FIRST SPORTFISHING TRIP FOR NEW OCARANZA BOAT "PACIFICO"

July 1, 2006, First fishing trip for Capt. Manny Ocaranza on his new charter boat, the Pacifico, Manny Ocaranza:

This report is by Captain Manny Ocaranza of Puerto Vallarta on his first trip with his new boat, "Pacifico," a 1991 Blackfin Flybridge.

As many already know, the Pacifico made the trip from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas to Puerto Vallarta in good shape. It was basically a 1000-mile shakedown cruise, and she's sitting pretty now.

Craig Walton from Palos Verdes had a trip scheduled for the past 6 months to Puerto Vallarta with family and friends and wanted to check out the famed banks.

On Thursday we made a point to go find the tuna. Most boats had given up on El Banco and were fishing at Roca Corbeteña.

I went deep, at El Banco and then some. Someone was smiling down on us because we found a big school of yellowfin tuna of a very mixed grade of fish. As the yellowfin tuna schools get hammered by the nets and get smaller in size, the different schools join up and what you get is a school like the one we found on this day. Fish of 40-plus to 200 pounds were seen and my anglers got to pull on a little bit of everything.

The final result for Pacifico was 5 tuna, 3 from 50 to 100 pounds, a 114, and a 124. We also got to pull on something much bigger, a fight that lasted 90 minutes on 80 pound, and got it to color only to lose it at the boat when it finally chewed thru the line. That tackle combo belonged to Craig, and the moral of that story is if your gear can't get the fish in the boat in 90 minutes, then your gear isn't big enough.

Pacifico also arrived in Puerto Vallarta with a Scalemaster II certified in June this year. Info: 310-755-8135, Manny@FishPacifico.com.

(See "Mexico Fishing News" online for current fishing reports, photos, weather, and water temperatures from Puerto Vallarta and other major Mexican sportfishing areas. Vacation travel articles, fishing maps and seasonal calendars, and fishing related information for Puerto Vallarta may be found at Mexfish.com's main Puerto Vallarta page.