Fishing

Meet the Captains…..Capitan Cheva
By Ed Kunze

Probably the least known, with the least publicity, yet definitely one of the absolute best captains here, is Captain Ceruando Ruiz…nicknamed Cheva. Captain Cheva operates and guides on the panga Dos Hermanos II.

In my estimation, you can probably count on two hands the number of people who have his knowledge of the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of the Republic of Mexico. That statement has a lot of implications, but I will stand by it. When it comes to reading the water, knowing the currents, storms, species of fish, seasons, migratory routes, islands, canyons, sea mounts, etc. of the Pacific Ocean, from Guatemala to San Diego, California, Cheva has been there and done that.

A Zihuatanejo native born son, Cheva is 45 years old, and has over 30 years of experience at sea. At the age of 15, he started working with his dad on a small panga-style boat with an inboard two-cylinder diesel engine. The top speed, depending on whether you were going up swell or down swell, was three to four miles an hour. They would travel out 50 to 70 miles for tuna. The boat had the capacity of holding a lot of iced down fish, the two of them, and not much else. It was a three day trip - one full 24-hour day to get there, one day to fish, and another full day to return. There was a little fresh water on the boat, tortillas, salt, and a few chilies, but the actual food was expected to come from whatever was caught. The only “modern” navigation device they had was a compass, but they unerringly were able to return to port every time. There was no GPS, no navigation map, and no radio. But there was a lot of knowledge of the sea, which the old man passed on to his son.

When Cheva turned 21, he qualified for the Captain’s exam, and passed it the first time. With his captain’s ticket in hand he went from port to port looking for the right boat to accept a young man willing to work his tail off. Manzanillo was the first opportunity, and he ran a shrimp boat. From there, his reputation for dependability, hard work, and knowledge of the sea and boats carried him from the Ensenada tuna seining fleet in Baja California, to long-line boats in Mazatalan, and trawl nets off Chiapas. Not many people can say they have fished Clipperton Island seven times. And, Cheva would not point the bow for home until the holds were completely full, no matter how long it took. The tiny fish magnet atoll (French owned) is more than 500 miles from any port. Including Clipperton and the Revillagigedos there is no stretch of coastline, touching the west coast of Mexico he has not fished.

After 16 years of working on the big boats, he came back home to stay. His wife was here in Zihuatanejo with the kids, and the kids were getting older. It was time to leave the life of the many months at sea, and take up the responsibilities of being a good father and husband. A commercial captain for all his life, Cheva was conscientious enough to understand the limitations of the sea’s resources. He immediately began working as a true billfish release captain with his clients.

About this time, Adolpho Espinosa, the owner of the panga Dos Hermanos, realized he needed a second boat to keep up with all the bookings. For good reason. Adolpho has been featured on many TV outdoor fishing programs, and in several magazine articles. He is one of the absolute best (and probably most publicized) captains here. Most people do not realize they need at least two years in advance to book Adolpho, because he has a clientele following from France and England who basically keep him booked from November to July.

About two years ago Adolpho bought the Dos Hermanos II. Through a life long friendship with Cheva, the willingness to release billfish, knowledge, hard work ethic, and needing an excellent captain to take care of the obligations of the Dos Hermanos II, he chose Cheva. And, what a good choice it has been.

I have fished with Cheva on many an occasion. He has a great sense of humor, and an uncanny ability to find the game fish. I have always had a very pleasant day on the water with him, and some of them have been absolutely spectacular. It does not matter as to whether he is going after roosterfish, inshore species, or sailfish on the fly rod: he has proven himself to me to be one of our best, and certainly one of the most knowledgeable

Ed Kunze is Zihuatanejo's IGFA Representative and a charter fishing boat captain. He lives in Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo year round and can be reached at 554-4876 or edkunze@prodigy.net.mx For more information on Captain Ed and his boats go to www.sportfishing-ixtapa.com or www.zihuatanejo.net/seaandsand.

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