2011 MONTANA FISHING SEASON LOOKS TO BE FANTASTIC!

Believe it or not, the snow is STILL falling here in Southwest Montana, and snowpacks throughout the region are still standing at 120% to over 150%! While run-off will be big this season, we're looking ahead to what we anticipate will be the best mid and late-summer fishing that we have seen in years. Contact Yellow Dog today to book and plan your summer trout trip to Montana. Whether you're looking for a single day float trip with an area guide or a full-blown, week-long lodge package, Yellow Dog is your number one source for the best Montana fishing, the best rivers, and the best guides! Rivers include the Madison, Yellowstone, Gallatin, Missouri, Jefferson, Ruby, Big Hole, Beaverhead, and several others!

Source: http://www.yellowdogflyfishing.com/newsletter-yd.html

North Ireland Skate

April was a big month for catching huge common skate:

News courtesy Capt. Hamish of Predator Ireland  info@predatorireland.com

Rodrigues Island news

A message from Yan Colas ofRod Fishing Club of Rodrigues Island in the Indian Ocean:

Rodrigues or Doggies’ Island. Have you ever seen another destination or an other fishing club that has caught more than 160 doggies over 50 kg since march 2005…. with a world record of 104.5 kg in jigging?

 May we remember that Bruno TUBAND from Gabon, has just caught the 162th and 163th doggies aboard the Black Marlin. Have a look at the photo : 73 and 78 kg. 03. 31.2011

Those who already know the Eastern Banc will also be glad to discover the Hawkins Banc.

At 85 miles western Rodrigues, the Hawkins Banc is a high reef, that comes from 500 meters deep on the west side and from 2 000 meters deep on the east side, to 50 meters deep from the surface, on 400 square km wide. ; that is to say 4 times the surface of Rodrigues Island or the Eastern Banc. Tested many times this year, this HOT SPOT may reserve quite a few surprises !

 That’s worth ! It requires 10 to 12 hours to reach the Hawkins Banc and a little more to come back with current, waves and down wind. All of the trips, from 65 to 89 hours, have been fantastic with doggies up to 78 kg… until now ! 3 or 4 sailfish tagged and released, giant trevallies up to 40 kg, wahoos of 33kg, yellow fin tunas of 48 kg… well, only beautiful spieces !

www.rodfishingclub.com

Kenya: Still a few marlin around

April is traditionally the last month of the fishing season at the Coast, and with several days of strong blows from the south-east the monsoon would seem to have finally changed. The beautiful long white beaches become littered with fresh seaweed, with it's strong clean oceanic smell and it is cooler, but the sea is not yet rough and several boats continue to fish.
Dorado, locally called felusi, are normally the major species around at this time, but this year there do not seem to be so many - a pity as the are very good to eat and fun to catch, particularly as many young fishermen are active in the school holidays and dorado are very spectacular, jumping all over the ocean on light lines.
Snark was out on Wednesday from Malindi, and found a striped marlin halfway up the Banks, along with three kingfish and a dorado. A straggler perhaps as these marlin start their annual migration away from our areas at the first sign of the wind changing to the south. Where they go is not certain, but tagging has revealed one fish tagged here caught again miles out from Perth, Australia!
Ol Jogi from Hemingways at Watamu tagged a sailfish for Harry Mann, with three yellowfin tuna as well while White Bear had four wahoo, both just half day morning trips. Another sail was released on Albatross, so some of these fish still around, and they can increase towards May in the Watamu area, perhaps migrating south from the main sailfish areas. Peter and Paul Cooper on White Bear earlier in the week had a good day with a sail released, eight wahoo, two yellowfin and four dorado, while on a trip in the Sesse canoe Samvuke they had three wahoo and Blue Eyes also tagged a sailfish, so still quite a bit of good fishing for those down on their Easter holidays.
At Shimoni not many trips have been made recently, but Squack Evans out in Kamara II released a 70kg black marlin by 8am, but the water in the Pemba Channel is now dirty with a mass of seaweed around. This weed makes fishing difficult as it catches up on all the hooks, and the crew are kept busy constantly cleaning the lines, as fish are not fooled by bait or lures dragged along with a clump of seaweed!
There has been an interesting proposal to use the latest satellite tags here, which are placed in fish and stay attached for a fixed time, perhaps three to six months, after which they detach and send information up to a satellite about where the fish has moved, it's depth in the ocean, water temperatures etc. Such information helps scientists determine lifetime migration patterns to help in conservation and controlling harvesting of the species. Much support is needed as the cost for a single such tag is about $5000, but this technology has been very beneficial used in America and Australia.
Game fishing is not only a sport, but a very big industry and in Kenya we are lucky to have some of the best sports angling in the world along our shores. With huge markets for anglers from Europe and South Africa, as well as local sportsmen, such information is invaluable to help develop and expand the industry.

by David Slater "Honeylulu"
http://www.captainandyskenya.com/news/

Fish Report - Guatemalan Billfishing Adventures - March 2011

We had some spectacular fishing for the first half of March with bait, billfish, whales and dorado all in huge numbers, although thigns slowed for the latter part.
The month started with us hosting the 64th Ocean City Light Tackle Derby with a total of 271 sailfish and two blue marlin releases for the thrilled anglers.
Decisive took top boat honours by more than 10 sailfish and two blue marlin.
Craig Zigler and his son Mike joined us the 8th for three days of great fishing. Releasing 20 sailfish on their first day, then 13 the second, followed by 10 on their final day.
The 11th saw us return to the dock early in preperation for what might have been. We had warning about a possible Tsunami as a result of the Japan Quake and headed out latter to ride it out a mile offshore and thankfully experienced no problems what so ever.
Eddie Dalidowicz and his son Bronco, started with us on the 13th and what a day it proved to be with 12 sailfish releases and one of the most spectacular fish of the season so far for 15 year old Bronco, a magnificent 650lb black marlin. Bronco did a fine job on the fish, showing loads of determination, while the marlin put on some fantastic boatside antics, as only a black marlin can. Well done Bronco!! The following day the father and son duo released a busy 19 sailfish with another 12 or so aboard the Intensity the next day to finish out their most memorable fishing trip yet.
John and Heather Harvey of Richards Bay, South Africa made their  annual pilgrimage to join in our fish fest and were again treated to some stunning action. On their 5 consecutive days they tallyed a total of over 100 sailfish releases with their best day seeing 38 releases. Another amazing trip for the couple!!!
Len Kouba my old 'grander' friend from the big marlin waters of West Africa joined us along with his friend Ron Desideri for 4 days of fishing. This was Lens 3rd trip to Guatemala and thankfully he has seen it great on those previuos trips because things unfortunatly slowed a little from the previuos weeks of red-hot activity. The duo released as many as 5 sails in a day and missed a blue on their first day, but we sure hope that they make it back so Ron can see how good the fishing usually is here. Good luck on your African leopard hunt Ron, we look forward to the stories.
One of our most loyal friends, Denny Doyle of Jacksonville Florida  joined us the 25th, along with his longstanding friends, Sutton McGehee, Charles Sorenson and Phillip Meide, for three days of good times...and what an enjoyable group it was. One cann't go wrong when the coradery is that good. The fish were not to co-operate, but everyone did catch a sailfish and we were spoilt with an unusual visitor in the form of a 50lb wahoo which made for some great steaks on the grill to put the icing on a special trip for the old school friends.
Our neighbour and another long term friend of ours, Scott Lund was down with us along with his friend Scott Armand for the 28th and 29th, releasing a few sailfish each day on conventional, spin and fly rod to end out another Guatemalan month.
Until next report, tight line, eagle claw circle hooks and healthy releases.

Capt. Brad Philipps
www.guatbilladv.com

IGFA: Hot Record Catches of April

This month’s hottest potential records have reached IGFA headquarters from as far afield as Brazil, New Zealand, the Cayman Islands, and a slam conquest that spanned from Africa to Hawaii to Brazil – as well as five great catches from Florida and Ohio. Check out these latest angling accomplishments!

Smallfry angler Laurel David of Hollywood, Florida, USA, has had plenty of fishing experience in her short life, growing up with father and fishing guide Capt. Jimmy David. That experience paid off on February 23, 2011 when Laurel pitched a live pinfish to a 21.77 kg (48 lb 0 oz) cobia (Rachycentron canadum) while fishing off Key Biscayne, Florida, USA. Laurel needed 30 minutes to land her potential Female Smallfry record, which easily outweighs the current IGFA record of 17.03 kg (37 lb 9oz).

Veteran record angler Dr. Gilberto Fernandes was fishing his native Rio Amazonas, Brazil on February 13, 2011 when he hooked into a huge 22 kg (48 lb 8 oz) tiger sorubim (Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum). Dr. Gilberto’s fish would replace his current All-Tackle record of 45 lb 10 oz, and would also qualify him for the 06 kg (12 lb) line class record. Fernandes needed 16 minutes to land the potential record fish after it hit the live bait he was soaking.

Kiwi angler Bradley Tong of Mount Maunganui, New Zealand was speed jigging off Mayor Island, New Zealand with guide Mark Armistead on February 23, 2011, when Bradley hooked into a gorgeous southern yellowtail (Seriola laland). With their Official IGFA Measuring Device handy, angler and guide were able to land, document and cleanly release this 99 cm yellowtail to qualify for the All-Tackle Length record for the species. Tong was using a River 2 – Sea Knife jig, and only needed six minutes to boat his potential record fish. The current IGFA record is vacant.

Three days before Bradley Tong landed his potential All-Tackle Length yellowtail, fellow Kiwi and veteran light-tackle billfish angler Eryn Jacobsen was at it again. Fishing with Captain John Batterton on the Hookin’ Bull off North Cape, New Zealand on February 20, 2011, Jacobsen hooked into a monster 181.8 kg (400 lb 12 oz) Pacific blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) on just 6 kg (12 lb) gear! Five grueling hours after the marlin hit the trolled dead skipjack, Jacobsen and the crew of the Hookin’ Bull had boated this potential women’s 06 kg (12 lb) record Pacific blue marlin. Jacobsen’s potential record more than doubles the current record of 85.95 kg (189 lb 8 oz).

The current All-Tackle record holder for escolar (Lepidocybium flavobrunneum), Charles F. Ebanks of Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, was apparently not happy with his current record of 68.21 kg (150 lb 6 oz). Fishing with Emil Terry, Ebanks landed an enormous escolar on December 15, 2010 while fishing off Grand Cayman. The 72.89 kg (160 lb 11 oz) fish surpasses Ebanks’ current record, qualifying him for the potential new All-Tackle record. The escolar was landed 25 minutes after taking the angler’s rigged squid.

Fly angler Dr. J.A. Llera, of Miami Lakes, Florida, USA, spent the weekend of March 26, 2011 in Key Largo, Florida, USA where he was able to land and release a bonefish (Albula spp.) to qualify for the first All-Tackle Length record for the species. Llera’s fish measured 62 cm and took the angler’s well presented shrimp fly before the 15 minute drag-screaming battle ensued.

Angler, lure manufacturer and IGFA Representative Patrick Sebile, of Fort Pierce, Florida, USA, put his lures and angling skills to the test on a recent trip to Chiriqui, Panama. Of the numerous All-Tackle Length records that resulted from the trip, one of the most impressive was an 88 cm Pacific cubera snapper (Lutjanus novemfasciatus) that he caught on February 11, 2011, fishing with local guide Porfirio Pufiro. Sebile needed 10 minutes to land the toothy snapper after it crashed on the Sebile Magic Swimmer he was casting. As is the case with every All-Tackle Length record, the fish was released alive after being photographed and measured.

Angler Michael Romano of Hudson, Ohio, USA, made a trip south to Marco Island, Florida, USA to escape the cold north and try his hand at some All-Tackle Length records on fly. Romano was not disappointed; he landed a quality Atlantic snook (Centropomus spp.) while casting a white bucktail fly from the dock on March 21, 2011. Romano’s snook measured 70 cm and took him five minutes to land. This catch is a great example of how the All-Tackle Length program allows anglers to target fish for records even though the species may be out of season or a specific size limit.

Angler Brett Warrick of Westerville, Ohio, USA, landed a 4.68 kg (10 lb 5 oz) muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) on March 29, 2011 while fly fishing the Alum Creek Spillway, Ohio, USA to qualify for the currently vacant 01 kg (2 lb) tippet class record for the toothy muskellunge. Warrick’s fish took a well-presented black fly and fought for 10 mintues before hitting the scales for an official weight.

www.IGFA.org

IGFA: New Slam Club Members

South African angler Trevor Hansen caught his first billfish, a Pacific sailfish, on February 27, 1991 while fishing off the coast of Comores, Africa. Almost twenty years to the date and eight billfish species later, Trevor became the first South African member of the IGFA’s prestigious Billfish Royal Slam Club. All of Hansen’s Pacific billfish were caught from his native land of South Africa, with the exception of his Pacific sailfish and his Pacific blue marlin, which were caught near Kona, Hawaii on July 26, 2006. While it took Hansen nearly to 19 years to capture all of the six Pacific billfish species required for a Royal Slam, he only needed seven days and a trip to Brazil in February 2011 to land the remaining three Atlantic billfish species: blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish. Congratulations Trevor, and cheers to you and your angling accomplishments!

www.IGFA.org

Ireland: annual salmon run

During the week 7 fish were caught on the Lodge Beat of the Owenduff, all in the 7 to 10 lb range with the exception of one magnificent salmon weighing 22 lbs caught by the Clonmel angler Philip Maher on fly.  This is the heaviest fish landed on this beat for at least 45 years and wins Philip the Catch of the Week.

http://www.fishinginireland.info 

Panama Big Game Fishing Club Fishing Report March 2011

  

March was tuna tuna everywhere - which is normal here. Marlin was not as good as usual - March being one of the best months but 8 groups caught 11 Marlin - with 3 of the groups not getting any. The afternoon tuna bite was good to strong just about everyday. Catching a lot of fish on spinning tackle with surface poppers and a lot of tuna over 150lb getting out in front and dropping back live Bonito.
I am working now with a new owner - a lot of exciting things on the horizon here - more to follow - We now have complete WiFi coverage at Panama Big Game.

Capt. Lee

E-mail Us at: Lee@panamabiggamefishingclub.com 

http://www.panama-sportfishing.com/index.htm

Seizure made of illegal sailfish meat from Costa Rican seafood exporter

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. USA. – Costa Rican government officials released information to The Billfish Foundation (TBF) of the seizure from a seafood exporter, of over 7,000 kilos of sailfish meat bound for Peru. Sailfish are protected species in the popular Costa Rican fishery.   

        Investigators from two agencies -- SENASA (National Animal Health Service) and INCOPESCA (Costa Rican Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute) -- seized 7012 kilos of whole sailfish carcasses. The company had falsified documents declaring the shipment as striped marlin which is presently a legal billfish for exporting.

        The Billfish Foundation’s (TBF) Chief Scientist Dr. Russell Nelson and TBF Central American Conservation Director Herbert Nanne received word of the seizure from Dr. Rolando Ramirez of INCOPESCA.

        Costa Rica Sport Fishing Federation (FECOPT) Executive Director Enrique Ramirez said in newspaper reports that illegal commercial fishing and the exporting of sailfish meat had been reported for months as FECOPT tried to get the authorities to take action.  FECOPT was formed to represent the interests of its anglers and the sport fishing tourism industry.

        Nelson and Nanne still have concerns regarding the vulnerability of sailfish that collect in certain areas along Costa Rica’s coast.

        “We’re told that if INCOPESCA wins this case,” said Nelson, “money from the sale of the meat would go to Costa Rica’s National Guard for enforcement and oversight improvements to protect the fishery.”

        Tourism is Costa Rica’s top industry and research showed North Americans traveling there in 2008 to fish generated $599 million - or two percent of Costa Rica’s gross domestic product. The 2009 study by TBF, Southwick Associates and the University of Costa Rica, revealed 283,790 anglers visited Costa Rica and their economic impact even overshadowed commercial fishing. Some 22 percent of those tourists visited the country to exclusively fish.

        Since 2008 Costa Rica has been proactive in enacting conservation laws and measures to control commercial overfishing. INCOPESCA passed measures protecting its sailfish and other sport fishing resources by putting a halt to the exportation of sailfish meat and stopped the use of live bait by the commercial long-liners.

TBF has been working with the governments of Mexico, Costa Rica and Peru – some for over a decade – to protect billfish, mainly from overfishing coastal fisheries by commercial interests, while implementing tag and release programs for sportsmen.

Established 25 years ago, The Billfish Foundation is the only non-profit organization dedicated solely to conserving and enhancing billfish populations around the world. TBF's comprehensive network of members and supporters includes anglers, captains, mates, tournament directors, clubs and sportfishing businesses.  By coordinating efforts and speaking with one voice, TBF is able to work for solutions that are good for billfish and not punitive to recreational anglers. To reach Dr. Nelson call 561-449-9637 or visit www.billfish.org

Ireland: huge 196lb skate

Last weekend anglers fishing with Hamish Currie had 9 skate over 2 days. Best bait was dogfish.  One male skate coughed up 3 small common skate and that’s why they are the top of the food chain here in the North Channel.  Best fish fell to Nigel Bell at 196 lbs which is our Catch of the Week.

Hamish Currie
Predator II
Red Bay Stormforce 9.1 Rib
Web: www.predatorireland.com  Email: info@predatorireland.com
Telephone: +44 (0)28 2177 1828  Boat: +44 (0)7720440117

Ireland: a great start on Corrib lake

We finally  managed some boat fishing on Corrib Lake. The season opened on Feb 15, however water temp. was only 4C and nothing was happening on the lake. Finally the day came, ideal conditions - light wind, water temp. 7C and air at 12C. We drift fished for a few hours without any hits and started to have mixed feelings. Were doing everything right, were the lures the right size?  The logical solution seemed to be to troll shallow water from 4 to 8m, in an area of raised water bed. Still no results.  I decided  to add more weight above the lure and we moved to deeper water, 10m to 20m. Right on the first pass, Peresada had a hit on the Executor 12 RR and we landed our first Ferox Trout. It was 80cm long and weighted 6kg.

The fight wasn’t too impressive as the fish swallowed the plug all the way and hooked herself in the gills. Thanks to reviving action this Brown Trout regained her strength and swam back in to the deep abyss.  I decided to troll the same area and did not have to wait long. The next fish hit on the Executor 9 T. This time the fight was fierce, long 30m runs and deep dives. After 10min I had the fish by the boat. She was 78 cm long and 6kg, like the first one. Big joy! We caught 2 big Browns in first hour of fishing.  We had one more hit, a little guy of 35cm and that was it for the day. Last season we lost a lot of fish due to stiff rods and using no-stretch braids, but this time we came prepared.

Unfortunately I had to leave for Poland for a few days. On Saturday I received an sms from Peresada, informing me that together with Mariusz they caught 2 more Feroxes, more than 70cm long each.  I was angrily disappointed that I couldn’t be there with them. On the way back I devised a plan and already imagined all the trout was going to catch. The next day I got on the water again and the weather was excellent. I started from old proven spots and I had a bite with the Whitefish 13DR T, on the second pass, after a beautiful fight I had a Ferox hen by the boat -  an even 70cm long.  This bodes well for the day!  I had the next bite after 30min, with dead bait fish on the hook.  This one must be a huge one, I thought, but a few beautiful runs later, and  to my surprise, it was a Pike, about 90cm long.  It really makes me wonder what this guy was doing at a depth of 20m?!??  Nothing else happened till the end of the day.

We planned our next trip for the coming Saturday. The weather didn’t look too promising - temperatures dropped overnight to only 4C with local snow patches - generally cold, but it didn’t stop us because of the latest successes we had.  Mariusz decided to take a second boat out . We had a simple plan - we fished the same runs with a distance of 200 meters between our boats.  We had our first bites after about 2 hours - this time the bait was dead smolt.  A few excellent runs and the next Ferox hen was in the boat. This one was 70 cm as well.  Our optimism running high, especially after Mariusz phoned us that he just lost a fish of a similar size.  But nothing happened for the next five hours.  We approached the spot where Peresada caught a beautifull one a week earlier.  He assured me - “You will see, we will have a bite in here!” Suddenly, I tell him he had 2 hard tugs on his rod, he looked at me with disbelief as nothing happend when he looked, but after a few second a solid hit on my rod with the  Executor12RD as a terminal tackle. The fish peeled 40m of line in a matter of a few seconds. She showed herself for the first time about 30m from the boat, with a huge splash of the tail and sudden dive to the depths.  We looked at ourselves and together exclaimed..” Oh chit - what a monster!”  I became afraid as I knew she might be a meter long.  The next few minutes she engaged me in an up and down tussle war.  After a few rapid dives  she finally gave up and we had her in the boat!  She was 90 cm long and weighted 9kg. A few fast pictures and the vigorous Ferox went back to the water. We didn’t have any more bites this day. Despite the bad weather, the day turned out excellent. Two Feroxes to our boat ( 70cm, 90cm), and Mariusz had 2 good hits on his rod, Bigos caught one of 80 cm long fish. The next two days I manager to land one more on a Whitefish 13T. It was a plump hen of 71 cm.

Courtesy of www.salmo.com.pl

Thailand: 3 World Records cathes!!

 

3 new IGFA world records set within a week:

 

First one, set by yours truly, is for a 0.49 kg Goldfin Tinfoil Barb (Hypsibarbus malcomi) I caught on Apr. 3 in Northern Thailand while bottom fishing with rice hush flour for carp species.

 

Second one is for a 7.43 kg Sorubim caught by 12 years old UK female angler Natalie Carter (guided by yours truly) on Apr. 5. That record qualifies for the Junior Angler female category.

Once homologated, it will be the 6th world record for that little girl who previously set 5 of them in Thailand on two previous trips, earning her 1st place two years in a row in the IGFA Top Ten 2009 and 2010 junior female category.    

 

Third one was set by her younger daughter Courtney (guided by yours truly) on Apr. 6. The record is for a 8.73 kg Alligator Gar catch which qualifies for the Small Fry category.

Courtesy of www.anglingthailand.com

North Ireland skate fishing

Carrick boys land 7 skate in one day with "Predator" of Capt Hamish Currie.

See more at Predator Ireland

Huge siamese carp caught in Thailand



Jean Francois Helias of Angling Thailand send us this image of an huge siamese carp (Catlocarpio siamensis) caught in Thailand by Jean-Francois Crestini. the fish was fought for more than one hour. the weight was 46 kilogram (over 100 lb) and it was released after the photo.

Jean-Francois Helias
IGFA Lifetime Achievement Award
211 IGFA World Recordswww.anglingthailand.com  

Monster catfish caught in Italy

But (you knew there was going to be a but) there are cats, and then... there are cats! 

In the murky waters throughout Europe swim the leviathans of catfish. The truly monstrous Wels Catfish, known by its Latin name as Silurus glanis. The Godzilla of catfish!

Fishing the River Po, Italy's longest river, which flows 405 miles from the Italian Alps to the Adriatic Sea, near Venice, Hungarian angler Zsedely Attila, guided by Captain Kiss Jozset, landed a 297 lb. 9 oz. Wels Catfish, setting a new all-tackle IGFA record, recently recorded in the IGFA's record books. Turning to a Rapala Jointed Floater lure, Attila felt the monster fish smash his bait. The fight was on, and it took nearly an hour to bring this nasty-looking, seven-foot creature with a mouth the width of a giant exercise ball to Jozset's boat. Aside from the enormous size of the fish, what is even more amazing is that the River Po has produced three potential IGFA All-Tackle wels records within the past year, not to mention that all three have been released alive. The current IGFA record is 113.5 kg (250 lb. 3 oz.) caught and released a month earlier by Italian angler Roberto Godi of Arcole Veroma.

Source www.rapala.com