The marlin are few and far between here in Madeira right now, but Pesca Grossa Captain Gerard Frothy de Silva managed to find a nice bigeye. In the background is Cabo Girao, the second highest sea cliff in Europe, and historically one the world's best grander grounds.
Wow !!! Livin' the dream...
Good on ya Randy !
Cool
Nice one Randy!
Wow! Nice tuna. You can really see the difference on that'n between a Bigeye and a Yellowfin. Hope yer havin a great fishin vacation. Them Marlin are out there waitin for you somewhere... Any cool things about the local culture you've experienced?
Nice Randy ! What did it weigh ?
Cheers:
Todd
A little help please: How can you tell that this is a Big Eye as opposed to yellowfin? The eye looks big, I guess, and the fins seem short in the picture, but is there another obvious sign? I've caught lots of yft and bft, but have never seen a Big Eye. Someday...
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy! Good onya RP!
Photoshopped!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: akfish on September 22, 2021, 03:32:27 PM
A little help please: How can you tell that this is a Big Eye as opposed to yellowfin? The eye looks big, I guess, and the fins seem short in the picture, but is there another obvious sign? I've caught lots of yft and bft, but have never seen a Big Eye. Someday...
You actually godda cut open the peritoneum and look for "striations" on the liver to be certain. Big Eye have them, yellowfin don't. And the YF have one liver lobe longer than the other, BE don't. Outwardly, it's the fins like you mentioned, fin shape and maybe the number of rays.
Like all critters there's lots of little body part variations in different places where they exist. Color can vary quite a bit, for example. Up in Ak. you may even have seen different color patterns on salmoid species from the same main drainage, but their home tributaries are different.
Quote from: alantani on September 22, 2021, 04:43:51 PM
Photoshopped!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D
I knew that I shouldn't have posted the original photo with my gut hanging out on Facebook! Just to make you happy Alan, here's the original photo.
Quote from: CooldadE on September 22, 2021, 07:31:55 AM
Wow !!! Livin' the dream...
Good on ya Randy !
Cool
Thank you Cool!
Quote from: Vintage Offshore Tackle on September 22, 2021, 10:47:30 PM
Quote from: alantani on September 22, 2021, 04:43:51 PM
Photoshopped!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D
I knew that I shouldn't have posted the original photo with my gut hanging out on Facebook! Just to make you happy Alan, here's the original photo.
You call that a gut ? Mine looks like that... when I suck it in !
Cool
great memory material right there, congrats Randy
Quote from: Gfish on September 22, 2021, 01:58:15 PM
Wow! Nice tuna. You can really see the difference on that'n between a Bigeye and a Yellowfin. Hope yer havin a great fishin vacation. Them Marlin are out there waitin for you somewhere... Any cool things about the local culture you've experienced?
Thank you Greg! No luck on the marlin, never even saw one. I was told that the last marlin was caught here the week before last.
I am sorry to say that I have been less than observant of the local culture, but I did notice some striking similarities between the waters of the south side of Madeira and the Kona side of the Big Island.
Both are typically calm, being sheltered from the prevailing winds by large volcanoes. Both feature steep drop-offs creating fertile upwellings and bringing big game fish close to shore. Both are known for big blue marlin and have produced more than their fair share of granders.
Quote from: steelfish on September 22, 2021, 11:09:30 PM
great memory material right there, congrats Randy
Thank you Alex!
Quote from: akfish on September 22, 2021, 03:32:27 PM
A little help please: How can you tell that this is a Big Eye as opposed to yellowfin? The eye looks big, I guess, and the fins seem short in the picture, but is there another obvious sign? I've caught lots of yft and bft, but have never seen a Big Eye. Someday...
In addition to the differences that Greg described, the body of a mature bigeye is deeper and thicker compared to a mature yellowfin, which is longer and leaner. In other words, the girth to length ratio is greater in the bigeye. One easy way to distinguish a bigeye from a bluefin is that the bluefin pectoral fin is much shorter than the bigeye or yellowfin.
Quote from: Hardy Boy on September 22, 2021, 03:21:18 PM
Nice Randy ! What did it weigh ?
Cheers:
Todd
Todd, I am sorry to say that we didn't have a tape measure on board, but if I had to guess, I would say 200 lbs., Give or take 10.
Quote from: Vintage Offshore Tackle on September 22, 2021, 10:47:30 PM
Quote from: alantani on September 22, 2021, 04:43:51 PM
Photoshopped!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D
I knew that I shouldn't have posted the original photo with my gut hanging out on Facebook! Just to make you happy Alan, here's the original photo.
LOL , c'mon Randy, how could you be ashamed of your little gut, see how the guy next to you is so proud to show his "Herculean" body
Congrats Randy - that's sensational.
And very adept Photoshop work too! :D ;D
Madeira has been on my 'must go' list since reading about it in 'Barbarian Days'.
Stoked for ya, Justin
That's fantastic catch,,,,,, :D that was a long fight,,,,, ;) great job man,,,,,,, ;D
Nice job Randy !! Looks like a very picturesque place to fish
Fantastic job Randy !!!!!
Col
Nice ahi Randy! Congratulations!!! 🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼
Great fish Randy !!! Did you do it stand up or from a chair or my style from the rod holder LOL !!! John Taylor
You're kill it Randy, couldn't happen to a better guy! Bill
Quote from: redsetta on September 22, 2021, 11:56:37 PM
Congrats Randy - that's sensational.
And very adept Photoshop work too! :D ;D
Madeira has been on my 'must go' list since reading about it in 'Barbarian Days'.
Stoked for ya, Justin
Thank you Justin. Madeira should be somewhere high on your "bucket list.". Even without the chance of a grander (however slim that might be), the island and the people are a true pleasure.
Quote from: Benni3 on September 23, 2021, 03:33:17 AM
That's fantastic catch,,,,,, :D that was a long fight,,,,, ;) great job man,,,,,,, ;D
Thank you Bennie!
Quote from: Maxed Out on September 23, 2021, 03:51:03 AM
Nice job Randy !! Looks like a very picturesque place to fish
Thank you Ted. You are right. This island is spectacularly beautiful. The inkiest blue water that I have ever see..
Quote from: steelfish on September 22, 2021, 11:39:17 PM
Quote from: Vintage Offshore Tackle on September 22, 2021, 10:47:30 PM
Quote from: alantani on September 22, 2021, 04:43:51 PM
Photoshopped!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D
I knew that I shouldn't have posted the original photo with my gut hanging out on Facebook! Just to make you happy Alan, here's the original photo.
LOL , c'mon Randy, how could you be ashamed of your little gut, see how the guy next to you is so proud to show his "Herculean" body
Alex, my daughter did a great job making my gut look smaller
Quote from: Caranx on September 23, 2021, 09:10:00 AM
Nice ahi Randy! Congratulations!!! 🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼
Thank you Stuart!
Quote from: 54bullseye on September 24, 2021, 12:01:13 AM
Great fish Randy !!! Did you do it stand up or from a chair or my style from the rod holder LOL !!! John Taylor
Thank you John! Fished the chair. They didn't have any heavy stand up gear.
Quote from: Bill B (Tarfu) on September 25, 2021, 03:11:37 AM
You're kill it Randy, couldn't happen to a better guy! Bill
Thank you Bill!