For the last three years my recurrent trips to the island of Madeira have been progressively less productive. I have struggled to find just the right time to visit the island since the blue marlin are not year-round inhabitants and instead migrate through the area on their way to another location presumably to spawn. July and August had been historically the best time to fish there so I had tried different times of both months with only marginal success. Although I had caught a number of large big-eye tuna the last few years I had caught fewer and fewer marlin, the primary reason for my visit. And last year I didn't even see a blue marlin my entire trip. This has been particularly frustrating in view of the expense involved and the fact I have been fishing with as good a crew as could be assembled!
This year I decided to try fishing early in the season since each of the last two years a number of nice sized fish had been caught then. I booked the Pesca Grossa for the week of June 15-21 and went off to Portugal with propped-up expectations despite the pessimistic comments from most of my knowledgeable angling friends. The trip began somewhat ominously as the flight from Atlanta to Newark was delayed over four hours thus causing me to miss the connection to Lisbon. Fortunately I was able to make a connection direct to Madeira through Zurich. Although I arrived nearly 12 hours later than scheduled their was no problem since I wasn't scheduled to start fishing until the next morning. I began to think perhaps this was going to be my year.
The next morning dawned beautifully with a bright sun shimmering over a deep cobalt blue Atlantic ocean. The current was running strongly from the east and there were a large number of small sea turtles in the water both being features usually associated with the presence of marlin. Even though no marlin had yet been caught by the fleet the Pesca Grossa had lost a fish estimated at 400 pounds two days earlier. No one saw a blue that first day but the Katherine B skippered by Peter Bristow caught a spearfish.
Each of the next six days on the water were gorgeous. The water remained
deep blue and the current continued to be brisk but there was little bait
around and the water temperature stayed a bit cool at 71 degrees F. During
the week the Margarita lost a 300 pound blue marlin at the boat Wednesday,
we caught a small white that looked almost like a spearfish on Thursday,
and the Freed-em saw a 400 pound fish that didn't offer at their baits
on Friday. The only other action anyone reported was a strike from a spearfish
that didn't find the hook we experienced our last morning of fishing. Once
again I had made the long and expensive trip to Madeira with little to
show for it.
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| View of Cabo Girau. | Captain Kevin Nakamaru. | Captain Dana Boardman. |
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| Terry with small white. | Funchal harbor from hillside. |