Z Fish Report (1/22/15)

A leaping blue marlin of about 250 pounds. Caught by Vince Bizal 

The "old guy" came through – even though it took a bit of luck.  (Read below)

The offshore fishing is still holding at 2 to 3 sailfish a boat, and quite a few dorado are being picked up by the fleet. Wednesday was the first day of the 3 day Tournament Anglers Association 11 boat tournament, with an average of 2 released sailfish for the first day. The results are still not tallied for Thursday’s second day.

The old man really came through for us on Tuesday, proving again there is nothing wrong with techniques and technology of the previous century. I will be 65 in a couple of short weeks, but I am not talking about me, even though I was the guide/captain for fishing client Vince Bizal of Minnesota. I am talking about my two favorite rods I have used for sailfish, roosters, dorado, salmon, tuna, albacore, halibut, etc. These 196 Sabre fiberglass rods are the “old guys”. I bought them in 1972. They have been re-wrapped a few times (think hair color dye), but the guides (uh dentures?) have only been replaced once.

Vince and Adolfo Jr about to make the release of the blue marlin

We had made the 1½ hour drive from Zihuatanejo to Puerto Vicente Guerrero, and then made a 1 hour panga run south to my “sweet spot”. Surrounded by miles of sandy bottom, a mile off the beach a rock pinnacle rises up out of the 125 feet depth, to within 25 feet of the surface. It is a fish magnet. When the current and conditions are correct, the fishing is incredible. I have taken 10 different species of game fish there, and usually catch a minimum of 5. But, when it is dead, like Tuesday, it is dead. So with a pre-planned backup option we headed out for sailfish and dorado.

At 6 miles we started trolling. Fifteen minutes later, we had a strike, with the fish moving to the other rod, taking the cut trolled bait. One hour later we had boated, tagged, and released a 250 pound blue marlin, on 40 pound line and using only a 5 foot long 60 pound leader to boot (obviously the light line and super light leader is where the luck came in, but with the hours those rods have spent on the water, they were due).

What reel did we use?…A younger guy, but still of the other era. It was a Penn International 12, which I had bought in 1985, once again proving there is nothing wrong with the technology and methods of yesteryear.

Three boats fished down at Puerto Vicente Guerrero on Tuesday, and a second boat also had taken a marlin of about 350 pounds. It was a black, and they had to toss the first rod in (attached to a second rod) in order to not get spooled.

Adolfo Jr. reviving the blue after the 1 hour fight

Some notable catches this week were by Santiago on the panga Gitana with 5 sailfish on Tuesday and 4 dorado, and 2 sailfish with 6 dorado on Wednesday. Santiago told me the dorado are big…between 25 and 40 pounds.

Please remember, “Kill a Bill Fish ….. NO TIP”

The inshore is doing very well for large sierras and jack crevalle. There are a few roosters, but not many. Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, is so booked with French clients he has been doing a morning (6:00 to 1:30) run for sailfish, and then from 2:00 until dark on the inshore with another client. Something I want to keep track of is he has been successful with large jack crevalle and even got three 40 pound class rooters one afternoon. Maybe we should not fight the full moon periods in the mornings, and go out later…?

Larisa with one of several large jack crevalle we caught

Early in the week I fished with Larisa and Laran Brandt of Minnesota down at Puerto Vicente Guerrero. It was a very slow morning, but the bite went wide open at noon. We were hooked up on large jack crevalle and sierras for two solid hours. The fish were all mixed and feeding on the same small (very small) sardines. We got 5 sierras (4-5 pounds), 9 large jacks (15-18 pounds), a couple of black skipjack, and even a pompano. We had large roosters chasing the surface popper, only to have a smaller jack come up from below and beat the rooster by about 6 inches.

Mario Depiero got the tasty sierra
fishing on Madera Beach in Zihuat Bay

On Wednesday, Jesus (Hay- sus) on the panga Dos Hermanos III got two large 40 pound roosters and missed a third one up near Pantla Beach.

Noe, on the panga Porpy is still doing his thing by netting his own live bait and getting lots so sierras, a few jacks, black skipjack, and even chulas.

Ed Kunze                                                                          

 (Director of the Roosterfish Foundation, IGFA Representative)

CURRENT MOON

moon phase info