| Meet the Captains - Captain Hipolito (Poli) Hernandez |
by Ed Kunze
I remember on more than one occasion, when I was out on the water fishing with clients and listening to the radio chatter, about how I have been absolutely astounded when I would hear Captain Poli come across the radio reporting his latest catch. I always say to myself, “How did he find that? How can he get a huge marlin when no one has even had a strike from a marlin in a month?” And, believe me, with regularity, these are huge fish he gets. The casual way he comes across on the radio belies the enormity of the situation; because every single captain in the fleet has just had his eyes go wide open and is thinking exactly the same thoughts as me.
Captain Poli has to be one of our finest people here in Ixtapa / Zihuatanejo. A very popular person. Locals and a lot of tourists and people who live here several months a year cannot pass by Poli’s home without stopping and saying hi. When you realize he lives at the footstep of the Municipal Pier, that is a lot of people! To get an interview with him has to be done between snatches of conversations with the multitudes passing by. He is very industrious, because he not only owns the 38 foot Don Gordo and the 31 foot El Gordo, but he and his wife also own Lillie’s Restaurant at the municipal pier. His intelligence shows immediately when he speaks to you in fluent English, and lot of people do not realize it, but he is fairly decent in French also. Well liked, industrious, intelligent, and a heck of a good fisherman – it is a very good combination when looking for a captain for a day on the water.
Poli is 39 years old and has the experience and the knowledge it takes, accumulated from 16 years of owning his own boat for sportfishing charters. His personal best for big fish are a 600 pound blue marlin, a 313 pound yellowfin tuna, and a 75 pound dorado. His spacious boats are well laid out with the comfort of the client in mind. Live wells, tuna tubes, GPS, and a fish locator are only a few of the professional amenities he has installed to ensure he catches fish. Combine Poli’s experience, with a good boat and 1st class tackle, and you will have an excellent day on the water.
There are several ways to contact Captain Poli. The first is to call his home phone number or his cell phone (554-5037 and 044-755-557-4464). The second is to look him up on the Fintastic Fish Captain’s web page Paul Phillips has made to honor the top billfish tag and release captains of Zihuatanejo (www.fintastic.com/ixtapasportfishing/). Finally, just swing by the Municipal Pier and ask for Poli at the corner store or in Lillie’s Restaurant next door.
The next time you go fishing, and your are not with Captain Poli, when you return to the dock to discover a 300 pound plus marlin or a 200 pound plus tuna had been caught- there is a good chance your captain was keeping real quiet about the fact that Poli had just astounded all of us again.
Ed Kunze is a charter boat captain himself and writes this column from his own expertise and personal knowledge of the captains and their boats. He lives in Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo year round and can be reached at 554-4876 or sportfishing@cdnet.com.mx
For more information on Captain Ed and his boats go to www.sportfishing-ixtapa.com or www.zihuatanejo.net/seaandsand
December 2002
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