Warm, cobalt currents pushed hard over the Azores Bank, where massive schools of chub mackerel (what we call slimy-mackerel in Australia) were holding down deep. All hands dropped weighted sabikis; the baitwell soon brimmed with the large, lively baits.Capt. Zak Conde called from the bridge to his young mate, Andrew Kennedy, to quickly bridle-rig a couple of mackerel and get them into the bait tubes bubbling with seawater. Each rig consisted of a circle hook attached to a 25-foot, 500-pound monofilament trace, carefully coiled and rubber-banded neatly to a stand-up 50-pound or 80-pound chair rod. A short length of plastic tube secured each end of the band, and needed only a quick pull for release and -deployment of the bait. The size of the marlin raised would dictate the appropriate tackle selected. That ability to instantly match ...![Sport Fishing Mag]()
