puerto vallarta, february 24-28, 2022, with the osuna brothers

february 24th, 2022

by now, you guys all know the drill.  fly down to puerto vallarta with a couple of norchill insulated cooler bags, a pack of 8x12 vacuum seal bags, a shaving kit, T shirts and shorts, cell phone, wallet, glasses and passport.  it's the easiest fishing trip in the world.  they pick you up at the airport, stop off and the mega supermarket for tequila, and go straight to the boat. 









now for a 10-12 hour run.  don't let the beautiful sunset fool you.  it's going to be bumpy.  no one is sleeping well tonight. 




february 25th, 2022

seven fish, 60 to 140 pounds, 15-20 knot winds.  these are all smaller fish.  good for a warm up, and also good because not all of the guys have their big fish skills properly honed.  all of these guys are northern california salmon fishermen.  if you apply salmon techniques to yellowfin tuna, you will die a slow and painful death. 



This is Jack's first fish, day one.  He's tense, sweating, but doing a good job of using the lift of the boat to fight the fish.  it was an 8 minute fight on 130 pound gear for a 100 pound fish.  Considering that this is his first big fish, he's doing pretty good.  Fortunately, it came straight to the boat and didn't put up much of a fight.



This is Alex's first fish on day one.  it was pretty small and came straight in.  that is the only reason that he had any level of control with the rod under his left armpit.  he is left handed and has always cranked with his right hand, but for larger fish, he is going to HAVE to get used to holding the rod under his right arm if he is going to crank with his right.  the lack of control is not so obvious here, but you will see it plainly later in the trip when he and others persist in holding the rod under their left arm.  it can be done, but it is not something that i would EVER recommend for someone starting off.  holding the rod on your strong side (right) is the best way to control the rod and the fish. too many guys will hold the rod on their weak side (left) because they fish for small fish in this manner.  it worked for alex this one time, just barely, but it does not work for larger fish.



You don't know pain until you reel in yellowfin tuna with three cracked ribs.  so that's Brendan.  they must make 'em tough in texas.  cracked ribs and a mouth full of  chew!  this fish was 50-60 pounds and came straight in on 80 pound with a mak 16 and a rod from oliver solis and fishing syndicate.  great job!!!!!



Alex is still fighting from his weak side on his second yellowfin, again!!!  you can see the problems at the end of the fight that are created by the lack of control.  by not leaning on this fish and forcing him into a death circle, this fish is able to run all over and create nothing but confusion.  they were lucky to land him where they did, up on the bow.  if the fish had been on the stern, the crew would have needed a pusher to keep the line out of the prop.  but with each fish, alex is being tested and is getting better.



Three fish hooked in rapid succession. Mati starts out first.  you can see that he is starting to get good pressure using the boat.  at 3:00 minutes, he should have had the rod butt under his right arm but was able to get away with it because the fish was so small. 

at 6:00 minutes, Brendan is up, busted ribs and all.  he is the youngest and strongest of the bunch and  is able to muscle these fish in where the rest of us can't.

at 20:00 minutes, Duane is up, still fighting from his weak side the way he would if this was a salmon.  you can see the wobble in the reel.  when he needs to lift the rod at 26:20 minutes, he can't.  and because he can't control this fish, it takes him around the boat again.  at 28:00, he is having trouble turning the handle because he can't control the reel and he can't even lift the rod, all because he is fishing from his weak side.  luckily, it's a smaller fish.  wait until he hooks up on something larger!!!!



this day was all about polishing up our technique.  hopefully after all the guys see the videos, they will still be willing to fish with me again.  the discussion is critical, though.  brute strength cannot overcome poor technique.  these fish are only going to get bigger and they will hurt you if you let them.  and so ends day one.




february 26th, 2022

the morning bite fizzled.



we decided to kill some time and run for grouper.  we only got a half dozen, but it was fun!



now back to the tuna grounds.  nothing all afternoon, then finally one lonely, lost yellowfin hit the balloon rig.  ok, i'm up!  this is your opportunity to critique the charter master!

0:00 - already 2 minutes into the fight.
1:45 - tail wrapped?  doesn't feel like it, but we'll see.  he's fighting hard enough to be maybe side hooked.
3:15 - first drag bump, going well past strike.
3:35 - back to the bow.
3:55 - he took his second run on me.
5:00 - yeah, he doesn't feel tail wrapped, but i'm not sure.
5:50 - not getting help from the boat.
6:30 - see-saw ride on the rod.
7:00 - moving down the port rail, headed to the stern.
8:30 - in the corner, seated on the rod, still a long way out.  wrong angle to place the rod under my arm.  40 pounds of drag.
9:30 - i screwed up.  he got some slack and ran.
11:50 - shout out to darin dohi!
12:50 - walking up the starboard rail, rod under my strong side right arm.
13:51 - he turned. his mistake.  this is where he dies.
14:30 - staying right here, wind at my back, i have the angle of the bow. TURN, TURN, TURN......
15:00 - color.
15:30 - Roberto misses!!!!! 
15:55 - let me get control of him again....
16:05 - gaffed!
19:00 - on the deck.
20:00 - taped out at 251 pounds.



if there is any possibility that you can do a trip like this, add it to your bucket list.  it will change everything that you know about fishing. 






february 27, 2022

good morning, all.  last day.  8 fish already in the box but we want to fill our cooler bags.  there are seven fish from 60 to 140 and one fish at 251.  there was a brief discussion about grouper, but we came here for tuna so that is what we are going to do. 



we have the smaller freezer below deck already filled.  it would be nice to fill the larger freezer on the top deck as well. 



everyone now has heard the speech and knows the drill.  when the fish is running, stick the butt of the rod in your crotch, to the left or right of your nuts, not in between, lay the rod on the rail, lift the rod tip like you're on a teeter totter and then reel when the rod tip comes down.  no gimbal belt needed.  at most, put a little extra starch in your choanes!!!! 

when the fish is close and the line is down at a 45 degree angle, stick the rod under your right armpit, your strong side, steady the rod and reel with your left hand, and  crank with your right hand.  the right hand cranking motion is now more like a piston driving a train wheel.  use the boat to lift, or use your body and the rail as a fulcrum to lift, then reel when the rod tip comes down.  do not, i repeat, do not, stick the rod but under your weaker left side arm pit.  you will suffer needlessly, and so will the guy taking the video.  everybody got it?  ok, let the carnage begin!





 Duane Winter (Dewey) landed this fish in 33 minutes.  at the beginning, roberto had loosened up the drag and he took a long run. at first he was holding the reel steady.  i hadn't given him such a hard time about fighting the fish from his weak side during the previous fight.  i should have.  at 15:30, it was back to salmon style fishing again. at 16:50, you can see once again how hard it is for him to lift the rod down the rail while fishing from his weak side.  at 17:45 he is starting to loose control of the reel. at 24:00, he's back up on the bow, after giving back a whole bunch of line.  he still has the rod on his weak side and still can't control the rod.

mati landed his at the same time, maybe 7 minutes total.

one of the reasons that dewey's fight was so long and drawn out is that the line went from the fish's left jaw, over the left pectoral fin, then under the body and off to the right side.  once the fish was on the deck, you could see the line marks. the other reason was that dewey was fishing from his weak side.  unless he changes, he will continue to struggle.



On this fish, from the beginning, Jack is very steady, reeling when the boat comes down, no wobble.  seriously, there is no wobble.  he moves quickly and steadily when he needs to.  at 9:00 he's starting to get tired, but he still has good control of the reel.  at 9:30 he switches to his strong side.  at 13:50, we figure out that he's been in high gear the entire time!!!  this should have been a 10 minute fish, but the entertainment value alone made it worthwhile!!! at 17:00 he's doing a great job of using the boat. a 20 minute fish.  this is a dramatic improvement in technique over the two previous fish.  he used the rail well when the fish was straight out, he kept the rod on his strong side, under his right arm, when the fish was close, and had an excellent end game.  all in all, the most improved fisherman of the bunch!



this is another fish on darin dohi's rod.  watching the other guys has been endless entertainment.  brendan is boring to watch.  he's like a machine, just reeling them in!  so just a little back story on brendan.  7-8 years ago, he joined me on a trip with scotty and roberto on the marla IV.  he was up for the first balloon fish on the very first day.  that fish was his very first yellowfin ever.  it took an hour and 15 minutes and taped out at 353 pounds.  yes, that's right.  the first yellowfin tuna ever for this texas farm boy was 353 pounds.



fortunately this was a very small fish.  alex had the rod on his weak side.  we've gotta stop doing that.  it's not stable or strong enough.  you can't crank, you can't move and you can't lift.



my second fish of the trip.  This one dragged me back and forth across the stern.  the dive under the boat was problematic because i didn't know how close the props and rudders were.  even the corner of the hull would have been problematic.  this fish taped out at 177 pounds and was landed in 7 minutes.  this fish was cooperative.  my final fish would not be.



on this fish, jack keeps the rod in his crotch the entire fight.  this fish was not as squirrelly as others. at 13:45, the pusher finally comes out.  rather than stick the rod under his strong side arm, he still has the rod but under his crotch.  the crew knows that he would not be able to hold the rod out and away from the hull in this position.  they will have to keep the line clear of the hull for him. at 14:45, success!!!!!  it was just under 200.



dewey's fish is starting out nice and easy.  at 3:20 another balloon rig is picked up and you get to watch the whole thing!  mati is on.  Duane is at color at 4:30 but can't finish him off.  no control. finally gaffed at 7:00. ths fish taped out at 198.

now back to mati.  12:15, oops, he's running again!  at 16:00 he goes back out on the bow pulpit.  he doesn't like it up there because that's where he landed is 304 pound yellowfin last year!  at 18:00, alex misses a fish.  it is actually the only one we lost for the entire trip.  21:00 - mati's fish is gaffed.



brendan is back on!  he said that his ribs were actually feeling better.  he goes from sitting on the rod to under the right arm at 5:30.  excellent technique!  this is how it's done!  ate 9:30, he's having trouble lifting because he doesn't have quite enough drag. this is going to greatly prolong the fight.

at 10:45, i'm up.  i'm kinda stuck on the starboard bow now because brendan is on the port bow. i'm going nice and slow to give brendan time to kill his fish first. at 15:40, my fish takes a hard run.  17:30 - over the top of everybody. brendan's fish is finally gaffed at 20:00, when he should have been gaffed at 16:20. 

low battery at 22:00, so pick me up on the next video!



This fish taped out at only 180 pounds, yet took 30 minutes to land.  part of it was because i was caught in traffic, but mostly i think it was because this one particular fish just had a really mean attitude.  he pulled harder than the 251 from the day before.



ok, that's it.  i hope that you enjoyed the videos and i hope no one thinks that i was too critical.  it's just habit.  i'm a retired university professor and tormenting medical students was one of my favorite past times.  now, i do know that some of you play the end game with the rod under your left arm pit.  if you've gotten good at it, that's fine.  it's just not something that i would ever recommend for someone starting out.  it's just too painful to watch.  perhaps later i'll do a video on how i select which rods and reels go together, but it will have to wait.  going through these videos took a solid two days.  for now i need to get back to work.  thanks for watching.  alan

Thank you!  Eddie would go...Gotta start planning if the invitation is standing...

When the fish is bigger than the fisherman, then you've got to be impressed.

Wow, what a trip!

Thank you Alan for the cure for the winter blues by sharing your adventures while most of us dream of them, and hope when and if I end up on one of these trips, I will remember some of the pointers you gave in fighting these magnificent fish.

Thanks for the TR Alan, beautiful pictures and scenes of day dreams, and the video footage is really great to study, for sure!  If I may make an observation, and granted I am a relative newcomer on the tuna scene, I think the main difference between you and your friends is a vast difference in overall skill and experience, rather than something to do just with where the butt of the rod is placed during the end game.  I can try to explain, and my lessons come from 3 trips with experienced deck hands and captains, 5 hooked BFT, and landing 4 (150-200#).  The first 3 were "landed" as a team effort, but the last fish I caught I felt like everything came together, and I single handedly killed the cooperative 170# beast in around 10 minutes.  I'm jinxing myself just writing this, I just know 

Anyway, the vast difference I am observing refers to (a) very efficient use of the rod and rail to apply constant pressure, and b) patience.  For point a) what I notice most is how effectively you use the sway of the boat timed perfectly with the small changes in pressure you apply by squatting down slightly, which changes the angle of the rod and allows the rod to apply pressure on the fish.  Your friends do none of this, and instead are just trying to create pressure by turning the handle or lifting the rod tip - a sure way to get exhausted quickly.  The tuna fight is dynamic and athletic - more on this later.  For point b), you epitomize one of the lessons I was taught early: "Either the fish is taking the line, or you're taking the line - always.  There's no in-between".  You don't reel when the fish wants to take line, but if the fish is going to give you an inch, you take that every time.  You do this extremely well, again using the sway of the boat or the angle on the rod to help retrieve the line, and you don't crank when its a disadvantage for you.  Excellent work, from what I can see.  Like Tom Brady level efficiency. 

I also see the tuna fight having 3 distinct stages - the opening, the middle game, and the end game.  The opening is when the fish makes its first big run and you get a sense of what you might be dealing with.  There's no need to go crazy here, just let it do its thing.  But get in position for the middle game, which could be long.  Much of the footage you show is the middle game - how to apply pressure on the fish while not exhausting yourself.  How to be patient in the fight and take what the fish gives, but not waste energy on unnecessary movements.  Using the swell and the rocking of the boat.  Using the angle against rail.  The fight is often lost here for newbies, from what I can tell.  It takes experience and patience to fight the fish here. 

For the end game, when the fish is up and down, I do take the rod under my left arm (weak side), hold the reel with my left hand so it doesn't wiggle, and turn the handle with my right, but I apply way more pressure than what your friends show.  It's 100# line (or more) with 40 pounds of drag.  You can shove that rod under your arm pit and literally sit down to apply pressure, then in a single motion leap up and point the rod tip almost to the water while retrieving line and sit again.  It's like a squat and burpee in slow motion.  This does take flexibility, overall strength, and its an athletic move, but I have found it to be very effective.  (Again, I've jinxed myself because I'm gonna rook it on my next tuna). 

Anyway, thank you for the videos, look forward to any thoughts and discussion.   

Found a couple pictures to illustrate.  This is towards the end of the fight with the 170-pounder.  In the first photo, i am standing tall, see where my eyes and rod are pointed.  In the second photo, I am doing the full squat, getting as low as i can.  See where my head is at now, relative to the first photo and how much of a bend I'm putting into the rod.  These rods are like broom handles and it takes quite a bit of pressure to put a bend in the rod like that.  I'm putting a good amount of my 170 pound body by squatting and pushing down on that rod with my armpit.  My left hand keeps the reel stabilized (fighting a reel thats twisting also wastes alot of energy and is very ineffective) while my right hand can reel quickly. 

ALWAYS great to read your reports Alan! I really liked your tutorial that goes along with it. Your descriptions of tactics is excellent and I always feel like I'm learning something new. Thanks!

Alan thank you for the very informative post.

Can you explain why you exit see-saw and convert to under the arm when the angle approaches 45? Is this to be a step ahead if you have to move with the fish?

I am guilty of staying in see-saw mode for as long as i can because it is so mechanically efficient to load the rod. I can save my energy for moving with the fish or the end game. If the rail height allows it, i have the reel in front (closer to the water) of the fulcrum point so i don’t have to squat as deep with the shorter butt lever arm.

Thanks for sharing the trip with us Alan.  I vote this report "best of the last 2 years "