Fishing Aboard Berzerker from Puerto Aventuras
Neither Mike nor I fancy ourselves as deep-sea fishermen, but our second outing has made us realize that fishing the Caribbean is special. For our latest trip we headed out on Berzerker from Puerto Aventuras, Mexico for an 8-hour tour. Berzerker is a 1983, 41-foot Viking, fully equipped sport fishing vessel. No one in our group were particularly great fishermen, but that isn’t important when you have a crew like Captain Danny, Sanny and Pablito in charge.
The weather was incredible. A few pop-up thunder heads, which Captain Danny expertly skirted, made for incredible colors on the Caribbean Sea. Not long after we took off, we felt a pull on the lines and the real fun began. First up, Vicky pulled in a beautiful Mahi Mahi, also known as Dorado here or Dolphin fish in some places. Not long after we had a twofer and both Rick and Mike pulled up two more Mahi Mahi. Mike was very happy to release his, which was not quite large enough – “go and grow” we wished the fish a happy life as he swam away.
The skies and the water entwined in a dance all day long. Black clouds fat with rain, flashes of lightening, then blindingly bright blue with fast-moving white puffs scudding past. And that was just the sky. As we approached Cuzumel, 2.5 hours at fishing speed, the water grew so blue and stratified that I couldn’t help but think of Bacalar, so varied were the hues. But almost more than anything, I was giddy about the clarity of the water. The sargasso has been so horrible this year on our coast that it has turned the water a murky green color. But here, on the leeward side of Cozumel, the Caribbean was as it always should be, a vibrant, clear blue. [The story is sadly different on Cozumel’s other coast.]
We grabbed a deadman mooring buoy and several of us took off snorkeling while the crew stayed behind and prepared an incredible lunch of fresh ceviche fixed two ways, tortas and snacks. Beer and water and mixed drinks rounded out our meal. Sunshine, crystal clear waters with white sandy bottom full of starfish, great food, soft tropical breeze and laughter – it doesn’t get much better!
On the way home we chose to sit up top with Captain Danny and listened as he told us about how he learned to fish when he was very young. What impressed us the most was when he said he that he’s still learning, a humble and talented Captain and fisherman! This is important as the seas and the fish are always changing. He has seen a decrease in the number of fish due to countries that allow long-line and net fishing, and he and his crew are careful about the size and number of fish they take. Danny also explained a few of the things he looks at to find fish. At one point, a huge frigate bird was our guide along with the currents. It was nice to know Danny’s youngest son is following in his footsteps. We landed 4 more Mahi Mahi on the way home and everyone was satisfied and exhausted from an incredible day at sea.
We came back to port flying our bright yellow flags and dodging one last squall, which served to rinse the salt off those of us up top. The crew did a great job of cleaning and dividing our catch and we headed home. Later we all met up at Hippo to devour our catch of the day prepared 3 ways – blackened, garlic and butter and coconut crusted. Good friends, good food and a good glass of wine rounded out a perfect day.
If you are looking for an incredible day, whether it’s just a few hours of fishing or mixing it up with some time snorkeling at El Cielo in Cozumel, I highly recommend you book your adventure on Berzerker. Danny, Sanny and Pablito are delightful, knowledgeable and living the Kenny Chesney Good Life! You can learn more about Bezerker on Facebook as Go Berzerk Fishing & Charter or you can email them. Let them know, we sent you their way!