# first marlin ever saturday



## rustyboat

this is my first post so bear with me guys. we left fort morgan dock saturday morning and arrived at the bent leg platform around 8:30 . we put 3 good aj,s in the boat,one around the 40 to 50 pound range. then we went to the petronius platform and put out our spread and started trolling. we caught a barracuda right off the bat. then we turned toward the marlin platform and continued to troll. about half way between the platforms,the marlin hit.we normally run a 3 rig spread but jess wanted to run a 5 rig spread with teasers. we had 3 30 wide tld,s and 2 15 wide tld,s. naturally the marlin hit the 15 wide. we fought the fish well over an hour. we finally got him in the boat and took some pic,s and released him. we also caught a bf tuna and a huge skip jack. this is where i need help, we were in such a hurry to get our pic,s and get the marlin back in the water that we aren't sure if it's a big white or a baby blue. we estimated his weight around the 150 pound range,but we could have over estimated his weight. i hope you guys can help me out with what type of marlin and his weight. i'm trying to figure out how to post the pic's. soon as i can, i will post the pics.


----------



## Chris V

Congrats on your first Marlin! That's a White Marlin and would probably weigh more like 80lbs. The weights will always disappoint.

Be glad it was a White. Even a small, 200ish blue most likely would've dumped the tld 15


----------



## sniperpeeps

Awesome I bet y'all were pumped!


----------



## Tobiwan

Super cool I bet that was fun :yes:


----------



## rustyboat

thanks guys. chris, you are right ,if we are going to run a 5 rig spread,i need to come see you about a couple of 50 wides.


----------



## Downtime2

Nice white! First one is out of the way......


----------



## Chris V

rustyboat said:


> thanks guys. chris, you are right ,if we are going to run a 5 rig spread,i need to come see you about a couple of 50 wides.


You don't necessarily need 50s. A set of 30s with spectra backing will handle most things you'll get into. You may want to look at tld 50s as well. Great reels for the money


----------



## Scruggspc

That's awesome! What did he/ she hit? Soft head/ilander/chugger/naked hoo?


----------



## rustyboat

he hit a naked ballyhoo


----------



## marmidor

Congrats man!


----------



## wide spread

Nice ******! The light tackle even makes it more fun.


----------



## reeldog80

Congrats!! Wish we could have made it out, but some things came up so we had to cancel!


----------



## Scruggspc

rustyboat said:


> he hit a naked ballyhoo


Always money on a white!


----------



## Fish Eye

Rusty, great job. That boat raise fish. Any one that has ever fished off of it will attend to that. I'm not sure what it is but the Short Bus gets a lot of flat line bites. Good luck and keep the reports coming.


----------



## Captain Mickey O'Reilly

Outstanding light tackle catch! congrats!


----------



## Water Spout II

nice little ******. 80-90 lb or so.


----------



## jim t

What was the water temp? What color was the water?

GREAT catch!!!

Jim


----------



## MSViking

Now you are hooked! Congrats!! The first one is always the hardest!

Robert


----------



## samoajoe

Real live action!


----------



## Fish N Tales

Awesome congrats!


----------



## 24ft fishmaster

Definitely awesome ! Great job on your first of many.


----------



## wanna be tuna slayer

That looks like a thick white! Congrats!


----------



## DAWGONIT

Congrats on that White & welcome to the club!
How was your plunge 

catch 'em up.


----------



## Xiphius

Nice white...


----------



## gatorabait

Great job! Congrats!! Can't wait to land my first.. Just need a crew that's not afraid to make the run to the rigs.. lol


----------



## MrFish

Congrats! That's awesome!


----------



## ashcreek

Good job sir, good job


----------



## panhandleslim

Nice work. Bare Ballyhoo...Venezuela style.


----------



## eddiem84

gatorabait said:


> Great job! Congrats!! Can't wait to land my first.. Just need a crew that's not afraid to make the run to the rigs.. lol


You definitely don't need to go to the rigs to catch a marlin.


----------



## catdad100

I agree on the tld 50s plus they are light weight to boot


----------



## jboweriii

*Billfish*

Nice catch, i believe it's against the law to take a billfish out of the water unless you are going to harvest it. It can damage the internal organs


----------



## KBGAub

Well done guys!


----------



## daddytime

Good work...congrats! Can't wait to get out there!:thumbup:


----------



## submariner

*not to derail*

Not to derail the thread but can you provide a reference to the regulation stated. Just trying to understand the requirement. Congrads on the Marlin must have been exciting



jboweriii said:


> Nice catch, i believe it's against the law to take a billfish out of the water unless you are going to harvest it. It can damage the internal organs


----------



## samoajoe

I, too, am both curious and guilty of this offense.


----------



## captbuckhall

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/Compliance_Guide/Careful_release_brochure.pdf 

undersized fish are prohibited from removal...anyway, nice catch and any billfish a treat, indeed! I'm sure the fish swam off healthy...always good to know the rules and and they change ofter....I'm glad everyone was helpful with you on here...fish on!


----------



## bigtallluke

Thanks for sharing that link Capt Hall.... I was not aware of this. Hopefully this info will come In handy this season... I have not yet caught a bill fish. 

Great catch out there!!


----------



## JACKIN' JAWS

Good on ya! Yet to get one myself. Maybe next time I'm in Roatan....Congrads!!!


----------



## Chapman5011

rustyboat said:


> this is my first post so bear with me guys. we left fort morgan dock saturday morning and arrived at the bent leg platform around 8:30 . we put 3 good aj,s in the boat,one around the 40 to 50 pound range. then we went to the petronius platform and put out our spread and started trolling. we caught a barracuda right off the bat. then we turned toward the marlin platform and continued to troll. about half way between the platforms,the marlin hit.we normally run a 3 rig spread but jess wanted to run a 5 rig spread with teasers. we had 3 30 wide tld,s and 2 15 wide tld,s. naturally the marlin hit the 15 wide. we fought the fish well over an hour. we finally got him in the boat and took some pic,s and released him. we also caught a bf tuna and a huge skip jack. this is where i need help, we were in such a hurry to get our pic,s and get the marlin back in the water that we aren't sure if it's a big white or a baby blue. we estimated his weight around the 150 pound range,but we could have over estimated his weight. i hope you guys can help me out with what type of marlin and his weight. i'm trying to figure out how to post the pic's. soon as i can, i will post the pics.


How far is the bent leg from fort morgan


----------



## Chapman5011

eddiem84 said:


> You definitely don't need to go to the rigs to catch a marlin.


How far out do you need to go to catch a marlin if you don't have to go to the rigs. I run my boat out to the edge and the nipple. I have a seafox 237 with twin 90's. I think it has 120 gallon fuel tank. I can pretty much go where I want on the right day if you know what I mean


----------



## Chapman5011

submariner said:


> Not to derail the thread but can you provide a reference to the regulation stated. Just trying to understand the requirement. Congrads on the Marlin must have been exciting


I agree. Wondering the same thing...
I would want to return such an awesome fish back in the water, but I don't think I could resist a picture for proof before I return him to the water


----------

