Best Spots For Black Marlin Charters

The prized game fish, Makaira Indica, or the Black Marlin, dwells in the Indo-Pacific Oceans in surface waters near the coast. It is one of the fastest-moving fish on earth (50 miles per hour) and comes from the Order, Perciformes. The average weight of M. Indica that are routinely caught on Black Marlin charters is around three quarters of a metric ton (750 kilograms) or roughly 1700 pounds. Heftier specimens have been reported.

Makaira

Makaira, along with other genera of the Perciformes order, is on the Greenpeace seafood red list. This is a list of commonly available fish that are highly likely to be sourced from unsustainable sources. For this reason, most modern sport fishermen will return them to the sea once they have caught and photographed them. It is in the same family, Istiophoridae, as the Japanese white and Hawaiian silver marlins.

Ernest Hemingway

Santiago, the fictional ageing fisherman from the Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) novel, 'The Old Man and the Sea', had finally broken an 84-day run of bad luck when he hooked a specimen of this order. The remainder of the novel chronicles the man's struggle with nature.

Color

Despite its descriptive name, M. Indica is not actually black but white and deep blue. It's tail fins and inflexible pectoral fins, however, are black. Its cross section is more oval than round, unlike its blue cousin, and its ventral fins are rarely longer than 12 inches, no matter how big the fish itself is. It likes warm tropical and subtropical waters near coastland. Occasionally it makes an appearance as far south as Brazil and as far north as the Lesser Antilles.

Popular Tours

The eastern coast of Australia offers some of the best chartered fishing breaks on the planet. Approximately 75% of all marlin over the weight of one ton are caught along a 150-mile section of the Great Barrier Reef off the Cairns coast. Altogether, game fishermen off the coasts of Brazil, Hawaii and Portugal catch in the region of half this amount.

Deap Sea

The deep sea waters off of Brisbane's Gold Coast is a much frequented haunt for light tackle sport fishermen looking for M. Indica and other game species. Hobbyists can trawl for Mia Mia, Spanish Mackerel and Wahoo, among others. Jiggers, or bottom fishers, also flock here to capture the likes of Cobia, Kingfish, Peal Perch and Snapper.

Austrailia

More than twice the size of Sydney Harbor, Port Stephens on Australia's south west coast is a world class center for sport fishing. With its breathtaking scenery, clear waters and golden, sandy beaches, it attracts other tourists as well. Tours from here operate between the months of January and April.

The Central American Republic of Guatemala is emerging as a hot spot for M. Indica and for Black Marlin Charters. Some of the most spectacular hauls of billfish have been made here, with anglers bagging as many as twenty or more fish in one day. Owing to its location between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, the area is vulnerable to hurricanes. This tends to govern the months during which Black Marlin Fishing tours operate.