Fishing Cape Verde - Blue Marlin Bootcamp

Just two weeks after their previous trip, the Bad Company Fishing Team returns to the blue marlin capital of the world—Cape Verde. This expedition is unlike any other, bringing together three different groups of guests over the course of a single adventure. First aboard is Captain Chris Hood from Orange Beach, Alabama. Known for his expertise targeting giant blue marlin with live bait in the Gulf of Mexico, Chris joins the crew to share a few tricks from the American South and see how they compare to Cape Verde’s legendary fishery. The trip wastes no time getting underway. The incredible bite the team left behind just two weeks earlier is still going strong. Early on the second day, the crew hooks into a quality blue marlin. But moments into the fight, disaster strikes as the fish becomes wrapped in the leader. Knowing the fish’s chances of survival are fading, the team pushes the tackle to its limits, applying maximum drag in an effort to stop the fish and bring it boatside before exhaustion takes its toll. After an intense 30-minute battle, the marlin sounds deep… and dies. For the next hour, the crew carefully planes the fish to the surface, doing everything possible to avoid breaking the line. In four years of the Bad Company World Tour, this marks only the third blue marlin the team has ever lost in this way. Back aboard the 175-foot Damen mothership, the fish is hoisted onto the scale. To everyone’s surprise, it tips the scales at approximately 853 pounds—nearly 100 pounds heavier than the crew had estimated. The incredible fishing continues over the following days, with blue marlin ranging from 200 pounds to over 900 pounds keeping the team busy from sunrise to sunset. Six days into the trip, the second wave of guests arrives—the ESPN film crew that first joined the team two years earlier in the Azores. After following Bad Company across the globe for the past two years, this trip marks the final chapter of their documentary. And there may be no better place to finish than Cape Verde, home to some of the greatest blue marlin fishing on Earth. But nature has other plans. The once-red-hot bite slows dramatically, forcing the team to cover hundreds of miles in search of another concentration of fish. After an entire day of searching, they finally locate a productive area. What follows is exactly the kind of action every filmmaker hopes to capture. Over the next three hours, the crew catches nine blue marlin, delivering an unforgettable finale for the ESPN cameras. After two years spent traveling on and off with the Bad Company crew, the final evenings are filled with stories—about fishing, distant ports, unforgettable adventures, and the friendships built along the way. Like every great journey, though, this one eventually comes to an end. The ESPN crew packs their bags, and the third and final group of guests arrives: Anthony’s family. As they step aboard, the weather takes a turn for the worse. Rather than calling it quits, the team tucks behind São Antão to escape the wind and make the best of the conditions. Their persistence pays off. The family enjoys an incredible few days on the water, with four guests catching their very first blue marlin. Highlighting the trip is a spectacular fish estimated at over 800 pounds that puts on an unforgettable display before finally coming alongside the boat. After more than 20 days on the water, another remarkable Cape Verde expedition comes to a close. By the end of the trip, the team has released 49 blue marlin, wrapping up their second-to-last adventure of the season. One final stop remains. Next up: the 2026 World Cup, and the Bad Company Fishing Team’s third consecutive appearance in Cape Verde’s most prestigious tournament.