ECUADOR: November marlin report

The currents continue to bring usually cold water for the month of November. Salinas, Manta and Galapagos Islands are all experiencing water temperatures 71 to 73 F average.

Salinas.

The striped marlin bite has been picking up a bit more in the last 2  weeks. Don Chuma fished Nov  20th and reported raising 3 stripey and  releasing 1 on a circle hook. The water  temperature was reported around 72.

Nov 26, 2011 angler Jorge Jurado caught a 1,102 lb blue marlin onboard the Amalita. Artesanal skiffs report catching granders comercially on a regular basis each year. Large blues and blacks are know to migrate through the coastal waters of Ecuador to spawn in Northern Peru

  

Manta.

The last 2 weeks have been pretty decent with most boat averaging 2 to 5 marlin between blues and stripes. Water has held around 73 F and many of the Salinas anglers have headed to fish the area aroun Isla de la Plata.

San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands.

The water has not warmed up yet and most areas and banks are reporting 71 F average on the monitors. The Big Fish and Patricia have fished several time in the last 2 weeks. The Patricia fishing out of Santa Cruz reported raising a few striped marlin on 0-30 Bank On Nov 20 and 21. Captain Yury Gutierrez raised 4 stripeys on Nov 20 and released 2 and raised 2 and released 1 on Nov 21. They fished with a walk on charter.

The Big Fish tried its luck on Rosa Blanca Nov 22, They did not raise any marlin but found a nice bunch of big eye tunas that kept them entertained. Captain Fernando Yepez reported cold water 70 to 71 but very nice color and not much bait on Rosa Blanca Bank. The next run was Northeast to Black Sheep Bank on Nov 24. Captain Yepez reported slightly warmer water with 72 to 73 F on the Bank. The 70 mile run paid off as there was better marlin action. He reported raising 10 striped marlin and releasing 6 out of 7 bites on the circle hooks. Late in the day the hooked a big eye tuna estimated over 200 lb. 40 minutes later they would loose the tuna to sharks 20 feet from the boat

info@ecuagringo.com

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Spain: monster carp caught over 80lb

A monster carp was caught in Spain by Raul Lopez Ayala on lake Curton (Rainbow lake) in Spain the fish was 83 pound (38 kilograms)
The fish was caught with a boili "Monster Crab original" of John Llewellyn "Big Carp" brand.
Here the comment in Spanish of Raul on Facebook: "gracias y mil gracias a todos por vuestros comentarios y palabras.
Como ya comentó mi compañero de aventuras Miguel Martín, los astros se han alineado a nuestro favor y después de muchos sufrimientos y de mucho trabajo, nuestro esfuerzo se ha visto recompensado con el sueño que todo carpista aspira a conseguir alguna vez en la vida.
Nuestro sueño se ha hecho realidad en el lago de Curton (Rainbow ...Lake), en el lago de los sueños nunca mejor dicho, y se llama Briggy's Fish, la mayor carpa que nada en las aguas de este lago, y que con un peso de 38 kilos ha dejado en mi retina la imagen de la carpa mas monstruosa que jamás había visto...
Curiosamente se trata del mismo pez que capturó Martin Locke en el año 2010 y que con sus 42,6 k. se alzó con el título de record mundial de carpa en su momento, solo superado en la actualidad por Scarred Fish de Les Gravieres.
 En fin, una experiencia única (seguramente en toda la vida) que nos hará seguir disfrutando de esta increible modalidad de pesca que es el carpfishing y que tenemos el gusto de compartir con tantos amigos." 

LAOS: report from Jean Francois Helias

Just a few words to keep you posted about the great fishing we are enjoying right now here in Laos.

I've been joined on that 5th angling adventure in Northern Laos by 2 old friends and numerous times return clients: UK Gavin Clarke and USA Dale Fischer (79 years old). Dale who was also with me here last November set the IGFA All Tackle world record for the Mekong Pangasius at the very same mountain lake we are fishing today.

We started the expedition by some exciting lure fishing by boat for 2 different species of predator Hampala barb.

Then we traveled further north to target the Stracheyi Mahseer in the wild,  fishing for that specie on both lure and bottom fishing in fast river streams. The lure fishing turned out to be the best we ever had at that river. We caught several Stracheyi Mahseer close to the 2 kilos mark which are real biggies for that particular specie.

We are now almost at the end of our trip. Only one more day fishing to go before heading back to Thailand. None of us had the chance yet to repeat the ball I had here last January when I captured a Siamese giant carp weighing over the 50 kilos mark.

But we have done very OK so far with several catches for each of us - Chinese common carp, Mrigal, Bighead Carp, Mekong Pangasius, Lagleri Barb, Rohu - considering the fish are not very active in the very cold waters of that mountain lake, at this fresh period of the year.

Gavin had the best catch to date with a lovely 7.30 kg Koi Carp, the biggest I've ever seen caught in South East Asia. That superb Koi was a true catch of a lifetime!

The highlight of the trip to me was at last the visit of the school we have had built with the help of a good bunch of generous angling buddies from all over the world. Thanks to them and their respective donations, the school is now almost completed. There are only a few finitions to be done in the inside. And I am going to try to collect a bit of more money to have it done, and to purchase a few more things (furnitures, books, stationnery, sport equipments, etc), so the whole project can be completed once for all.

 

 www.anglinthailand.com

AUSTRALIA: Great Barrier Reef Report 2011

After my Marlin Grander in Cape Verde Islands in May 2011, many of my fishing friends said: "Now you have to catch a Black Marlin Grander as well." I wanted to know, of course, in advance if any angler had already caught these three marlin Granders. My investi-gation revealed: to date, no angler had caught a Pacific Blue Marlin and a Atlantic Blue Marlin and a Black Marlin Grander weighing over 1,000 lb (453.56 kg). Now I was sure I had to seize this unique opportunity. Where have the largest marlin been caught? That's why I chose the Great Barrier Reef as my fishing destination. I searched for a very good boat at the Great Barrier Reef and found Capitan Tim Richardson – currently the best captain. Tim’s TRADITION sets sail from Cooktown. My trip was as follows: departure from Frankfurt, stopovers in Abu Dhabi, Sydney and Cairns, then continuing to Cooktown with the bush pilots. My trip (Frankfurt to Cooktown) took 36 hours! My partners for the next 14 days were: Tim Richardson, Australian captain and owner of Tradition; Scuba Steve Hall, USA, Decki; Carl Copeland USA, Decki; and the professional photographer, Scott Kerrigan, USA. The Great Barrier Reef is located approximately 50 nautical miles from Cooktown. Our desti-nation there was the "Ribbon No. 10 " sector. But alas, bad luck for two fish in the same year – perhaps it simply wasn’t to be? That did not mean that my fishing trip to Australia was unsuccessful: 29 Black Marlins behind the boat, 19 hook-ups and 9 that we caught. The boys valued the fish from 150 to 600 lbs. Two of the 700-class fish freed themselves from the hook. Unfortunately we lost another big fish after a 35 minute wrangle; this was also the only fish that may have weighed than 1,000 lbs! Other boats had more luck. Some of their (released) marlin were estimated heavier than 1000 lbs. I was also a bit unlucky with the weather. The first week it weather was very nice and the sea calm. However the second week it was quite the contrary: squalls up to 38 knots, waves up to four meters and torrential tropical rain.

http://en.bluewaterfishing.eu

IGFA Hot Cathes November 2011

The year may be winding down but anglers are still in high gear! This month catches from Italy, Malaysia, Brazil, Australia, the Cook Islands, New Zealand and the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey are all in contention for new world records. More than half of this month’s Hot Catches were released alive – a strong closing to the first year of the new All-Tackle Length release record category!

New Zealand angler Brett Patterson recently traveled from his home in Auckland to the Cook Islands to experience the amazing inshore fishery found there. Guided by Itu Davey, Patterson landed a 71 cm bonefish (Albula spp.) on September 30, 2011, to qualify for the potential new All-Tackle Length record. Patterson was fishing the flats of Aitutaki when his potential record bone hit the fly he was throwing. After the 10 minute fight, the fish was photographed, measured and released alive. The current IGFA record is 66 cm.

Although she has never before held an IGFA world record, Australian angler Nikki Murray recently submitted two impressive potential line class records for golden trevally (Gnathanodon speciosus): a 5.3 kg (11 lb 10 oz) on 02 kg (4 lb) line and a 9.28 kg (22 lb 11 oz) on 4 kg (8 lb) line. Both of these great catches were made while fishing off Exmouth, Australia on August 7, 2011. Landed in under 20 minutes, the fish were caught on trolled artificial and live bait - and with the expertise of Murray’s guide, Leigh Mitchell. The current women’s 2 kg (4 lb) line class record is vacant and the women’s 4 kg (8 lb) record stands at 5.6 kg (12 lb 5 oz).

In the northeastern USA, early fall means one thing: stripers. Angler Ron Mazzarella of Livingston, New Jersey, USA took advantage of the fall striped bass (Morone saxatilis) run – landing a potential record fish on October 18, 2011, while fishing Ortley Beach, New Jersey, USA. Weighing in at 11.03 kg (24 lb 5 oz), Mazzarella’s fish qualifies him for the potential new men’s 02 kg (4 lb) tippet class record. Ron’s potential record fish took him 11 minutes to land after the fish fell for his well-presented deceiver fly. The current IGFA record is 10.43 kg (23 lb).

 

If approved, Mazzarella’s striper will be the fifth record for the species set this year.

Angler Sue Tindale, of Silverdale, New Zealand was fishing with her husband and personal captain Scott Tindale on September 22, 2011 off Maori Rock, New Zealand when Mrs. Tindale landed a beautiful 112 cm southern yellowtail (<i>Seriola lalandi</i>). Using jack mackerel for bait, she needed 20 minutes to fight the brute before she was able to photograph, measure and release it alive, qualifying her for the potential tie of the existing record – a 112 cm fish caught by her husband, Scott. The Tindales’ yellowtail rivalry precedes this potential tie; prior to Scott’s catch on April 8, 2011, Sue held the All-Tackle Length record for a few brief hours with a 109 cm fish she caught earlier that day

Angler James Sollecito of Baldwinsville, New York, USA, landed a potential All-Tackle Length record Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) on October 18, 2011, while fishing the Salmon River, in his home state of New York. Sollecito’s salmon measured 88 cm – more than 16 cm longer than the existing record. The fish was caught on a green salmon fly and took the angler 22 minutes to land. As is required with every All-Tackle Length record, Sollecito released his fish alive after taking the necessary photographs and measurements.

On a recent trip to Tocantins, Brazil, angler Maximilian Hampl of Cartago, Costa Rica landed a toothy 6.25 kg (13 lb 12 oz) payara (Hydrolycus spp.) on September 13, 2011 while fishing the Rio Tocantins. Hampl used a live truvira (bait fish) to induce a strike from this strong predator, and needed eight minutes to land it. Hampl’s catch qualifies him for the potential new male Junior record, which currently stands at 4.2 kg (9 lb 4 oz). If approved, this record will be number 19 for the junior angler but his first for a payara.

Angler Philippe Plentincx traveled from his home in Switzerland to experience the amazing freshwater fishing offered in Malaysia. Fishing the town of Kenarong on October 7, 2011 with renowned guide Jean-Francois Helias, Philippe landed this massive snakehead (Channa spp.) while casting a M2 Frog Lure from the bank. The fish was landed in five minutes and measured 84 cm before being released alive – besting the current All-Tackle Length record by nearly 10 cm.

Italy’s Po River is known for the large wels (Silurus glanis) that can be found between the waterway’s expansive banks. These prehistoric bottom feeders can grow in excess of 140 kg (300 lb) and are typically not a popular species for fly anglers. But on August 13, 2011, Milan native and nine-time IGFA record holder Paolo Pacchiarini hit the water to attempt his second wels tippet record – and he was not disappointed.

Already holding the 3 kg (6 lb) tippet record for a 11.79 kg (26 lb) wels he caught from the same river in August of 2010, this time Pacchiarini ended up with a 27.22 kg (60 lb) wels that qualifies him for the potential 08 kg (16 lb) tippet class record, which is currently vacant. The fish ate a baitfish wiggle fly and took the angler 20 minutes to subdue. The fish was weighed on the shore and released alive to fight another day.

www.IGFA.org

THAILAND: 20 lb toman-snakehead caught

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Well..... well..... well.... it been quite a while since I' last seen a Monster Size MAMA Toman 9KG.

The last person I seen landed it was by Kaiser- Mark Richards of S'pore 2 mths back...

This time round is was my Netherland customer turns.

Today is his big day in which he has broken his personal best record of all time.

A whoppy 20Ibs (9KG) Monster MAMA Toman-snakehead.

The fights was awesome !!! The atmosphere was high !!! The stake was high !!!

We almost lost the big mama due to the carelessness of the boatman.

Luckily everything end up well.....:)

Well done Sebastiaan !!! This is the 2nd toman trip he has fished with me for the wild toman.

Sebastiaan has learnt fast and pickup fast from me N I'm happy for him.

We'll be going for our 3rd trip again soon that's after my 7 & 1/2 DAYS marathon wild toman trip with my another customer from French.....I'll berather busy fishing for monster toman for the next 8 DAYS........

" My Countless Of Wild Fishing Experience !!! My Own Fishing Tactics !!! My Countless of Great Fishing Spots !!! This is 'WHY ' While Others Failed To Achieve In This Field & I Happen to Success N Be Good On It.... You'll Learn The Basic N Advance Fishing Skills On ' How', 'What' N 'Why' From Me Regarding The Giant Snakehead aka Toman "- That's BKKGUY for you !!!!

http://www.fishing.net.my

http://www.bkkguy.blogspot.com

COSTA RICA: Crocodile Bay Lodge November report

I really like November. It is sometimes crazy to switch gears after being closed for the month of October and working shorter days, but I love the excitement of cranking up a new season. The October rains left us with lots of green water offshore the first part of the month so most anglers stayed inshore rather than put in the time to get the billfish to bite.
They were rewarded with lots of roosterfish action
and big cubera snapper. Mark Harwood who had a good ole rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas with his fishing buddy Brian took the big snapper of the week with a 44 lb monster

David Plummer’s group from England and Scotland finally broke the ice on billfish and at one point had a triple header hooked up. Day by day the water is getting cleaner and Plummer’s group also took the first marlin of the season.

Todd Staley
Fishing Director,
Crocodile Bay Resort
Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica

www.crocodilebay.com

THAILAND: record red tail catfish over 60lb

Just a few words to inform you that we have broken 2 days ago the IGFA length record for the redtail catfish category.

I did not expect at all to have anyone breaking the current 109 cm International Game Fish Association length record for that specie this soon. The 109 cm fish was already a big one for Thai standards.  

But on Nov. 17, I had a russian angler whom we were guiding for 4 days who caught a redtail catfish of a total length of 124 cm.

That fish we estimated being in the 30 kilos mark is the biggest ever caught by a foreign visiting angler at Ratchaburi (in fact I caught one myself weighed at 30 kilos a few years ago). 

Jean-Francois Helias
IGFA Lifetime Achievement Award
238 IGFA World Records       
www.anglingthailand.com       

TANZANIA: tigerfish and vundu catfish on Mnyera river

After a very successful stay on the Mnyera river, it was time to make the journey across to Samaki camp. It was a very early start, to ensure that the first day on the Ruhudji was a full one.

The plan for the first day was to fish the section from the first riffles down to camp, for the morning session, and then to work our way downriver after that. The morning session produced some great fish with Helgardt (spelling) and Mike catching 16 and 14 pounders respectably on fly. The riffles section once again produced many fish, with the most notable being an 18pounder landed by Helgardt on fly. The afternoon was a case of many missed opportunities, with a large number of 14 and 15 pounders being landed, but many fish of around the 20 pound mark being lost. Ray Geyser managed to land a great fish of 19 pounds in the last few minutes before sundown.

The second day on the Ruhudji it was decided by the guides to fish the bottom 30 kilometers of the Ruhudji. As far down as actually exploring the first few kilometers of the hippo ridden Klassier Channel. This stretch hadn’t been fished in some weeks, and it was expected to produce some special tigerfish. It certainly did, with many big fish being landed, as well as a multitude of fish between 12 and 15 pounds. Ray Geezer had an awesome day, with once again landing the largest Tigerfish of the day, a great fish of 20lbs. His second of over 20lbs in two consecutive trips.  A worthy note on this day was something that was definitely unique. There was a high number of large Vundus moving, and in some cases it was possible to almost sight fish to moving vundus. Helgardt managed to cast a brush fly to a massive vundu, and although the huge catfish ate the fly (twice), Helgardt failed to set the hook. Ray and Garreth had a special day with both of them landing a vundu, after specifically targeting them on buck tail jigs. Certainly a first in fishing for these giants. The fish were in great condition, and both weighed between 60 and 80 pounds.

The last day on the Ruhudji, started out extremely hot, with a few big fish being landed and lost. Mike a Helgardt both got a fish of 16, and Ray landed a beaut of 17lbs. Unfortunately a high wind put the fish down for the afternoon session.

All in all a superb few days spent in the wilderness of the Ruhudji river, The Tourette Fishing team are already looking forward to welcoming back these guests next year.

www.tourettefishing.com

ARGENTINA: Estancia Laguna Verde

November 1st was the start of season 2011-2012, enjoying great fishing and good weather, with the addition of several important improvements and news from last season, that certainly, make it a very exciting one!

Certainly one of the most important improvements in the fishing programs has been the construction of the road that goes all along the coast of Estancia Laguna Verde at Strobel lake, that is now, almost finished.

This allows to access kilometres and kilomotres of new waters at Strobel lake, making it possible during a fishing week to experience lots of alternatives from one place to the other, from deep blue water looking for big fish eating near big rocks, casting in shallow flats to spoted fish chasing your fly “fin out”, like a shark, fishing protected bays during windy days, and wading the coasts of more open waters during nicer days, it sure can be a thrilling experience.

Regarding Strobel lake, two boats are being used to fish at Camelot bay, and Finger bay, opening up a whole lot more of fishing oportunities, even in strong winds, because of the protection of that element in the area.

During early and late season, Barrancoso river certainly offers unparalelled fishing opportunities, and lower and middle sections of this fantastic fishery.

With  the experience of exploratory “expeditions” enjoying great results and happy guests, our fishing guides go now into a sight fishing adventure at upper Barrancoso, targeting huge fish that attack agressively big streamers and dries, perfectly suited for the angler who likes to search and “hunt” for each trout. No doubt,  one of our guides favorites!

Among this new programs, the first groups have also been very impressed by Moro Creek, a small stream that chains the smaller lakes at the Estancia. This is usually combined with a stop at the amazing archeological site located on the way to Moro creek, known as “Faldeo Verde”, covered with amazing native drawings, paintings and petrogryphs, certainly one of the most unique in the province of Santa Cruz.

Moro creek is fished in two beats, upper Moro, and lower Moro, with a lake in between also fished on the “bocas” of the stream, suited for fantastic dry fly fishing with big foam patterns such as Fat Albert´s, Chernovyl ants, etc, or skating mouse patterns through it´s pools, with chances of catching fish from 2 to 8 pounds.

The lodge has also been upgraded with a new heating system in living and dining room,  providing both heating and a warmer atmosphere, in order to gather around the fire, talking about each others fishing day while tasting the also improved wine selection.

Finally, a new double room with private bathroom has also been built, which is suited for both two singles, or one double bed for couples.

www.estancialagunaverde.com

CONGO: Tiger Fish Camp report of goliath tigerfish catch

Helgard is a very good fisherman and listened carefully to everything I said a few days.

 His goal was to catch a goliath in flyfishing and he missed two one of which was approximately 15 kg ... what a pity Helgard!

 But he want to see a goliath tigerfish  very close, so i propose to him to hang a live or a dead fish on two rods, lines at 1m50 under the water and spaces by 2m from the boat.

 Fishing begins and we derive from 20 minutes when suddenly I see Mbenga to a sounder and it is 15 m below the boat (I Helgard already explained that Mbenga was not afraid of the engine and often I drew and excited by putting the engine on) then seeing the fish, I put the engine on and Immediately I see Mbenga up 5 m to the surface and I just time to say "is coming up" .... the rod is twisted with incredible speed and the wire runs at full speed ... it was mounted 15 m in 4 seconds, takes fermly his rod, it takes only 4 or 5 seconds and picks Mbenga is ... aie aie How unfortunate that my poor Helgard was especially seem to be following the bite very beautiful! And I must tell you that two rods were in the water and 4 m apart and each had the same catfish with the same proportions except that was with a cane a live fish and the other with a dead fish and it is the death was attacked! ... I again explained that the Helgard fish dead or alive did not matter and that it was who was first on the road that Mbenga would attack.

 15 minutes is going on and we continue to drift and I ask Helgard (See where we are) Well, to some casting with a lure that I give him and replace his fly that my taste was a bit small ... Helgard launches 5 to 6 times when suddenly a lightning attack of its lure is just before back to the boat and the fight begins for 20 minutes and during which I recommend so that he can finally see his first Mbenga in the boat, and you're done! I leave the fish in water in a bag so as not to damage it very quickly and we take three pictures... and I shall give up his sleeve on Mbenga that is delivered into the water, I stir gently to the tail to activate its gills and there he moves on its own .. I loose and out of the bag gently to go back to the depths ... bye goliath tigerfish bye ... it was 23 kg

 Helgard is a fan of "NO KILL" and I was very pleased with him show my mystical fish and meets one of my goliath tigefish - mbenga I protect as I can!

www.tigerfishcamp.com

NORWAY: monster 80 lb Atlantic cod

This fish is just 18 pounds off the Atlantic cod record, but the 80-pounder caught off the coast of Norway is making officials and anglers proud of Norway's cod fishery.
According to the Daily Record, there aren't a lot of details on the angler or where this fish was caught. But officials and anglers are happy with their cod stocks, and claim that the melting of Arctic ice and the fact that Norway is not in the European Union, and can manage their fisheries their own way are the reasons why monster cod are piling up off the coast of Norway.

USA: Record Grass Carp from Virginia

Throwing a Rat-L-Trap might not be the conventional means of targeting grass carp, but it worked for Chris Craft. 
It took Craft a half-hour to reel in this 54-pound, 10-ounce grass carp that beat the state record by more than 10 pounds. According to Gene Mueller's blog, he even caught the fish on 10-pound-test line. 
He caught the fish on Virginia's Lake Anna, where he guides, last week

USA: Enormous Fall Muskie from Lake Minnetonka

Minnesota's Lake Minnetonka is one of the best places to fish for muskies this fall, and these pictures make for some compelling evidence. John Beckfield, who runs a Minnetonka guide service and lure company, posted these impressive pictures from recent trips. The largest fish stretched the tape to 53 inches.