White Marlin Bite Moves to Oregon Inlet--It's Hot! 70 Releases in Two Days! Scaly Minnows Targeted. Here Are Some Photos

By Jim Field

Well, we've all heard about how "white hot" the white marlin bite has been along the East Coast, and particularly off of Ocean City, Maryland--the WHITE MARLIN CAPITAL of America! (Should we need reminding.) Well, it's now moved South into our waters, suggesting we may get a piece of it next weekend, when we head down to the Outer Banks.

The white marlin frenzy is a wonderful development, making one feel good about the possibility of the stock rebuilding its strength, going against the tide--affecting almost every other species--of a gradual death spiral towards extinction. Is the white marlin population really back? Who knows? Maybe the recent blitz confirms this, maybe not. But at least we can smile about the activity with some hope for better days ahead for this noble fish.

Which takes me to a perpetual sore point: yes, the activity is hot....but guess who's not in the game? Answer: us. Why is it that we are largely observers, as opposed to major protagonists? Sure, we're sometimes the lucky ones getting salty and wet, but most oftentimes not. Will this ever change? Alas, likely not.

But thinking about this for a moment...about our "station" in life as husbands, dads, and working stiffs...maybe it's not all bad...maybe the need to get "more in the game"...which we'll never fulfill...is actually good, in that it's a goal we can cling to, one that will never get stale, that gives us a reason to always come back, to want more, to never give up, to always find our way back to our boats. We're always hungry, see, so there's always hope we'll wade in deeper, some day...some day. HEY! Maybe we hit it big next weekend, when we head down to Oregon Inlet on Saturday, and then down to Hatteras Village on Sunday (if all goes according to plan).

You never know: We could be in the thick-of-it with the whites. Anything can happen! That's why we love it.

Here's the soundbite from a writer at Marlin Magazine, which posted the story and photos on its website. Thank you sirs for the content.


Charlie Levine
Marlin Magazine Staff Writer
September 10, 2010

The white marlin bite that exploded off of Ocean City, Maryland, in late August and early September has moved south and the boats out of Oregon Inlet are now putting up huge numbers.

Capt. Arch Bracher on the Pelican caught 70 whites in three days. With the fishing so good, the crew on the 70-foot Spencer Makara decided to take a quick break from the action and jump overboard with a camera. Capt. Billy Gerlach sent us these photos from his iPhone which show the white marlin on the hunt.

The bait that the marlin are feeding on are very small, 2- to 3-inch minnows. "They're these really little, really scaly minnows almost like a sardine," Gerlach says. "When we were in the water it was just raining scales."

Thanks for sharing these photos Billy, and make sure to read the article we're preparing for the November issue about this epic bite.