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Jesse's Hunting > Fishing Articles > Articles > Chasing Striped Marlin off California
Chasing Striped Marlin off California
Xavier Limon - JHO ProStaff
- Southern California
July 26, 2005
Gentlemen, welcome to the stage . . . Tetra. She hails from Southern California, but can be found frolicking as far away as the Indian Ocean. She loves seafood and has quite the nose for it. Boys, if you’re lucky she’ll dance for you, and she’s quite the bill fisher! If you want her to dance for you, pull out the cash, she’s not cheap!
Tetrapturus audax: the striped marlin, and is also known as a striper or Pacific Marlin.
Not all Marlin come from exotic, tropical locales.
One in ten CA anglers who target marlin have a shot and hooking up. Once you have "Tetra" on the line, though, the rest is up to you... and luck. |
When most people think of catching marlin, they think of Cabo, Hawaii, or Australia. They are right; some of most abundant marlin fishing takes place at these locales. But over 100 years ago the unthinkable happened. The first striped marlin ever landed by rod and reel was landed; right here in Southern California, in the waters near Catalina Island. Ever since then, the buzz of Southern California marlin as resounded. Names like Calstar rods, AFTCO guides, Cal Sheets custom reel conversions, and 7Strand all emerged when the demand for superior equipment was longed for by sportsmen chasing local billfish.
I have had the rare chance to fish for marlin off the Southern California coast - it was completely accidental. I was fishing with a good buddy of mine who I have named Captain Ahab (note to self – remember to not leave the net in the bait tank!). We were albacore fishing two summers ago, the albacore were foaming all round, but they would not bite, not with live bait, not jigs, not one bite. After several frustrating hours, we took a break, turned off the motor and had a quick bite to eat. It had only been a few minutes when Ahab’s eyes nearly popped.
“Hey X, look two marlin around 200 yards away, do not take your eyes off them”
Two marlin were sleeping in the distance. The two dorsal fins were visible and I knew I wouldn’t lose sight of them. The boat was rolling, but the adrenaline rush allowed me to keep focus. The wrath of Captain Ahab didn’t hurt either!
Ahab was quick to rig a large mackerel that we had caught at the bait barge earlier in the day. Ahab is a seasoned Southern California fisherman and knew that a mackerel or two on board is always a good thing. While he was rigging his gear, I continued to keep both eyes on the two marlin. Once he was rigged up, he readied the boat to get into position to toss a bait in front of the two billfish.
He started the boat and engaged the motor into forward.
“Gone!”
Unfortunately, the sound of the gears engaging into forward spooked the two marlin and they took off. We trolled around for almost an hour, but had nothing to show for it. It was frustrating to say the least, but that is marlin fishing off the Southern California coast. Reports indicate that there is about a 1 in 10 chance that boaters who target local marlin are successful in seeing one. We weren’t even targeting them on our trip.
There are anglers who devote there entire fishing life to chasing marlin. It’s an addictive quest. It requires perfection when chasing. Countless hours are spent trying to catch marlin only to come up empty. This summer, I plan to boat a Southern California marlin for the first time. I’ll need to put in a call to Captain Ahab.
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