101 Billfish Boulevard

Is Islamorada emerging as a viable blue marlin destination worthy of consideration? The experienced crews at Whale Harbor Marina in the heart of the fabulous Florida Keys say it sure is.

And, while searching far and wide for hours or even days for a single strike may not sound like fun to you, there is no question that blue marlin fishing is the epitome of big-game angling. Locking up on such a powerful fish and watching hundreds of yards of line melt off a screaming 50-wide is nothing short of awe inspiring. After experiencing it, you, too, will agree that just having an opportunity to witness a marlin grey-hounding like an out-of-control locomotive is worth almost any amount of effort and sacrifice. It’s an adrenaline rush that can’t be described in words, regardless how colorful. Anglers who live for thrill and regularly make the commitment will tell you the rewards are often nothing short of spectacular.

Ernest Hemingway is perhaps the most famous of the many big-game anglers who spent a great deal of time and energy in the Florida Keys in pursuit of this magnificent billfish, for obvious reasons. During his early adventures into fairly uncharted territories, Hemingway pioneered the use of outriggers and fighting chairs, both crucial elements to successful marlin fishing found on every big-game boat today.

We’re all familiar with the many foreign destinations portrayed on the pages of billfish magazines which offer spectacular marlin fishing amongst breathtaking tropical backdrops, so let me continue by saying that Islamorada, the emerging blue marlin fishery we’re discussing here, is not one of them. Here, experiencing a single shot in a full days worth of fishing is considered good fortune. As a matter of fact, unless a group specifically requests it, you would be hard pressed to find charter crews willing to dedicate an entire trip solely for the cause. Most six-packs would rather spend their time trolling for dolphin while always staying alert and on the ready for an incidental encounter with a blue, which apparently is occurring more and more often. I should also mention that fully grown blue marlin reaching the weight of a Ford F250, are substantially less prevalent here than in most of those exotic ports. Here, in the fruitful Straits off the Florida Keys, the average blue rarely exceeds three hundred pounds, and most of those fish were probably only 200 pounds released by slightly overzealous anglers.

This is not to say that you would never stand a chance at going head-to-head with a fish twice that size, because you surely could. A marlin of monster proportions may pop into the spread at any time. Catch records throughout the Keys reveal that over the last few decades, quite a few blues estimated at over that magic 500 pound number have been successfully released, but the largest females reaching, and often exceeding, 1,000 pounds are simply not found here. Nevertheless, if you’re excited about attempting this fishery on your own or are thrilled about the possibilities of a chartered trip, there are a number of key marlin characteristics you can use to your advantage that will greatly increase both your odds of an encounter with an Islamorada blue, and a solid hook up.

Just tell me when and where. I’ll do the rest…

If you’re intent on scoring a marlin on your own vessel and you’re not as familiar as you would like to be with Islamorada’s bounteous offshore terrain, you’ll need some assistance in narrowing down a likely search area. Although the Atlantic is really one big sea of opportunity, it’s just too vast to troll blindly. To get a better idea of likely areas where blues have been encountered in the past, we spoke to numerous captains who tie up at Whale Harbor Marina, a world renowned Florida Keys port home to an armada of legendary skippers.

Capt. Don Clark, owner/operator of the 39 ft. Sea Horse, has been fishing these waters for a quarter-century, and said his largest blue, a respectable 585 pound beauty by anyone’s standards, ate a bait in less than 150 ft. of water. A number of other equally adept captains who have also spent a big portion of their lives on the water here, have also recorded encounters with big blues in fairly shallow water just off the edge of the reef, a stretch where you would typically expect to encounter sailfish. Along with these handful of close-encounters, all of the experts agreed that the vast majority of 150 pound to 300 pound blue marlin found offshore of Islamorada are encountered in deeper water out to a thousand feet, with 600 ft. to 1,000 ft. an apparent hot zone- a billfish boulevard of sorts. “Blues are here throughout the summer gorging on dolphin. Find schoolies in any depth, and you stand a chance of a blue popping up at any time, but six hundred plus is usually a good place to start looking hard,” added Clark.

With dolphin typically plentiful during the summer months, it’s no surprise that June, July, and August coincide with prime marlin time. There is simply such a high volume of prime forage in such a wide expanse, that limiting yourself to one particular search area seems like a useless endeavor. Adding to the equation, skipjack and blackfin tuna make equally tempting appetizers for billfish of all sizes. This tells us our search parameters could and should include Islamorada’s popular series of offshore humps. Fifteen to twenty-five miles south-southeast of Islamorada, both species of tuna seasonally reside on a clearly defined series of humps, and marlin know it. All of the captains polled agreed that it’s becoming increasingly common to see blue marlin thrashing tuna along the eastern outskirts of these humps. Their bill slashing antics displayed directly on the surface are unmistakable from more than a half-mile away. A number of seasoned crews have even had small blackfin and skipjacks snatched right out from under their noses just feet from the transom by undeterred blues.

Captain Kevin Kelly, who runs his 31 ft Motherload out to the humps on a regular basis, calls blackfin and skipjack tuna high-performance baits. Like speedos, goggle-eyes, and blue-runners, small tuna have smooth skin and hard tails, a combination pelagic predators, including marlin, find impossible to ignore. The Motherload crew is credited with numerous blue marlin releases on just about all of these high-performance baits. Kelly feels the same phenomenon holds true for big amberjack schooling over the same form of structure. Drop down a blue-runner or scad, and it’s instantly gobbled up. Deploy a ‘scaly’ fish such as a small yellowtail snapper or grunt into the same feeding zone, and the bait is often rudely ignored.

With the summer months marking prime marlin time, and severe weather conditions not really playing a big role other than late afternoon showers, the only other real factor visiting anglers can lean in their favor are prime lunar phases. The full moon seems to trigger an increase in blue marlin activity. Though the exact reasons are debatable, the experts agree full moon phases result in a higher tendency for marlin to feed on schools of dolphin, tuna, mackerel, and everything else that swims! Local experts will also attest that although there is an expansive area worthy of your blue marlin search efforts, focusing on locating and fishing surface debris and offshore rips which contain bait (schoolie dolphin), will dramatically increase your odds of an encounter with the targeted species.

If you don’t have the means to attempt this exciting fishery on your own, don’t despair, because options do exist. Whale Harbor offers an extensive fleet of charter boats ranging from less than 30 ft to over 60 ft. Most are well equipped to target blue marlin, and will be more than happy to do so upon your request. Granted, you will not see the volume of rod bending action you’ve come to expect when targeting Islamorada’s most famous blue-water belligerent, dolphin, but when you do get a shot at a blue, it often whisks away all of the sacrifices.

Artificial Lures –vs- Live Baits

Just so there is no confusion, full-time crews down in Islamorada who practically spend the entire summer season on the water, claim they encounter most of their blue marlin incidentally while chasing more commonly sought after species. The majority say that every so often, and with no apparent rhyme or reason other than the fact that there are dolphin in the area, the unmistakable silhouette of a blue marlin appears in the spread, just before crashing an Islander/ballyhoo or MoldCraft/ballyhoo combo intended for big bulls. All of the captains polled did agree that these encounters are occurring often enough, that they feel with enough preparation and effort, experiencing a shot at a blue may be easier now than ever before. Capt. Paul Johnson, who runs the 40 ft. Reef Runner, says he’s seen the greatest number of billfish come up on Soft Heads/ballyhoo combos in areas of clean water with solid current. Johnson stressed that he believes steadily moving current is just as important as a readily available food source, and even more important than exact water depth.

Along with his usual trolling techniques, like the rest of the captains we spoke to, Johnson concurred that whenever his guests are knee-deep into a mess of schoolie dolphin, he’ll pull out a 50 lb or 80 lb class outfit rigged and reserved specifically for this occasion. The next schoolie boated will be hooked and sent out on a sort of reconnaissance mission, hopefully the only one it will ever take. On more than one occasion, his clients have had the viewing pleasure of witnessing a relentless blue chase down a two-foot long dolphin before engulfing the bait in a single swallow. You couldn’t put a price on tickets for that kind of show.

Even with modern day technology and sophisticated heavy tackle, a fight with a marlin weighing hundreds of pounds can last several hours with the outcome never certain. Successfully landing one of these magnificent adversaries requires a team effort with a cockpit full of skilled blue-water craftsmen. Leadering the fish to the boat for de-hooking and revival purposes can be especially tricky and should never be attempted by novices. The dreadful combination of one wrong wrap of the leader and a slippery deck, and you could easily be pulled over the transom.

Heavy 130 lb. class bent-butt rods and sturdy fighting chairs are of course helpful, but not a requirement for blues weighing in no more than the average angler. Adequate 50 lb. trolling gear along with a snug rod belt/back harness combo will do the trick for most encounters. Taking this stand-up approach, when battling a blue of any size, it’s always a good idea to secure a safety line from boat to fisherman. It only makes sense to play it safe.

Although it is not against the law to possess a legal-size blue marlin, all efforts should be made to carefully revive and release each of these magnificent fish unharmed, regardless of size. It is this publications view that conservation minded recreational anglers need to set the right example for future generations. These high-jumping, hard-fighting warriors are worth much more alive to us than they are dead. Add in the fact that trophy release mounts can be reproduced with fiberglass replicas, and there is no reason whatsoever for these fish not to live to fight another day.

What’s the bottom line?

After carefully studying charts, reviewing catch records, and spending hours on lengthy phone interviews, the bottom line is pretty clear. No, there aren’t huge numbers of massive size marlin roaming Islamorada’s offshore waters. Will you ever see a fish above 500 pounds? Highly unlikely, but not impossible. Will you ever stand a shot at successfully releasing a blue marlin, the pinnacle of all big-game angling feats, if you don’t put forth the effort or, at the very least, are well prepared for the possible encounter? Never! So you decide; is it a dolphin dinner you’re after or the catch of a lifetime? Either can be achieved right here in the Sport Fishing Capital of the World without ever stepping foot in an airport. Either can be achieved, in Islamorada!

Whale Harbor Marina:

-Motherload Sportfishing
Capt. Kevin Kelly
305-522-3008

-Reef Runner Sportfishing
Capt. Paul Johnson
305-852-3660

-Sea Horse Charters
Capt. Don Clark
305-664-5020

-Skipper Sportfishing Charters
Capt. Paul O'Donnell
305-393-1869

-Blue Chip Too
Capt. Skip Bradeen
305-664-8150