Blue & white marlin
Makaira nigricans (blue), Kajikia albida (white) · Blues, whites; a blue over 1,000 lb is a grander
Marlin live on the shelf break, the 100-fathom (600 ft) curve where the Texas shelf drops into deep water. Loop Current eddies push salty, blue 80–87 °F water against that edge, and current running up the slope lifts bait toward the surface. Tagged Gulf blue marlin sit off Texas and Louisiana in July and August, and the Texas record, a 972.7 lb blue, came from Hoover-Diana in 2014. Most marlin trips are overnight runs of 70–150 miles.
October: FairFair and front-dependent; best south of Port Aransas.
Texas and federal rules · Checked Oct 22, 2026
- Daily bag
- No bag limit
- Size
- Texas: blue 131 in, white 86 in · federal: blue 99 in, white 66 in lower-jaw fork length
- Season
- Open all year
Federal HMS Angling (or Charter/Headboat) permit required; report non-tournament landings within 24 hours. You can't keep a billfish with a hammerhead or oceanic whitetip aboard. Non-offset circle hooks with natural bait in tournaments. A billfish you release must stay in the water.
Check the current rules ↗At a glance
- Best months
- Jul–Aug; May–Sep season
- Where
- The shelf break (600 ft line), canyons and the deepwater floaters
- Water temp
- Blues 79–86 °F; whites 76–84 °F
- Water
- Clean blue side of a color change; eddy edges; ≥36 psu salinity
- Troll
- Lures 7–9 kt; ballyhoo 5–7 kt for whites
How to identify them
- Blue marlin: cobalt-blue back with pale blue vertical stripes, a pointed first dorsal fin lower than the body is deep, and a large size (Gulf fish average about 220 lb).
- White marlin: lighter green-blue back, rounded tips on the first dorsal, anal and pectoral fins, and often spots on the dorsal; usually 50–80 lb.
- Every blue over about 330 lb is a female; males stay small.
Month by month
- JanSlowGulf blues are in the Bay of Campeche; an occasional fish at the spars.
- FebSlowSame.
- MarSlowSame.
- AprSlowEarly blues possible if warm eddy water reaches the shelf edge.
- MayFairSeason opens: fish on the shelf edge; the first tournament (May).
- JunGoodBlues building; whites strongest in early summer.
- JulPeakPeak: tagged blues concentrate off Texas and Louisiana; Poco Bueno and the Roundup.
- AugPeakPeak: TIFT, Texas Legends and the Billfish Classic. Plume water can foul the upper coast.
- SepGoodGood, with fish shifting south toward the border; the lower coast is very good.
- OctFairFair and front-dependent; best south of Port Aransas.
- NovSlowMostly gone south.
- DecSlowGone.
Where to find them
The shelf break
The 100-fathom (600 ft) curve, where the shelf drops into deep water. East Breaks and its canyons (~73 mi from Port A), Cerveza (EB 160/165), the deep water south of the Flower Gardens, Tequila, Dutra, Colt 45 and the Dumps.
The deepwater floaters
Spars and floating platforms act as giant FADs: Boomvang (~105 nm from Freeport), Hoover-Diana (the record fish), Gunnison and Perdido (~120 mi from Port Isabel). Ring the rig with lures and live bait.
Midsummer banks
When blue water floods in during midsummer, blues, whites and sails show on Bakers and Hospital Rock about 35 mi off Port Aransas.
Stacked signs
The best water stacks a temperature break, a blue/green color change (fish the clean side), an eddy edge on the altimetry, a weedline and current against the drop. Breaks peak about 3 days after they form and fade after 5–6.
Texas spots to try
| Structure | Water depth | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Perdido (spar) | 7,817 ft | ~120 mi E of Port Isabel; ~155 mi from Port A |
| Hoover-Diana (spar) | 4,650–4,800 ft | ~125 mi from Port O'Connor or Freeport; 138 mi from Port A |
| Boomvang (spar) | 3,453 ft | ~100 mi from Freeport; 132 mi from Port A |
| Gunnison (spar) | 3,122 ft | ~135 mi from Freeport |
| Tequila / East and West Cerveza | On or beyond 100 fathoms | 106 / 121 / 132 mi from Port A |
| East Breaks | Shelf break and canyon | ~73 mi from Port A; ~75 nm from Freeport |
| Bakers & Hospital Rock (midsummer) | Bank crests ~180–220 ft | ~35 mi from Port A |
From the billfish research (Marlin Magazine, Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, Offshore Technology). Nansen spar has been removed; confirm Boomvang and Gunnison are standing before you plan a trip.
How to catch them
Troll the edge
Zigzag along the shelf break and the color change, mostly on the blue side, then ring the floaters. Lures at 7–9 kt: Hawaiian-style plastics and Mold Craft softheads (green has won Poco Bueno). Blues often respond better at 8–9 kt with artificials.
Whites
Rigged ballyhoo or mullet at 5–7 kt on lighter tackle, with circle hooks and a drop-back.
Live bait at the floaters
Small tunas, rainbow runners or hardtails caught at the rig legs, slow-trolled or kite-fished. The Texas record blue ate a live bait at 6:55 a.m.
Tackle
Blues: 50–80 lb class, 300–400 lb leader on lures, 10/0–12/0 hooks. Whites: 20–30 lb class, ballyhoo on circle hooks.
Reading the conditions
Temperature
Blues spend most of their time in 79–88 °F water; the map's ideal band is 79–86 °F. Midsummer water above the band can slow the bite on the upper coast.
Salinity and color
Avoid fresh, green plume water: blue marlin larvae peak at 36–37 psu, and Mississippi plume water is below 35 psu. Fish the clean, blue side of the color change.
Altimetry
Loop Current eddies stand higher than the water around them. Fish the edge, where the current runs and the fronts form, not the warm, empty middle.
Moon and weather
A long tournament study found no link between moon phase and blue marlin catch. Wind and seas decide whether you can go, not whether they bite.
Tips from the water
- Look for three or more signs stacked together: break, color, eddy edge, weed, current against the drop.
- Look at the charts for several days, not just today: breaks build and fade.
- Verify on the water: color, birds, bait on the sounder, and the surface temperature.
- Use the map's marlin filter: each pick says how it ranks against the other marlin water in range.
Common mistakes
- Trolling the middle of a warm eddy because the water is pretty.
- Fishing green plume water off the upper coast in late summer.
- Pulling a fish you're releasing out of the water.
Handling and release
Keep released billfish in the water: cut the leader near the hook or use a dehooker, and revive the fish alongside. Many Texas tournaments score releases by video. Texas's minimums (131 in blue, 86 in white) mean nearly every fish is released.
Use it today
- Best blue & white marlin spots right now
- How to find fish offshore
- Conditions and Gulf seas today
- Moon & weather
- Fishing reports
- Billfish guide
By port: Sabine · Bolivar · Galveston · Freeport · Sargent · Matagorda · Port O'Connor · Rockport · Port Aransas · Corpus Christi · Port Mansfield · South Padre
Go deeper
The full billfish guide: reading SST, color and altimetry, seasons, release and the bite model →
Sources (9)
- TPWD: Marlin bag and length limits (2026–27)
- NOAA Fisheries: Atlantic billfish statuses, sizes and limits
- Kraus, Wells & Rooker 2011: Gulf blue marlin movements
- Rooker et al. 2012: Billfish larvae habitat (PLoS ONE)
- Marlin Magazine: Texas marlin fishing history
- Marlin Magazine: Texas offshore fishing (Port Aransas)
- Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine: Islands of steel
- In The Spread: Altimetry fishing charts
- NC Sea Grant: Does the moon affect offshore tournament catch rates?
Other species
Regulations change: confirm bag and size limits in the TPWD Outdoor Annual and with NOAA Fisheries (federal waters) before you keep a fish. Not for navigation.