NO TUNA BUT EARLY ROOSTERFISH SHOWING UP

April 9, 2005, Ed Kunze, Ixtapa Zihuatanejo, Mexico Fishing Report:

The water has been warming up, and sending the cold water current we have had for this last month out of the Ixtapa Zihuatanejo fishing vacation area. Sailfish action is picking up, the blue marlin are moving into the fishing area, and we even got into the roosters on Friday. The yellowfin tuna are still a no show.

I fished out of Ixtapa Zihuatanejo with the Barrow family, of Mountain Home Ark., trying for a sailfish on the fly this last Wednesday. It was just too early in the week as the sailfish did not become active until just Friday. We did raise 1 sailfish and a marlin however, but were not able to get any action on the fly when they came to the boat. As of today, the Ixtapa Zihuatanejo sportfishing fleet is averaging about 1 sailfish per boat on conventional gear.

This last Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Capt. Felipe, on the Ixtapa Zihuatanejo charter fishing panga Yellowfin and I fished with various clients with the fly rod. Or, Felipe fished with them using conventional gear. We were targeting the inshore jack crevalle bite.

On Sunday, Tom Ohlson of Colorado got a few while fishing on the fly and surface popper.

Monday, Dave Powell ended up with 12 of the hard fighting jacks while fishing with surface poppers and slow trolled live bait. Fly fisherman Chuck Smith had 4, and Greg Benfit, of Portland Oregon, and his wife got 4 jacks and two very nice roosterfish. Chuck found out just how hard the 6 to 20 pound jacks fight, when he snapped his 10wt in three places when he tried to lift, but the big jack wanted to go down.

Felipe told me the roosterfish were crashing the bait on the beach, and mixed in with the jacks. "There must have been 50 or 60 roosters among the 150 or so jacks. All the roosters were in the 30 to 40 pound class. Their combs were standing straight up and you could easily see them." This is the earliest I have heard of the roosters being here in quantity, so things may really be looking up.

Several blue marlin were caught during fishing at Ixtapa Zihuatanejo this week, including the panga Oceana with one. The private boat Aleta Negra, owned by Karl Peters of Nashville released one, and the cruiser Rosa Nautica got one. The largest was caught on the panga Gitana, with Captain Santiago. The huge blue was estimated at about 575 pounds.

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