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I got to the Marina at 0645 for a 7am start to my 10 hour Panga trip with Hector of Poositas Fleet. I had booked the trip a few days ago though Stan Gabruk of Master Baiters Sportfishing and Tackle.
We picked up some extra fuel in case it was needed and then some bait fish from a boat moored just outside of the marina. Hector asked me what I would like to catch, my answer being Tuna, Dorado and Sailfish. My previous best tuna being 21 years ago, a little one of about 14lb.
We set off about 40 miles into the Pacific Ocean until we came across the biggest pod of Dolphins I had ever seen, there were hundreds, if not thousands of them, all circling their breakfast in the dark blue water. While they were rounding up the smaller fish and performing all manner of acrobatic feats, which were a joy to watch, the birds above were dive-bombing the water to pick off what they could and the occasional splash would see a Yellowfin Tuna or Marlin break the surface as it also took its share.
All manner of jigs, trolled lures and live baits were sent out behind the boat by Hector and his crew and within a couple of minutes one of the reels screamed off line as what turned out to be the biggest fish of the day took the hook. This fish was taken on a 20lb class rod and a Shimano TLD20 loaded with 20lb line. Its first run must have taken a good 200-300 yards of line as it went very deep and away from the boat. It took me what seemed like an hour, but was probably half that, to get it within sight of the surface. It continued to stay just out of gaffing range going in circles around the boat and occasionally crash diving again just as I thought I had it beaten. Eventually though it was boated, leaving me sweating, shaking with emotion, exhilaration and adrenalin! It actually weighed 75lb and was one of the biggest the skipper has had in recent times.
A couple of smaller fish weighing around 10-20lb followed in the next few minutes and then I got another 75lber. This one came in a lot quicker, taking only about 10 minutes to beat but still leaving me exhausted. No sooner was this one in the boat than one of the other rods hooked up. I did not get time to get my breath back before I was handed this one and then spent another 30 minutes to land a 50lb Yellowfin!
The next couple of hours saw me catch a further 3 Tuna around the 10-50lb mark giving me a total of 8 Yellowfin Tuna almost all of which had beaten my previous best.
Time for a rest Hector said, lets get you a Marlin. My thoughts at this time can not be put into words here after landing around 300lb of tuna in a few hours, the thought of having to play possibly 600lb of pure muscle were frightening to say the least!
Luckily although we saw a few, and much as it is my dream to catch one, they did not want to play ball.
It was getting close to time to head back to port so we had a go for Dorado. When we found them, they were an amazing sight, their vivid blue colour being visible from 50 yards or more away. They did not want to end up on my dinner plate either and although one was hooked right alongside the boat it quickly spat out the hook and swam away. These were big fish of around 30-50lb and amazingly fast. We spotted more on the way in and Hector did his best to get me one but without any luck.
We arrived back at the marina at just before 5pm, photos were taken, I took a couple of fillets from one of the smaller tuna and gave the rest to the skipper. He apparently gives most of it to a local childrens home / orphanage so none of it was wasted.
I still have to catch a Sailfish and a Dorado to achieve my fishing ambitions but they will have to wait until next year somewhere else, but I had a thoroughly enjoyable day, one that will stay in my memory forever.
The cost of the trip for 10 hours was $400 but if there are 2-3 of you this is for the boat so can be split between you. I chose to go on my own so it was not a cheap trip but I certainly got my moneys worth!
Hector can be contacted on 322 297 4329 and Master Baiters on 322 779 7571. Stan tells me that he is shortly setting up a Master Baiters in Bermuda and also hopefully elsewhere.
I have also given him a WSF referral card so we may well see some more local reports from him. He reports on catches from this area for some of the US mags and newspapers so it will be good to have him aboard.
Some pictures below:
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We picked up some extra fuel in case it was needed and then some bait fish from a boat moored just outside of the marina. Hector asked me what I would like to catch, my answer being Tuna, Dorado and Sailfish. My previous best tuna being 21 years ago, a little one of about 14lb.
We set off about 40 miles into the Pacific Ocean until we came across the biggest pod of Dolphins I had ever seen, there were hundreds, if not thousands of them, all circling their breakfast in the dark blue water. While they were rounding up the smaller fish and performing all manner of acrobatic feats, which were a joy to watch, the birds above were dive-bombing the water to pick off what they could and the occasional splash would see a Yellowfin Tuna or Marlin break the surface as it also took its share.
All manner of jigs, trolled lures and live baits were sent out behind the boat by Hector and his crew and within a couple of minutes one of the reels screamed off line as what turned out to be the biggest fish of the day took the hook. This fish was taken on a 20lb class rod and a Shimano TLD20 loaded with 20lb line. Its first run must have taken a good 200-300 yards of line as it went very deep and away from the boat. It took me what seemed like an hour, but was probably half that, to get it within sight of the surface. It continued to stay just out of gaffing range going in circles around the boat and occasionally crash diving again just as I thought I had it beaten. Eventually though it was boated, leaving me sweating, shaking with emotion, exhilaration and adrenalin! It actually weighed 75lb and was one of the biggest the skipper has had in recent times.
A couple of smaller fish weighing around 10-20lb followed in the next few minutes and then I got another 75lber. This one came in a lot quicker, taking only about 10 minutes to beat but still leaving me exhausted. No sooner was this one in the boat than one of the other rods hooked up. I did not get time to get my breath back before I was handed this one and then spent another 30 minutes to land a 50lb Yellowfin!
The next couple of hours saw me catch a further 3 Tuna around the 10-50lb mark giving me a total of 8 Yellowfin Tuna almost all of which had beaten my previous best.
Time for a rest Hector said, lets get you a Marlin. My thoughts at this time can not be put into words here after landing around 300lb of tuna in a few hours, the thought of having to play possibly 600lb of pure muscle were frightening to say the least!
Luckily although we saw a few, and much as it is my dream to catch one, they did not want to play ball.
It was getting close to time to head back to port so we had a go for Dorado. When we found them, they were an amazing sight, their vivid blue colour being visible from 50 yards or more away. They did not want to end up on my dinner plate either and although one was hooked right alongside the boat it quickly spat out the hook and swam away. These were big fish of around 30-50lb and amazingly fast. We spotted more on the way in and Hector did his best to get me one but without any luck.
We arrived back at the marina at just before 5pm, photos were taken, I took a couple of fillets from one of the smaller tuna and gave the rest to the skipper. He apparently gives most of it to a local childrens home / orphanage so none of it was wasted.
I still have to catch a Sailfish and a Dorado to achieve my fishing ambitions but they will have to wait until next year somewhere else, but I had a thoroughly enjoyable day, one that will stay in my memory forever.
The cost of the trip for 10 hours was $400 but if there are 2-3 of you this is for the boat so can be split between you. I chose to go on my own so it was not a cheap trip but I certainly got my moneys worth!
Hector can be contacted on 322 297 4329 and Master Baiters on 322 779 7571. Stan tells me that he is shortly setting up a Master Baiters in Bermuda and also hopefully elsewhere.
I have also given him a WSF referral card so we may well see some more local reports from him. He reports on catches from this area for some of the US mags and newspapers so it will be good to have him aboard.
Some pictures below:
