Captain Santiago Valdovinos Olea owns and operates the panga Gitana. The Gitana was one of the pangas, along with the Tequila and Sequestro Amor that caught on fire and was totaled in 2001. The fire was a real blow to these men. But, thanks to donations from many generous people and a good following of clients who pre-paid for future trips, the pangas are rebuilt and back in the water. Even though more money is needed to get them out of debt, they are at least fishing and have the ability to work.

The new Gitana is of fiberglass construction and Santiago was able to utilize his years of experience into customizing her into a quality fishing machine. She has a new 75hp Yamaha engine, gas tanks under the bench seats, outriggers, rod holders, shade canopy, bucket seats with gimbals, live well, a non skid deck, and many other items that help make your day on the water a comfortable one.

Even with the three months lost due to the fire, Santiago is currently the high captain in the fleet for tagging and releasing sailfish. This should tell you a couple of things. 1) He is a person who believes in preserving the future of our sport fishing industry, and 2) he is darn good at what he does.

No one can sew a bait and make it run truer or more lifelike than Santiago or his brother Adam, who is his deckhand. One of the tricks he uses for his success is to always have live bait. He feels that fresh bait, when used as a dead trolling split tail bait, will be firmer, hold up longer, and have more "shine" than a bait that has been sitting in an ice chest for several hours. Another advantage to having live bait on the boat, is in case you encounter tuna or dorado. Your ability to catch these fish is greatly enhanced with live bait.

Santiago is fluent in English, and he has an excellent sense of humor. A day spent on the water with him is always an enjoyable day. Because of this, he has accumulated a list of die-hard fans that fish here every year, and reserve him months in advance.

The Gitana charters for $210.00 a day. Santiago will pick you up at either the municipal pier or Puerto Mio. He can be reached by calling 011-52-755-554-7812, cell phone 011-52-755-558-1923 or e-mail gitana@prodigy.net.mx
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