318-POUND COW TUNA LANDED ON THE SPORTFISHING BOAT PRIME TIME

Oct. 22, 2004, Robert Ives, Big Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Tuna Catch Report:

Dear giant yellowfin tuna chasers, I just returned from Puerto Vallarta and I caught a 318-pound yellowfin tuna in three hours, a fish of a lifetime, Sunday October 17, 2004, on board the "Prime Time" Captained by Josh Temple, crewed by Trevor out of Nuevo Vallarta.

The first question of the day, told the tale of the best fishing day of my life, "Do you want to catch 80's and 100 pounders all day or do you want a trophy yellowfin tuna?" To me there was only one answer. "Trophy." I was told by some friends in LA to go find the Canadian skipper named Josh. He knows where to find the big cows. After five days of trying to find him I caught a lucky break. Josh had been booked by a group of Puerto Vallarta anglers for the whole week. They had decided to take a break after three days, which turned out to be the luckiest day of my life.

We left port 7 a.m. with Lady Luck, Jodi Klein, my fiancee, at my side. We headed out 40 miles from Puerto Vallarta on a beautiful 30-foot Grady White. Captain Josh filling me in on all the details. A beautiful day on the water! We were about 20 miles outside the Bay of Banderas, dragging spoons for bait near a grouping of rocks west of Marieta Islands. Pulling in 5 to 10-pound skipjacks. By 8:30 a.m. we were trolling 10 lb skippies. After 2 hours of trolling with lots of play from sailfish we got the bite we were looking for.

The clicker on the Tiagra 50w started to scream. I hit free spool to make sure he swallowed the bait. With Captain josh at my side and Trevor fastening the fighting harness/belt I set the hook on the massive fish. I was pulled to the transom on 38 pounds of drag! I damn near swallowed my tongue! The first hour was the toughest, settling in was difficult, and the adrenalin was flowing through all of our veins. We knew we had a big fish but we didn't know how big or what kind. I can't tell you how much I have to thank Josh and Trevor for their expertise. There is absolutely no better way to catch a big cow then from a small boat. Hook up was at 11:40 a.m. and by 1:40 p.m. I was feeling the strain from a giant yellowfin. The last 1/2 hour he fought and pulled harder than ever. He must have been in the throws of death and refused to surrender to my will. Just before the third hour he surprised us and breached 50 feet off the transom. I had never seen such a large gill plate and his eye was the size of my fist. I gasped and screamed, "There He Is...." We brought him along side the boat and the size of his girth overwhelmed my senses. Three gaffs and three men pulled this beast through the transom door. We were F@#X#@X Freaking Out. It was so surreal, it was beyond belief. The 318-pound cow pulled us 5 miles from the hookup, we were using 150-pound spectra, 145-pound topshot, 145 fluorocarbon, #10 circle hook. I loved every second. I have to thank Josh Temple with Prime Time Adventures of Puerto Vallarta, the best captain I have ever fished with.

Here it is five days later and I just can't sleep.

(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.