SPORTFISHING BOATS FISHING ALONG THE BEACH
AVERAGING 3 TO 4 ROOSTERFISH PER DAY

July 7, 2005, Gary Graham, Baja On The Fly, Ixtapa Zihuatanejo, Mexico Fishing Report:

The run for the 80-degree blue fishing water is still just a couple of minutes out of Zihuatanejo Bay. The moon cycle is just right and expectantly, the fishing has been very good. The 10 to 12 boats in the fleet fishing the blue water are averaging about three sailfish a day, with several boats posting 4 to 5 fish a day.

We did have a couple of days of port closure, due to a tropical storm that stayed out at sea. But the lack of fisherman for the fleet caused no scheduling problems at all.

The blue marlin are still hanging around, as proven by Captain Santiago on the panga "Gitana". His clients, Paul Herder and Bob McGriff of Calif., had a double hookup on 200 pound class blues. It was a good thing they were smaller blues because it would have been tough to get them to the leader if they had been any size.

Santiago also fished with Jeff Dixon of Houston and released 5 sailfish. Mel Com of Fremont, Calif., fished one day with Captain Margarito on the cruiser "Gaby". He also caught and released 5 sailfish.

The roosterfish action on Ixtapa Zihuatanejo beaches has been very good. Each boat is averaging between 3 and 4 roosters a day. Most of the fish are going about 35 pounds, with several large ones mixed in. Steve Carroll of Tulsa, Okla., fished with Felipe on the panga "Yellowfin" for one day. They got two smaller roosterfish and a nice jack crevalle on live bait. Losing two very large roosters, Steve learned a hard lesson but he will be ready for them next year. Apparently, he is used to striped bass fishing for fish averaging under 10 pounds. When the huge rooster hit, and started taking a lot of line, he locked his thumb down. Twenty-pound line with a 50 pound plus rooster attached will not last long with a locked down drag.

Water temperature 80 - 84. Air temperature 80 - 86. Conditions, thunderstorms.

(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.