26 Dolphin Tagged, 2 Wahoo Tagged, 3 Blue Marlin, 2 White Marlin

We are back from our first major tagging expedition in the Bahamas. We were gone for 21 days, covered over a thousand miles on the boat and explored some new places that hold promise for future field work. We caught less fish that I thought we would but we endured some rough winter storm weather, with a few days fishing in near gale-like conditions. There are multiple posts coming but I would like to focus on the three most important results from the trip.

First: circle hooks work. We struggled at first on dolphin tagging with them but learned to hook the fish in the corner of the jaw which enabled a safe release after tagging. The circle hooks worked great for marlin fishing also. It is the law in the US now that circle hooks be used in all billfish tournaments. We are sold on them. Everybody else should bite the bullet, learn to fish them and make the switch.

Secondly, weather has a major impact on fish movement and tagging efforts. We know January is a rough month to be at sea but felt we might find large dolphin for satellite tag placement. Well... we did not find them at all. And some days we ran 30-40 miles in search of the fish with no results. Captain Steve on the Makara and Captain Billy on the Snafu were great in running the boats to the best spots. We did tag a good number of fish when we found them. We have three more major tagging expeditions in the coming months. So stayed tuned to more data.

Finally and most importantly, recognition to the captains and crew on this expedition. As I mentioned earlier, each week we had different crew for different efforts. Week one had Joe Mac and Captain Ed on board for marlin fishing. In week two we had Brandon White from Lateral Line Apparel, Steve Trafton from Henry's Fork Foundation and Ryan Davey from Custom Fly Adventures on board. Week three had fisheries biologist Don Hammond and John McMurray from Norcross Wildlife Foundation on board. There was a great meeting of the minds over marine conservation efforts and what we all can do going forward working together. Captain Steve ran the Makara and is our finest man on the grill. Captain Billy got the Snafu ready to fish in record time which provided us with a new platform for shallow water fishing and exploration. I thank everybody for their efforts and commitment to conservation.