Black Marlin, Blue Marlin, Sailfish, Yellowfin Tunas, Roosterfish, Snapper, Amberjack, Dorado

This week we said farewell to 2009 and welcomed the beginning of a new near at Tropic Star Lodge.  The billfish bite slowed a little as compared to the previous week; however our brilliant crews managed to put the guests on some great action. The reef produced a few nice BLACK MARLIN but most of the bites came a little further offshore on the edge 12-14 miles offshore.

There were also some lovely Cubera Snappers and Amberjacks caught on the downriggers around the Piñas Reef. Fishing a live bonito over the reef is a lot of fun. You just never know what’s going to bite. Even the elusive BLACK MARLIN won’t have trouble pouncing on the pinned bonito. The bite can be impressive especially when you’re thinking, oh! Big Snapper and then a 500 lb Black goes airborne astern. It’s an adrenaline rush at least. The last couple of days of the week we also caught a number of big YELLOWFIN TUNAS in the 150-180 lb range. Yo Hoo, Sashimi!

Sam Wright came all the way from Namibia to Piñas Bay this week. Her dad brought her here for her graduation present. Her wishes came through on the first morning out when she released her first BLACK MARLIN estimated at 400 lbs. Vivian Pearce also had her wish with the release of her first 250 lb BLACK MARLIN. Christine Kirla also released her first BLACK MARLIN, a big one, in the 500 lb range. Nice catch! Regardt Du Plessis released his first BLACK MARLIN estimated at 350 lbs and also made good on his first PACIFIC SAILFISH. J.D. Messeler Scott also released their first BLACK MARLIN estimated at 400 lbs. Todd Aronson, Giuseppe Croce  and Carlo Bonomi all released their first BLACK MARLIN.

Alena Kitson fared well offshore on the edge, releasing her first PACIFIC BLUE MARLIN estimated at 300 lbs. She also got her first PACIFIC SAILFISH, a big one; around 140 lbs. Geoff Roland and Brent Kitson had the trip of a lifetime. They are avid fly fisherman and came back with many big boys caught on the fly. On the final day of the trip they got lucky and both released their first PACIFIC SAILFISH on FLY estimated at 100 lbs. Congrats! Johnny Yeary and Jake Skelhorn also released their PACIFIC SAILFISH this week.

David VanderGrind caught a monster YELLOWFIN TUNA on the final day. It weighed in at 173 lbs.
Carlo Bonomi and Giuseppe Croce also returned home on the final day with a lovely pair of YELLOWFIN TUNAS; the bigger one scaled at 150 lbs.

Again, on behalf of all the staff here at the lodge, we would like to wish you all a Happy New Year!

Tight Lines,

Albert Battoo
DOCKMASTER