summer fun

[mems]

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a371/mems15/DSCF44471_zps8adbgce0.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/mems15/media/DSCF44471_zps8adbgce0.jpg.html)
Aloha, went on a cruise to Baja with my wife. We were going to fish one day in Puerta Varata, but hurricane Carlos changed those plans, so we fished one day in Cabo. We got this 120lb stripped marlin and 19 year old Jordan from Utah reeld in the fish. He was getting his ass kicked, but stuck with it. His largest previous fish was a 12 inch trout. He was stocked and we all cheered him on. My wife got this nice shot of the marlin.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a371/mems15/DSCF44251_zpsorho05vr.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/mems15/media/DSCF44251_zpsorho05vr.jpg.html)
We had a great trip and visited family and friends in San Diego and LA. Got back home in the islands and went guiding yesterday with John bishop in Kona. He got this nice bone at A-bay.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a371/mems15/DSCF45431_zps0qxw3ffb.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/mems15/media/DSCF45431_zps0qxw3ffb.jpg.html)
John lives in Boulder, Colorado and has family on the Big Island. He has done frequent salt trips and has been to Christmas Island a couple of times. He was happy to catch one of the impossibles, a yellowfinned surgeon fish. They are pretty hard to catch.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a371/mems15/DSCF45461_zpstkbefpve.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/mems15/media/DSCF45461_zpstkbefpve.jpg.html)
I hope everyone has a great 4th of July. We are oing out for some big ahi. Mems.

[Darian]

Aloha Don,.... That young man will remember landing that Marlin for the rest of his life. The photo of the Marlin jumping is outstanding!! We missed a couple of days fishing at La Ventana because of Hurricane Blanca, too. Now that we're back home, the weather down there has calmed down and the fishing has improved.

The Surgeon fish is good looking. Almost looks like it doesn't have any scales. Are they hard to hook or hard to land (or both)???

Good luck hunting the Ahi on the 4th.... :cool:

[mems]

Hey Darian, thanks for the comments. The surgeon fish are tough all around. They only eat little shrimp and crabs. They run like hell to the nearest rock and can also cut you off with the blade on the tail. No hero shots with these fish. They have small scales on the skin, but locals throw them whole on the grill. I call them impossibles, because your catch ratio is like 1/10.
We went out yesterday after a tournament on the 4th. There were 50 boats out and the largest fish was a 219lb ahi that came in. I heard that guy won 10k on the side bet. We hit our local state bouy FAD and got some small yellow fin tuna and skip jack to 10lbs. We decided to live bait a skippy, aku for a big ahi. I saw a high flyer over the bait and said there was a marlin around. Next thing you know the line starts peeling out. I told Alex to count to 10, he got to about 7 and he locked up the drag and we hit the engines and a 400lb blue marlin lept out of the water. I asked the guys what they wanted to do. Chris the owner of the boat wanted to take it. Alex his son and angler said lets see, and I suggested we get it close, try and get the hook out but if need be cut the line and let it go. Well we got the marlin to the side of the boat in 20 minutes. We could see leader and I went to grab it, when the 400lb blue lept over the transom of the 16foot boat and dwarfed us all. I looked at the guys, whose eyes were as wide as saucers; and they said, "Cut the line!" We got the fish on go pro and got it next to the boat and avoided getting it tail wrapped and I grabbed leader again and cut it as close to the green marlin as I could. It swam off and the hook will rust out and the beautiful fish will be fine. Alex and I were very happy, it was his first marlin. Chris is still wrestling with the decision. If we were in the tournament that fish would have been worth 10k. I told him it is much easier to clean 10lb ahi than a 400lb marlin. It was a fun 4th of July weekend. Hope you all had a good time as well. We will be back out this week for another shot at a big ahi. Mems.

[Darian]

Holy Cats!!! That Marlin must've been longer than the 16' boat. Good call on cutting him loose. Whew!!! :cool:

[Mingo]

awesome work getting your client a fat o'io and a Palani on the fly Don! I love chasing the reef exotics myself so my eyes zoomed right in on the Palani photo. You're right....they are very hard to hook and even harder to land. "the impossibles"..... I'll use that line the next time I catch an umaumalei or something like that. :)

[mems]

Hey Mingo, the pualu, yellow finned surgeon is a beast. I might be able to break the state record of 15lb with this species. I know Hawaii has no fly records, but I would hate to kill one just for a record. Hope you have a good summer. Right now is a good time to fish. The oama are in and the ahi are running offshore. Mems.

[Mingo]

ahhhh....pualu. Thanks Don...I still mix those up with palani sometimes although I have yet to hook a pualu on fly tackle. Great looking fish. Mahalo!

[gitt]

Don,

Who was the guide in Puerto Vallarta? Was this conventional fishing or strictly fly. I'll be there in October. If the weather is cooperative, I at least have a pass. Any information would be appreciated.

[mems]

Hey Gitt, it was puerta vallarta sportfishing .com I would bring a 12wt and some poppers, sailfish flies and ask to do a bait and switch on sails. The thing there is you need to get out of the bay and fish one of the islands. The longer the day the more spots you can hit. It was like $350 for a day on a super panga. You should get shots at tuna and sails. Good luck, Don