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Have you ever broken your line by applying too much drag while fighting a fish? If not, you've got a lot to learn about angling! Although its probably one of [...]

Whether fishing a single tournament, a regional circuit or an entire season's worth of events, a team must undergo a great deal of planning, preparation, practice and commitment to be [...]

IVIVIDLY REMEMBER THE DAY Miss Jeanne 7 got hit by lightning in Bimini. It was the brightest flash of light I ever saw, simultaneously occurring with the loudest, most frightening [...]

IN THE SUMMER OF 1958, at the ripe age of 14,1 saw a small--about 2 feet long, if my memory serves me--hand-carved, wooden half model of a hull. The captain [...]

'We have a nice fish on, and it's gone down on us. We have over half a spool of line out and can't seem to lift our fish. We're afraid [...]

When I go fun fishing with friends on their boats, I rarely use the same knots and connections that I insist my deckhands use when we're fishing light tackle for [...]

For years captains and anglers nave argue the most important variables are when it comes to raising billfish. A top Aussie captain, George White, who has a background in many [...]

THE CAPTAIN, whether aboard the smallest canoe or the largest oceangoing ship, is required to use his best judgment and exercise prudence when making any of the myriad decisions required [...]

As a boy, I thought, probably correctly, that the very best heavy-tackle anglers in the world, and the captains who worked for them, all had one thing in common: They [...]

Anyone who has ever ridden a 10-speed bike or driven a car with a stick shift has learned to change into a lower gear when trying to go up a [...]

Early m 2011 a complete stranger called my home. He identified himself as Kevin and asked me where was the best place to visit for someone who wanted to paint [...]

A LOT HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT ANGLING FOR MARLIN, WIRING MARLIN AND THE USE OF SPECIAL BOAT-HANDLING TACTICS WHEN FIGHTING ONE. A GOOD ANALOGY FOR THIS GAME, SINCE EVERY ASPECT [...]

Since there's no way to measure those skills and tell you who's the best I'll instead discuss what I think are the essential skills every good mate needs to have, [...]

If you hook a fish properly, and the line doesn't break, you should eventually catch it. Of course, the angler or crew can make a serious error that result in [...]

I don't like tournaments I just fish for the fun of it' is a common refrain you hear on the docks--it's a sentiment that's echoed by a significant proportion of [...]

Everyone who fishes offshore for any length of time realizes that a lot of effort goes into every trip. The captain has to develop a game plan, the mates have [...]

We frequently use the rather broad term 'waves' to describe a series of vertical disturbances on the surface of water. The most common waves, found in all bodies of water [...]

The old joke 'You can't get there from here' rings true for many of the remote bill-fish destinations that hard-core anglers choose to seek out and fish. But that doesn't [...]

We lost a good man this past summer. Stewart Campbell, a loving husband, father, grandfather and great friend, passed away on August 4, 2010. A successful businessman and a true [...]

Artificial lures make incredibly convenient baits for marlin fishing. In circumstances when the exact whereabouts of fish are unknown, they should be your method of choice. As many tournament results [...]

Charter boats vary from excellent to horrible. Unfortunately, it's often hard to know which one is great and which one is third rate until you hop on board. After a [...]

If you've read many of my columns or articles, then you already know I'm a huge advocate of turning the boat and chasing fish--rather than trying to back up after [...]

Every time you venture offshore, you're riding on the best teaser you could ever use. Experienced crews that use both their electronics and polarized sunglasses to spot fish, and especially [...]

ONE OF MY LEAST FAVORITE JOBS IS FILLING A 130-POUND-class red with new line. Whenever you spool up with heavy line, you have to wind it tightly enough to keep [...]

THANKS TO MY POSITION HERE AT MARLIN, I ENJOY THE LUXURY OF fishing and learning from some of the best crews in the business. Most all of them know how [...]

AT ITS MOST BASIC LEVEL, a fishing rod is merely a secondclass lever used to hoist a fish out of the water. A rod works under two opposing forces, one [...]

You don't need a 40-ft yacht to land large marlin or other big-game fish. An experienced charter captain shows how a skilled helmsman can compensate for boat size, among other tips.

It is essential to learn the proper use of the fighting chair, harness, and tackle when big-game fishing. Recommendations are detailed.

When I got an invitation to fish a marlin tournament on the lovely Mozambican island of Bazaruto, I jumped at the chance to go. I'd been wanting to fish for [...]

This one came about when Bryan and I were pompano fishing together, and a friend (whose name I will not reveal in print) asked me to untwist the line on [...]

Ferrari, Rolex, Holland & Holland, Rybovich--names that are so closely associated with the best of the best that they become iconic, setting a standard by which all other brands are [...]

The question I get asked more often than any other is, 'Where is your favorite fishing spot?' For most of my career, I have been in the entertainment business, helping [...]

There are so many species of fish that can be hooked by casting, deep-jigging, trolling, drifting, or fly-fishing that a seemingly endless number of books have been written about rods [...]

A recent email asked, 'What kind of connection device should I use between my line and my leader?' I often answer 'none at all.' In many kinds of fishing, especially [...]

Lately, there has been quite a lot of discussion about 'Fish Aggregating Devices,' also known as FADs. Radical groups, some of whom are against all types of recreational or sport [...]

IN EACH ISSUE, Capt. Peter B. Wright answers one reader's question regarding any aspect of big-game fishing. In this issue, Samir from Senegal asks about using circle hooks. Q I [...]

Watching salmon trying to get up a waterfall in Alaska led me to a possible understanding of a decades-old puzzle from the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. I watched hundreds, [...]

When I first laid eyes on the F&S 72 Bandolera tied up at the Sailfish Marina fuel dock in Stuart, Florida, what impressed me most was its looks--big and beautiful, [...]

In the last few issues of Marlin magazine and at several Marlin Universities, I have answered a number of questions about how to obtain the best results with circle hooks. [...]

When does a catch become an 'official' release? People ask me this question again and again. Until quite recently, the International Game Fish Association (known as the IGFA, the ruling [...]

During the Florida summers, when the fishing was good and the false albacore--which we call 'bonitos' in Florida--were thick, I often got overwhelmed in the cockpit boating fish while Whitmer [...]

New anglers or new Marlin readers from remote areas often ask me what seem to them to be simple questions, such as what is the best drag setting to fight [...]

On the early 1970s, Capt. Dennis 'Brazakka' Wallace and I found ourselves working our way up the Great Barrier Reef to areas that we had never visited before. The fishing [...]

If you are serious about catching a truly big fish over 800 pounds, the big black marlin that visit the Great Barrier Reef in the Southern Hemisphere's spring months of [...]

In 1977, my wireman on Samurai for the Cairns, Australia, black marlin season was a strong, stocky young American named Bobby Grant, Earlier that year, we had spent the spring [...]

Our fishing tackle, methods and the boats we fish on constantly change. To be a good fisherman, both amateur anglers and professional captains and mates need to stay on top [...]

'Should we troll out to that weed or current line we just heard about, or should we run out there? We've been trolling for four hours and haven't had a [...]

Those of you with cars or boats will appreciate a joke I heard recently: 'My wife kept complaining that I never took her anywhere expensive, so I took her to [...]

I see a lot of crews that use wind-on leaders turning to very short trace leaders (5 feet or under) when using lures. I think this is a mistake, for [...]

IF YOU'RE A NOVICE ANGLER and get lucky and hook and fight a really big fish up to the boat, I hope for your sake you have a wind-on leader, [...]