2017 Mazatlan

[Ken+]

Hello Boatless friends!

It has been an up and down year for me. Lots of happenings in my life...mostly good...but also some troubling times. I was still fishing and catching some new species, but I was quite nonchalant about it and the desire to update the blog and the lifelist simply wasn't there. I barely spent any time on the fishing forums.

Anyways...I was invited to fish in Mazatlan by my friend George, joined by our friend Josh. We graciously stayed at George's timeshare and enjoyed some luxury that we're not accustomed to. The fishing was fantastic, the food even better and what a treat it was to dip in a pool at the end of each long fishing day.

I had previous caught 33 new species from Mazatlan. I had an ambitious yet achievable target of 15 new species for this trip. But by Day 3, I upgrade that target to 20 new species and actually finished the trip with 25 new species!

If you wish to read more, you can start here and navigate through the 6 days.

http://muskiebaitadventures.blogspot.ca ... day-1.html

If you simply wish to see fish pics...here they are.

Species #751 - Oraangemouth Weakfish (Cynoscion xanthulus)





Species #752 - Mexican Barred Snapper (Hoplopagrus guentherii)



Species #753 - Blackblotch Pompano (Trachinotus kennedyi)





Species #754 - Burrito Grunt (Anisotremus interruptus) - previously misidentified the Silvergrey Grunt for this species.



Colorado Snapper (Lutjanus colorado) - previous misidentified the juvenile of this species as Pacific Dog Snapper. So I've caught this species in 2015, but this time properly identified.



Species #755 - Longfin Salema (Xenichthys xanti)



Species #756 - Bigeye Trevally (Caranx sexfasciatus)



Species #757 - Pacific Creole-fish (Paranthias colonus)



Species #758 - Gafftopsail Pompano (Trachinotus rhodopus)



Species #759 - Pacific Dog Snapper (Lutjanus novemfasciatus)



Species #760 - Unicorn Leatherjacket Filefish (Aluterus monoceros).



Species #761 - Threadfin Jack ((Carangoides otrynter)





Species #762 - Grey Grunt (Haemlon scudderii)



Species #763 - Mottled Soapfish (Rypticus bicolor)



Species #764 - Gungo Highhat (Pareques viola)



Species #765 - Vacuocua Croaker (Corvula macrops)



Species #766 - Banded Wrasse (Halichoeres notospilus)



Species #767 - Longnose Puffer (Sphoeroides lobatus)



Species #768 - Threebanded Butterflyfish (Chaetodon humeralis)



Species #769 - Bumphead Damselfish (Microspathodon bairdii)



Species #770 - Giant Damselfish (Microspathodon dorsalis)



Species #771 - Tinsel Squirrelfish (Sargocentron suborbitale)



Species #772 - Mexican Hogfish (Bodianus diplotaenia)



Species #773 - Spotted Head Sargo (Genyatremus dovii)



Species #774 - Mexican Lookdown (Selene brevoortii)



Species #775 - Longfin Silverside (Atherinella eriarcha)



~~~

And now some non-fish pics (sorry, not many food pics on this trip since we ate at the same locations, and the same dishes, as my 2015 trip)









Homemade ceviche

[WetWillie]

Very impressive, Ken! Looks like a wonderful trip overall. I'm wondering what or how you classify your catches. What do you use as a reference base? And including the Latin names is equally cool. Nice work and best for the future.

[Rare]

Always great to see you post, Ken!

[Ken+]

Very impressive, Ken! Looks like a wonderful trip overall. I'm wondering what or how you classify your catches. What do you use as a reference base? And including the Latin names is equally cool. Nice work and best for the future.

For these fishes from Mexico, I used a couple of identification books that my friends had, plus Mexican-fish.com. I collaborate with Mexican-fish.com owner John Snow and contribute some photos for his site.

I also rely heavily on FishBase.

Latin names is compulsory in keeping records, since local names are often confusing the matter. Latin names (or scientific names) are unique to the species regardless of local names.

[fishnfool73]

Great pictures and report as usual. When are you guys headed back down here ?

[Ken+]

Great pictures and report as usual. When are you guys headed back down here ?

Was thinking this Christmas if I can find a couple of buddies to drive south with me...but at this point, no one has committed yet

Will let you guys know ASAP if plans are firm. After catching that Blackblotch Pompano, I want to catch a Permit now...

[ffishermen1]

Always enjoy reading your reports Ken. Tight lines buddy.

[Ken+]

Thanks again for reading!

At this point, the Christmas trip to Florida is canceled. My friends all backed out

But...that may lead to a trip in March to a new destination. Hopefully that one can pan out...

[mike j]

Very interesting information . I was interested in the gafftopsail Pompano which I immediately thought was a polometa, which I catch in the Atlantic in South Florida. When I looked it up I was surprised because the fish are physically similar. I definitely learned something new reading your report.