{"id":1544,"date":"2011-02-24T09:49:16","date_gmt":"2011-02-24T16:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthygrinsportfishing.com\/?page_id=1544"},"modified":"2011-02-24T09:55:02","modified_gmt":"2011-02-24T16:55:02","slug":"mid-atlantic-marlin","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/healthygrinsportfishing.com\/?page_id=1544","title":{"rendered":"Mid-Atlantic Marlin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mid-Atlantic Marlin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ric Burnley<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published in Salt Water Sportsman<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Plugging Away: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Mid Atlantic anglers are becoming believers in using artificial lures and circle hook baits offshore.<\/p>\n

After trolling the edge of the Gulf Stream all morning without a bite, I was beginning to worry about the lures that we were dragging behind the boat.\u00a0 Instead of the traditional spread of ballyhoo and skirts common along the Mid Atlantic, I was watching a half dozen big plugs smoke and spurt across the surface of the water.\u00a0 This was my first experience pulling artificial lures offshore and so far I wasn\u2019t a believer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I mean, it was late May and we were fishing the Swansboro Bluewater Tournament off Hatteras\u00a0 \u2013 so we were definitely in the right place at the right time.\u00a0 Captain Rom Whitaker was at the helm of his 50 foot Carolina built Release<\/em>, so there was no question about the boat or crew.\u00a0 Still, after covering miles of ocean we hadn\u2019t seen a single fish.\u00a0 The problem had to be the lures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While my confidence was waning, Rom\u2019s was resolute.\u00a0 \u201cThese plugs will work,\u201d he assured me, \u201cwe just have to drive over a fish.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plugged in<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ever since the National Marine Fisheries Service instituted rules requiring the use of non-offset circle hooks with natural baits in all marlin tournaments, Mid Atlantic anglers have had to abandon their beloved spread of dink baits and Ilanders in favor of circle hooks and artificial plugs.\u00a0 While the move was initially met with cynicism, captains and crews have learned to live with \u2013 maybe even love \u2013 the new face of offshore fishing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor blue marlin,\u201d Whitaker responded to my doubts, \u201cI think plugs are the way to go.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In fact, he became a believer in their effectiveness long before the circle hook policy took effect.<\/p>\n

Whitaker pointed out several advantages to using artificial lures over natural baits.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s simpler,\u201d he started out, \u201cYou just dump them out, get them running right, and you\u2019re fishing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since he can pull his plugs faster, he covers more ground \u2013 a definite advantage off North Carolina where blue marlin bites can be few and far between.<\/p>\n

Ok, so plugs work for bluemarlin, but what about other species like whites, sails, dolphin, wahoo, and tuna?\u00a0<\/p>\n

That question was answered when a psycho dolphin rocketed out of the water with one of Whitaker\u2019s smaller plugs stuck fast in the corner of its mouth.\u00a0 After short fight and a quick gaff job, the green and gold fish was writhing on the deck of the boat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even though offshore anglers were initially reluctant to change tactics, the switch to artificial lures .\u00a0 Not only are anglers catching blue marlin, but whites, sails, spears, dolphin, wahoo, and tuna, too.\u00a0 While some teams have turned to trolling artificial lures, other crews have taken to rigging natural baits with circle hooks.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dinks and Circles<\/strong><\/p>\n

While white marlin, sails, and spears will strike an artificial plug, anglers targeting these fish usually use a circle hook lashed to the nose of a small ballyhoo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I first started using circle hooks to target white marlin when I started fishing with Dr. Ken Neill, one of Virginia\u2019s Master Anglers and a long-time advocate of the technique.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Neill, in turn, first used circle hooks while fishing in Venezuela with Dr. John Graves, a researcher working for the National Marine Fisheries Service.\u00a0 \u201cJohn was sticking satellite tags in white marlin and he needed an angler,\u201d Neill remembers, \u201cso I volunteered.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

When Neill returned to Virginia, he brought what he learned about circle hooks with him.\u00a0 By the time Graves\u2019 research led to the circle hook rules (see sidebar) Neill and his crew were already ahead of the curve.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUsing circle hooks for white marlin takes some getting used to,\u201d Neill admits, \u201cbut I think it actually increases the number of fish that we catch.\u201d\u00a0 The way he figures it, anglers using circle hooks might miss opportunities at \u201clucky\u201d hook-ups on fish that swipe at a bait without eating it, but once a billfish is hooked on a circle hook, he says, he has a better shot at keeping the fish tight all the way to the boat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFishing with circle hooks is technique sensitive,\u201d Neill says, explaining that getting the hook into the corner of the fish\u2019s mouth is the hardest part of the process.\u00a0 \u201cFirst, you have to beat the fish to the bait,\u201d Neill says, stressing that an angler has to constantly watch the spread for any sign of a billfish.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When a marlin does arrive behind a bait, Neill grabs the rod, keeping the tip high, and waits for the fish to strike. At the first bump, he drops the rod tip towards the fish, dumps the reel into freespool, and lets the fish eat.\u00a0 \u201cLeave the clicker off and don\u2019t even put your thumb on the spool,\u201d he says, \u201cthe bait has to fall freely without any tension.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

While, the fish is crushing the bait, turning it, and swallowing it, Ken counts to five and continues to let out line.\u00a0 When he feels like the marlin has had a chance to eat, he slowly pushes the drag lever forward and lets the line come tight.\u00a0 Finally, keeping the rod tip low, he cranks in line while sweeping the rod forward to drive the hook home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Neill points out that the advantages to using circle hooks extend to the fish.\u00a0 \u201cResearch shows that circle hooks prevent deep hooking and post release mortality,\u201d he says, \u201cso it\u2019s good for the fish, too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Blue Waters<\/strong><\/p>\n

For most Mid Atlantic anglers, the sticking point of the circle hook rule came when they had to abandon their Ilanders and horse ballyhoo.\u00a0 Before the rules, the typical offshore arsenal consisted of dink baits for whites, sails, spears, or dolphin, and Ilander\/Ballyhoo combos for blue marlin, wahoo, and tuna.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While rigging a dink bait with a circle hook is easy, rigging an Ilander with a circle hook is not.\u00a0 That\u2019s because a circle hook is most effective when it is completely exposed not buried in the belly of a bait.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another problem is the nature of the beast.\u00a0 Unlike white marlin, which tend to play with their food first, blue marlin don\u2019t mess around.\u00a0 \u201cThey come in and eat,\u201d Neill says, leaving an angler little time to react.<\/p>\n

\u00a0In tournaments like the Swansboro Open and other events in North Carolina\u2019s Governor\u2019s Cup, blue marlin are top bill and plugs are the top producer.\u00a0 But in other tournaments, such as the Ocean City White Marlin Open and Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament, teams are aiming at multiple targets and need to use a mixed spread.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To solve this problem, marlin anglers have tried various techniques from rigging Ilanders with artificial ballyhoo, pulling artificial plugs alongside dink baits, or relying on a pitch bait to throw at a big target.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Neill and his team have gone to rigging a horse ballyhoo behind a Moldcraft chugger.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve caught blue marlin on a naked ballyhoo and a circle hook\u201d he says, \u201cbut they usually like something with a little more splash.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Neill explains that using bigger baits also allows him to use bigger tackle.\u00a0 \u201cWe like to use 50s and 80s to target blue marlin, tuna, and wahoo,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because when Mid Atlantic anglers deploy their baits they don\u2019t know whether they will encounter a bailer dolphin or a grander blue marlin.\u00a0 Luckily, if they are using artificial lures or natural baits rigged with circle hooks then they are ready for anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sidebar:<\/p>\n

Circle Hook Studies<\/p>\n

The circle hook controversy traces its roots back to research conducted by Dr. John Graves of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.\u00a0 Between 2002 and 2009 Graves and his researchers caught 272 white marlin, 132 sails, and 123 blues using circle hooks and J-hooks.\u00a0 While circle hooks showed a dramatic benefit in preventing post-release mortality in whites and sails, the same couldn\u2019t be said for blues.\u00a0 Even though a significant percentage of the whites and sails hooked with J-hooks died after they were released, only two of the 31 blue marlin that ate a J-hook did not survive.\u00a0 None the less, Graves and his team concluded that the benefits to using circle hooks for blue marlin out weigh the risk of losing any more of these precious fish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mid-Atlantic Marlin Ric Burnley Published in Salt Water Sportsman \u00a0 Plugging Away: Mid Atlantic anglers are becoming believers in using artificial lures and circle hook baits offshore. After trolling the edge of the Gulf Stream all morning without a bite, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":464,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1544","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthygrinsportfishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthygrinsportfishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthygrinsportfishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthygrinsportfishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthygrinsportfishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1544"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/healthygrinsportfishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1546,"href":"https:\/\/healthygrinsportfishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1544\/revisions\/1546"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthygrinsportfishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthygrinsportfishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}