Oceanic whitetip shark

(Carcharhinus longimanus)

Belongs to the genus Carcharhinus, or real gray sharks. Black, often dark gray above with a bronze tint, sometimes brown or bluish. The belly is light whitish or yellowish. Some fins are white or spotted with white (sometimes it may not be white). The morphological feature of the species is very large pectoral fins.

The largest recorded parameters: length - 396 cm, weight - 167.4 kg. But more often one and a half to two-meter sharks weighing from 20 to 60 kg are caught. It is authentically known that they live up to 22 years.

Long-winged belongs to oceanic species and is almost never found near the coast. However, Jacques-Yves Cousteau classifies it in the first category of danger on the grounds that the long-winged shark is the only one of all sharks that the diver does not manage to scare at all. It is often found in company with coryphenes and flying fish. It feeds mainly on fish, with a particular preference for tuna. It eats crustaceans, turtles, gastropods, squids and other living creatures, as it is omnivorous, like all Carcharhinus. Seen in the use of carrion and devouring ship's garbage.

IGFA record: 66.4 kg (Kona, Hawaii).

Striped marlin

(Kajikia audax)

Its distribution is limited to the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It can be distinguished by its thinner body - this feature allows it to swim very quickly while chasing prey, reaching a speed of 96 km / h. However, when he manages to hook him, he is no longer able to develop such speed, for which the anglers are very grateful to him.

The striped marlin is known for its ability to make acrobatic leaps out of the sea when being led out on a hook. The angler will always remember the fountain of brilliant spray that shoots up during the struggle with the striped marlin. It is believed that these jumps are purely instinctive movements. It is precisely such actions that this fish is forced to take when pursuing prey that is escaping from it - another fish that easily rushes along the water surface.

The record weight of a striped marlin is 224.1 kg, this record is recorded in Tatukaka (New Zealand).

Lures and fishing methods

Live fish, fish strips and artificial bait can be used as bait. Striped marlin are caught using medium or light tackle, and usually quite close to the shore, since this is where they most often feed. Therefore, moving bait, which is any local fish or artificial bait, is suitable for catching it.

On November 6, 2010, a one-day trophy fishing tournament "Marlin tournament" was held on Mahe Island. Only marlins of all kinds were taken into account (sailboats were not counted). The winner was our boat "Sea Beast" piloted by Christopher Larue. The trophy was a striped marlin weighing 55 kg. - This is a rare species for the Seychelles, where blue and black marlin are usually caught well. Striped marlin has not yet been declared by us among the possible trophies and appeared in our biting table. On October 20, 2010 we caught another striped marlin weighing 65 kg.

Swordfish

(Xiphias gladius)

The only species whose name is translated from Latin as "fish in the shape of a sword." Even if we say about the swordfish that its upper jaw is flattened in a horizontal plane and really looks like a sword, and it itself reaches almost half a ton of weight, it is unlikely that the reader will get a true idea of \u200b\u200bthis inhabitant of the deep sea. The fish were observed from bathyscaphes at a depth of about three hundred (!) meters. Just imagine what pressure drops this monster withstands, rising from the abyss to the surface! But the most impressive feature of this fish is its unpredictability and literally rhino aggressiveness. Few fish resist capture with the same stubbornness as swordfish. And unlike the vast majority of the subjects of the kingdom of Neptune, the swordfish often attacks the enemy, that is, the fishing boat. There are cases when she pierced the bottoms of not only boats or yachts, but also the wooden plating of ships with a thickness (imagine the power of the blow!) 36 centimeters. In such cases, the sword breaks off and remains in the tree, and the fish swims away completely disarmed.

A record swordfish weighing 536.1 kg was caught near the city of Iquique (Chile), but usually large fish do not exceed the maximum value, apparently optimal for the species - 453.6 kg (“magic mark”). The Seychelles are the largest exporter of swordfish meat to the world market. At the same time, sports fishing is poorly developed. We are ready to organize a special tour for this trophy. There is an opportunity to use the world champion from Kenya.