Big Bend Sportsman Guide Fishing Stories

"Stories from the Caribbean"
From a Series of Short Stories

By: Capt. "Tato"  Reyes

 "Ivette's First Blue Marlin on 30"

It was a Wednesday in August and the nanny came in early to take care of the kids. Ivette and I had planed to go fishing just the two of us. The weather was perfect and it was late in the month so we were going to venture a 50 on the outriggers and a 30 on a flat line behind the teasers. 

My father brought me the previous Sunday 15 pounds of fresh Horse ballyhoos (about 20 of them) and I had been keeping them frozen in brine and gelatin. He had some great contacts for fresh ballyhoos.  I wanted them to be “alive” for our Wednesday outing.

Just before the sailfish season starts in late October, I took my ballyhoo net to the West Coast of the island and we would catch and select our bait for the season, those we did not like we sold or gave away. I had a “honey hole” for six inch ballyhoos behind some condos on the West Coast that always produced excellent bait.  

This time of the year the big fat lady Blue Marlins are not as common and many males in the 200 to 300 pounds start to show up. We were planning for a 250 pounder which would be a perfect fish for just the two of us. We could bring those on board without help. 

We left the dock around 7:00 AM and within a few minutes I had three ballyhoos in the water. It was a beautiful formation with two short outriggers halfway up on the sides and a shorter flat line on the transom clip just behind the teasers. Just looking at them made my heart skip a beat, I knew he would hit any time. 

The morning went without events, we chased some frigate birds that were flying too high to have fish or the fish was deep and they kept their altitude. We found some weed lines but no results, so we kept on trolling out looking for better water color. I was about to make a tag back towards the coast when I saw a water color change. We had been fishing in greenish water even when we had gone four or five miles offshore. This was a nice color change and was worth working it from blue to green and green to blue for as long as it took to find our fish.   

As I approached the area my heart was going 100 miles an hour, the anticipation was tremendous and I knew it would be a matter of minutes, maybe seconds as we were knocking at the Marlin’s door. 

Nothing happened, so Ivette said, I should have my sandwich and so I did. I opened a can of soda and un-wrapped my bite to eat as the Marlin decided to show up. He ran the three baits in two seconds flat and then he ran them again choosing the flat line next to the teasers. As he gulped down the ballyhoo Ivette yelled “FORWARD, FORWARD!!!!” as the fish was already close to the boat, he launched himself to attack the port side teaser. What a mess! 

I hit my controls forward and took the boat out of his way as he took the teaser in his mouth and broke it from the nylon rope. He ran about 100 yards and then let it go.  This resulted in leaving the nylon rope wrapped around Ivette’s line. 

Ivette pulled the drag down and I started chasing the fish. She was recovering line until we came to the area where the teaser line was wrapped around the fishing line. At that point Ivette set the reel at “free spool”.  I un-wrapped the teaser line without touching Ivette, her gear or line. All the time Ivette has been warning me, “If you touch me, I will kill you”. 

As we all know if anyone touches the angler’s body, equipment and or line it is not “legal”. It was important to her since it was her first Blue marlin on 30 pound test line and she wanted it to be “legal” for our own records. 

Ivette continued to fight the fish and I continued to help her with the boat keeping the fish at 45 degrees to our starboard and closing the distance slowly but without interruption. Forty five minutes later I gaffed the fish for her and earned a huge kiss. 

On our way home, I contacted the club house and told all of our friends about Ivette’s capture over the radio.  They were waiting and ready to celebrate, when we made it to the dock. I must say that Ivette went to the house, showered and changed clothes before she came out for the pictures.  

Through the years she repeated the feat several times capturing over 10 Blue marlins in 30 pound test line and three or four in twenty. She also held the Island Record for Sailfish on 20#, Yellow fin Tuna on 30# and Wahoo on 30# test line.   

As much as she enjoyed fishing for billfish, I can’t make her to join me bottom fishing these days. But she will be there, when we go to the East Coast.

 From a series of fishing stories submitted by Capt Tato Reyes

copyright Capt Tato Reyes