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Jesse's Hunting > Fishing Articles > Articles > Chasing Striped Marlin in Mexico
Chasing Striped Marlin in Mexico
Dave Blake - JHO ProStaff
- Los Angeles, CA
July 17, 2008
I can remember on Sunday afternoons after church, watching Curt Gowdy catching huge, saltwater fish in exotic places as host of the American Sportsman. The sight of those fish crashing into those lures and slinging themselves across the waves on silvery runs set some lifelong dreams in motion. I knew then that if I ever got a chance to go after those huge fish myself, I’d take it.
I was in Cabo San Lucas recently, and found myself with an opportunity to go after striped marlin with Juanita’s sport fishing, owned by Pancho Cota. Pancho has been running charters out of Cabo for well over 20 years and has 15 boats at his disposal. The boat I was on happened to be named the Juanita II, captained by Fausto, with Martin as his first mate.
 We got on the water and motored out for about an hour to where the marlin were. I knew we were close when Martin came down to get the trolling rigs set up. The technique would be to troll through the area casting live mackerel to fish either attracted to the jigs, or sighted from the Captain’s deck.
I was a bit groggy from the Meclazine in my system, so when Captain Fausto gunned the engine and turned hard to port, I was startled awake and knew that they had seen something. Martin jumped from the upper deck, baited the casting rod and got set to cast. We could see the sleek purple shape of a striped marlin in the wake behind the boat. As Fausto maneuvered the boat in front of the fish, Martin got set to cast.
The live mackerel landed with a splash and with a couple of tail swipes the marlin was on it. Martin let the fish take the bait for a bit, tightened the line and set the hook. The marlin hurled itself across the top of the water with a long flashy run and then dove deep. I sat down in the fighting chair and a 40-minute tug of war ensued. I gained line and the fish took it back.
Eventually, the fish tired and was brought to the side of the boat and landed. After a few hero shots were taken, we headed back to the dock with the marlin flag flying. The fish weighed in at 130 pounds… no record, but plenty big for me.
If you find yourself with an opportunity to go after a fish like the striped marlin, take it. You will never look at fishing the same again. The water in Cabo is warming up and the big ones are starting to bite. Go after ‘em.
The Fisherman and his Trophy
The author poses for the classic trophy photo back at the dock. |
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