Z Fish Report (10/8/15)

From the Terrafin Satellite images above and below, the blue water covers the map, and the average surface water temperature is about 88°. (The white out areas are cloud cover).

One disturbing thing is the municipality may be forced to completely shut down the municipal pier for this upcoming tourist season (November through April). It is already unofficially shut down, with sheets of plywood preventing access. The shutdown was due to a couple of high magnitude earthquakes, large storm waves this last year, and an overall deterioration from age and lack of maintenance.

 Talking to Jaime Morales, the owner/captain of the 38 foot Bertram Orion, he told me they are currently loading clients on pangas from the small pier behind the Port Captain’s office, and taking the clients out to the moored cruisers.

In the local newspaper this morning, they are looking for alternative solutions before making the final decision for the shutdown. Jaime said one of the options for the cruisers is still taking clients by panga, but over to Puerto Mio and using their stable dock there as an embarkation point. With insurance requirements, and the past performance (greed) of Puerto Mio, I don’t think that will happen.

And, what is going to happen when 30 pangas and the pangas working for 10-12 cruisers are all loading clients on a 12 X 10 foot platform? And, it is often swept over by current surges in the channel, requiring three guys to just hold the panga there, and not get pulled away. (The surges are the reason it is not safe for cruisers to use the small loading platform, because they load their clients from the stern).

Offshore – With the El Niño hot water still here, the last thing we would expect is marlin, but 3 more blues and a black were taken this week. There is an abundance of black skipjack tuna (candy to a marlin), and they are following the bait. All marlin are being taken on a slow trolled black skipjack, from 3 to 8 miles off the beach.

Jaime’s other boat, the 34 foot Bertram Vamonos III fished today and got 2 sailfish and a 26 pound dorado.

The Inshore is still the best bet. There are sierra, black skipjack tuna, jack crevalle, and a few roosters. Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos fished with Tom Roach, of Southern California, for 8 jack crevalle, a missed rooster, and several very large sierras for dinner.   The fact the sierras are still here (a cooler water species) tells you of the abundance of bait available.

Ed Kunze                                                                         

 (Director of the Roosterfish Foundation, IGFA Representative)