Black Marlin, Blue Marlin, Sailfish, Yellowfin Tuna, Dorado

 The last two weeks of fishing has been good despite the fact that bait has been somewhat difficult to catch both on the reef and offshore. There has been some big Black Marlin cruising around and many of them were seen tailing.  There was even a story of a particular fish that came up on teaser but did not eat; captain said around 1,100 lbs. The crews worked hard to put our guests on billfish and on a few occasions we were also blessed with pods of huge Yellowfin Tunas. The biggest caught weighed 188 lbs. A couple of Striped Marlin in the 200 lb range were also released last week which is pretty odd as they usually show up in Pinas Bay around April or May. There was also some decent action inshore with Cubera Snappers, Almaco Jacks and the odd Roosterfish. We expect the inshore bite to improve over the next month or so and come March the Rooster-fishing should be in full swing.

Larry Flynn released a nice Black Marlin estimated at 500 lbs; his first ever. Erling, Svein and Oyyind Strom also fished with us and came all the way from Norway to Pinas Bay on his buddy’s recommendation. Earling released  his first 500 lb Black Marlin, Svein released his first Pacific Blue Marlin around 400 lbs and Oyyind got his first Black Marlin estimated at 450 lbs. They all had a great TSL Experience catching  Sailfish,  Cubera Snappers and Almaco Jacks inshore. Pam Cianciarulo released her first Black Marlin estimated at 400 lbs and her sister Joe released her first Pacific Sailfish, 100 lbs. Debora Tinnesand released her very first Black Marlin estimated at 400 lbs and Don Whalen also got his first Black Marlin, 400 lbs.

Mike Bahnmeier released his first Black Marlin estimated at 350 lbs, Pacific Blue Marlin, 300 lbs and also the  biggest Pacific Sailfish for the week, his first one, estimated at 150+ lbs. Bud Rupe released his first Black Marlin 400 lbs and Gene O’Connor got a big surprise when he hooked and released his first Striped Marlin that went around 200 lbs. Scott Carpenter released his first Black Marlin estimated at 400 lbs and also released a he Pacific Sailfish that went 140 lbs. His dad Roy also released his first Pacific Blue Marlin that went 450 lbs. Mel Miller got his first Black Marlin release; a 350 lb fish.

Al Constantini released his first Black Marlin estimated at 500 lbs and 100lb Pacific Sailfish. Chad Kennedy also scored big with his first Black Marlin release; a 500 lb fish. Blair Poteate also got his shot at his first Black Marlin estimated at 500 lbs. Kirby was all smiles last week when he released his Black Marlin around 450 lbs and Joe Pongonis, Byron Shouppe and Jeff Stumpf  all scored their first Black Marlin in the 400 lb range.

Mark Gray released his first Black Marlin, 250 lbs, and Pacific Blue Marlin that went 400 lbs. Tom Gray also scored his first Black Marlin estimated at 350 lbs. Mike Sunday released his first Black Marlin estimated at 450 lbs, Daniel Esterline and Al Shouppe released their first Black Marlin, 250 lbs. Oscar Buckingham released his first Black Marlin in the 300 lb range and also was surprised when he hooked up with his first Striped Marlin around 200 lbs.  I’d like to mention Jerzy Bilip’s first Pacific Sailfish (90 lbs) released last week and a nice pair of Yellowfin Tunas caught by Michael & Sheila Bonsignore; 135 & 188 lbs.

For more Tropic Star Lodge action, check out our photo gallery on Facebook and Flickr 

Tight Lines!

Albert Battoo
Fishing Director