2
Menu
Home
50% OFF Special Issues
My Library
My Account
Pocketmags Plus+
Title A-Z
Category A-Z
Best Selling Magazines
Latest Offers
Gift Vouchers
Activate a Subscription
Blog
Help & Support
GB
0
Basket
My Account
My Library
Login
Plus+
BEST SELLERS
OFFERS
Hobbies & Craft
Aviation & Transport
Leisure
General Interest
Sport
SITE SETTINGS
GBP - £
USD - $
AUD - $
CAD - $
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
LIGHT MODE
DARK MODE
All Categories
Art & Photography
Art
Design
Architecture
Photography
Aviation & Transport
Motorbikes
Aviation
Automotive
Rail
Family & Home
Kids
Parenting
Animals & Pets
Food
DIY
Landscaping & Gardening
Property
Interior Design & Home
Food and Drink
Cooking & Baking
Drink
Vegetarian & Vegan
Gluten Free & Special Diets
General Interest
History & Fact
Astronomy
Education & Literary
Spiritual & Religion
Trade & Professional
National & Regional
Books
News & Current Affairs
Health & Fitness
Medical
Running
Women's Health
Men's Health
Slimming
Spirituality & Wellbeing
Hobbies & Craft
Collecting
Radio Control Modelling
Scale & Millitary Modelling
Sewing & Knitting
Woodworking
Arts & Crafts
Leisure Interest
Travel
Boating & Yachting
Poker & Gambling
Caravan & Motorhome
Camping & Outdoor
TV & Film
Tattoo
Horse Riding & Equestrian
Wildlife
Men's Interest
Lifestyle
Gay
TV & Film
Men's Fitness
Motorbikes
Automotive
Football
Fishing & Angling
Gaming
Gadgets
Newspapers
All
Music
Classical
Heavy Metal
Other
Rock
Pop
Practical & Playing
Hi-Fi
Sport
Football
Cycling
Rugby
Cricket & Golf
Football Programmes
Fishing & Angling
Shooting & Archery
Boxing & Martial Arts
Horse Riding & Equestrian
Other
Watersports & Board
Athletics & Running
Motorsport
Ski & Winter Sports
Outdoor & Adventure
Tech & Gaming
Apple
Gaming
Internet
Gadgets
PC
Mobile
Trade & Professional
Money & Investment
Building & Architecture
Military & Defense
Education
Media
Retail News
Farming & Agriculture
Catering
Business
Transport
Politics
Travel
Women's Interest
Hair
Celebrity
Weddings & Brides
Fashion & Lifestyle
Healthy Food & Slimming
Fitness
SITE SETTINGS
GBP - £
USD - $
AUD - $
CAD - $
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
EUR - €
LIGHT MODE
DARK MODE
Digital Subscriptions
>  
Blog
>
Living the dream
You are currently viewing the United Kingdom version of the site.
Would you like to switch to your local site?
Home
50% OFF Special Issues
My Library
My Account
Pocketmags Plus+
Title A-Z
Category A-Z
Best Selling Magazines
Latest Offers
Gift Vouchers
Activate a Subscription
Blog
Help & Support
Gift Cards
£5
£10
£25
£50
View All
Read on any device
Safe & Secure Ordering
< 
Back to Blogs
Living the dream
Posted 16 May 2015   | 0 views
Roger Mortimore achieves a lifelong dream when he travels to El Salvador in Central America to do battle with the spectacular roosterfish, a species that jumps and runs harder than anything else he’s ever hooked!
You’re standing waist deep in rolling Pacific breakers and starting to feel exhausted from being battered by the huge waves and constantly casting big top-water lures, when that huge fin finally appears and your quarry begins chasing your lure. The adrenaline kicks in and you wind even faster until... BOOM! Your lure is hit and the spool is a blur as 30, 40, 50 metres of line disappears in a couple of seconds – you’ve just hooked your first roosterfish!
You eventually bring the fish into the surf, only to see it turn its back and swim away again... and again... and again... At the fifth attempt you finally bring the fish ashore with a wave and a 35lb roosterfish is cradled in your arms, a fish you’ve travelled 6,000 miles to catch.
The Dream
We all have a bucket list of things we want to do and places we want to visit. At the top of my list was a visit to Central America to catch a roosterfish, one of the most spectacular-looking and hard fighting fish in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Having read stories and seen images and videos of these amazing sportfish on the internet, I had to fish for them.
My chance came when my old mate Nick Meyer invited me to join him on his next trip there. We’d be guided by Nick’s friend, Chia Zeng Juang, a rooster fishing expert who knew the best areas to fish.
Apart from being excited, I was also a little apprehensive because I’d heard about the violent gangs in the country. Mara Savatrucha is one the most notorious gangs in the world, with more than 50,000 members in Central America and the USA. San Salvador, El Salvador’s capital, actually has one of the highest murder rates in the world – three times higher than that of Mexico – but we felt that we’d be in safe hands with Chia.
We headed south to Chia’s favourite fishing camp where we were to stay in a very comfortable villa set among a grove of coconut trees. While we unpacked, Nick told me of his previous trip: “I caught my fi rst rooster while I was fishing from Chia’s boat and we were over a wreck about a mile off the coast. The water was about 30 feet deep and we were drifting livebaits over the wreck when the rod was almost wrenched out of my hands. I hung on tight as line was ripped from the reel and the fish started circling the boat, but I kept the pressure on and brought it to the side of the boat where Chia could lift it aboard by the tail. It was only 20lb but what a brilliant fight it put up. I’ve come back because I want to catch one from the shore; that’s the ultimate in sportfishing.”
First Strike!
Chia had booked a boatman, Jose Rufi no, to take us on the 30-minute ride downstream to a very remote beach at the mouth of the river. As we headed down the mangrove-flanked river, Chia pointed out a 12ft saltwater crocodile lying on the mud sunbathing. “There’s no way I’d go swimming here!” I thought.
Before we reached our fishing spot we passed a small fishing village surrounded by brightly coloured boats, and Chia had a story to tell about some of these poor fishermen. He explained: “Some of these guys are heroes in El Salvador because they qualified for FIFA’s 2011 Beach Soccer World Cup. During the competition they overcame Argentina and Italy but were beaten by Russia, the eventual winners. They finished in fourth place and returned home to a hero’s welcome. They usually play soccer on the beach when it’s too rough to go to sea and they play in bare feet with a coconut; they’re really tough guys.”
We were dropped off on a beach inside the river 500 metres from the fishing spot, due to the big Pacifi c swell rolling in. Walking along the sand in bare feet and wearing just shorts and a lightweight shirt is a far cry from having to wear moon boots and thermals on a Suffolk beach - paradise!
We started fishing with big top-water lures weighing 3oz to 4oz and on my third cast I felt a solid thump, the rod arched over and a fish leapt from the sea... a huge snook! An epic battle ensued as I tried to gain control. Another jump was followed by a line-stripping run, and when the fish eventually tired I was able to bring her through the waves and onto the beach. Chia weighed my first black snook on his Boga-grip scales
at 22lb – awesome!
Minutes later Nick was into a snook. It wasn’t as big as mine but it was still a double-figure fish that put up a great fight on light gear.
The area we were fishing was very remote and exposed and the nearest fishing village was two miles away so we had the place to ourselves. Huge tree trunks littered the beach, which were swept there during the torrential rains that had hit Central America a few weeks earlier.
We were changing lures when Chia explained: “The best time for the roosters is either at high tide or dead low. This spot is where the current from the river meets the sea current and the predators attack helpless baitfish that are being swept out to sea. You may get the odd rooster at other times but, having fished here for years, I concentrate on the hot times and as we are right on high tide now, if they are going to show, it will be very soon.”
The words had barely left his mouth when he spotted a rooster fin cutting through the water. We grabbed our gear, ran down the beach and started blasting out lures. Nick and I had two follows that turned away without taking but Chia hooked up and was into a good rooster. I put my rod down and grabbed the camera to catch the action. The fish was quickly landed, unhooked and returned to fi ght another day. Chia cast again and while I still had the camera in hand, another rooster chased his lure and grabbed it. It wasn’t until the images were downloaded that I realised I’d caught this amazing action on camera too.
As the tide dropped, Chia told us that the action would also stop until low water, so we headed back to base for a couple of hours’ siesta before our next attack. The next session was a trip upriver to fish for snook of ‘world record’ proportions, but the torrential rain that had flooded Central America just before we arrived had left the water too coloured for lure fishing. We managed to buy some fresh shrimps from a local family who were fishing from a dugout canoe and catch some small snappers and weird-looking fish that I’d never seen before. Here we got to see another side of the country, where the locals fish from these canoes carved from tree trunks. It’s an amazing sight and they caught far more than we did!
The Water Explodes!
The next morning we were away early, arriving at our fishing spot to see the water exploding with baitfish flying everywhere. Nick and I ran down the beach and started casting, instantly hooking up to battling jack crevalle. This incredible action lasted almost an hour before the jacks moved on and we sat down to recover, hoping that our main target would appear as the tide started to rise. Half an hour after low tide I saw several mullet jumping for their lives, followed by a huge dorsal fin – the roosters were in!
Nick and I started casting for all we were worth and on his second cast his rod slammed over as a fish screamed away with his lure. As the fish got closer to the shore we could see the telltale fin of a rooster but the fight wasn’t over yet... as it turned and ran again. Constant pressure eventually brought the fish into the shallows where Nick grabbed its tail and happily posed for a couple of photos before slipping it back into the ocean.
Now it was my turn. I whacked a big top-water lure out and retrieved as fast as I could. As the lure came over the top of a breaker and surfed down the front of it, a big fin appeared behind it. I kept winding rapidly until... BAM! The rod slammed over and line was ripped off a pretty tight drag. For a couple of minutes it was a case of just hanging on and hoping that the hooks would hold (we used barbless hooks that do less damage to the fish).
I brought the fish into the surf four times and on every occasion it turned around and headed back out to sea before eventually tiring, allowing me to beach it and hold it up for the camera. I was kneeling on the beach holding a 35-pounder, finally achieving my dream of landing a Pacific roosterfish!
Most read articles this month
Doctor Who: The Complete History
“Whole worlds pivot on acts of imagination.” If you are a hardened Whovian - you probably recognise that quote.
More...
Basket -
0 items
Your basket is currently empty.
Continue Shopping
Basket Total:
£
0.00
 Earning
0
Loyalty Points
Each Point is worth 1 penny or unit of currency and can be redeemed against future purchases here at Pocketmags.com
Got a discount code? Add it in the next step.
Checkout Securely
Continue Shopping
Or, read for just
99p
with
You can enjoy:
The issue in your basket
Instant access to 600+ titles
Thousands of back issues
30 days for just 99p
TRY PLUS+ FOR 99p
30 days access, then just £9.99 / month. Cancel anytime. New subscribers only.
Learn more
Chat
X
Pocketmags Support
Contact Us
Use the form below, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Send a copy of chat messages
Send Message
Message Sent
Many thanks for your enquiry.
One of our support staff will get back to you soon.
Start New Chat
Close Chat
Error In sending Email
We could not send your ticket at this time, please try again later
Start New Chat
Close Chat