”Marlin” someone yelled and all hands scrambled to take up positions on the teaser rods. By the time the fish was teased to within casting distance from the transom, it was fighting mad and full of color.
It came unexpectedly out of the propwash with no hesitation, chased and bit hard on the popper being stripped 30 feet off the back of the boat. The striped marlin turned and dove taking the remaining few coils of flyline off the transom floor.
As the line tightened I swept the flyrod across to the left knowing the fly was set deep in the corner of the great fishes mouth. At that moment the flyline started screaming off the reel and seconds later 300 meters of backing had been stripped off as the marlin ran, performing several great aerial jumps in an effort to shake the fly. It held.
And after the battle was over I had my first marlin on a fly along the side of the boat. It was the thrill of a lifetime.
We were two hours out of San Cristóbal in the Galápagos Islands, hundreds of miles off the coast of Ecuador, fishing with Sean Keegan owner of the “Leodan”, one of the few local charter boats geared up for bluewater fishing. Sean’s boat captain was a seasoned veteran and knew where to find the fish. Whether using conventional tackle or fly gear, Sean had it all
From the time we arrived in Quito everything was looked after and provided for which made our trip very hassle free. Galeodan, being a local family run business, were very flexible and easily took care of all the details and always went out of their way to make sure we had a good time and a memorable experience.
We split our fishing days up with a tour around the island checking out the historical sites and local wildlife famous to the Galápagos Islands. Another day was spent on the beautiful beaches and in the water snorkeling and exploring islands and marine life in the area. The fishing far exceeded our expectations with ten marlin landed over four days. We all had a great time and look forward to our next trip.
