How to catch marlin

Marlin are arguably the most iconic fish in sportfishing circles. Men have been known to shed a tear after an encounter with one and each fish caught is etched in an anglers memory forever.

There are four species of marlin that make up recreational catches; the blue marlin, black marlin, striped marlin and white marlin. All of the marlin species fight extremely hard and the two bigger species (blue and black marlin) can grow well over 1000 lbs!

Marlin Fishing Techniques

Marlin are an aggressive fish that respond well to teasers and plastic skirted lures trolled across the surface of the water. Most anglers consider the action of the lures on the surface far more important than color. Trolling speed is about 7-10 knots and allows the marlin boats to cover a large area.

Marlin anglers also troll natural baits such as striped tuna, bonito and Spanish mackerel. Sometimes natural baits are used in conjunction with a skirted lure to enhance the trolling action.

Marlin are also caught on live baits; either slow trolled, at drift or at anchor. Live baiting usually takes place once the marlin are located with teasers or at an area that marlin are known to frequent such as a FAD.

Marlin Tackle

Marlin are big fish and require quality rods and reels and a lever drag reel is almost essential. Most marlin anglers use a minimum of 24 kg line and 200 lbs monofilament or fluorocarbon leader. Remember that marlin will make light work of any flaw in your tackle, line or knots.

Deepwater Jigging Technique (with video)

With the advent on braided fishing line deepwater jigging has undergone a resurgence in the last decade like never before. Jigging is an effective fishing technique using a metal jig and produces good quality catches of fish. Many anglers enjoy this style because it is a very active form of fishing.

Jigging Technique (How to jig)
The technique for deepwater jigging might be quite energetic, but fortunately it is also very simple. Once fish are found on the sounder the anglers drop their metal jig to the required depth. The jiging technique itself basically requires a fast raising (whipping motion) of the rod tip and a quick wind of the reel to regain the line. It is often described as the "pump and wind" motion. It is illustrated best through video and I have found a couple of good videos of this technique on youtube.





For deepwater jigging you will require:

• Metal lures of various weights and colors.
• Solid rod and reel combo (usually a spinning reel).
• Strong Arms!
  

Fishing advice

This question comes up a lot in my conversations with fellow anglers - where is the best place to get fishing advice? There are many places where fishing advice abounds including fishing forums, local fishing media, tackle shops, fishing clubs, other anglers and even pubs. However, not all of this advice is useful and it always pays

Before asking for any local advice remember to respect the locals and they will respect you. Buying someone a beer and listening to them for a while is more likely to get results than talking up your angling prowess endlessly.

I personally use a combination of all methods for finding fishing advice. I read everything I can in the local media including current fishing reports. I always ask at my local tackle shop for a bit of current advice (spending a few dollars always helps too.) I am part of a grapevine of local anglers that share information, which makes it very easy to find out where the fish are biting currently.

Fishing advice from forums
I think this deserves its own section and I don't want to offend anyone here, but I don't find all of the advice from them very helpful. I find it too hard to weed out the really useful posts from the people who are simply talking themselves up without any real useful information. After saying all that though if you are prepared to take the time you will find plenty of useful information.

Wherever you go for fishing information and reports there really is no substitute for exploring your local area and working out the hot spots yourself.