Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa Mexico
Sport Fishing Report

for the Pacific Ocean fronting the Costa Grande in the State of Guerrero

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Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Sportfishing Report for March 4, 2010

According to Captain Temo Verboonen, skipper/owner of the "Secuestro De Amor", it was one of those good-day/bad-day type of fishing weeks, with one day providing a hot bite and the next day a slow bite.

However, he did say there were many more MARLIN in the mix this week. He also said that for the boats that were lacking action on the slow bite days, the boats were going to the white rocks to provide action on the prolific numbers of JACK CREVALLE available on both the pencil poppers and live bait.

Also, there was some fair ROOSTERFISH action with the better ROOSTERFISH bite coming from the Pantla Beach area.

Angler Ed Des Enfants of New Port Richey, FL, had a couple of nice ROOSTERFISH aboard the "Secuestro De Amor", at approximately 45 lbs. each.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Climate: Mostly sunny & warm with temps frrom 68°F (20°C) nights to 92°F (33°C) daytime highs.

Sea Conditions: Near excellent! Temps at a stable 78°F (25.5°C) inshore and rising to 79°F (26°C) offshore, with very good clarity and calm fishing days.

Best Bait/Lure: Live bait for the ROOSTERFISH and JACK CREVALLE with good action on the red/white pencil poppers, too. Rigged MULLET for the BILLFISH, both SAILFISH and MARLIN.

Best Fishing Area: A lot of water was covered this past week due to the good day/bad day fishing situation. On the difficult days, the boats fished all over, starting at about 10 miles from the entrance to the bay.

Bait Supply: Plenty of bait, both live bait and rigged baits.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Sportfishing Report for February 26, 2010

Captain Temo Verboonen, owner & skipper of the "Secuestro De Amor", had a truly upbeat sound to his report for the week as he was reporting in for catches from Zihuatanejo.

There were three bBLUE MARLIN this past week that he was aware of, with one taken by the group aboard the "Gringo Loco", skippered by Captain Luis, an approximate 300-pounder. The SAILFISH bite remained good throughout the week and there was good YELLOWFIN action on the 60-pounders for those boats that fished at about 35 miles off shore. A few DORADO were still being taken as incidental to the BILLFISH catches.

The inshore fishery remained about the same this week for the ROOSTERFISH off of Pantla Beach and JACK CREVALLE were available, too, in fast moving schools.

Overall, he felt that the MARLIN season was finally beginning for the Zihuatanejo area.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Climate: Mostly sunny and warm days with temps from 70°F (21°C) nights to 90°F (32°C) daytime highs.

Sea Conditions: A couple of rougher days early in the week (but fishable days), and calming flat by the time of this report with good water clarity and temps in the 82°F (28°C) range.

Best Fishing Area: Offshore from the entrance of the Bay, starting at about 14 miles for the SAILFISH and BLUE MARLIN and continuing outbound to the YELLOWFIN TUNA area at 35 miles.

Best Lure/Bait: Rigged baits worked best for BILLFISH and live bait still best for the ROOSTERFISH.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Sportfishing Report for February 19, 2010

According tto Captain Temo Verboonen, owner/skipper of the Secuestro De Amor, the offshore SAILFISH bite was much improved this past week from Zihuatanejo. In fact, he rated the SAILFISH bite very good and sustained throughout most of the days.

Still plenty of floating kelp around the area and starting to gather bait under the patches and more DORADO showing up. In general, the BILLFISH were scattered from about 6 miles and out to 20 miles but the concentration was about 14 miles during the middle of the day. Temo also noted that the fish were chasing fast trolled baits & lures at about 8-9 knots.

Some nicer sized YELLOWFIN TUNA came through at about 19 miles, running with the porpoise, and averaging about 60 lbs. They bit hard and fast and a variety of artificials.

The inshore fishing is still very good for JACK CREVALLE, BONITO and SPANISH MACKEREL (SIERRA), and some big ROOSTERFISH are showing up at Pantla Beach, near Troncones. The ROOSTERFISH are only biting the live bait, hooked between the head & dorsal fin (which makes the bait go deep). The ROOSTERS are holding in the deeper water and the top- water poppers are not working at all.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Climate: Mostly cloudy but overall, good weather that ranged from 71°F (21°C) nights to a toasty 89°F (31°C) daytime high.

Sea Conditions: A calm week with good temps that were stable at 81°F (27°C) inshore and rising to 82.5°F (28°C) offshore.

Best Fishing Area: While the fish spread was pretty wide, it seemed like the better BILLFISH catching was during the middle of the day at about 14 miles from Zihuatanejo Bay.

Best Bait/Lure: Rigged baits and artificials.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Sportfishing Report for February 12, 2010

Our on-site representative and charter boat owner/skipper, Captain Temo Verboonen, reported that the fishing was very good in the early week but gradually tapered downward as the week progressed.

Captain Chiro Barrigan, skipper of the "Bloody Hook" reported a very good couple of days with two different angling customers that reflected 2 SAILFISH released on the first day and 3 SAILFISH released on the 2nd day.

Temo had a report of one BLUE MARLIN landed, a 350-pounder, and good reports of STRIPED MARLIN being visually sighted but not being cooperative with the biting. Some of the boats were reporting a BILLFISH or two but some were also reporting no fish for the day.

The inshore fishing remains good for JACK CREVALLE, and BONITO and ROOSTERFISH have also started biting, too, as this last rain opened the river mouths and the feed biomass has become more available from the river mouth outflows. There has also been some fair catches for AMBERJACK with the Rapalas at the white rocks.

Temo added that lots of floating seaweed and debris that should bring in more DORADO within the next few days.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Climate: Mostly cloudy with temps from 72°F (22°C) nights to 90°F (32°C) daytime highs.

Sea Conditions: Light surface breezes from the westerly directions, stable sea surface temps at 82-83° F (27-28°C), clear waters with a greenish tint extending 50 miles offshore.

Best Fishing Area: Not reported

Best Lure/Bait: Rigged trolling baits working best on the offshore BILLFISH. Rapalas around the white rocks, live bait for the ROOSTERFISH.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Sportfishing Report for February 4, 2010

According to Captain Temo Verboonen, the blue water moved within 7 miles off the entrance to Zihuatanejo Bay, and the BILLFISH came right in with it and the full moon had no effect on the bite. In fact, he mentioned that the bite was better than it had been over the dark of the moon, which is unusual.

The early bite remains best, especially during the first 3 hours or so and then the fish seem to go deep, showing up as sporadic feeders.

Still a good showing of DORADO close in and around the rocks and some 60 lb. YELLOWFIN TUNA showing up in the offshore waters at about 30 miles.

The inshore bite remains very good for the JACK CREVALLE, BONITO and SIERRA, and the GROUPER have been biting the rapalas close to the rocks. Overall, it's been good fishing both inshore and offshore.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Climate: Partly cloudy days with a 2-day rainshower, but clearing and sunny for the weekend. Temps at 68°F (20°C) nights to 88°F (31°C) daytime highs.

Sea Conditions: Mostly calm and stable water temps that are holding at 83°F (23°C) inshore and rising to 86°F (30°C) offshore.

Best Fishing Area: Out to about 7 miles for DORADO, JACK CREVALLE, BONITO and SIERRA. SAILFISH beginning at about 7 miles and on out to 14-15 miles, and the YELLOWFIN TUNA at about 30 miles.

Best Bait/Lures: SAILFISH have been pretty eager on the rigged baits. The inshore fish, especially the DORADO & JACK CREVALLE, have been hot on live bait and pencil poppers. TUNA taken on the feathers and live bait.

Bait Supply: Remains very consistent in this area.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Sportfishing Report for January 28, 2010

Captain Temo Verboonen provided a very favorable fish report for the week that spanned a wide swath of waters throughout the Zihuatanejo area. Most of the anglers had multiple opportunities for BILLFISH starting at about 2 miles from the Bay and out to about 12 miles or so.

Wyoming angler, Mark Kordus, landed and released 5 SAILFISH on his first fishing day aboard the "Bloody Hook". The best bite was taking place from just after sunrise and through the early A.M., slowing down later in the day. Along with the BILLFISH catches were a scattering of quality DORADO in the mix, too.

The inshore fishing, especially in the area in front of Ixtapa beaches and Ixtapa Island, produced excellent numbers of JACK CREVALLE that were chasing the schools of SARDINES. Good results were to be had using the Mega-Lure attached to 30-lb. fluorocarbon leaders and spinning tackle.

Also showing were some quality sized ROOSTERFISH to 65 lbs. or so.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Climate: Mostly cloudy days but warm and pleasant with temps from
69°F (20°C) nights to 90°F (32°C) daytime highs.

Sea Conditions: Light surface breezes, small swells and favorable temps were consistent throughout the area and were holding at 81.5°F (27.5°C) degrees.

Bait Supply: Remains readily available for the area

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Sportfishing Report for January 21, 2010

Captain Temo Verboonen reports a much improved week for the Zihuatanejo sportfishing fleet as the bite got better and better with each passing day.

He reported numerous SAILFISH being seen but still not overly eager to bite and it was just a matter of finding the hungry ones. Quite a few boats were reporting double strikes this week and the overall catch numbers shot right up.

The water clarity has been very favorable this past week, and in conjunction with good, stable sea temps, the DORADO were again biting at about the 3-mile mark, which was also a huge improvement from the last couple of weeks. Most of the better bite has been early in the mornings with the remainder of the day being on the slow-side, but even that has improved over the past few days.

Inshore fishing is good for smaller fish, the SIERRA, JACKS, NEEDLEFISH, but still slow for the ROOSTERFISH.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Climate: Mostly sunny & warm days with temps from 68°F (20°C) nights to 87°F (30°C) daytime highs.

Sea Conditions: Mostly calm with favorable temps at 84-85°F (29-29°C) and excellent clarity. A pocket of warmer water is just west of Zihua Bay and covers a small area of about 400 square miles (20 miles by 20 miles or so).

Best Fishing Area: Starting at about 3 miles for DORADO and working on out from there for the SAILFISH.

Bait Supply: Continues to be readily available.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Sportfishing Report for January 8, 2010

According to Captain Temo Verboonen, the bite just got better following the full moon and there seems to be good SAILFISH action from 14 to 23 miles out from the Bay. The hard part is, the fish are moving around and have to be relocated on a daily basis and it takes a little time to find them.

This past week, we had a good school of YELLOWFIN TUNA move through that produced good action on the 20 pounders, but it only lasted a single day. The DORADO bite is somewhat slow but those that are caught are quality sized fish.

The inshore action has been mixed fish with a good bite on JACK CREVALLE and BONITO.

We also had a good report from one of the local super pangas that reflected a wide variety of inshore & offshore fish over a 19-day span that reflected 4 SAILFISH, 2 DORADO, 38 ROOSTERFISH, 199 JACK CREVALLE, 135 SIERRA, 78 BONITO, 30 NEEDLEFISH, 9 GROUPER, 2 RED SNAPPER, 6 TIGER GROUPER, and 2 PALOMETAS.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Climate: Partly cloudy days with breaks and sunshine, too. Temps are warm and range from 70°F (21°C) nights to 87°F (31°C) daytime highs.

Sea Conditions: Calm and near perfect, with temps from 83°F (28°C) inshore and rising to 85°F (29°C) offshore.

Best Bait/Lure: The rigged trolling baits working well in the offshore waters for BILLFISH and DORADO. Live bait and pencil poppers, (especially in the red/white colors) working well for the inshore fish.

Best Fishing Area: The offshore fishing has moved out a bit and begins at about 14 miles and continues out bound from there to about 25 miles.

Bait Supply: Remains very good in this area.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Sportfishing Report for December 25, 2009

Captain Temo Verboonen, basking in the sunshine in Zihuatanejo, sends his very best Christmas and New Year wishes to everyone!

From there, he elaborated on a worthy and exciting fish report for the week for the Zihuatanejo area and said that the PACIFIC STRIPED MARLIN are now biting quite well, and there is good action for SAILFISH and that the DORADO have returned in force. Overall, he said it's "really good fishing" in the offshore waters, which are mostly calm and very light surface breezes on nearly flat seas.

The inshore fishing is still a bit slow but there are some good schools of JACK CREVALLE that are biting the red/white pencil poppers very well. Also for the inshore anglers are the SIERRA, (SPANISH MACKEREL in this area) that are moving about from day to day and may take a little time to locate, "but when they do, they catch easy limits."

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Climate: Terrific weather, partly cloudy, warm evenings, temps from 70°F (21°C) nights to 90°F (32°C) daytime highs.

Sea Conditions: Mostly calm with little swell and light surface breezes and stable temps from 83-84 degrees. Clarity is superb beyond the 10-mile mark.

Best Fishing Area: Beginning at 10 miles, right at the water color change.

Best Bait/Lure: Billfish are biting well on the rigged baits. Inshore JACK CREVALLE biting best on the red-white pencil poppers.

Bait Supply: Both live and rigged baits are readily available.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Sportfishing Report for December 17, 2009

Captain Temo Verbooned reported that the offshore fishing remains good but the fish have moved farther offshore to the 15-mile mark. He said that the SAILFISH are striking hard & fast and making it difficult to set the hook, and anglers are having to pay close attention to the rigged trolling baits. Still a fair amount of DORADO in the daily mix, too, but no concentration.

The inshore action, which has been very difficult for the past 3 weeks, has changed for the better with good action at the area known as La Saladita. This area is providing good action for the JACK CREVALLE, ROOSTERFISH and SIERRA MACKEREL for the super pangas.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Climate: Partly cloudy days with warm temps that ranged from 72°F (22°C) nights to 90°F (32°C) daytime highs.

Sea Conditions: Excellent clarity both inshore and offshore, and temps ranging from 83°F (28°C) inshore to 86°F (30°C) offshore.

Best Fishing Area: The offshore starts at about 15 miles and on out from there.

Best Bait/Lure: The rigged bait working best for the BILLFISH and DORADO and live bait and pencil poppers working best for the inshore critters

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Sportfishing Report for December 10, 2009

Captain Temo Verboonen reports that the fishing has moved a little farther offshore for the SAILFISH, but the bite is extraordinarily good with 15-plus strikes being a common fishing day right now. All of the boats are reporting 5-8 or more releases for their daily fish counts and the crew is having difficulty keeping sufficient rigged baits on hand and ready to go. (Not for a lack of bait but very busy keeping the lines rigged).

In conjunction with the SAILFISH action, they are still having a few DORADO in the mix of the days catches, too, but just not as good as it was a week ago.

Inshore fishing is unusually slow for this time of year and the water has turned to a milky green that has apparently moved the fish to cleaner waters to the north.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Climate: Mostly sunny & warm days with temps from 73°F (23°C) nights to 92°F (33°C) daytime highs.

Sea Conditions: Calm weather throughout the area, calm seas that kicked up a bit later in the week as an unseasonal ecuatorial current moved in, temps at 83-84°F (28-29°C) and stable, with excellent clarity in the offshore waters.

Best Fishing Area: The big bite is at 14 miles straight out from the entrance to Zihuatanejo Bay.

Best Bait/Lure: The SAILFISH are chewing up the rigged baits and definitely prefer the non-skirted baits,

Bait Supply: Excellent and readily available.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Sportfishing Report for December 4, 2009

Really good news and fishing from the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo area, along Mexico's southern Pacific coast. According to Captain Temo Verboonen, the blue water is right up to the edge of the shoreline and the SAILFISH bite begins at just under 5 miles from the entrance to Zihuatanejo Bay. Even better, it's an excellent bite with most boats having many strikes each day and numerous opportunities.

Adding to the SAILFISH excitement is the early morning DORADO bite, which has also been going strong through the week with mostly quality sized DORADO in the 20-40 lb. ranges. Temo says the DORADO are hitting the baits especially hard and fast and making it a little difficult to set the hook, but the action is fast and furious.

The inshore action has been almost non-existent for the past week, with almost no BONITO, SPANISH MACKEREL or ROOSTERFISG being caught; probably due to the full moon condition and the incredible clarity of the inshore waters.

Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo Climate: Lots of sunshine and warm days with temps from 72°F (22°C) nights to 91°F (33°C) daytime highs.

Sea Conditions: Excellent-plus! Temps at 85-86°F (29-30°C) throughout the area, mostly calm and crystal-clear water.

Best Lure/Bait: Rigged baits are hot on the SAILFISH and DORADO, and live bait is even better. However, there is also a notable amount of fish being taken on the artificials, too.

Best Fishing Area: Beginning at about 5 miles from shore.

Overall Bait Supply: Excellent, even with the full moon condition.

We operate Ixtapa Sportfishing Charters and receive weekly sportfishing reports and would be most happy to provide them to you via e-mail upon your request. Please drop us a line at anytime for information or charters.
Sincerely,

Stan Lushinsky & Susan Richards

www.ixtapasportfishing.com
(in the U.S.) Phone 1-717-688-9466; Fax 1-717-688-9554
e-mail: ixtsptf@verizon.net
 

visits since 16 OCT 1999