First Marlin for Andrew & Brenda Marchussen by Captain Duarte Rato

First Marlin for Andrew & Brenda Marchussen

by Captain Duarte Rato on Bazaruto in Mozambique

A few months ago Brenda contacted me that she wanted to book a trip to bazaruto for 3 days of Marlin fishing, a birthday present for her Husband Andrew who had never caught a marlin. Our first day was the 20^th October and we caught a wahoo and a couple yellowfin as we made our way north. As soon as we got to lighthouse the water looked phenomenal and there were loads of baitfish and we started catching tuna after tuna and while working that school our long rigger lure was taken and we hooked up to a 250 pound Marlin. Andrew got in the chair and brought it in for his first ever Marlin. Spirits were high and we missed a wahoo and a sailfish but an hour later hooked up again to a Marlin of similar size and this time Brenda got in the chair. Unfortunelty we hooked the fish shallow and it got sharked very close to the boat. On the process the shark got hooked and after an hour of extreme heat with the reel on sunset we released one of the biggest Zambezi´s we have seen here at around 700 pounds. We had a very strong NE wind on the second day and the water went off color. We never saw a marlin but got some nice gamefish including a 21 kg YFT. We only fished a half day on the third day as a big front was moving in, but what an action full morning it was. Early on Andrew got a 21 kg wahoo on the bait sticks, the we missed another good wahoo bite and a Marlin that just knocked the lure. We then caught a 16 kg wahoo on a bait stick and missed one on a lure. We then lost another wahoo and got 2 YFT: I put them out as live bait and within 30 seconds one was eaten but it proved to be a shark that bit through the mono leader after 20 minutes. The other bait was also taken by a shark a tad later. Time was running out and the wind started to blow so I headed to an area I nicknamed Giant´s corner on the bottom end of V mile reef. As soon as we got there a fish about 600 pounds come in on the short lure and followed it for ages before fading without a touch.

Huge disappointment  but not for long as 15 minutes later we raised another one, this time a smaller Black at around 200 pounds that ate the lure and put on a awesome run and jumping show. Brenda did great and had the fish boatside where it gave us some nice jumps on the leader in 15 minutes. We packed up and headed home!!!