mexico fishing

[johnny5]

going to mexico in june and my son and myself are thinking of going sea fishing on a charter boat hopefully and i,m wondering if anybody has experienced this before and could give some pointers as to what we,ll catch and the type of fishing (deepsea,surface lures etc),thats the most productive. having never sea fished before i cant wait and any info would be brill i,m staying in playa car which is between playa carmen and cancun

[Barbelbasher]

Funny enough so am I on May 24th. I too will sample the fishing im back 8 June if you haven't gone by then I'll let you know :-)

[Cranfield]

Assuming its much the same, where ever you go on the Mexico coast.

I have fished there from a charter boat, for reef fish such as snapper, grouper, rock bass etc and I have fished offshore "game fishing", where we caught dorado, wahoo, kingfish and sailfish (not me ).

You literally, "pay your money and take your choice".

 

It best to check around when you get there and see if any other tourists have boat recommendations.

 

When Reef fishing, there were four other anglers and we all fished at the same time.

Joining a "make-up" trip, does keep the cost down.

 

You appreciate when "game fishing", its trolling and you take it in turns to take the "knockdowns".

Sometimes there can be more than one at a time, but not usually.

This was more expensive than reef fishing.

 

Don,t forget , as well as paying for your place on the boat, its customary to tip the Mate.

There is usually a prominent sign advising you of this custom and often suggesting a sum.

 

You will thoroughly enjoy it.

All the fisherpeople I met, were great.

[Vagabond]

My experience of Mexico is confined to the Pacific coast, but I would expect a similar sort of set-up on the Caribbean side.

 

If you have no experience of sea fishing, my advice is to start with a trip on a "party" boat as Cranfield suggests. If you hook any snappers, groupers or trevallies you will find they know how to bend yer rod!

 

If you feel a bit more ambitious and have decided what fish you want to catch, (ie bait fishing on reef, or trolling lures, etc) it could be worthwhile to book a "panga" for just the two of you (a panga is smaller boat than the average party boat) A little more expensive, but at least you are can concentrate on the fishing you want.

 

Or you could take the deep plunge into your pocket and book a big-game session! However, do a bit of asking around first, there are a few rip-off merchants in the area of "marlin fishing" - have a chat with people coming off the charter boats re what sort of a day they've had. A day out with a good skipper will cost an arm and a leg, but can be the fishing experience of a lifetime.

 

Hope you find some good fishing whatever you decide.

 

Don't forget to tell us all about it when you get back!

 

[ 15. March 2004, 06:45 AM: Message edited by: Vagabond ]

[Dick Dastardly]

Dens advice is very good.My first ever "Big Game" trip was very expensive and two months before there would be any Marlin in the area :mad: I unfortunately only found this out that night in the bar after telling the barman (whose brother was a skipper)about how poor my days Marlin fishing had been.The next days trip with the barmans brother fishing for Dorado,Wahoo and other exciting fish was much better and half the price.Never been caught out again.Oh BTW also got my dough back from Capt Rip Off thanks to my two new friends and their deckie,his fish club and filliting knife