They are very few places in the world where you can actually miss a slam in a single day of fishing. The Galapagos Islands is one of them. Paul Stevens was fishing solo today and asked Pete Santini to get him something “big” as he has already caught striped marlin over 300lbs.
Striped Marlin
Santini heading out to find a blue or a black marlin. We were pulling a spread loaded with big Iland lures and a mix of much larger lures. Five minutes into the troll, while we were still setting lures, we raised a monster blue marlin that tried to eat the squid teaser, and then proceeded to swipe at the only two lures we had in the water and missed them both. We never saw the fish again.
After rasing and dropping a few striped marlin we hooked into a huge black marlin late in the day. Unfortunately we also hooked into a big striped marlin a few moments later which ran across the line with the black and cut it off (along with one of our favorite Iland Express lures). The barrage of foul language out of Santini’s mouth made even our “very salty” crew cringe. It was so bad that I started laughing.
After that we headed home and I swear we will crush them tomorrow…
Learn more about travel and fishing in the Galapagos at Sportfish Galapagos
The Galapagos Islands offer opportunities to catch several types of marlin, including striped marlin, blue marlin, and black marlin. Anglers often encounter large specimens of these species, making the area a prime destination for marlin fishing.
Fishing in the Galapagos commonly involves trolling with a spread of lures, such as big Iland lures and squid teasers, to attract marlin. Anglers use a combination of smaller and larger lures to entice the fish to strike.
While the Galapagos Islands are one of the few places where anglers can catch a marlin slam in a single day, it is not guaranteed every time. The story shares an instance where a large blue and black marlin were encountered but not successfully landed in one day, indicating the challenge involved.
A marlin slam refers to catching multiple species of marlin—usually blue, black, and striped marlin—during a single fishing trip or day. The Galapagos is known as a location where achieving a slam is possible due to the variety of marlin species present.
Challenges in marlin fishing often include line cuts caused by multiple hooked fish swimming across each other, lost lures, and missed strikes. These difficulties can lead to frustration but are part of the unpredictable nature of big game fishing.
Paul Stevens is an angler who has successfully caught large striped marlin, such as fish over 300 pounds. Pete Santini is a captain or guide who assists anglers in locating big marlin, showcasing experience and expertise in Galapagos sportfishing.