Capt. Matt Fueyo
Visiting Grande Isle, LA has become a yearly tradition for me, and should be a be a bucket list trip for you! Why do I say this, you ask? BLUE MARLIN!! Most folks will tell you to travel to exotic resorts where only the guests speak English. Some might say travel down under where koalas and kangaroo live to see the mighty blue marlin. Not me. There is a little town locked away in the furthest inhabited land in south Louisiana called Grand Isle. Fishermen from all over the world have made the trip to the âMecca of sport fishing.â This unique fishery has everything from the tastiest shrimp and crabs to the angriest of blue marlin and swordfish. Fifty miles in any direction could lead you to a underwater ecosystem like youâve never seen before. One might not think that the anchor chain of a massive drill ship could hold fish, but seeing is believing. Trust me, Iâm a believer now! We caught six cobia in a matter of thirty minutes; each one bigger than the last. This was after we caught our limit of American Red Snapper just fifteen miles away. We caught a variety of sizes of snapper, some nearing 25-30 pounds. All of this action was within 45 miles of the dock. The oil industry has taken a massive financial blow over the last few months due to COVID-19. This has resulted in some of these ships anchoring up a few miles offshore, creating a floating structure in 90â of water. Some hold bait one day and none the next. The life on these structures changes daily. Youâll just have to see it for yourself!
And then thereâs the blue marlin. The definition of a true sport fish. These majestic animals are my favorite to experience. I dream about them, think about them, and study them. The goal is to understand them better, so the next fishing adventure is more successful than the last. When you go 3/4 on catching them, and the one you miss was close to five hundred pounds, it stings. Understanding your target species is a priceless tool that will help your success rate increase. Following feed tables, moon and tide charts are helpful and can give good insight for planning your day. There are apps that can help target locations where the water/current is flowing best. Satellite imagery can show bio-mass in areas where an oil platform or drill ship might be located. Having the right bait and presentation is a whole different story. We can save that for another article! If youâre ready to scratch blue marlin off your bucket list, make a trip to Grand Isle. Book a charter with the local fleet or give me a call and I can point you in the right direction!
