Gray Taxidermy March 2013 Newsletter

Region of the Month

This month’s winner of Regional Captain is Captain Michael "MJ" Alligood from Reel Intense Adventures-EPIC fishing Costa Rica. Each month we will feature a specific region that is “HOT” in fishing. One order is randomly pulled from the previous month’s orders and the Captain will be awarded a prize specific to that region.

This month’s sponsor is Hopkins Carter. Hopkins Carter is awarding this month’s winner 2 Battle BTL8000, PENN reels!! Congratulations Captain Michael! Next Month’s region is Cancun/Cozumel! Get your orders in!

Todd Staley,
Fishing Director at Crocodile Bay Resort
www.crocodilebay.com

Having grown up in Florida where the highest peak is Space Mountain in Disney World, I was awestruck my first visit to Costa Rica, 25 years ago. In a country the size of West Virginia, there are 4 distinct geographies, mountain cloud forests, volcanos, jungles and rainforests. The small country is bordered on one side by the Pacific Ocean and the other the Caribbean Sea. A maze of rivers runs through the rainforest. All this
adds up to a plethora of fishing opportunities.

The Pacific offers two billfish seasons making catching a sailfish any day of the year an easy task. Although there are billfish all along the coast year round, the seasons peak from Herradura south to the Panama border from December till May. Off the Nicoya Peninsula and Guanacaste region the best fishing is considered by many to be May through December. The Pacific menu includes, Blue, Black, and Striped Marlin, Sailfish, Dorado (Dolphin), Yellowfin, and Bigeye Tuna, as well as Wahoo. Inshore the Roosterfish and Cubera Snapper are the main attractions, and world record Snook have come from both coasts.

Over on the Caribbean Tarpon is the main attraction and can be found by the acres just off the coast. Fishing is also done in the river mouths, rivers, lagoons and creeks. A dozen or more hook-ups are common on a daily basis. The backwaters offer a more laid-back type of fishing with an amazing jungle backdrop. Four different types of Snook, Guapote (a relative of the peacock) haunt the nooks and crannies of the back country and make for wonderful light tackle or fly action.

Sounds like a “Reality Show”

The Gray Crew took the booth and the message on the road to represent and reach new captains and mates as well as promote the endurance of the “Gray” name. First stop, Gray Taxidermy meets the Jersey Shore.
The 20-degree weather and crazy snow fall didn’t slow down the crowd at the Atlantic City Boat Show. The show was a great success! We got to hook-up with old friends and new captains. Our friends from The Fishermen magazine and Big Game Journal stopped by to shake hands too. Guess who else stopped by the booth and walked away a huge Gray Taxidermy supporter – Dave Marciano from National Geographic’s show, Wicked Tuna! It was hard work and a lot of fun, thanks to everyone that stopped by!

From the Jersey Shore, we decided to take on Miami! The Gray Crew set up camp in the “Big Game Room” at the accredited Miami International Boat Show. This show is such a successful way to see so many industry friends as well as a vast international crowd of fishermen and fleet owners. While Ashlee and Kim were were at the booth, our new firends from Turks & Caisco, Delphine and Belinda stopped by to get signed up with the Gray Team. The Miami Boat Show is also a great way to hook-up with new sponsors for Gray Taxidermy Captains and Mates. Our newest sponsor that we would like to welcome is Hopkins Carter out of Miami! Hopkins Carter is the sponsor this month for the Regional Captain program, bringing in the Penn gear for
our guys. Thanks to everyone that came by, we love getting the chance to talk to our Captains and crews face to face. Gray Taxidermy will proudly continue supporting our Captains and crews world-wide. .

Captain of the Month, Nicholas Villa Arreola - Sponsored by REACTOR

Nicholas Villa - Captain Nicholas was born in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. Like so many other Captains, he has been fishing since he was a child because his father was a commercial fisherman. 15 years ago Nicholas acquired two fishing boats in Los Cabos, but it wasn’t till two years ago when Nicholas took over as captain of the Mahi Mahi I. Captain Nicholas always makes sure his customers have a great experience and live a memorable day of fishing in Los Cabos.

One of his favorite trips was when he was taking out some repeat clients that happen to be City firefighters from Salem, Oregon. They had been fishing for about eight hours without any luck, so they decided to head back to port. Captain Nicholas decided to give it five more minutes when everyone else had given up. Of course that one last cast landed them a 140-lb Striped Marlin which had a hook in one eye when they got it to the boat! The clients and crew were ecstatic! According to Nicolas, it was an amazing experience.

Captain Nicholas wanted to make sure to say “thanks,” to his longtime friend and mate, Jesus Manuel Borquez "el churros." Together they make a great team showing their clients excellent service. By working together, they have had much success in sport-fishing and now also the fish-mounting business.

Congratulations Captain Nicholas! You are awarded a REACTOR watch (Gray Taxidermy’s official watch company) and a plaque from Gray Taxidermy naming you “Captain of the Month”!

The determination of Captain of the month comes from a random drawing. Each month, every order placed with Gray Taxidermy is entered in a drawing. At the end of the month, one name is randomly pulled from all entries. Along with the new watch, the captain will also be awarded a Trophy plaque with an engraved plate from Gray Taxidermy. The more orders turned in, the better your chances.

Mate of the Month, March, 2013 - David Jackson

David Jackson - The winner of Mate of the Month comes from a random drawing from all the previous month’s orders. The lucky winner is awarded a pair of Costa, Blue Mirror 580 Corbina sunglasses as well as a plaque from Gray Taxidermy naming him, Mate of the Month. Costa is the sponsor for both Mate programs we have each month. This company has always been a big supporter of Gray Taxidermy and our Captains and Mates. Thank-you Costa for being part of the CREW!!

This month’s winner is David Jackson. David is a Mate on the Happy Day Today from Top Shot Sportfishing out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Congrats David!

The determination of Mate of the Month comes from a random drawing of all orders turned in during the previous month’s time.

Featured Fish of the Month – Wahoo

I guess depending on where you fish, you may call this fish by another name; Ono or peto. However you refer to it, the Wahoo is the month’s “Fish of the Month.” From all the Wahoo orders turned in last month, Mate Kaika Romero from Boom Boom Charters in Hawaii was choosen! Congrats Kaika! Enjoy your new Tuna Alley, Blue Mirror Costa Sunglasses, and thank-you Costa for your continued support of Gray Taxidermy Captains and Mates across the globe!

Here are the details on Wahoo found on Wikipedia:

The Wahoo is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas and is a close relative of King Mackerel. Wahoo tend to be solitary or occur in loose-knit groups of two or three fish, but where conditions are suitable can be found in schools as large as 100 or more. Their diet is made up of other fish and squid. The body is elongated and covered with small, scarcely visible scales; the back is an iridescent blue, while the sides are silvery, with a pattern of irregular vertical blue bars and have razor sharp teeth. These colors fade rapidly at death. Specimens have been recorded at up to 8’ 2” in length, and weighing up to 180 lbs. Growth can be rapid. One specimen tagged at 11 lb grew to 33 lb in one year.

The Wahoo is a highly-prized sport-fishing catch. It reaches a good size, is often available not too far from land, and is a very good fighter on light to medium tackle. It is known in sports fishing circles for the speed that can reach up to 60 mph and strength of its first run.

This is a highly mountable catch! It has a little bit of everything.... size, color, pattern and teeth, not to mention a most memorable catch with the fight the Wahoo puts up!! It has definitely been a favorite mount of Gray Taxidermy clients world-wide.

There are good days fishing and there are GREAT days fishing…

One of our very own Captain and Crew sailing out of Boynton Harbor Marina, right here in our backyard had one memorable day of fishing. Captain Geno Pratt along with his First Mate and wife, Captain Karen, set out on the Geno IV with a family they have fished many times over a 15 year span. Edythe Piccione, a great angler and friend had passed away at 91 years old. Her last wishes entailed that her family would charter her favorite boat for a final family fishing trip, before surrendering her ashes to the sea.

The Geno IV, set out of Boynton Beach, trolling in about 300 feet of water, when the unthinkable happed! A Grand Slam!! This just doesn’t happen, in fact hasn’t happened in this area for about 50 years! They released three species of billfish…

All together there was a White Marlin, 4 Sailfish, 2 Tuna and finally a Blue Marlin….. all in less than 3 hours of time. In the end, Edythe and her family had her fishing trip of a LIFETIME. You can read more about this great story on Geno4fishing.com or The Palm Beach Post or the Sun Sentinel, as well as several other fishing magazines.

What a great story,

Congratulation Captain Geno and Captain Karen!!

Testimonials from Gray Taxidermy Clients...
... What they are saying?

Dear Gray Taxidermy,

It was a genuine pleasure meeting you yesterday at Gray's fantastic facility. I had the opportunity to interact with several of Gray’s team members yesterday during my visit and I felt very welcomed and extremely comfortable. I wanted to thank you for the tour of your facilities. My wife Marlen and I enjoyed it immensely.

Impressed does not cover what we witnessed, it was so much more memorable than that! I am so sorry but I do not remember the painters name, he is a true professional at the top of his game! He is a terrific guy who did everything he could to meet my satisfaction and he did in spades!

I took this picture of the finished mount this morning and also included a photo of the live fish which was released, the proof is in the pictures, what a amazing piece of work, I could not be more satisfied with the mount and your great team at Gray!

Thank You!
John Kaiser

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