Marlin March 2023

• According to a report by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, 19.4 million women went fishing in 2021, and 1.6 million were first-time anglers. Granted, this represents fresh water and all kinds of salt water, where access to fishing is much easier than jumping straight into an offshore fishery. But it’s undeniable: Women are an important consideration in the growth of fishing, and especially offshore fishing. A large part of this was a byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed more people into outdoor recreation than ever before. Recreational angling has an incredible impact on our economy of some 11 billion dollars annually—yes, that’s a billion with a capital B. And women play a critical part of that overall growth. One bright example: Ladies-only tournaments are more popular than ever. The…

editor@marlinmag.com MORE THOUGHTS ON PRE-FISHING I think Skip Smith hit the nail on the head when he wrote about tournament pre-fishing in his back-page column (“A Few Thoughts on Pre-Fishing,” Marlin, November/December 2022). Few teams who are truly serious about fishing a tournament would not consider spending at least a few days, if not longer, to pre-fish an area. Even with an experienced team, pre-fishing gets everyone into the groove and on the same page with the crew. And maybe even more important, it gives the captain a chance to look around and get a feel for the conditions they’ll probably be facing when the tournament kicks off. You can look at all the satellite reports and weather data you want, but until you’re out there seeing what’s actually happening with your…

SEISMIC ACTIVITY Those fleeting moments of predawn always seem fascinating, as the world shakes off its slumber from the previous night and prepares for a bright new day ahead. In El Salvador, this phenomenon takes place before a spinal ridge of volcanoes stretching along the coast, lending a surrealistic vibe to the scene. LOCATION Photographer Christopher Balogh captured this image prior to the start of the El Salvador International Billfish Tournament. TECH SPECS CAMERA: Canon EOS 5D Mk III LENS: Canon 24-105mm ISO: 2000 APERTURE: f/4.0 SPEED: 1/125 sec…

• Predestined for a life on the water when his parents moved from Massachusetts to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when he was 4 years old, professional photographer Scott Kerrigan grew up living on boats and fishing around the numerous docks, canals, beaches, and piers that surrounded his floating home in South Florida. An early love for the sport led to jobs in local tackle shops and charter boats, but the glistening allure of fishing internationally was impossible to ignore. He took his first traveling job as a 19-year-old mate in 1982, embarking on an illustrious career that’s still going strong more than four decades later. You fished the Cat Cay Tuna Tournament in 1982—what was that experience like? That was my first travel job, fishing with Capt. Joe Kononchik on a 53 Hatteras…

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+ BITE TRACKER Stay current with the best bites from the top billfish destinations around the globe at marlinmag.com/travel. WHERE MARCH means spring is ramping up, especially in Florida and the Bahamas. In the Keys, sailfish begin their final push south, and can be located either tailing down-sea or traveling in the sand channels off the patch reefs, depending on the right weather conditions. The marlin bite for blues and whites will kick off in Chub Cay and the Abacos, so put in your time for a rewarding grand slam.…