St. Thomas Marlin Fishing

[Full Choke]

Just got on a trip to St. Thomas this coming September 9th - 12th. I've never been there and do not know hardly anything about the area or the fishing. I hear the blue marlin bite is great between June & October. I think we are fishing 2 days. I dont have any info on what boat or where we are staying yet. If anyone has been and fished, or knows what the bite is like right now, or typically is in early September, I am eager to find out. Thanks for any help.

[ejfra]

September moon bite last year was the strongest of the season last year. Your dates are a little early on this years moon cycle.

[FESS]

Just got back....you'll be ruined for life....usually best week b4 full moon (sept 23, 2010) and week or so after. But hardly ever horrible. Have fun, we'll be curious who your fishin with though. Bait and switch fishing is the norm so read and or practice up...go for the going away bite up close and personal.

[Swami]

Just got back from St. T, had a fun trip. Even though the green water had moved into the North Drop, we still saw three blues on the first day, baited two and got two releases. Second day was a little sportier weather-wise, only had one bite but the circle hook twisted back through the bait so no joy on the hookup. All three bites were real knee-knockers, right behind the boat, kaboom! One fish was est. at 450-500 pounds too...

You'll fly into Charlotte Amalie, which is the capital. Most of the charter boats are based out of American Yacht Harbor in Red Hook, about 15 minutes away. There are a few others farther down the road at Sapphire Bay, which is where we were. There's a small grocery store in Red Hook where you can stock up on provisions (ie beer, rum, lunch meat, etc). There are also plenty of restaurants in town.

We were pitch-baiting, so our spread was two lures with single hooks on the long riggers, two long teasers and two short teasers--never had a bite on the lures the whole time, all the action was mixed between the long and short teasers. Standard tackle setup is a 50W with a Spanish mackerel ready to pitch. Even though you may be off the moon phase a little, the fish are still there and you should get some bites. In general though, be ready for at least six-foot seas and 20+ knots of wind. It's usually pretty sporty there.

If you have a chance, there's some great snorkeling and scuba diving all around the island, and there are ferries that run back and forth from Red Hook to St. Johns so it's a nice detour to go sightseeing.

Let me know if you have any questions, be happy to help if I can.

[Full Choke]

Thanks for the response. I hope to know who were fishing with soon. Will post when I find out. I am eager to get down there. Hope the moon phase wont mess us up too badly. Ill bring the camera and hope to get some good pictures if we get any action.