Blue Marlana 8/26 with Marlin Video

White Marlin Video Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVZ03DqDpgg

We decided to make a quick day trip today and were fortunate enough to have Woodley and Wes aboard with us. We left the dock around 630 and headed just north of the nipple. The trip started off with a little snag. The starboard rigger tip was fouled, so Woodley was kind enough to take a little swim to start the day. We lowered the rigger, and Woodley quickly remedied the situation....lines in!
A few minutes after we put the spread out, we had a whitey on. Thought it was hooked well, but hooks pulled. Kept heading south, and found some fishy water. We quickly put a few dolphin in the boat. Shortly thereafter, we had some fun with some nice phins on spinning tackle....what a blast catching 30-40# dolphin on light tackle. After the crew was wore out we continued trolling back north, and managed to find a nice whitey to play with. Tagged that fish, and trolled back up to the nipple. We had a couple more knock-downs, but were not able to convert.
Overall, it was a beautiful day on the water. We enjoyed the company of friends, and were fortunate to find a few fish....we even stopped to put a triple tail in the boat for dinner. Marlana spotted a floating plank around the edge on the way in and there was a decent cobia on it. Woodley hooked it up, and that thing jumped like a billfish. He fought it for a bit, but it spit the hook on one of its acrobatic leaps. Oh well...fine day, and full fish boxes....headed to the dock.
Finall tally....box full of nice dolphin, a nice hoo, and mama got another billfish. Can't wait for the next trip. Thanks guys!
Will post the video of the white marlin as soon as I figure out how to do it!
Tight lines,
Dave

8/23 White Marlin with video link below

Headed out last night around 6pm with Marlana, Keith Johnson (Lil Kahuna) and Landry Leidner. Headed to the steps for some sword fishing. Had one bite all night, but missed the hooks. Water looked awful.
This morning put lines in 0600 and trolled green water all the way from the steps to the nipple. There were areas with more bait than others, but overall....GREEN.
We managed a couple nice dolphin. Had to coax them into biting with some of the flying fish we netted the night before. They wanted nothing to do with the lures. Had a blue marlin on for about 100 yrds, and spit the hook. Worked that area and caught a cute little whitey. Back at the dock by 3.
Overall, beautiful day on the water...nice breeze. 2-3ft There were a million boats out there today...probably some good reports coming our way.
Missed Josh and Woodley... had an awesome time with Landry and Keith. Nice job guys..and gal.

Keith has a little video link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfcJH_jMlMg

Tight Lines,

Dave

Quick bottom trip with Marlana's Girls

Headed out for a couple hours with the girls to put a few snapper in the boat.

Blue Marlin at the Nipple 8/13/2009

We got a late start today, and left the dock around 0700 for our 5th trip of the season. Lines in north of the nipple at 0830. Had whitey in the spread a little while later, but pulled the hooks. Chatted a bit w/ Tom Hammond and Keith Johnson on Gladiator, who boated a couple nice phins. Water looked kinda crappy....not as nice as it was last trip....clean green, with less bait. The fish didn't mind though, and we soon had another whitey hooked up....damn...pulled the hooks again. They can be quite frustrating. We kept paddling around, and finally had a nice blue in the spread. After a few drop-backs...we had him hooked up. Marlana did a great job, and we had this fish to the boat in about 30 minutes. We released this fish to fight another day. Good job Dave Woodley and Josh Hiller in the pit all day. You guys are sure putting out fishy spreads!
Trolled a bit more, and had another blue marlin on. Josh was in the chair, and this fish was BIG! Just about smoke-checked a 50 wide, when she pulled the hooks while tail-walking north. Coulda been a stellar day with that fish.
Anyways, back to the dock around 630. Look forward to our next trip. I HIGHLY recommend y'all check out the nipple before things turn around. Great fishing today...wish I could go tomorrow.
Tight Lines,
Dave

PBGFC Lady Anglers Tournament....Marlana wins!!

As usual, the PBGFC crew put on an awesome event. My crew and I would like to thank them for their hard work...we had a blast.
Quick report...then off to get some much needed rest:
We headed out Friday evening and were greeted with calm seas. We ran about 70 miles, then eased back and 9 knotted our way to the Deep Water Nautilus. At daylight we decided to head south to look for something fishy, but couldn't buy a bite. So, we eased on back west....and got caught in some nice little thunderstorms. Finally, the storms eased off, and we made our way back to the Nautilus. First pass...wham..white marlin on. Marlana was making quick work of this fish when it decided to do some tail-walking and spit the hook. Damn...0/1. We made a few more passes, then headed a few miles north of the Nautilus to find a beautiful blue/green rip. There was bait everywhere, and only one other center console on the line. We worked the line for a little bit, and caught a bunch of dolphin all around 20#.
About 30 minutes later we spot a lit-up blue feeding on bait just off our bow. This fish turned into our spread, and crashed the flat line daisy chain. We tried to drop a bait to it, but we never saw him again. O.K. 0/2. At this point we are not happy, but decide to hang in there and keep at it until dark. Night came, and everyone went to sleep. We put out two sword rods, but only caught one ESCOLAR. They say they are sushi grade eating, but damn they are ugly! Anyone want it?lol
In the morning, we eased back to the line and decided to work at it hard. Around 0900...wham...huge Blue hooked up and rocketing away from the boat. We back down hard, and start getting line back none to soon. Just then...slack...NOOOO not again. Marlana reels in the line to find the marlin's bill had chaffed the line to the diameter of dental floos and snapped it....300# mono..damn! Must have been hooked just right to do that.
O.K., at this point I'm ready to head to the barn. We have lost billfish, but never three in a row! Marlana and crew said they wanted one more shot. We finally got it around 10. Bam...nice little fish on a 50 #.. Fish went deep after first run...Marlana had to work her tail off to get that fish up. Finally, around an hour later...Woodley grabs the leader...yeah. 1/4 to finish the day. The fish measured out at 98 inches but it was pretty fat. We were happy to see that was enough to take first in the tourney.
Thanks to my crew..Josh Hiller and Dave Woodley. Marlana hung in there like a champ..and ended up a happy angler. She must have reeled in 50 fish this weekend...she's gonna be sore tomorrow.
Congrats to Keith Johnson on his win. Way to go Keith..told you those big boys were no match for you and Craig!
Tight lines,
Dave

Got another mount back today. Brian Baker did the work. Buck shot in December 2008 in lower Alabama/Florida border.

We just got a couple mounts back from Cole's Taxidermist. Nice job Michael. I am still very proud of Marlana...what a shot she made on this fine buck!!!!! It's proudly hanging on our wall in the living room..can you believe it??

Here is one I shot:

PBGFC 2009 International

As usual, the PBGFC put on one hell of a tournament. Thank you for all the hard work that went in to this event. Jeremy looked great on the news, and even ole' baldy (Wade) represented our forum well.
We had the usual crew of Marlana, Wes Sherouse, Dave Woodley and myself. Unfortunately Hiller couldn't make it, but Blue Hoo (Woody) filled in the vacancy. We left the dock 5:30 Thursday night and headed to the pass. As we were turning the corner, we were hailed by a couple of boats that had turned around due to sea conditions. They said it was any easy 5-7 footers.
Well, we decided to head out anyways, and were met with a solid 3-4 ft chopped up Gulf. It was a bit sporty on the ride out, but by sun-up we were 115 miles out on a beautifu rip in the canyon. We instantly had a hook up that Wes fought for about 20 minutes. We had double line to the boat, when the fish decided to make another run...then the hook pulled. Wes and Woodley got a good look at the fish, and said it was a small blue....shoot!
We continued trolling and caught about a zillion dolphin in the 25-30lb range. These were good size fish, but no studs. At 1220 the right flat line goes off, and Wes again grabs the rod and comes tight on a small white Marlin. About 3 minutes later, Woodley has the wire in hand, and our first billfish gets a little jewelry courtesy of Woody and tag stick.
A little later in the day we saw monster YFT crashing, and decided to drop the spread back to see if we could hook one. Well, we had a volkswagon sky on our center rigger, but missed the hooks. That would have been a long fight! We did catch another smaller YFT a little later, but nothing compared to the studs that were being caught around us!
We decided to keep billfishing, and stuck with our balyhoo/circle hooks that had been producing all day. We caught several more fish, including two wahoo, a dozen mahi, and a cuda or two.
The next day was pretty slow. We eased back north where the water was nothing like it was way on out. I caught my only fish of the trip when putting out the lines at 0500. (a nice 8 lb cuda..yeah!) We decided to head back to the docks a bit early, and see how everyone did.
It sure would have been nice to convert on that blue...coulda done something for us. Oh well, it was a great trip. We were pleased with the whitey and box o' fish. Maybe next time we'll be on the board. The white Marlin won us some money in the calcutta, and paid for the trip....always nice to fish for free.
It was great fishing with the team. We sure missed Hiller...it just wasn't the same w/o you!
Woody Woods fit in nicely with the team, and proved to be a skilled fisherman. He can fish w/ us any time. Woodley, Marlana, and Wes...great job as always.
Sorry about the pic quality..they were taken off the video camera...
Tight lines,
Dave

May 25 , 2009

We decided last minute to head offshore Monday for a little billfishing. We got to the boat around 1000, and headed out to get bait in the bay. We loaded up with about 2-3 dozen threadfin herring, and left the pass around noon with Landry and Marlana.
We ran to the edge, where the water looked clean blue/green with a good amount of bait. We decided to put lines in, and troll down the 100 fathom curve.
No bites for a good while, and the water became more and more lifeless the further south we went. Basically, to make a long story short...we trolled from the edge to the elbow, to the dumping grounds, to the steps....and the water did not change. scattered weeds..clean blue green...very little bait.
We did manage a nice box of fish though, and bloodied up the boat pretty good for the first trip out. We ended up with a a bunch of nice dolphin...most in the 20# range..biggest at 30#. There were a few wahoo out there, but teeny lil fellows.
We saw a bunch of sharks in that nasty water...Marlana caught a big one on mono.circle hook....looked like a tiger.
Around 6pm it was getting dark, and we found a 4x4 with a bunch of fish on it. We were trolling past it when Landry yelled....BILLFISH....well, the first billfish of the season hit a little cabo prowler, and popped the right rigger. It came in hot and heavy, waving its broomstick, and nailed the smallest lure in the spread. Unfortunately, it ran off a little line, and then gone!
Well, hopefully, the next fish will find the hooks a little better, and we can post some pics. Anyways, had a blast fishing with Landry Leidner and Marlana. Missed the usual crew who were busy working. Next time I expect Woodley and Hiller won't wuss out!
Tight Lines, and good luck to whoever decides to fish. Pretty weather...cool, nice breeze....did pick up a few times in the squalls, but never over 3ft.
Sword fished a little at the steps while everyone napped....no hits...generator was dead...no underwater lights..boo hoo...back at the dock at 0200.
I'm sure Keith, Tom, and Craig will find em....good luck guys!!!!
Squalls were COLD!

PBGFC Awards Banquet

Marlana did very well in the Pensacola Big Game Fishing Club this past season. She ended up top Lady Angler, top tag and release angler, top wahoo, top dolphin and top boat. Way to go girl!!!

She gets this cool trophy for a while. We'll see if she can keep it next year.

HOGS

We killed a few pigs this hunting season. One with bow, and one with muzzle loader.

Last buck of season 1/28

Took this buck chasing a doe on the run. Took three shots to finally hit him in the neck. First shot grazed his neck. Second shot missed. Third did the trick. Hitting these deer on the run back in the woods can be tricky.

Josh Hiller 1/26

Here's a fine 6pt

Marlana's First Buck 6 pt

Marlana harvested her first buck today. It was a fine 6 pt. I am proud! She made a perfect shot at 100yrds, and the buck never made a step. 1/26/09

9 pt 1/15/09

1/15 Nine Point. Buck was chasing a doe. Shot at about 70 yrds. Buck kept running. Made a second shot and missed. Got off a quick third shot and hit him in the spine above the hams. Dropped instantly. First shot was in shoulder a little high.

Frist bucks of season for Me and Robert Rizzi

Haven't been out fishing in a long time! Work has been busy, and the weather has not cooperated on those few days available to head offshore. So, I have spent a few days in the woods. I managed a nice ten point on 12/8 and my father-in-law got a monster a few days earlier. Hunting has been a nice distraction from our less than adequate fishing season.

23 July "Blue Marlana"

Just a quick post to help out those who may be fishing tomorrow. I'm pretty tired so I'll make this short.
We looked at the weather report, and dauphin buoy had it at 5ft last night, so we decided to wait until morning to make the call. Morning came, and not much had changed, so we said wth and loaded the boat.
We headed out the pass at 0400. Needless to say it was a bit sporty. There was a good 4-6 ground swell with a bit of chop on top. We decided to keep going (what else is there to do), and soon realized this was the right decision. As the day progressed the seas flattened to dead calm.
We ran 25kts to around 15 miles souteast of the nipple, where I was surprised to find clean blue/green water with a monster East to west rip. We trolled this for a bit and put a few dolphin in the box. This line went on forever, but we decided to head south to find some more fishy water.
The further south we went, the more blue the water. We arrived to a massive north-south rip just east of the spur. we followed this deep in the canyon, but could not find the first billfish. We caught a few more dolphin, and decided to head back north. The water there was the best I have seen all year in terms of color, but very little bait.
Went back north and found a few more nice weedlines, but no good fish.
I think things are going to start happening out there. Dolly stirred it up a bit...now y'all get out there and catch some fish!
I'm off to Tampa.. Tight lines! _____________________________________________________________

PBGFC Ladies 2008

We had a great time on the water this past weekend, and want to thank the PBGFC Ladies auxilliary for another awesome tournament.
We left Pensacola pass friday night, and ran to the spur to do some swording. The seas were absolutely dead flat, so no need for the sea anchor.
Marlana made quick work of two swords that night. One pup, and one just legal. (47") Since the tournament minimum was 60", we let them both swim away to get a bit larger. I think that makes four for her this year. Seems our swordie fishery has really blossomed. Let's hope it stays that way.
Saturday morning came, and we found a nice weedline just east of the spur, next to the southwest corner of the dumping grounds. We had one large fish miss the hooks (may have been a billfish, but not sure....sure acted like one, but I never got a good look at it)
We continued to work that area for most of the day, with scattered fish here and there, but nothing to write home about. That night we headed deeper into the canyon, and live baited some nice lines. Missed a 40# class dolphin, but nothing else to speak of.
Sunday we started heading north, but the water got really green just above the spur. (I don't recommend fishing there!) Again, several knockdowns and fish, but nothing to win a tournament.
No billfish for us. I think there were only three or four tagged all weekend. They must be somewhere getting ready for the storm??
The seas remained dead calm all weekend, and we even had some nice rainstorms to keep us cool. I love fishing the perimeter of these things when it's hot out.
Anyways, here are some pics from this weekend. The guys must have been bored, as they sure were camera happy! As usual, I enjoyed being out there with our good friends. Thanks guys for making a slow trip fun!
We are headed back out tomorrow. Maybe the storm will stir things up a bit.
Tight lines,
Dave

PBGFC International 2008

The water was not looking good close in, so we decided to strap on a fuel bladder. We wanted to make the long run we thought would be necessary to get to good water. That turned out to be not the best idea.
We strapped the bladder on the bow, and secured it with a four point harness that came with the bladder. When we got to the pass, the one ft or less did not apply to a churned up pass with an outgoing tide. It was stacked up a good 3 ft, and the bladder started to slide off the boat.
Luckily, Woodley and Josh were able to secure it until we headed back to the dock. We made a few calls, and Barry Cole came to the rescue with 100 gallons of fuel tanks. (thanks Barry...you saved us!) We off-loaded the fuel in to the cans, and finally headed back out around 0300.
Well, without the extra fuel, and with it being so late, we decided to change strategy and fish in closer. We headed to the spur, and fished it hard in the morning. Nothing there, so we headed east, and fished the squiggle and further south. We did manage to put a a few nice wahoo in the boat. The biggest was 43.6. Not big enough to win anything, but I was proud that Marlana caught it on a circle hook/balyhoo rig with mono, and kept the pressure on so we didn't get cut off.
The next day we fished hard. For the most part it was SLOW, but we did have our shots. We went 0/3 on Billfish. (whitey, blue, and sail) Tough to miss a possible slam! Unfortunately, we could not convert. I was happy to get the shots in the lousy water, but next time we'll keep the rubber hooks in the boat.
Congrats to those that caught a few nice fish, and to those that tagged some billfish.
Thanks as always to my hard working crew Josh Hiller, Dave Woodley, Wes Sherouse, and Marlana.
See you next time.
Dave

June 14-15 "Blue Marlana"

The "Blue Marlana" crew had an awesome trip despite mother nature's antics saturday night.

We initially planned on fishing friday night and saturday in the PBGFC intraclub tournament. Unfortunately, routine maintenance on the Cabo was delayed, (aftercooler and heat exchanger service took a little longer than anticipated) so we ended up leaving saturday afternoon.

The crew consisted of Josh Hiller, Marlana and Wes Sherouse. Dave Woodley was sorely missed, but we understand about father's day and all. (just don't let it happen again Dave..it's not the same without you!)

We left the dock Saturday around 1400 and headed for the elbow. Wade and the Bodacious crew were kind enough to share some info on a great line east of the area. (where they slaughtered a few friday) A couple hours later and we pulled the throttles back to find green water. Wade said...go east...so we did. Sure enough we came upon a nice rip with blue/green on one side and green on the other. It went on forever! As soon as we put lines in we had a nice wahoo in the boat...followed by a few more shortly thereafter. We worked this line for a few hours and then decided to head south. (as we planned on swordfishing at the steps) We left the nice line, (thanks again guys...I appreciate the shared info!) and headed south.

We arrived a little north of the dumping grounds around 7pm, and found another nice line. We started working this line as the sun began to set. Marlana asked Wes and Josh, "do marlin hit when it's this late." No sooner do the words get out of her mouth and WHAM....pink and white Makaira pulling lure gets nailed and starts singing that sweet sound. Marlana made quick work of the fish (about 30 minutes) and Josh did a great job wiring, with Wes placing the tag. WHEW...got the first bill (hopefully not the last) of the year. This fish was small, but put on an incredible aerial display. There was another boat very close by, but I'm not sure which one. I initially thought it was a white marlin, but when we got it to the boat, we were surprised to see the classic dorsal and pec fins of a blue. Cool!

We then headed a little further south to set out the sword spread. Well, mother nature had other plans for us that night. The gulf of thunderstorms kicked up a fury that night. I don't think I have ever been in a lightning storm of that magnitude. Unfortunately, the storm covered the entire gulf, and there was no escape. So, my crew did what they thought was best, and went to sleep! I stared at the sirius weather (blinded by the lightning) all night, and was delighted to see the morning sunrise.

We dodged a few storms in the morning, and put a few more hooters in the boat. We even caught one on a balyhoo/circle hook combo! (even though he ate the leader in the boat) We started working our way north when we had a double header. Wes was fighting another wahoo, and Hiller had another pointy nose fish on a circle hook/naked hoo. Unfortunately, the billfish (this one much bigger than the little guy we caught the night before) came unbuttoned. We were a little upset about losing the big blue, but that's fishing.

A little later Marlana caught a nice dolphin that Wes gaffed the eyeballs out of. (literally) I guess I can't complain when he's nailing every fish in the head, but come on.....it would be nice to take a pic of the fish with it's eyeballs intact! The darn thing weighed 40# at outcast..not Marlana's record, but a respectable fish. It might of gone more if it had it's orbs in place Wes! (check out the pic of the eye with the muscle still attached...pretty awesome stuff...hopefully PETA won't check it out)

Overall, we had a blast. Josh did a great job filling in as wireman for Woodley, (don't worry Woodley..you still 'da man!) and Wes earned a place as steel swinger on the boat. The pics of the blue didn't come out very well, as Wes is a retard, (and it was dark at the time) but I will post them when he sends them to me.

See you all next week in the MBGFC Ladies. Anyone fishing this week....get down on that line east of the elbow....there's plenty of fish on it for all!

MBGFC Memorial Day 2008

We headed out friday night, anticipating an ass whoopin' as the weather was forecasting 6 footers. We were pleasantly surprised by a gentle 2 foot rolling sea that made for a smooth ride out.

At sun-up we were at the steps trolling a decent push in blue-green water. After a few hours and only one mahi...we decided to move further south towards the double nipple. The water kept getting worse, and was almost brown near the double nipple, so we decided to run back east. We spent the next several hours in green water mixed with river debris. We trolled by logs, trees, and just about any kind of flotsam you could imagine. Unfortunately, no bites.

I gave Roffs a holler on the sat phone, and they were kind enough to give me some updated info. They were right on the money, and we finally found some beautiful blue water with bait and grass lines everywhere. Once again, our excitement was exstinguished by the lack of bites. I think we had a few mahi in the spread, mostly chickens.

We set up on the sock southeast of the spur saturday night, and put the sword baits out. After a few minutes, Marlana and Dave had a sword swimming by the boat with our bait in its mouth. (the fish didn't know it was hooked yet) Marlana reeled in the slack, and Dave grabbed the wire for a record (on our boat) 30 second sword catch. The fish came unhooked at the boat and made a quick dash for freedom, but I managed to stick a gaff in his ass (literally) before he swam away. As the fish was green as hell, he about beat the tar out of me and Woodley. Fortunately, Wes managed to stick a second gaff in his head, and drag him overboard. Still green, Marlana gave the fish a little rum, which settled him right down. We were all pretty tired, so after two more sword bites everyone decided to hit the hay.

The next day was much of the same. High hopes, but few fish. Josh had one decent mahi to the boat, but that was it. A few billfish were seen in the area, but we didn't have the first pointy-nose fish in the spread.

All in all, it was tough fishing. Nonetheless, the crew and mother nature made for a great weekend on the water. We had absolutely beautiful seas, with a gentle cool breeze to keep things pleasant. Hiller co-captained and let me get some sleep...thanks. Wes and Woodley managed not to kill eachother. Marlana kept us well fed......so things were grand. Until next time....tight lines.

I almost forgot the giant squid we found along the way. Calamari Baby!

5/5/08

Headed out for a quick shakedown trip to the nipple with Josh this morning. The water was blue-green, lifeless and cold (72.9). Scattered grass, but very little bait. We decided to call it quits after a few hours, and headed in to do some bottom fishing. Caught some nice snapper in federal waters that had to go back, and a nice warsaw that hit a rigged, leftover balyhoo.

We came in to state waters for some snapper, then called it a day. Beautiful day out there. Following seas on the ride out (2-4ft) and the wind shifted to the south for our trip home. The seas were flat riding in, and we made it to the slip in no time.

Good to get out there. Overall, the "Blue Marlana" ran great. Just a few things to fix before the tournament in a few weeks.

5/16/07

I got a call from Dave on Thursday and he told me it was time to get blood on the new and improved Blue Marlana! I was more than ready and motivated to climb aboard the beautiful new ice blue 35 Cabo Express! Man is she purty!!! We met Sunday morning at 4:30, Capt. Dave, his beautiful wife Marlana, Mr. Josh Hiller, Dr. Charlie Wolfe, and myself. We headed out at a smooth 26 knots towards the Spur hoping to find the reported rip from a couple days back. With no luck and only scattered grass we got our spread out around 7:45 (I think) trolling the contour towards Desoto Canyon. Within 30 minutes the center rigger fired off with Dave screamin' at the top of his lungs! A few minutes later Marlana had the first fish on the Blue Marlana, I nice 26 pound Mahi! About 30 minutes later the center rigger pops again and another mahi, but she spits while we're trying to get Charlie in is harness. The next hour or so was slow so Dave started working back north and we decide to put out all artificials and move out at a quicker pace. About an hour into this spread the port flat fired off and I set the hook (or so I thought) and a hoo was gone. This was to be the start of a productive couple of hours for Team Blue Marlana! Dave had found what looked like a pallet floating with lots of bait and dolphin swarming underneath. Our first pass yielded a screamin' wahoo and we were fired up! We pulled in all of the big baits and ran smaller baits with ballyhoo thinking we would fire up the mahi under that pallet! Then on our second pass the starboard long rigger went off and of course Marlana was hooked up with not a mahi, not a hoo, but the first billfish of 2007 for Blue Marlana. She busted the water and was taking the 70 wide for a ride when the line went slack! Dave screamed reel reel reel, but to know avail!!! Hiller I thought you set the hook!!!!! Oh well, we now new the 35 Cabo could raise some fish! Hell yes!!! Spread back in, and couple of hours later the Blue Marlana had seven hoos in the box, one nice Mahi, a story of the first billfish hook up, and a beautiful ride back to the dock. We did stop and bottom bumped with not much to show for it! Hiller had the jacks on fire with his jiggin' technique though! All in all, it was an amazing day with some great friends on a beautiful new 35 Cabo Express, The Blue Marlana! It's gonna be a great year!!!

6/3/07

The weather report looked good for today, so we decided to round up the usual crew and head offshore. It was an absolutely georgeous day on the water. Not too hot, with a nice 15 kt breeze to keep us cool. Seas were about 2-3 picking up a bit in the afternoon. We decided to head to the nipple and troll towards the elbow. Josh, Marlana and Woodley put the usual seven rod spread out, and we headed south from the nipple. The water was blue with lots of bait and scattered grass. I was thinking to myself that this was going to be a good day of fishing when I see a broomstick crashing the starboard rigger. Woodley made a nice drop back on the fish, but it came unglued. The fish then slammed Josh's port rigger, and headed to Mexico with a blue and white islander stuck in it's mouth. Marlana got harnessed up in the chair and the fight was on. The fish hit at around 0730, and proceeded to test Marlana's will. If anyone knows my wife, she is pretty stubborn, and would not give up on this fish. She had double line on the rod after about 45", but the fish was still pretty green. It stripped off another couple hundred yards, and then decided to go deep. We planed her off, and got her back on the surface where she proceeded to put on a nice show tail-walking across the surface. There was another sport fish watching, but I didn't get the name??? Forum member?? Well, Marlana kept the heat on the fish, and we got her boatside. The fish looked exhausted, and so did my wife! This fish was an easy 300 plus, and thick. Woodley tried to leader the fish, but the hook pulled right at the boat. Upon inspection, the mustad 9/0 stainless 7732 gap had opened up during the fight. Oh well, still an incredible fish, and it was nice to see my wife get her to the boat in under an hour!!!!! We'll take that palm beach release any day! I'll check my pics and post them later. So...we are pretty pumped, and get the lines back out at about 0830. We trolled down to the elbow without a bite. I decided to head back where the blue ate, and no sooner do we get there when the starboard rigger pops again. I saw a splash that looked like a mahi, and told woodley just to crank it in fast so we didn't have to reset the spread. Needless to say, Woodley (who very rarely reels 'em in...usually is the wire man) had this fish to the boat in less than five minutes. It gets to the transom and I see a bill!!!!!!! Marlana has the gaff in her hand and Hiller is getting ready to wire it when I yell "BILLFISH." Marlana drops the gaff, and Hiller proceeds to get an azz whoopin by a very angry and green billfish. He subdues the fish, and we all get a good look at it and realize it's a SPEARFISH! I estimate the fish at around 50 lbs, and it's bill was only about 6 inches. Josh couldn't even get two hands on the bill. We release that fish and are pretty psyched....first spearfish ever for my crew and I. I think we were all very pumped, except, perhaps for hiller whose arms were pretty tore up from that lil' feller. Oh well, he'll get over that soon. We trolled until around 2pm with only a couple more knock downs. (a chicken dolphin and a cuda) The wind was kicking up....we were more than happy with our day fishing....so we headed to the barn. Back at the dock at 1530...boat cleaned...and at the house by 1700. Marlana's making pasta, so I'm out. Will post pics later. Oh yeah...the best part of the day came back at the dock. Since Woodley is the wireman...(and a damn good one at that) he usually doesn't reel 'em in. So...even though he has been clean up man on many billfish...(finishing the fight for tired anglers) he has never officially caught a billfish from strike to hookset to wire to release. We made sure he paid the price. (pics to follow.) How's that nasty seville harbour water taste Woodman??? Nice dunk Hiller. Tight lines, Dave

MBGFC Lady Angler's 6/07

We were pretty excited about this tournament as it was the first aboard the new "Blue Marlana." The team consisted of the usual crew of Dave Woodley, Josh Hiller, and Marlana. In addition, we had a special guest aboard as a second angler. Heather Collier from George's Marine Electronics graced us with her company, and proved to be quite the lady angler. The Cats were fired up around 11pm friday night and we headed about 90 miles to the southeast. When we arrived, we found scattered grass, a moderate amount of bait, and beautiful blue water. We decided to head deeper into the canyon, hoping to find the rip we expected to be there. Unfortunately, we were met with only scattered grass, but the team had no problem keeping the baits clean. Around 1030 we had a nice blue marlin crash the spread. Heather made a nice drop on the fish after it missed the baits, but it never resurfaced. As it turns out, that would be the only billfish behind our boat all weekend. After a couple of mystery fish and a few dolphin in the 20lb range, Woodley spotted a floating piece of plywood. As we passed by, I saw a nice dolphin heading for our baits. Heather was up, and set the hook on what we thought was a goodin'. As she was bringing in her fish, another dolphin (the one we wanted) crashed the long rigger. Marlana grabbed the rod and made a nice hook set. She held on tight until Heather boated her fish, and then swapped places in the chair. We knew this was a good fish as it ripped drag from the 50 wide. Well, Hiller sunk the gaff and there were high fives all around for what we estimated to be a 40lb fish. We trolled the rest of Saturday with no other notable catches. We did manage a few double hook-ups with dolphin all in the 20-25lb range. That was fun! The day ended tied up to the stern of "OFF ROUTE" who was kind enough to let us benefit from their sea anchor. (thanks guys!) We decided to rig some sword baits when we saw an intruder aboard. As I went for the Glock, I realized it was just a big drunk bald guy named Wade. He entertained us for a bit, and just about fell in the drink trying to get back to his boat. (but I'll let him tell that story.) Saturday night Hiller and Woodley caught their first sword fish. Damn those things can fight. (just ask Woodley how his back feels!) Sunday morning we caught several more dolphin and a small hoo. We started heading north in open water when another stud dolphin hit. Marlana was up, and just about got yanked over board with that fella rippin drag on an 80W. Hiller did an excellent job driving, and I sunk the gaff (boy does that feel good!) after Woodley wired the fish. This fish seemed to be a carbon copy of the one on saturday. We decided to head north to find a wahoo or two, but had no luck. Off to the scales to see how we did. The first fish weighed in at 43.4 and the second at 43.0lbs. They were good for second and third place in the tournament. (first place fish was a monster @ 59lbs!) All in all, a great start to the tournament season. I am proud of my wife and our team. Look forward to chattin w/ y'all in the international. Congrats to all who fished, and to Rebecca and Team "Off Route" on their Blue Marlin. Way to go!!!!!!!!!

July PBGFC International 2007

What a great weekend to be on the water! PBGFC put on one hell of a tournament, and we appreciate it! Unfortunately, we did not have the results we were looking for, but there's always next time. I'll try to make the post short, as I'm sure there will be many tournie reports to read. We headed south of the double nipple, and were trolling a nice weedline at sun-up friday. Josh pulled a decent dolphin (32.7) that got bumped by the final boat last night..oh well. Funny thing is that the same thing happened to him last year with an almost identical fish. I think we ended up with about 40 or so schoolies (15-20#) over the weekend that we slung back. We kept a couple 25 lb'ers for the grill. We did manage 4 or 5 wahoo that were around 20#. Most were slung back. Friday night Marlana wanted to catch her first sword fish, so we put the sea anchor out at the steps. I told the guys I was going to catch a quick cat-nap while they fished, and headed down below. About 20 minutes later Woodley woke me up saying, "do you want to watch Marlana catch her first sword?" Well, an hour and a half later, Marlana had her first sword on stand-up gear in the boat....not a bad fish around 90 pounds. She caught it in her PJ's! The fish ended up third overall. So far she's doing pretty well in these tourneys. Hopefully, her "lady luck" will hold up. Saturday was pretty non-productive...lots of small fish. Headed back to the dock around 8pm. Thanks to PBGFC and the crew of the tournament. You guys are awesome. Oh yeah....we were quite confused out there this weekend. We kept hearing this boat chatting all day on the radio calling themselves the "Marlana." What are the chances of that....two boats with that name. (Marlana said she has never seen anyone else with her name....guess there's another one in town) Thanks again to PBGFC and to my hard-working crew. See y'all on the water.

23 July 2007

We headed out the pass around 1600 sunday night and were met with slick calm seas. Our plan was to put lines in at the nipple, and troll towards the spur for some evening swording. Well, about 20 minutes later, we had a fiesty little white crash the port flat line...then the starboard short rigger....only to come unglued. An hour later and we were 0/3 on whites. Those little guys can be quite frustrating at times! We ended up at the spur around dark, and set up for some swording. The water was not very clean, and I didn't have a great feeling about the evening's fishing. Hiller fired up the grill and cooked us some mighty fine vittles. We all sat around looking at the crazy stuff that comes up in the lights. At around 0100, the crew decided to get some rest, and headed below. This was the first trip this year without a sword bite....oh well. Hiller did manage to molest a cute little puffer fish before sending him on his way. Josh and I manned the watch, and had an eerie feeling that mother nature was going to have a little surprise for us that night. Sure enough, around 0200 the wind started to blow, and the storms started popping up on radar. I don't think anyone got a lot of sleep last night, as the seas were an easy 3-4 all night. We put lines in around 0600 today and started trolling north, as the line of squalls kept getting bigger and bigger. We did get a nice little hit around 0900, that fell for Josh's "secret" lure. After a nice drop-back, Marlana was hooked up solidly to her first whitey. About twenty minutes later, Woodley had a feisty little white by the bill, and Josh made a nice tag. I think this was Marlana's 4th billfish she fought, but the first one tagged.....so she got a nice dunking at Seville by her loving husband. (sorry dear) The seas kept building, so we decided to run back in. Back at the dock around noon and on the couch by 1400 for a little siesta. We'll be back out there this week. Hope to see y'all! Dave

28 July 2007

I didn't think we were going to fish today. Marlana left for work at 0700, and I expected her to be gone all day. Well, she called me at 0900 and said, "get the boat ready, I'm getting out of work early." I quickly loaded the truck, and tried to call the boys. Little did I know that getting my crew together would be so challenging. Hiller decided that since we weren't supposed to fish today, that he would go and stay out partying all night. (oh to be young again...I remember those days) Finally, around 1030 he reluctantly answered my incessant calls...and met us at the boat around noon. We put lines in at the nipple around 1330, and decided to troll around there for a little while. The water was greenish/blue, but there was lots of bait. We played in a few rain storms, saw some friends out there, but didn't get a nibble. So, around 1530 I headed southeast where the water looked a lot better. I was thinking this area was looking very fishy when the port flat line starts singing. I look down to see a big blue attached to it, then she comes unglued, and heads directly for the starboard flat line. She nails the pink and white schneider, but misses the hooks. Hiller makes a great drop on her, but she was gone. We circled back a few times, but never saw her again. Man, that was a nice fish! We troll a few more miles south, and get some nice open water mahi to the boat. Around 1615 we see a billfish nailing the way back blue/white islander. Time to feed her......she's on! Marlana makes quick work of her on a 50W, and Hiller does an outstanding job wiring her for an easy tag by yours truly. (man I hate coming out of the tower, but it was just the three of us today....we missed you woodley!!!!!!!!) The seas were awesome all day. It never got over 3ft or so, and that wind really kept things cool. We trolled some more until around 1930, and decided to head in. We made 28kts all the way to the dock, where we had a cocktail, cleaned the boat, and headed for home. I hope everyone enjoyed the tournaments this weekend. It was a georgeous day to be alive! Tight lines, Dave

18 August 2007

I spent last week in Upstate New York/Canandagua Lake with my family. We had a great time, but bluegill and bass, albeit fun to catch, just don't pull like our fish down here. I returned to P Cola friday around 10pm, and met the boys at the dock at 0400 Saturday. We pulled out around 0430 (Tony was a little late...said something about being TIRED), and headed about 10 miles south east of the nipple looking for the alleged rip Roffs had forecasted. We put lines in around 6 something, and were a little concerned about the water quality. The king guys would have loved it, but it just wasn't what we were looking for. So, we headed further south along the 100 fathom curve with not a single bite. Finally, after realizing that we were not going to find the nice blue water roffs predicted, we decided on heading towards the spur. The water did turn a better shade, and we did start seeing a bit of bait as we neared the spur. It still was blue-green at best, and not very promising looking. Wes Sherouse, Hiller and Woodley were preparing mutiny down below when they were briefly distracted by Blanton. Blanton decided to entertain the crew for a while (I'll let him elaborate), and take their minds off the fact we weren't catching any fish. Apparently, Tony's "entertainment" worked not only on my crew, but on the fish as well. Shortly after the "entertainment" was delivered, I saw a nice fish crash the starboard rigger on Josh's favorite lure. This fish didn't hesitate or play around. He had us down to a half spool (50w) in a matter a a few seconds. The guys did a nice job of quickly clearing the lines and we started backing down pretty hard. Fortunately, the fish started heading towards the boat, and Tony (reeling like a mad man) retrieved a good amount of line. I was impressed by Tony's angling abilities. For someone who has never caught a marlin, he fought it like a pro. Wes did a good job coaching, and Tony had the fish to the boat in around 45 minutes. The fish was still pretty green, and gave Wireman Woodley a little tussle before Josh made another perfect tag shot. Wes grabbed the bill....a few pics were taken...and let that beautiful creature swim away to fight another day. We trolled around the spur for a bit, but no other bites. So, we headed north through the nasty green water. Around 4 we decided we had enough, and headed to the barn. The boat was cleaned, Tony was dunked, a few beers were drank...and we headed to the house. I enjoyed being out there. We had nice seas...a little wind to keep things cool, and a nice fish to top off the day. Wes, we appreciate your humor and fishing skill, and hope to get you out there again soon. Tony, congrats on a great fish. Josh and Woodley....nice job as always. oh yeah...fish was around 95" 300+ lbs. Tight lines, Dave

25 August 2007

Just a quick report: Headed out w/ Woodley, Marlana and Wes southeast of the nipple. Bait every where, but no good lines. Went down towards the spur and had a nice blue on for a bit....must have been bill-wrapped, cause he got off after dumping about 100 yrds on an 80w. Leader had some bill-cheese stuck to it. Headed back north and caught a hoo. We found a decent push around 10 miles south of the nipple...pulled a few dolphin off it and lost another billfish. Went back towards the 131 and had a blue come hard and heavy into the spread. Wes and Woodley dropped back several times, but the hooks never found home. 0/3 today on billfish....hopefully our luck will turn next weekend. Back at the dock around 6. Good luck to those fishing the MBGFC Labor Day tourney..see ya out there. Hiller...we missed you!

Mobile Big Game Fishing Club Labor Day Tournament 2007

Posted 9/4/2007 10:37 AM (#373455) Subject: Blue Marlana "MBGFC Report"

Written by Barry Cole:

Well I may have forgotten more than I remember, but I wanted to post Blue Marlana's MBGFC report while it was still fresh on my mind. I was fortunate to be asked to fish again by Dave and Marlana on their awesome 35' Cabo Express "Blue Marlana". The crew consisted of Dave Disanto, Marlana Disanto, Dave Woodley, Steve Seeker, Marlana's bother from Boston Damien, and myself. Josh Hiller, a tried and true member of the team could not fish this weekend because of the death of his grandfather. We missed you Josh! Let me to tell you, the Blue Marlana raises some fish. I've heard stories of the legendary status of the 35 Cabo with her Cats being a proven fishing platform. Heck, there must be a reason there is a fleet of the 35's in Los Suenos Costa Rica. This amazing boat, coupled with the anal retentive nature of Captain Dave and the wealth of knowledge of Woodley would give anyone fortunate enough to fish with them the confidence they are going to catch fish! I made a statement to Dave and Woodley that many fisherman are excited and maybe even surprised when they catch a billfish, but Dave fully expects to catch fish every time he leaves the dock. From the extensive pre- tournament preparation, to the system of checks and balances throughout the tournament, you can't help but like your chances when you fish on Blue Marlana! We all arrived Friday afternoon at Orange Beach Marina for the awesome dinner, drinks and camaraderie that precedes most tournaments. Dave had brought the boat over earlier in the day and had a covered slip at the Marina for three days. We left the dock around 9:45 pm and headed out at a steady crawl towards the area Dave was hoping we would find good water. Upon arriving Saturday morning there were no rips to be found. Lines were in before we could even see the spread. The seas were slick as glass and the sunrise was spectacular! Damien was first in the chair, as a result of his lucky guess at Woodley's numbers game. The first couple of knockdowns included a nice blue that Damien hooked up on the center rigger but she didn't stay hooked up long. The only picture I got of the fish was about five hundred yards behind the boat, so the picture is not that clear but we did see she was a blue with subsequent jumps! Then a white came up and same thing. Damien finished his chair time with a small YFT that we released. Next up was Marlana, and let me tell you this chick can fish! At 1:30 pm Captain Dave found a small wooden crate floating in the middle of nowhere and the first pass the starboard long rigger went off and at 1:44 pm Marlana had our first Blue Marlin on 80lb tackle to the transom, with Woodley on the wire and Seeker taggin' her! She was green as a hornet and beat the hell out of Woodley and his arm. Ask him to show you his damage!!! The blue was about 175 lbs and was released to fight another day. I was up next and Dave had seen what he thought was a nice Mahi on the crate so we put a a ballyhoo on a circle hook and Penn 9500 and on the second pass I put the bait in front of the cow and the fight was on. Unfortunately she was smaller than expected and went in the box. Next up was Steve Seeker and he was chompin' to get in the chair! Around 4:30 pm the mid rigger fired again and he had a blue hooked up for about ten seconds. She danced and spit the hooks and Steve settled back in for another shot. At 6:15 the port long went ballistic on guess what lure, " a blue and white Islander with horse hoo". This fish was sounding deep and Steve worked her quickly to the transom when she went crazy and started to peel line off the 50lb Penn like nobody's biz. I was screamin' she's gonna spool us and Woodley calmed me down and said we are gonna be fine. I was about to break out the hose and spray down the smoking reel, but Seeker looked like he needed the water more, so we sprayed him down! At 6:39, Steve had the Blue to the transom and Woodley wired, Marlana tagged, and we measured her at 102 inches. Too short for this tournament but we did have the gaff on stand-by. She swam off, high fives were abundant, and we had finished an awesome day. Five shots at billfish, four Blue's and one white. Two tagged and two more should have been! That night we settled in and decided to do some sword fishing. Woodley rigged the first squid and within ten minutes the drag started screamin'. Damien was up, so he settled into the harness and a fight that this Bostonian would never forget. He didn't realize that even on fifty pound tackle, these swords can kick some ass! After much groaning and coaching by the crew, he did an admiral job of putting his first sword on the deck. She was around 60 inches and 80 to 90 pounds. After spraying the blood off the deck, Captain Dave decided one sword was enough and we were hungry and needed some rack time. After day one, we thought day two would shape up to be a barn burner as well, but were we dead wrong. For us it was a slow day with one nice blue in the spread, but no hook up and only mystery knockdowns the rest of the day. We didn't know how we had done until Monday morning, but were ecstatic to find out that Blue Marlana took first place in the $500 Calcutta in Tag and Release and fourth over all in the T&R division. Great weekend, awesome friends and I almost forgot! I passed the polygraph!!! Edited by Barry Cole 9/5/2007 8:26 AM

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