When I talk to people about the marlin fishing in the Galapagos Islands, I often get the sense that whoever I am talking to doesn’t quite believe me. And, you know what, it’s totally understandable.

If you were a fly on the wall listening to an overly-sunned Captain talking about a part of the world where you raise 20-100+ striped marlin a day on average that are all 200 lbs +, you might just believe him, but perhaps not.

Now, when said captain starts going on about a giant blue marlin fishery off a different island that no one is fishing, and that is hugely productive, you might start questioning things.

Then, when he finishes it off with, oh by the way both of these insane marlin fisheries are in the most stunning and protected archipelago in the world where nature and humanity coexist in harmony… Hmm, ok, now it’s time to call bulls**t. This guy has had too much sun and is describing the heaven I want to end up in.

I didn’t believe the stories about the fishing in the Galapagos either. That was, until after my first season fishing there.

I’m now three years in, guiding marlin on fly trips and giant blues on conventional with the most experienced sportfishing boat in the islands every year.

Getting To The Galapagos Islands

Before we dive deeper into the fishing, let’s bust another myth. The Galapagos Islands are not hard to get to from Europe, the US, or Australasia.

Right now, I can book a flight from London which departs at 21:40 and I will be in the Galapagos Islands the following day at 12pm. From NYC, I can depart at 01:00 am and be in the Galapagos by 10:40am on the same day.

Flights from the Western US, like Houston, TX or San Fransico, CA take a bit longer, but you’ll be in the Galapagos the following day after your departure.

And for you lovely folks coming from Australia or New Zealand, it’s two stops via Chile and Ecuador to get to the Galapagos Islands.

What Do We Offer

We specialize in privately guided educational fishing travel. So, what does this mean? It means a few things.

Firstly we take care of everything from when you land in Galapagos. Our bookings include airport transfers, boat transfers, your accommodation, fishing, hosting, a private guide, and more.

Each booking is individual to give your group the attention and service you deserve. We do not run multiple groups side by side, all our focus is on giving you the best experience possible.

Secondly, along with the boat’s pro-Captain and crew, you will have a private fishing guide who is also your host for the entire trip. Your guide isn’t just anyone either, they are one of the best in the fishing industry.

On board, they will teach you how to fish and hone your skills – whether its fly fishing, heavy tackle, or light tackle. And on the ground, they are there to ensure you have the best possible trip – helping with anything you need from restaurant bookings to logisticis, and more.

The Marlin Fisheries of The Galapagos Islands

Now that we have hyped up the fishery and worked out that getting there is easy, let’s dig into the fishing a little bit more.

I don’t know of anywhere else in the world where you have two such different, but incredibly productive marlin fisheries sitting side by side.

You can go from a day of raising 20-100 big-ass striped marlins and catching them on fly or conventional off San Cristobal, to the next day raising blue marlin in the 500 to 1000+ lb range off Isabela. It’s pretty astonishing I know.

To top it all off, you’re doing it in the Galapagos while watching whales, dolphins, turtles, manta rays, sea lions, boobies, frigates, albatross and more.

Of course, these combination trips are not mandatory. If you just wanted to fly into San Cristobal and focus on the smaller blue and striped marlin fishery, we will gladly do that – especially if you are looking to hone in your fly fishing or light tackle skills.

However, there is no better way of seeing the Galapagos than by hitting both of these amazing fisheries as the trip will have you staying on all 4 of the inhabited islands.

Giant Blue Marlin & Striped Marlin Combo Trip

You will start by landing on Baltra Island and from the airport transfer onto Santa Cruz island, over the lush mountains, and down to Puerto Ayora for the night (blue line on the map).

After one night in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz, we will board the boat and run to the giant blue marlin grounds off Isabela (red line). After a few days fishing off Isabela and nights on the island, we will fish to Floreana (yellow line), and spend two nights there and fish off Floreana, again for giant blues.

We don’t have to fish for giant blues either. If it’s your dream to catch a wahoo on fly, we’ll head in shallow and do that. Tuna on fly? Sure we got you covered. The boat is yours and our guides can do it all.

After that, we follow the green line, and it’s time to target the huge numbers of striped marlin and the smaller blues off San Cristobal.

As you can see, this trip has you staying on every inhabited island in the Galapagos – Santa Cruz, Isabela, Floreana, and San Cristobal.

The Smaller Blue & Striped Marlin Fishery of San Cristobal

If going after giant marlin isn’t your thing and you’d prefer to have multiple action packed days catching big striped marlin and smaller blues with fly rods or light tackle, then San Cristobal is the Galapagos island for you.

San Cristobal honestly has it all. When you’re not fishing, you can surf, hike in the mountains, snorkel, dive, and lots more.

When it comes to fishing, it is perfectly located to fish one of the three banks which the striped and smaller blue marlin love to feed on. Below is a screenshot from Navionics, and the blue banks are where we fish.

It generally takes about 10 mins to raise a marlin or a pack of marlin on these banks. Our slowest day has been raising 14 fish, and at our best we lost count.

When it comes to fishing these banks on fly and with 20lb tippet, our record so far is landing 6 marlin on the fly rods – which takes about 1 hour per fish – honestly all we have time for in our 8-hour fishing day.

When it comes to fishing these areas conventionally, we only have 3 hooks in the water at a time. We do not want to try to land 4+ marlin at a time, as it becomes too chaotic.

Our favorite conventional approach is pitching, aka bait and switch, as it is very visual and a lot of fun, but we will do whatever you would like to do. I highly recommend a bit of everything.

How to join us on a trip

Joining us on a trip is very easy – just send an email to unqiuelyflytravel@gmail.com and I (Jamie) will be in touch. Every trip is tailor-made to you and your group. We recommend a maximum of 3 anglers per trip but can go up to 4 if needs be.

We look forward to hearing from you, and any questions, feel free to shoot us an email.