So we are all back safely from Ixtapa, tanned and relaxed. We had a great time although 2 weeks does fly by! So on to the fishing well, I was up against a full moon cycle and long story short I lost. On the first day we headed out a little groggy but ready, at the 9 mile mark Luis (guide) checked his GPS, a few moments later FISH ON! as Luis set the hook on the sailfish out she came. She looked to be about 6-7 ft long with a gold hue. However as quick as it started it ended with a swoop of the bill she was free. We trolled hoping for more to tease to the boat for the fly but to no avail. Around lunch Luis perked up and said how about some sharks? well after sleeping on and off in the panga and no action I was in plus My two companions (my brother in law and father in law) were looking just as bored as I was. Well luis had seen a piece of drift wood floating around and new it would harbour something. So we caught a few sharks and moved on, they were very much like dogfish and so we lost interest fast. On to day two with my wife Bobbi well we caught bonita but no jacks or rooster fish. I took a few shots with a disposable camera after I forgot my other one so we’ll have to wait untill I use up all the film. all in all it was a bust on the fishing front. However the rest of the trip was fantastic and Coen was livin the dream, two weeks of sunscreen and diapers mixed in with swimming in the pool and zooming around the condo.
Sorry for the lack of pictures, Having to much fun!
Untill next time.
I know the year has just begun. We’re a week into January, the holiday season is over and it’s time to get back on the water again. The next few months we will target Steelhead and Cutties in our local waters. As the spring comes around we will start looking at doing some trips. This year we have a few things in the works including more Roosterfishing, chasing Browns in Alberta, and trips to Florida and the Skeena watershed. In-between we will continue to search for trophy trout in some of B.C.’s best waters. We will keep posting our stories here on the blog and I hope to add some more features such as video and music. My resolution this year is to post even if a trip is unsuccessful. Maybe we’ll run into some of you during the year. If so, come say hi. We love to meet new people. Feel free to send me pictures or trip reports that we can add to the blog. If your an out of town reader, don’t be shy. Shoot us an email or coment on the blog. We can help you plan a trip to beautiful B.C………
Dave
When trying to decide on a place to spend our honeymoon last August there was really no other option. Sarah had fallen in love with Roosterfish so the Pacific coast, from Mexico to Peru, was the only option. Deciding on an actual location was just as easy. I had always wanted to fish with a fellow named Ed Kunze who I had exchanged emails with quite a few years back. he seemed to know his stuff and boasted about the fishing around the then sleepy resort area of Ixtapa/Zihuatenejo. As it would happen, friends of ours had purchased a condo in the area a couple of years back and we were able to rent it for our trip. I contacted Ed and explained our situation and he sent us a copy of the book he is writing about the area. We used this information to plan everything from the moon phases to what gear we would need. The only thing left to do was get there.
We booked three days with Ed. The first one would be spent gear fishing with a couple of local captains just to get our feet wet. We caught plenty of fish including, jacks, bonita, needlefish and barracuda. Then the plan was to drive 2 hours south of town to a small fishing village where we could have miles of ocean all to ourselves for 2 days. Ed was a great tour guide during our drives. Pointing out sites of interest and teaching us about the local culture. He told us about some must see places and also places that were a rip off. The most important thing we learned was how to catch Roosters on the fly.
We would be fishing from the boat, casting towards fish that would be teased out of the surf zone with poppers. It was a team effort. One man controlling the boat and keeping us from getting caught inside the breaking waves. Another, Cheva, cast the poppers from the bow into the surf and reeled them back, hopefully with Roosters following. Ed coached us on were to cast, what to do with our line, proper stripping technique and explained everything there is to know about roosters. Sarah and I had the job of casting our flies next to the popper when it was in range and hoping that a Rooster would inhale it.
We had tough conditions. It had rained hard recently and the inshore waters were coloured. Although there were plenty of roosters, they were alot more finicky than usual. We had plenty of shots at fish and just as many refusals, some right at the boat. A few of the fish that we teased up were simply huge. Day one we got no takers but seeing the fish following the poper and flies made us all the more excited to get back on the water. Day two was much like day one. Intense and Frustrating all at once. Sarah had a case of the 40 ounce flu and at one point someone joked that she was chumming the water for us. I blew a shot at the largest fish of the trip and needed to sit down and think about it. Sarah took the rod for her turn and on the next cast she was hooked up. She managed to ignore the four guys yelling instructions to her (we suspected her fish would be a world record) and landed the fish after a frantic fight. We tried to fish some more after that but were eager to get this fish back to a certified scale to weigh.
Two hours seems like alifetime when you have a possible record fish in the vehicle.We got to a scale and the fished weighed in at just over the current record. A bit of paperwork and 5 months of waiting and we have now recieved official word that the record has been accepted. Sarah is now the Womens flyfishing 8 kilogram record holder for Roosterfish.
As you can imagine We’re pumped to do it all again this year. This time will can spend more time catching and less time learning and I’m sure sarah will break some more records.
Enjoy some of our pictures from the trip……………..
