Why Do Anything? Thoughts on Marlin Fishing
I consider myself a solid angler, by no means the best, but solid. My assumption is that this would translate to offshore fishing in Panama. It does not. I was fortunate enough to visit an incredible place on the island of Boca Brava – Tucan Lodge. On our first day on the water, I promptly lost a larger than average Blue Marlin. A few things struck me in that moment when the line went slack.
First was that I had no idea what I was doing. Sure, I understand the concepts of general fish fighting, however that all goes out the window when something heavier than a motorcycle is fleeing at full speed – the cockpit turns into a flurry of action, outriggers getting reeled in, harnesses being grabbed, Captain Juan expertly maneuvering the boat to make up for my errors and keep a beast under control, all while concoctions of braid and mono as thick as fly line are sizzling off the reel.
The second thing I thought was: I really want to be better at this.
My area of expertise is inshore fly fishing in the Northeast. This is certainly a very small segment of the greater pie chart of worldwide fishing. There are very few pursuits where when doing the same activity, in this case fishing, you can be an expert and a complete novice at the same time. That brings me to the title of this post: “why do anything?” In life, and fishing, the most valuable memories and experiences is that initial introduction into something unknown. With a little thought and research, you can improve at a rapid rate and information seems endless because it’s all new. Being an absolute rookie is the pinnacle of exploration, especially in fishing. It means you are somewhere very different from your home waters. That’s a compelling reason to do something, and a reminder to not be tethered to one style of fishing.
On our 3rd day we found the Blue Marlin once again. When the outrigger popped and it was my turn to grab the rod I was mentally determined to apply a little bit of what I’ve learned and to land this fish. It was ugly, and I completely and probably unnecessarily exhausted myself, but I got a Blue Marlin to the side of the boat. My good friend and avid angler, Oliver, went two for two on Blue’s that afternoon and by his second fish (third Blue Marlin in his lifetime) you could see how much he had already learned and processed in a short time.
Since I’ve been home from Panama, my YouTube search list is some combination of “Blue Marlin Fishing” or “How to fight Blue Marlin.” I truly hope I have the opportunity to chase these fish again and continue on a journey into another realm of fishing. Even if I don’t, it’s a reminder to keep exploring. During our time in Panama we caught over 10 different species, some of which, I hope, I looked more experienced catching.
