The Scalera family from Rome, Italy flew into Puerto Vallarta specifically to do some deep-sea fishing.  The group consisted of Papa, Mama, daughter Elena and her husband.  Well, the only language that Phil comprehends less than Spanish is Italian so it was an interesting day.  They chose a brand new boat in the Vallarta fleet, the OUTCAST, a 35' Scarab that can reach Corbeteñia in about 1 hour.  Captain Luis is fantastic, he speaks perfect English (although this was not an issue on this charter) and has more experience than most. 

Papa Scalera is a world-class fishing expert and has a very interesting variety of gear.  Phil learned some valuable tricks and was in awe of this man's skills all day long.  Papa had a spool of what he called 'Lead Line' which looked like about 400 feet of steel leader.  Attached to each end of this leader was mono filament line of about 100 pound test.  The beauty of this rig was the fact that it behaved in much the same way as a downrigger.  He could put his lure down to any depth that he wanted by the amount of mono filament line he let out. 

Papa Scalera hooked a Marlin on his own gear but unfortunately it was lost.  Actually it would have been a 'Catch and Release' anyhow so we can call this a 'Premature Catch and Release'.  It was a thrill for Phil and the crew to see this family in action and we hope that they return to Puerto Vallarta again.