Blue Marlin

A guide to one of the ocean’s top apex predators

Blue marlin are apex predators in the oceans of the world. Few creatures can match a fully-grown blue marlin’s strength, speed and aggressiveness, not to mention the lethal bill. Anglers have prized these amazing fish for hundreds of years for those same attributes.

Two different subspecies of blue marlin are known to exist: the Pacific and Atlantic blue marlin. They readily consume a wide variety of prey items, mostly consisting of small tunas but also deepwater squid, bottom fish and other available forage. Anglers usually encounter blue marlin by trolling lures, rigged dead bait or live bait in deep water, and the fights are memorable, usually punctuated by long, streaking surface runs and aerial acrobatics like tail-walking across the surface. With the exception of a handful of tournaments, or for food consumption in some island locations, most recreationally caught blue marlin are released to fight again. Due in part to this catch and release ethic, the Pacific and Atlantic blue marlin stocks remain in relatively good shape around the world.

Blue Marlin Facts

Atlantic and Pacific blue marlin share several remarkable traits and attributes, making them one of the world’s top game fish.

Scientific name: Makaira nigricans
Found in tropical and warm temperate oceanic waters worldwide
Blue marlin have a tall, anteriorly pointed dorsal fin and similarly pointed anal fin, unlike white marlin, whose dorsal and anal fins are rounded.
The pectoral fins may be folded along the body, unlike black marlin whose pectoral fins remain rigid.
The fish’s coloration is marked by dark blue above the lateral line and silver/white below, often with vertical stripes of azure blue or purple as well as dark spots on the blue dorsal fin.
Marlin are hatched from eggs and begin life as tiny fish, growing rapidly each year.
The largest Atlantic blue marlin IGFA record is 1,402 pounds, caught in Vitoria, Brazil, in 1992 by Paolo Amorim.
The largest Pacific blue marlin IGFA record is 1,376 pounds, caught in Kona, Hawaii, in 1982 by Jay de Beaubien.
Much larger species of blue marlin have been caught by commercial fishing operations or anglers not in accordance with IGFA rules.
The largest blue marlin are all females, with males rarely exceeding 200 pounds.
Blue marlin weighing over 1,000 pounds are known as granders.

Blue Marlin Fishing Tips

Blue marlin can be caught using a wide variety of fishing techniques. One of the most productive is trolling, either with artificial lures or dead, rigged natural bait; slow-trolling with live bait is also effective in certain locations.

Perhaps the easiest way to catch a blue marlin is to troll four large lures with appropriately-sized tackle: two from the boat’s outriggers, and two from the transom in the flat-line positions. Popular lure brands are Mold Craft, Black Bart, Moyes, Koya, Coggins, Fathom and others. The most popular fishing spreads consist primarily of larger, more active lures fished closer to the boat, and smaller, straight-running lures farther back from the outriggers. Many pros will select different colors and styles depending on the weather conditions and type of baitfish in the area. Lures are usually rigged with a single large hook, either stiff or free-swinging.

Benefits of fishing with artificial lures include the ability to troll at a higher speed in order to cover more ground and encounter feeding marlin. However, the hook-up to release ratio with lures is lower than with other techniques, since the fish has the ability to throw the lure while jumping.

Using natural bait is a second primary technique. Here, baitfish like ballyhoo, mullet, mackerel, and bonito are carefully rigged to swim as if still alive. Circle hooks have become a mainstay in this type of fishing, since they tend to lodge in the corner of the marlin’s mouth. This makes it safer for the fish by significantly reducing gut-hooking while also increasing the overall hook-up to release ratio.

Fishing with live bait is the third popular style of marlin fishing. This is usually limited to specific areas that are known to hold marlin, including but not limited to offshore seamounts in the Pacific and deepwater oil and natural gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. The ability to cover ground is severely limited as these baits can only be slow-trolled at just two or three knots; however, the bait attracts the marlin to the bite from great distances. Productive baits include blackfin tuna, bonito, skipjack and more, which are carefully bridled with a circle hook before being set back out in the spread.

Pro Tactics to Hook and Fight Blue Marlin on Lures

Learn from the pros on the best way to set the spread and fight the fish

Where to Fish for Blue Marlin

Since blue marlin are found in the tropical and temperate oceans of the world, it is not difficult to find a beautiful destination in which to fish for them. As one writer once quipped, “Blue marlin don’t bite in ugly places,” and we tend to agree. Among our favorites are Hawaii, Costa Rica, Bermuda, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas and more.

Where to Fish for Atlantic Blue Marlin

Blue Marlin Fishing in the Atlantic: Best Spots to Visit

Get addicted to the Atlantic with some of the top spots for blue marlin fishing.

Summer Fishing in Bermuda

Get hooked on Bermuda with its giant blue marlin and beautiful beaches.

On the East Coast of the United States, blue marlin can be caught from Key West in the south to north of Cape May, New Jersey, in the summer and fall seasons. Fishing off North Carolina’s Outer Banks can produce excellent marlin fishing, as does the island of Bermuda far to the east. From the Bahamas south through the Caribbean to Brazil in South America, blue marlin are abundant.

Where to Fish for Pacific Blue Marlin

The Stunning Seychelles

Chasing black marlin in the Indian Ocean

South Pacific Blue Marlin Fishing

First blue marlin encounters in one of the world’s last unspoiled fisheries, Vanuatu.

In the Pacific, blue marlin can be caught from Mexico’s Baja Peninsula all the way south through Panama and Ecuador in South America, and throughout the eastern Pacific to Australia and Japan. The Pacific stocks also range into the Indian Ocean; blue marlin fishing off Mauritius, Kenya, South Africa and the Seychelles is outstanding.