Striped marlin

Slim marlin with a tall, pointed first dorsal fin (as tall as or taller than the body is deep) and pale blue vertical stripes that 'light up' when it's excited.

100–200 lb.

About 13 ft and close to 500 lb.

Mackerel, sardines, flying fish, small tunas, skipjack and squid.

Open-ocean hunter that follows warm water, current edges and bait balls over offshore banks and seamounts.

Found from Baja & Sea of Cortez, Pacific Mexico and Southern California. Open Pacific from Southern California to Peru; Magdalena Bay and Cabo San Lucas are among the best places in the world for them.

Open Pacific from Southern California to Peru; Magdalena Bay and Cabo San Lucas are among the best places in the world for them.

Surface to 300 ft; often finning on the surface.

Surface to 100 ft over deep water, banks and seamounts.

Varies by port: fall off Magdalena Bay and Cabo, late spring and summer inside the Sea of Cortez, and winter and spring farther south off mainland Mexico.

Morning bites are common, but the fish feed all day when bait is up.

Current and water temperature matter more than tide; around the banks, the bite often turns on with the current.

Blue, warm water (about 72–82°F); calm to moderate seas.

Live mackerel and caballito (green jack), and live or rigged ballyhoo.

Small to medium marlin lures (6–10 in) trolled at 7–9 knots.

30–50 lb class stand-up or trolling outfit; 50–80 lb for big black marlin.

7/0–9/0 non-offset circle hooks with live bait; single or double hooks on trolling lures.

30–50 lb mono, or braid with a long mono top shot.

80–150 lb mono, 15 ft.

Look for birds and bait balls. When marlin are feeding on bait, drop a live mackerel on a circle hook right next to them, or troll lures until one shows up behind the spread, then pitch it a live bait.

With a circle hook, don't jerk. Let the marlin swim off with the bait, slowly push the lever up to strike, and the hook will set itself in the corner of the jaw.

Catch and release: wet your hands, keep the fish in the water when you can, and release it quickly. Use circle hooks and a dehooker.

Usually released — a sport fish more than a food fish.

Not a food fish — release it.

The bill can kill — never grab the bill of a green (lively) fish, wear gloves, and keep everyone clear when the fish is at the boat.

Reserved for sport fishing in Mexico, with a limit of 1 billfish per angler per day; nearly every Cabo and Magdalena Bay charter releases them. In California you may keep one striped marlin per day, but most anglers release them. Mexico requires a sport fishing license (CONAPESCA) for every person aboard a fishing boat, even those not fishing. The general daily limit is 10 fish per person, no more than 5 of one species, and only 1 billfish (marlin, sailfish or swordfish) or 2 of dorado, roosterfish, tarpon or shark. Billfish, dorado and roosterfish are reserved for sport fishing, and many islands and coasts are parks or biosphere reserves with their own rules.

Revive the fish by holding it alongside the boat, moving slowly forward, until it swims off on its own.