Z Fish Report (12/3/10)

The 80° blue water is still only about 7 to 8 miles off the beach, with some outstanding action this last week. Even though the sailfish have been excellent, the blue and striped marlin are stealing the show.

Francisco on the super panga Huntress
about to release a nice black marlin

Early in the week, Mike Garrett of Malvern Arkansas fished with Mecate on the cruiser Aqua Azul. Mike had a great couple of days of fishing, plus the Razorbacks beat Alabama, so his week was fantastic. First they released a sailfish, then Mecate spotted a huge blue marlin, which was trying to get at a dorado next to a turtle. The dorado was using the sea turtle as a shield, and would move to where the repeated attempts by the marlin failed. Mecate brought the trolled lures and baits by the turtle, and hooked the marlin solid in the corner of the jaw on the second pass. Mike released the estimate 400 pound blue after a two hour fight.

The next day Mike fished inshore for small game with Arturo on the panga Janeth, and got about 35 fish of several different species.

Mark and Doug of San Diego, CA also had an incredible day of fishing on the super panga Huntress with Francisco. This was Doug’s first bill fish experience ever, and he ended up releasing a black and striped marlin. The total count for the day was 4 sailfish, a black marlin of about 200 pounds and a striped marlin of about 100 pounds. All fish were taken on a SW heading and between 16 and 20 miles.

Flip Himmelreich of Spokane, WA has been having a small tournament here this last several years. Comprising of family and friends in the North West from California to Idaho, it is turning to be a decent sized catch and release tournament. Yesterday (Thursday), the 1st day saw 11 pangas on the water with 11 dorado caught, 2 blue marlin, and 17 sailfish. For today, the last day, I was with Flip on the pier as the boats came in. The results were about the same, with a few less fish caught. Some boats were tallying 2 sailfish and a dorado, and a couple of others got blanked. The awards banquet is this afternoon, with the captains getting most of the proceeds.


Argentine fly angler Enrique Amatore fished with Cheva and I for two days on the panga Dos Hermanos II. In total, we raised 12 sailfish, 1 blue marlin, and 1 striped marlin. Seven sailfish and the two marlin followed the hook-less teaser to the boat, with Enrique hooking a sail and the striped marlin.

Ed Kunze