I was fishing La Gomera recently before the fires broke out. Thought of catching a marlin on fly there. Allthough I was well prepared, having 600 m of 80 lbs backing on my LOOP Opti Big I soon recognized that these La Gomera monsters are a bit too big. No "small" fish were around to give it a try. Fish up to 300 lbs -maybe even a bit more- seem to be possible to handle but the fish there are more or less all between 600 and 1000 lbs..
However, despite of the fact that feeling the power of a big boy taking 800 m of 130 lbs line in one run with the brake being on 65lbs is something really special, for me fly fishing is definitely more fun. Allthough I did not catch any marlin on fly we had some great fun with Dorados allthough they would be much bigger in autumn. Anyway, dorado are beautiful fish and great fighters.
BTW, if you think of going Big Game fishing for marlin in La Gomera, look for Capt. Tony Norman and his leader man Andrej in San Sebastian harbour. They will bring you out to the fish. I will still not give in for marlin. Maybe it will work out this year. I will try again at another destination with a bit smaller fish. I will let you know!