CUSTOMER REPORTS

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You know you only get one shot a picking the right Guide/Charter Service – you have only one day to fish the water of Puerto Rico. You have searched the Internet, reached out to others, and still have no way to make a solid decision on who to choose. Let me recap my experience with Captain Danny Sosa as a testimonial to his expertise.

I was fortunate enough to attend a short conference for work in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Only one day was open for fishing, my favorite passion. I grew up fly fishing the rivers and lakes of the Sierra in Northern California. Now, I am Surf Angler in Southern California. Having been on a few Tuna Trips in the Pacific Ocean, I knew I needed the best Captain, boat and the right equipment.

I did my homework, searched the WWW, and made a few phone calls to talk to the representatives of each Charter Service. I wanted a day trip with only myself and wife on the Boat. Captain Danny Sosa was the only one that texted me back with all the details for a planned fishing. He kept me well informed on the trip strategy, the boat info, request for food, and of course the trip strategy. For the next 2 weeks, he texted me on and off with what the fish action of his trips was like and how big the fish were. He built the excitement even before the trip started.

When the trip day came, Captain Sosa was to pick up my wife and I at the hotel. We were ready an hourly early – and found the Captain waiting for us. The boat was new, clean and ready to go. The live bait, hardware, tackle and food got loaded. A thorough review of boat safety and some basic rules and we're off.

The catamaran hull boat with twin quiet and clean 4 stroke outboard motors cut through the wind chop (weather was not ideal for the day) with no problem. I had specifically requested to go after Wahoo, and any willing Marlin that wanted to join in. Captain had his favorite first shot spot, and we set up for the troll. Four nice new rods out with a variety of his most successful rigs on each. I didn’t take long for the first hook up, a big greater barracuda. First fish in to set the tone.

The chop turned into big swells, and no more hook ups. The water was getting stained. The deck hand continuously putting different Wahoo proven patterns out and freshened up the bait. No strikes. Three quarters through the trip, I was thinking – “These guys really have tried everything for us, it is just going to be a great trip with no bragging fish to talk of”.

Captain then said, I got two more tricks up my sleeve. We need better water clarity and some music the fish will like (full music system on the boat, with magnet frequencies below water too). We pulled in the rods and outriggers and hauled off to look for clear water based on his experience. The swells were big, plus 4 to 5 feet, but the Captained managed to find the clear water he was looking for. Out went the same gear we started with. Half hour later - I hooked up. The captain used the autopilot and rolled his camera to captured the moment, and it was all up to me. Well, sort of. I did need some coaching on how to finesse the fish on successfully. And we did. It was a 35-40 pound Wahoo. Two more barracuda, and it was time for me to get back to the conference.

On the way back, the swells were big, but that Prowler cut right through them. It was surprising how steady we stayed on the trip. We talked to the Captain about Charters, and how some people feel that the Captain must provide a catch to satisfy their Customers. He feels and knows the pressure put on him by his Clients. But deep down we agreed that all true anglers know this is fishing, not catching, and there are no guarantees.

My wife and I had a really great trip. It would have been great even without the Wahoo. To confirm this Charter Service is the best one in the area, at that evening’s conference meeting, my day fishing trip photos were used as intro slides. I learned that at least a dozen other people had the same idea on using the day to fish. From Wahoo, to Marlin, to inshore trips, they all had NO Fish Stories to tell.

From disappointment to total elation

Here is what CJ had to say while Fishing with Maguro Fishing Charters.....HE WON GE TOURNAMENT 1/25/2012

"From disappointment to total elation

For people reading this, I first want to say that I very rarely write recommendations or reviews. It’s always hard to know what perspective the writer is coming from, so I’ve always taken reviews that I’ve read with a grain of salt. I’m writing this review because Captain Danny Sosa of Maguro Fishing Charters has by far exceeded my wildest expectations and if anyone is interesting in having an outstanding fishing adventure, they should definitely consider Danny’s services.

I arrived in Fajardo, Puerto Rico on Monday Jan 23, 2012. A week earlier, I had booked a charter with another captain, from the same Fajardo area; and was very excited to get out on the water that afternoon. As an experienced fisherman that has gone deep sea fishing in a number of countries around the world I was careful in setting up the charter to specify what I was looking for. I had done my research and knew that the waters off the east coast of Puerto Rico have nice Mahi Mahi, Kingfish, Wahoo, Tarpon, and Amberjack to offer. I wanted to go trolling and asked the team to prepare for that. Unfortunately, upon my arrival to Puerto Rico I received a call from the captain, informing me that he did not have the ability to go out trolling that afternoon because the winds were gusting at 12-15 knots creating rougher conditions. The captain was pleasant and apologetic and offered to go out and do some bottom fishing but as this is not what I was looking for I declined to do this. I told him that I was an experienced fisherman who also owned a boat and understood what rough seas were and was prepared to deal with them. The captain said it was not up to me and that he couldn’t go out. Perplexed by this I asked him about other availability but he informed me that the winds were only scheduled to be the same the following days. Disappointed about this and the fact that bottom fishing was going to cost me the same amount, I decided to decline and move on.

I went back online in hopes of finding another charter company and after not to long I stumbled on Maguro Fishing Charters at http://www.magurofishingcharters.com. I picked up the phone and got to Danny Sosa the owner and operator of the fishing charter. I explained my situation to Danny and although he had done nothing wrong he was very apologetic. He asked me if I still wanted to go fishing and let me know that he had availability the next day but that before we committed to doing something unsafe he would check the reports and radar and get back to me. After 45 mins or so he called back and explained that we were going to have similar conditions as today (12- 15 knot winds and 6-7 foot seas). Danny explained his equipment to me and asked me how familiar I was with his rig. I told him I was very experienced and we discussed a strategy and options that we could explore the next day. After devising 2 – 3 options we agreed to go out in the morning.

On Tuesday Jan 24, 2012 I went out with Danny at 7AM. Danny had done his homework in anticipation of my arrival. He had checked the conditions and had consulted a database they had created that detailed strikes versus weather conditions. He plotted the coordinates in the GPS and off we went. I chartered the boat for 6 hours and felt pretty comfortable that we would see some action. Weather was as advertised … choppy but within one and a half hours we were on to fish. We hit several Kingfish ranging from 36 to 48 inches long and best of all they were right where Danny had expected them to be. We zig zagged along the coordinates and had a good time. Danny’s first mate Jose did a great job changing the lures to match the water condition and sunlight. He allowed us to set the hook and fish fairly freely. At the end of 6 hours we came back with 7 Kingfish and 1 Tuna. So much for the conditions being so bad that we couldn’t fish.

Having had a successful trip on Tuesday I decided to go back out with 3 friends on Wednesday Jan 25, 2012. We chartered the boat from 1 - 5 PM. This time Danny made arrangements for us to make it to the drop off point where we would be in 1,000 to 2,000 foot sea. We jogged out to the Danny’s coordinates in about an hour and right on cue we hit a nice size Wahoo. I set the hook and passed the rod over to Mimi and she was on for a nice fight with the wahoo. She pulled in a 15 pounder which gave a nice fight. We trolled out for another 30 mins and began to make the turn to start the long jog back to shore when we realized a lot of activity in the water. Flying Fish were abundantly jumping and the sun was coming down. The waves were about 8 – 10 foot at this time and rising . Out of the back of the boat Jose started to shout to that we need to increase speed and with that a big Blue Marlin jumped up and was on the lure. Jose got a set and I began to assist with getting all of the other lines out of the water. I strapped into the harness and Jose got the pole over to me like a pro. With this the fight of my life was on. The fish immediately dove taking about 300 ft of line out and the war of attrition began. I reeled him to the leader and felt that we might get lucky to end the fight quickly but just like that he dove down under the boat and the captain had to do some quick maneuvers to keep us in position to not lose the marlin. It quite frankly was incredible. Jose helped to guide the action and the captain was spinning the boat in what I felt was 11-12 foot seas at this point. It took us about an hour and a half to see the fish and get it into position. We got to the leader and Jose jostled the line around as this was catch and release. We got the hook off and just like that the biggest fish I’ve ever caught took off. I have an amazing respect for these guys What they did was absolutely incredible. The precision was unbelievable, the technique was amazing, and they did everything they could have to help me to land this beautiful fish.

Catching fish is never guaranteed but it helps when you have a team out there that know what they are doing and it serious about their profession. If you ever want a great fishing adventure, this is hands down the place to go. It’s worth the money and the time to get there. By far this was one of the best days of my life.

Thanks Danny and Jose for a gift of a lifetime. I’ll be back for sure.

Your friend
CJ"

I hope all is well with you and your family. My friends and I were just looking at some pictures of some or the large salmon and trout we had caught recently here in Michigan. After teasing each other about who has caught the larger fish I had to log onto your website and show them the pictures of the 65lb Wahoo I caught when you took my family and I out fishing. That was, to date, one of the most memorable fishing trips I've ever been on. The equipment was top-notch and your knowledge of where to go was spot-on. My wife and kids even had a ball. They loved it when the dolphins started following right alongside the boat and still talk about it to this day…almost 2 years after our trip! It was an absolutely wonderful time! I always recommend Maguro Fishing Charters to anyone I hear is going to Puerto Rico. I had a friend who tried to book a trip with you a couple of months ago but you were already fully booked… several days in advance. I recommend anyone interested in trying to book a trip to call early as it's well worth the effort. I just wanted to say thank you again and when I make it back to Puerto Rico again I'll be planning another trip with Maguro!

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From disappointment to total elation