    
Michael Wagner (Mike_fisher)
New member
Username: Mike_fisher
Post Number: 27
Registered: 6-2005
Rating: 
Votes: 71 | | Posted on Wednesday, July 25, 2007 - 11:10 am: | |
for the 2007 season i don't write the reports myself, i let my fishing buddies write a review about their fishing experience with me.
below i copied some of the Jan - July 2007 reviews about sportfishing offshore Punta Cana/Dominican Republic.
full reports and all pictures can be found on www.MikesMarina.info/FishingReports2007.html and www.Flyfishing-Punta-Cana.com
tight lines to all
Mike
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Mike's Marina Fishing Charters Jared ~ Alberta, Canada
July 2007
My wife and I just wanted to report back on our experience we had fishing with Mike’s Marina. The pressure to go fishing with other companies is great. Everyone wants you to go fishing with them and they will lower their rates to make it very tempting. However, we took the advice from Pete’s web site “Punta Cana Information Guide” to only go with Mike’s Marina even if they hold to a higher price. We are so glad we did. While the other fishing companies may take you for a fun trip out into the ocean, Mike’s Marina employ dedicated fishermen who want to catch a fish just a much as you do. We were there to catch fish and with Mike’s you get what you pay for. If we wanted a fun tour of the ocean we would have booked the sunset cruise with the Hotel. We are proud to say that Mike’s did what they setout to do. We caught in just a 4 hour trip: a dorado and a huge blue marlin (192” and 180Lbs). The experience was one we will never forget and made our first trip to the Dominican absolutely legendary. My sincere thanks to the crew aboard the Shekinah (Manuel and Catch) as well as everyone at Mikes Marina that where so accommodating, helpful and professional. We will go with Mike’s the next time we go back to Punta Cana and know that we will have a wonderful experience as a result.
Just a tip to a the skeptics: If you’re still not sure which fishing company to go with just spend a few days on the beach, as I did, watching the fishing boats come in. When a fishing boat catches a fish the crew will proudly put a small color-coded flag up to indicate what and how many fish were caught on that particular trip. You’ll notice a trend as I did. Mikes ships are pretty much the only ones with flags coming in to the marina with very few exceptions. The hotel bookings never reported success during my two week stay.
Jared Hauwaert, Alberta/Canada
Blue Marlin and Dorado
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From: Dieter Oelschlager <dieter.oelschlager@jrcc.net>
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To: Michael Wagner <mike@mikesmarina.info>
Cc: Reviews@Debbiesdominicantravel.com
Date: Monday, July 09, 2007 12:34 pm
Subject: Fishing With Mike
I wanted to send a note about my great experience fishing with Mike in Punta Cana. I had a great time and was very impressed with the all of the services that Mike provided. Mike took care of every little detail from picking up and dropping off at the airport, letting me use his computer for emailing at his office, picking me up and dropping me off for fishing, taking great pictures and emailing them too me after the trip, and making himself available to make my experience as enjoyable as possible. The fishing was great also! I had a blast fishing with Mike, Captain Manuel, and mate Catch. They were all friendly, accommodating, very knowledgeable, and professional. I think they were more excited than me (which I didn't think was possible), when I caught my first ever marlin. I can't wait to come back!
Dieter
dieter@jrcc.net
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Mike's Marina Fishing Charters John
June 2007
My son and I recently took a trip along with his friend and his father to punta cana specifically to charter a boat for a fishing trip. After reviewing numerous charter options I chose Mike from Mike's Marina to service us for three days of fishing for white and blue marlin. Mike assured me that he would take care of transportation to and from airport/hotel and to the charter boat.
From the moment we arrived off the plane Mike and his driver Richard were there awaiting our arrival. Without hesitation we loaded our bags and were off on a safe ride to our resort. Not once were we dissapointed with the transportation, his drivers were always on time from the beginning to the end of our trip in Punta Cana.
We charted one of Mike's 42 foot boats for three days with the same captain and first mate throughout. Like all of Mike's workers they were very friendly and accomodating, speaking English to us and making sure that we were comfortable. Within three beautiful days on Mike's boat we caught Blue Marlin, White Marlin, and Mahi Mahi.
All four of us were totally satisfied with Mike's service. We are now planning another trip to Punta Cana to again fish with Mike's Marina in a Blue Marlin Fishing Tournement in August. I would recommend Mike's Marina to anyone looking to go fishing in Punta Cana. Whether you are looking to take just a days trip out on one of the boats or planning your trip around fishing, Mike's Marina is your best bet. Not only did he provide us with an outstanding and successful fishing experience but he was even there to show us around beautiful Punta Cana after hours.
John Goodrich
OOGoodie@aol.com
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Dear Mike,
I just wanted to send you a note of thanks for the wonderful time my husband and I had on a split charter last week while we were in the Dominican. I am attaching a photo of the white marlin that was caught, my husband Ben reeled him in. Thanks for the great trip! Our captain and first mate were gracious hosts.
Karen Cobb
NC, USA
Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% of what you make of it....
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Mike's Marina Fishing Charters Leo
June 2007
Just wanted to drop you a line to let you know what a great time we had on our full day charter on Mike's boat "Intrepido".
I fish quite extensively from New Jersey (USA) to Maine. Recently I had a charter in Hawaii. Our 5/20/07 trip with Mike's guys was by far the most enjoyable day on the water I've ever had! The fishing was great, the crew was great, we even had a bonus watching several whales off and on! The four of us caught 15 nice Dorado, a Wahoo, and had a Blue Marlin check out our spread but he wouldn't eat.
We plan on visiting the Dominican again in 2009, and I can't wait to book a day with Mike!
Leo Bocwinski
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Dorado by Mark Wesseler
From: mark3954@netzero.net <mark3954@netzero.net>
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To: mike@mikesmarina.info
Cc:
Date: Saturday, May 26, 2007 12:26 pm
Subject: Re: fishing charter info dominican republic
Mike, I would like to take this time to tell you what a great time I had while fishing with you in the Dominican Republic. First, the hotel which I stayed at was very nice and had a lot of activities. Next, I was also impressed with the crew ( Manuel and Catch'em ). Those men made me feel very comfortable and gave me an impression of professionalism in their craft. Finally, I felt that you had a natural concern for my well being in the Dominican Republic. I appreciated that you picked me up and delivered me to any destination including the Air Port. This attention to details made my trip there a wonderful time. As a Sports fisherman and traveler of the world, I feel this trip was one of the better fishing experiences I've taken and would have no problems in coming back to fish with you in the Dominican Republic. Your Friend Mark Wesseler
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Billfish on the Fly
Hey Mike,
Jason and I had a blast fishing aboard the Shekinah with Manuel and Catch! Looking forward to coming back to the D.R. and fishing with you in the future! May 5: Both of us hungover and tired so we decided to "take it easy" the first day of fishing due to wind and sea conditions. We boated 2 dolphin fish and 2 albacore in the first 4 hours. We raised 2 white marlin and hooked 1 on a "skipped" ballyhoo! Jason was able to subdue and land the 80lb white in under 20 minutes with a "quick release" completed boatside by mate Catch! Fished for several more hours before calling it due to wind/seas. May 6: With absolute ideal sea conditions we decided to target white marlin with flyfishing tackle. Ran "hookless" teasers of skirted ballyhoo on both flat lines, a daisy chain of squid on center line and pulled the fender teaser off left transom. Raised 4 white marlin throughout the day and Catch successfully "teased" one close enough for a "bait and switch" with a Cam Sigler Parrot fly. Fish peeled off close to 400 yards of fly backing with initial run and only jumped once! Made a total of 3 runs, but mostly stayed down about 50 feet and sulked. With constant pressure and retrieve it took me about 30 minutes to get the 100lb fish boatside for another "quick release" by mate Catch! Many thanks to Mike, Manuel and Catch and the entire support staff of Mike's Marina for a memorable experience aboard the Shekinah!
Best wishes, Andrew
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Hi Mike.
Here comes a report from my vacation in DR (Cabarete). DR is a wonderful country, And the people is very friendly. Well when its come to flyfishing, I get some problem as you said. All the oprators offert me deep-see fishing, And nobody had knowledge about flyfishing. I start my own expedition ha, ha, ha. Abaout 3 km. down the beach was i finding a reef, And i meeting a local fisherman. He sat there and fixing his nets who was ragged. He told me that it was som fish near the reef, But there was no boat to get. Ok, I get my flyrod an wading out on the reef. The tide was high, And it was dificult to wade out. After a while i started to cast the fly, in the see. And i catch FISH, Not big ones but very strong. I spend some days on this reef, And after a while i got a big audience Ha, ha, ha. All fish i catch i give to the local fisherman i meet the first day. He was very grateful, And give me a big hug.
Mike thanks for all info you give me, And the time to answer to my email. I hope i can return some day to DR (But to Punta Cana)
// Felix
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From: Alison Hackett
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To: mike@MikesMarina.info
Cc:
Date: Saturday, April 21, 2007 08:23 pm
Subject: Our split charter April 10, 2007
Hello Mike!
I just wanted to write and let you know that we had an awesome experience on our half day charter last week. Both me and Dwayne caught a Mahi Mahi and it was just an excellent day. I want to thank you for all the quick responses to my emails and we will see you again the next time we are in Punta Cana (hopefully next year!). You have a wonderful crew as well, they really know what they are doing! I have attached a few pictures from our trip in case you want to include any of our catch on your website! Images can be found on www.MikesMarina.info/FishingReports2007.html
Thanks again for the wonderful day!
Alison Hackett and Dwayne Evoy
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Keith Schlosser fighting his white Marlin March 23rd 2007
March 23rd Keith Schlosser
HEY MIKE ME AND MY GIRLFRIEND DID A CHARTER FROM YOU IN LATE MARCH CAUGHT A 5 1/2 FOOT WHITE MARLIN WHAT A THRILL THANKS FOR THE SERVICE IT WAS GREAT KEITH SCHLOSSER
jumping white Marlin on the hook by Keith Schlosser
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Monday April 2nd by Lisa Bastian
Hi Mike,
I just wanted to let you know that my husband and daughter had a wonderful fishing experience. They really enjoyed the friendly crew and the successful trip. I think my husband said the boat caught a total of 20. I know that his arms were tired.
Thanks again,
Lisa
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Tuesday March 27th by Yance Yore
Hey Mike,
This is an old message that i am replying to but it is all i had left. I am sending you this thanking you for everything setting up my best fishing trip since I caught my 185 pound tarpon four years ago. Your crew was awesome and professional and put me in the chair to land six Dorado out of eight with one huge bull. The only reason we didn't land them all is we didn't have enough hands. We had 3 on at the same time twice and my wife, as your boys would say, was introduced to their friend RALPH...She wasn't much help.
I have already had one guy contact you from Chicago and I will give your name to anyone who asks. I look forward to my next visit and you will definetly get a call.
Thanks Again and Good Luck
Yance Yore
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Mike's Marina Fishing Charters Tony Parsons
March 2007
I had another great day fishing with Mike's Marina Deep Sea Fishing off Punta Cana this year. Last year we caught a big sailfin, this year its was even better. We set out in the afternoon with a fairly heavy swell and headed out way offshore. 5 dolphins joined the boat and swam with us for quite a long time before we hit a shoal of mahi mahi (dolphin fish). The lines were going off in all directions and the crew worked damned hard to help get the fish in and re-bait the rods. We caught 20 fish on our boat!!
Fantastic. I would highly recommend this company, very professional and they find the fish too!! Can't wait to go with them again.
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Mike's Marina Fishing Charters Brad
March 2007
Another GREAT year using Mikes Marina. Prebooked everything on the internet using Paypal so everything was very easy to do. Mike personally responded to all my e-mails. My little 5 year old went in a little 20 foot boat - just to do some simple fishing with his Dad. Last year he caught some this year he got something too big for our line we brought took everything so my son has his big fish story!!!! Mike provides all the fishing equipement but my little fisherman wanted to bring his own!
The rest of the gang went on the big 42 foot boat. I am very use to deep sea fishing and know sea sickness can hit anyone so a childrens gravel before you go takes the edge off. One of our guys hit a Maui Maui and everyone was very excited. Everyone enjoyed the views from the boat - they also drove right past the sunken ship. We did a half day tour and everyone got back to the resort to have a late lunch and tell all the fish stories! Thanks to the crews (they are the best!!!!) and a special thanks to Mike! your amazing!
You can see pictures in my photo album - the fishing pictures are in my Majestic Colonial album and last years photos in Ocean Sands photo album!
http://community.webshots.com/user/holiday2fun
Any questions feel free to e-mail me! holiday2@rogers.com
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From: ALAN KAUFMAN <fishnow@msn.com>
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To: mike@mikesmarina.info
Cc:
Date: Thursday, March 01, 2007 02:35 pm
Subject: Re: deposit received
Hi Mike,
Just wanted to thank you and your crew for a truly memorable fishing trip. Emilio and Franklin worked hard to find us fish and we were rewarded with 9 Mahi and a beautiful White Marlin. Looking forward to hooking up next time I am in town.
Alan Kaufman
P.S. Please have the captain e-mail me the pictures that he took with his digital camera.
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From: "Michael Wagner" <mike@mikesmarina.info>
To: "ALAN KAUFMAN" <fishnow@msn.com>
Subject: Re: deposit received
Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2007 18:07:14 +0000
Alan,
bring any kind of tackle you prefer to use, we are flexibel on that.
we use anyways a mix of ballyhoo and artificial baits, no problem to put your lucky ones on.
Mike
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From: erncan@comcast.net <erncan@comcast.net>
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To: Mike@mikesmarina.info
Cc:
Date: Monday, February 26, 2007 02:47 pm
Subject: Fishing on 2-20-2007
Hi Mike
If i did this right there is a few pics. of a few of the fish we got on the 20th.
We got 29 Mai Mai that day. We had a gteat day Mike.
Thanks for a Great Day!
Ernie Canney
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From: Tim Fisch <tfisch@mountpolley.com>
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To: Michael Wagner <mike@mikesmarina.info>
Cc:
Date: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 11:25 am
Subject: RE: Fishing trip
Mike: Thanks for the reply. If and when you do get your hands on some T shirts , let me know and I will arrange payment. Please find my report below.
Feb 10 Fishing Trip
Left El Cortecito at approximately 14:00 hrs under Captain Emilio Santana and First Mate Franklin aboard the Intrepido. The weather was partly cloudy wilth calm seas. Our charter consisted of a party of five , including myself , my wife Pam, Floyd from New Brunswick , Canada, and two gentlemen from St Louis, USA, Terry and Chris. After about 30 minutes we cleared the reef and Franklin rigged and dropped five lines , four with ballyhoo, and one large marlin teaser. Action was a little slow to start, bringing in only one small Dorado ( Chris ) and losing one large Dorado ( Me, of course ). About two hours in the action really picked up , as we hit a school and lit up all five lines at once. This coincided with a break in the weather , as the sun came out , resulting in a lot of fun for everyone. Over the next hour we repeated this action several times, with everyone bringing in at least two good size Dorado, and my wife Pam , landing her first ever Wahoo. All told we banged eleven Dorado and one Wahoo and had a very good time. Emilio and Franklin were great hosts, and kept us laughing the whole time. The group, who did not know one another prior to the charter, got along famously and we all ended up feasting on our catch later that night at the Captain Cook. Thanks Mike, we will definately be back next year.
Best Regards
Tim Fisch
General Manager
Mount Polley Mining Corporation
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January 22nd by Greg Cory
Review of Mikes Marina and Deep Sea Fishing Charter
In The Beginning:
I have been deep sea fishing before this trip although never in the Dominican, same goes for several of my guests, so we pretty much knew what we were getting into. And although the trips were never that fruitful in the past, it was always a good time out in the sea with friends, so I knew I wanted to do it again this time. We contacted Mikes Marina several times via email leading up to our trip and they always responded very quickly and were very accommodating to our requests. We scheduled a half day charter for 12 guests on January 22nd 2007.
The Morning:
A nice shuttle bus picks you up outside your hotel – very prompt…but early in the morning. And although we scheduled it for 12 people, 2 of those 12 could not awake from the previous nights partying so off we went with 10 of us. Although the boat would have accommodated 12, a few less people was not the worst thing in the world. We arrived at the Ocean, where Mike’s headquarters is, and paid our half day charter fee. We also had Mike add a few little “grocery” items, so we paid for these here as well. Once we were all paid up, we boarded the taxi boat and headed out to our charter.
Fishing:
We had a gorgeous day, so much open water, and a lot of nice views of the Island. It was not long until the first mate, aka deckhand, was hard at work. Watching him prepare the baits was one of my favourite things on the trip, you could tell even from this that he was the right man for the job. The engines stopped and the baits went out. I think it was just less than an hour into the trip the deckhand sprung into action, he saw what he thought was a White Marlin miss one of our baits (Let me tell you, you have to be incredibly good at this to notice that, because looking out the back of the boat, you see the baits, you see the waves and the lines, but there is no way in hell you’re seeing a fish)…anyway, he removed the rod from the holster, let out some line, and turns out found what he was looking for. The Marlin enticed a second time, took the bait. I give full credit to his knowledge of fishing for this catch, otherwise it would have been the fish that got away…that nobody noticed. Anyway, I found myself in the captains’ chair for 20 minutes, before I was exhausted, the White Marlin, roughly 45lbs was the fight of my life. It jumped so many times it looked like a fake promotional video – I finally tired it out, got it to the boat, then it turned and ran into the sunset like flipper, jumping the entire way as my reel just spun out hundreds of yards of slack – so I passed the rod off to my father and went to rest. After another 15-20 minutes the fish was in the boat – what a monster, and already well worth the trip.
For the rest of the trip we found various schools of Mahi-Mahi (Dorado’s in Spanish), everyone who wanted a chance, got to reel one in. They ranged from 7-12lbs, and although a far cry from the fight the Marlin gave us, an excellent afternoon of fish. We even had a double header of monster 25+lbs Mahi Mahi’s on, not to brag, but I got mine in by myself and another friend had his line snap. I don’t think he took the best approach to reeling it in – to correct this: listen to the instructions from the deckhand very carefully – and don’t panic – the fish is on, it’s not going anywhere, error on the side of caution rather than forcing it. All told my dad and I assisted each other on a 45lb Marlin, I reeled in a 25lb Dorado, and 6 others reeled in a fish, 8 fish in total. What a trip!
Tips:
Of all of our previous deep sea adventures, this was the roughest water. And although the boat handles it great, people’s stomachs don’t. 5 of the 10 of us “chummed” the water, including 2 seasoned veterans who have never been sick before. The best cure we found, were those behind your ear stickers. I didn’t need them, but the two people who used them were fine. I think they are $15 for 2 of them, wear both if you’re afraid, you should be fine.
If you want a nice picture of your Dorado’s, see if you can snap your pictures right away. These fish are gorgeous colours, bright yellows/blue/green, but the colour fades away quite quickly, so see about snapping a picture right away. The other fish look the same once you get back to shore, so you can wait for those.
Keep your electrical equipment dry! I recommend bringing a leather case, or even a plastic bag covering your camera (other than the lens), you never know when some mist, or some water, or if you drop it etc. Just be extra careful, cameras do not do well with water, especially sea water.
When you’re traveling out to sea, keep your eye out for flying fish – no seriously. Fish, about 8” long will just from the sea, travel 50-80 yards then return from where they came. They’re like nautical hummingbirds, and well worth seeing – and you better see one too, or else you won’t believe me – very cool.
Bring a backpack of stuff. Chips, snacks, sandwiches if you want them. Extra sunscreen, and wear a hat!
Tip your crew. Your driver finds the fish, don’t underestimate that aspect, and your deckhand is just awesome. If you have a GREAT day, what’s another $10 per guy? We caught so many fish I thought that that would help go towards the tip, but the success was too much, so we tipped anyway. And bring extra hats – hats in the DR are like currency, and a great sign of respect and a nice gesture. We gave our driver and deckhand fishing hats from our local derby – they loved them! And you better have a hat to give Mike if you catch a fish!
By Greg Cory
greg@corvisionmarketing.com |
