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We marlin fanatics have all heard of the famous striped marlin fishery in the Galapagos Islands, and it is certainly one of the best in the world. But, have you heard about the giant blue marlin that also swim in Galapagos waters? I certainly hadn’t before I got the chance to experience it first hand! 

The Giant Blue Marlin Of Isabela Island

On the western edge of the Galapagos archipelago is the largest island, Isabela. With a population of under 3000 people, it is one of the least populated of the 4 inhabited islands and just offshore lie some blue marlin waters that dreams are made of. 

If you take a look at the charts of the southern end of Isabela, you will find a drop off note and if you compare it to the likes of Madeira of Kona, they look a little similar. 

You are in 1000 meters of water within an 8-mile (25 min) run from Puerto Villamil and with water temperatures of 79+℉ for a lot of the year, it is a recipe for giant blue marlin. 

Our friend Braden of Ecuagringo, who sadly passed away earlier this year, operated in the Galapagos longer than anyone (since 1992). He made searching for blues off Isabela his pet project after he was told by some local fishermen of Isabela that the giant blues were there.

After years of researching the area, he finally started running charters off Isabela in 2019, and thank goodness he did. 

Braden hiking on Isabela

Getting There 

Getting to Isabela Island is quite a journey but a wonderful one. As I boarded my flight from Costa Rica to Guyaquil, Ecuador in early April, my fishing buddy, Peter Gelfand, messaged me, “Landed and checked into the hotel, see you this evening, excited!” 

I am not sure excited quite covers how I felt. Chasing big blues in a remote place is what I live for and this trip had the potential to blow all my others out the water. 

I had no idea what to expect of the Galapagos Islands; all I knew was from wildlife documentaries and what I had learned in biology class when studying Darwin’s theory of evolution.

After staying overnight in Guayaquil, Ecuador, we took the flight to the Galapagos the following morning. Landing at Baltra Airport the island was rugged, almost desert-like with rocks, boulders, cactae and, wow, it was hot! 

As we drove across Baltra, I noticed how much it reminded me of Kenya (where I am from). “This is just like Tsavo East National Park, the heat, the raw landscapes, it’s crazy.” Peter, ever wise, said “They are both on the equator you know!”

Crossing the Canal Itabaca to Santa Cruz, I got my first look at the sea. The deep blues offshore blending seamlessly with the crystal clear turquoise of the shallows; it felt very fishy. 

Landing on Santa Cruz, I was surprised to see how different it was from Baltra. Thanks to its volcano (there are 13 active in the Galapagos), it has a lot more altitude and was incredibly green. 

As we drove higher over red-soil-roads we passed through ancient forests with old man’s beard hanging off the trunks of what looked like prehistoric trees. ‘Where am I?’ is all I could think as we passed by one giant tortoise after another. 

Dropping down to the southern end of Santa Cruz we arrived at Puerto Ayora, the main hub of the Galapagos. Home to 18,000+ people, the streets are alive with wildlife tour operators, tourists from all over the world, and have aptly named things like ‘Charles Darwin Avenue’. 

Having checked into our hotel, I went out to explore. Sipping a cool beer close to the port I spotted “Patricia” the 38 ft sportfisher which we would board and run to Isabela on the following morning.

I began to imagine what was in store while watching sea lions, frigates, and boobies work their way around the boats. It was like nowhere I had ever been. 

Day 1

Waking up early, the “Patricia” was waiting for us. Smells of fresh coffee, eggs, and bacon were coming out of the galley – the captain and crew knew we had woken up too early to find breakfast anywhere. 

The run to the fishing grounds off Isabela is around 35 miles and with the Patricia’s three 300hp Suzukis it would take us about 1.5 hours. 

While drinking coffee and eating our breakfast, Peter introduced me to the captain and crew. “Captain Yuri, this is Jamie, he was my skipper while I fished for marlin in the Seychelles. Jamie, this is Jairon, Yuri’s brother and the chef Martin.” 

I am always eager to help with anything I can when fishing, especially for big blues, as seconds can make all the difference. But, I am always cautious as you don’t want to step on the captain or crew’s toes, so to speak. 

“Jairon, if you need any help putting the lines out, clearing when we hook up, or anything else, I know what I am doing and am happy to help.” He paused, making me a tad nervous. “This is actually perfect,” he said, “the chef is quite new and needs some training so it would be great to have an extra hand.”

We started to run through the spread and the tackle – 5 Alutecnos Albacore 130s on custom bent-butt Chaos Rods, Fish Razor dredges and bridge teasers, Black Barts and Aloha Lures, to name a few – I was impressed.

Looking at the setup filled me with confidence, ‘if we hook a grander we have the gear to get the job done’, is all I could think.

Staring out across the clean blue water at volcanoes coming out of the sea and the surrounding islands, the ocean was full of life. Boobies, frigates, tuna boiling, sea lions, dolphins, turtles, manta rays, whales –  it was all there. 

Peter has been in search of a grander his whole life and I kept saying, “I am here for the ride, to clear lines, and take pictures until you get it.” He had caught an 800+lb blue off Isabela 2-years before and smiled saying “Ok but after that, your ass is in the chair.” 

Laughing, I said “What lures do you want where?” Peter knows what works, having fished for marlin everywhere from Kona to Madeira, Mexico, Fiji, and more over the last 30-years. 

“Black Bart Superplunger on the left short. Blue Breakfast right short, Aloha Smash Bait left long, and you choose the right long.” I asked Jairon, “What is your favorite lure?” He picked up a lure with no name, it had a round concave head with jets, red eyes and a blue and white skirt – that was our right long. 

Arriving off Isabela, Yuri slowed down to 8 knots on the first ledge which drops to 1000 meters. The seas were calm, the water blue, clean, and warm at 81℉. Something had to happen! 

Heading west, Yuri followed the ledge, slowly working deeper and deeper into depths of 2000 and 3000 meters while keeping a close eye on the omni. We were the only boat as far as the eye could see.

In the distance was a series of bait balls and more birds working than I have ever seen in my life. Hundreds of yellow-fin tuna were smashing baitfish on the surface while frigate after boobie after frigate dived in on the action. Surely we’d get a bite – but sadly not. 

Heading out deeper, time was ticking with about two hours left of day one. Peter and I were listening to music and chatting about everything from relationships to fish, keeping all eyes on the spread. 

A dorsal came up and we both turned to look as a blue came across from the starboard side and inhaled the Super Plunger on the left corner.

While frantically clearing the lines with Jairon and Martin, I watched as this 500+ lb blue greyhounded towards us and the line went slack. Peter shouted “It is off.” I looked at the fish and could still see the lure in its mouth. Screaming, I said “It’s still on, it’s still on, just keep winding” and we came tight! 

The fish tail walked across the entire spread from left to right and got tangled up in the right long, not ideal! Taking the right long out the rigger and moving in under and over Peter’s line, we were finally out of the woods with everything cleared. 

Pushing the drag on the Alutecnos, we backed up on the fish and began gaining some line. We didn’t see the fish again and sadly the hook pulled after about 40 minutes. 

With the fishing time over, we ran the 12 miles to Puerto Villamil on Isabela.

Isabela Island

Isabela is impressive with its huge volcano sitting above the raw coastline. Moored up, we hopped on a water taxi to the dock to meet our taxi and within a 5-minute drive down the sandy roads we were at our hotel. 

With some time to kill before dinner, I headed to the beach for a swim. Walking down the sand-filled streets, it hit me just how different Isabela is from all the other islands. I felt like I had seen 3 new countries in 24 hours. 

Leaving the long white sand beach refreshed from a swim, I pulled into a beach bar to watch the sunset over the volcano. 

Isabela is special – so relaxed, wild, and full of adventurers who have flown across the world to see the incredible things it has to offer. ‘4 more days of this, wow’ is all that was going through my head. 

Day 2 

Waking up early, Peter and I had breakfast on the hotel rooftop with the sunrise coming through the windows. “I wonder what’s in store today?” Peter replied, “Who knows but it is looking good.” 

Meeting the taxi outside our hotel, we hopped in the pickup and were quickly in the water taxi to the boat. As we crossed the crystal clear lagoon watching sea lions sunbathing and hunting, I could see the crew ready and raring to go.

Within 25 minutes, we were on the first ledge and the same spread went into the water. 10 minutes later, Jairon shouted from the flybridge “Left long.” 

Dorsal and tail out the water and coming in hot to the Aloha Smash Bait, a small marlin took it out the clip. This fish behaved and while it was jumping Peter said “I don’t think it’s a blue.” 

Sure enough, we were hooked up to a stripey and Peter made short work of it. At the boat, all lit up, it was the biggest striped marlin I had seen – over 200 lbs. 

Lines back out and only 30 minutes later, a crash bite on the right long had the reel singing. This fish was bigger and didn’t do much jumping. It was behaving like a black marlin (also found in the Galapagos) – playing games with us, it kept sounding and surfacing constantly. 

After a quick fight a giant striped marlin came to hand, it must have been close to 280 lbs! My eyes were popping out of my head as I revived it for release. 

Pushing southwest into deeper water, you could feel Captain Yuri wanted a big blue. 

Peter and I were chatting, he said “My hand started cramping up on that last fish.” “That’s not good, that was rather small compared to what we are looking for” I replied, “Drinking some electrolytes should stop it, I’ll find some on the island.”

Suddenly a crash bite took the Smash Bait out the clip on the left long. 

The fish came again and hit the lure but we couldn’t see it. Within seconds, it was up on the right long with its dorsal out the water – this was a big fish and it ate the lure like it was an M&M.

Despite one of the fastest clears I have seen, Peter was screaming “We are way into the braid already,” the fish decided to head away from us and wouldn’t stop. It was 600+ and with everything cleared, we backed up quickly to get onto the mono. Then it all went pear shaped! 

“My hand is cramping, I can’t wind,” shouted Peter. The captain immediately stopped backing down and went into gear, but it was too late, the line went slack and the fish came off. I turned to Peter and said “Let’s get some electrolytes dude!” Both of us laughed away the sore disappointment. 

Day 3 

With two big blues lost, and half our fishing days done, I was worried we wouldn’t get one. I quickly ran to the local pharmacy and bought all the electrolytes they had.

Fishing the same waters, we didn’t see anything. There were no birds, no bait on the surface or on the omni, where had everything gone? At least Peter’s hand wouldn’t cramp this time. 

I remember Braden saying, “Often the best blue marlin fishing off Isabela is on days when you see no bait at all.” Pushing 2:45 pm, I was anxious to say the least and you could see Peter was too. 

Telling riddles, Peter was in the chair facing the spread and I was on the transom facing forwards. He suddenly looked up and as I turned, we pretty much saw the whole of a giant blue marlin horizontally out of the water as it ate the Smash Bait on the left long. A bite dreams are made of! 

With the rod moved to the chair and the lines cleared, this one wasn’t getting away. Sure enough, we got the fish to the boat at 4pm.

After much debate, we called it 650 and cracked the beers open for the ride home. 

We had got what we came for. Peter turned and said, “Your ass is in the chair now.” 

Day 4 

To be honest, I would much rather be skippering or wiring than be in the chair. Force feeding Peter electrolytes, I said “I am pretty sure you should be in the chair.” He laughed, “Not a chance, I am clearing lines.”

It didn’t take long for Yuri to put us on a fish. A 500+ came up and ate the Smash Bait on the left long (the lure of choice again). I quickly took the rod to the chair and clipped in. 

Tailwalking and greyhounding back towards us for what felt like minutes while I picked up the slack, I watched one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.

It was my first time fighting a marlin with an Alutecnos reel; they are so smooth and blow Tiagras out the water in my opinion. 

The fish settled down and behaved, we were 10 feet from the swivel within 20 minutes then it all went slack, the hook pulled once more. Bad luck or lighter drags needed – who knows?!

Whats Next

It is safe to say that these were the best 4 days of giant blue marlin fishing I have experienced. Raising and hooking four 500+lb fish in as many days is solid fishing, and in Bradens words “Raising 2 or 3 a day is normal, 4 or 5 is hot.” I can’t wait to see what all the next years hold. 

Uniquely Fly is the only outfitter currently running charters out of Isabela and fishing there is simply sublime. Not only are you in the Galapagos, staying on beautiful Isabela, but you are also the only boat out there – its pure magic.

The best time to fish for these giants is in the months of April and May, please drop us an email if you’d like to do so, as with such a short season, we do fill up quite quickly. There are some spots for 2025 and 2026 is looking very busy already too!

In our eyes, it is the perfect trip when combined with the smaller blue and striped marlin fishery of San Cristobal Island which we prefer to guide on fly, but we will happily pitch too.

Here is our article all about the fly fishing side of things if you’d like some more info.