Z Fish Report (11/1/12)

(More on the long line illegal fishing and Fonatur controlling Zihuatanejo Bay below)

Early in the week we had an unseasonal storm hit us. The rain was intense from the airport south, but mild from Ixtapa and to the north. I recorded 5 inches at my house near the airport, in about 6 hours. The majority of the rain was in the first two hours.

From the heavy fresh water river outflows, usually this will push the blue water out 20 miles or more, but it appears the blue water has made its way back close to the inshore.

The offshore fishery is still doing excellent; with the added bonus the yellowfin tuna have made a serious showing. The tuna are around the 30 to 40 mile mark, and have been averaging 60 to 80 pounds, with at least 1 large one coming to the dock at about 160 pounds.

The sailfish action is still excellent with Ron Hobbard from Colorado fishing with Armando on the panga 3 Hermanos for three days. They got 16 sailfish, and were able to release all but one. That is a bit better than 5 sailfish a day average! They also got 7 small pelagic sharks under floating debris. Unfortunately, it is also the same structure which holds dorado, but when a large school of the small sharks move in, the dorado move out.

The inshore is still excellent for roosters, at least for the areas up north near the Ranch and Union. The water is still a bit too discolored down south near Petatlan from the hard rain. Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos told me he is getting daily double digit roosters and also lots of the tasty large sierras for his French clients up near the Ranch.

Fonatur, the tourism arm for the government of Mexico, found out the people of Zihuatanejo were not going to give the Bay over to cruise ships and other tactics to suppress fishing and a historical way of life. The good news on this is the bay is back in the hands of the people.

Long Line illegal fishing: Again, the number of long liners out there is disappearing here on this coast, to almost zero. This is incredible news, and the sport fishing for sailfish is responding with excellent catches.

And, it appears to be happening in other areas of Mexico also. The following link will take you to Vince Radice’s report and video he took in Manzanillo, which has had severe repercussions to the illegal long line fishery in that area. Vince is really one of the good guys and one of the few Americans who has actually been able to make a mark in favor of the sport fishing industry in Mexico.

I like to think I really was helpful to Vince, as it was my fish report from April of last year I sent him where he 1st understood the huge problem with sailfish (when Cheva and I went up there for a couple of days and witnessed firsthand the incredible numbers of long lines). . Vince had previously made a video of the illegal selling of dorado caught in the Sea of Cortez and shipped to the U.S. and I realized he is very dedicated. We stayed in touch regularly by emails during the entire 3 months he sailed and gathered information. http://worldsaquarium.com/blog/manzanillo-report-english

We all need to thank Vince for a job well done, because the same fish up in Manzanillo will pass through Ixtapa / Zihuatanejo on a the same historical migration route.

Ed Kunze (IGFA Representative)

For a better understanding of our seasons and species of fish here in Ixtapa /Zihuatanejo, please click on this link: http://calendarforfishing.blogspot.mx/