White Marlin

 

- Captain Steve Dougherty

Targeted with 20- and 30-pound light tackle outfits, white marlin are intelligent and accurate feeders that at times show super finicky tendencies. Dink ballyhoo are the baits of choice, with anglers required to master the drop back to fool the smallest of all marlin species. Though whites often casually crush baits and quickly spit them out under the slightest resistance, when hook finally meets bone these incredibly agile predators put on a show. And because white marlin are pack feeders, often working together corralling schools of mackerel, sardine and squid, where you find one there’s likely multiple fish to be caught.

As of press date, Captain John Duffy and crew aboard Billfisher out of Ocean City, Maryland hold the single-day release record for catching 57 white marlin. In typical fashion, mates in the cockpit tend two natural dredges and surface riding squid chains to draw in white marlin from the deep, while spotters in the tower keep a close watch for fish tailing down sea. Heading offshore with over 100 rigged baits is not out of the ordinary.