Fellow Anglers,
Manta and Esmeraldas have exploded the last few days with lots of blue and striped marlin. Several boats registering double digit raises of blue marlin and there have been plenty of striped marlin too. Galapagos has seen some continued striped marlin action even with water over 82 F. The tuna fishing in Galapagos has been phenomenal with boats casting poppers reporting 5 to 20 fish daily from 15 to 75# average. Esmeraldas has been a nice emerging destination with terrific marlin fishing.
Ecuador:
Manta
Manta continues to shine as one of the best natural marlin fisheries today in the world. With a year round fishery that tends to peak May to Feb the fishing has been almost non-stop for 3 years now. A private marina to board your boat, excellent English speaking captain and a world class marlin fishery, Manta needs to be your next destination.
March 18-19, 2017– most boats and pangas reported raising 4 to 12 blue marlin each and also quite a few striped marlin. Panga Ramoncito had a spectacular day raising 12 blue marlin and catching 6. Panga Mi Pana went 3 for 8 on blue marlin. Fishing remained 40 to 50 miles North West of Manta. Water conditions have been slight chops with cobalt blue water color and current pushing South. Lots of flying fish and small bonito. Most blues have averaged 300 to 500# in size with several fish reported over 600#. Miura fished March 18 with Captain Andres Calero and went 2/5 on blue marlin and 1/2 on striped marlin. Some boats reported dozens of tailing striped marlin but where difficult to entice bites.
March 20, 2017– panga Don Tiofilo raised 11 blue marlin and caught 5. Most pangas raised 3 to 7 blue marlin and 3 to 5 striped marlin each. Panga Mi Pana went 3/8 blue marlin and 2/5 striped marlin. Panga Jose went 4/6 on blue marlin and managed to catch a swordfish that ate a bait while on the surface estimated around 250#. Most blues averaged 300 to 400# on this day but some fish raised were mentioned over 500#.
March 21, 2017– Miura headed out 45 miles NW but water conditions seemed to be shifting compared to previous days.. Captain Calero raised 2 striped marlin going 1/2 in the morning and had blue marlin action in the afternoon with going 1/2 on blue marlin. Several pangas reported raising 1-3 blue marlin and a mix of striped marlin. A panga which we could not get the name or a full report for brought a blue marlin that weighed 860#.
March 22, 2017– Current shifted pushing Northwest and fishing dropped significantly during the day with most boats raising 2 marlin or less.
Esmeraldas
We are fortunate to have a the latest report from Esmeraldas thanks to angler friend from Colombia Francisco Mendez who fished on the Antipatico. Fishing was phenomenal to say the least. Quite a unique and off the wall place full of surprises.
March 18, 2017– Francisco Mendez and his son fished onboard their boat Antipatico 28ft center console . They kept their boat out of Punta Galera and fished 35-40 miles out. They raised 9 blue marlin before mid day and released 4 with one fish estimated over 700# and another around 600#. Around 1:35 pm they hooked in to a very large fish that did not jump and fought down deep for 2 hours before the hook pulled. No one saw the bite and so it remained a mystery fish but more than likely a large tuna.
March 19, 2017– The Antipatico again fished 40 miles West of Punta Galera. Fishing in the morning was a bit slower than the previous day with 2 blue marlin raised by mid day. The afternoon was a little better with some action from striped marlin going 3/7. A large bull dolphin of about 55 lbs.
March 20, 2017– Antipatico headed North about 35 miles but fished only about 12-17 miles off the coast looking for black marlin. Esmeraldas has long been rumored to have black marlin not far off. They managed to raise 4 sailfish by 11 AM and release 2. Right before lunch time a large black marlin crashed the right long and the fight was on. The fish was estimated over 800# and they fought for almost 2 hours before the line broke. On the way back to port they managed to snag a pair of nice wahoo around 40 and 45#.
March 21, 2017– Final day of fishing for Antipatico. They ran 30 miles West of Punta Galera to begin looking for blue marlin. Water looked even nicer than the previous days with perfect sea conditions. Lines were not long in the water and they hooked up a double of striped marlin going 1/2. A nice yellow fin about 80# was next that would make for terrific sashimi. A sailfish was hooked and released. The first blue marlin showed up about 11:15 but spit the hook. 2 more blues were raised that would not stay hooked by 1 pm. Close to 2 pm the bite heated up and they went 3/5 on blue marlin which made it for a longer day of action. Most blues were reported to be 200 to 400#. They ended the day 3/8 on blue marlin.
San Cristobal-Galapagos
The tuna fishing continues to be excellent for big eyes. There has been some striped marlin action on the banks of Rosa Blanca and Espanola.
March 18, 2017– On the Hook fished the fads near Punta Pitt and had a terrific day plugging for tuna and dorado catching altogether over 20 fish. They trolled for marlin in the afternoon releasing a black estimated around 500# fishing 8 miles out of Punta Pitt.
March 20, 2017– Captain Gus Hernandez reported onboard the On The Hook with a group from Argentina raising 3 striped marlin on Rosa Blanca and releasing 1.
March 21, 2017– The On the Hook fished Espanola Banks and raised 2 striped marlin but did not catch any. They caught several big eye tuna 25 to 45#.
Peru:
Strong rains continue to pound most of Peru causing many roads and bridges to have been washed away or damaged. The waters out to 15 miles have carried a lot of silt from the rains making for dirty water. A couple of local pangas have reported a good big eye tuna bite near Mancora Bank on March 17-19, 2017.
Folks don’t pass up your chance to fish some of the best marlin waters in the Pacific. Manta has been incredibly consistent without fads to fish on. This is a natural fishery! Yes there are slow days but if you average the fishing Manta has each year you are looking at over 80% probability of having multiple marlin action on most days. Galapagos is having and usually slow year for marlin but the tuna, wahoo and grouper bite are strong plus the tours and wildlife themselves make it the trip of a lifetime. Esmeraldas is also providing some of the best fishing in South America with very little pressure.
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