Z Fish Report (5/31/12)

The roosters are here for sure!

The 84° water extends from the beaches out to 50 miles, with the blue water only a couple of miles off the beach. The conditions should be ideal for sailfish and dorado, but they are not here.

We often see frigates doing their arial dance

This last Sunday was the Calentona , which is a tournament among the captains of the port. Santiago on the super panga Gitana, who took third place, reported 58 boats fishing for a total of only about 15 sailfish caught, and 10 weighed. Hiram, on the panga Hawaiiana took the top honors, but only with a 65 pound sailfish. There was one nice 310 pound blue marlin weighted.

My friends, this is not good. In the near past it had to be a 100 pound or better sailfish to get the win. Every year, the size and quantity reduces.

Yesterday, (Wednesday) Cheva, on the panga Dos Hermanos II, fished the blue water and never had a strike. He went 20 miles.

Drew with Francisco and his rooster

Last week I reported “I have a fly fishing client next week…can’t wait” This was for roosters. And yesterday we fulfilled that order. Drew Postal from South Carolina and his wife were here on their honeymoon. Drew has taken redfish on the fly from the flats in the Carolinas, but had never experienced a rooster. As all 1st time rooster fly anglers, they are never ready for the incredible speed, slashing, and aggressiveness of a roosterfish when teased to the boat. But, this aggressiveness does not translate to an easy hookup. It fact it is the opposite. So many factors come in to play it is incredible to how many ways a fly caster can screw up.

The first day is usually a learning curve. It is kind of like a high school football player going to college. The increase of speed in the game is incredible.


Francisco and Drew's wife, Dargan, with a huge needle fish we also got

Fishing with Francisco on the panga Huntress II, after we teased 15 roosters to the boat without a solid hookup, I switched things around from Drew’s 9wt redfish rod to my 10wt rod, and even changed the fly. Up sizing on the rod was not the factor. It was more about having the right sized line to match the rod and the fly. It took another 5 more fish to the boat, but Drew got it done. It was a smaller rooster than many which had come to the boat earlier, but he will now do very well in the future.
But, the fact remains, we brought over 20 roosters to the boat by 10:00 in the morning. They are now here and we can enjoy them for the next several months.

Ed Kunze (IGFA Representative