise safety, you stay at home. Occasionally if both your client's schedule and your booking schedule permit, things can sometimes be shuffled a day or two, one way or the other. For the most part, however, the charterboat skipper is faced with finding a hungry fish, period -- full moon, lousy tides, frontal passages, whatever. While nobody finds and catches fish every trip, the successful skippers who have some experience behind them can come up with some action, one way or another, a remarkably high percentage of the time.

No two skippers attack the problem in exactly the same way, and no one way is the best for everyone. Personally, being easily confused, I have to take a fairly simplistic approach. The first and foremost important item, in my thinking, is finding the fish. The best bait presented the best way will not produce a strike from empty water. (You can tell already we're not doing brain surgery here.)

So far, the best way I’ve found to find fish is to find their food. A marlin's food, at least in Hawaii’s waters, is usually easier to spot than the marlin is. This is mostly due to the presence of more surface commotion or birds working an area where bait fish are present. Today's electronics can also show you an area to spend some time in when nothing on the surface gets your attention. Not only will locating the prey help to locate the predator, the chances are better that the predator is in an eating frame of mind when it’s in the vicinity of its food source. Compare this approach to finding hungry people. A good restaurant isn’t a bad place to hang out. Sooner or later, people with appetites will probably show up, and when they show up, sooner or later they will probably eat.

Moons, tides, currents, temperature and probably several hundred other factors, a lot of which we don’t have a clue about, may affect the eating patterns of the various species. How much, how often, how aggressively they feed, who knows? But until you see marlin carrying lunch boxes for a snack later, it’s going to happen where the food is.

Sometimes, generally through frustration, we have to vary from our normal plan. Maybe we can’t get any handle on where their food is, or sometimes there is so much food in the water that there is nothing that tells you to concentrate on any particular area. Sometimes everything looks perfect -- good everything: current, bait, etc. -- and it still doesn’t happen. For days it doesn’t happen. You’ve tried all your schemes, A through Z, including the very scientific, "when in doubt, go straight out" approach and still zip, zero, nada. The prospects of the rubber room as a future home loom closer. If this hasn’t happened to you yet, you just haven’t spent enough time big-game fishing. This is when you have to be grateful for the opportunity to fire the shot. Stick to the proven basics that you know work and wait it out. Most of us can stand the ego reduction anyway.

On a recent charter aboard the SUNDOWNER, finding the fish wasn’t the problem. Live baiting at a FAD located a few miles south of Kailua-Kona, we had a marlin in the 200 lb. range show up between the bait and the back of the boat. Darrin Isaacs, my son and co-captain, immediately brought the frisky 4 lb. skipjack into an area where the marlin couldn’t miss it.

The fish lit up, charged the bait and stopped only inches short before backing off. This happened several times, and each time we thought, “this is it”, but it wasn’t. We tried free-spooling the bait at which time the terrified aku dove out of sight with the lit-up marlin in hot pursuit. Thirty seconds later, up came the bait, still terrified with the marlin still on its tail, still lit up, but no strike.

Now, over the years I’ve had marlin stay in the pattern for maybe 10 minutes. Within that time we would get the strike or scare off the fish, or it would just lose interest and go away. This marlin stayed with us for a full 50 minutes, never more than 100 ft. or so away, always in plain sight.

We tried speeding up and skipping the bait from high in the ‘rigger. We brought in the bait which was rigged on 400 lb. test mono, and re-rigged it on less visible wire. We dropped back the lures, a Super Plunger and a small AP, and several lures of in-between sizes, and then quickly cranked them in past the bait and the marlin. Judging by the marlin’s various indications of excitement, it thought most of these maneuvers were really interesting, but nothing we could do triggered it to strike. Nothing we could think of, and I only mentioned a few of the things we tried, had the desired effect. For the first time ever, we, not the fish, finally lost interest and went about our business. The point was made loud and clear, however, that although finding the fish is definitely the most important first step, it still doesn’t guarantee the found fish will eat.

Although frustrating, being able to watch that whole scenario made the day. Because of the close proximity of the fish, the entertainment value was high. I have fought and tagged a number of fish in that same amount of time that weren’t as exciting as this one. To me, the hunt is still a huge part of the attraction in this sport. This particular fish was also a prime example of no matter how long you’ve been at this game, every now and then a marlin will take you to school.

Tight Lines . . . . . Norm.

"BIG GAME BOATS"
So what does it take to 'get out among 'em'? Is a kazillion dollar state-of- the-art sport fishing machine the only way you can do it? Fortunately, no. The fish don't care whether that bait is being offered from a 2 million dollar, 70 ft. sparkling, Thunder-nugget Ultra-Sport fueled by dilithium crystals or an 11 ft. Whaler with 15 horsepower outboard and broomsticks for outriggers. There is certainly nothing wrong with luxury, and, personally, I like as much of it as I can get until it starts interfering with the fishing effectiveness.

There are also considerations in terms of safety. A boat that's too small in seas that are too big is a recipe for disaster. As unpopular as it seems to be nowadays, there is no substitute for good judgment and common sense. Frequently the perilous situations you find yourself in are a result of a decision to charge forth made by the same person wearing your shorts and carrying your drivers license. Seldom do I hear that anyone was forced to go fishing at gun point. So, right off the bat, let's say that the vessel we choose must safely handle the conditions it's going to be operating in.

Let's talk about creature comfort and fishability.

Creature comfort varies with the individual and seems to change as the years click by. The pounding all day that I thought was fun 20 years ago would leave me slack jawed and drooling today, not to mention single handedly skyrocketing the price of Absorbine Jr. stock. So from the comfort standpoint, to each his own.

Now to the fishability. This is the area where experience, good advice and forethought are as important as a fat checkbook. From the start, the boat needs to be of a design, in general, that fits your specific needs. I've often seen someone get a great deal on a boat and then spend more than they saved unsuccessfully trying to get the "great deal" to fit their needs. They usually end up selling it, taking a pretty fair hickey in the wallet in the process, and starting over with something more suitable.

This means, of course, that you have to know what your needs or requirements are. Some focused consideration in this area should narrow the field. Let's say big game fishing is the primary function. OK, not bad for a start. Now, where? Generally, big seas or calm? Long run or short? Day boat or overnighter? Pleasure or charter? Solo or taking crew or more. If more, how many more? Big game or b-i-i-g game? Are you going to keep it in the water or on a trailer?

How about budget, another unignorable consideration (for most of us) that looms ugly on the horizon like a 'do not enter' sign on the big tackle shop of life. All of these questions and many more need to be answered before the boat selection process even begins.

Once the basic vessel has been selected, then the fun, and sometimes frustration, really begins. Taking the basic vessel and customizing it to fit you isn't as easy as it sounds. I have fished on some very expensive boats with all the latest and greatest that were put together with money not being a consideration and were still almost impossible to fish effectively. Everything seemed to get in the way of everything else. All the right stuff was there, but whoever put it together hadn't spent much time on the water. Personal preferences drastically affect the installation of outriggers, rod holders, fighting chairs, fish doors, fishboxes, lower controls, rocket launchers, gaff hook storage, tackle stations and the list goes on and on.

Here are a few ideas of what I consider a requirement pertaining to some of the aforementioned items. I like my outriggers to be stiff, giving me a clean release on the strike and not yanking lures out of the water when its rough due to flex. Over the years, we've used Lee Outriggers with spreaders and have been very happy with them. Tag lines should reach the rod tips plus a couple of feet. Lee swiveling rod holders are the greatest thing since sliced bread, greatly adding to the accessibility and convenience over standard rod holders. As far as I'm concerned, nothing is worse than rod tips you can't easily reach. Standing on your tiptoes leaning as far as you can out off the transom trying to grab a leader off the rod tip is very conducive to going overboard in rough seas. Rod holders should be placed where the line from the rod getting the strike stays clear of everything else regardless of what the fish does.

As far as fighting chairs go, they should be easily adjustable for varying leg lengths and as stout as the proverbial brick outhouse. We've been using Murray Brothers for a number of years and can't seem to tear it up. The chair should also be placed ( if space allows) where someone can move between the footrest and the transom. Fish doors are a back saver and easy to install with the help of a saber saw if necessary. Fishboxes need to have a large enough of an opening to where fish are more likely to fall in than out on a near miss in a rushed situation. Anything you can do to reduce the odds of a mahi-mahi jetting around the cockpit slinging a hook back and forth looking for anything human to stick it in is a big plus.

Lower controls on boats with bridges shorten the time it takes to get in or out of gear when a cranky fish does the unexpected plus they're easy to install on most boats. Put in a little thought on what to do with the other rods after the strike to get them out of the way. There are usually places where rod holders can be mounted just for that purpose that are quick and easy to get to. As we all know there is plenty of disarray when the beast hits without adding to it by having gear laying all over the place. The same goes for gaffs and gaff poles.

A charter boat will vary a little from a private boat, but not much. Most of what works on one will work just as well on the other. Generally speaking whatever boat you have is only an intermediary stop between whatever you started with and the Queen Mary. Even when you find a boat that pretty well fits the bill, it's still a continual project to improve this or that. There is always some way to make it a little more convenient, or a little less complicated, or a little safer or to provide more flexibility in terms of fishing tactics. Of course, when all of that finally gets exactly how you think you want it and there is nothing else you can improve on you generally start thinking about your next boat. Go figure.

Tight Lines . . . . . Norm.

Thx. Big glad to see you enjoy them !!!

"NEW" Blue Marlin III record for T.Uitterdijk from Holland - Mediterranean Moray - 5.5 kg - 12.1 lbs

Uwe Nehrig from Germany, with a Sting Ray - 130 / 110 cm

Billy from Italy, shows a nice Red Snapper

This girl was very happy with her "Duckbill Ray"

Jos from Holland, with a nice "Amberjack"

Michael Rosler from Germany, caught this "Smoothhound"

NEW Blue MarlinIII record for Garpike -1900 gr \ 4.20 lbs - E.Clarke Ireland

Rob de Light with his catch

This is Peter from England, with a skipjack weighing 6.5 kg \ 14.5 lbs

Grand Dad "Joop" with his Grand Son "Glenn" - 40.3 kilo\89 lbs - Wahoo

P Kooiman with his son caught also this "Garpike"

Paul & Marcel with their catch

Mr Ricard Meredith with 2 Skipjacks

Jan Sturm from Holland, with a Skipjack-Tuna

Oke Pietje, here is your "Skipjack-Tuna"

The results after a couple of hours "reef-fishing"

Arno & Cor with an Amberjack and a Red Snapper

A beautifull "Look a Like", from Arno with his Red Snapper, also reminds me of someone I know at work !!!! LOL !!!!

Klaas Westerhof, with a nice "red striped seabream"

Isabel.......Je t'aime