Anglers out of Virginia Beach experienced a ferocious marlin blitz last year that produced so many catches the words “world class” were inadequate to describe it. Magnificent, high-leaping white marlin suddenly seemed to become as abundant as bluegills, and there was a huge demand for those blue flags that anglers fly on their craft when they’ve experienced a billfish catch.    

One day during the Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament 16 boats caught a phenomenal 327 white marlin and a few blues.

Capt. Steve Richardson out of Virginia Beach set a one-day record when his charter “Backlash” caught and released 41 white marlin and one blue marlin on Sept. 23.

Catches also were abundant in North Carolina and Maryland. Two Ocean City, Md., boats released 48 marlin during a two-day outing.

The Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament registered 775 white marlin releases for the 2009 season, a tournament record and more than the count for striped bass, flounder, drum or any other species other than speckled trout. You must go back more than 30 years to come even close to this kind of marlin fishing success.

With the late August and early September peak of the marlin season approaching, and the Virginia Beach Billfish Tournament set for Aug. 18-21, the question is: “Will anything this epic happen again?”

Probably not. But we are talking about fishing here, and strange things can occur.

Last week, the 37th White Marlin Open in Ocean City, Md. saw 225 boats catch 631 marlin. Most were released. The tournament produced a 97.5-pound white marlin, the second largest ever for the event. A 1,010.5-pound blue marlin catch was the second blue in the tournament ever to smash the 1,000-pound barrier.

As for last season’s record-setting action, it was a time when all the necessary ingredients for marlin fishing success came together, the weather, the water temperature, the baitfish, the migration pattern of marlin, the skill — even luck — of anglers.

One thing you have to have for a successful season is the marlin themselves. There appears to be no scarcity of them considering all the releases last season and the hefty catch during the recent Ocean City tournament.

At last count, the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament had registered 141 white marlin releases this year. During the same time period last year, the count was 112. So the pace already is ahead of last year, but it is too early to do a lot of crowing. The fish remain scattered. One or two major storms could screw things up.

Lee Tolliver, who follows this sport as outdoor editor of the Virginian-Pilot, says what is needed for a blitz are “good blows of northeasterly winds followed by variable or light westerly winds. With El Nina in effect, the chances of this aren’t as good as last year, but it can sill happen,” he said.

“The northeasterly winds blow warm water closer to shore and ball up bait,” he said. “Hungry whites starting their migration south ball up with the bait. If there’s a boat or two in that particular place when it turns on, yes, another record could be broken.”

One thing that stands out about last season, some of the very best action occurred late, the last two weeks of September, said Lewis Gillingham, director of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament. If the early season had been as good, no telling what the results might have been, he said.

With last season’s action in mind, you might think there would be a bunch of anglers standing in line to hire a charter, but Tolliver isn’t seeing that. The industry has suffered in the wake of the poor economy. It costs $1,775 to charter a boat, and that rules out a lot of anglers.

Much of the business is from opportunists who stand back and wait for a bite to occur, then phone their favorite captain for a last minute dash to the action.

Said Tolliver: “It’s always still going to be fishing and that just means you never ever know what’s going to happen when you get out there.”

FOR CHARTERS OR INFORMATION, contact Virginia Beach Fishing Center at (575) 422-5171 or Fisherman’s Wharf at (575) 652-8409.