Yellow Gold Video

Here is the video from my recent trip to Mexico and the fertile waters of El Banco. Enjoy!

Shoe

Yellow Gold from Jigstrong on Vimeo.

San Pancho Mexico Yellowfin Report

Hello everyone, I hope that this report finds you all well and either resting up from an outing on the water or getting ready for one. For me, I'm experiencing the former at the moment- resting up from a trip to Puerto Vallarta and the waters off of El Banco.

With me on this trip was my wife Nansea as well as two of my best friends Pete and Deke, along with their wives. For anyone that doesn't know me, I prefer to get off of the beaten path when we travel and this trip was to take us to San Pancho (San Francisco formally), a sleepy little fishing village just North of Punta de Mita and Puerto Vallarta.

In order to get there we flew into PV and instead of racing out of town we decided to spend the night at Marina Vallarta. For anyone who hasn't been it's a cool little spot with plenty of different hotels/condos for rent. The food is great, the margaritas are strong, and the vibe is terrific.

The view from our deck at the Flamingo Hotel

After a day of travel we decided to grab some provisions, toast the first sunset of the trip, and share some laughs.

Myself, Deke, and Pete

In the morning it was off to San Pancho so we loaded up the rental and hit the road. The ride was actually much shorter than we had expected and within an hour of travel time we were rolling into our little town for the week. This is downtown San Pancho…at rush hour…in a traffic jam.

The meter maids will really sneak up on you down here too

Picking our way through and out of town we made it to our house- Casa Canto del Mar

View from the road below

From the top floor

The pool side nap zone

The pool

And finally the tackle shop

After settling in it was once again time to relax, grab a cocktail, and salute the sunset before hitting the sack for the fishing that would follow.

Early the next morning we shoved off for Punta de Mita (about a 45 minute drive). One note for anyone who might venture down to San Pancho: there is an hour time difference between San Pancho time and Punta de Mita time so be sure to take that into account. For us that meant leaving at 5:15 to be there by 7am even though it was a short ride.

This was to be the first of three days of fishing with Lora of Fortuna Sportfishing, but unfortunately the fishing gods…or rather the engine gods had other ideas for us. We did make it out for a short bit, but one bum engine made it a no go and with the winds picking up we called it a day. Final tally for day 1 was a couple of flip flop mahi.

After Lora took a day to make arrangements for another boat, we headed out with reports of hungry yellowfin at El Banco.

We arrived early to a new boat, calm winds, and a fair tide.

While the wind was sputtering, there was still a residual sea and a few areas that the winds wouldn't give up so it was slow going, but after a few hours we reached the grounds and were greeted by birds, flying fish, and yellowfin that were trying their best to take flight.

I was first up, put a Volador right in front of the mark, and was rewarded with an early morning Stella song before this 70# fish hit the deck.

We then casted a bunch of different things without luck before I put on a Shimano Ocea Pencil Bluefin Tuna and hooked up again. Pete, Deke, and myself all took turns fighting this fish and it gave us all a new respect for yellowfin.

After that the casting bite shut down so we tried jigging with regular jigs as well as Lucanus but had no love. Deke and Pete both wanted to put a bend in their new jigging rods (Pete bought a WGJ and Deke built his first jigging rod for the trip) so Lora hooked them up with some caballitos and we found the right school. Pete and Deke doubled up and fighting their fish.

It was a heck of a day and we had an absolute blast. The final tally for the day was 5 for 5 on yellowfin ranging from 70-120#. The gear we fought on was Zenaq 76-7/Stella 10000XG, a WGJ/Saltiga 40, and a custom/Saltiga 40.

This trip gave us all a new appreciation for what yellowfin in deep water can do, and for the importance of hiring a good captain. Even though we wouldn't make it out for a third day as Lora was trying to get his boat squared away, he worked his tail off to put us on the right fish- Thank you Lora!

After getting back to Casa Canto del Mar we saluted our quarry for a good fight and a lifetime of memories, poured a cocktail, and enjoyed the fruits of our labor and another sunset.

In my mind, San Pancho, Punta de Mita, and Captain Lora is a winning combination and I can't wait to hit the numbers again.

Jigstrong!

Shoe

CITES Listing Approved by US: UPDATE

Update: UN Rejects the CITES listing and therefore the international trade of bluefin. Read more here.



Well, today the US decided to throw their name in the hat in support of a CITES listing for bluefin tuna which would ban international trade of the species.

See this article for more details.

This is very unfortunate for US fishermen as we have been abiding by all of the rules set forth by ICAAT while the countries in the Eastern Atlantic have not. It seems that we are now paying the price for others' irresponsibility.

It is unclear as to how this will effect the domestic commercial fishery or the recreational fishery at this point.

We will be watching this one closely and will be sure to update as we learn more.

Fighting Big Tuna

Everything in life demands planning. Whether you're mapping out your day's activities, creating a business plan, or fighting a fish- you are always better if you have a plan of attack and strategy. I have caught many big tuna in Cape Cod, but I have to say that I was not prepared for how different tuna in North Carolina fight.

What are the differences you may ask?


The most significant is water depth: in Cape Cod depths range anywhere from 50'-400'. In Hatteras the water can be as deep as 900'.

Water Temps: in Cape Cod the water averages in the 60's- in Hatteras the water is in the 70's.

Fish Size: In the Cape, fish generally range from 64" and up- in Hatteras they are averaging 69" and up.


On our first trip to Hatteras I was amazed at how hard these fish fought, and was excited to observe that they all seemed to act the same way at certain points of the fight. With that in mind I decided to create a better game plan for the NC fish.

Here is what I did and why. Please note that this is just my game plan and what I feel comfortable doing- take these ideas or leave them as you see fit. For me these tactics have made a world of difference- we went from 3 for 8 on one trip to 12 for 15 on the last trip.


Step 1: Burn baby burn
Situation: First run following the hook up
Action: I set my drags to 15-18 pounds.
Reason: at this low setting they will rip off line and move far away from boat. I do this because I want them to burn themselves out. In NC I've noticed that they peel off about 150-200 yards of line. Once they slow down I will bump my drag up to recover line from the initial run.

Step 2: Settling In
Situation: Once you've settled in above the fish it will likely be around 60-100' under the boat. At this depth the fast current will take hold of the fish. IT WILL FEEL IMPOSSIBLE TO MOVE THE TUNA AT THIS POINT. If you don't do something to change things up, it will be you who will burn out- the tuna will swim in the oxygen rich warm waters and won't move.
Action: Palm the spool
Reason: By palming the spool you will eventually turn the fish and break his stronghold. I don't believe in giving back line once i get it. By working the angles you will eventually get their head.

Step 3: The end game
Situation: The fish is at color and in circles but you can't get it to come up that last 10 feet.
Action: As the fish moves from the 12 o'clock position to the 6 o'clock position I short pump the the fish.

Reason: This will gain line as the fish swims towards you. When you hit the 6 o'clock position and the fish starts swimming out and away from you, palm the spool. It is very important not to give up line here or you will just keep going in circles. At this point the fish will have less line to work with, and with none going back out the fish will come up towards the surface. Repeating this on every circle will quickly have the fish in gaffing range.

Hopefully whatever strategy you put in place will work for you. If for any reason it doesn't, however, give this game plan a try. Tight lines & screaming drags from Jigstrong.com