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Sep 13, 2003; 11:25AM - Sportfishing and La Antigua - Guatemala
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Category: Guatemala Sport Fishing
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Author Name: The Great Sailfishing Company
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On the 28th of August, Larry and Tony Crosby along with their lifelong friend James Williamson of New York City came down to Guatemala for their second fishing trip. They stayed at the Villas del Pacífico Resort in one, one bedroom mini suite with kitchen, and one single room. They really liked the resort and explained that they all enjoyed going to the weekend disco and floorshow.
August 29th. They boarded the La Piragua (31’ Bertram) at about 7:00 A.M. at the new Pez Vela Marina. All of our boats leave from the new marina assuring a safe and uneventful passage to the Pacific. The other passage that some operators use is the old inlet, this is very dangerous with several accidents happening every year. Sometimes boats need to wait up to 30 minutes for the right set of waves before getting out to the Pacific. Because of the storms in Mexico causing a lot of green water, the La Piragua needed to go 50 miles before reaching blue water. The fishing was slow; however, they did catch and release two nice sized sails and brought back one Dorado. They also caught one Yellow-fin tuna that the crew made into a huge bowl of ceviche, which they really enjoyed. After returning to the hotel, getting refreshed and partaking of the large buffet they had drinks at the bar while enjoying a round of pool.
August 30th. On this day the La Piragua was set for a day of inshore fishing. The day produced five roosterfish, six Spanish mackerel and several Jacks. They retired early after another grand meal at the Villas del Pacifico’s buffet.
On the 31st we all took a nice leisurely drive to the Spanish Colonial city of Antigua Guatemala, going from sea level to 5300ft in about an hour. On the way we passed by sugarcane fields near the coast, shade grown coffee plants in the mountains and by the base of three volcanoes. Once in Antigua sightseeing and shopping were in order along cobble stone covered street. The night was spent at Casa Santo Domingo, the premier hotel in Antigua Guatemala. It was a convent, dating back to 1547, which was converted into what is arguably the most beautiful hotel in the city.
September 1st. We could tell Casa Santo Domingo had worked its magic (candles and old-fashioned lamps, statues of saints and other Spanish Colonial relics, bird of paradise plants, fountains, etc.) last night. We drove among the mountains from Antigua to Guatemala City in about an hour, taking one of the Crosby brothers to the airport. Afterwards, some sightseeing along the streets and avenues of the city was done before checking in at the Guatemala City Intercontinental Hotel, the premier hotel in the city. We said goodbye to our new friends then and wished them a safe trip back the next day.
The following is an email and some photographs we received yesterday from Mr. James Williamson.
Carlos this is Jim Williamson, first I wanted to say that Larry, Tony and I had an incredible time down there in Guatemala. The reason we had such a great time was that you and Les were such gentleman and were so helpful and accommodating. Your knowledge of your country and your patience and understanding made my trip a perfect one and we have begun to line up our trip for March. I wanted to send along some of the photos we took. I look forward to a long association with you and your company and good luck in your future efforts. Jim.
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Sep 10, 2003; 06:59PM - 1000 pound plus Black Marlin caught in Los Suenos Costa Rica
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Category: Costa Rica
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Author Name: Dr. DeCarol Williamson
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On Saturday, August 30, 2003, Dr. DeCarol Williamson from North Carolina landed his first grander Black Marlin of his lifetime. This is reported to be the largest fish ever brought into Los Suenos, Costa Rica to date. Dr. Williamson told me by phone his story – and what a story it was. He decided to go fishing north of Los Suenos scouting out the area as he was a new arrival to the resort area. While fishing on his 38’ boat “El Jefe” trolling Williamson lures, one of the reels started screaming out line. He was fishing a Penn International 50TW loaded with 50 lb. Ande monofilament line, trolling a large lure, usually a teaser, but had anticipated a Black Marlin was possibly in the area as some had been hooked during the previous weeks. The fish, estimated at 1,000 to 1,200 pounds, was only seen two times popping his head out of the water to a point where it was known in the early stages that the fish was in fact a Black Marlin. The size was underestimated in the early stages of the fight due to the distance it had popped up out of the water (700 feet away from the boat). Only the captain on the bridge was able to see the fish clearly. After a 1 hours 45 minute battle, the fish was about to be leadered and as the deckhand reached for the leader, he took a half wrap on his hand and got his first look at the monster below. Shock and awe is what happened next as he turned to look at Dr. Williamson, his eyes had grown to about double their normal size. The deckhand was about the tell Dr. Williamson just how big this fish really was, but before he could speak, the monster took off and the leader was no longer in his reach. The Black Marlin proceeded to strip off of the line from the reel as if the drag not been set at all. The drags were set at 17 lbs. strike and this monster peeled it off the reel like it was in freespool. The angler had seen the bottom of his spool on four separate occasions during this battle that was to be a tagged and released fish from the start of the fight. As with most large Marlin, the fish sounded straight down, and when the captain observed this, he put the throttle down and drove away from the fish hoping to plane the fish up or walk it to the surface. It worked but the fish had nothing left and, unfortunately exhausted his strength in his last attempt to escape. The fish floated upside down to the surface about 45 minutes later. A gaff was used by an inexperienced angler who turned his head away from the fish to gaff it and placed the gaff horizontally into the fish. Dr. Williamson was saddened by the death of the fish as he had every intention to release the fish from the beginning of the battle. Once the fish was gaffed, more problems were encountered as the fish would not fit sideways through the Marlin door because its girth was far too wide. With three people trying to get the fish through the door, they finally decided to try to get the fish inside of the back of the boat by backing down on it with the door open. It took over 30 minutes to get this 1,000 lb. plus fish into the cockpit area of “El Jefe.” Even though the beam of the boat is 14 ft. with more than 12 ft. of space in the rear of the boat, the fish was brought in and placed on one side of the boat. Unfortunately, the boat was listing so badly the giant had to be repositioned in order for the boat to return to port. With a great deal of difficulty, the grander was moved to the rear of the boat and placed from port to starboard as well as possible given the work area available. Once they returned to the port, the issue of removing the fish from the boat had just begun. Calling for the forklift used to lift large boats out of the water, the fish was finally lifted out of “El Jefe.” There was no scale large enough to weigh the fish in the Los Suenos area, so the Marlin was loaded onto a flatbed truck only to find that it would need to be moved again as it required an even larger vehicle. The weight of the fish was collapsing the leaf springs and bottoming out the shocks to the point where the bed of the truck was resting on the rear tires. The fish was cleaned and donated to anyone who wanted it right there at the docks. Dr. Williamson stated after the battle that he was retiring from fishing grander Marlin, but I truly believe this is temporary idea – he will return to fishing granders once all of his muscles and bones have healed.
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Sep 10, 2003; 12:51PM - Conditions Improve Slowly After Rains
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Category: Saltwater Fly Fishing Reports
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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9/10/2003 REPORT FROM GARY GRAHAM'S BAJA ON THE FLY:
PROVIDING QUALITY SALTWATER FLY-FISHING 365 DAYS A YEAR IN BAJA FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: bajafly@usa.net; USA toll-free (800) 919-2252; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Wed., Sept. 10, 2003 Report covers the period Sat.-Tues. (9/06 - 9/09)
EAST CAPE, MAGDALENA BAY AND ZIHUATANEJO CONDITIONS
EAST CAPE, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
IN GENERAL Residual effects of last week’s rain continue to put a damper on the inshore action. Further offshore, the water cleans up and there are a few tuna, dorado and billfish to be found. Be sure to pick up a copy of the December issue of Fly Fisherman Magazine (rooster on the cover) and check out Dan Blanton's article on his 4 Best Bets
for Baja. Of course, Baja on the Fly/East Cape is one of them.
AIR & SEA -
Water temperature 74°-84°
Air temperature 77° - 91°
Humidity about 83%
Wind North at 6 mph
Conditions Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:03 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:27 p.m. MST
Sept. 10 Full Sept. 18 Last Quarter Sept 25 New Oct. 2 First Quarter
· OFFSHORE: The few boats out this week scored on tuna, dorado and a few
sails and stripers .
· INSHORE: Water is still dirty in most areas with some signs of clearing in evidence.
· BEACH: The best area that could be found was in front of Buenavista Beach Resort with several roosters to 10 pounds being caught early morning
BILLFISH - Mostly sails and stripers with very few blues to be found.
YELLOWFIN TUNA - Under the porpoise schools produced the best action with a
few gorillas mixed in. Where's the 12-weight?
DORADO - Scattered at best with no real concentration.
ROOSTERFISH - As the water cleans up it will begin to pick up.
JACK CREVALLE - Smaller variety under the receivers at La Ribera.
BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK - Look along the color break.
PARGO AND CABRILLA - A few found around the rocky points near Punta Colorada.
SIERRA - A few here and there . . . try the receivers in front of La Ribera.
MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
Wed., Sept. 10, 2003 Report covers the period Sat. -Tues. (9/06 - 9/09)
IN GENERAL: Big time yellowtail show at the entrada (entrance) drew most of the attention this week. A bit further out, about 15-18 miles west, there were a few dorado and marlin to mess with. Marlin were strung out all the way up to the Thetis Bank. Closer to the bank, the tuna were putting on a fair show. With all the action at the entrada, the esteros (estuaries) took a back seat for the week.
Water Temperature 69°-76°
Air Temperature 71°-90°
Humidity 91%
Wind Calm
Conditions Mostly Cloudy
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:10 a.m. MDST
Sunset 7:36 p.m. MDST
Sept. 10 Full Sept. 18 Last Quarter Sept. 25 New Oct. 2 First Quarter
YELLOWTAIL - Best action to date this year at the entrada.
CORVINA - Try the bridge early morning.
SNOOK - No one targeted them this week.
HALIBUT - Find a shallow sandy beach and dredge with a chartreuse Clouser.
SIERRA - Tidal rips with birds diving on them are the best bet.
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Sep 8, 2003; 11:37AM - Fly Hooker Daily Fishing Reports
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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“FLY HOOKER” WEEKLY FISH COUNT
Striped Marlin: 1 released (120#)
Wahoo: 2 kept (60#)
Dorado: 1 kept (20#)
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 31 AUGUST, 2003
This is Paul and Pam Langham’s second day of fishing and Pam was queen for the day as she
was able to catch, tag and release another Striped Marlin. The Jester for the day was our fill-in
deckhand Edgar, as he managed to release several fish at the side of the boat just before being
able to gaff them, including Dorado and Wahoo. Sigh, oh well... Paul was a bit disappointed in
that but they had lots of action and plenty of fish yesterday. Thanks guys, we are looking forward
to seeing you again next year!
“ FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 1, 2003
Charlie, Skip and our friend Andy Cline were aboard the “Fly Hooker” today, and while the
action was not great, they did return with a nice Wahoo and a Dorado. Both of these fish were
caught on an “Islander” lure in blue and white with a ballyhoo under it, fished way, way back!
Marlin were sighted but none hooked up. Next time!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 2 SEPTEMBER, 2003
The Al Waidie group of guys fished with us today, and they are fishing tomorrow as well.
These are a bunch of guys working for the L.A. County Sheriff’s Dept. and while only two of
them admit to being real fisherman, all of them want to try it out. The water was in pretty good
condition today but Juan and Manual were not able to get the guys into any fish. They tried all
the spots that had been producing, but had no luck. The group was disappointed, but are going to
try again tomorrow. Our fingers are crossed.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 3, 2003
The Port Captain opened the port at 6:30, but perhaps he should have kept it closed. Almost
all the boats had returned by 11:30 and he closed it at around 1PM. The Waidie group had strikes
from a Striped Marlin and a Dorado, two of them were sick and Manual said that the swells were
at least three meters, and occasionally four! Disneyland! Hope it settles down soon! This is the
result of a quick, passing storm.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 4, 2003
A day of fishing for Skip and Charlie cancelled due to weather conditions.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 5, 2003
Manual is off for four days in order to play in another baseball tournament so we have Juan as
Captain on the boat and Edgar as fill-in deckhand. Skip and Charlie have enough meet now so
they want to focus on catching Marlin for the next three days. Juan was able to put them on fish,
but none of them were Marlin, at least none of them that struck. Edgar was able to get another
Wahoo gaffed and in the boat. Charlie estimated it at 60 pounds. Edgar did another boatside
release on a Dorado. Juan said they spotted six Striped Marlin, but were not able to get bait
tossed to any of the fish before they went down. They worked the area off the Lighthouse on the
Pacific side all day.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 30 AUGUST, 2003
Today I went with Juan and his brother Juan on the boat with Skip and Charlie. Perhaps the
owner should not go fishing, maybe it is bad luck to be aboard your own boat with clients. Or
maybe it was because Charlie brought Bananas aboard? Whatever the reason, it was a long day
and good water conditions, but no hook-ups. We worked the Pacific side and today went up to
the area inside the Golden Gate Banks, then back down to off the lighthouse. The fish we saw
were Stripers on the surface in the area of the lighthouse. We did have a knock down on the
short rigger but the fish never hooked and we never saw what it was. We were able to toss bait
to two Striped Marlin but neither of them showed any interest in the bait. I am going again
tomorrow, so I hope it is not me that is the jinx! We will have all our fingers crossed for Billfish
manana! Until next weeks report, tight lines!
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Sep 8, 2003; 11:34AM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR AUGUST 31 TO SEPTEMBER 6, 2003
WEATHER: We were surprised this week by a quick storm that struck on Wednesday. With
Hurricane Ignacio having passed, we were thinking that the bad weather was over, but on
Wednesday morning the Port Captain closed the port from 6 to 6:30 AM, then re-opened. Most
of the boats went out, but were back by noon. The swell built all morning as a storm moved
through our area from the east. Captains wee reporting swells to 12 feet with winds gusting to
35-40 MPH. The port was closed again at 1PM. By that night everything had passed but the
port was not re-opened until 10 AM on Thursday. Most of the boats did not go out until Friday.
Naturally, we had overcast skies all week long except for Tuesday, and our nighttime lows were
in the mid 70’s while our daytime highs reached the low 90’s, with high humidity.
WATER: Great conditions early in the week with the passing of Ignacio, terrible during the
middle of the week and things got a bit better at the end of the week as far as the surface
conditions went. By Saturday the water on the Pacific side was back down to 4-6 foot swells
with a little wind chop and slightly smaller swells were reported from the Sea of Cortez side. At
the end of the week the water inshore on the Pacific side was green and did not blue up until
approximately three miles out. From there out to just past the San Jaime and Golden Gate Banks,
the water was blue and 80-81 degrees. Really warm water was not found until well past the
Banks at distances of up to 35 miles. Due south of the Cape the blue, warm water was 15 miles
out. The Sea of Cortez side of the Cape had warm water closer to shore, but it was a bit stirred
up and off colored.
BAIT: Mackerel was the bait this week at the normal $2 each.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: It was an on-off thing for the Marlin this week as the bite just went off on Friday if
you were in the right place at the right time. The rest of the week was not as good, but the saying
still held true. It looked like almost every boat out there came in with a Marlin flag on Friday, just
after the storm passed through, but on Saturday the fish went somewhere else. Early in the week
the Billfish action was consistent and most of the fish were found on the Pacific side out around 5
miles. That is also where the fish were later on in the week, at least until Saturday. Lots of
Stripers were spotted on the surface, but few of them were interested in eating, just like last week
it was a numbers game. Some boats got lucky and hit two in a row that were hungry, but most
guys had to toss bait at a lot of fish to get action. Lures were not working very well this week
except for the Blue Marlin, and they were being finicky. A few were found prior to the storm but
they were not on the feed, and after the storm they were far offshore in the warmer water. In
summary, Marlin action was a bit off this week except for Friday, and there were far more
Stripers found than Blues.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Just about the only area that held Tuna at the end of the week was the
warm water 15 miles and more to the south. The fish were mixed in with the Porpoise and most
of them were football fish striking on small dark feathers and cedar plugs. Great action on Friday,
that seemed to be true of all the species, that Friday was great!
DORADO: The debris washed into the water by Hurricane Ignacio is holding Dorado now, and
there were some great catches made. Most of the action has been on debris found in the current
lines to the south of the Cape and the fish are running from 10 to 60 pounds, with an average of
20 pounds. Live bait dropped into the water around the debris gave up fish and there were quite
a few caught on the troll as well. Of course, for some reason Friday was the banner day, with a
few boats limiting out on Dorado.
WAHOO: A good number of Wahoo flags were flown this week and as last week, most of the
action seemed to come from the Pacific side and of course, off the debris in the current lines to
the south. Lots of Marlin lures had to be repaired or replaced this week due to the razor-toothed
fish, but it was worth it to most anglers. Quite a few fish were found on the troll for Marlin but a
lot were caught on live bait around the debris as well.
INSHORE: Just like last week, with the water inshore being cold and green, there was very little
action. We saw a Pangas as far as 5 miles out on the Pacific side at the end of the week, looking
for clear water.
NOTES: This weeks report was written to the sound of the late Roy Buchanan, off his album
“Second Album”. Great music and a new favorite of mine! Thanks Charlie! Until next week,
tight lines!
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Sep 7, 2003; 08:35AM - Tuna All Around
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Category: Saltwater Fly Fishing Reports
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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9/6/2003REPORT FROM GARY GRAHAM'S BAJA ON THE FLY:
PROVIDING QUALITY SALTWATER FLY-FISHING 365 DAYS A YEAR IN BAJA FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: bajafly@usa.net; USA toll-free (800) 919-2252; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Sat., September 06, 2003Report covers the period Wed..-Fri. (9/03 - 9/05)
EAST CAPE, MAGDALENA BAY AND ZIHUATANEJO CONDITIONS
EAST CAPE, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
IN GENERAL In spite of some wind and rain this week fishing continued on the upswing. The summer mainstay, yellowfin tuna provided plenty of action and had the hotels’ staffs scrambling to find enough wasabi to cover the sashimi action every night at cocktail hour. A few sails and stripes were found to add to the action. Back closer to shore the skipjack and bonito were the mainstay with the roosters and jacks tough to find in the still off-color water. Be sure to pick up a copy of the December issue of Fly Fisherman and check out Dan Blanton’s article on his 4 Best Bet’s for Baja. Of course, Baja on the Fly/East Cape is one of them.
AIR & SEA -
Water temperature 74°-84°
Air temperature 77° - 85°
Humidity about 84%
Wind
Conditions Partly Cloudy (FEW) : 14000 ft
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:02 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:31 p.m. MST
Sept. 10 Full Sept. 18 Last Quarter Sept 25 New Oct. 2 First Quarter
· OFFSHORE: Tuna, by far the front runner this week, plus a few dorado and billfish to fill in the dance card after the tuna action slowed down mid morning.
· INSHORE: At least the skipjack and bonito cooperated. Still waiting for the water to clean up before the roosters and jacks get going again.
· BEACH: Early morning, along the edges of the outflows from the arroyos producing some action for smaller jacks, roosters and several other species including ladyfish and pompano.
BILLFISH – Not exactly a barnburner but enough for the hardcore.
YELLOWFIN TUNA - Under the porpoise schools produced the best action with a
few gorillas mixed in. Where’s the 12-weight?
DORADO - Scattered at best with no real concentration.
ROOSTERFISH - As the water cleans up it will begin to pick up.
JACK CREVALLE - Smaller variety under the receivers at La Ribera.
BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK - Look along the color break.
PARGO AND CABRILLA – A few found around the rocky points near Punta Colorada..
SIERRA – A few here and there, try the receivers in front of La Ribera.
MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
Sat., September 06, 2003 Report covers the period Wed..-Fri. (9/03 - 9/05)
IN GENERAL: Orange mouth Corvina were biting at a variety of spots from the Entrada to Devil’s Curve. Los Barriles estero produced a ton of spotted bay bass and several smaller snook on an outgoing tide earlier in the week.
Water Temperature 69°-76°
Air Temperature 71°-82°
Humidity 96%
Wind Calm
Conditions Mostly Cloudy
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:09 a.m. MDST
Sunset 7:40 p.m. MDST
Sept. 10 Full Sept. 18 Last Quarter Sept. 25 New Oct. 2 First Quarter
YELLOWTAIL – Look for the birds and bait; besides the yellows there are some mystery fish down deeper that refuses to be caught.
CORVINA – In front of the fish camp on the north side of the Entrada produced some good catches early morning and late afternoon on the current rips.
SNOOK – Plenty of smaller ones to be found, still looking for the Grande.
HALIBUT - Find a shallow sandy beach and dredge with a chartreuse Clouser.
SIERRA - Tidal rips with birds diving on them are the best bet.
ZIHUATANEJO, MAINLAND MEXICO
Please note the date. We are only providing weekly (not twice a week) reports for this area.
Sat., September 06, 2003, Report covers the period Sat.-Fri. (8/31 - 9/5)
IN GENERAL: As expected, recent rains have washed out some debris that has created a few current lines that are holding dorado averaging between 20 and about 28 pounds.
The 82º blue water is still very close to the beach and the offshore fishing could be rated as fair. Sailfish action is steady 1 to 2 fish per day per boat. The blue marlin are still holding at about one fish per day for the 6 to 8 boat fleet going out each day.
The roosterfish action continues to be exceptional, with the several boats targeting them averaging between 5 and 7 fish a day in the 30 - 45 pounds class. Almost all the roosters are being taken on live goggle eyes of about 6” to 10'.
Ed Kunze
Water Temperature 75º-90º
Air Temperature 77°-90º
Humidity 74%
Wind Calm
Conditions Mostly Cloudy (BKN) : 15000 ft /
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:32 a.m. CDST
Sunset 7:55 p.m. CDST
Sept. 10 Full Sept. 18 Last Quarter Sept 25 New Oct.. 2 First Quarter
For more Information on Baja on the Fly's Zihuatanejo trips, go to:
http://www.bajafly.com/Zihuatanejo.htm
Baja on the Fly's Zihuatanejo report by Ed Kunze
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Sep 5, 2003; 04:21PM - Guatemala August 2003
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Category: Saltwater
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Author Name: The Great Sailfishing Company
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On the 28th of August, Larry and Tony Crosby along with their lifelong friend James Williamson of New York City came down to Guatemala for their second fishing trip. They stayed at the Villas del Pacífico Resort in one, one bedroom mini suite with kitchen, and one single room. They really liked the resort and explained that they all enjoyed going to the weekend disco and floorshow.
August 29th. They boarded the La Piragua (31’ Bertram) at about 7:00 A.M. at the new Pez Vela Marina. All of our boats leave from the new marina assuring a safe and uneventful passage to the Pacific. The other passage that some operators use is the old inlet, this is very dangerous with several accidents happening every year. Sometimes boats need to wait up to 30 minutes for the right set of waves before getting out to the Pacific. Because of the storms in Mexico causing a lot of green water, the La Piragua needed to go 50 miles before reaching blue water. The fishing was slow; however, they did catch and release two nice sized sails and brought back one Dorado. They also caught one Yellow-fin tuna that the crew made into a huge bowl of ceviche, which they really enjoyed. After returning to the hotel, getting refreshed and partaking of the large buffet they had drinks at the bar while enjoying a round of pool.
August 30th. On this day the La Piragua was set for a day of inshore fishing. The day produced five roosterfish, six Spanish mackerel and several Jacks. They retired early after another grand meal at the Villas del Pacifico’s buffet.
On the 31st we all took a nice leisurely drive to the Spanish Colonial city of Antigua Guatemala, going from sea level to 5300ft in about an hour. On the way we passed by sugarcane fields near the coast, shade grown coffee plants in the mountains and by the base of three volcanoes. Once in Antigua sightseeing and shopping were in order along cobble stone covered street. The night was spent at Casa Santo Domingo, the premier hotel in Antigua Guatemala. It was a convent, dating back to 1547, which was converted into what is arguably the most beautiful hotel in the city.
September 1st. We could tell Casa Santo Domingo had worked its magic (candles and old-fashioned lamps, statues of saints and other Spanish Colonial relics, bird of paradise plants, fountains, etc.) last night. We drove among the mountains from Antigua to Guatemala City in about an hour, taking one of the Crosby brothers to the airport. Afterwards, some sightseeing along the streets and avenues of the city was done before checking in at the Guatemala City Intercontinental Hotel, the premier hotel in the city. We said goodbye to our new friends then and wished them a safe trip back the next day.
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Sep 4, 2003; 11:35AM - Ixtapa Zihuatanejo fishng Report 8/28/03 - 9/4/03
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Category: Mexico Ixtapa Zihuatanejo
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Author Name: Stan Lushinsky Susan Richards
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A bit of Stormy weather along with light fishing pressure made for a slow week of fishing in Ixtapa Zihuatanejo. First time visitor to Ixtapa Zihuatanejo Andrew Kimbrell from Washington DC, fishing aboard the Dos Hermanos 1 with captain Adolofo Espinosa landed 10 ROOSTERFSIH to 60 Lbs, 10 YELLOWTAIL JACKS, 1 NEEDLEFISH and 1 SKIPJJACK TUNA in one day of fishing. The inshore fishery remains strong with most of the action occurring on top water Cotton Cordell pencil poppers. Mr Kimbrell also fished offshore one day with Captain's Chiro & Efraine on the Vamonos 3 hooking 3 SAILFISH on a fly but loosing all three fish. Virginia Angler, Ed Lewis also fishing aboard the Vamonos 3 tried his luck at the inshore fishery Loosing one Big Roosterfish and breaking off another two. Mr. Lewis did land 1 DORADO and 2 BONITOS. More seasonable inclement weather hit the area last week but fishing remained good when conditions permitted the boats to get out.
We welcome the tournament sponsorship of TIGRESS OUTRIGGERS & GEAR of Fort Lauderdale. Florida. For information on all of TIGRESS products please email Mr. Scott Wilcox at TIGRESSTRD@aol.com . The Dates for this year's Ixtapa Zihuatanejo total Tag & release Tournament are November 16th - 19th. Interested anglers are encouraged to contact our office for Hotel details as well as boat availability.
Ixtapa Zihuatanejo weather: A bit of storm conditions
Sea Conditions: Moderate to rough
Bait Supply: Good
Sincerely,
Stan Lushinsky
Susan Richards
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Sep 1, 2003; 12:12PM - 'Fly Hooker Daily Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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“FLY HOOKER” WEEKLY FISH COUNT
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 24 AUGUST, 2003
Greg Kisling and his brother Todd were scheduled to fish today but since the port is still closed
and there is a pretty good wind blowing, I think they are going to miss a day. Greg was supposed
to fish today and then had to re-schedule a few things so it was a day for Todd. They are also
supposed to fish tomorrow, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Greg’s goal is to catch a Blue Marlin.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this slow moving Hurricane keeps going north on the Sea of
Cortez and allows us a shot and getting one for him!
“ FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 25 AUGUST, 2003
Todd and I met in the morning at the Marina, hoping that the port would be open. Greg did
not make it in due to cancelled flights, hopefully he will get in today. The wind was still gusting
but it was not too bad at the Marina. No one was around and no boats were moving so we
decided to call it a day and meet at 4 this afternoon, have a beer or two and talk about the fishing
schedule. Got a call from a friend at 10 AM, the port Captain had opened the port and boats
were going out, not many, but a few. Met with Todd at four, had received a call from Greg that
he was coming in this afternoon so we left the Marina to meet him at the airport at 5:30 with the
good news that the port had opened and we had seen some Marlin and Tuna flags flying on the
boats that had gone out.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 26 AUGUST, 2003
Manuel was not able to make it to town today due to massive amounts of water running
through the arroyo between his home and town so it was Juan, myself, Greg and Todd today.
With little clue of where the fish may have moved due to the storm, we decided to head out to the
95 spot first and if there was nothing there, go and try the area off the lighthouse on the Pacific
side. We saw two other boats hook up all day long, saw two Striped Marlin jumping and one
tailing fish. We were not able to get any live bait this morning, there were no bait boats out so we
did not have much of a chance at the tailing fish. We did finally find a pod of Porpoise 10 miles
from the arch, in front of the lighthouse, and they had a large school of Skipjack with then so we
worked the area for three hours. We had one strike from a Skippy, we wanted one for a live bait,
but the fish did not hook up and we kept on working. Nada, nothing, zero, zilch. It’s a good
thing that Greg and Todd have a couple more days left! We arranged another boat for them
tomorrow and will see them back on the “Fly Hooker” on Thursday, hopefully with better luck.
At least now we know where the fish weren’t!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 27 AUGUST, 2003
Our friends Charlie and Skip Albrecht are fishing the “Fly Hooker” today and they will be
fishing more days with us next week while here for two weeks. It was a long day on the water for
them as they saw fish but could not get anything to bite. We all have our fingers crossed for
better luck next week.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 28 AUGUST, 2003
The second 12 hour day on the “Fly Hooker” for Greg and Todd. They saw fish but again, the
bite was off for our boat. I know it had to be frustrating to be out there and seeing other boats
hooking up but having no luck themselves. Our fingers and toes are now crossed and at least I
know that the bad luck on the first day was not because I was on the boat!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 29 AUGUST, 2003
Finally their luck changed! On this, the last day of fishing for this trip, Greg and Todd finally
got into fish, and they had a pretty good day of it. Juan and Manual worked the area just outside
the 95 Spot and at 9:30 hooked up a Striped Marlin. First fish so Greg got the honors. At noon
there was a strike on one of the outriggers and since it was the second fish of the day, Todd got
the honors. This fish took him a while to get to the boat, and it was because he had hooked the
fish that Greg had been looking for! About an hour and twenty minutes after hooking up, Todd
managed to get the estimated #300 Blue Marlin to the side of the boat for a tag placement, quick
picture and release! Good going Todd, and Greg got some great pictures of the fish in the air as
well. At around 2 PM there was a Striped Marlin spotted on the surface that was willing to eat.
Greg made short work of this small Stripy, estimated at 80 pounds, but half of the battle was in
the air! The first fish of the day had a large squid sticking out of it’s mouth when brought to the
boat, and the Blue Marlin hit a cream colored lure (sure looks like a squid color) and the fish were
caught in a small area where a lot of other boats were fishing for squid, most of them from 15 to
40 pounds! Glad the jinx is off and maybe now the fishing will improve for the “Fly Hooker”.
Thanks Greg and Todd, it was great spending time with fine people like you!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 30 AUGUST, 2003
This is the first of two days fishing for Paul and Pam Langham and they are really looking
forward to it. They returned early, unfortunately, but the reason was they were out of beer! I
thought that there had been almost a case of beer left over after yesterday’s trip, but I guess all
the guys on the dock must have celebrated with Juan and Manuel about the Blue Marlin, because
there were only six beers on the boat when it left this morning. My fault, I should have checked
before it left. Paul says that beer is as necessary as water on a fishing trip, and I can’t say as I
disagree with him. Well, they were in early, but they also caught fish! Paul and Pam each got a
Striped Marlin, and the one that Pam got was much bigger than that of Paul. Pam’s was
estimated by Juan and Manuel to be around #180, a real big one here is Cabo. Pauls fish was in
the #120 class. Pam also got a small Dorado that weighed around 10 pounds. Great fishing, and
we hope they have just as good of luck tomorrow, and I will be sure there is a case of beer on the
boat in the morning! Until next weeks report, tight lines!
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Sep 1, 2003; 12:06PM - Cabo Fishing Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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Capt George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR AUGUST 23 TO AUGUST 30, 2003
WEATHER: Thank goodness that Hurricane Ignacio is gone! We received just enough rainfall
from it that the desert was well watered and there was no heavy runoff. Just to the north in San
Jose the rain came down harder and even further, up toward La Paz, they got up to 19 inches in
24 hours. The Port opened on the 25th at 10 am after the Port Captain decided the storm was
past. Belaboring the obvious, the beginning of the week was cloudy with rain, the end of the
week was sunny and dry. Lows in the high 70’s and highs in the mid 90’s.
WATER: Rough water at the beginning of the week, but good enough to fish on when the Port
opened. We did not receive any large storm swells. Once the wind went away the water was
almost perfect. I say almost because there has been an area that has moved along the Sea of
Cortez coast that has been very cold, as low as 68 degrees, and has been a dirty green color. This
area has covered an easy 10 square miles and has moved from along the coast up at San Jose,
along the coast to Cabo and has now eddied off to the southeast. It is slowly warming and is now
in the high 70’s and moving away. There has been a very distinct debris line associated with it as
well. On the Pacific side, the winds have left the water slightly choppy but there has been a very
distinct temperature break running from just off the front of Cabo out past the San Jaime Bank
with 81 degree water on the north side and 85 degree water on the south side. The break has
been over a very short distance.
BAIT: It was almost impossible to get any bait in the early part of the week and almost all of the
boats went out baitless. A few of the Pangas were able to net a couple of Mullet and a few more
caught some slipmouth (a bony snapper looking fish) and they were better than nothing, but not
much. The big bait boat came in from the Mag Bay area on Thursday and unloaded into the
receivers so everyone had fresh Mackerel on Friday. The bait had not cured yet and on Friday
almost half the bait sold died within 4 hours. On Saturday the bait had settled down and very few
of them died (other than from being eaten!). The price on all bait this week was the normal $2
per bait.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: We were not sure what kind of effect the Hurricane was going to have on the fishing
but the effects did not last as long as we had feared. Marlin were being caught on the day the
Captain re-opened the port and the bite just seemed to get a little better each day. Most of the
fish were caught in the area of the temperature breaks and where there were color changes in the
water. A great area this week for Striped Marlin was on the east edge of the cold water eddy in
the Sea of Cortez and the Blues were scattered in there as well. Another area that seemed good
was 24 miles to the south of the Cape where there were some reels spooled by big fish. The
Pacific side lighthouse had fish 7 miles out and it was a mixed bag with both Striped and Blue
Marlin as well as some Yellowfin Tuna. The Blue Marlin off the cold water eddy loved light
colored lures as there were large numbers of big squid in the area. Live Mackerel on the Stripers
was the ticket, but you had to toss to a lot of fish to get a bite.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: East of the 95 Spot and west of the Pacific lighthouse were the Tuna
locations this week. Past the 95 spot there were some larger fish found, with a few over #150,
but most of them in the 36-60 pound class. The Pacific side fish were a bit smaller with many of
them footballs but there were some nice 40 pounders in the mix. In both areas the fish were
associated with Porpoise. Cedar plugs and feathers were the ticket.
DORADO: The debris washed into the water by the Hurricane has begun to hold Dorado and
there were a few boats that found good logs to work. The fish have been averaging 15 pounds
but there have been a few nice 40 pounders in the mix. Live bait worked around the debris was
the way to go and a few boats did well getting chunk lines going in areas of debris.
WAHOO: Most of the Wahoo action seemed to come from the Pacific side this week and it was
from boats working the temperature break. The fish were not giants but most of them were in the
30 pound range. Marlin lures seemed to get lost on a regular basis as few boats were specifically
looking for the fish.
INSHORE: With the water inshore being cold and green, there was very little action. Most of
the Pangas were working offshore since the water on the Cortez side was so nice. Jack Crevalle
was the catch of the day for boats that insisted on trying the inshore opportunities.
NOTES: Big Squid at the 1150 and 95 Spots this week were an opportunity many of the boats
in the area could not pass up. The fish were running from 15 to 40 pounds. Not surprisingly,
many of the Marlin caught in the area had Squid hanging from their mouths! White Iron worked
vertically hooked many of the Squid, as did chunk bait. A few boats pulled off the concentration
and started chunking with cut Squid and hooked into large Dorado. Here is a quick reminder for
those of you looking to book a charter in Cabo (or anywhere else). I had a couple come to me
this week complaining about a booking they had made with another company. They had booked
a day when the port was closed by the Captain, and had booked the date a few months in
advance. Upon finding that they were not going to be able to go fishing they asked about getting
their 50% deposit refunded and were told to check their paperwork. The company would not
offer any refund for any reason but instead offered to apply the deposit to another booking within
the next year from the canceled trip. Wow, what if you are only able to get here every other year?
Anyway, just a reminder, check out the refund policies before you book. This weeks report was
written to the Surf Guitar Music of Dick Dale on his 1994 album “Unknown Territory”. A client
of mine was nice enough to burn about 30 albums for me and bring them down, but since they are
copies I don’t have all the information on them yet. I am working on it though! Thanks Charlie!
Until next week, tight lines!
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