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INTERNATIONAL | HOT BITES
3 NEW ZEALAND: Winterstripedmarlin
Whilewearenowwellensconcedintowinter,
the brilliant weather we’ve experienced
all year continues largely unabated. As
predicted,Autumnproduced some of the
bestbillfishingof theseason.Althoughthe
chancesforan ‘exotic’suchas a bluemarlinor
yellowfintunahasdecreasedwiththefalling
watertemperature,this hasimprovedour
chancesforourmostprevalentbillfish,the
stripedmarlin(as pictured). Indeed,in early
Junetherewasstillsomedecentfishingfor
stripiesoff theNorth Island,even better
atthe ThreeKings Islandsin the extreme
north.There’sa goodchancetheywillstillbearoundin July.
Ournextspeciesto lookforwardto is thewinterrunof southern
bluefintuna.
CaptRickPollock–Pursuit
Email:[email protected]2 FIJI: Large wahoo show up early
Early winter signs were encouraging as
bigger-than-average wahoo were caught
both offshore and around the usual coral
reef edge drop-offs. Wahoo to more than
30kg were common. The blue marlin action
also fired up in May, producing several larger
than average fish, including three that were
weighedin atover 300kg.Giant trevally,
Spanish mackereland dogtooth tuna are
stillbeingcaughtforthosenotventuringtoo
faroffshore,however,thebiggeryellowfin
out wide are thinning out as the water
continuesto cool.
Thereefedgeswillreallyfireupoverthenextcoupleof months,
producinggoodnumbersof largewahoo,andwiththewinterinshore
runof largesailfishsoonto jointhem.
CaptJagaCrossingham– KokomoPrivateIsland
http://www.kokomoislandfiji.com1 MADEIRA: Giant Atlantic blue marlin
The water temperature has
stayed warmer in the North
Atlantic this year, with 19°C
being the lowest water temp
recorded at Madeira. Huge tuna
schoolshave returned tothe
island. Giant Atlantic bluefin
tunahavebeenlandedin sizes
up to more than 350kg, and bigeye tuna are being caught close to
Madeira with an average weight of 100kg.
With warm water and serious concentrations of ‘trombeteiro’
(Macroramphosus gracilis), even blue whales are here to feed
on the bounty of food, so we’re expecting Madeira’s famed run
of enormous Atlantic blue marlin to arrive right now. The often
grander-size blues should be here until the end of August and even
into September.
Capt Peter Bristow – Katherine B
http://www.fishmadeira.comWarm ocean currents (approx.only) Cool ocean currents (approx.only)North Equatorial CurrentEastAustraliaCurrentSouthEquatorial
Current5
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4 TONGA: Cooler waters, hotter bite
By May the southeast trade
winds had kicked in, bringing
cooler water and large schools
of baitfish.
With these came blue
marlin from 80 to more than
200kg, plus yellowfin tuna
around 20kg.
Catches of dolphinfish and wahoo were a bit scarce, in part due
to losing a deep-water FAD, however, the South Bank and shallower
drop-offs are holding lots of kawakawa and that is good news for
targeting sailfish and wahoo.
July and August produce our best numbers and average size
for blue marlin, so we’re now expecting fish to at least 300kg. We
typically get between four and ten strikes per day, including a few
doubles and triples, so get ready with the heavy-tackle!
Capt Steve Campbell – Blue Marlin Magic
http://www.bluemarlinmagic.fishing