I recently took a vacation to Peru with my wife and some family members. I'll get right to the fishing report, and then share some travel info. and photos I thought you might enjoy.
When I knew we'd be staying in Mancora, Peru, I was very excited. This is region where the world record black marlin (1,560 lbs.) was caught in 1953.
Here's a display of the fish in the IGFA Hall of Fame in FL:
Here are some maps to help you picture where I was in the world. Peru is on the northwest coast of South America:
I stayed in Mancora -- a great beach (more on that later.) I fished just a few miles south of Mancora in Los Organos. Just south of there is Cabo Blanco, where the record marlin was caught. Ernest Hemingway caught a 700-pound marlin in Cabo Blanco, and it's said he was inspired by it to write his 1952 novel The Old Man and the Sea.
From all of the online searching and phone calls I made prior to my trip, I realized most of the big marlin had vanished from the area. It was a hot area in the 1950s and 1960s. There are only a handful of boats who fish recreationally in the area. Most fishermen are either fishing commercially or for themselves with nets for various species.
I fished on the boat "Cristina" with my wife and father-in-law.
Sunrise as we head from the pier to the main fishing boat...
The surf is rough along the pier, so some boats don't pull right up to it. We took a smaller boat out to meet our fishing boat.
The boat was a 32-footer built in 1962.
We made a run 15 miles offshore to where we began fishing.
The two outside rods included larger set-ups with larger lures in hopes of a marlin.
The lures…
According to the mate, Alfredo, the boat last hooked into a good marlin back in '97. But, they still catch smaller fish since then. He has worked on fishing boats in the local waters since he was 7-years-old.
After about an hour of no action, I started getting nervous the trip might be nothing more than a nice sight-seeing trip. Then, bam! We had our first fish on board. A nice tuna. It was my first tuna ever.
After that, the tuna hits came in waves and we often had doubles, triples and even a quadruple hook-up on at once! It was a blast for us.
We caught a mix of yellowfin, bonito, and skipjack (I think.) Maybe some of you offshore experts can tell for sure.
This was the first time I've ever caught tuna, so even though they weren't big fish, I was very excited. Some had really cool colors right when they came out of the water.
After we landed a bunch of tuna, we got a marlin on one of the rods. I sat down to start fighting the fish and when I saw him jump, I could tell he was a baby and wasn’t really too excited to catch him. Then, on his next jump, it was a totally different fish -- a dorado! I was psyched! The dorado came in and either swiped up the lure after the marlin dropped it, or maybe right out of his mouth.
This was my first dorado, and I was pretty psyched!
By day’s end, we had a nice haul of fish. I think we had about 16 tuna, plus the dorado.
Some views as we headed back in to shore…
All in all, it was a great day on the water and definitely one of the most unique places I’ve ever fished in the world.
And for the best part to cap off the day…our hotel cooked us up some of the tuna and made fresh ceviche out of the dorado for an awesome dinner! It made for a great Valentine’s Day dinner for all!
Besides the fishing, I thought some of you might be interested in some other things I saw.
My first stop in Peru was the capital city of Lima. This was where my wife was born and raised. Many parts are much like good old New York City, USA. However many parts are much different, especially as you get on the outskirts of the city. Here's a link to a report of mine from 2005, which includes a lot about Lima:
If you've never been to a 3rd world country, you owe it to yourself to go sometime. It really helps put things in perspective about things we may take for granted here. And on the other hand, it makes you think about the material things we cherish or strive to own to gain happiness. It sort of reminds me of this good one: http://www.lifestorywriting.com/morefish.htm
While in Lima, I visited a zoo and was surprised to find this species we have here in CT.
After spending a few days in Lima, we took a 3-1/2 hour drive south to check out the Ballestas Islands (sometimes called the little Galapagos Islands). These are government protected islands, and home to over 150 bird species and seals. We took a boat tour out to the islands. It was awesome. The boats got right up to the islands and we saw all kinds of great wildlife.
It's hard to capture in pictures just how many hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of birds there are. I've never seen so many birds in my life!
All the specs on the island are birds. If you look at the bottom of this photo, you can see a few hundred seals along the beach…
We saw hundreds of seals...
And, we saw plenty of baby seals. Check out the big adult male in the middle...
Our boat driver was great and got us up close to the action. One of my favorite photos. I was only about 15 feet from this guy...
I've never seen so many seals. They were all screaming and causing quite a commotion. Here's a video which might give you an idea of the sound. It's not the motor you hear but all of the seals grunting and groaning:
We went in and around a lot of cool caverns and overhangs…
Humboldt penguins…
The type of boat we where in…another of the tour boats that made the trip to the islands with ours…
Besides the wildlife, we got to check out a famous sand marking on a nearby desert mountain…
This one is called the “Candelabro” because of its candelabra shape. No one knows for sure who or why the lines were made. Some believe the Nasca people made them with surveying equipment, while others believe in other theories, including that aliens made the lines. I hope to visit more of the famous Peruvian Nasca lines on my next visit.
Pelicans waiting to take part in the fishermen’s catch as they drew their net in…
Mancora I spent most of my vacation in the beach town of Mancora, which includes some great white sand beaches.
Boats in Mancora...
It's one of those remaining places in the world where commercialism hasn't quite caught up yet. The road leading along the shoreline to our hotel was one of the craziest I've ever been on. It's unpaved, narrow, bumpy, and most people get around on mototaxis instead of cars.
Here's a little video clip to give you an idea of what the road is like:
Where else do you find donkeys and horses on the beach?
If you’re looking for a laid-back, no-frills vacation and one of the most unique places on the globe, Mancora is the place. Can’t beat the weather or the great food.
I brought and 8GB photo card and took over 1,000 photos. I'll probably add a few more to this thread if you guys enjoy the pics.
#300228 - 02/20/0706:37 PM
Re: Peru: Home of the World Record Black Marlin!
Rhinoke
Member
Registered: 06/25/03
Posts: 1528
Loc: Guilford no longer Long Island...
Great post it looked like you had a great vacation!! The post has got me so excited because I am leaving to go to Panama next Friday!! I am staying on the Island of Bocas Del Torro and plan on doing a ton of fishing, spearfishing, scuba & Snorkeling!! I will def. put up a similar post from my vacataion as well. Again, GREAT post and welcome back!
Nice going Mitch. Congrats on your 1st tuna, the marlin hook-up and some fine eating mahi. Maybe now you've got the itch to get some offshore time in up here. Your id of the skipjack (with the horizontal stripes)is correct.
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