Page 8 - 2019_Season_Newsletter

Fishing Highlights
March to May, 2019
We saw the Black Marlin bite fall drastically in the first weeks of March. With the cooler water coming in this time of year and often a reverse current changes the fishing conditions fast. We even caught Swordfish on the surface and a few Stripped Marlin offshore signaling the falling water temperatures. Inshore, fish that normally hide in deeper cooler water like Grouper and Snapper come to the surface and anglers witnessed Snapper boils– where the water turns red and white from the
crimson Snappers feeding on
the surface. The Broomtail
Grouper and Cubera Snapper
action ramps up in a big
way this time of year, and
some lucky anglers get to
take on Pacific Tarpon. The
Roosterfish bite also turned
on and Almaco Jacks on the
reef started to smash jigs
for those who don’t mind
working hard. For the braver
anglers, the deep dropping
for Grouper and Barrel Fish
was excellent, which guests
and kitchen staff really
appreciated. The inshore bite
is really action packed and
for some guests they caught
over 11 different species in
a single day. Over these few
months, an IGFA Inshore
Slam is very obtainable and
it is for this very reason we held our first ever inshore fishing school during April which was a huge success. Around the end of May the rains started and the Sailfish bite turned on in a big way with anglers raising double digits of fish per day. This made it tough to choose between Sailfish or the awesome inshore bite.
With the cooler water temperatures hanging around the mid 70’s up until the beginning of May the water condition was perfect for Grouper and Snapper. The seas were flat calm with beautiful clear water right up to the rocks and blue bird skies. There was a gentle breeze that helped cool us off but didn’t create any choppiness on the water.
Charles and Brenda Buehler came with their son, Eric, and Daughter in-law, Greta. Charles and Brenda have been coming to Tropic Star Lodge for many years and it was great to have them back with their family. The stayed in one of the new villas and fished with Capt. Gavilan on the recently refurbished Miss Island Star. Between the family member they have caught pretty much everything you can catch here at Tropic Star and on this trip, they enjoyed some fun inshore action and chased billfish offshore, including the Sailfish that were plentiful on the surface. They encountered a Swordfish and Brenda released the 250lb Broad-bill for her first catch and most definitely the fish of the week. The family also Yellowfin and found some of the straggler dorado. Greta also released her first billfish, a Sailfish
of 105 lb.
Richard Lewis and his grandfather, Joel Nolman, came for a
fishing adventure and some bonding time. The two are avid anglers
8
released Sailfish, had lots of fun with