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We enjoyed a great fishing season in 2009 at the northeast canyons catching every blue-water game fish species in the North Atlantic! Blue marlin, white marlin, big eye tuna, yellowfin and longfin tuna, wahoo, mahi, and broadbill swordfish. We caught it all...and some. We encountered billfish on every bluwater outing including one day in particular when we raised 11 blue marlin! There were more wahoo around this year than we have ever seen. On one trip we wound up with three fish to 60 pounds. The water was favorable starting in mid July right on through September. What was even more interesting is that the blue water drifted way in from the continental shelf allowing vessels without much range to target wahoo. The blue and white marlin were a blast. Our first two trips out we caught 4 white marlin, not missing a single fish! Then the batting average dropped a few notches as we missed half of the fish that came up. Oh well. That happens. We are changing our hooks for 2010 as well as our rigging strategy. If you check out the new Castafari ballyhoo rigging video you'll see the free-style method which is the way we will be doing things. This should make a favorable difference...more exposed hook. Billfish Tournament this season. It's a very well run event, and it's a total blast. All species count. Let me know if you're interested!

The night fishing was good this year as well. We hooked swordfish on every trip out there. We also experienced some non-stop jig action with small to medium sized yellowfin tuna. I broke out the light sticks sometimes. The Carlson jigs worked like a charm on the tuna. We caught swordfish to 150 pounds. I'm hoping to beat our 305 pound Castafari record from 2005. We will be stepping up the night bite out there this year employing some new tricks. The underwater transom Sea Vision lights proved to be a huge asset out there. The blue ocean was lit up like a xmas tree. I can't tell you how many squid came into the lights...not to mention dolphin and tuna!

The marlin fishing was spectacular. The one trip we actually focused on blue marlin, we raised 11. I think our canyon fishery rivals that of anywhere around the world. The ocean out there is littered with marlin. Some of these fish are no slouches. We've caught fish to grander class.

We had some tough weather to deal with knocking us out of half of our trips. That's as bad as it gets. But I'm all about safety, and if the wind is blowing over 20 knots, we don't go...unless we're fishing a tournament. Speaking of tournaments, team Castafari took first place in the Kingman Yacht Club's Offshore Shootout. 15 boats entered overall. It was a fun event that we will definitely be back for more looking to score in 2010! The Block Island Tri-State was a tough go for us as we caught white marlin instead of bigeye tuna. We caught a bunch of yellowfin but nothing worth writing home about. In this tourney you have to catch a bigeye tuna to score. We'll be back at it in 2010. I'm hoping to book the Nantucket out there. The biggest fish that we brought to the boat in '09 was probably around 400 pounds. Though we hooked a few fish that were a lot bigger. I can guarantee we'll latch on to some trophy fish. You have to do the rest! We have a fairly effective bait and switch routine that my guys are working on constantly. They are very good about working with customers on hooking their own fish. The blue marlin came crashing in, hooking themselves. The Money Maker proved to be the high ticket item on blue marlin. If you're interested, I am selling the entire Castafari 8 rod canyon spread...soup to nuts...drop in and start fishing. The full moon was on fire this year. That's when the marlin were chewing which is not always the case up here.

The wahoo and tuna fishing was exceptional. We caught well over a hundred yellowfin to 70 pounds. Though most of the fish were on the small side. We caught a nice 200 pound class bigeye as well after doubling up and losing a fish after an hour long battle. Another thing worth mentioning was the size of the mahi this year. They were huge for this area, averaging 20 pounds. We caught several fish in the high 20s. It reminded me of bahamas fishing! I already hear that the Carolina boys are catching big 80 to 100 pound class yellowfin this year. I'm guessing those fish are on the way up! It wont be long.