The wind is blowing and it’s cold in the Yucatan. Locals tell me that this is the longest cold spell they can remember. The good news is that the annual push of Atlantic Sailfish is going on strong. With the brisk North wind come the sails. And this week they are here in force. And the report is that they have been here and biting very well for several weeks now. It appears to be one of the quieter winter fishing seasons in a while with regard to the transient sportfishing boats. Sad for those who aren’t here, good for those who did make it. I arrived just behind a strong winter front and barely brought enough clothes to pull it off. A brief stay but boy am I seeing some fish. If I count the sails in the spread, tailing, and feeding under the birds, I’m seeing hundreds of sails each day. The conditions are right for fishing the birds, and this also makes for some world class trolling in between bunches. I’ve fished several days aboard the newest Paul Mann boat Qualifier, and also aboard the Keen M. Both boats have put me in the meat each day.I’ve only been trying to get this shot for a few years now … a bait ball of Sardines on the move with dozens of Sailfish and Frigate birds picking away.

Frigate birds battling Sailfish for a fresh Sardine meal.

What they lack in size, the Atlantic Sail makes up for in attitude.

Every so often, one special fish comes along and displays the most magnificent rich colors of blues, green, and gold.

The fishing this Fall along the Mid Atlantic coast proved to be some of the best White Marlin fishing the area has seen in many years. Just when many indications showed the White Marlin population was in dire straights, they bite like crazy in incredible numbers. I sure hope it doesn’t cause anyone or any group to give up on the need for continued efforts to conserve or protect these animals. If you’ve been fortunate enough to fish a good White Marlin bite when it’s going down, I think you’ll agree that it is truly something special. When the boys at Marlin Magazine called to tell me about a whitey piece that Charles Perry sent in, I didn’t hesitate to bounce a few keepers off their screens. Lucky for me they were hoping to make this the main feature of the issue and even selected one of my shots to lead it off. This cover capture was from a seven day shoot I spent aboard the Prime Time with Capt. Butch Cox. If there is a nicer, talented, or more accommodating host to fish with, I have yet to meet that person. My thanks to Butch and his crew, along with angler Joe Zimmer, for the opportunity to bring it home. Image 1471-023 shot at 1/1000 @ f5.6.

Here is a multi media project I put together from 2009 Summer fishing action in St. Thomas aboard the boat Revenge. I rode along with Mike, Dean, and Ryan a few days and compiled this material into this short movie. It has some great billfish shots and jumping blue marlin action. And it shows a well oiled crew of fantastic fisherman doing their thing. It’s 4 minutes long and has an audio track. The content is a mixture of high res still frames from a Canon MKIII and some short video clips from a Canon MKII5D.

The November issue of Marlin Mag is out and it’s a nice one. This small St. Thomas fish ate a circle hook pitch Bonita behind the Revenge and jumped all over the ocean. This was the last day of a long stretch for Sam, Jon, and the boys during the August moon. And what a stretch it was, having just won the Boy Scout Tournament for best boat and best angler days before. Thank you for another great day on the North Drop.