On the 14th July 2011, Riaan Pretorius and I left Durban Airport for a 10 day trip to Madeira, Portugal. Good friends Mike Warren and Allan Myburg invited us to spend a few days there to see if we could get a nice Blue Marlin... even though the season had been shocking so far.
Our flights took us from Durban to Joburg to Frankfurt to Porto and finally to Funchal... 25 hours later! Allan was there to meet us and after a 30 minute drive, we arrived in Calheta, our base for the next few days. Omega 1, a 48ft Buddy Davis is moored in Calheta Marina which is only 10 minutes from the house where we were staying. After settling, we went down to the mooring to meet up with the locals and hear what had been happening the past few days. The news was not good. There had been nothing in the past few days and there was a sombre mood amongst the crews based there for the season.
Being middle of summer, the weather was beautiful! 26 degrees, sunny 
skies and flat seas ... every day. The sun only set at 21:45pm with boats launching at 19:45 for an hour or so marlin fishing! This was difficult to get used to. Our daily movements were very laid back. Up at 6:30, a light breakfast, leave for the marina at 8:00, stopping at the bakery for freshly baked buns, a cup of coffee at the marina cafe and then onto the boat, leaving the harbour at around 9am each morning. The run to the fishing grounds was about one minute ... not even 500m! The water is purple in the marina and the deep water (over 100m) starts immediately. Our average day would end around 5pm. After returning to the marina, the boat was washed and prepared for the next day. At about 6pm all the crews met at the marina cafe for a few beers and some snacks before heading home. Riaan and I had our daily sundowners at 21:45 (after dinner!) before retiring for the night... what a life!
skies and flat seas ... every day. The sun only set at 21:45pm with boats launching at 19:45 for an hour or so marlin fishing! This was difficult to get used to. Our daily movements were very laid back. Up at 6:30, a light breakfast, leave for the marina at 8:00, stopping at the bakery for freshly baked buns, a cup of coffee at the marina cafe and then onto the boat, leaving the harbour at around 9am each morning. The run to the fishing grounds was about one minute ... not even 500m! The water is purple in the marina and the deep water (over 100m) starts immediately. Our average day would end around 5pm. After returning to the marina, the boat was washed and prepared for the next day. At about 6pm all the crews met at the marina cafe for a few beers and some snacks before heading home. Riaan and I had our daily sundowners at 21:45 (after dinner!) before retiring for the night... what a life!This is a big Blue marlin fishery with little or no bycatch so there is no place for light tackle. Each day we would set the lines with 5 BIG lures on HEAVY tackle. All the boats in the area are running similar patterns, waiting for that one big fish to show up. The average size of the fish in Madeira are 600-700Lbs with 900Lbs and bigger making the occasional appearance.
After 3 days of trolling in perfect conditions without a strike, we decided 
to try some other types of fishing. I had taken the daytime swordfish gear with me and Allan was very keen to give it a go to see if this could be an option for when the fishing was slow. It would also be the first time deep dropping was done in Madeira. In total, we deep dropped for 4 days. On day 1 we never had a bite after 3 drops. On day 2 we tried another area and on the first drop, we had a bite. The rod bumped and the reel took off. Riaan took the strike 
and tried to gain line on the fish. It took about 20 minutes to get the 500m mark back on the reel and a further hour to get the fish to the surface where it turned out to be a bigeye thresher shark of about 100kg. This was the first Thresher shark caught 
by a sports fishing boat in Madeira. Not too bad. The rest of the day was dead. On Day 3, we had another bite from what I am positive was a broadbill. The weight tripped and the rod slowly pulled down. The fish let go then ate again after teasing it a bit. I took the strike and about half way up, the hook came out. The bait had a slash mark on it but other than that, it looked perfect... just bad luck I guess.
to try some other types of fishing. I had taken the daytime swordfish gear with me and Allan was very keen to give it a go to see if this could be an option for when the fishing was slow. It would also be the first time deep dropping was done in Madeira. In total, we deep dropped for 4 days. On day 1 we never had a bite after 3 drops. On day 2 we tried another area and on the first drop, we had a bite. The rod bumped and the reel took off. Riaan took the strike 
and tried to gain line on the fish. It took about 20 minutes to get the 500m mark back on the reel and a further hour to get the fish to the surface where it turned out to be a bigeye thresher shark of about 100kg. This was the first Thresher shark caught 
by a sports fishing boat in Madeira. Not too bad. The rest of the day was dead. On Day 3, we had another bite from what I am positive was a broadbill. The weight tripped and the rod slowly pulled down. The fish let go then ate again after teasing it a bit. I took the strike and about half way up, the hook came out. The bait had a slash mark on it but other than that, it looked perfect... just bad luck I guess.
The next few days were the same, without a strike so we took a day off to see the island. It is beautiful! Some of the places are out of a dream. Absolute paradise.
Our trip came to an end very quickly, and even though we did not catch a big Madeira blue, it was still amazing. Riaan and I agree that we would go back any time again. If you get the chance to go, grab it with 2 hands. Both
Riaan and I are very grateful to Mike and Allan for hosting us for the few days and showing us what the island has to offer.
