Fishing reports for Madeira Big Game Fishing, Madeira Island

March/April 2008

With a nice new look it was back to serious fishing with the start of the Big Game Fishing season. March and April signals the start of tuna fishing. With a good start to the season we managed to land some nice tuna fish. Some weighing in at 190 lbs and 130lb.

Towards the end of March beginning of April the Tuna fish seemed to have decreased in numbers with the the number of fish caught dropping slightly.

End of April saw the return of Yellow fin tuna and the fishing has started to pick up. Some fine examples were hooked up. Expectations are high for the Tuna Fishing in May as bait fish numbers are on the increase. There has been some sightings of the first Marlin fish arriving at Madeira. We are looking forward to a good Marlin season this year.

February 2008

During the month of February we decided to give Our Mary a new make over with a fresh coat of paint and new interior improvements. Below are some of the photos of the work that was done.

November/December/January 2007/2008

November saw the testing of new light tackle. Butterfly jigging or vertical jigging as known by some has gained a large popularity among fisherman around the world and Madeira offers good conditions for those wishing to explore this method of fishing. Jud recently returned on a visit to Madeira and with Simon and joined Our Mary for the testing of the new equipment.

Butterfly Jigs Shimano

During the first day of fishing we were quick to hook up some nice red snappers. These fish are commonly found in our waters and we had manged to pull up some fine specimens on the Jig.

On the second day we made a trip to the Desertas Island which is well known for producing some very large groupers and amber jacks. No time was wasted as the jigs were back on the water. As usual the red snappers were first too be caught. Half way into the trip Desertas surprised us a very large grouper which Simon had the pleasure of bringing up.

On the third day we decided to apply the new tackle to bottom fishing. The new rods provide a excellent feel to when the fish is feeding on the bait. Within 30 minutes we had a nice red snapper on board, though the fish we were searching for was still to come. Madeira is also known for its very large sting rays that frequent our coast line. The first to be brought up was by Jud. A good sized sting ray. Throughout the day we managed to land various species of rays. The last fish went to Simon which proved to be a very hard fight as expected with this type of fishing.

In total we found that the new equipment provides anglers who enjoy the light tackle with loads of sport and fun.

August/September/October 2007

With the Marlin season in full swing “Our Mary” managed to land some nice Blue Marlin. Angler Gunnar Erikson managed to capture a large Blue marlin weighing in at 850lbs. Below is a video of the fishing experience.

During the month of September we continued to fish the Blue Marlin with some yellow fin tuna also being caught. Anglers Jim Boyd, Mark Gillespie, Stevie Boyd and William Abraham enjoyed a good days fishing and caught these tuna fish below.

Madeira Big Game Fishing- Tuna fishing off Madeira Islabd

Late September early October saw the start to Wahoo season. Some fish were being caught but in smaller numbers than we were expecting so we turned our attention to bottom fishing.

Huge sting rays provided our anglers with lots of sport, with the average fighting time being that of an hour and the average weight being 250 pounds.

This month also saw large numbers of Amberjacks being caught, most weighing in at 50 pounds. Snappers, Barracudas and groupers were also abundant.





February/March/April 2007 Late February, early March and April saw some good Tuna fishing. Big Eye Tuna were the fish of the month with anglers landing some good fish. The average weight weighed in at about 90lb. A good sign for the upcoming season.
December 2006 / January 2007 The Skipjack Tuna turned up in very good numbers. With weights of approx.10 to 12lbs, they are great sport on light tackle. They really kept us busy. The first big eye tuna are already appearing amongst the Skippies, so everything looks promising for a good tuna season over the next couple of months.
October / November 2006 The Wahoo season this year was a bit disappointing. There were fewer fish here and they didn't seem to be here for as long as they were in previous years. But still, the ones we caught were good size fish.Eventually we turned our attention towards the bottom fishing.We caught rays up to over 200lbs and also a variety of different species, especially some very nice Amberjacks.
August / September 2006 Firstly, I want to thank friends and clients for all their support. Ron's death was a terrible shock and I needed some time to cope with this, but I decided to continue running the company. We now have a local Captain, José, running the boat and crewman, José, works the cockpit as he did with Ron. I also want to take this opportunity to say thanks to the anglers who gave me so much support in this difficult time. As to the fishing the season. The marlin fishing this year was very, very good. June, July and early August were the best times with the most marlin raised. Compared with other years, the fish were here in big numbers but slightly smaller sizes. At the end of August we started to turn our attention towards the wahoo fishing, as in previous years. This year the wahoo arrived a bit later, but we caught some very good fish.

July 2006

It is with much regret that I have to announce that Capt. Ron Cowling sadly
passed away in July. He will be sorely missed by myself, the Funchal fishing
community and his many clients.
Ron very quickly established himself on the island as a well respected skipper,
using his vast knowledge to enable many anglers to catch the fish of their
lifetime. As well as the fishing in Madeira, he loved the climate, the people
and the way of life. His wish to do what he loved best until his last day, was
fulfilled. Fishing was his life!

Capt. Ron Cowling

February / March / April 2006

Late February, early March saw some good Tuna fishing. But due to the changeable weather numbers of days at sea were limited. One client who managed to fish 2 1/2 days hooked 9 Big Eye Tuna and brought 7 to the boat. Good fishing by any standard. With the arrival of White Marlin and Spearfish on light tackle we had good sport.
As we got into April our attention turned to the arrival of the Blue Marlin. Water temperature and clarity is perfect , lots of bait and a good currect from the South. It looks very much like we are heading for a good season. This should continoue until late September. We will keep you informed.

December 2005 / January 2006

In December and early January the Ray and Grouper fishing continoued to be good.
Rays to over 200 lbs and Groupers up to 80 lbs still were common.
By mid January we were closed for a well deserved holiday after a very long season.
Certainly we were very well pleased with the fishing in these two months and we had a lot of fun.

Douglas Preston fighting a nice ray

seconds before his fish is released

October / November 2005

As we moved into October, Wahoo are still being caught, but not in the numbers as before. By the end of October our attention turned to the Ray and Grouper fishing. This turned out to be very good. Rays to 200 lbs and Groupers between 40 and 80 lbs.
Almost certainly this will continoue through the winter months until March , when our attention will again turn to the Tuna.

Dave Avens with two nice Groupers, 20 kg and 23 kg
His best fish on day two made 33 kg.

August / September 2005

The Blue Marlin fishing continoued until the end of August, but with the arrival of Wahoo in early September the attention of the fleet turned to this fishery with many fine fish being caught. Most fish were around the 60 to 70 lbs. A few bigger fish were recorded.

A very active 850+ lbs Blue Marlin

June / July 2005

On the Blue Marlin front this is been the best season for several years. We have experienced a tremendous Blue Marlin bite in the last two months. With perfect water temperatures around 74 degrees Fahrenheit and a vaste amount of bait ( Dorados, Skipjack Tuna and Squid ) there is no reason at all why this should not continoue. The number of fish raised this year is beyond all expectations. As reported in May changes we have made on the boat have certainly worked and we are confident that it will continoue so.

Many thanks to our angler Lennart Plato for submitting these two nice photos above !

Another day, another fish - just seconds before she will be free again

May 2005

In May the Marlin fishing has continoued to be good. Water temperatures has been stable with large amounts of bait. Most of the fleet have been raising fish although some fish have been lost.
Certainly this has been one of the best months for many years, with lots of Dorados and Skipjack tuna there is more than enough food for the big ones. We certainly have done very well. The modifications we made to the boat last year certainly have worked. A combination of the more stable water conditions and the performance of the boat is producing fish.
This is going to be a good season. We will keep you informed.

March / April 2005

As we got in to early March conditions improved a bit. But still with lots of green water also with clients reluctant to book because of the unpredictable conditions. The expected Tuna run towards the end of March just did not happen. Although the commercial tuna boat fishermen with all their experience and equipment said : "Don't worry they will come ".
As we got into the beginning of April water temperatures started to go up and we started to loose the green water. In fact towards the east end of the island we found perfect blue water and lots of bait fish. Deciding to work this area hard, on the 4th of April suprise, suprise - we hooked up on Madeira's first Blue Marlin this year. On nothing more than a large Tuna lure and a very light leader. With a very light drag setting and lots of careful manouvering after 40 minutes we successfuly tagged and released a Blue Marlin of 650 + lbs. Sometimes you just have to get lucky. I would have put bets against a fish of this size on nothing more than a 130 lbs Tuna leader. ( phew )
Very well done to our angler Barry Johnson from Belfast !
Well some Tuna did arrive but not in the numbers of last year, good sized hard fighting fish but not in big schools. But Blue Marlin there certainly was. In all the years I've been here I have not known so many Blue Marlin in April. With the huge amount of bait fish here and the perfect water conditions things look very, very good. Our best Blue Marlin came on the 26th of April at 800 lbs.

Barry doing a good job on the fish

his 650+ lbs Blue Marlin tagged and ready
for release

January / February 2005

Traditionaly this is a slow period but the persistant high winds and rain reduced the number of fishing days to a minimum. As with the rest of Europe we suffered with unusualy bad weather. In all the years I 've been here I've never been so cold and wet. Certainly February was something I wish to forget.

October/ November / December 2004 The expected Tuna fishing was fairly slow , big fish, but not many of them, still Wahoo around and good size fish. This continoued into November but then the rains came and coloured up the inshore waters and the catches of Wahoo dropped dramatically. Towards the end of November the fishing slowed up and by the beginning of December we turned our attention to the big Rays. We have long known that there are very, very big Rays here - Stingrays, Butterfly rays, Eagel rays and probably others. At first we started fishing with 50 stand up. No chance, we lost most of the fish. We then changed to 80 stand up. The equipment was okay, no problem but the anglers back and leg muscles would not put up with the strain. Once again, after loosing a lot of big fish, we changed to the 130 bent butts. With the angler in a fighting chair we could then put maximum pressure on these big fish. Although many of the big fish are around 100 lbs to 150 lbs, many are much bigger. Our two best fish to date on 130 at the boat made around 300 lbs and one huge fish was probably around 400 lbs. Over the next couple of months we will try different marks and different tactics for these obviously very big fish. Jud Hamblin from the Shimano Service centre at Felindre in South Wales on a short visit to fish in Madeira and to test out the Shimano Beast Master Up tide rod ( 96610 ) hooked up on a Stingray of around 120 lbs.The fish took more than 1 1/2 hours to bring to the boat. I was told by Jud that all the beast master rods were very strong and seeing is Be-leaving. How on earth this rod could put up with this sort of pressure I have no idea. It should have exploded in the first half hour. We have now had several fish on this rod and it will certainly put up with any fish in the UK. Well done Jud !

Jud hooked up on a nice fish in 200 feet of water	more than 1 hour later the smile is gone and the arms are aching and still 150 feet to go	the end result after more than 1 1/2 hours a nice Stingray of about 120 lbs on a 10 ounce uptider

	Jud in action again with the Shimano Dynamic Response, just look at that rod !

August / September 2004

As we got into August the water temperature increased dramaticly to over 80 degrees Fahrenheit and the Blue Marlin fishing slowed up. Fish were raised but many missed bites. Most boats concentrated on White Marlin and Spearfish. By the end of August and the arrival of the Wahoo our attention turned to these hard fighting fish, much easier to catch than Blue Marlin and in very good numbers. This continoued through September with good catches of Albacore Tuna.
As the water temperature comes down we will be looking for Big Eye Tuna, normaly at this time of year these are very big fish.

A very active 850 lbs Blue Marlin

July 2004

As we got into July things started off slow. But then the Blue Marlin turned up in good numbers, all big fish and we had some of the best Blue Marlin fishing that we have seen for several years. Thanks to certain modifications made to the boat last winter we were raising a lot of fish. Using a tried and tested hook rig, our hook up ratio was over 90 % with only one fish lost. We decided in June to fish only Blue Marlin. The temptation was there to fish small lures and for small fish. Thank goodnes our decision paid off. We will continoue to fish for Blue Marlin exclusively as this is what our clients are booking for. We very much hope that August will continoue the same way. The end of July and beginning of August things have slowed up a bit. This we think, is due to the very strong tides. Once these are over things will get back to normal.
Water condition is perfect -clear and around 77 Fahrenheit and lots of baitfish.
Our two best fish went to Barry Lane from Southampton with a 1000+ lbs Blue Marlin.
Also Alan Burkey with a estimated 85 lbs White Marlin.
Congratulations.

Click here to see fishing video

Jose wiring a Blue Marlin
The reward for a hard fight in the chair	Ian Inglis after catching a 800 lbs Blue Marlin

June 2004

As we went into June very little happened but then the Blue Marlin came in. In 3 days we had two Blues, one just 10 minutes outside the harbour and a Big Eye Tuna that made more than 62kg. As June progressed the Marlin fishing got better. Our best fish made 950 lbs and the smallest fish we hooked was 700 lbs but most were around 800 lbs. Todate we have hooked more fish than the whole of last year. Water temperature is perfect, conditions are good with clear blue water. White Marlin and Spearfish have also been here in good numbers. With the small number of boats fishing here the number of fish hooked has been very good. With the arrival of lots of Dorados and Skipjack Tuna the signs are very good.

White Marlin ready to release

A very nice White Marlin tagged and ready for release

May 2004

Beginning of May saw the arrival of more schools of Tuna and by the end of the first week most boats were getting in on the action. In 5 trips, two of them half day charters, we boated 11 Tuna of between 100 lbs and 180 lbs. Our first Blue Marlin, a very nice fish of 800 lbs came on the 14th of May to Southampton angler John Brown. By the third week in May a slight rise in water temperature put the fish down. But a few days later up they came again and this time very big fish. One private boat had two of over 100 kg at the same time. Our best fish at this time went to Steve Turner from Northampton, 93 kg. Another fine fish of 80 kg went to Jen Milsom from Middlesbrough. To date 5 Blue Marlin have been caught here by various boats. For May this is very good and we are all well pleased.

Jen Milsom from Middlesbrough caught this 80 kg Big Eye Tuna Well done !	Gary Marquis with 3 very nice Tuna ,all on his very own.
Steve Turner in the hot seat after 1 hour still has nearly 300 metres of line out.	Steve with his well deserved 93 kg Tuna,boated after a 1hour 45 minute fight and weight on certified scales. ( a bit different to cod fishing in the Bristol channel )

Eric Worswick a plaice angler from Morecombe Bay
with a nice Dorado

April 2004
The Tuna fishing continued to be very good. Althought with gaps between schools of fish the average size of fish got bigger , 100 lbs + with some fish reaching 150 lbs + .
White Marlin althought very early still continoued to pop up. Our first White Marlin came on the 13th of April. With a very steady 66 degrees Fahrenheit water temperature and clean blue water it should not be long before we see the first of the Blue Marlin.

Leonard with Big Eye Tuna

Leonard with a nice Big Eye Tuna

March 2004

The early season Tuna fishing dispite a lot of windy days, got off to a good start. Lots of small
Blue Fin Tuna provided anglers with a lot of fun ( 20 on one 4 hour trip ).
Occasionaly the Big Eye Tuna would pop up with double and triple strikes common.Fish were spread around the fleet. Our best fish : 165 lbs. But fish over 100 lbs were common.
Fishing went quiet later in the month but then came back again. Also at the same time the arrival of the first White Marlin, a very pleasent early surprise. With the arrival of lots of bait fish things look good.

Janet with tuna

Janet with two nice Tuna

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