Mazatlan Deep sea/El salto bass

[menomax]

Traveler--Carribean: Cancun. I was in Jamaica in October and tried to hook up with some locals to do some fishing, but they are so laid back that I was a little concerned about going out.

[menomax]

Tom -- If your not used to the movement I would take some type of anti motion sickess drugs. The fishing is really good right now. In Cancun there were some guys that went out had plenty of action. Make sure that the captain catches his own bait with you. Do the whole day thing, that way you have a better chance for some action. As far as cost goes, I spent about 500 for the day for my wife and I. Good luck.

[traveler]

Hey Tom; Mazatlan is a fun town, and cheaper than most mexican destinations. Great beaches, not so hot snorkling, water will be chilly too. There are 3 marinas there, avoid the old marina downtown; likewise, avoid the timeshare deal charters if offered. Usually a good idea to book in advance, but if you check in the day you get there you'll likely find an opening later in the week this time of year. The Aires fleet at the El Cid Marina is the best in town, about 500/day. Do a full day; if the bite is far out (which it often is), you need the time. Bibi fleet and Pro team are also supposed to be good, but I haven't fished them and would stick with Aires. Most of my Maz fishing has been late feb-early March; catch is usually striped marlin ( 1 per boat/per day is doing well) There are usually a few (sometimes a lot) of smaller tuna around, sometimes some dorado if a push of warm water has come through. You can keep tuna/dorado, most restaraunts will cook for you; sometimes I'll freeze some up and bring it home. Brink bland food/drink if you're worried about your stomach,fruit juice works good for me, easy on the liquor; try the scopolomine patch or dramamine for seasickness. Some people swear by ginger too. Hat, sunsceen for sure. No bug dope. The crew won't speak much english (or speak much at all probably), but smile, have a positive attitude, and stay engaged in the fishing as the day wears on. i've caught marlin right at the end of the day more than once after 4 or 5 hours of fruitless trolling. Marlin are a great fish; please release any billfish you're fortunate enough to hook. Mexican crews are notorious for trying to sell taxidermy mounts under the guise of "the feesh is bleeding, it wll not live senor" [PoorWordUsage]...let it go if YOU think it has a chance. Let them know right up front thats your intention, and don't let them kill it on the cockpit floor trying to get thier stinking 50 cent hook back. (Yeah, happened to me once.) That about covers it I think. Have a great time, and good luck with the marlin!

[harvey lee]

traveler hit the nail on the head. I know the Marlin I caught on my last trip the guys on the boat killed the marlin I caught. I think they put their hand all the way down their throat and ripped the inside of the fish to pieces. I told them to release any fish I caught but they still killed it.

I was not real happy with them and told the guys at the marina what they did. No tip that day for the boat as I figure what they sold the fish for was enough of a tip.

[traveler]

PERFECT Harvey. I just wish more folks would do that. problem is, 90% of thier clients are first time/vacation fishers, add to that the language barrier, and they can pretty much do what they want. Like many poorer countries, they see the immediate $$ from the quick sale of the fish or commision from the taxidermist, but fail to see the potential damage to the fishery that is thier livelihood and legacy. Big pelagics around the world are in various stages of decline, and while the striper stocks in that region are in reasonably good shape, it's a never ending battle against the longliners and the powers that be in Mexico city to protect the marine enviroment down there. Every US sportsman that travels down there needs to be educated, and encouraged, to do what they can to help.

[harvey lee]

Years ago, we fished with a string insted of a hook by the bait. When the billfish hit the lure, the string would wrap around the bill and the fight was on. When one landed the fish, you just unwrapped the string from the bill and released a unharmed fish. I will never understand why they quit fishing this way.

Next to no dead fish with a released fish by using the non hook method.

[traveler]

harvey; those are called "snooters" and have been debated in billfish circles many times. One of the disadvantages is they can wrap up so hard they take longer to free then a single hook, also that if the line breaks during the fight, the device is a death sentence for the fish cause he can't open his mouth to free ot. Who knows? IGFA syas no, so there it is...

[smnduck]

The Bibi fleet has the mangrove fishing. Ask For a guy named Todeo or "T". My contact said to tell them that Doug King sent them. Hope you get this in time. From the info I have gotten from Mr.King,there is a good "reef" bite going on.

[Tom7227]

Guys,

Thanks for the input.

I found the HSOforum for the Aires fleet - looked a bit pricey and I suspect my non-fishing companion will balk at the $450+ prices on the higher end boats.

A few more questions -

Are we likely to be the only ones on the boat or will there be 4-6 other people fishing? That could be bad if they're a bunch a partying yahoos, but OK if they're decent sportsmen.

Some info we got said you should haggle for everything. Is that so with the boat prices? We're staying at the Inn at Mazatlan and I'm hoping they can set it up for us and get a decent outfit to go with and keep my lack of knowledge from boogering things up.

As for the catch and release - I do it almost exclusively here but I don't know anything about the ocean. In a way if the guys on the boat can make some money more power to them. On the other hand if the resource is stressed I would most certainly do a C&R. I have no intention of having anything mounted as there'd be no place it would be allowed in my house.

Thanks again.

Tom

[smnduck]

$450 is the cost of the whole boat for the day. If you want, it will be just you, or you can ask other people to come along and split the cost. Bartering with the big name boats might not work but always try. You pay for what you get most of the time.

[Tom7227]

smnduck

Thanks - I thought the $450 was per person. That makes the whole thing a lot easier to sell to my companion.

Tom

[loejay]

I just talked to a buddy in Mazatlan. He has been there since 1/10/08 and has been out fishing 5 times no fish.Water is too cold he said.I have used boats out of the Escualo fleet. Been out in the bigger boats and the pangas.For the money difference the pangas are the deal. We caught marlin off the pangas too. You can fish 2 days on the pangas for the cost of one on the bigger boats.

[Tom7227]

loejay,

OK, I'll bite - what's a panga? My friend is still balking at the price. Maybe we'll watch and see what comes back in for a few days before we committ. Gee I hope I don't lose this chance.

Tom

[smnduck]

They usualy run 20'-30'. A common motor would be a 70-90 hp yammy. Some are tiller stear. No cabin but most have a sun shade. A really good way to fish on a budget. I would go on a panga before a cruiser because of cost, but then the swells do not bother me like some other people. The cruisers take the swells better.

How much does it cost for a half day guided trip on Mille Lacs or Lake of the Woods?

[Duffman]

I've done the pangas out of the Escualo fleet. They are smaller open boats with dual outboards. It's pretty much bottom fishing for groupers, triggerfish, or a snapper here and there. We always had action, although it seems they have to head further and further away to find fish as the years have gone by.

It might not be as exciting as billfishing, but we always caught some fish. In my book that beats a $500 fishless boat ride anyday.

[loejay]

The Escualo fleet got new pangas last yr. We went out in the pangas and did the marlin fishing my buddy got a 5 ft blue marlin.We had 3 hook ups but only landed the one. I think the captains name was Gerardo.We also went bottom fishing with him. That was fun to we were busy all the time.

[Tom7227]

My buddy is balking at the price and I have heard from a number of sources now that the water is too cold and that the deep sea fishing has been poor. I'd hate to drop the bucks and get skunked. So I checked out the El Salto bass thing. The one HSOforum said that it's 83 miles from Mazatlan so I'm wondering if it is a day trip or an overnight. The other thing that I think I saw was that the bass were planted in 1995 but one of the places was bragging that they've been fishing since 1994. That guy also virtually guaranteed a 10 lb bass. Right.

[smnduck]

The Bass were stocked in the mid 80's. I found a day trip for 2 to El Salto for around $550. Hono is the contact. Picked up at the hotel in Mazatlan around 4:30AM. Fishing by 6:00. Back at the Hotel by 6:30PM .

[traveler]

SMNduck; your post from the 16th was a couple hours too late. Just got back today, didn't do any fishing this time. It remains slow offshore for billfish, tuna, etc...so I didn't miss much. Tom; 450/day for a marlin charter is a good deal (although still a good deal of $$$). IF you do well, that is. best thing is to check the reports shortly before you go, and obviously go at the right time of year. Nothing like it when you hook up to a marlin. 10 lb bass=marlin bait!

[harvey lee]

Yes, when you figure the fee for fishing and the tip if given, the day can cost a few hondo's. One also has to check as stated to see what fish are in the local waters at the time of year you will be there. As the water temps change, so do the different specie in the area.

Those marlin to me are expensive but worth every penny I spend. Awesome fighting fish.

[Tom7227]

Thanks to all who provided advice. Got back on Tuesday - 30+ hours of jacking around by the airline - and must report that we didn't go fishing. My buddy is not very interested in fishing at all and the combination of $$$$ plus week reports of catch success was enough to put him off. Of course he had a heck of a time watching his wife screw around with every shop/merchant/salesman/beach hawker for about 8 hours a day.

Again, thanks.