Sorry for the late report but work has been brutal since I got back on the 15th. It has been a year and a half since visiting Hotel Punta Colorado. Jim was kind enough to invite me on the video shoot for the the production "GAME ON". The first day was epic! It was great being on the glassy water of the Sea of Cortez except of course the hang over from the night before. Jim Sammons, Ken Whiting, Howard McKim, and myself unloaded our kayaks from the pangas off of La Ribera about 2 miles offshore. Alonzo looked around and said that this will be a good place to start. It was hot! We began trolling in a pretty uniform line to maximize our chances of one of us getting a billfish. There is no better footage than a billfish jumping out of the water as you get towed in your kayak. Ken who is the owner of Helicona Press and "BOSS" hooked up on a dorado about 30 minutes into our paddle, his first DoDo ever. I went over to lend him a hand and he was stoked to say the least. As I was cutting out the gills to bleed the dorado, Jim came on the radio and said that there was an old looking turtle floating on the surface. We all went over to check it out. As we were checking out the turtle, Howard was still trolling. A few minutes later he hooks up, A monster Blue Marlin comes jumping out of the water. "Yeh"! He was off to the races. As he starts to get towed off to sea, Alonzo spots a tree branch which has Dorado all over it. He starts throwing baits on it and the fish start boiling. Ken and I get in on the hungry fish and instantly hook up. Ken caught a couple and I caught 3 and farmed 2 and then the bite dried up. By that time, Howard had been towed at least a half mile and both Pangas were close by getting all the footage. Jim had paddled to stay with Howard because this was Howard's first billfish and it was a big fish with a big attitude.
Now paddling to catch up with Howard and the gang, I paddled faster than usual trying to catch up so I could see the action. I was still dragging a Cabillto which looks similar to our Spanish Mackeral (Jack Mackeral) but bigger girth wise. About 5 minutes into my paddle to catch up I hear zzzzzzz...zz...zzzz. I looked behind me only to see a striped marlin chopping on my bait, knocking it out of the water and slashing the surface. Normally I would have kept paddling to keep him interested, but this guy was hungry so I put it in freespool. My line begins rapidly coming off the spool, I count to 10 and then put it gear, GAME ON!
The Striper came busting out the water and I radioed that I was on a billfish. A double!!! Howard getting pulled one way and I the other. My fish must have known we were making a movie because he put on a show as soon as the camera crew showed up. The fight lasted only 50 minutes which was an hour less than my first marlin, but this guy was about 30# lighter and I had the right gear this time so I was able to pull a little harder. Jim came over to assit me with the landing. Jim does a great job with these guys in the handling. This was Jim's 18th time being part of landing a billfish. We got some cool underwater video and some good pictures and then we quickly released it unharmed so it could fight another day.
"All Right, lets go help Howard!" Howard had been towed another mile or so by the time we landed my fish. Howard ended up fighting the Blue for over 4 and half hours when Alonzo said that the wind was coming up and it's getting late (Spanish for it's time to put pressure on that fish). Howard was battling that big girl on a Trinidad 14, 7.5 foot Muskee Rod with 20 pound test and a 12 foot 80# top shot. That Blue finally came up after 4 1/2 hours to put on a show for the cameras and she was still lit up and hot. I yelled out to Jim, "I'm not sure your going to want to land that fish from a kayak". Around that time Howard tightens the drag a little and the big girl busts off.
What a day!
We were scheduled to shoot for 5 more days but got blown off by Mother Nature's Hurricane. I did catch a buzz on some of those days
It was very fun being a part of this and I hope you all go out and get the video when it is released in the Spring of 2009.
TL-Matt
A few of amazing shots by our photographer Jock Bradley.
Before the video crew got there one of my other clients Jeff Schwietzer got a huge Blue Marlin and the fight lasted even longer at 5 1/2 hours. I am working on editing the video of that fight.
That fish was estimated at over 300lbs. Here is his story.
Hey there,
I just got back from Punta Colorada, where I had a trip of a lifetime, fishing with Jim Sammons of La Jolla Kayak Fishing.
Our group went out Sunday morning, Oct 5, 2008 with a load of Caballito baits. The morning started slow, and we moved around a few times by loading the kayaks into the pangas. On the 3rd stop, about 2 miles in front of Punta Colorada, I was the first one into the water in a new Prowler Trident 13 foot kayak. Alonso pinned on a fresh Caballito (about 9" long) onto a 6/0 circle hook with 14 feet of 60# fluorocarbon leader.
After maybe 5 minutes, my drag starts buzzing, then briefly stops. There were about 4 other kayaks in the water nearby, and I figured my bait had tangled in someones paddle, or something, since I was only 60 feet away from everyone else. But no, the drags started off again, and I let it go for a very long six seconds before throwing the lever into gear. About that time Jim Sammons yells excitedly "Jeff, there's a giant marlin right in front of you." In what seems now like slow motion, my kayak started to point at the marlin lazily cruising the surface, and I yell "HOOK-UP!" The marlin really didn't seem hooked though, as it cruised the surface for 5 more seconds before diving frantically.
After peeling 60 yards of 40# line off my Okuma Platinum Lever Drag reel, the marlin leaps clear of the water in the middle of all our boats and kayaks. That’s when the pandemonium really hit everyone. Alonso yelled somewhat hysterically "Blue Marlin, Jim, Dios Mio, it’s a Blue Marlin-Gigante!!!"
Teresa O'Malley was still in the panga, and she later told me that Alonso appeared to say a prayer, and genuflect once or twice, before getting on the marine band radio. From my radio, it was lots of talking in rapid fire Spanish with various captains and the hotel. It seemed as though Alonso, with 50 years fishing experience on the East Cape, was calling it 325-375 pounds from seeing it jump so close to his boat, the Bohemia. Boy was I jazzed! Jim then told me nobody had ever hooked a blue marlin from a kayak!
Little did I know then how long and hard a blue marlin could fight. After the first jumps, he decided to go deep, really deep. I had 100 yards of mono topshot, and 300 yards of 65# Spectra. We were in about 300 feet of water, and I think the fish went to the very bottom, and started cruising, heading for Mazatlan. The first 1 1/2 hours of the fight were definitely the hardest for me. Jim and Alonso followed closely, keeping the passing boats well out of our path. I was having trouble finding a comfortable position to fight from, and Jim gave me expert advice and tips he has learned from many years of guiding kayak fishermen.
We were going along at maybe 2-4 miles an hour, mostly heading out to deeper water for a long time. Finally, I think my hands and gut went numb, and my hand kind of seized into the locked position, and that was easier on me! Jim got into his kayak, and started paddling to keep me company. He quickly realized that I needed to put more hurt on this fish, so he grabbed my kayak and made the blue marlin pull us both. When he let go, I was able to bring in a bit more line, but after a few minutes, the fish took it all back, so Jim grabbed on again. We did this for two hours, and then Jim grabbed the Bohemia, and made the blue marlin pull the super-panga as well as two kayaks! We didn’t do this for long though, because it felt like a tug-of-war, and I was the rope! I couldn’t tell at this point who was hurting more, me or the marlin.
About the 5th hour, everyone was getting eager for it to end. We would run out of daylight, and now had a 15 mile run back to the hotel. I tightened the drag almost to the maximum, and had been thumbing the spool for a long time. Shortly, the fish started to come up, and we yelled to Janet, still on the Bohemia, to get the camera ready. He made one last set of jumps, really close to me. She got some good footage of the blue Marlin leaping, and spray coming off its back- both majestic and somewhat scary as well. I realized its bill was several feet above the level of my head. At this point, I also realized that I couldn’t get the fish into my lap for any photos because I was so spent, and the darn thing was too big to safely grab from the kayaks anyway. With a lot of encouragement from Jim, we got the fish to start circling, and I was happy to get the leader to the tip of the rod. It seemed as though we hadn’t really gotten it tired enough to land anyway, so Jim and I broke it off at the leader, and called it a success. After loading the kayaks into the Bohemia, we roared back to the hotel. Eight people met me on shore to help me land the kayak in moderate surf, and I really needed the help. They had been following the action of radios, and we were definitely the last boat back to shore. I think my proudest moment was when I mounted the steps to the bar, and got a standing ovation from the guests gathered around to hear about such an epic battle! After lots of tequila shots and beers, we sat down to dinner. There were 20 people in my group for this La Jolla Kayak Fishing Baja Trip, and I certainly was beaming when Jim Sammons presented me with a Marlin Kayak flag and a release flag! Two guys on our trip held the record for largest fish landed from a kayak, both Alaskans. They were a bit jealous, as well as very happy for me. Soon, though, my Blue Marlin Kayak Club would have Howard McKim as a member! Look for some of the most amazing video and still footage from his battle with a Blue Marlin just two days later
I am certain this will be debated for many years to come now: How big a fish can anybody get all the way to hand from a kayak? You know I want to be the one to answer this question myself. With lots of help from Jim Sammons and Alonso, I hope to answer the question on my next trip to the East Cape of Baja California.
Chef Jeff.
See more of what we are up to at www.KayakFishingMovie.com
