Mike Fisher

hi Snatcher, looks like your're the man to ask. i fished my whole life for big game on offshore trolling, but the customers pressure to get big game on the Fly, too, so with the 2007 white marlin season we took the opportunity to use our countless whites to give it a shot, and what a shot. i never did flyfishing before, absolutely newby. we raised countless marlin in the spray and teased them in casting range(30ft and less), hook ratio been very poor, but i did not expect to take a world record on something new for us. to tease them to the boat we used hookless lures of different colors(the Fly always been the same color and style than the used teaser), also as combos with naked and skirted hookless ballyhoo deadbaits, flies been provided by an american friend. what would you recommend for Billfish and for our upcoming Dorado(mahi) season to get those spezies on the hook? the tease and switch technique is the only one we practiced til now. any hints and tricks would be highly appreciated. thanks buddy and to everybody else giving tips on the board. Mike

From: mark3954@netzero.net <mark3954@netzero.net> [ add to contacts ] To: mike@mikesmarina.info Cc: Date: Saturday, May 26, 2007 12:26 pm Subject: Re: fishing charter info dominican republic Mike, I would like to take this time to tell you what a great time I had while fishing with you in the Dominican Republic. First, the hotel which I stayed at was very nice and had a lot of activities. Next, I was also impressed with the crew ( Manuel and Catch'em ). Those men made me feel very comfortable and gave me an impression of professionalism in their craft. Finally, I felt that you had a natural concern for my well being in the Dominican Republic. I appreciated that you picked me up and delivered me to any destination including the Air Port. This attention to details made my trip there a wonderful time. As a Sports fisherman and traveler of the world, I feel this trip was one of the better fishing experiences I've taken and would have no problems in coming back to fish with you in the Dominican Republic. Your Friend Mark Wesseler

Billfish on the Fly 80lbs white Marlin May 2007 caught by Andrew Ferguson, May 5th 2007 with Jose Manuel Mota and Mike local record on the fly, even 12lbs over Floridas all weight Fly-record

From: Alison Hackett [ add to contacts ] To: mike@MikesMarina.info Cc: Date: Saturday, April 21, 2007 08:23 pm Subject: Our split charter April 10, 2007 Hello Mike! I just wanted to write and let you know that we had an awesome experience on our half day charter last week. Both me and Dwayne caught a Mahi Mahi and it was just an excellent day. I want to thank you for all the quick responses to my emails and we will see you again the next time we are in Punta Cana (hopefully next year!). You have a wonderful crew as well, they really know what they are doing! I have attached a few pictures from our trip in case you want to include any of our catch on your website! Images can be found on www.MikesMarina.info/FishingReports2007.html Thanks again for the wonderful day! Alison Hackett and Dwayne Evoy

March 23rd Keith Schlosser HEY MIKE ME AND MY GIRLFRIEND DID A CHARTER FROM YOU IN LATE MARCH CAUGHT A 5 1/2 FOOT WHITE MARLIN WHAT A THRILL THANKS FOR THE SERVICE IT WAS GREAT KEITH SCHLOSSER

Tuesday March 27th by Yance Yore Hey Mike, This is an old message that i am replying to but it is all i had left. I am sending you this thanking you for everything setting up my best fishing trip since I caught my 185 pound tarpon four years ago. Your crew was awesome and professional and put me in the chair to land six Dorado out of eight with one huge bull. The only reason we didn't land them all is we didn't have enough hands. We had 3 on at the same time twice and my wife, as your boys would say, was introduced to their friend RALPH...She wasn't much help. I have already had one guy contact you from Chicago and I will give your name to anyone who asks. I look forward to my next visit and you will definetly get a call. Thanks Again and Good Luck Yance Yore

Mike's Marina Fishing Charters Tony Parsons March 2007 I had another great day fishing with Mike's Marina Deep Sea Fishing off Punta Cana this year. Last year we caught a big sailfin, this year its was even better. We set out in the afternoon with a fairly heavy swell and headed out way offshore. 5 dolphins joined the boat and swam with us for quite a long time before we hit a shoal of mahi mahi (dolphin fish). The lines were going off in all directions and the crew worked damned hard to help get the fish in and re-bait the rods. We caught 20 fish on our boat!! Fantastic. I would highly recommend this company, very professional and they find the fish too!! Can't wait to go with them again.

Mike's Marina Fishing Charters Brad March 2007 Another GREAT year using Mikes Marina. Prebooked everything on the internet using Paypal so everything was very easy to do. Mike personally responded to all my e-mails. My little 5 year old went in a little 20 foot boat - just to do some simple fishing with his Dad. Last year he caught some this year he got something too big for our line we brought took everything so my son has his big fish story!!!! Mike provides all the fishing equipement but my little fisherman wanted to bring his own! The rest of the gang went on the big 42 foot boat. I am very use to deep sea fishing and know sea sickness can hit anyone so a childrens gravel before you go takes the edge off. One of our guys hit a Maui Maui and everyone was very excited. Everyone enjoyed the views from the boat - they also drove right past the sunken ship. We did a half day tour and everyone got back to the resort to have a late lunch and tell all the fish stories! Thanks to the crews (they are the best!!!!) and a special thanks to Mike! your amazing! You can see pictures in my photo album - the fishing pictures are in my Majestic Colonial album and last years photos in Ocean Sands photo album! http://community.webshots.com/user/holiday2fun Any questions feel free to e-mail me! holiday2@rogers.com

From: erncan@comcast.net <erncan@comcast.net> [ add to contacts ] To: Mike@mikesmarina.info Cc: Date: Monday, February 26, 2007 02:47 pm Subject: Fishing on 2-20-2007 Hi Mike If i did this right there is a few pics. of a few of the fish we got on the 20th. We got 29 Mai Mai that day. We had a gteat day Mike. Thanks for a Great Day! Ernie Canney

From: Tim Fisch <tfisch@mountpolley.com> [ add to contacts ] To: Michael Wagner <mike@mikesmarina.info> Cc: Date: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 11:25 am Subject: RE: Fishing trip Mike: Thanks for the reply. If and when you do get your hands on some T shirts , let me know and I will arrange payment. Please find my report below. Feb 10 Fishing Trip Left El Cortecito at approximately 14:00 hrs under Captain Emilio Santana and First Mate Franklin aboard the Intrepido. The weather was partly cloudy wilth calm seas. Our charter consisted of a party of five , including myself , my wife Pam, Floyd from New Brunswick , Canada, and two gentlemen from St Louis, USA, Terry and Chris. After about 30 minutes we cleared the reef and Franklin rigged and dropped five lines , four with ballyhoo, and one large marlin teaser. Action was a little slow to start, bringing in only one small Dorado ( Chris ) and losing one large Dorado ( Me, of course ). About two hours in the action really picked up , as we hit a school and lit up all five lines at once. This coincided with a break in the weather , as the sun came out , resulting in a lot of fun for everyone. Over the next hour we repeated this action several times, with everyone bringing in at least two good size Dorado, and my wife Pam , landing her first ever Wahoo. All told we banged eleven Dorado and one Wahoo and had a very good time. Emilio and Franklin were great hosts, and kept us laughing the whole time. The group, who did not know one another prior to the charter, got along famously and we all ended up feasting on our catch later that night at the Captain Cook. Thanks Mike, we will definately be back next year. Best Regards Tim Fisch General Manager Mount Polley Mining Corporation

January 22nd by Greg Cory Review of Mikes Marina and Deep Sea Fishing Charter In The Beginning: I have been deep sea fishing before this trip although never in the Dominican, same goes for several of my guests, so we pretty much knew what we were getting into. And although the trips were never that fruitful in the past, it was always a good time out in the sea with friends, so I knew I wanted to do it again this time. We contacted Mikes Marina several times via email leading up to our trip and they always responded very quickly and were very accommodating to our requests. We scheduled a half day charter for 12 guests on January 22nd 2007. The Morning: A nice shuttle bus picks you up outside your hotel – very prompt…but early in the morning. And although we scheduled it for 12 people, 2 of those 12 could not awake from the previous nights partying so off we went with 10 of us. Although the boat would have accommodated 12, a few less people was not the worst thing in the world. We arrived at the Ocean, where Mike’s headquarters is, and paid our half day charter fee. We also had Mike add a few little “grocery” items, so we paid for these here as well. Once we were all paid up, we boarded the taxi boat and headed out to our charter. Fishing: We had a gorgeous day, so much open water, and a lot of nice views of the Island. It was not long until the first mate, aka deckhand, was hard at work. Watching him prepare the baits was one of my favourite things on the trip, you could tell even from this that he was the right man for the job. The engines stopped and the baits went out. I think it was just less than an hour into the trip the deckhand sprung into action, he saw what he thought was a White Marlin miss one of our baits (Let me tell you, you have to be incredibly good at this to notice that, because looking out the back of the boat, you see the baits, you see the waves and the lines, but there is no way in hell you’re seeing a fish)…anyway, he removed the rod from the holster, let out some line, and turns out found what he was looking for. The Marlin enticed a second time, took the bait. I give full credit to his knowledge of fishing for this catch, otherwise it would have been the fish that got away…that nobody noticed. Anyway, I found myself in the captains’ chair for 20 minutes, before I was exhausted, the White Marlin, roughly 45lbs was the fight of my life. It jumped so many times it looked like a fake promotional video – I finally tired it out, got it to the boat, then it turned and ran into the sunset like flipper, jumping the entire way as my reel just spun out hundreds of yards of slack – so I passed the rod off to my father and went to rest. After another 15-20 minutes the fish was in the boat – what a monster, and already well worth the trip. For the rest of the trip we found various schools of Mahi-Mahi (Dorado’s in Spanish), everyone who wanted a chance, got to reel one in. They ranged from 7-12lbs, and although a far cry from the fight the Marlin gave us, an excellent afternoon of fish. We even had a double header of monster 25+lbs Mahi Mahi’s on, not to brag, but I got mine in by myself and another friend had his line snap. I don’t think he took the best approach to reeling it in – to correct this: listen to the instructions from the deckhand very carefully – and don’t panic – the fish is on, it’s not going anywhere, error on the side of caution rather than forcing it. All told my dad and I assisted each other on a 45lb Marlin, I reeled in a 25lb Dorado, and 6 others reeled in a fish, 8 fish in total. What a trip! Tips: Of all of our previous deep sea adventures, this was the roughest water. And although the boat handles it great, people’s stomachs don’t. 5 of the 10 of us “chummed” the water, including 2 seasoned veterans who have never been sick before. The best cure we found, were those behind your ear stickers. I didn’t need them, but the two people who used them were fine. I think they are $15 for 2 of them, wear both if you’re afraid, you should be fine. If you want a nice picture of your Dorado’s, see if you can snap your pictures right away. These fish are gorgeous colours, bright yellows/blue/green, but the colour fades away quite quickly, so see about snapping a picture right away. The other fish look the same once you get back to shore, so you can wait for those. Keep your electrical equipment dry! I recommend bringing a leather case, or even a plastic bag covering your camera (other than the lens), you never know when some mist, or some water, or if you drop it etc. Just be extra careful, cameras do not do well with water, especially sea water. When you’re traveling out to sea, keep your eye out for flying fish – no seriously. Fish, about 8” long will just from the sea, travel 50-80 yards then return from where they came. They’re like nautical hummingbirds, and well worth seeing – and you better see one too, or else you won’t believe me – very cool. Bring a backpack of stuff. Chips, snacks, sandwiches if you want them. Extra sunscreen, and wear a hat! Tip your crew. Your driver finds the fish, don’t underestimate that aspect, and your deckhand is just awesome. If you have a GREAT day, what’s another $10 per guy? We caught so many fish I thought that that would help go towards the tip, but the success was too much, so we tipped anyway. And bring extra hats – hats in the DR are like currency, and a great sign of respect and a nice gesture. We gave our driver and deckhand fishing hats from our local derby – they loved them! And you better have a hat to give Mike if you catch a fish! By Greg Cory greg@corvisionmarketing.com

What a lucky son of a b...Brave Fisherman! We are in mid Hurricane Season for our local waters, off the Dominican Republic's east coast, out of Punta Cana, but this lovely sunny saturday morning we have winds of 5Knots and less, sea 2ft max, sun is the typical caribbean power plant. We are mid Blue Marlin Season, but 42ft Post named Intrepido is running out fishing with my friend Gabi, her brother and his 3 kiddies, all firsttimers, so Skipper Ramon Emilio frequents the close to shore waters 2-4nmls off El Cortecito to target Dorados and Wahoo on light tackle, Kiddies stuff. 5 lines on 20 and 30lbs Penn Int.'s in the water for around 30 minutes the portside longrigger clicks, Ballyhoo in the mouth of a small 150lbs Blue Marlin, hooked himself, the unexpected fight is on by a 20lbs reel and line. Fighting down a Blue on that tackle would bring the Billy more dead than alive to the boat for the long fighting time, Ramon is chasing him mostly with the boat, so after 30 minutes Marcos gets a hand on the Bill to loose the hook, away he goes. the next 1 1/2 hr brings the targetted Dorados fishing a weedline, all 10-15lbs class, the right stuff for our new offshore anglers. Still running on slow trolling along the weedline for more BBQ meet Ramon can see from the bridge what is coming up next, a once a lifetime hit, 4 Sailfishes on only 5-6 knots trolling speed in the spray at once, he hooks the one on the center line on the Bridge, Marcos failes one but hooks the other two and they fight 3 midsized Sails of around 40-50lbs the same time, a 14 year old boy, his father and the third one been for Mate Marcos, because the rest of the kiddies been aged 4-7, a bit too early. I never in my life got 3 Billfishes hooked at once, so Ramon and Marcos had THEIR day today. After 40 minutes the last one been released and they went back inshore, BBQ waiting for the Dorados. For sure an unforgetable day for the firsttimers, even for an experienced crew. We should target Dorados more often during Blue Marlin Season. tight lines Mike

after heavy rainfalls and thunderstorms blowing over the area the last two weeks it looks like we come back to normal this week for the local waters offshore Punta Cana. so this tuesday august 16th 42ft Bertram Shekinah took a half day charter to target our atlantic Blues and had to pass only one fight for the morning. around 10AM with Mate Chino on the weel Skipper Jose Manuel Mota hooked the first hit of the morning, a blue Marlin taking the small lure running on the long outrigger line on portside, hook set nice and easy in the sword's base and charter client Charles Wells had it's 90 minutes fight on a 30 lbs line, before they released an 200+ blue marlin. the afternoon of the same day didn't went that bad neither, 2 blue Marlin hits missed to hook within the first 1 1/2 hrs and a 35 minutes fight on the 3rd hit on a 50lbs line to release a blue marlin of max 200lbs. winner of the day been the uncle of Jose Manuel, fishing as the skipper on a private owned boat taking a Blue Marlin of 590 lbs, the biggest one this month so far, fishing 80lbs tackle and fighting 2hrs within several friends. winds on a 10knots blowing ENE (70') and visibility a 10nmls we hope to stay on that quiet conditions for a while to come back to the rhytm to rock'n'roll on the Blues. hopefully to be continued Mike's Marina Fishing Charters www.MikesMarina.info Mike@MikesMarina.info Punta Cana Dominican Republic

Italian customer Fabio Steccanella had only one dream in mind when he contacted Mike at first early 2006, " i want to catch a Blue Marlin ". we figured out together when the best time during the 2006 Blue Marlin Season on the Dominican east coast would be, fishing out of Punta Cana, so at the end i decided by weather/moon/tide predictions to recommend the days before the full moon in august, so Fabio chartered my 42ft Bertram Shekinah with charter captains Jose Manuel Mota and Luis Alberto caridad and their mate Chino for 5 consecutive full days starting Saturday August 5th til Wednesday august 9th. the first day, saturday, Sea was very calm, no waves, slow breeze, more the conditions for a boat ride, so he brought his wife Ariana with him. til 1PM they got only 1 Blue Marlin up in the spray but failed to attract him enough to take the lure, no hook set, no fight and then the weather changed quickly, by 3PM they run in under heavy rain and thunderstorms, weather conditions can change fast like that during hurricane season. day number 2, sunday morning, Sea on 5-6 ft, winds around 15 knots with higher gusts, the wife stayed at the resort. today the boat did 9 hrs and again it was not a successful day, only 3 Blue Marlins up and no hook set nice, no fight, sunday night the crew changed all lures/hooks, if an equipment is without luck on one day it will never work. today is day number 3, the boat is still out, but Jose Manuel Mota sent me the report for the first half of todays trip by mail. at 11:40AM Jose set the hook on a Blue Marlin female, 9/0 Penn reel, 50lbs line on, the hooks set right and Fabio has the first Blue Marlin fight of his life. the fight lasted 11:40AM til 2:06 PM, 2hrs 26 min, during that time the crew of 3 had no chance to give their customer a hand, he wanted to get his fish on his own, no help wanted, and he won. Manuel told me by phone a minute ago that Fabio is barely able to walk right now, but he has still a very wide smile on his face. lines are wet again, they have 2 more hrs left today and of course wednesday and thursday are two more days to beat the size of todays female, the crew counts it on an 300+lbs, so there's plenty of space to top this weight upwards. Mike's Marina Fishing Charters www.MikesMarina.info Mike@MikesMarina.info Punta Cana Dominican Republic

Fishing in Punta Cana, by Mike's Marina Fishing Charters S.A. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I finally got my first marlin caught on one of Mikes boats from www.MikesMarina.info ...yea i got sea sick...for the first time ever but it was deff worth it. It was a great trip...we also caught 2 dolphins and 2 small barracudas...i was sleeping on the deck it was bad...i hate sleeping on a boat im there to be fishing not sleeping but i was done and had no choice...i heard the mate say mahi mahi twice and i was like no way am i getting up for that i want a marlin...as soon as i heard marlin i jumped up and grabbed the rod right out of the mates hand...it was great ill post more piks Nick, from the Patty Lee/Florida Mike's Marina Fishing Charters www.MikesMarina.info Mike@MikesMarina.info Punta Cana Dominican Republic