PUNTA CANA FISHING REPORT

Hello fellows, today we want to tell you about our PUNTA CANA FISHING REPORT and how fishing on Mahi-Mahi usually goes. I will tell you on the example of my FISHING Punta Cana trip, that we managed and had a chance to catch 21 mahi-mahi in 2.5 hours. It’s a good catch, don’t you think so? But let’s start from the beginning as usual.

PUNTA CANA 2019 JULY

Preparing for FISHING Punta Cana trip.

It was the usual July morning,
at about 7 am. I was waiting for my clients in Marina Punta Cana. At 7:30 a transfer arrived, and I met 5 men and two children. These guys ordered 4 hours of fishing with the cooking catch on the grill.Santa Elena Fishing Charters has such an option.

Short briefing

Having met my guests, I gave them a brief briefing, spoke about the weather conditions and how our fishing would be going, after that we went to the boat. On the boat, all my guests quickly settled in, the men took a bottle of beer each for themselves, the children took juice, and everyone prepared for the process. In other words everyone was waiting.

deep sea fishing

Setting tackle for fishing / Punta Cana Fishing Report

The captain turned on the engines, and we went into the Mona Strait. Strait Mona. Firstly this is our favorite fishing spot. This strait divides the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico is a very narrow passage from the Caribbean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. Above all it has historically or naturally happened that it is here in this strait, the largest accumulation of fish.

looking for the fish/ Punta Cana Fishing Report

Secondly having moved out only 2-3 miles from the coast, the captain pulled out the outriggers, these are special metal devices that are located on both sides of the boat. That is to say with the help of these devices, we increase the perimeter of fishing and thus increases our chances of getting more fish.

getting bait into the water /Punta Cana Fishing Report

Meanwhile the first mate threw the already prepared bait, straightened the fishing line of each fishing rod to the desired distance, and our fishing began!




! Note1! PUNTA CANA FISHING REPORT! What are we fishing for?

Certainy all fishermen know, for deep-sea fishing method trolling the best bait is flying fish. But in the Dominican Republic, there is no commercial fishing of this type of fish and, with this, fishermen often use silicone imitations of flying fish or natural bait “Ballihoo”. Ballihoo is very different in its structure from flying fish, it has no wing-shaped fins, moreover, its nasal bone more resembles a micro Marlin, the same sword-like. However in the water, as bait, this fish behaves just perfectly. 

All about Ballihoo

Possessing a persistent odor, it attracts a predator to itself as a “pheromone.” I also prefer fishing for natural bait, rather than silicone bait. Based on my personal experience, biting is always better and more active when we use natural bait “Ballihoo”. Of course, it is necessary to say that we hang special rubber multi-colored lures over each Ballihoo. Remember that ocean fish are attracted to bright colors.
So back to our fishermen and the process of fishing!

deep sea fishing
gone fishing
deep sea fishing

Waiting for the first bite! Punta Cana Fishing Report

The wave did not exceed more than 3 feet. The wind was also weak. Considering the calm state of the ocean, all my guests felt comfortable. Men told the story of how they fished in different places of our planet. I knew that they were waiting for the coveted click of the reel! Right in front of us, literally in 100 heights, we saw a big Sargasso puddle.

! Note 2! PUNTA CANA FISHING REPORT! What are Sargasso Algae?

Sargasso is a type of algae that breeds on its own and can fill large areas. There are wandering the Sargasso Sea, which migrates to one or the other in the Atlantic Ocean. These algae received their name “Sargasso” during the Columbus era. He was the first to see them, and they reminded him of bunches of grapes, which they called “Sarga So” in their homeland, and that is how the name remained.

Back to fishing

Our course lay right on this puddle of algae because we (the captain, I and the first mate) hoped that under it we would find a pack of Mahi-Mahi. And certainly our expectations were met!

punta cana
deep sea fishing

! Note 3! PUNTA CANA FISHING REPORT! Favorite habitat for Mahi Mahi fish

According to many scientific articles and books, as well as my personal experience, which I tend to trust more than books. In other words Mahi Mahi (this is one of the names of a large green oceanic predator) love to dwell in the shade, therefore they can often be caught in the vicinity of algae, which serve as a protective awning from direct sunlight.

First bite

Near the Sargasso puddle, one of the reel worked. The crackling, the fishing line began to unwind quickly, the first mate in one jump was near the fishing rode, but he waited while the fishing line was still slightly unwound, and the fish swallowed more bait. By the speed of exhaustion of the fishing line, we realized that Mahi-Mahi was on the hook and it looks like a good size one.

Fishing Fun

Three, Two, Odin – I mentally counted out in my head and saw how the mate made a cut-down, the fish sat tightly on our hook, and one of the fishermen in the chair, ready for his first battle with the fish! Done! Fishing rod in the hands of the fisherman and the work of reeling out the fish began!

Fishing has begun!

Again, the crack of the reel! The first mate is distracted from the tourist and jumps to the fishing rod. One two three and Cut down! Finish! The second Mahi on the hook! The second fisherman, already in a special belt, is ready to fight with the fish! And again, the crack of the reel! We walked right through the Mahi-Mahi pack, I noted in my head! The first mate quickly passes me the fishing rod, and he runs up to the third one to do the cut-down.

Keep Fishing/Punta Cana Fishing Report

 I keep fish on the hook in the stretch so that she would not descend, however the pleasure of experiencing to reel it out should be experienced by the tourist, not me. The tourist is ready, In short I pass him the fishing rod and shout to the third fisherman “Guys get down to reel out the fish”! Quickly I pass the belt-support to the fisherman to take the fishing rod from the first mate and hold it similarly until the fisherman is ready.

punta cana fishing report
punta cana fishing report
punta cana fishing report

In Short first Mahi on Board

The first Mahi-Mahi is already
near the side of the boat, a first mate grabs the hook, a little more time and
a little more work of the first mate and Mahi-Mahi is on board!!! The fisherman finally got ready, and I give him the fishing rod. The second Mahi-Mahi resists very much. 

Little facts about fish

By all indications, there is a male on the hook, and they are stronger than females, the fight against such fish can last up to 30 minutes and even more. Of course, it is very beautiful to watch the fighting male Mahi-Mahi, at these moments the fish tries to free themselves in every possible way, and she jumps out of the water, makes a deep dive under the water and jumps out again.

Meanwhile keep fighting/Punta Cana Fishing Report

But our second fisherman was a
strong man and did not intend to give up. The fight lasted about 20 minutes
and, in the end, the fish was near the boat. And yes! I was right! The male
Mahi-Mahi and he is also on board the boat of Santa Elena boat. The third
fisherman and the third mahi-mahi-I turned my full attention to him. 

above all Fishing in process/Punta Cana Fishing Report

The guy tried very hard to
unscrew his fish, but it was obvious that he was tired and it was hard for him
to reel it out. I asked to give the fighting chair for him and transplanted him
there. The fishing rod was inserted into the support and held for a long time
in tension, to give our guest the opportunity to rest 
maximum of two minutes and he is ready to continue the fight.

punta cana fishing report
punta cana fishing

meanwhile Again the crack of the reel

And again, the crack of the
reel! And not one! The first mate ran to the left and I grabbed the right
fishing rod! Three times, I counted in my head; There is! I did everything
right, and the fish sat tight on my hook. Looking at the first mate, I realized that he had a fish, too, sitting tight on a hook. 

Fishing must go on!

“Guys there are two more fish, come down to reel them out” – I shouted. Two fishermen went down, and we handed them the fishing rods. The third mahi-mahi was already at the
side of the boat and the first mate pulled it out of the water. Looking at the fisherman that just pulled the fish, I realized that he was very tired. I gave him a bottle of water and offered  to go to the top to rest. While we continued fishing. 

Got the first five!

Finally, our fishermen reel out the fourth and fifth mahi-mahi.  The two fish were medium-sized (about 2.5 feet each) and the fishermen coped quickly. So, 40 minutes of fishing and 5 mahi-mahis on board! A good result and our fishing continue! The first mate prepared everything again, and I decided to go upstairs to the guests and invite them to drink Rum. What kind of fishing without Dominican Roma?! As soon as I came up, the fishermen started asking me questions.

?Question?
PUNTA CANA FISHING REPORT


How do you distinguish between female and male mahi-mahi? It is very easy! We can get the answer to this question by looking at the fish, more precisely on its head!
The structure of the skull in males and females mahi-mahi differs visually. In
males, the frontal bone of the skull bends at a 90 degree angle, unlike
females. The female bend smoother.

PUNTA CANA

?Question?
PUNTA CANA FISHING REPORT

How you can distinguish who is on the hook male or female mahi-mahi? It is almost impossible to distinguish until you pull the fish out of the water. You can try to guess while reeling it out of the water, fish behaves in the water differently also. Males are stronger than females and resist longer. Probably only from this, we can make an assumption who is on the hook, male or female.

?Question?
PUNTA CANA FISHING REPORT

Why did we have five bites in a row and then we had to wait again? Because we went through a flock of mahi-mahi. To clarify these fish walk in flocks, usually one male and six to eight females. Passing through the flock, it is standardly from one to several bites.

mahi mahi

Meanwhile questions

While I was answering the third question on I heard the crack of the reel again! And not one! I ran down the stairs and grabbed one of the fishing rods. One, Two, Three, Cut down, Ready! Fishing continued. My guests – the fishermen, run downstairs right after me and were ready to reel the new fish out of the water.

during the Process 

Importantly, all of the guys were enjoying the process.  Jokes and stories were heard from all sides.
But I and the first mate was not up to it. We tried to take every fish and not miss any. The crack of the reel again and another bite! Grab the fishing rod! We barely had time to cope. However we did not miss a single one.

The new course, we go to have ReLaX time!

After two and a half hours of fishing aboard Santa Elena, there was 21 mahi-mahi. Time for fishing, according to the purchased route, is over and we headed for the coastal zone, where we usually stop. The captain cooks a catch on the
grill, and guests have the opportunity to swim in crystal clear water, relax,
share their impressions and try the grilled mahi-mahi.

To sum up

As a result all the way to the parking
lot, the fishermen shared their emotions! And no wonder! To sum up today was a great fishing day!