As we move on through the month of December I can tell you that this season is indeed
shaping up pretty good. We are seeing decent numbers of Marlin, both Black and Blue
and a few rather large Tunas moving through the area. Don’t be mistaken, the Marlin are
rather big, averaging 400-500 lbs.

Michael Viljoen and Kevin Hodgson also joined us for the first time this week. These two
South African guys are well seasoned fishermen and have fished in many of the world’s
most exotic locations, including Ghana, Madeira, Bom Bom and Australia. Over the week
they released a total of 1 Black Marlin, three nice sized Blue Marlin. On the fourth day
Michael hooked up onto a giant Yellowfin Tuna. He battled the fish for 3 ½ hours on
50lb standup gear. As the battle waged on into the late evening we made radio contact
with the boat to let them know that he would need to get the fish into the boat before 5:15
pm or else he would need to cut the line. Michael put the heat on and exactly at 5:15 they
got a gaff shot at the fish and boated it. The giant weighed in at a hefty 222 ½ lbs, a
spectacular catch and the biggest that Mike has ever caught. Congrats on a well fought
battle and hope that your luck continues into next week on your Guatemala trip.

Stan Plunkett, his son Marc and wife Connie Grass and Larry Watkins joined us this
week for six full days of fishing. Stan had an unforgettable trip. He released his first
Black Marlin, Blue Marlin and Pacific Sailfish over the course of the week. Connie also
had a few shots and released her first Black Marlin and Pacific Sailfish. She also scored
well with an extremely large Dorado weighing in at 80 lbs. Larry also had a great scoring
his first Black Marlin, Blue Marlin and Pacific Sailfish. Larry is already making plans to
return next year and do it all over again. Congratulations to all of you on a great trip!

James Vaughns and Janet Maxwell joined us this week for their fourth trip to Tropic Star.
Janet Maxwell released her first Black Marlin. The couple also and spent quite a bit of
time jigging on the reef. They were well rewarded with some nice sized amberjacks.

Christopher Deen and his wife Patti Deen joined us this week for some TSL fishing.
Christopher had the time of his life on this trip, releasing his first Black Marlin, Blue
Marlin and Pacific Sailfish. His wife Patti released her first Pacific Sailfish.

Larry Flynn, his wife Julie and friend Vivian Pearce also joined us this week at the lodge.
Julie released her first Black Marlin and Vivian did a great job on a really nice sized Blue
Marlin. The tallied up at 3 Blues, 1 Black and a few Dorado thrown in the mix.

Randy and Melissa Morton were also here for the first time and did very well. Randy
released his first Black Marlin and Pacific Sailfish and Melissa released her first Pacific
Sailfish.

Michael Sweet, Michael Lustgarten, Bill Connolly and Gary Sweet also joined us this
week. Bill had a shot at a nice Black Marlin and got his First release. Michael Lustgarten
also released his first Blue Marlin. Congrats!

The crews from the television series Wanna Go Fishing were also here this week filming
a couple of episodes. This trip was all about inshore fishing and the guys had a great time
pursuing Roosterfish, Amberjack and Snappers. The went 4 for 5 on Roosterfish on one
morning and although the fish were not very large they were great game on light tackle
gear.

Michael Farien released his first Blue Marlin.
Cynthia Richmond released her first Pacific Sailfish.
John Soderberg released his first Pacific Sailfish.
Lois Baltes released her first pacific Sailfish.
Edward Carvotta released his first Pacific Sailfish.

We are up to 121 Marlin releases for the month of December, and this season is shaping
up to be as good as any other. We all wait in anticipation for the annual run of Black
Marlin on the Zane Grey Reef which usually begins in January.

Albert Battoo
Dock Master

PS; Tropic Star typically books up a year or more in advance, but this season because of
the financial crisis, they have been having some cancellations. If you have the $$$, here’s
a chance for you to get in on the fishing adventure of a lifetime. Give me a call,


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Capt Gene Kelly
Tropical Fishing Adventures
800 280 5565