Here we are on the North Drop, in the waters off the British Virgin Islands.  This 90″ clip is the final moments of a catch and release.  It’s performed by a team who have caught plenty of fish, and do it as well as anyone on the drop.

If you are unable to view this video by clicking on the photo below, try this link to Vimeo.

Times are a changing. The postcard weather that we have been enjoying up to now is officially over. The trades have filled in with a vengeance. Fishing for us remains very frustrating. We aren’t getting many bites, and those few are all small fish. There is still some time however.
 
 
We have been fishing some great areas well to the North, offshore of Lizard Island. One benefit is getting to watch the neighbors catch a nice one.
 
 
So far the rumor has proven it self to be true – all Black Marlin jump at or near the boat.
 
 
Healthy, colorful, but oh so small.
 
 
The edge of patch reef is easy to see in these conditions.
 
 
More bites for the neighbors as they disappear in the trough.
 
 
Another small jumper puts on quite a show near the boat.
 
 

You never know what will take the bait on your morning troll along the reef edge. This small Permit surprised us today.
 
 

Conditions remain calm today. Although, according to Buoyweather, that is about to change to a more typical pattern for October here on the reef – breezy with lots of bites!
 
 

So we made the best of what we were dealt, and caught a few small fish.
 
 
This small Black had a cluster of papasites on his shoulder. Tim says it’s quite common with these fish. Didn’t seem to slow him down at all.
 
 
I love it when they jump in the late afternoon sunlight.
 
 
Everyone enjoys a nice sunset. Especially when there is a Black Marlin blocking your view.
 
 

Another day of incredible weather on the reef. Our day starts out with swim at the Cod Hole. A popular stop for all the boats because of it’s trained abundant life. A bunch of resident Giant Cod, along with a menagerie of Red Bass, reef sharks, and Coral Trout. As soon as you hit the water, everything seems to swim up to greet you as the bubbles clear around your mask. Kinda spooky at first. Later on when the light chumming started, it was time get back in the boat. The natives were starting to get restless…

 
 
Couldn’t resist hand feeding a few of the big boys.
 
 
As we heeded outside the reef for the day, we made some passes along the outer edge. Since photography is my profession, it’s not often I feel that a picture doesn’t do a scene justice. But this is one of those places on earth that reminds me of the truth in that old saying. The beauty and extent of the reef can not be captured in any media.
 
 
Then the poppers hit the water and the Giant Trevalle’s pounced. This one found it’s way into the tail rope for a quick photo.
 
 
Back out in the deep for the afternoon troll. This Queenie rigged on twisted double wire makes for a fine offering. And it doesn’t hurt that it swims like an olympian.
 
 
Carl and Steve make the release part of catch, tag, and release look easy.
 
 

After spending some time recently in the cold waters of the North Atlantic, I thought I would warm things up a bit, like maybe the Coral Sea. This months adventure has me at 15º South Latitude, on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). I was invited to document the Black Marlin quest of angler Stephan Kreupl of Bluewater Fishing. Our ride for this trip would be the charter boat Tradition run by veteran Aussie captain Tim Richardson. After a series of crazy long flights and layovers to get here, we finally meet the boat and head offshore. The deckies on the Tradition are Steve Hall and Carl Copeland. Both multi year GBR veterans.
 
 

300Km North of Cairns is the city of Cooktown, and pictured above is the Fisherman’s Wharf. This is the end of road in NE Australia and the jump off spot for most of the gameboat operations fishing the GBR. Folklore has Cooktown populated by as many Crocodiles as locals. I didn’t see any during my brief time on the ground, but I plan on looking some up on my return pass thru town.
 
 
 

On our way out to deep water we spent some time in the inner reef catching fresh bait. Large swimming plugs are the norm for this. Steve flips a nice one over the covering board. This one is headed for the rigging table.
 
 
 

When the Scads and Scaleys aren’t biting, a welcomed bycatch is this Giant Trevally.
 
 
 

Add some poppers and spin rods to the bait catching chore and it becomes light tackle game fishing!
 

It didn’t take long for me to notice that everything is bigger over here. And the rigged bait is no exception. I can’t wait to see the animal that thinks of this as a snack…
 
 
And then we had a bite.
 
Our first billfish of the trip, and our only bite of the day.
 

 
Carl and Steve make short work of the tag and release of this fish. They called her around 500lbs. This angle and lens combo make this fish look very small.

Here’s to being in the right spot at the right time. Thank you Capt. Mike.

I finally had another opportunity to ride along with my friends on the Mojito, and I even brought some luck this time. The mini movie below shows a glimpse of the North Drop action that Pico, Tito, and Aileen showed me. Thanks for the ride!

The April/May issue of Marlin Mag has hit the street. This issue features an Atlantic Sailfish flipping around in the wash behind the charter boat Pelican in the waters off Isla Mujeres. This cover photo is cropped pretty heavy to isolate just the fish and it’s flared dorsal fin. What you don’t see is mate Josh on the wire and Capt. Arch at the wheel on that breezy February day. The fish were on top that morning and Arch put his anglers in some great action until the bait disappeared and we switched back to trolling.