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Top blue marlin statistics for 2013

By Staff | Jan 23, 2014

LAHAINA – Of the 18 charter boats that fish out of Lahaina Harbor, nine weighed all of the 13 blue marlin over 400 pounds during the year. Four of those boats also weighed nine of the 11 blue marlin in the 300-pound range.

The top big blue charter boat was the Desperado, weighing four totaling 1,761.8 pounds (521.6, 465.6, 421.5, 353.1). Next was the Start Me Up La Dat with five blues totaling 1,792.8 pounds (443.6, 360.2, 342.5, 325.5, 321.0). The The Start Me Up Das It had four blues totaling 1,646.1 pounds (536.4, 383.8, 374.4, 351.5).

It was a late summer bite for the big blue marlin during 2013. July had four over 400 pounds during a nine-day period (755.2, 523.3, 442.6, 404.1).

August saw a nice run during a 16-day period, with five marlin over 400 pounds (600.1, 521.6, 443.6, 430.5, 408.6). During that 30-day period, from July 19 through Aug. 17, nine of the 13 blues over 400 pounds were weighed.

What did the big girls like to eat? Softhead lures enticed five, with Steve Coggin lures capturing two. A couple of Funnel Head jets also made the lineup. The best place to run those productive lures was the short corner position, with five fish taking the bait. The long corner, short and long rigger, and long gone center positions snagged two each.

Anglers used 60-pound test line to capture one big blue. Another five were taken on 100-pound test, and seven were cranked in using 130-pound test line.

The time of day hook-up numbers may be a little skewed, because the majority of the charters out of Lahaina are morning trips that run between 5:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. From 6 to 10 a.m., seven blues were hooked-up. From 10 a.m. to noon, five were hooked-up. Three of the fish had angling times of 15 to 30 minutes. Six of the fish had fighting times between 30 to 60 minutes. Another four took from 60 minutes to two-and-a-half hours.

The 300-pound marlin club had almost as many as the 400-plus club did, filling in the top numbers for the year. August saw three during a two-week period (385.6, 342.5, 325.5).

August was also the best month for big blues over 300 pounds, with three in the 300-pound range and five in the 400-plus-pound range (600.1, 521.6, 443.6, 430.5, 408.6, 385.7, 342.5, 325.5).

September had a nice nine-day run, with four 300-pounders hitting the scales (374.4, 360.2, 351.5, 321.0). Three were by wahine anglers (374.4, 360.2, 351.5).

There were 89 blue marlin weighed during 2013, with another 23 blues released, bringing the harbor’s yearly total of blue marlin to 112 fish. This was the third lowest year for total blue marlin weighed and total blue marlin captured since 1988 (26 years). The other two years were 2010 with 93 total blues and 2012 with 81 total blues both weighed and captured.

There were only 18 blue marlin weighed and four released during the first six months of the year.

The best month for blue marlin was July, with 26 weighed and seven released. August had 22 weighed and eight released, with September seeing 14 weighed with four released. This brought the three-month period to 62 weighed and 19 released for a total of 81 fish.

The last three months saw only nine blue marlin weighed.