Fishing Photographer's Giant Marlin Photo on Magazine Cover

The huge 600 pound marlin that bounced off the press boat, broke hook, and swam to freedom at the 2010 Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT) continues to make big fish news!

The picture shown above that I took as the big fish was jumping towards our press boat is now on the cover of Marlin Magazine's March 2012 issue. Yahoo!

I wonder how that big girl is doing now? You probably know that most large marlin are females. Hopefully the fish is continuing to reproduce and eating 100 pound tuna for snacks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

If you don't remember this famous fish tale, click here to see how this marlin was one of the top photos and news stories of the summer of 2010.

Dorado, mahi, or dolphin fish. Whatever you call it, here's my newest cover!

This is the newest issue of Australia's Bluewater Magazine with a photo that I took in Nicaragua.

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People on the East Coast of the USA call it a dolphin fish, while Hawaiians and the seafood industry call it Mahi Mahi. If you go where they speak Spanish it's called a dorado. They jump like crazy and are very hard to capture on film. In addition, the moment you bring them aboard, they lose their color and turn green-brown, so it's hard top get good shots of them. If that weren't enough, they go absolutely ballistic when they are in the boat and they can be dangerous to handle because they are often attached to a set of large hooks.
They often travel in schools. The bull male has that weird looking "Lurch" forehead and the female is usually smaller with a more gently sloping forehead. For a huge thrill, try catching them from a kayak!

Photo of big fish and lure makes top fishing magazine cover

Check out my yellowfin tuna picture on the cover of the new issue of Bluewater Boats Magazine!

I do a lot of fishing photography on the Kona Coast on the Big Island of Hawaii. Last summer I fished with Captain Russ Nitta of Lepika Sportfishing chasing Ahi (the Hawaiian name for big yellowfin tuna). 

He caught the 130 pound yellowfin tuna featured on the cover trolling a custom Hawaiian lure head made by Ronald Shiroma. Russ likes to skirt it with blue and silver over pink and white.  

For ahi, Russ uses 300-400 pound test Momoi Extra Hard leader, with leader lengths between 18 and 24 feet. His reels are all Fin Nor 80's and 130's, matched with custom Ian Miller rods from Australia.

I had originally booked time with him because I wanted to see him catch huge tuna with an interesting contraption known as the "green stick", but we had better luck trolling lures. 

Captain Nitta on the Lepika, a 33' Force built in Hilo.

I'm thrilled that my photo was featured on the cover of Bluewater. Editor Tim Simpson runs an awesome publication that is cherished by big game anglers worldwide, and I hope his readers will get a kick out of this tuna pic. Below is a photo I took of a sailfish being released in in Guatemala that made the cover of Bluewater awhile back:

Fiji Adventure Travel and Ecotourism Photos by Jon Schwartz

Fiji has been on my bucket list for years. Ultra exotic fish like the Dogtooth Tuna, Giant Trevally, and Wahoo prowl the waters just off the Great Astrolabe Reef, and it's also a top snorkeling, diving, surfing, and ecotourism destination.

Captain Adrian Watt operates a world class sport fishing boat called the Bite Me out of Matava Resort on Kadavu Island, and my recent visit provided me with a great opportunity to get more exciting fishing and travel photos (click pictures to enlarge)

"Bure" is the Fijian word for cabin. Here's an exterior view of one of the bures.

Here's where I slept! The sound of the waves crashing on the Great Astrolabe Reef are very soothing.

This is Lion Rock, where I took the over under shots of the snorkeler swimming.

Below is an under over (also called over under or split shot) photo that I took at Lion Rock. It was fun trying out my new specialized custom camera lens port that enables me to do this type of photography.

Every night the guests gather for a multi course meal and conversation. I made friends with people from  Australia, France, Germany, Argentina, England, and New Zealand.

Matava Resort is also a PADI 5 star dive center.  Here's a couple of divers entering the water. I'm a fool for not being certified in SCUBA, because the Great Astrolabe Reef is one of the best dive spots in the world. I'll have to go back and do a dive trip there. I got some awesome pics just snorkeling!

Cool local style carving outside my cabin.

Anyone for a message?

The view from my bure (cabin).

The dining room set up for lunch.

Flying into Kadavu Island on Pacific Air from Nadi Airport on mainland Fiji.

In Fiji and the Western Pacific they have a drink called Kava. It is mildly intoxicating and according to Wikipedia, can act as a sedative and anesthetic. Here's the staff preparing some for the guests from the roots of the plant Piper Methsyticum.

I'm a sucker for closeup flower shots like this:

Scenic shot of the entrance to the resort

Dining room looking out

Jon Schwartz squid photo on cover of academic journal

Being in the right place at the right time sure can pay off! When I went kayak fishing last summer in Southern California for white seabass, a giant school of squid appeared at the surface. I dove in with my camera and lucked out with some amazing underwater squid photos.

My squid pictures made the front page of the San Diego Union Tribune, were featured in the Audobon Magazine,  Dive Photo Guide, and numerous major websites. I was even featured on TV (click on the below clip to see that). Not bad for a chance encounter!

My luck continued when Oxford University Press's London bureau contacted me and asked to use one of my squid photos for the cover of their scientific publication Journal of Molluscan Studies. What a gas! I can't make much sense of what they talk about inside the book because it's very technical, but I'm flattered that such smart people liked my squid pics.

If you want to read the entire story with more photos, check out this article here.

Jon Schwartz's Technology Work with Elementary Students

In addition to being a fishing photographer and travel writer, I have been teaching elementary school for 15 years. I use my passion for fishing, writing, photography, and technology to engage my students.

This fall I was recognized by the California State Senate and the Technology Training Foundation of America as a "2011 Tech Hero" for my "Commitment to providing students with the necessary training and tools to compete in our technological world."

Specifically, I have been teaching students how to use blogs, photoshop, and video editing. I also teach them digital citizenship, the evolution from print to web, and search engine optimization.

I was asked by the prominent educational website Edutopia (funded by the movie mogul George Lucas of Star Wars) to write an article on using student blogs to help English Language Learners cross the Digital Divide. You can read the article by clicking here. 

My class was also featured on TV (see below video) and our work was written about in several different publications, including Education News and Converge Magazine. 

If you have any interest in checking any of this work out, please visit my site at www.kidslikeblogs.org.  My next project involves using billfish and marine science to teach my students the science, math, and writing.

To see examples of how I use fishing and technology to engage my students, click here and here. Stay tuned for updates from our exciting classroom.

Win a $400 signed fishing photo from fishing photographer Jon Schwartz

It's exciting to have my big fish photos and video on magazine covers, billboards, private collections, and National Geographic. Now I'm giving away 2 signed 16x20" gallery quality prints worth $400 each! Here's how you can you get a chance to win these photos:

1. Visit my Facebook Page by clicking here: Jon Schwartz Fishing Photography
2. Follow the easy instructions. All you have to do once you get there is "Like" the page and sign up to be eligible.

Please Note: there are two small buttons below this blog post that look like Facebook buttons. Don't bother with them. You actually have to go to my Facebook page Jon Schwartz Fishing Photography and click "Like" once you get there. Thanks!!

Here are some images I am considering for the giveaway. I am open to suggestions and I welcome all input. If you scroll through my blog and look through my Facebook page you will see a lot more images. I will be going to Fiji in two weeks and will also be coming back with more images so stay tuned for my Fiji reports!

In the meantime here is my 2012 Wall Calendar published by Willow Creek Press, available in bookstores now:

Wife Bests Husband in Marlin Fishing Standoff

How about this big fish story: a married couple fishing aboard the 35' Bad Medicine in Cabo San Lucas spotted the dorsal fins of two striped marlin breaking the surface. Patricia and Edward Araujo of Chula Vista, California tossed baits to the pair of billfish, and within moments the husband and wife team found themselves hooked up to a pair of javelin-nosed jumpers greyhounding for the horizon.

The married duo strapped on their fighting belts and shouted with glee as the fishing line peeled off their reels in bursts. Patricia's fish headed west and Edward's went east, pinning the anglers in opposite corners of the boat. I grabbed my wide angle lens, raced to the bridge, and snapped away. As a fishing photographer and travel writer, I have plenty of stock fishing pictures, but photos of married couples hooked up at the same time to huge fish are hard to come by!

The Araujos are experienced anglers and spend a lot of time fishing in Baja, but they'd ever enjoyed a simultaneous double marlin hookup together. I couldn't decide what to photograph next!

I wanted to get jumping shots of their fish, but I also wanted to swim with the striped marlin, take underwater photographs, and then take photos from the water looking up at them and their fish. After some thought I decided to put my telephoto lens on and see if their fish wouldn't put on an aerial show closer to the boat. Fortunately they did!

As soon as I got these jumping shots, I readied my underwater camera gear and donned my mask and fins. I'm walking around the boat with the fins on getting in everyone's way and looking like a complete clown. Someone had to decide which spouse would reel their fish in first. Edward's fish was a bit closer so the Captain Bernabe "Bernie" Ruiz told him to bring his fish in. If everything went according to plan, I'd document the release of this fish from the water while Patricia continued the fight with her marlin.

In the meantime I snorkeled off the boat's stern and got shots of the two anglers hooked up.

Fortunately the plan unfolded smoothly and I was able to get some pretty awesome photos of Edward and his fish. The mate inserted the tag into the fish. 

If the fish is again caught, the capture and tag information will be reported to organizations like The Billfish Foundation, which can determine the length of travel between travel and marlin migration patterns, etc. The Billfish Foundation helps promote the conservation of marlin, sailfish, and related species worldwide.

Here is a cool shot of Edward and his fish while wife Patricia is battles her own marlin in the background:

Deckhand Alberto “Beto” Ceseña released the first fish; now it was time for everyone to concentrate on Patricia, who fought along gamely as her fish dove for the bottom.

When the marlin resurfaced near me, it became evident that her fish was the bigger of the two. I gave it plenty of space until Beto grabbed hold of the leader, and then took some shots of her posing with her fish. Patricia backed off and the Beto took over. This was one big striped marlin!

The Marinero expertly insertied the tag into the fish and deftly sent it on its way. 

This wasn't the crew's first time at the rodeo; in fact, they'd won the 2011 Bisbee's Black and Blue Marlin Tournament. Sensing another cool photo op, I snapped away the entire time and got some neat shots of the entire marlin release sequence. I put together a composite that I will be using in future articles on the subject of how to release marlin. Here it is: (click to enlarge photo)

Ironically Patricia almost didn't make the trip; the couple had a wedding to attend the same night and she almost stayed home to get ready for the occasion. I know my wife would have. As it was, she only had a couple of hours between landing at Cabo San Lucas Marina and the start of the wedding. That's what I call a dedicated angler! Turns out that I have a lot in common with the couple; Patricia and I both teach elementary school in San Diego and our students might become online pen pals. On the way back Patricia filled out the Tag Report that Bad Medicine Sportfishing will send to The Billfish Foundation.

I use fishing and technology to engage my students so you can bet as soon as I get back in the classroom after winter break, I'll be telling the kids this cool fishing tale.

I have a marlin mount in my car right now and the day before school starts back up I'm going to put it up on the wall. When the students come in, we'll do the dramatic unveiling! It will lead to more fish science in our room. I'll be sharing our marlin and marine science work with The Billfish Foundation to aid in their billfish conservation efforts.
Stay tuned as I will be writing another article featuring other photos and stories from this trip to Cabo. Here's a preview:

If you liked this article, please click here to like my Facebook page.
I will be doing a free monthly photo giveaway raffle that is available to all those who have "liked" the page. If you scroll through my blog and website you'll see some of the neat images that might be raffled off. Three per month will be given away to randomly selected "likers" of my Facebook page.
Cheers and tight lines,
Jon Schwartz

UPDATE:
This story was picked up by the San Diego Union Tribune!
Outdoors writer and SD Tribune columnist Ed Zieralski did a writeup and you can see it here San Diego Union Tribune: Couple has Marlin Adventure in Cabo San Lucas.