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Deep Sea Fishing in Cozumel Reviews

TravelNotes Toll Free: 1.866.266.5639
Direct Rates, Added Convenience. Book Early!

Comments: The memories that Pedro, Antonio and Albatros Charters provided us is priceless.  Coming out of bad weather, the seas were rough.  Pedro and Antonio still managed to put us on some good fish (3 large mahi-mahi and 6 tuna), we will not talk about how many we let get away.  In all, for 8 hours the Albatros and crew made the troubles of business world disappear.

Comments: Book your trip now with Albatros, you won't be disappointed.  The trip is well worth the cost.  We took a 6 hour charter with Albatros on May 22, 2003.  The boat was manned by the three amigos, Pedro, Antonio and Felipe, which was totally awesome since there was only two of us fishing.They picked us up at our resort (Iberostar Cozumel, highly recommended) at 8A and we were fishing within 15 minutes.  We fished out by the lighthouse, the water was calm and we could see land at all times. They were well prepared with all the baits and poles ready.  We spent most of the morning catching tuna and they usually hit two at a time.  As soon as the fish hit, Antonio and Felipe were busy bringing in the other lines so we wouldn't get tangled.  They were constantly busy and very hospitable, always asking if we wanted food and drink (we only wanted FISH).  Before noon, a White Marlin hit and boy did the three amigos get excited, "Big Fish, Big Fish" they hooted and hollared.  T
 he Marlin ended up coming off half way to the boat after it jumped out of the water and spit the hook.  The longest we went without catching a fish was about 40 minutes (not long compared to other people at our resort that went with other charters that had 3 hour time period between catching fish).  Around noon, a male Dolphin (Mahi-mahi) hit; the 3 Amigos came alive again when it jumped out of the water (beautiful blues and yellows).  Pedro jumped down from the helm, grabbed a pole, casted out and caught the female Mahi-mahi that was with the male.  How exciting, we were both reeling in huge, brightly colored fish that fought like crazy.  Both Antonio and Pedro were on the swim platform with gafts and brought the fish into the boat successfully. We ended the day with a total of 18 tuna and 2 Mahi-mahi.  The male Mahi-mahi was over four feet long.  We got estimates of $500-$600 for taxidermy of the large fish (we settled for pictures).  We will fish with Albatros again!!!  R
 ita and Burak, the owners are very helpful in answering questions and booking the trip, be sure to e-mail them.

Comments: Just returned 5/28/03 from Cozumel. The trip was great. We stayed at the El Cozumeleno hotel and had a ball. Antonio with Ocean Tours located at the Hotel "hooked us up"! Really he was great. He gave us information on all the activities, tours and things to do in general while in Cozumel. We booked an all day fishing trip on the Kay Kid with Captain George and the mate Ruben "pinky" , they were great. I have been deep sea fishing 15+ times on Charter and private boates and this ranked at the TOP. There were 6 in our party 4 adults and 2 kids age 12. the boat was very accommodating for the 6 of us and the fishing was superb. We caught 11 "Mahi Mahi" and 1 barracuda. The great thing was 6 of the mahi were over 40 inches with the largest being a little over 53 inces. Antonio took care of everything, after the fish were cleaned, all except the big one which I sent to Gray Taxidermy for mounting, Antonio arranged for the taxidermy service and contacted the Manager of the
  Hotel and arranged for our party of twelve to eat our fresh catch for the last two nights of our stay. 5 Star treatment. If you or anyone you know are planning a trip drop me a line to georgeb@duracom.net or you can contact Antonio at antomadra@yahoo.com.

Comments: Another couple, and my wife, and myself had one heck of a time on a full day of  fishing. It was a little slow a first, and we missed a few also, but once we go the hang of it, we must of caught 20-30 tuna, couple rainbow fish,and one barracuda. Plus the meal we had one the boat was the best! As we all know, you can work up a hunger when fishing!! Plus the crew, and captin were very freindly and fun! 

Posted by R&R on 01/22/03

Papa Hogs...they have a BIG fishing boat for fishing charters or fishing/diving charters.  We did an all day trip with them and loved it.

robin

Posted on 02/21/03
From: Dale W.
To: TravelNotes

We just got back from vacation.We had a great time with Papa hogs.The staff was excellent and very kind. I highly recommend them!!!!!!! Thanks for a great trip.

Comments: I did a whole day charter with Pedro, Antonio and Philipe.

I caught the fish of my life - about a 7 foot lemon shark.  Had a tuna on the line, and the shark came up and took the tuna to the bottom of the ocean. It took a long time to bring the shark up to the boat, and then the crew had a fantastic battle dragging the shark onto the boat.

Earlier in the day, the wife and kids were along and had a fun time despite the kids feeling under the weather.  The crew was good with the kids, too. We got in some snorkling - you can customize your trip and break up the day however you want.

Also caught a nice barracuda and a few tuna.

FYI, I did find some cheaper charters, but they came with only a captain. This kind of fishing definitely requires a first mate as well to get in a good solid day of fishing.  There is no way we'd have ever gotten that shark in the boat without a full crew.  Also, some other charters were telling people whatever they wanted to hear to get them to sign up - they told one guy they were catching lots of mahi-mahi because that was what he wanted to catch, even though it was the wrong time of year.

No regrets - I am glad we went with Albatros.

Comments: We had a wonderful experience on our all-day charter.  Pedro, Antonio and felippe (sp?) couldn't have been better hosts.  Although the weather was very rough, with swells of 15 - 20 feet, we enjoyed ourselves tremendously.  It was a treat to eat our freshly caught fish for lunch,  and they were the best quesadillas we've ever had.

Your crew worked constantly, trying their best to make sure we would not leave disappointed.  They certainly filled that role.

Congratualtions on receiving the award for the most fish caught in Cozumel in 2002.  With your boat and your crew, we're sure you will receive the same award in 2003.

We will certainly recommend Albatros to any of our firends going to Cozumel.

Thank you,

Steve, Jonah, Kathie and Ashley

Comments: Travelnotes, 

We just wanted to thank you and Albatros Charters for making our day in Cozumel. Pedro & Antonio took us out on Wed. 28th Aug. My husband had been watching the fishing reports prior to our arrival and we both had decided that we would just be happy to have the experience of deep sea fishing even if we didn't catch much. We spent approx. 4 hours fishing and had a great
day, catching an unbelievable 90# sail fish (the highlight of our entire vacation), along with tuna, king fish, & mackerel. All the catches were beyond explanation to reel in. I can't say enough in regards to Pedro, Antonio, and Albatros Charters. Antonio went above and beyond to make us happy, bait our lines, offer us drinks, serve us fresh pineapple, and even make us quesadillas.
The day was worth every penny and we couldn't wait to get back on the cruise ship and home to brag about our catch. Thanks again for a wonderful time!! Many thanks from Nebraska!
Jeff & Julie Kuhnel
Shelby, Nebraska

Comments: I gave my 13 year old son this fishing trip for his birthday.  Everyone made a big deal of his birthday.  They cooked up his fish and we ate it overlooking the sea.  He caught a barracuda and mahi-mahi. 
My son will never forget this fishing trip!!!
THANKS!

Comments: I went to Cozumel for the first time June 23-30.  Traveling with the family only allowed so much diving.  I did two a.m. dives, plus a combo dive/deep sea fishing trip with my nine year old.

I had a hard time deciding on who to use, but followed the recommendations from this board w/o regret.  Cose not to use Sand Dollar sports from the Reef Club where I stayed for fear of cattle experiences.  The fast boats with 6 divers is the way to go....totally personalized and enjoyable.  Dive masters were Raul and Ivan and they were amongst the best I've dove with and I've been certified and diving for 14 years.  Great guys.

The reefs were great, and I loved drift diving....effortless.

The trip we made to the mainland for the diving and fishing was memorable.  We made a spot called "tarpon alley" where there were numerous turtles and moreover, a school of Tarpon, many larger than I, in the hundreds it seemed like, lined on the wall in 65ft.  You can drift right up next to them...wished I had a camera.  Awesome.

We caught 1 Dorado after a hard day of trying, just at the end of the trip.  Mike and Margaret held the fillets, we went back the next day for Mahi-mahi fish and chips...it was delicious.

Without a blink, I'd go right back to Papa Hogs.  I hope Mike and Margaret read these posts and pass along the good words to their staff.  Everyone and everything was just great!

Posted by Deb on 05/24/02

That was a guy I hooked up with down there last week. We went out and I caught a 32 lbs Dorado and he caught a 60 lbs 6 foot Marlin. We went with Papa Hog's fighing charter.. Great crew..

Comments: I can't begin to tell you how good this trip was. The dive guides we all execellant. They really know thier way around  the reefs and where the cool fish hide. They were so helpful in teaching me how to relax and breath.. The next trip I have to moon the sub---LOL  The Hogtown cafe was great. After a fishing trip on the Christenely they cleaned and cooked my wonderful 32 lbs of Dorado. Mike makes the best sushi!!! And if any of you are as fortunate as I was to dive with Shirley you will have the best dive buddy any one could ever have below and above the water!! Thanks Mike and Margret you guys were the best. See you soon. Kiss  Blinca for me. She has the best table manners of any dog I have ever met.Oh sorry she is not a dog she is a princess.

Comments: Attn Fishermen:We fished Wed April 24 with Albatros and could not have been more pleased. Capt.Pedro & First Mate Antonio worked very hard so that we would have a very sucessful trip [ 3 Dorado,3 tuna , 1 wahoo,3 baracuda,1 king fish] -- not bad . At the dock one of the employees with Sand Dollar said there fishing boat was skunked .. I would like to thank my new friends Rita ,Burak ,Pedro & Antonio for such a good trip . Mark & Susan Bailey     P.S. The tuna we caught was schooling on top and was very cool seeing that .

Posted on 04/22/02 by Norm

Re: Fishing in Cozumel

Just a note to highly recommend Albatros Charters in Cozumel.  All arrangements made over their webb site Albatroscharters.com were handled very well.  Fishing boat was 1st class as were captain & Mate.
Norm Ziegler

Subject: Fishing Coz 4-12-02

Comments: For all those wanting to go deep sea fishing in Cozumel
My staff and I went fishing April 12, 2002 and did we have fun.  We caught a trophy Wahoo, a Dorado, a Rainbow fish, 4 nice Barracuda, and lost a couple of good ones.   When Capt. Pedro called in to check what the other boats had caught at noon, this was the report – 2 small tuna, and 1 small barracuda.  We did very well, and had a delicious hot lunch of fresh Dorado Soft Tacos and cheese.  All I can say is this, you will never find two guys that will work as hard to make sure you are catching fish, and having a good time.  There was plenty of bait, plenty of food, plenty of refreshments, and plenty of catching fish.  The boat was clean, and well maintained.  Pedro and Antonio(1st mate), were very friendly and took great care of us.  So if you want to catch fish, be treated great, and have a wonderful time, you should call Albatros Charters.  They are the best.
Mike Collins
President/CEO
Education Technologies Inc.
mikec@nm-edtech.com

Posted by Krissy on 01/28/02

1)  The fishing trip!!!

We’ve had some of our best days just bottom fishing with no pole on the water with a couple local guys.  We thought “Lets do this with Sam!!!”  So….we talked to the Apple Vacation guy at Costa Club!  BIG mistake to set this up through him!   $200 for half day got us, and I quote the Apple guy..."He take you to the most northern reef, where all the locals go, you line fish for a few hours than snorkle on the way back.  Adolpho has nice boat, he’ll have pop, beer and snacks for you!”

OK, let’s do it.  

We show up at the marina at 8:00 am the following morning.  Here sit’s a little local fishing boat, you know the kind.....turquise blue, rowboat size, sputtering 30 hp motor barely attached!  Yup, that was ours!  Heading out of the marina, I was looking longingly at the boats tied up that were just like the other boats we had paid $200 for in the past!  And THEY had shade!  And THEY were actually bigger than the waves we encountered as we left the marina!  

To make a long LONG story short, we stayed out for 4 hours,  endured waves that the boat probably should not have been out in, (although a larger boat would have been fine), caught 1 triggerfish and several red grouper…..with poles.   The cooler had 2 bottles of coke in it, one bottle of water, a bag with 3 buns and 1 pack of graham crackers.  We never did snorkle cuz there’s no way we could have gotten back into the boat!  We didn’t make it to any reef cuz the waves were to big!  Sam spent most of the time laying down on the middle rowboat seat covered with a towel cuz he was sea sick, I spent most of my time making sure the seat cushion was close to Sam, in case we’d need it, there were no life jackets!  And Dan,  well...he’s a guy.  He fished!

We were royally screwed on that and had it not been the day before we were leaving, and the Apple guy was not going to be seen again, we’d have complained.  A thing I rarely do (in public!)

Also, Dan and I have discussed the economics of that “tour”.  The Apple company got their cut, the Costa Club got their cut, the person who answered the phone when Apple called probably got their cut, and the poor guy who’s boat it was, most likely, got the smallest cut!  Next trip, we’re going to the marina and talking to the guys actually on the boats!  We’d gladly pay that money to the guy who does the work!

2)  My son is an international smuggler now.  He found 2 little hermit crabs, named Drunko (cuz he spent his first captive days in a beer bottle) and PeeWee (cuz he’s littler).  They now reside in my sons room at home in a Hermit Crab House, where Drunko has already changed into a bigger shell and PeeWee eats more than his own weight daily.  Not quiet as sweet as HSM’s new hummingbirds, but still cute!

Posted by Chris on 11/05/01

Albatross Charters, is the only Cozumel chartering service you will ever need. Recently, a friend and myself had the pleasure of fishing and scuba diving with Albatross Charters. Honestly, I will never use anyone else in Cozumel. The divemasters (Rita and Burak) made this the best vacation of my life. Our diving adventures featured the best Mexico has to offer. From beautiful coral formations to lavished caves we had the opportunity to live the "Discovery Channel" in person. I could fill several pages with the memorable diving experiences I had, but it would be an injustice not to mention the exqusite service and the awesome caliber of entertainment. Rita and Burak know how to take care of people both above and under the surface of the water. The crew took care of all the operational issues, allowing us to enjoy our vacation to the fullest. Pedro (captain) and Antonio (first mate) are extremely experienced and provided us with a fantastic day of fishing and they took care of every detail during our dives. I rate them as great people and a fantastic chartering service. I promise I will make many return trips in my life, and Albatross Charters is the only way to enjoy Cozumel. Thank you to my new Cozumel friends-Rita, Burak, Pedro, Antonio.

Chris Stephens
Director of Imaging Applications
River Oaks Imaging

Gabriel at gabdiaz83@hotmail.com has resources
for both billfishing and pangas for bonefishing.

I did the bonefishing on October 6th.  This is
the offseason but we still had fun with only
3 bonefish, but some fun casting near the
mangroves for snappers and barracuda.  The bonefish are small but mighty.

The bonefishing is more rustic than the billfishing, but cheaper.

Posted by Bob P on 10/25/01

Try Scuba Du...+++Great boats and very knowledgeable crew.  We had a blast on our 1/2 day trip.  And the Mahi-Mahi was delicious!

Posted by Kathleen R. on 07/16/01

we planned a day of scuba & fishing, an 8 hour day supposedly...11 hours later we finally got off the rickedy old boat that had no place to get out of the sun & they provided some chicken slop they called lunch...me & another girl felt tortured as they refused to go back after 8 hours on this wreck...they were trying to caught a fish which by the way they keep if you catch, otherwise you have to pay for. the crew was unfreindly & very unkept. they spoke very little english...a woman on the boat was staying at their (lodge???) no a/c, tc & on & on ..... she could not wait to leave. not highly recommended at all.........don't do it!!!!!!

Posted by Bryan Ewing on 05/31/01

Posted by Trudy on 05/30/01

Posted by Tom on 03/03/01

DO NOT USE COZUMEL ANGLERS FLEET. We booked a trip with them last time I was in Cozumel. It was an hour ride to the fishing spot. Then 30 minutes into trolling, the boat breaks down. The boat would only go at full speed and would stall out and die at trolling speed. The toilet would not flush properly, it already had old waste in it and it was hot that day, guess how that smelled in the cabin? Then when we finally get back to Cozumel, we are informed we owe full price. Later I contacted the owner who said I would receive a 75% refund which he never came through on. He had one excuse after another.

Posted by Andrea on 02/20/01

The best time is April-May. That is when they have all the tournaments for Marlin, etc. However, we were there two years ago at this time and my husband had no problem catching enough fish for dinner each night he went out. They even caught a 54" King Mackerrel on the Bandida. We are leaving on the 23rd of Feb and returning Mar. 2nd. Hopefully the fishing will be good again this year.

Posted by Jim Forte on 02/14/01

I have seen a number of natives fishing on the east side, not sure what they are using.  As to the park boundary, there is a sign on the west side of the east coast road, just north of Rasta's (are these directions clear?).  The sign marks the northern point of the park on the east side of the island, anything north of the sign is open water.  I would not suggest fishing on the west side, unless you go way up to the northern tip, but I have never been up there, so I do not know.

Posted by Suze on 02/14/01

My husband goes fishing from the shore a few miles North of town.  The fish he catches are generally not the kind you take home and fry up, so it's pretty much catch and release, but he and my son always have a great time.

Posted by Steve on 02/11/01

DO NOT USE COZUMEL ANGLERS FLEET. We booked a trip with them last time I was in Cozumel. It was an hour ride to the fishing spot. Then 30 minutes into trolling, the boat breaks down. The boat would only go at full speed and would stall out and die at trolling speed. The toilet would not flush properly, it already had old waste in it and it was hot that day, guess how that smelled in the cabin? Then when we finally get back to Cozumel, we are informed we owe full price. Later I contacted the owner who said I would receive a 75% refund which he never came through on. He had one excuse after another.

Posted by Dave on 02/11/01

Posted by Beau Jones on January 2, 2001

Hey there,
I have just returned from a trip to Cancun during the week of Christmas 2000.  After looking over the web for possible fishing charters to take myself and two others out fishing, I came across a couple reviews of Albatross Charters and decided to write them to see if they might be available for a couple of days fishing.  After only one day, I received an e-mail from Burak Gunbay informing me that they did have those two days available and would be more than happy to take us out. Judging from the tone of Burak's e-mail, I knew immediately that they would be a good crew for a fun-loving threesome of wanna-be fishermen.  By the way, I wrote three other companies and never heard a thing form any of them.  I called Mr. Gunbay and
reserved the two days by giving him a $50 deposit/day.  The boat's captain, Julian, wrote me a small e-mail a couple of weeks before the trip and let us know that he was looking forward to our arrival.   This is the kind of customer service that is unexpected and much appreciated.  We worked out that we would meet in Playa del Carmen and head out from there.  On December 26th they were there waiting for us just as they said they would be.  It had
rained very hard the day before, and Julian informed us that the seas were very high and for us to be ready for a ride!  He was telling the truth...it was no "Perfect Storm", but it sure was plenty for these three land creatures.  We caught a barracuda and a nailfish to start off the day, but that was unfortunately the last fish we saw for the rest of the day...the seas were just a bit high (approx. 8-12 ft. high).  At lunch, we headed to a small reef for some snorkeling to break up the day (this had been offered to us through the e-mails).  The snorkeling was one of our trip highlights. Although we thoroughly enjoyed our day with captain Julian and mate Armando, we decided that a second day of high seas just might beat us into submission...so we decided to cancel the second day.  I still regret that decision because the seas had obviously calmed after another day of calm perfect weather.  Oh well, I look forward to utilizing this company as soon as I can get back to paradise.  I would recommend this outfit to others
without hesitation!

Beau Jones

bjones@hatfieldphilips.com

Deep Sea Fishing

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