Leaving the dock at Calheta, Madeira with the heavy artillery locked and loaded. Fishing is super slow here, but it only takes one!
Best whishes! What's the target.....Yellowfin?
Go get em Randy !!
Good hunting, Randy!
Be great to give that fighting chair a workout with you on one end and a Grander on the other end!
Best, Fred
Good luck my friend,,,,,,, ;D
Go get en Randy!!!
Tight lines too you Randy. Hope you put the wood to em!
Good luck with the fishing Randy, but also enjoy your time in that unique, historical part of the world!
Good luck Randy, looking forward to your report pics, cheers Don.
https://www.marlinmag.com/story/travel/madeira-blue-marlin-fishing/
steve
Randy you are the only guy I know that could put together a matching spread of 6 Penn 130's.....Tight lines brother..Bill
Quote from: Cor on September 18, 2021, 02:35:10 PM
Best whishes! What's the target.....Yellowfin?
Thank you Cor. There's only one game in town here right now, blue marlin, but they are very few and far between.
Quote from: foakes on September 18, 2021, 03:16:59 PM
Good hunting, Randy!
Be great to give that fighting chair a workout with you on one end and a Grander on the other end!
Best, Fred
Thank you Fred. Tomorrow is the last day and at this point I would gladly settle for a half-grander.
Quote from: sabaman1 on September 19, 2021, 03:28:57 AM
Tight lines too you Randy. Hope you put the wood to em!
Thank you Jim!
Quote from: scrinch on September 19, 2021, 02:52:47 PM
Good luck with the fishing Randy, but also enjoy your time in that unique, historical part of the world!
Thank you Rich! It is unbelievable the way that they have created livable space on this steep and rugged volcano of an island.
Quote from: Donnyboat on September 19, 2021, 04:50:05 PM
Good luck Randy, looking forward to your report pics, cheers Don.
Thank you Don.
Quote from: swill88 on September 19, 2021, 06:16:30 PM
https://www.marlinmag.com/story/travel/madeira-blue-marlin-fishing/
steve
Thank you Steve. That's a great article!
Quote from: Bill B (Tarfu) on September 19, 2021, 07:19:26 PM
Randy you are the only guy I know that could put together a matching spread of 6 Penn 130's.....Tight lines brother..Bill
Thank you Bill!
Yee-Haa,
Go get em Randy !!!
Enjoy and have a great time...
Col
Are you going to troll black barts,,,,,,, ;D
Quote from: Benni3 on September 22, 2021, 01:20:15 AM
Are you going to troll black barts,,,,,,, ;D
How did you know Benni? Marlin Magic and a few others too.
Quote from: Vintage Offshore Tackle on September 22, 2021, 06:45:06 AM
Quote from: Benni3 on September 22, 2021, 01:20:15 AM
Are you going to troll black barts,,,,,,, ;D
How did you know Benni? Marlin Magic and a few others too.
My dad used to fish for Marlins and they was always on the boat,,,,,,,,, ;D
You back yet? Hope you had a great trip, Randy.
If you caught a marlin blink once, If you caught a grander blink twice. ;)
My fingers are crossed!
Best,
Dom
Quote from: Benni3 on September 23, 2021, 05:49:31 PM
Quote from: Vintage Offshore Tackle on September 22, 2021, 06:45:06 AM
Quote from: Benni3 on September 22, 2021, 01:20:15 AM
Are you going to troll black barts,,,,,,, ;D
How did you know Benni? Marlin Magic and a few others too.
My dad used to fish for Marlins and they was always on the boat,,,,,,,,, ;D
They have developed their trolling techniques to a fine science here Benni.
Quote from: broadway on September 23, 2021, 11:29:51 PM
You back yet? Hope you had a great trip, Randy.
If you caught a marlin blink once, If you caught a grander blink twice. ;)
My fingers are crossed!
Best,
Dom
Sitting on the plane on the runway at Funchal right now Dom. I'm sorry to say that we didn't even see a marlin. There hasn't been one caught here for over two weeks. Hope that all is well with you Dom.
I'm sorry to hear you had a marlin-less trip. I have fond memories of Calheta and having a cool pint in the bar at the tables with the green umbrellas after a day afloat, followed by dinner in the small place the other side of the road behind.
Scary airport though - like landing on a pier. Not good on windy days!
Madeira - lovely island (lovely wine and cake too).
Thank you UKChris1. We loved Madeira and hope to return one day. The island is beautiful and the people are mostly welcoming. The fishing grounds are on the lee side of the island and almost always flat calm, and due to the steep drop off, you are fishing immediately upon leaving port.
We did manage one nice bigeye (on a blind strike), but never saw any sign of fish, bait, dolphin, whales or working birds. Hopefully conditions will improve next year.
Here's the view from our Airbnb bedroom window:
Very jealous!
I had my week to the Canary Islands cancelled twice last year and again this spring so abandoned hope for 2021 but would certainly love to go back to Madeira too. My mate crewed there for several years and knows those grounds well.
I did manage a blue marlin last time - landed at 12.00 noon, cleared immigration, was picked up by skipper's wife, quick change at the hotel and on board in Calheta by 2pm. Hooked up before 3.00pm - nice fish too. Then five blank days. Ah well... that's blue marlin fishing.
Currently cold and wet here in the UK - unlike your picture.
That must have been amazing to be hooked up less than three hours after your plane landed Chris!
I hope that you are still able to get in a good trip this year. I have heard that the Cape Verdes should have some good fishing in the next couple of months, and if I remember correctly, the peak season for the Great Barrier Reef is late October, give or take a few weeks.
I have never been to the Canaries. Those La Gomera bluefin are very tempting, but it's a long way from California!
Randy
Hi Randy,
I went to the Cape Verdes for eight consecutive years and had fantastic luck. Caught a bunch of lovely marlin and 'cut my teeth' there, as it were, with Zak Conde and Marty Bates, plus Olaf 'the Grimmel' amongst others. Seas were always rough though, but great skippers and mates who taught me a lot.
Tenerife has some good bluefin fishing at times too. Yes, indeed, halfway round the world from California but only a four-hour flight from home (when we can fly again without the hassles of Covid!), but on my first day after bluefin out of Tenerife on a half-day trip I had bluefin of 550 and 450lb almost back-to-back - couldn't move the next day! Some workout... My two mates had three more between them over our five days but I blanked on my last day.
Plans now being hatched for 2022 - Canaries I hope and Balearic Islands too, but Madeira is tempting.
Cheers,
Chris
What an amazing day you had Chris! I hope that the travel conditions improve and that 2022 is your best year yet!
Thank you for your kind wishes.
I may stay in the UK for our home-grown bluefin if the fishery is open next year.
A propos nothing in particular, this really is a fantastic site - not only a source of great information but populated by gentlemen (and ladies), unlike the general trollsville online.
That's some view, Randy!
Hey, sure beats work, right?!
Best
Dom
Thank you Dom. You are right about that!