The Sol

Miguel Hoya Alvarez, captain and owner of the SOL had a very busy month. The SOL is a 26' runabout with a center console and is ideal for light tackle spin casters and fly fishermen. Mark Dwyer was the first March fly-fisherman and Phil and Captain Miguel felt considerably more confident this month in their efforts to put Mark in the right place to do his thing. The early morning was spent trying to catch some live bait to use as teasers in an attempt to hook a Roosterfish on a fly. On this day, the bait that the fish were feeding on was tiny and impossible to catch on a hook. So Phil and Mark decided to go into Carreyeros bay and skip the whole fly thing, play dirty and use the Goggle eyes instead of a fly. Mark managed to hook 2 Roosterfish with his fly rod, the biggest about 35 pounds and he instructed the crew of the SOL on how to successfully 'Tail' a fish, lift it up out of the water by it's tail, remove the hook, take a photo and release it quickly to give it the best chance of survival.

Another good day on the SOL was with Dave, father Dave and Moe Rochette from Ontario. They hooked a very big Dorado, possibly 50 pounds and everyone ate very well that week. They teamed up with Phil's new, almost local buddy Dave from Newport Beach. The bay was teeming with wildlife for the Rochette party and they had a wonderful time with the dolphins, actually having the opportunity to get close enough for a gentle pat. They saw Humpback Whales, Sea Turtles, Manta Rays and schools of feeding Skipjack. Phil hooked a Sailfish for them but his Penn 40 reel blew up instantly and he insists that that sail was smiling as it swam away.

Jeff Barber and buddies Randy and Jerry fished with Phil and Miguel on the SOL on the 20th of March and landed 2 Dorado and several Skipjack. Jeff is holding a very BIG fish, probably weighing in at 60 pounds. They fished in the San Pancho area, the March hot spot for Dorado. Wonder if Jeff realizes that this fish would have EASILY won him a car in our last November Sailfish tournament?

We are waiting for Mark's photos but meanwhile this is the first ever fly fishing photo of Phil, sent to us by our Puerto Vallarta expert, Carl Hoffman. Phil LOVES this photo, thinks that it should make the cover of FIELD AND STREAM or even COSMO!