The spectacular beauty of the Bom Bom Island Resort captivated us as we rode down the muddy road from the small airport nearby. This tropical paradise is located on the north shore of the island of Principe in the Gulf of Guinea approximately 150 miles west of Gabon and 250 miles south of Nigeria. With intrinsically warm water, cool offshore currents, and a prominent nearby underwater shelf it is not surprising that the area has a reputation as a haven for Atlantic sailfish which in contrast to those found in the eastern United States are often as large as their Pacific cousins.

Several years ago Capt. Hennie Marais and Capt. Alan Myburg ventured further offshore and found a staged drop-off to 300 fathoms which in some areas runs nearly perpendicular to the wind-driven current. This area not surprisingly tends to hold bait and has proven to be very productive for Atlantic Blue Marlin. The fish they discovered seem to be every bit as large as those to the north in the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Azores. But because of the area's isolation few have had the opportunity to fish here and therefore only recently has its potential become more widely known.

My partner and good friend, video producer Bob Unvert from Newport Beach, California, and I traveled to Principe/Sao Tome on the falling moon in July to check out if the area was actually as good as has been touted. After nearly 40 hours in airplanes and airports we certainly hoped so when we finally arrived at the crowded little airport in Sao Tome. It seemed everyone comes out to watch the once-a-week flight to see if it may crash.

We spent the first night at Bom Bom's sister resort, the Marlin Beach Hotel, on Sao Tome. Early the next morning we took the resort's charter flight to Principe and landed at Bom Bom in time for a quick breakfast and then off to fish. The boats are predominately 28 and 32 foot Blackfins with one similarly-sized Bertram. They are well equipped with adequate fighting chairs and well maintained predominately 80 pound tackle, mostly Penn Internationals. I brought four 130 pound bent-butt outfits as I was hoping to conquer my first grander.

Our first day on the water we fished Capt. Hennie's Moldcraft softheads on the boat's 80 pound outfits rather than take the time to put my gear together. It was warm but overcast and drizzling, not at all the hot steamy climate we had expected being virtually right on the equator. The day went by quickly and produced our very first Bom Bom marlin about noon, a 350 pound Atlantic blue which we released after a short fight. That fish, similar to the others we would catch throughout the week, jumped surprisingly little choosing to do battle in the depths.

Day two produced only a 40 pound Dorado with no marlin seen. The wonderful Mahi Mahi steaks we had for dinner provided a measure of consolation for the absence of billfish during the day but we had to wonder whether the long trip was really worth it with only one marlin strike in two days.

All of these thoughts vanished on the third day as the fishing really heated up. By now we were using my 130 pound outfits and my Joe Yee, Marlin Magic, Peter Pakula, and Black Bart monster baits. We even had my Witch-Doctor teaser in the water. Late in the morning we lost a 400 pounder while Capt. Hennie and I were practicing our coordination running on the fish in preparation for the anticipated larger specimens yet to come. The mesmerizing afternoon light rain felt good after the warm sunny morning but was interrupted when a 100 pound yellowfin tuna ate the Black Bart Zulu Impy short rigger bait. Charlie was promptly boated to provide sashimi and tuna steaks for supper. An hour later at dusk, apparently not to be outdone by the tuna, a 750 pound blue marlin inhaled the same lure. She put forth a tough down-and-dirty battle and was released after about 30 minutes. Our earlier practice running on a fish proved to be very helpful and dramatically shortened the fight.

Day four was our best day on the water. We started five miles farther to the west off of the sailfish grounds and within an hour of setting the lures had caught and released a 500 pound blue. Thirty minutes later we missed a fish in the 400 pound range on a short strike. But within another half hour we were hooked-up to a similar sized fish which we released after the most acrobatic display of the trip. Our fourth marlin of the morning was the one for which we had been waiting. She crashed down on the Pakula lumo longshot on the 80 pound stinger outfit with a vengeance. I could see she was a big fish as she gray-hounded first to the right and then turned and came back to the left across the line. I dropped the rodtip and held my breath as she cleared the 80 pound Momoi Hi-Viz without parting it. Then the struggle was on. Hennie ran with her twice as she peeled off large chunks of mono-filament from the spool first running one direction and then another. Finally she settled down and we commenced our tug-of-war. She was gradually swimming away as we backed on her, slowly planing her upward with a meager 30 pounds of drag pressure. Although she took line easily and frequently, I was getting more back on the spool than she was taking on each occasion. After 48 minutes she was subdued dead-tired by the boat. I looked at her carefully attempting to gauge her size. I had been trying for a grander for more than five years and had released several fish we estimated at over 900 pounds. This marlin was larger and by its short length measurement of 12 feet was a grander. Unfortunately the only way to truly confirm a fish is that large is to weigh it. Now came the difficult decision to use the gaff or let her go.

I made the decision to take the fish and in a few minutes she was gaffed, bill-wrapped, and tail-wrapped. The transom door was too small to take her aboard so she was towed back to the dock. What a magnificent specimen I thought as I viewed her and once again I had mixed emotions about my decision. According to the formula with a jaw to fork-of-tail measurement of 11 feet 11 inches and a girth of 6 feet 6 inches she was predicted to weigh 1087.5 pounds. On two certified scales however she weighed in at 943.8 pounds. Not my grander but still one hell of a fish and the largest marlin ever weighed in Bom Bom. It was also a new Principe/Sao Tome and West African record. My conscience was eased when the fish provided enough meat to feed the entire nearby village of San Antonio. With an average salary of $20/month the inhabitants were more than pleased to have the food. In addition the resort now has unquestionable confirmation that they really do offer a chance of catching a fish that large.

Our last two days of fishing were even more active with seven and six marlin shots respectively. We caught and released four of these fish suffering a number of zips or short strikes. Up until then I almost had Capt. Hennie ready to go back to the double hook rig set-up I had been using. All of these marlin struck Pakula longshots, Joe Yee super Apollo's and super plungers, and Black Bart Zulu Impy's and Braziliano's. Some of these fish were smaller and were actually the first we had seen under 300 pounds. Several though were in the 600 pound range and two were approaching 800 pounds.

The last day at the resort I went fishing with Capt. Alan Myburg for Dorado for an hour in the morning before packing up for the long trek home. We didn't see any of the colorful prey we sought but did snare a 200 pound blue marlin on light stand-up tackle. That more than made up for the absence of dolphin bites. It is a shame not to be able to get through the blue marlin to get a Dorado!
Well Bom Bom Island proved to be all that we had hoped for and more than we expected. The absolute beauty of this location defies description and the fishing was incredible. During our six days on the water we averaged over three marlin shots a day and caught 9 fish in addition to a 100 pound yellowfin tuna and some large Dorado. And the mean weight of the fish we saw was in excess of 500 pounds with the largest being nearly a thousand. From our experience Bom Bom Island would appear to be the next premier blue marlin fishing destination in the Atlantic.

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