Sometimes it's not the size of the fish that are being caught, but sheer abundance that makes for an epic day on the water. The Downs family of Virginia Beach can attest to this, having caught and released 49 white marlin in local waters Sunday, in what undoubtedly was as exhausting as it was exciting.
Capt. Pat Foster was at the helm of the "Waverunner II" on Sunday, while the Downs family was bringing all that 49 marlin to leader.
The Downs family of Virginia Beach can attest to this, having caught and released 49 white marlin in local waters last weekend, in what undoubtedly was as exhausting as it was exciting.
Another charter in the area was said to have logged 50 catches, and several captains logged double-digit scores in recent days. Typically, when fishing is good, a single-day charter will catch and release 5 or 6 marlin.
These rare catch rates are possible because of a high abundance of sardines, which attract the marlin. The marlin will herd sardines into gigantic meatballs, or bait balls, and pick off fish that stray from the ball.
The Virginian-Pilot points out that the unofficial record is 57 white marlin releases, set in August of 2010 by the Ocean City, Maryland.