Large pelagics

A pelagic holds nowhere in particular — it follows the food, and the food follows currents and temperature. That is why you do not fish a spot but a sign: a line where two waters meet, a flock of working birds, water that changes its shade of blue. Searching takes up most of the day.

They are athletes. Streamlined bodies, red muscle under constant blood supply, some able to hold their temperature above that of the water: they sustain speeds and fight durations that test tackle and angler alike. A badly set drag is paid for in seconds.

Many of these species fall under international management, because they cross the waters of several countries within a single year. A stock is therefore judged not by what one sees from a harbour, but at the scale of an ocean.