Gray Taxidermy Newsletter
AN EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATION FOR FISHERMAN, BY FISHERMEN

Issue 46, October 2014

Captain of the Month – Captain John Wisenstine Costa Rica, Quepos Fish Adventures

Congratulations to Captain John Wisenstine from Costa Rica! He is the lucky captain that turned in the winning order for a Sailfish for a customer from New Jersey. Great mount Captain John.

Once again, REACTOR Watch Company is sponsoring this program for Gray Taxidermy Captains. Captain John will receive an awesome new Neutron Watch and plaque from Gray Taxidermy naming him Captain of the Month!

Growing up in rural Colorado, Captain John has been involved full time in fishing since he was 13, when he started making flies to sell for fly fishermen. An avid fly fisherman, John fished every pond and river in Colorado until 20 years ago John discovered his true passion on a billfish trip out of Maui. He then decided that Offshore fishing on the fly and conventional tackle for billfish
was going to be his calling in life, and started making regular trips to billfish hot spots around the world.

In 2003, John decided to sell off everything and chase his dream. He bought a boat and truck and fished every town on the Pacific Coast, starting in Mexico and ending up in Quepos. When John arrived in Quepos, he knew he was home, and since 2003 has been a professional captain in Quepos.

Species of the Month – Permit

Each month Costa DelMar Sunglasses sponsors the Fish Species of the Month program. This is usually awarded to the mate from the winning order pulled, but every once in a while, the Captain is pulling double duty and running it solo…

This month, we congratulate Captain John Smouse. Way to go Captain John!!

Some interesting info about the Permit
A little about the Fish Species of the Month….The Permit, Trachinotus falcatus, is a game fish of the western Atlantic Ocean belonging to the Carangidae family. Permits can be distinguished by their elongated dorsal fins and anal fin. The dorsal fin is shaped like a scythe. Permit tails are also deeply forked, and their bodies are compressed laterally, making the fish tall and thin when viewed from the front.

The average Permit has six to seven dorsal spines, and 18 to 21 soft rays. The anal fin has two to three spines, and 16 to 18 soft rays. Both dorsal and anal fins have dark, anterior lobes. Permits have no scutes and have a large, orange-yellow patch on their
abdomens in front of their anal fins, while their pectoral fins are dark.

The Permit fish can reach a maximum length of 48” and can weigh up to 79 lbs, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Permit are usually found in shallow, tropical waters such as mudflats, channels, and muddy bottoms. They are usually seen as individuals or in small schools; if approached when alone, they attempt to escape human interaction, but if approached when in a school formation, they become aggressive and can deliver dangerous bites. Although Permit are found close to shore and even in some brackish areas, they spawn offshore. Young are found usually in the surf zone where plenty of small invertebrates are available for them to eat. Adults feed on crabs, shrimp and smaller fish.

Mate of the Month – Juan Gomez

The order pulled for this month’s Mate of the Month comes all the way from Cancun! The trophy was a Sailfish for a customer from Texas. The Mate on this order… Juan Gomez. Congratulations!!

For this prestigious honor, Juan will receive a plaque from Gray Taxidermy naming him, Mate of the Month – October 2014 and a pair of Costa Sunglasses.

With over 20 years of experience at sea, Juan Gomez better known by the nickname of CUCO is an intrepid sailor who has spent his life on fishing boats. Juan has worked in different places as Scuba Cancun, Club Lagoon, Marina Maroma and currently Marina Chac Chi to name a few.

Juan is highly regarded with his peers as a great human being as well as an excellent fisherman! In his many experiences even as a captain, he has always learned from them all and come out on top, which is a tribute to the kind of person that he is. Juan has always gone the extra mile by putting his customer first and making sure they feel successful in their fishing adventure.

Legend… Captain Carlos Vega of Cozumel, Mexico

We as fisherman have come accustomed to using the word “legend“ towards a truly great fellow fisherman. The real definition of a Gray Taxidermy legend is more than that. We recognize in a fast paced world full of changing times, one thing special to us is a dedicated professional to the industry we all love with a proven track record as a quality fisherman, customer service specialist , consistent-top mounter as well as a member of the Charter boat industry for at least 25 years. This is no small feat as we have all lived the drastic rise in cost of doing business as a boat owner as well as the rising cost of getting clients to the boat while all the while going broke! The only thing in our business to not go up is the fee collected to get off the dock! We are truly proud to launch this promotion of Gray Legends and will always proudly support the charter boat Captains and crews as partners in a great industry.

Gray Taxidermy is proud to honor our first Legend Captain Carlos Vega

As proud supports of our Legends, we have teamed up with SIMRAD to bring our captains a Simrad HH36 Handheld VHF radio as a “Thank-you” for always supporting this great industry. This radio is a feature-packed handheld, Class D, DSC marine VHF radio loaded with the latest technology, integrated GPS, loud and clear audio and navigational features that leave other handheld VHF radios in the shade. Great for use on any sized boat, for professional or leisure use. Congratulations once again Captain Vega and Thank-you!

By Carlos Vega:
I’m one of the very few natives who have been living in Cozumel my whole life. I know everybody on the island and everybody knows me very well and respects me for who I am and for what I have done over the years and still does to promote the sport fishing and tourism for Cozumel. The sport fishing has always been my love and passion.

I was part of the Cozumel Annual International Billfish Tournament organization for more than 25 years. I was very happy doing this with pride knowing that what I was doing was going to put Cozumel in the fishing map as one of the excellent bill fishing destination and doing that it was going to bring lots of fishing tourists avid to catch Blue Marlin, White Marlin. Sailfish along with other table fish species such as Wahoo, Tuna, Mahi-Mahi Dorado etc. to the island meaning lots of jobs which was to going to help our economy a lot (hotels, restaurants, grocery stores, charter boats, etc.)

In 1980, I opened my own fishing company named Aquarius Travel. My website is http://www.cozumelflatsfishing.com. I have been in the fishing business (deep sea fishing and flats fishing) for 34 years now. My Company specializes in deep sea fishing and flats fishing in the Cozumel and Cancun area.

I’m very proud to be one of the Gray Taxidermy Agents. I have known the Gray Taxidermy staff for many years now and it is a great honor to be part of this Company. Gray Taxidermy always delivery what they promise that is why they have earned to be named The World Largest Taxidermy In the World.

Your Facebook Campaign

By working together we can provide an even better Facebook experience for your existing customers as well as thousands of potential customers! We can post your fishing adventure photos, and you get the opportunity to advertise your company directly to people that love fishing and in return you will receive added exposure for your Charter business. IT’S THAT EASY!

Send us your fishing photos to photos@graytaxidermy.com and we will post them to our growing audience of 132,000 fans, exclusively for Gray Taxidermy Captains and Mates. Make sure you let us know the Charter Business name, the Captain and mates name along with your location. Feel free to include your logo, website and phone number.