Backyard Billfish

Clear water and a blue marlin makes for a colorful combination

With the proliferation of bigger, faster sportfishing boats, once-distant waters now feel much closer to home. For example, in the 1970s, most offshore fishermen considered a 50-footer to be a big boat. And if a boat that size cruised at 23 knots, that seemed pretty quick.

Those numbers seem like a distant memory these days as 70- and 80-footers have become commonplace and cruise between 30 and 40 knots. Such innovations have radically altered the bluewater fishing geography, making waters that used to feel distant seem much closer to home.

Of course, many of