The True Blue Sailfishing Professionals
Black Marlin Fishing
July to August
Tioman Marlin boat side
Bluesails Sportfishing is the only dedicated Black Marlin fishing charter in Rompin-Tioman during the prime period from July through August.
Tioman Island is part of the southernmost district of Pahang, that includes the Sailfish hotspot of Kuala Rompin.
Black Marlin can be targeted from March through October in Rompin-Tioman waters, but July to end-August remains the prime period when you stand a 90% chance of hooking a Black Marlin.
Not known to many fishos is that Black Marlin were regularly targeted in Tioman & Dayang/Aur waters back in the late 70s, 80s & 90s before the Sailfishery became established in Kuala Rompin waters in the late 90s. Back then, Black Marlin were only targeted via drifting at FADs with live-baiting, & from slow moving local wooden boats. Now, we can target them via sportfisher-type & speedboats with much better techniques & gear. Black Marlin fishing is under-rated in these waters in particular for the June through August period when you can get them in decent sizes & frequency.
Bluesails Sportfishing Charter's preferred techniques of targeting Black Marlin are slow-trolling with large livies, trolling with wide-range Moldcraft lures & jet lures, skip-baiting with large livies, bottom or deep-dropping large livies such as small Tuna with release sinkers, & live-baiting with big bait, in particular squid, on a drift close to or at a FAD.
During the prime fishing months in Rompin waters, Sails can be so stacked up it's tough for Marlin to get to the bait.
Hence, trolling with lures or skipbaiting small Tuna & large deadbeats
around schools of Tuna & birds is
essential!
And it's nice to have the option of targeting Marlin when catching Sails gets too easy. Pictured bottom-right is a possible
Marlin-Sailfish hybrid. There's no scientific backing for this theory though it had the body-shape & weighty bulk of a Marlin with an unusually shortened dorsal sail.
When Sails are easy pickings, we enjoy targeting Marlin in Tioman waters. We keep it simple with a 3 lure spread in combination with daisy chain squid teasers that can readily switch to spin gear with livies. We also believe in a moon phase correlation for Black Marlin bites in these waters, in particular the period from the day before a full moon to a new moon, & peaking at quarter moons from past observation.
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