Fish Tales – First Marlin Of The Year!

“Oh man, this is a pretty good one.” BD’er Kent Twomey starts out. “Make sure to write this one up as we spotted tailing marlin in the gyros and slid up with a perfectly placed sardine. Then worked the spool as it ate with a perfectly placed circle in the corner. But that’s not the case.” Kent joked.

Like most good fishing tales, there’s always the glorified version you expect to hear and then there’s the real story. But the truth in this one is far better and more memorable anyway.

Kent, “A Marlin Savant”, and their two kids; Cole & Skye – were out for a day of bluefin fishing. Chasing foamers through the canyon and 182 zones to no avail. Bluefin being bluefin. “Very finicky and sinking out long before we could get to them.” But Kent and the team spotted a football field size baitball in the purple-blue water.

“Fish started crashing the baitball. Stuff from 50-pounds to 200-pounds mixed in. So we set up on them, killed the boat, and deployed the frozen flyer, a mackerel, and 1 sardine on the light line to entice a bite. They wanted nothing to do with the flyer but after a few minutes, Skye yelled “I’m bit! I’m bit!”, from the stern of the boat. The weird thing though was the fish immediately charged for the surface so we were a little thrown off. That’s when the thing started going ballistic and greyhounding up top when we realized it was a marlin.”

To add some further flavor to the story, they were actually fishing on one engine (suspected blown turbo) + on 30# leader + 2/0 hook that was swallowed + all while bluefin busting around them. So again, perhaps not the stereotypical billfish story here. But with some eager-to-learn young guns on the stick & experienced skipper + buddy Steve, they backed the drag way down and put Skye on the bow to follow the fish with one engine and ultimately got the job done!

Skye’s first marlin. The boat – Moonstruck‘s first marlin. Southwest Yacht Club & BD’s first confirmed marlin of the season.

“We were all just really stoked. We’re just out there for fun. Fishing, spearfishing, and most importantly, spending time with the next generation of fishermen. Skye is 16 and all fired up for his first marlin. He & his dad actually went to get a smoker today so they can smoke up some fresh marlin. My son Cole (15) is amped to get back out there and set a goal to catch a marlin from our skiff on his own this summer. That’s what it’s really all about for us. The next generation and having memories like this one to share.”