The magazine for all things Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo
Serving the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo community since 1999
Available at select spots all across Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo
The magazine for all things Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo
Serving the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo community since 1999
Available at select spots all across Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo
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Sports Fishing CalendarSailfish: We get a large influx of sailfish here in November through January, and maybe a couple of weeks into February. They are the year round bread-and-butter game fish of the sport fishing fleet. In most non-winter months you can expect a per-boat average of two fish a day caught, tagged and released. The winter months can yield up to 15 to 20 fish a day. A 10 to 12 fish day is not at all unusual. Often overlooked for sailfish is the great month of July. Its not clear whether its local fish returning from their migration or a whole different set of new fish, but there can be excellent fishing for sails in July. In any given month, we have decent fishing right up and until the full moon, but then it tapers off on the second day, until about six to eight days after. Fly fishing is best when you can get the most shots, which means most fly fishermen come during the dark of the moon period until the date of the last quarter moon period, of the winter months: November, December, January, and February. Marlin: The blue and black marlin start showing as soon as the water starts cooling in the fall. November can be an outstanding month. Depending on the current, it may take as long as early January to get the desired 78º water. In April there are many marlin, but you may have to pay a fuel surcharge and travel 35 to 45 miles to find the blue water (see below). Our favorite times would be after the first week of May until the middle of June. This is when the water is cooler, yet the blue water current is close. The fish are within two to 20 miles. A few years ago, on May 6, 2002, my client released an estimated 700-pound blue less than 4 miles off the beach. Striped marlin, like they have in abundance in Cabo San Lucas, are not common here. They are a cooler water species. Besides the April current, another reason to hold off on making a trip down here until after the first week of May is the 30 years plus sailfish tournament held in Zihuatanejo on the 1st weekend of each May. This annual 120 to 160 boat tournament really flogs the water and the game fish need a few days to settle down. April: We get an annual cold green water current here in April. Sometimes it can come about the middle of March and sometimes it will linger through the first week of May. But by the second week of May it is always gone. This green water current shoves the blue water out to 25 to 45 miles. The big tuna and the marlin are here, but in the blue water. To go after them takes a fuel surcharge that varies with each boat. The Full Moon Period: The full moon period (from the day after the full moon, to almost the first quarter) affects several species of game fish here. Most people think it is because they are able to see and feed at night. This may be true to some extent, especially being that most game fish are opportunistic feeders. But I am more inclined to believe it is something else. The full moon period, due to gravitational pull, is when the tides are at the highest, so I believe this is when the migratory bell goes off and fish use the moon and the strong gravitational pull as a sort of guiding beacon. Once new fish have moved into the area and have gotten settled down, they start actively feeding again. Tuna: The big tuna (200 to 350 pounds) basically follow the same pattern as the marlin. Smaller tuna (up to 60 pounds) are here year -round. Live bait is the best method for getting them. Slow trolling a large mackerel or a three- pound bonito will get a 200 pound plus tuna almost every time you can locate the school. Tuna is the one species that seems to be very active during the full moon period. Roosterfish: The roosterfish here are huge. I have rarely caught a fish under 20 pounds. The average seems to be between 30 and 40 pounds. Several fish are caught at 50 pounds and a couple every year go 75 and 80 pounds. The best times for roosters seems to be late May through late December. However, they are here year-round, because they are not a highly migratory species like the tuna or billfish. Find the concentrations of fish, and you will get fish in any month. If I had to pick the slowest time of the year, I would say it would be March and April, whereas June, July, and December are probably the three best months of the year. The months of August through October can be hit hard with monsoon type rains. The debris carried out of the rivers, which are all up and down our coast, can reduce the clarity of the water, making for very tough conditions to catch a rooster.
Fly fishing is a real challenge because you generally get only one shot at a rooster. A sailfish can be brought back to the boat several times, but a rooster hits the bait once, and takes off. However, combine the hot jack crevalle action we can get into while looking for the right rooster, and you can have a great day on the water. Live Bait: A cheap insurance policy. Live bait here consists mostly of the 6 to 8-inch goggle eyed scad (called ojotones). The goggle eyes sell for about $5.00 a dozen, and are not usually included in the price for the boat charter. The bait is generally bought from the bait pangas anchored about 30 yards off the end of the municipal pier. Supply of the live bait is very good, and only affected by the full moon or hard rains at night. They use gas lamps at night to attract the bait, and with a full moon, the bait becomes too scattered to catch efficiently. A hard rain and wind makes it too dangerous to go out after them. Every panga has a live well, which holds only about 2 dozen bait, so getting large quantities of sardines to use for chum is not an option. Most cruisers do not have a live well, and usually only troll dead bait. But, if you request a live well in advance, they can hook up a barrel and pump. Dorado: Year-round. They are most abundant in the heavy rain months of August and September (and often into October and November) because the weeds, trees, etc. are washed out of the rivers. This gives the dorado structures to identify with and will concentrate the smaller school sized fish. In the other months of the year, the dorado are an incidental catch while trolling for sailfish. They are mature fish and travel as individuals, or mating pairs. They will still identify with floating structures, such as a wooden pallet which has fallen off a ship, and having live bait on board is always the best ticket for these types of situations. But, normally they are free swimming and searching, just like the sailfish, and will readily take the same trolled baits the sailfish does. November through January seem to be the best months for catching these larger adult fish. The average is between 20 and 25 pounds, but several fish are caught each week tipping the scales in the 45 to 55 pound range. Wahoo: An incidental catch that occurs in the blue water. When the blue water is close to the beach, they can be caught trolling around the rock pinnacles. The white rocks are always a good bet when the blue water is there. Unfortunately when you target them, you may get five today, and then they will be gone tomorrow. Bottom Fishing: Within 25 miles in each direction of Zihuatanejo Bay, bottom fishing is not a very good option. There are so many hotels and restaurants; the demand for fresh fish is incredible. There is a day fleet of about 25 pangas, fishing at least 6 days a week, and another 30 panga night fleet. The close-in areas have simply been fished out. |
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