From the Crocodile Bay Lodge, Puerto Jiménez
by Todd Staley, Fishing Director
December 6, 2001
Billy O'Sullivan and John Metz from NYC teamed up for a grand slam the other day, fishing with Captain Eduardo Villalobos, when they landed a mixed bag that included a 420 lb. blue marlin, 3 sails, yellowfin tuna 126 and 85 lbs., and 13 dorado. They were part of a group hosted by Graig Zoly. The group saw lots of action offshore, and Zoly took 30 roosterfish on an inshore trip. Jerry Kechter's group from California also had good action with a blue close to 500 lbs that was taken on 30lb line after a 3 1&Mac218;2 hour battle.
They also had agood number of sails and tons of dorado.
Jeff Clark from Tampa took the top fish with a 56 and 50 pounder. R.C. Kennington made his second trip to the lodge and topped his personal best rooster by 25 lbs. The monster taken while fishing with Captain Alex Gonzalez went 70 lbs.
December 11, 2001
Something to crow about: Probably our most popular inshore species here is the roosterfish. Its seven combed dorsal and iridescent hue, along with its shear power make a combination that has 95% of our anglers spending at least one day of their trip on the calm waters of the Golfo Dulce.
Historically they have been fished along the beaches and rock formations in the Pacific. We have found they also roam deep into the gulf and hang around the inside reefs and river mouths. Our fleet of "flats" boats allows us to cast for snook in the mangroves on a high falling tide and then fish roosters a few hundred yards away at the drop-off.
We also find them on top of the Tiger reef where sometimes the water is less than 3 feet deep and a larger boat can't enter this area. While filming with O'Neill Williams, Dave Burkhardt took a fifty pounder over this skinny water.
I must repeat last week's report of Graig Zoly taking 30 roosters in a day. Our average roosterfish is about 15 lbs. Most everyone takes a few over 35 lbs. Dave Vedder from Southwest Flyfishing magazine fished a few hours yesterday after a late arrival. He found a giant school of roosters working within a half mile of the lodge and bagged a couple over 40 lbs. "In all my years of traveling and fishing, I have never seen a concentration of roosterfish like I've found here."
Offshore it is more of the same with more sails showing up and dorado and tuna stretching lines. A few marlin are coming up to the teasers but only a couple around 300 lbs. have been landed. The Vernon Sanders family from Missouri had a good outing landing seven sails!
December 26, 2001
There is nothing like a missile lit up in a purple hue charging towards the stern of a boat. A super charged sailfish or marlin is a sight to behold. Peter Ahluwalia traveled all the way from England to spend a week with us fly fishing for billfish. He totted with him an arsenal of big game gear and has traveled the world to do battle. After taking several sails on the fly he had his chance to throw to a big blue bruiser.
The marlin estimated at close to 300 lbs crunched his fly and backing burned off his reel. Peter stood his ground and did not panic. Three hours later after many acrobatic runs and extreme pressure, the fish rolled over on its side. As he coaxed it to the boat the line parted and the fish, larger than the world record, disappeared in the cobalt sea. That fight is a memory to be embedded in that angler's mind forever.
Gail Houpt brought her crew back for another visit this year and as usual caught lots of fish. Six was their best day on sails, and added to that were several inshore species as well. The last couple of days though, the fish have moved offshore and the catch rate has dropped. Those opting to stay inshore have been rewarded with non stop action on roosterfish, jacks, mackerel and snapper. Bob Barclay took top fish with a solid sixty pounder.
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