"Whale" of a fish tale!

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SHUDDA SEEN THE
WHALE!--Grant Hartman (top) of Baja Anglers and Donald Trump Jr. about
to release a fly tackle marlin at the Finger Banks north of Cabo San
Lucas. Also hooked legally, and broken off intentionally, during the
day was a humpback whale that engulfed an entire bait ball about 30
feet from the boat as a fly was being stripped through it. Photo
courtesy Grant Hartman.

AND---the Whole story.

Dec. 4, 2005, Grant Hartman, Baja Anglers, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Fly Fishing Report:

The Finger Banks have been the talk of Cabo San Lucas. Lots of striped
marlin with some dorado on bait balls, with most Cabo San Lucas charter
fishing boats catching as many fish as they want in a days outing. The
main bait fish on the Finger Banks is the blue sardine about 6 inches
long and it's a sight to see the fish crashing through the bait balls.

The Finger Banks are located about 50 miles from Cabo San Lucas, so
most sportfishing boats that go out are the larger private boats. There
have been a few charter fishing boats that go, but with a hefty
surcharge of $200 to $300 over the daily rate to cover extra fuel, wear
and tear, and time.

Donald Trump Jr. from New York decided to take the long bumpy boat ride
each way and catch a few fish on the fly. The trick to the Finger Banks
was a fly that was a good imitation to the bait, anything else, just
wouldn't work. We would go up to a bait ball and free cast the fly into
the bait ball and strip it slowly, as the fly left the bait ball the
marlin would follow the fly and pounce on it.

Don cast his fly into a bait ball and suddenly the 4 or 5 marlin
circling the bait ball disappeared. He took one strip, and the whole
area exploded with a whale's mouth engulfing the entire bait ball along
with Don's fly. Don set the hook, and line starts buzzing off his Tibor
Pacific reel. He takes a look at me and just busts off the tippet. We
were both amazed at what we saw, and it happened only 30 feet from the
boat. Don's gotta be the only fly fisher in the world to hook a
humpback whale IGFA legally.

Lynn Boyd from Houston landed a striper in just over 20 minutes on his
11WT rod. He was a bit beat, but ended up hooking 5 other fish that day
and landing another.

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Canku Nunpa Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List .243 Winchester Joined: 22 May 2004 Status: Offline Points: 136	Post Options Post Reply Quote Canku Nunpa Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: "Whale" of a fish tale! Posted: 15 December 2005 at 01:59
	SHUDDA SEEN THE WHALE!--Grant Hartman (top) of Baja Anglers and Donald Trump Jr. about to release a fly tackle marlin at the Finger Banks north of Cabo San Lucas. Also hooked legally, and broken off intentionally, during the day was a humpback whale that engulfed an entire bait ball about 30 feet from the boat as a fly was being stripped through it. Photo courtesy Grant Hartman. AND---the Whole story. Dec. 4, 2005, Grant Hartman, Baja Anglers, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Fly Fishing Report: The Finger Banks have been the talk of Cabo San Lucas. Lots of striped marlin with some dorado on bait balls, with most Cabo San Lucas charter fishing boats catching as many fish as they want in a days outing. The main bait fish on the Finger Banks is the blue sardine about 6 inches long and it's a sight to see the fish crashing through the bait balls. The Finger Banks are located about 50 miles from Cabo San Lucas, so most sportfishing boats that go out are the larger private boats. There have been a few charter fishing boats that go, but with a hefty surcharge of $200 to $300 over the daily rate to cover extra fuel, wear and tear, and time. Donald Trump Jr. from New York decided to take the long bumpy boat ride each way and catch a few fish on the fly. The trick to the Finger Banks was a fly that was a good imitation to the bait, anything else, just wouldn't work. We would go up to a bait ball and free cast the fly into the bait ball and strip it slowly, as the fly left the bait ball the marlin would follow the fly and pounce on it. Don cast his fly into a bait ball and suddenly the 4 or 5 marlin circling the bait ball disappeared. He took one strip, and the whole area exploded with a whale's mouth engulfing the entire bait ball along with Don's fly. Don set the hook, and line starts buzzing off his Tibor Pacific reel. He takes a look at me and just busts off the tippet. We were both amazed at what we saw, and it happened only 30 feet from the boat. Don's gotta be the only fly fisher in the world to hook a humpback whale IGFA legally. Lynn Boyd from Houston landed a striper in just over 20 minutes on his 11WT rod. He was a bit beat, but ended up hooking 5 other fish that day and landing another.