Sport Fishing from Puerto Aventuras
As we slowly move from a Covid Red status toward Green, we feel more and more adventurous, and find that we want to start doing more things. Luckily, we live where the weather is great all year round and the sea is right at our doorstep. When our friend, Pablo, mentioned wanting to spend his 45th birthday fishing, we agreed to join him. Our llittle boat is perfect for calms seas and short excursions but not adequate for serious fishing. So we immediately thought of Debby Kossman and her boat Poverty Sucks (www.povertysucksfishing.com ). With more than 40 years fishing experience, and an incredibly well equipped boat, we knew that was the one! Poverty Sucks is a 53 ft Hatteras. The crew is bilingual and, most important to me, she and her crew believe in fair game and fish conservation – all billfish are catch and release and they respect size limit requirements for other types of fish. For the serious fisherman, they are also tournament tested, and were even featured in the 2002, ESPN mini-series “Extreme Bill Fishing.”
I am a lover of the ocean and enjoy being on and in the water whenever possible, but I had never been deep sea fishing before. I actually was a little hesitant to try it for fear I would be tossed overboard for rooting for the fish! I even thought I might cry if we caught one. That said, I agreed to join the group and head out for 4 hours of fishing.
I can’t say enough about Debby. She was so easy to communicate with and incredibly helpful to us newbies. She and her mate were constantly monitoring the various apps and knew exactly what the conditions of the seas would be on the days we considered. They also provide water, soft drinks and snacks on 4 hour charters, 6 and 8 hour charters include sandwiches. They will also prepare your catch at the end of the charter.
On our limited budget we chose the 4 hours and, considering it was most of our groups’ first time, that was the perfect amount. Though I can see why serious fishermen would want longer; there is a real addiction that can happen.
It was not long after we motored through “the cut” that we had our first bite, unfortunately it broke the line. (One of seven.) We had not even settled into position before it happened. I might add, Poverty Sucks has plenty of room, there is a gorgeous salon and access to a head. This is a real live-aboard and fully equipped. In the aft is the fighting chair – I think that’s what it’s called. Up on the flybridge with the captain there is seating for 4 more. That is where Carminia and I spent most of our time; the breeze was incredible and the views stunning. It also kept us out of the way of the fishing going on below.
Since it was Pablo’s birthday the first serious catch was his to fight, and fight he did for over 20 minutes. Then, as the sailfish got close to the stern, for the third time, it managed to snap the line. So far the score was fish 2, us 0. Next up was Pablo Jr. and he reeled in a beautiful dorado (also called Mahi Mahi). Maybe not the biggest fish but good enough for cerviche later. Emilio followed with a nice bonito, that meant sushi later. Next up was supposed to be Mauricio, but only if the fish was small. Well the next, and final fish of the day was another sailfish, so Pablo jumped back in the chair. Again, he fought valiantly, and though technically it was a catch, because the mate was able to grab the leader before the fish broke away, we were all disappointed that Pablo didn’t to get his first big-fish photo op. But at least we got to fly the sailfish flag on the way back home.
All in all we had an amazing day and, as Debby pointed out, there is a love/hate relationship with fishing and you never know what is going to happen. March and April are just the beginning of fishing season down here, so hopefully there should be more opportunities ahead.
We can’t thank Debby and her crew - Captain Alex, Emundo, and Fernando - enough for a fabulous day. If you are in the area and considering some serious fishing, be sure to consider Poverty Sucks. Debby is a quiet lady and you won’t hear her brag of her accolades, but rumor has it she is one of the best fishing women and has competed and won many tournaments in Florida and throughout the Caribbean – let’s hear it for the women!