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00:00On this week's World of Saltwater Fishing, we're down in El Salvador, Central America.
00:05Friend Harry Vernon and I are heading out in the Pacific to do some offshore trolling.
00:09You do not want to miss this episode.
00:25George Bovarumo's World of Saltwater Fishing.
00:27Big fish don't stand a chance.
00:30Big fish don't stand a chance.
00:59First, we have to tell you how we got here.
01:05El Salvador, you're going to be hearing a lot more about this as a fishing destination.
01:11It's virtually untapped as far as the recreational sport fishing travel tourism goes down here in Central America.
01:18I had received an email from a gentleman named Mariano who owns Casa del Golfo.
01:25And he had emailed me a couple of times trying to get us to come down and do some fishing.
01:29He said, you know, I have this lodge.
01:31I want to showcase El Salvador's fishing, both nearshore and offshore.
01:37And we would love to have you come down and shoot an episode here.
01:40Well, my good buddy George gives me a call and says, hey, do you feel like going to El Salvador?
01:45And I'm like, man, never been to El Salvador.
01:48We just got done ice fishing.
01:50Why not go try something different?
01:51Freezing cold to sweat?
01:53Not.
01:53And I guess I owed him one because the last time he and I had done a show together,
01:57we were freezing our rear ends off up in Minnesota doing some ice fishing.
02:01So I said, I owe it to Harry Vernon.
02:03So, of course, he jumped right on it.
02:05And that's how this adventure unfolded.
02:15It's only a two and a half hour flight out of Miami, which is pretty, pretty good.
02:20Man, here it is.
02:21El Salvador.
02:22Beautiful place.
02:23Got our luggage with no problem.
02:25We had extra long suitcases with the rods in them.
02:28We had gotten off the plane.
02:30The excitement level was really building up.
02:33We knew that we had a driver from the resort there to pick us up in a van.
02:37Took a nice, relaxing two and a half hour drive from the airport to Casa del Golfo Resort.
02:45A spectacular place to go and just chill out.
02:48It's right on the beach and the surf is there.
02:51It's really cool atmosphere.
02:53So just getting there was exciting before we even started fishing.
02:57So it was a beautiful place.
02:58We got out of the van and they greeted us with coconut drinks.
03:03What a really remarkably beautiful resort.
03:06We checked into our rooms and the first order for Harry and I, we had to take the pin rods and the rod carry-ons.
03:15And we took the reels and we assembled the items that we were going to need to do this trip.
03:20These waters here are really amazing for Pacific sailfish.
03:25You have your mahi here.
03:26There's yellowfin tuna abound.
03:29And you always have a puncher shot at catching a black marlin, perhaps a striped marlin.
03:34And of course, the Pacific blue marlin.
03:36We had basically a nice cocktail reception, a welcome, followed by a very, very good dinner.
03:45And of course, given the travel down and the ride and your excitement level being at ultimate peak,
03:52we definitely got to bed early and knowing that we're going to go offshore and the weather was looking absolutely spectacular.
03:58George Poveromo's World of Saltwater Fishing is proudly brought to you by Penn, let the battle begin.
04:05Mako, you'll find them where the fish are.
04:07Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's, your adventure starts here.
04:11Mercury Marine, go boldly.
04:13George, we'll be right back.
04:17Anticipation is running high as we head deep into the Pacific Ocean in search of pelagics.
04:22Harry Vernon and I are fishing offshore of El Salvador in Central America.
04:25So the next morning could not come fast enough.
04:29I woke up, walked out to the breakfast area, met up with Harry and the team, and we had our breakfast, had our coffee.
04:36And then from there, we loaded our tackle into the van for about a 10-minute drive to where the boat was kept.
04:43It was quite the interesting drive.
04:45And it looked like the running of the bulls at one point when you see all the cattle.
04:49It was kind of cool driving by.
04:50You have to slow down and let the cows go by to get to the boat.
04:53And we get there, we're in a nice 33-foot boat, inboard boat.
04:57We had our captain, Lucio, who was going to be running the 33-foot diesel inboard sport fish.
05:03He took our tackle.
05:04And mating that day was actually his son named Pilar.
05:10And that was his name.
05:11I'm not trying to do a shameless sponsor plug for Pappas Pilar Rum, but that was his name.
05:16So when you knew you had a mate named Pilar, how could it not be a fantastic day?
05:32So here we go, heading offshore, absolutely gorgeous Pacific day off of El Salvador.
05:38And there's this ledge or a drop that pretty much parallels the whole entire Central America coastline.
05:48And you get out to that ledge, you're in around 700, 800 feet of water, and it drops straight down.
05:52This is one of the prime fishing areas there.
05:55And from where we were at, it was approximately about a 50-mile run, and we're cruising out.
06:01And the captain got to around 350, 400 feet of water, slowed the boat down, and then we started to put out teasers and ballyhoo, circle hook ballyhoo rigs.
06:12Now, the Pacific sailfish being the primary target or the most abundant billfish there, based on the time of the year, you could really run the numbers up big time.
06:22George takes the right side of the boat, I take the left side of the boat, and we're both sitting there.
06:26It wasn't, I don't even think, 30 seconds.
06:29Man, the left rigger comes down and jump up.
06:31Man, we just came across some birds.
06:34Orpuss, as usual, jumping all over the place and chasing bait and busting the water.
06:41All right, here he comes, coming up.
06:42He's coming in there.
06:47There he is.
06:52There he goes.
06:55Right on the bill.
06:55There he goes.
06:56There you go.
06:57Congratulations, Vern.
06:58Good job, brother.
06:59You know, we're on the board super early.
07:01Can never go wrong with that.
07:02Baits are back out.
07:04I don't know if it was another 15, 20 minutes, and bam, on Harry's side again.
07:08He's on another Pacific sail.
07:11Oh, you're on.
07:12You got him.
07:12You're hooked up.
07:13Let's see if he can double up here.
07:17All right.
07:18You got a hot one, Harry.
07:19Woo.
07:20What makes you think that, George?
07:24It just looks good to me.
07:27Yeah.
07:29Another one there.
07:29Look at him go, man.
07:30He's just heading.
07:32Those Pacific sails are so much larger in the Atlantic.
07:34He's heading to Miami.
07:37Woo.
07:37What a beautiful sight.
07:40I'm sitting here trying to.
07:40I love watching them things come up like that and taking the bait.
07:43Now, it's just so much fun.
07:44Everything in?
07:45Okay, happy.
07:46Let's go.
07:47I'm going to sit back here with this, just to pitch in case.
07:57Oh, whoa.
07:58There it goes.
07:59That wasn't much of a jump.
08:10Good.
08:10There's a little sun sign.
08:12Giddy.
08:27What?
08:27What?
08:29Hey.
08:29It's so much fun.
08:30The weather's laid down here.
08:31It's absolutely gorgeous here in El Salvador.
08:34Man, this is a lot of fun.
08:36It's crazy.
08:37I love it.
08:38Love it.
08:39I'm kind of feeling not that bad, but a little bad for my buddy just sitting over there in a corner just watching me catch all the fish.
08:45Well, sure enough, luck is going to change.
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09:23This should shorten rescue times even more.
09:25George Poveromo's World of Saltwater Fishing is proudly brought to you by Simrad, Never Settle.
09:34Rapala holds the world record for world records.
09:39Suffix, always use the best line.
09:42Starbright, clean and protect with Starbright.
09:46George, we'll be right back.
09:47With two Pacific Sailfish releases already to his credit, Harry Vernon is on fire.
09:54Yet, the day is young, and it's only a matter of time before I get on a scoreboard in a big way.
09:59We're fishing offshore of El Salvador in Central America.
10:03So, I'm just sitting here.
10:04We're back on the troll again, you know, and I'm just enjoying the Harry Vernon show over there.
10:09He's catching all these fish.
10:10So, you know, that table has to turn eventually, okay?
10:15And, you know, sooner or later, you're going to be sitting at the head of the table.
10:20And that table turned, and I found myself sitting at the head of the table when a blue marlin came up on the teaser, on Harry's side, no less.
10:31And they're screaming, blue marlin, you know, marlin is old, marlin is old.
10:34So, I saw that fish.
10:36I immediately ran and took my flat line, reeled that value up, and by this time that that fish had come over on the other teaser on my side,
10:44and they were bringing that teaser in, and I brought the value right with the teaser to get that fish off the teaser on the value.
10:50That value just came right near that fish, and that marlin just engulfed it.
10:56Oh, he got it.
10:57Good job, George.
10:58George.
10:58George.
10:58George.
11:04All right, Harry.
11:06Look at him, Marlin.
11:07Look at him out there.
11:08Look at him out there.
11:09Look at him jumping.
11:12See him out there jumping?
11:13Remember, remember, you have a light leader.
11:16I know, I know, very light.
11:20Look at him go, man.
11:22Woo, look at him coming at us.
11:26Look at that fish.
11:27Bring him in.
11:28Yeah.
11:28This was a 300-pound class marlin.
11:31I said, the only way we're going to catch this fish is we have to get the legal release,
11:37and that is run down with that boat, get to the leader as fast as possible, touch the leader to qualify for a legal release.
11:45At that point, the fish is basically caught because, in my mind, he was going to go through that 40-pound fluorocarbon leader like a hot knife through a stick of butter.
11:54On a blue, came up there on the teaser.
11:58I reeled the battle here right up on the teaser, got him off the teaser.
12:01He ate.
12:03Now, just going to straighten things out here and go for him.
12:07Only thing, it is selfish bait.
12:08We have a very light leader.
12:10What happened?
12:11Touch and go.
12:12I guess it was 15 minutes into the fight, maybe 20.
12:16That fish finally stayed up to where we raced down on there and got that leader, touched it.
12:21We got our legal release.
12:22Yeah, we're all happy at that point.
12:24The fish didn't like that boat on top of it.
12:26That thing took off on a blazing run, and I said, okay, it's going to go right through that leader at this point, but who cares?
12:34What a magnificent catch.
12:35We got on that fish 15, 20 minutes as fast as that boat can get to it.
12:39We got that legal release.
12:41So now it's just a matter of it's going to wear through the leader, and then we're done.
12:44We'll put more baits out and go at it again.
12:59But three hours later, that fluorocarbon held, that light wire hook held.
13:06We had the fish up alongside the boat.
13:07We put our frogman, I call him our diver, you know, Charles Gonzalez, in the water swimming with the fish.
13:14And just documenting this fish.
13:16So we put the pressure on the fish to try to get the release on the thing.
13:20And all of a sudden, boom.
13:24Oh, he's gone.
13:25We're good.
13:25That's good.
13:26We got him released.
13:28Woo!
13:29Nice job, Gap.
13:31There, you got to go.
13:31Let's hear her.
13:35Wow.
13:36Oh, man.
13:37He got the frogman in there.
13:38The one, the only Charles Gonzalez, working that release on that leader and everything.
13:42And I'll tell you what.
13:45Any of you got water?
13:47What?
13:47I'm getting ice cream headaches now, but it's good.
13:50Yeah.
13:51Oh, man.
13:53Nice job.
13:53Woo!
13:53See you what?
13:54That was one mac daddy fish.
13:56This fish fought hard.
13:58But we got him, or he got him.
14:00So that was, he's buffed up a little bit in his chest now with a blue marlin.
14:05But it was a great day of fishing, and it was fun on the relax.
14:10So it was a good day.
14:12The blue marlin is the big trophy for offshore trollers.
14:16This large pelagic frequents deep-bottom structures and canyons,
14:20tight offshore bottom contours, thermal edges, rips, and weed lines.
14:24Best bet?
14:24Trolling large baits and lures are more apt to entice a blue marlin into the spread.
14:29However, keep a 50-pound class outfit rigged with 300-pound leader and a circle hook handy.
14:34Should one appear in a school of mahi or tuna you've uncovered,
14:38simply free-line a live one to it.
14:39And ArtByPasta.com, from Catch to Canvas, rendering.
14:44Catch to Canvas, baby.
14:46George, we'll be right back.
14:49George, Poveromo's World of Saltwater Fishing is proudly brought to you by
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15:13Let me tell you about Casa del Golfo, located in El Salvador, Central America.
15:21Situated in the Gulf of Fonseca region, Casa del Golfo is a quaint and beautifully landscaped
15:26property overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
15:29Accommodations include double rooms, double deluxe rooms which can accommodate four individuals,
15:34and suites.
15:36Guests are treated to oceanfront dining, ranging from hearty breakfasts and dinners featuring
15:41locally caught seafood.
15:43Fish stories can be swapped at their tiki bar, and there's a pool in which to relax while
15:48taking in this beautiful tropical environment.
15:50In addition to fishing, Casa del Golfo offers nature excursions and a variety of water sports,
15:56including surfing and snorkeling.
15:58The resort is a short drive away from their boats.
16:01Now, let's get back to fishing.
16:04Reset back up, trolled for a little bit more, and stayed in the same area.
16:08There's days you're out there fishing, and just for whatever reason, that left side will
16:14hit all the time, or the right side will hit all the time, and you sit there and swap people,
16:19and then all of a sudden, you just, I was getting very lucky in the morning.
16:23Sure enough, on my side, big bull dolphin comes up and just wallops up on the teaser first,
16:28and we drop back to him and got him.
16:31That's a big bull dolphin.
16:33I need to push it, push it.
16:35Push it, push it, push it.
16:37All right, Harry.
16:38Woo!
16:39Nice.
16:41For sure.
16:43I'm in a very vulnerable position with the gaff.
16:46Man, he's big.
16:47I know, you can't miss this fish.
16:49It's so big, you can't miss it, George.
16:57Come on.
16:58No, no, no, nope, nope, nope.
17:00Come on!
17:01He wasn't anywhere near me, and he was going to eat.
17:03Oh, look, a marlin ate field.
17:04Look him down the side.
17:06No.
17:06I'm telling you.
17:16A little closer.
17:18Nope.
17:18No.
17:19He's just out of range.
17:20I can't get him.
17:20It's a short gaff.
17:31Him or me?
17:31There you go.
17:34I'm barely.
17:39Holy moly.
17:41You wanted dinner.
17:44I got it.
17:44Wow, you got dinner.
17:45Oh, Jesus.
17:46All right, I want this on camera.
17:49How was my gaffing?
17:51Unbelievable, spectacular.
17:53And we got still here.
17:54You know what?
17:54You get a fish that's big enough, you can't miss it.
17:57Yeah.
17:58Sort of like that 80-pound tuna in the Bahamas.
18:00All right.
18:01Woo!
18:01Dinner.
18:01They wanted dinner.
18:02They wanted dinner.
18:03To fight the, uh, I know we came out of South Florida in the Keys.
18:07You know, dolphin, mahi country over here.
18:11Man, this is big.
18:12Stuck the gaff in that fish, put it in the boat.
18:15It's a beautiful, big mahi.
18:18And we knew that we had, at that point, dinner covered.
18:22The catching offshore of El Salvador, Central America is so hot,
18:26we can't possibly showcase each and every catch.
18:33So, here's the condensed version.
18:36Harry went on to score two more mahi.
18:38And two more sailfish releases.
18:56I caught a small yellowfin tuna among large packs of spinner dolphin.
19:03And I also managed to add a sailfish release to my billfish score card.
19:08This is certainly a strong start to our two-part series from El Salvador, Central America.
19:18What a way to wrap up the offshore portion of our trip.
19:21Two days of offshore fishing, totally spectacular.
19:24Now, we're going to shift gears and spend at least two days fishing inshore
19:29to make sure we knock rooster fish off Harry Verdon's bucket list.
19:34Everything went well.
19:35Great time and everything.
19:36George says, well, you know, we've got enough offshore fish
19:40and everything looks really good.
19:43Harry, you never caught a rooster fish.
19:45And I go, yeah, but it's on my bucket list.
19:47I never caught a rooster fish.
19:49So, the next day was going to be pretty much Harry Verdon's deal.
19:53And I was super excited to try that.
19:57And everybody guaranteed, oh, we guarantee you're going to get a rooster.
19:59Oh, you're going to get a rooster fish.
20:00I want my rooster fish.
20:03Will Harry Vernon finally check rooster fish off his bucket list?
20:07Find out on next week's World of Saltwater Fishing episode from El Salvador, Central America.
20:12Stay tuned because it's going to be fun, I'm sure.
20:15If you're a fan of our show, keep up with our adventures by following us on social media.
20:20I'm on Instagram at George Poveromo.
20:23And on Facebook, go to facebook.com forward slash George dot Poveromo.
20:28You can also watch our episodes at any time on YouTube at George Poveromo TV.
20:32We'll see you on the water.
20:33We'll see you on the water.
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