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Excerpts from Virgin Islands Sportfishing
THE VIRGIN ISLANDS - MARLIN CAPITAL OF THE WORLD
On any given day, you are ten times more
likely to catch an Atlantic blue Marlin in the waters off the Virgin
Islands than you are along the east coast of the United States or in
the Gulf of Mexico.
The Atlantic blue marlin, one of the four
marlin species found worldwide, is primarily located in the Atlantic.
In the summer, Atlantic blue marlin migrate as far north as the coast
of New Jersey. In the winter, the marlin travel all the way south to
Venezuela.
Many professional sportfishermen claim
that the Atlantic blue marlin is the most prized game fish because of
its size, strength and fighting ability. As pioneering Virgin Island
Captain Jimmy Loveland says, "If you want to go on a lion hunt you go
to Africa, and if you want to catch an Atlantic blue marlin – you come
to the Virgin Islands.
PHOENIX CAPTAIN JOSEPH "SPIKE" HERBERT
The deep sea swells along the North Drop
were rolling gently as Captain Joseph "Spike" Herbert aboard Caribbean
Soul trolled for blue marlin. It was a few minutes after noon on a
clear July 8, 1980 day. Captain Spike’s mate, Vincente Oquendo had just
gone inside the cabin to make a sandwich. Charter client and first time
angler Herbert Willog was on deck casually watching the sea.
Wheeeeeeeez went the fish line as it spun
off Willog’s reel. Quickly, Oquendo got Willog in the fighting chair,
and strapped a harness around his waist.
From his position 12 feet above deck,
Captain Spike had a clear view on the line running from Willog’s bent
rod, and saw an angry, thrashing Marlin at the other end of the line.
Suddenly the fish jumped, and they all
got a look at it. Oquendo, who had thrown his sandwich overboard in the
excitement, estimated it was a 500-pound blue marlin.
As soon as Willog had secured the hook in
the fish’s mouth, Captain Spike backed down hard, spraying both angler
and crew with seawater. Wet and grinning, adrenaline surging through
his veins, Willog hurriedly took up the slack. The fight was on.
One hour, then two hours passed.
Struggling valiantly, the marlin leapt
out of the sea several times. From the boat’s bridge, Captain Spike’s
clear vision told him they had hooked up a real "Big Daddy" – perhaps a
new world record.
After a three and a half hour fight,
Willog had his marlin at the boat. Oquendo quickly went into action,
and grabbed the wire as soon as the swivel touched the rod tip. He
positioned it to be gaffed.
Knowing in advance that help would be
needed, Captain Spike had already radioed for assistance to hoist this
monster aboard. "It took five guys from another boat to help us get the
Marlin out of the water," Captain Spike said.
On the first attempt at raising the
Marlin out of the water, the block and tackle broke. Then, with all the
men’s muscle power working in unison, they got the fish into the boat.
At the docks, the massive marlin was
pulled up on the scales and officially weighed in at an impressive 1192
pounds.
Although this huge blue marlin was not an official world record (the
Atlantic blue Marlin all tackle record is 1282 pounds) it was the dream
of a lifetime for Willog.
Copyright by Carol Bareuther. All rights reserved.
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