Big Game Trolling for Blue Marlin
While offshore trolling trips usually target tuna, wahoo, and dolphin, blue marlin trolling can be one of the more challenging species to target. Not only does your tackle have to be perfect, the angler, captain, and crew need to be able to work together to not only hook and land the fish, but also keep everyone safe.
When looking for the best blue marlin trolling reels, leave the 30w reels at home and stick with 50W, 80W, and even 130 class reels depending on the size of fish you plan on encountering. 50W tackle is usually best for standup and pitch bait setups, while the 80 and 130 class gear is best suited for fighting the fish out of a fighting chair with IGFA style chair rods that are much longer and stiffer than traditional standup rods. Shimano Tiagra, Penn International VI, and Accurate ATD are usually the best options regardless of size, offering a good range of line capacity, smooth and powerful drag capabilities, and enough torque and power to land a blue marlin.
A great option to match up with a 50W class trolling reel to use a standup trolling or pitch bait setup is the TackleDirect Platinum Hook TDPS5080WTSIN, which features all open guides and a Winthrop roller tip. This provides for a light weight rod with a ton of power that transfers the power away from the angler and lets the rod tire out the fish. Other great options for standup trolling rods include the Shimano Terez and Stallus Trolling Rods, Penn International VI Rods, and Blackfin Fin #156 and Fin #157. If fighting the fish out of the chair, Penn International VI IGFA Rods, Blackfin IGFA Rods, and Crowder IGFA Chair Rods are the consensus top picks without going the custom rod route.
Reels should be spooled with either Dacron or hollow core Spectra backing with monofilament topshots. Hi Vis is the go to, allowing you and your crew to be able to point out where your lure or bait is within your spread. This is critical in not only seeing how your spread is looking but to also pay attention to each bait to see a marlin come up on one of them. At the end of your main line you will want to form a double line via a Bimini Twist or Aussie Plait to which you will connect to a windon leader with a catspaw connection. This will allow you to crimp directly to a high quality ball bearing snap swivel to allow for swap outs between lure and teasers by color and size with relative ease.
Trolling large rigged lures like Black Bart 1656, Mold Craft Senior Wide Range, and Marlin Magic Henry is effective for trolling up blue marlin, but deploying teaser lures without hooks, squid chains, and dredges and bait and switching them on to pitch bait with a circle hook will often greatly increase your hook up ratio.