The next issue of Marlin (August/September 2008), will be a very special one; we plan to put out what we like to call the “Marlin 100,”  which will highlight 100 people, places and things deemed essential to the sport of blue-water fishing. From the lowly rubber band to “A” Dock in St. Thomas USVI, the Marlin 100 hopes to ignite your fishing passion by celebrating both the miniscule and grand aspects of sport fishing.

As I write this piece – my first Fly Fishing in Salt Waters blog – the economy is once again getting battered, the news is littered with trashy stories, and yet I still can’t get my mind off fly-fishing!

I know you can’t either.

I just arrived back home after a great first session of Marlin University in beautiful Guanamar, Costa Rica. The fish showed up in sufficient numbers to get everyone at least a couple of shots, and everyone caught a billfish on the trip.

We were able to get one more charter in before the weather turned bad for the rest of the year. The largest mahi we landed were both over 5 feet long, and weighed over 30 pounds. (Last 2 pics on the Gallery, Page 3). We are still hitting decent tuna, nice rainbow runners, blue mackerel, and it seems that a school of skipjcks was passing through, because we nailed a whole bunch of them.

Can any one give me some pointers on fishing in Belize mid march -- fly color etc. we will be on Ambergris Caye

New Caledonia is a land of contradictions. Its very tropical fishing with lush reefs (forming one of the largest encircling lagoons in the world) takes place around an island surprisingly arid and surprisingly moderate in climate. Its placement in the midst of Melanesia (north of New Zealand), suggests dark-skinned natives speaking some local dialect, but in fact it's trés European - French to be specific, since this large island is a French colony. Another contradiction: vast areas of beautiful flats but, so far, rather limited access to it all.