The Long Lost Mr. Jones

Dear Readers,
Well, I apologize for the lack of communication of late, but it just didn't feel like the time. I will be writing my traditional thoughts at year end very shortly, but for this time I want to tell you about a couple of guys. These would be Grizzly Cognac and his trusted native compendium El Banco. They rode into town 10 days or so ago. Now GC has been a loyal customer for many years, but up until relatively recently he was coming alone. For years he had partners, a friend or two that would accompany him, but due to economic conditions, the aging of us all, and other factors, some beyond his control, he had been coming down solo for the last 5 years or so. He mentioned guys that wanted to fish, one in particular that he mentioned more than once was a man for whom he had positive feelings, but up until recently their relationship had been limited to the exchange of dead presidents. Last June GC decided to update this situation, to elevate it beyond the ritual exchange of frog skins, and invited El Banco down to fish. They had a good time, scored on the fishes, and vowed to return. Well, GC is an acquired taste, and some take longer to acquire it than others, so I took EB's promise to return with a grain of NaCl. Lo and behold they returned, both of them. GC is man of adventurous spirit, blessed with a joy of life, an active imagination, and a lust for many, no make that most, things. He has lived an interesting and varied life, full of experiences that he has wrung out like an old dish cloth, squeezing every last drop form each one, and consuming it like a disillusioned evangelist turns to KoolAid. He likes to tell of his adventures, and though he be a story teller for sure, almost all of his tales come from the nonfiction section of the mental library. He has a million of them, and if he ever runs short is as shameless about reruns as NBC ever was. El Banco on the other hand, is a little less ebullient than his cohort. Though not shy, and part of it is that with GC around the available air time is limited, he is willing to tell parts of his estimable story. Working up from the bottom in his chosen trade, he recently retired, having reached the top. Deciding not to try and stack up more turtles (footnote #1) he retired to enjoy his life in the mountains, tending to the worlds' largest black bass. Through no fault of his own his adventures have continued, and while not as horn loaded as GC, he has continued to live his life fully and with joy. An intelligent man, broadly knowledgeable, he's a guy that you might want to carry a notepad wichya' because he says things worth remembering. Well, they were here for 9 days, fished for 5, and took home a mariscada of dorado, true bonita, cabrilla, sierra, and even some mako shark. They enjoyed their time together, the time away from home, and our fair city. The world is a better place for these two men, and mine was for sure while they were here. Somewhere, at this very minute, GC is adjusting his ever present ball cap, suckin' on a cigarette, and telling someone the story about him, the stripper, the cottonwood tree, and the raccoon. EB may well be nearby, grinning.
David

Well, where the hell have you been?

Every Now and Then I Know, That Its' kinda Hard to Tell, But I"m Still Alive and Well

Those mortal words, as rendered by one Johnny Winter, apply to myself of late, and I'm sorry. Been a little busy, although I haven't much to show for it, wonder how that works? At any rate, while on the subject of rock n' roll, sorry to see that Lou Reed proceeded to the Velvet Underground of late. I didn't get him when he was originally gathering fame, there was a guy who lived down the hall, Doug Kroll, who went on and on about Mr. Reed, but he was just too far from my Summer of Love roots. I caught on a little later, and while much of his stuff I find less than appealing, he also had some classics, and one of the best live rock n' roll albums of all time. How can you resist, "but despite all the amputations, she could dance to the rock n' roll stations "?  Maybe not genius but talent for sure. Good job Lou. Check out the guitar intro to Sweet Jane on Rock n' Roll animal. Steve Hunter and Mr. Wright (forgot the first name, Dan maybe?). As far as textural rock and roll playing goes, it doesn't get a whole lot better.

Fishing, oh yes. Well we've been pluggin' out the dorado pretty regularly at Muertos, along with some late season marlin and even some sails. Then last week the northerlies seemed to kick in for real, and so we'll keep catchin' dorado as they flush out from up north. Bait has been bonito of late, and some squid.
Over in Boboville, Capt. Chris has been punchin' along. Last week had some rain, which actually did dampen things a bit, but generally he's been making people happy. Reports from this week, at least his first day, Tuesday, said that they found some bait ball activity down south, fairly much inshore, and they took six marlin in the morning, with 2 more escaping before we could let them go. That and some yellow tail did the day, and at last report he was going to head north to the Thetis today, with hopes and flags flying high. I know Terry, I'm blabbering, but watchin' that kid step up, do well, take his licks, get up and do it again gives me positive feelings that I feel pressed to describe.
Thanks for "Watching",
David

Thought on using the word Awesome

I'M NOT A FAN OF THE WORD AWESOME, OR PERHAPS BETTER SAID, I'M NOT A FAN OF THE USE AND OVERUSE OF THIS POOR WORD. LIKE THE HAND GUN ON THE TABLE, IT PRESENTS NO DANGER UNTIL SOME MORON PICKS IT UP AND DOES SOMETHING STUPID WITH IT. WELL, I WOULD SAY THAT IF YOU STACKED UP THE MISUSE OF "AWESOME" VERSUS THAT OF HAND GUNS IN THE U.S., AWESOME WOULD WIN. NO OFFENCE MR. LA PIERRE, BUT YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO SATURATE THE TEEN AND PRETEEN MARKETS YET, AND AWESOME MAKES ITS' HOME THERE. IT'S NOT A BAD WORD IN AND OF ITSELF, IT'S JUST BEEN USED LIKE A $2 HOOKER. THAT SAID, I'M GONNA USE IT SOME MORE. FISHING FROM LAS ARENAS HAS NOT BEEN AWESOME. IT HAS BEEN SOLID, AND GENERALLY DORADO FILLED. MOST DAYS DOUBLE DIGIT CATCHES ARE THE ORDER OF THE DAY, BUT WEIGHTS HAVE BEEN IN THE LOW DOUBLE DIGITS. EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS WE'LL RUN INTO A FEW 30 POUNDERS, AND THERE HAVE BEEN A FAIR AMOUNT OF MARLIN IN WITH THE DORADO, MUSKIE JOE CAUGHT TWO MARLIN IN TWO DAYS. USING SQUID FOR THE DORADO HAS BEEN DE RIGEUR, WITH CABALLITOS MORE IN ORDER FOR THE MARLIN. A FEW NICE ROOSTERFISH, SOME 20 POUND MULATTOS AND A FEW LATE SEASON SAILFISH HAVE ROUNDED OUT THE CATCH. GOOD FISHING, RELIABLE, SOLID, ENTERTAINING, BUT A FEW KLICKS SOUTH OF AWESOME. I WILL NOT, EVER, USE THE WORD AWESOME TO DESCRIBE ANY OF OUR PRODUCTS, BUT I WILL LET OUR CUSTOMERS DO IT: "THE MAG BAY TRIP WAS THE MOST AWESOME FISHING TRIP THAT I'VE EVER BEEN ON." "YOUR NEW BOAT IS ONE AWESOME FISHING MACHINE." "YOUR SON CHRIS HAS TURNED INTO AN AWESOME CAPTAIN." THESE ARE ALL QUOTES, SAID TO ME, BY CLIENTS OVER THE LAST THREE WEEKS AT MAG BAY. AND NOTE THAT NONE OF THEM FOLLOWED THAT WORD WITH "DUDE". I WILL LET THESE PICTORIAL DISPLAYS UTTER THE WORD A FEW THOUSAND MORE TIMES. 53.JPG" /> WE'VE ALREADY STARTED BOOKING FOR 2014 AND ANY RESERVATIONS TAKEN BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2014 WILL BE HONORED AT 2013 RATES. NOW THAT'S AN AWESOME DEAL.sorry David

Giving Birth, Again

First of all, in order to pacify TK and further enrage my new buddy Eugene, the fishing for dorado at Las Arenas continues solidly. These are mostly smaller fish in the 8-18 pound class, with a few to 25. We're taking them on squid, brought up early in the morning right in front of Muertos. There have been a few dog snapper, a couple of rooster, a brace of pargo mulatto here and there, but dorado has been the name of the game out of La Paz. On this last full moon the weather has shifted distinctly. After a few weeks of sequential tropical storms nipping at our nether regions, causing the sweat to flow like LaBatts at a hockey match, and a regular supply of precipitation, boom, on the full moon it mostly dried up. The Pacific side has had constant but moderate northerlies, the storms are being bent out to the Pacific long before they get to us, and the temps are down 10 degrees. This change usually takes place on a full moon in late October, and we may be in for a storm or two more, but fall is in the air, early in the mornings at least. Center stage at our circus has been the first week of the 2013 season at Mag Bay. It's been a long road, as partially described last report, but with a furious finish of acquiring import papers and topping off reels we exported Jimmy C and the Hosers, a six pack of mostly transplanted Canadians who loves to fish. They left this morning and I think that they're in for a blast. New boat, newly U.S. Coast Guard crowned Capt. Chris, Kalin disquised as Santa Lucero and Juan Carlos on the pots and pans, and a newly expanded living situation, brought to us by the Gavino Ensemble, all bode well for a good trip. I'd like to take this opportunity to again thank my son, Chris, for all the hard work and self discipline that he so painfully endured during the last few weeks. Well done Bobo! See I told you that we could do it! David

Captain Chris' Flying Circus-a!

As those of you who have nothing better to do than read my writing (Thanks Eugene!) have ferreted out from past communication we make a decision to purchase a boat for the Mag Bay project. After years of renting problems, we decided to own problems. We got what seemed to be a screaming deal on a very bitchin' boat, and signed up. Do to circumstances beyond our control we then went into a very obscure place, where things promised didn't happen, and when they did they were late. Chris was up in California trying to "help" with the process, but his patience was stretched to the see through point, and the ensuing darkness of mood was well earned, but not necessarily productive. He Championed on however, and soon there was almost a boat, but time was a wastin' as we have customers in a week or so. Last Thursday Chris took possession of said water craft and began his all in one shakedown and boat delivery cruise. 3 friends of Christophers' had signed up for this "3 hour tour" and they had remained stalwart, even thought the time frame stretched radically and their wives and girlfriends were calling to find out if they were still alive. CBM and I were driving Chris' car down in parallel with his boat trip, and were in occasional phone contact. We saw them in Turtle Bay, where they stopped for fuel. After a really tedious and painful beginning as "our boat" the new vessel was performing flawlessly. The hull and motors, the two main parts that were not subject to the ministrations up north were the stars of the show. The boat is fast, relatively economical, comfortable and very sea worthy. Some successful fishing was even done on the trip down, but that's for another entry. Those of you with enough foresight to sign up for 2013 Mag Bay are in for a treat. She's 31' long and 10.5' wide, very roomy, with 2 each 250hp Etecs, a head, bait tanks, and all the trimmings. David

Careful with that Axe, Eugene

Remember that instrumental by Pink Floyd? I wish that I didn't. I"m not sure whether I have a stalker in my life, but like those courageous few before me, Britney and Justin, I will persevere, you can't silence me E.O. even after all these years. We've been bestormed of late, with a series of Tropical Storms and depressions sliding up the cost as tney are want to do this time of year. A couple of bumpy days, but no days lost in the last two weeks, some magnificent thunderstorm activity to watch behind town, and even some much needed rain. Fishing continues to be good, with dorado to 35 coming all along the shore, some dog snappers who've returned to munch on squid, and a few big roosters over towards the island. I'm waitin' on the next full moon, hoping that it provides some concentration of the sporadic wahoo sightings over that last 10 days. Squid continue to be the bait of choice, and they remain plentiful. Always carry a swivel. David "The errors of the wise man make the rules for the fools"

Look Myrtle, It's a Dang Fishing Report!!

Fishing is following the usual late summer curve. Mostly dorado, 95% dorado, with an abundance of smaller fish, in the 8-20 pound range, happening along the shorelines and inshore from Boca de Alamo to Sargento. These fish are coming mostly on squid, which remain in profusion. El Peloto did his lifetime personal best this week with a 30 pounder, also inshore, but fish that big have mostly been coming from the buoys. Fewer but bigger fish has been the story there, using molcate and bonita for bait. No tuna in the last week, a couple of wahoo, a few billfish, and one 45 pound amberjack. Tropical storm Ivo kept us off the water today, bur not tomorrow. It is hurricane season, but then you knew that. DISCLAIMER, NEY APOLOGY: It seems as though I may have regruntled one of my most unique customers a couple of weeks ago when I made an, I thought, good natured, comparison between him and a very famous aquatic fowl, one Donald Duck. Other than the chronic lack of pants, I have always been, and remain a fan of DD. His exasperation with that damned mouse, and life in general, have always reminded me of parts of me, and so my comparison was not intended to be insulting. Apparently TG was miffed as he has not recently donated his usual quota of nitrogen rich material to my life. Come on my liege, get over it. David

Least of the Hip

You went and found you a guru/ In and effort to find you a new you /And maybe even raise your conscience level/While you're striving to find the right road/ There's one thing you should know / What's hip today might becomes passe.\ These words, delivered to us over the years but none other than the Masters of Eat Bay Grease themselves, The Tower of Power. These words crossed my mind the other day when Son Bobo and I ventured forth to secure sustenance for the village, we did well on dorado from 20 to over 50 pounds, but along the way we encountered a couple of ancient life forms, one of which I'm not sure is alive, the other maybe shouldn't be. There were turtles in profusion, everywhere you gazed there were brown domes sprouting from the sea, several of which had tired boobies perched upon them, and if you've ever had tired boobies..... These weren't the sometimes monstrously large open ocean turtles but the 24" ones with a pronounced roundness to their shells. Apparently when they've been on the surface for a long time, and the shell dries out, they have a hard time diving. We stopped to interview a couple of them and they had frankly little to offer. They swam towards the boat, looking for help perhaps, because after all they are turtles. Chris scratched one on the head, and he didn't seem to notice. They don't seem very cognizant. While I'm not recommending the wholesale slaughter of turtles, or even the death of one, it's hard for me to imagine the purpose that the turtle fulfills within the great scheme, and those of you who read here often know that I am generally not imaginationally challenged. I guess that they are good to eat, never had 'em, but many of my Mexican friends get all warm and runny at the very mention of turtle steaks. They're not particularly cute, the only time that you see two turtles together is when they are humping, they don't even care for each others' company. Sorta like T.S. maybe? Maybe I'm missing something, but............. The other ancient animal that we encountered is not nearly so benign. There are humboldt squid among us now, not huge ones, but respectable 15 pound examples, which Bobo quickly cranked up a few for us to use as bait. As we encountered an awful lot of good bait at the buoys, we hadn't used most of the squid by days' end. Bobo decided to take some home and clean them up for dining. BAD IDEA! His car, my house, and even Bobo himself have acquired the sickly sweet smell of decomposing squid. It is awful, pervasive, disgusting, and impossible to eliminate. Granted, we entered their world in order to do them bodily harm, but my God man, some things just ain't fair. LEAVE THE SQUID IN THE WATER!! David

A Tale of Two Terrys, and fishing

HE WHO FIGHTS WITH MONSTERS SHOULD LOOK TO IT THAT HE HIMSELF DOES NOT BECOME A MONSTER. AND WHEN YOU GAZE LONG INTO AN ABYSS THE ABYSS ALSO GAZES INTO YOU. FRIEDRICH NEITZSCHE These words of warning from ol' Fred seemed to come into focus this last week when the lines of energy that define the universe all crossed directly over La Paz, and I had the good fortune to be visited by not one but two Terry's. Stereo Terreo. These two men, neither of whom had any knowledge of the other prior to this last week forged a bond based on how absolutely different they are from each other. In trying to think of famous pairings from the past I had a hard time coming up with a pair with whom you would be familiar that would also explain a little about these two to you. Martin and Lewis? No. Laurel and Hardy? No. Ike and Tina? No. The closest that I could get was Mickie Mouse and Donald Duck. Was it that one wore no shirt and other no pants? No, but one is kinda like MM, whistling and having a good time, sorta ignoring the parts of life that might cause him stress, while the other, more DD, is trying to redefine things around him so that they will fit into his sense of order, for the good of all, I assure you, and without a large degree of patience. These two guys were bound more than anything else by their complete and utter unfamiliarity with the kind of person that the other one is. It was almost like bringing matter and anitmatter together, except without the galactic holocaust that many think would result from such a cocktail. It was fun, not without a lot of spurious energy whipping about the ol' chateau, but fun. I, of course, remained calm and reserved, holding my opinions to myself as I always do, a beacon, if you will, of judgement and maturity in a lightening storm of ground splitting magnitude. I had fun too, thanks guys! They both caught fish, as did everyone else here last week. The boiling bite of the last 4 weeks has slowed to a simmer. Large dorado are still on the buoys, and folks are still losing roughly 50% of them, but that has slowed some, if you find the right buoy you could hit the fish of a lifetime, if not? NADA. The billfish and wahoo bite both slowed coming off the last full moon, but we're still getting some. On the new, and good news side there are large numbers of medium sized dorado, 12 to 22 lbs., cruising the shore south of Muertos and down the channel towards Las Cruces.Kelly and I went out rooster fishing, and got skunked. There were some Chupa Colas, but nothing large enough to eat our ladyfish, but that's also the good news. There were several large schools of lady fish along the beach from the hotel down to the point, something of which we've been bereft and this should signal some fine rooster fishing to come. We've also finally had a visit from some humboldt squid, not the 40 pound Klingon battle cruisers, but some smaller 10 to 20 pound units. They have been here a week, and if they hang this bodes very well for some inshore tuna action in the foreseeable future. Remember to keep your Terry trimmed and burning, and have a great time, David

Without much help, we continue

Apologies to you loyal readers, and to you who reads this and copies whole phrases into his fish report, the internet link at the office has been on the fritz for a week now, making communications difficult. We're still here, we just can't talk out much. Hopefully we'll get it fixed in the next f'in decade or so. Fishing has continued along the same lines, a little quieter. Less customers the last 10 days or so, but the big dorado keep on a bitin'. It's not wideopeneverybodycatchesdozensoffisheveryday kinda fishin', but everybody is gettin' their chance. Take for example one Cale Stefan (his nom de pesca). He and his trusted compendium were down for 4 days of fishing. They did ok (that's a non capitalized ok) for the first three days, and his spirits were flagging just a bit. A bit of a pep talk, a little tune up of his situation, and Voila!, a day which in his words was, "the best day of fishing I've ever had." Them's mighty big words, but they hooked 11, and landed 7 dorado, with the smallest at 38lb. and the biggest over 50lb. That's a great day in anybodies ledger. Wahoo have slowed down coming off the moon, but roosters have turned it up with a couple of 75lb. fish this week. Billfish are still around. Rumours of big squid just south of us bode well for the upcoming weeks. David

Senor con Dos Nombres

I went fishing yesterday. Schedules lined up so that I could spend the day with one of my favorite people. Once again, on the rare possibility that he has one shred of innocence left somewhere, his name must be protected. We'll call him Dos Nombres as he is one of those rare guys that has two first names (actually three when you consider the "Wayne"). I met this fellow some 19 years ago when I moved here. He was tangled up with the previous owner and another possible ner'do well or two in bringing folks down here to fish. He had retired from a career in law enforcement at a relatively early age and was doing sports travel for hunters and fishermen. He seemed a nice guy, as opposed to perhaps his compadres at the time, and as time wandered on he proved himself to be just that. "Nice guy" might seem a little like damning with faint praise to some of you, but think about it, how many truly Nice Guys do you know, or have you run across in an average decade? See, that's my point. I've kinda always had an affinity for the law enforcement types, or at least I have spent a lot of time around them, being in the same places, usually on opposite sides of whatever issue of personal behavior was on the table at the time, but after 1/2 a century or so it seems that I've gotten it right, finally. DN was an old school cop, tough enough when he had to be (SWAT stuff) but also willing to cut the non hardened kinda schmuck, who just messed up, a break if he could. Perhaps as a former NHKS myself this is what drew me to him. At any rate, we went fishing. Fishing slowed a little on this last full moon, with the fish that came in still being of impressive quality, but a few less of them. Dorado, marlin, sails, and wahoo were comin' in every day, but a little less tonnage over the last couple of days. We decided, on the advice of an unnamed Bobo to go after rooster fish. With reverent thoughts of Sr. Mathias we chose Efrain as our Captain. Efrain is Isisdros' kid, and a nice one, so that kinda closed the Bill connection. Seemed like a plan. Over the last week some clients have taken some monstrous roosters, near 90 pounds, and we felt as though with our experience and piscatorial acumen that this plan would be easily accomplished. Not so gentle reader, not so. We couldn't find any lady fish so we settled for concineros and trolled the usual hot spots, without a bite, for hours. Now in the defense of fishermen and plans that need defending, when you are working a full moon it is likely that there will be some times of intense feeding, around the changes, but also some times of intense ennui as when that big current starts to hit its' stride most fish stop feeding. So full moon times tend to be peaky, and if you are in the right spot, at the right time, full moons are great fishing, but 80% of the hours in that full moon day are liable to resemble, particularly from an olfactory perspective, a black and white vermin. Well, a little before noon DN said, "this kinda sucks, and yesterday I caught a wahoo around this time, why don't we try that?" Well, Efrain and I communicated with each other in ocular fashion that at least this plan belonged to neither of us, and if it failed, at least it wasn't our idea, and nodded eagerly. To the wahoo grounds off the east side of Roca Montana we went. After trying a mullet colored Rapala for a few minutes Efrain changed DN over to a purple CD-18 and that was when the mash started to bubble. Almost immediately DN was on a wahoo, and that 45 pound fish went in the box shortly after Efrain gaffed it in one swift shot. 3 minutes later another wahoo hit the same Rapala and DN handed me his pole. I didn't think about the manners and generosity of this act at the time, things was a boiling, but in retrospect this is what Nice Guys do. Unfortunately that fish came unbuttoned underneath the panga. It was down 12-15 feet but the flash said that it had been another nice fish. I changed my lure over to a BomBoy plug that Chris and I have found quite productive over the years, and soon I was fast to a good wahoo which Efrain secured with another single blindingly quick gaff shot, and lifted it over the rail. This one went 60lbs. or so, and I was a happy guy. DN hooked another nice fish on the Rapala and lost it much as I had lost mine earlier, under the boat, big flash. Folks wonder how it is that anything can escape the plethora of barbed tentacles on the Rapalas, but I think that the number of hooks is also part of the reason for the wahoos' ability to escape a seemingly inescapable situation. You know from black bass fishing that particularly when using lures the fish are often hooked outside the mouth around the face. I believe that this happens when the fish violently attacks the lure. Because of the fishes side facing eyes that lure is not in direct sight for the final attack, and if anything moves, like the lure darting a few inches sideways, the hooks will be stuck on the outside of the fishes mouth, usually around the face. Aside from resembling John Lyndon at this point, the hooks are through skin and face meat, not around the jaws and bone of the mouth. This is a much more tenuous connection and is bound to pull out eventually, often before the hooks are replaced with the gaff. Wahoo strike so ferociously and with such velocity that this situation is made more common. At least, that's my excuse for losing mine. The bite then slowed, again short periods of activity on the big tide, and after another 1/2 hour we headed for the beach. A couple of things lingered in the RAM about this experience. One was how automatically DN had handed me the second fish, on his rod. No hesitation, no second thought. I hope that I would have been as nice. Maybe. Second was how well Efrain had handled the boat. With both of us being elderly, and with fairly high centers of gravity, and somewhat worn knee joints, scrambling around the panga after fish is not what we do best. Efrain had continuously and meticulously positioned the boat so that the fish, the boat, and we the fishermen were always in the right relative positions. It might seem like a small thing, but it's not, and I've never seen it done better. We didn't have to ask him to do it, or recommend any movement as he kept a steady eye on the rod tip, the line, and the direction the fish was heading. A real artist that one. We got back to the beach, and there were a few dorado there, and some stories of billfish lost, but we had the best day of the bunch, at least from a fish count metric. I doubt that anyone had a better day in terms of fellowship and company either. I hope that they had as good a day in that respect as I did, because that is what matters.I would like to cast a vote for the Nice Guys, like DN. They are undervalued and all too rare. And those wahoo steaks ain't no chump change neither. Thanks, David

Just Keeps On Keepin' On

Must have something to do with the last name, but there be funk among us. We're layin' down a rhythm down here that if you can hook up to it the dancin' be really good. The big dorado continue, floppin' around like the Fatman in the Bathtub. With a little wind earlier in the week mobility was cut down a little, and so was the tonnage, but it's clear sailin' now. No storms on the horizon, morning temps a little cool due to fog down south, but afternoons are Hot. The conundrum of the gringo continues however. "We only caught 3 fish today, not a good day." followed a few days later by "We've got too much fish, the airline is goin' to kill us." Well Hell,that's sorta like taken the bad off both sides of the coin. These are big fish, they take awhile, patience, skill, and a modicum of talent. Using the right hardware helps. As we are using bigger baits, ie. concinero, molcate, bonito, zebras, tiny dorado, etc. you have to scale accordingly. I'm using 50lb. main line to a fluorocarbon leader. Best to use a swivel if the bait is dead, a line to line double uni if the bait is alive. The leader could be 60 or 80, and a #5/0 or #7/0 hook. Leader length is a choice, but make sure if using a swivel that between the length of your rod and the length of the leader that you can reel that fish in to within gaffing range. These are big baits, and you must be a little patient on the hook up. Whether it is a circle or J hook, you need to let the fish run just a bit, it ain't a sardine and instead of enhaling it like Mr. Langusch on a vienna sausage they are gonna gnaw on it a bit, flip it around a bit, and savor this tasty repast. When the fish hits 2nd gear, or when your Captain starts jumpin' up and down, drop the hammer. On circle hooks you need but point the rod at the fish, let him take 15 yards and then slowly bring the rod into play. If using a J hook, it's time to swing, but you're not trying to pull teeth from a pachyderm, just come tight on it, bang him a couple of times and you're there. Remember that by the time you have put the reel into play that fish is goin' 40 the other way, and the hook that you so carefully touched up with the trusted emery board the you always carry will slide like Tuttle down the buffet table. You're hooked up, and the fish knows it. Long runs, big jumps, enjoy! This is why you came all the way down here and decided to put up with me. Keep the line tight, and wait until you can make some headway. When you can JUMP ON IT. With big fish there are two battles goin' on, one is to see which one of you will tire sufficiently to make the first mistake, but the subtext, and an important one, is a battle of wills. This a predator pretty high up the food chain, not some farm raised corn eating emasculated rainbow. He ain't use to losin', the thought hasn't crossed his mind. Don't let him rest. As you start to gain line he'll start to circle the boat, using his large flat profile to resist closing on the boat. When he goes left, you pull right, he goes right, you pull left. Don't even let him get the idea that he's in charge. I'm not at all recommending that you horse this fish, but fight as hard as he is. When he starts circling under the boat, use the 2/3 or that circle where he isn't pointed directly away from you to make some headway, and when he is pointed away, drop you tip instead of giving up precious line. When you feel the head shake and he starts to run, this is your opportunity for a short breather, let him tire himself, and then jump right back on the pony. When you see the line coming up for a jump, prepare to bow ever so slightly to his display, but then climb on him. There is a distinct difference that you can feel when the fish realizes that you are in charge. As he starts to circle close to the boat, get ready to lay him out for the Captain to dispatch. When the Captain has sunk the gaff and is lifting the fish take the reel out of gear, keep your thumb on it, and enjoy that magnificent animal as he is removed from his traditional home, and enters yours. The colors are at their brightest, you and the Captain are at your happiest, and for a few moments your world is limited to that panga, and to that moment.The purity and focus of that moment is rare in our facebook connected, twittering, smart phone world, and it is to be savored. It's a feeling that non fishermen may secure elsewhere, maybe. Large fish require a higher degree of concentration and team work than the 10 pounders. They will capitalize on your errors, and you should be ready to return the favor. You might be tired, but he's dinner, you win. David

Of All the Big Bull Headed...

While that could have been the beginning of a conversation between Jane and I, comin' my way, in this case it refers to yesterday, July 13, 2013. This was a day that will be remembered. We had more big dorado on the beach than any day that we can remember. We had either 41 or 42 fish on the beach, the smallest of which went about 35lb. and the biggest in the low 50's. There weren't any fish that were any smaller. That's the biggest pile of big bulls that either Chris or myself can recall. These fish are coming off the buoys, mostly between 12 and 18 miles out, most of them on bait, most of them on either bonito or caballitos raised on those self same buoys. While we've also been catching wahoo most every day, and encountering tuna on a regular basis, it is dorado that have been center stage for the last few weeks, culminating in yesterdays dorado orgy. The water still isn't what it should be for mid July, and no one is catching 20 fish a boat, but the ones they are getting would all be trophies in Cabo, Texas, Florida, or North Carolina. La Paz, what a place to fish. David

Smiley Smiles

Besides being an under recognized and excellent piece of music, todays' title refers to the simplest, happiest, and easiest way to make some one elses' day. Please refer below:

And back to fish, and the unsung

In the words of Rod "The Rooster", "Every Picture Tells a Story, Don't It?" Well there are no small faces here as the boys from the northwest had a good day on tuna and dorado. They also took wahoo, marlin, and sailfish on their trip, and left for home with a stack of ice chests that reminded me of taking a band out on the road for 2 months. The week was like that, not 100 fish/day, but really nice quality fish that fill up an ice chest in some cases single handedly. Or is it that with big fish there just isn't enough time for more fish? Hmmm? At any rate I won't describe what you can see for yourself. What I will elaborate on is the group of men, and the occasional crazy lady, that volunteer to put together groups of their friends, family, acquaintances, neighbors, and in laws to come down here to fish. You crazy bastards know who you are, and WE LOVE YOU. I know how much work that can be with all the questions, expectations, and folks that don't need to listen 'cuz they already know everything, and that's just your friends! Airlines, transportation to the airport, luggage, etc. add layers of potential risk to the plan, and yet year after year you step up gladly to the task. Earl, Larry, John, Jake, Red, and the rest of you, THANKS. I know that some of your group members do recognize the effort that you make, and mention it in passing, but lots of times they get lost in the good time that you made happen for them, and forget to acknowledge that your efforts were what got them off of their nalgas and down here to demonstrate their fishing prowess. To all of you, I just want you to know that we understand, and appreciate it. Remember, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. David

Dogs, old and current, and new tricks

Some of you know that my 2nd best friend, and dog, D Rex vanished from our home about 4 days ago. He is not an escape artist, but I fear that with me goin' 16 hours a day and Jane being up north with family (to avoid the heat, heh heh) he has been lonely and engineered an exit. I got home and instead of him waiting at the side gate as always, he was absent. Upon further detailed investigation he had flown the coop. This is a dog that won't leave the house if the door is open, but he loves people, both to play with and occasionally gnaw upon, and I think that he didn't take kindly to being "neglected". Anyway we consulted with vets, and at his alma mater Dog U about how best to execute a search and recovery. They all recommended facebook, and particularly Baja Dogs, a site on facebook dedicated to taking care of and recovering lost and stray canines. Well, it's no small secret that over the last few years I have never been a big fan of facebook. I don't want 23,000 friends, I don't want to swim in your aquarium, if I wanted to be a farmer, I would be. In fact my general belief is that this sort of social media is graffiti esque in nature and allows people the illusion of social contact, while neither having the risk implied in real contact, nor the satisfaction. Well, while that opinion may not have substantially changed I do now see, asleep on the floor of my office, the positive results possible with a connected citizenry. Chris got a call from a guy who had seen "D" on Baja Dogs, and I have my dog back! While I may not jump into the aquarium nor hoe your dirt I must and do willingly admit that there are real strengths and advantages to this sort of network. I suppose like most things that it's all in how you use it, but I find myself willingly thanking that strange man at Harvard that came up with the idea. While I'm pretty sure that he doesn't need a donation, you can take it to the bank that I will make a donation to Baja Dogs, and that the man who phoned Chris will enjoy some fishing "on the house". I thank you, my dog thanks you.

Fish Report, and We Have a Winner

Fishing is pounding along. While no one is catching 15 dorado a day, perhaps it is because the average fish is over 30 pounds. Although the water is still just a bit cold we're getting a lot of stripers, a few blues, wahoo, dorado, a few dog snapper, and every third day or so some tuna. Ice chests are full, weather is getting warmer, and folks is happy. We ran, for the month of June, a tournament to help out the schools in Los Planos, that little town with all the street lights that we drive through on the way to the beach. Well, the results are in, and I'd like to thank those of you who entered, those that just made donations, and those that thought about it. We'll do it again next year. 1st Place Frank Palstring with a 179 lb. yellow fin tuna, he wins a 4 night/3 day fishing trip for 2. 2nd Place Bill Brill with a 64 lb, dorado, he wins a 3 night/ 2 day fishing trip for 2. 3rd Place Mark Brome with a 53lb. dorado, and he wins a free day of fishing for 2. Special Honorable Mention goes to Ralph Carasco, because he is Ralph Carasco. He wins our admiration and awe. Thanks to all who helped. David

If you ever feel lonesome, and your down in San Antone, Beg, steal, or borrow two nickels or a dime, and call me on the phone. I'll meet you at Alamo mission, and we can say our prayers, The Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mother will heal us as we kneel there. In the moonlight, in the midnight, in the moonlight, midnight moonlight. If you ever feel sorrow for the deeds you have done, With no hope for tomorrow in the setting of the sun. And the ocean is howling of things that might have been, And that last good morning sunrise will be the brightest you've ever seen. In the moonlight, in the midnight, in the moonlight, midnight moonlight. -Peter Rowan The front edge of the great dorado invasion continues to linger. Big fish, most in the 40+ class, but it hasn't broken wide yet. The water is still a mixture of just warm enough, and not, with no shoals of flying fish yet, and they haven't spawned on the buoys, which would be normal by now. Every day really big dorado come in, but not on every boat. To augment that the cubera bite continues at your favorite spot, be it Roca Traversada, El Castillo, or Punta Perico, the marlin bite at the 88 for stripers and small (sub 250lb.) blues continues, and some cabrilla, roosters, and amberjack are to be had inshore. This year it isn't turning on like a swith, but it is turning on. Note 1: Dug out the original Old and In the Way album. Not usually a blue grass fan, but those boys can pick, and the Rowan Brothers, Peter, Lorrin and the rest remain one of the undiscovered pleasures that abound in the world of the pentatonic scale.

I don't read the words, I just check the PICS

I wasn't gonna write anything, but look at that picture of Donnie on the beach, kneeling next to a couple of large dorado, look at that face! If you were a fish wouldn't you want him to catch you? David

You Need Wait No Longer

I've been touting the near future for a few weeks here, and if the last couple of days is a good indicator, then the future is here! We've been pluggin' dorado for the last couple of days, a lot of them, and big ones. Where 1/3 of the boats catching one or two dorado in the 30's was the norm 3 weeks ago, all the boats that went outside yesterday and today caught dorado, and some big mamas! We're running an in house tournament this month, to benefit the schools in Los Planos. The biggest fish each day, by weight, goes into the books and at the end of the month the winner gets 2 each 4 night/3 day fishing packages. Well the bar was set pretty darn high today by one Bill Brill. Old Double B had here to fore never caught a dorado over 20 pounds. His first today was at 50 and he was a proud puppy, until the big one came along. 64 pounds, on the scale. That is a Beeg 1, Senor. While there are 12 days let this month, that fish will be hard to beat. Along with dorado have come our first blue marlin hookups of the year (a sure sign of rapidly warming water) with a couple 2 days ago, and 4 today. It's getting' pretty darn busy fishwise. Dog snapper, wahoo, even a couple of small (5lb.) yellow fin today, which promptly turned into marlin bait in the time honored tradition of shinnying up the food chain. Good stuff, a lot of really nice people. I don't want to pound this nail too often but when you've got guys like Sr. Hall and his band of reprobates, Bill V. and old boys from Oceanside, and the Earl Salter Brigade, along with fishing like this, and good weather, it's hard not to smile, even at 3am.

“Marcella quiere albondigas”. A simple statement, made by one Enrique Lucero, that set us off on a successful adventure. While it may not seem to you that the fact that Marcella, Enriques' wife, wanted meatballs is the kind of statement that would set the great wheels into motion, you, my friend, would be wrong. While perhaps not as historically seismic as “Let them eat cake”, it would none the less shape our day today. This was my annual birthday fishing trip, a little early due to scheduling conflicts, but a tradition that I have faithfully observed since about 12 years of age. The meatballs in question would be those made of marlin. Enrique and I have had a pact for several years now. We will, together, take one marlin per year, the rest must be let go. (Note #1). None of our clients this year had taken any marlin yet, but we've seen a few, and as previously reported the conditions are ripening for the pelagics which join us every year about this time. I enjoy fishing with Enrique. I try to move around throughout the year, attempting to fish with each of our regular Captains as a gesture of respect to them and as an opportunity to communicate with each of them one on one for a whole day. Is Enrique the best of our 14 regulars? About one 14th of the time, but he and I have a personal bond that has formed and grown over the years. Forged in the fires of kidnapping, neonatal torsions, and other countless situations requiring us to help each other we have become fast. We share a similar attitude about many things. We want to have fun, and have similar senses of humor, with attempts at clever word usage and with a dark edge, kinda like an abalone. We trust and enjoy each other, and have fished together enough to function well as a team, helping each other out and giving each other shit in about a 1:1 ratio. Fishing with Enrique is a little like watching Barry Bonds at the plate ie., he swings from the heels most every time. No base hits for this boy. In the words of Captain Chris, “Go Big, or Go Home.” While perhaps not the most effective style if you're hitting for percentage, it's a joy to watch and he connects enough to make it worth the risk. We started this trip by loading up on cocineros just north of Punta Perico. It didn't take E much more than about 10 minutes to load a dozen of these robust little jacks, all croaking their frog like songs. While he was doing this I was preparing the old Trembling Webley. My favorite rig right now for fish between 50 and 200 lbs. is a Cal Star 870H blank, 8 foot long, rated for 40-100lb line, acid wrapped with All American Tackle roller guides, and an extra long butt to facilitate my long arms. With it I use a Penn Baja Special. If you are not familiar with these reels, they are for my money the best of the old school reels. 4/0 size and rather narrow spooled, they have double dogs, and a traditional star drag. I know that lever drag reels are intrinsically stronger, but these reels are smooth, strong, and reliable. That is spooled with 100lb. Spectra topped with 50lb mono. I terminate that with a Bimini Twist which monkey paws to a 80lb fluorocarbon wind on leader. The extra length of the rod affords the fish a little more leverage, but it also allows me, in my less than agile state, to maneuver around the boat and motor when playing fish. Properly armed and with great bait we headed out to the buoys from the 88 bank south. Buoy after buoy we trolled bait by and around, with no good luck at all. There was bait at man of them, concineros, zebra fish, but none of the small yellow tail that have been so evident over the last few week. But no dorado, and no billfish. The ratio of shit slinging to helping was rising into the yellow, as we visited a couple of dozen buoys. Enrique decided that we should head back in and try Punta Perico for some amber jack, so we followed a southerly string of buoys back inside. We were slow trolling bait when we saw at least two marlin jumping ½ mile ahead of us. We continued to putt slowly, and we approached the next buoy the Baja Special begin to click. Clickety, clickety just a little. Maybe the bait was nervous, maybe he was fencing with an aquatic swordman. Then the clicking began in earnest and I removed the rod from the holder and pointed it sternward. It was certainly a fish, but he never hit 2nd gear, just steadily pulling line. When I was just about ready Enrique gave me the high sign, and I clicked the reel into gear. Using a circle hook demands a certain amount of patience, and I resisted the Giant Mexican Macho hook set. The line began to peel off in earnest and I raised the tip, but not as far as I had intended. Fish on. It was a 65 kilo striped marlin and after a few seconds he decided to go Walenda on me, not only greyhounding but taking vertical leaps, a good 2 meters out of the water and attempting to touch his bill to his tail, sideways. For a good 10 minutes he spent an absolute minimum of time in the water, just using it to develop escape velocity. This was as aerial a fish as I've seen, a good thing by me. With he and I both working on getting him tired he was to the boat in 20 minutes. “ALBONDIGAS” we chanted in unison, and Enrique was showing off his pearlies. Our task complete we headed back to PP for a shot at the aforementioned AJ's, but it was not to be. We soaked concinero for an hour, and other than alarge mail sea lion that became impaled on E's circle hook we had nothing. That big bull was pissed off. We ran at him in an effort to regain as much line as possible, that spectra is pricey, and cut it off 20 yards short of the offended mammal. Back to the beach we went, having accomplished our purpose, and having a great day. ars cut down the dead marlin count within our fleet by what I would estimate to be 90%. I know that this will not mollify some of you, and I'm sorry for ruining these 3 minutes of your life, but this is where I draw the line for me. 'Nuff said. NOTE #1: I know that some of you will become inflamed upon reading that we took a marlin. I understand, and in our defense we limit ourselves to one a year. We have also over the years reduced the number of marlin killed by our Captains and clients by an estimated 90%. I understand that that might not meet with your criterion, but it's where I draw the line. 'Nuff said.

Fishes, New and Not So

As advertised earlier the summer fishing is starting to really whip into shape. The buoys are kicking out some nice dorado and the occasional billfish, the beaches are supplying a bumper crop of roosters, and if you dare, the dog snapper are weaving their quilt of broken off leaders and line along the Roca Traversada reef. We've even got some wahoo, I lost a small one do to fluorinteruptus just the other day. Following are pics from the last few days. I'm not sure why David came out sideways, maybe too much beer. Along with these current pictures, I'm gonna violate my own rules by publishing one from awhile ago. Who better to violate my rules, but me? J.F. sent me this photo yesterday (aha!) but it is from last year. The words are his, and I liked the whole package, and hope that you do to. "I caught it on the last hour of our last day of fishing from the sand while our fish were being filleted by Enrique. 2 feet of water. Fed him the bait as he swam by directly in front of me. Live bait on 25 lb. using an old school Penn 501. The critter took me all the way to the knot. Epic battle and beautiful fish!" I can't add anything to that. You could, but then you'd have to come down. David

Teetering on edge, breathin' hard, and expectin' somethin' special. These pictures document what's been comin' in, a mix of the end o' spring and the beginning of summer. The water on the buoys is deep dark blue, the buoy lines are crowded with bait, the flyin' fish look like the Angels on Fleet Week, and we're ready. A couple of degrees, a few more evenings of the spring time southerly wind, and over the edge we go. Like waitin' for that damn catsup to come out, it seems like forever, but it's upon us, and you, if you choose. David Jones

May 15,2013 The wheel does keep turning. One of our better yellow tail seasons is winding down, with just a few stragglers coming in, but the good part of that news is that they are being replaced by pargo, cabrilla, and rooster fish. We're getting 30-40 pound roosters very consistently now and between those and the growing populations of needle fish it is clear that the water is warming, and clearing. Out 18 miles or so the water is the deep blue color that fishermen everywhere recognize and the right stuff. Reports from the horizon say that good amounts of dorado, marlin, and wahoo are heading our way, and if the southerly winds continue to blow it shouldn't be long before there is here and we'll shift into some fine summer fishing. Dorado are starting to happen inshore a little sporadically, and we took a couple of African pompano into the low 20 pound range this week. Like every year, the summer fishing for which we are so justifiably known is about to crank up in earnest. Mag Bay is 80% booked for this year, with a few spots left and the distinct possibility that we will continue operations into January. The fishing then will be less offshore, with some more work at the entradas for yellow tail, and more inside the estuary for snook ant 'buts. This is a great trip and one that you should seriously ponder. Internal news, son Chris has just passed his U.S. Coast Guard Captains' examination and is in the process of gathering the ancillary documents required (medical certs, log books, etc.) and then will be a Captain. Capt. Bobo, I like it. Congrats Chris, the first known Captain on the family tree, no small accomplishment. David

No, really Terry, it is

You know it costs a lot to win, and even more to lose. You and me gotta spend some time, wonderin' what to choose. Goes to show, that you don't never know. You got to play each card, and play it slow. Wait until that deal goes down. Don't you let that deal go down, no, no. -Robert Hunter This is, in actuality a fish report. I doubt that the General will have read through the abone in order to ascertain that it is indeed so, but for those of you gentle readers that have made it this far, you are in the correct spot. Fishing of late has been like the hand of poker referred to above, win a few, lose the rest. We are firmly in the time of year where the fishing is changing from the late winter/spring type of stuff to the early summer. Some very nice catches of yellow tail are still coming from the north point of Cerralvo, with the hot stick this week coming from a very unexpected direction. Fritz caught 6 yellow tail and a very nice amberjack (35-40 lbs.) using cocinero for bait. We have been using a combination of mackerel, Monterey sardines, caballito, and cocinero this week, with some sardines for chum. We've even hooked a few very large tuna (estimated 100+) but gotten none to the boat. So on the good side there are some very nice fish there. On the other hand (I have four fingers and a thumb) we've had some trips that resulted in very meager catches. So it's a bit of roulette table out there, spin the wheel, and takes your chances. On the third hand we've caught a few dorado, seen a few marlin, and caught a couple more amberjack, so the wheel is turning. Jump on when you will. Mag Bay is filling up fast, we've got a couple of weeks left open, and we're thinking of expanding this years' schedule into January. The fishing changes right in there sometime with mid January being prime time for both yellow tail at the mouth of the bay, and snook in the estuary. If the thought of this peaks your neurons, give us a call. David

Is it real... or is it Dwayneorex?

By God it was Ella Fitzgerald! Dwayne and Cindy are down here (the names have been changed to protect one who personifies innocence, while the other is light years away from that state), as they have been pretty regularly for 20 years. Cindy is a stable, spiritual, charming, comely woman about whom I have nothing but thoughts that are warm and friendly. Dwayne on the other hand, is my kind of guy. We discovered that we both attended the same alma mater ("Oskie Wa Wa" says we) and even toiled under the same discipline, we both know about emitters and followers, as well as grids and plates. Dwayne is a different kinda guy. He has an aggressively cleaver sense of humor which he enjoys, I do to. While others look a little confused with his scatalogical mental meanderings, I seem to stay right in the pocket. I'm not sure whether that speaks particularly well for either of us, but it is that which it is. Wayne worked for one of those computer companies named after a fruit, and did for many years. Not only could they keep him entertained, the investment opportunity was a good one. He spends a lot of time hunting and fishing, mostly not too far from his native environs in Northern California, but now and again he voyages down here. "I come here to learn" he says. I like that. The fishing this week has been a little slower than weeks past, but there are still some yellow tail, pargo, cabrilla, and the occasional dorado. Wayne and I have discussed the use and misuse of spectra, deep diving plugs, moon phases, and many other fishy related stuff. His storehouse is fairly full of stuff about fishing, but he listens to and enjoys the opinions and experiences of others. Isn't this the key to the engineering mind? Taking in all the data that you can, mixing it around, and coming out smarter for it. I wish that more of those that make decisions for us were always learning, looking for a more accurate picture of what is, and thinking harder of what could be. Really nice folks, Dwayne and Cindy. David

The Best Part of Being a Schizophrenic

OK, so there are more than one of me in here, and sometimes we don't get along. I don't believe that it has reached a point where it's clinically dangerous, and we don't believe that it has anything to do with the stars, even though I am a Gemini, but we can often come up with several very justifiable and logical responses to a given situation, and even though it puts me at odds with myself I can, and do often support all of my positions. It may be why my wife sees me as somewhat contrarian, it's just that I can often see and present cases in conflict with her position, merely because those cases do exist. It's not really arguing, it's more like exploring the possible responses and positions to and around a given issue. Well, sorry for drifting, back to my point. Often when customers call, even new and unknown ones, and I have quoted them the package price for the trip that they have in mind, they then ask if it would be possible to obtain a lower price, a discount if you will. Some just ask in a forthright manner, others couch the request in terms of whatever fiscal and sometimes physical problems they are currently experiencing. I have no problem with this as a stand alone purchasing/shopping strategy, after all it is a good question, and when one asks such a question it is taking a fly, and as long as you are willing to accept "No" for an answer then, nothing venture nothing gained. From the customers perspective it is legitimate. Unfortunately, as previously discussed, I readily adopt multiple perspectives without really even trying to do so, and in this specific case I am stuck on the issue of balance. The thought occurred to me that upon talking to the next person requesting a quotation for a trip I should run an experiment. "Well, the list price for that trip is $1235, but you know, right now I've got a really bald tire on my car, and my wife needs to go to the doctor next week, so if you wouldn't mind paying $1,350 that would really help me out." Whattyathink? Fair and balanced, right? OK, once again you are correct, a very poor idea, won't bring it up again, thanks for being so polite when you're looking around inside my head. But............. Thanks, David

Tuna

Well, there are a certain number of you who want to be notified when glimpses of yellow fins are perceived. I am one of you. We keep our tentacles spread, trying to pick up a whiff of tuna, across our sphere of efforts, and even into the neighboring spheres (am I going off tangentially?). A couple of days back we heard of commercial guys taking a nice sized tuna at the south point, and then 2 days ago of the commercial guys out of Sargento picking a couple of tuna up north. Yesterday my clients headed north to scout these reports. One boat took 5 yellow tail in the upper 20's to high 30's. These were caught along the ridge that is the sub marine northern continuation of Cerralvo Island, using the sardines that are very plentiful at the north end of Cerralvo. The other boat up that way took only one, but, they had an excuse. While playing that lone yellow tail they hooked up to something large. The long runs and deep sulking indicated that one of the rumored yellow fin tuna had decided to come out of the closet. This began a 2 hour + fight. The rod was passed around, with increasing circular velocity as the humans began to succumb to the tunas' stamina and strength, but soon there was color. Capt. Enrique was asked to see if he could bring the beast up, and he short stoked the tuna to the surface, where it continued to proscribe its' circles on the surface, just out of gaff range. He stepped to the non pointy end of the panga and urged one of the gringos to step the pointy end and attempt to gaff the fish as it circled closely. He did indeed sink the gaff, in the head of said tuna, at which point the tuna got pissed and headed away, with the gaff and 50 yards of line. They moved the boat around to pick up the floating gaff and began to once again recover line. The now holey tuna once again approached the boat and the point of this whole effort was at hand. There was a last minute exchange of rod and reel, and I'm not sure what the exact chain of events was, as different tellers tell it differently, but suffice it to say that the reel jumped out of gear, instantly back lashing the reel, only nano seconds before Sr. Tuna, sensing a moment of weakness on the part of his opponents, warped outta there and snapped the now snafued line. Well, I've certainly participated in my share of large tuna cluster fucks, but somehow I missed this one, and so am totally qualified to ignorantly comment on this particular event. I do know that the battle with a large tuna is more than a physical one. There is clearly a component of will, and you need to pound on these guys in an effort to break theirs before yours is sweated out. Enrique estimated this particular fish was in the 160 pound range, and like all fish that get away is the source for a good story. From a broader vantage point I did notice that ears of son, Capt. Chris, were quivering as this story was being sold. Dollars to churros that he'll be out there PDQ, looking for a fish with a hole in his head. Take Care Y'all, David Note: I hear some confusion from some folks about yellow tail versus yellow fin, both of which are mentioned in the report above. The yellow tail (Seriola lalandi dorsalis) is a member of the jack family, and so is without teeth. They exist in the Pacific and Indian oceans and we catch them here in the Baja generally in the late winter and early spring. The yellow fin (Thunnus alvbacares)is a member of the tuna family and exists in all of the earths' oceans I think. While both fish are fun to catch and great to eat, they are not the same animal, or even related, other than being fishes.

Evidence to the facts

Ron B. and his family have been coming down here a long time, longer than I've been here. His kids started fishing here when they were just kids, and now he's bringing his own grandson. Very nice to have them down here. I mentioned last time that the yellow tail have slowed down, but other fish are taking their place, including a very nice leopard grouper (we call them cabrilla).

You Shoulda Been Here, er, tomorrow!

Lots of changes happen on full moons, no John I don't mean when you grow all of that facial hair and begin to howl in earnest, I mean changes to the weather, and fishing. We've had 5-6 days of weather that makes me think that our last blow has blown (a little like getting married, oops)and that spring has sprung. 85 degrees, light winds, very nice. But along with that news comes the news that the yellow tail have moved on, at least for now. As you'll remember Woodrow and I caught some nice ones last week, but over the weekend, on the back side of the full moon, poof. A good side of that is that all of the commercial guys that were working them have all moved south after huachinango. It isn't so much the competition for the big fish, but 25 pangas fishing commercial every day can be really hard on the bait supplies. Lots of nice sardine up the east side of the island, and now they are ours. So it's time for the boats to spread out a little, and go hunting. Today a couple went for pargo lisas and did very well, a couple went to the buoys and caught the first dorado of the year, not huge but nice, and the few remaining commercial guys got a few 25 kilo tuna on the wall off the southeast corner of Cerralvo, not a lot, but a few. So as the circle keeps on turnin' we'll addapt, hang at the old haunts, and do what we do. Come down and do it with us. David

Springtime, and an old mans' mind turns to

FISHING. Woodrow C. Carpintero (a certified bon vivant, formerly of Stinson Beach and Boyce to Men) and I went a fishin' yesterday, or as I call it, a Quality Control Expedition). Went up the east side of Cerralvo after our trused native compendium, Enrique, had way laid some formerly happy caballitos. For the last 6 weeks or so all the yellow tail had been coming from about a mile offshore, in 140 feet of water. So I dutifully went around the corner to BajaMarks' tackle emporium and stocked up on circle hooks, heavy sinkers, and sabikis. Well the best laid plans of mice and me. When we got up on the island Enrique decided to shift gears. There are now tons of sardines, nice 4" portly critters, along the shore between Las Pillis and the purple rocks. He eyed the water, and surprised us by throwing his net, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, 75 yards from the shore, and could barely lift it into the boat, 80 pounds of sardines. We started to slow troll live sardines while he ejaculated chum like a leaf chipper. We were using 40lb. fluoro leaders and #2/0 j hooks. Fish were boiling in the sardine highway that Capt. E was layin' down, and soon I was fast to a fish that just as quickly scraped me off on a rock, leaving my line looking like the curly ribbon on a birthday gift. Retied, resardined and out again. I caught went that was nudgin' 45 pounds, a good long fight, with some very impressive run, but the good guys one. We continued, with pangas stackin' up like 727's over LAX, watching people hook, and often land fish. After an hour or so it slowed considerably, with only an occasional boil to be seen. On the full moon like this there is a fairly short period of the current in which they're biting but boy it was boiling there for awhile. Enrique mentioned that it was time for our third load of bait, and we should go off to Punta Perico to try for pargo. Woodrow and I nodded, 'cuz that's what old guys do. While clearing his net we saw a flurry of boils and decided to take one more pass. W.C.C. hooked up and was whoopin', yes he was, and crankin'. Got another nice tail to the boat, in the upper 30's, and we were off. The ride to PP was spectacular, very calm shiny water, boat whooshin', us eatin' and talkin'. I looked around and saw magic. There we were at full throttle on the open ocean and our Capt. wasn't using his hands, in fact he had assumed the full glamor pose, while we rocketed on. . I did a little research to discover where exactly the tiller was, and let me just say that modesty prevents me from detailing this research. You can figure it out. I caught one nice pargo, upper teens, we lost a couple, and Woodie and I agreed that an early arrival at the beach would be just swell. One of the advantages of living here is that if you decide to go in a little early, it ain't as big o' deal as if you've come down for your 4 days a year, a situation in which you understandably want to milk out all possible drops of time. We had a wonderful day, great weather, great company, couple or three fish to be proud of, Captain made magic... it just don't get a lot better for old guys. Thanks, David

I miss you Ron

This is not a fishing report, I'm sorry my General, but that's that, ain't it? Just listenin' to some of the 26 Megs that comprise the Complete Europe '72 package from the Dead. For those of not Dead inclined, my condolences. The early 70's was one of their high points and it sure is a pleasure to listen to the courage and sincerity with which they played at that time. A strange group of guys who at one time I knew and saw regularly. When I was in my sub double digit years I played the trumpet. I took lessons at Dana Morgans' music store in Palo Alto. Every Tuesday Betty would take me down to PA, at a little before 7 for my lesson with Dana Jr. She would sit in the car and read while I rendered inspiring compositions such as Greensleeves and Bolero. Every week we would pass a fairly hirsute young man, walking along our route, carrying a banjo case. After a few weeks of that Betty said, "You know, that young man must teach at Danas', I see him get there in the middle of your lesson. Maybe we should give him a ride?" "Jeez Mom," I said in my best Jerry Mathers' voice, "He looks a little weird." "Well, I'm sure that he's a nice man, let's offer him a ride." One of the thing that I always respected about my Mom and Dad is that they never judged a book by the cover. Well when that swarthy gentleman got into the car Betty introduced herself and me, and he replied, "My name is Jerry." Well, it ain't never been the same since, and I couldn't be happier with that. The band, not yet formed, sorta hung out at the store. Dana Jr. was playin' bass (because he Dad had all the equipment I think), Bobby was barely a high school punk at time, and then there was the Pig. Ron "Pig Pen" McKernan was the janitor. If you thought Jerry was swarthy, then Ron was the swarthiest. His Dad had been a disc jockey, KDIA "The Lucky 13" I believe, spinnin' wax in East Palo Alto, the blues and some of that new MoTown stuff. If I thought that Jerry was "a little weird" then Ron was downright scary. A truculent seeming man, of few words, who carried a big broom. The trumpet, Dana, and I drifted apart 'til one night a few years later at Magoos' Pizza in Menlo Park I saw them again. Ron had traded in his broom for a microphone and harmonica, and was fronting a band that was loud. Jerry had traded his banjo for a big Guild electric guitar, and Bobby still didn't play very well (he later took care of that). Ron was the counterpoint to the whole thing, not the undead, but the antiDead, not into the new drugs, he exclusively indulged in drinking the old stand by drugs, Ranier Ale and Southern Comfort. While the others worked hard at exploring the inner Cosmos, Ron just got it done. We crossed paths a lot in the ensuing years, usually with me the audience, and as the band grew in skill, confidence, and celebrity, there was always Pig Pen. When he got in front, singing "Good Lovin'" or "Too Hard To Handle" he was the ground strap that connected those striving spacemen to earth. With long, funny, often obscene rant/raps in the middle of songs he charmed and amazed. Even though exceedingly politically incorrect, particularly when it came to the matter of inter gender relationships, he got it done. And the women in the audience seemed to enjoy and participate as much as the men. Lo and behold these intellectually based masters of improvisation and space, would eagerly fall in line and back that boy up. The band would flow and crest behind and underneath Pig Pen, following his lead, and clearly enjoying his talent and charisma. I'm pretty sure they weren't exactly sure what would come out his mouth next either, but they were just as eager to find out. I'm afraid that for those of you who never got Pigged, this explanation falls sadly short, but those of you who know, know. He was old school before anyone ever said that, barely tolerating the voyages beyond which the rest of the band were so fond taking. "Get yourself a shotgun, a pocket full of shells, and we can while away the time". As I come to the point where there is clearly more road behind than ahead, I'm very grateful that he was there, doing that which he uniquely did. I remember him fondly, and wouldn't have wanted a world, even my little one, without him. Without the correct seasoning, it just don't taste right. david

Dr. U and his bag o' smelly tricks

We were once again blessed with the arrival of one of my favorite fishing gangs this last week. Led by Dr. U (who does not time travel in a phone booth, he uses a Mini), this posse descends upon us a couple o' times a year, organizes their massive pile of armaments, and goes to do battle with the denizens of our local deep. You have seen some pics in the last week of their yellow tail catch. On their last couple of days, having taken sufficient 'tails to ensure a slow passage through the airport, they decided to concentrate on variety rather than tonnage. These guys are very good at this. Dr. U himself is a student and teacher of the Japanese art of dealing with fish for food, especially the proper preparation of some of the smaller species. He and his assistant/boss, Madame D, are skilled at the art involved in small fish cookery. We benefit from their largess on each visit with some obscure part of some obscure fish brought to our table, prepared in ways we wouldn't dream off after eating a pepperoni pizza before bed time, and it is always excellent. They head out in search of a veritable enselada de pescadidtos, all safely stored in the Dr.s' magic bolsa de fuchi, each fish processed whole, and later lovingly turned into the best thing that you've eaten lately. Suffice it to say that these guys are not your average fishermen, enough said. This pic displays the variety of one days catch, with clavallinos, leopard grouper, ojoton, lisos, and some brown ones, and some green ones. Fishing is not always about size, even though most fishermen seems obsessed with just that. Dr. U and his trusted plenipotentiaries bring an art to this stuff that we don't see much of, and it's pretty frio, And then, as further evidence, a picture of one of the time machines (the whole crew has 'em) loaded to the gills, with gills. David

Just pushin' it along like a dung beetle

Well, I've been postin' a lot of fishin' stuff and pics, trying to make my General happy, but maybe it's time to conduct a little business. As any of you who are trying to book passage to La Paz have bumped into, as of April 1 our pinchi amigos at Alaska/Whorizon have deemed us unworthy of any additional visits. Well, we'll show them, we'll just keep on pushin' the ball. While there are rumors of other airlines taking up the route, even to the point of what appears to have been a premature ejaculation of "information" in the local paper down here, heretofore there is no one picking up the flag. Despair not chillun's there are still some very fine options for visiting El Puerto de Ilusion. My personal favorite is to fly Volaris out of TJ. Upsides are the schedule, every day and twice on Saturday, the price, a reasonable base price with frequent killer prices (last time for me $85 one way), and full size planes. The downside is of course the border, but there are ways to ameliorate at least some of that. Volaris itself runs a shuttle from the San Diego train station to the airport, and back. You do have to get off the bus at the border returning, but you get to go to the front of the line, and after you hoof it through U.S. customs you get back on the bus. There are parking lots on the California side that will park your car for a few dollars a day and will give you a ride to the border, and pick you up on the way back. Those of you who would rather not can always fly into Cabo on a variety of airlines and jump into the Roberto Mobile for your ride to La Paz. It's a nice drive, Roberto is a nice guy, and with the airfare deals available to Cabo the total price of airplane+van runs about $40 more that the old LAX-LaPaz Whorizon flight. Advantages are a multiplicity of options, airlines, times, dates, classes, a variety of options that makes the cereal aisle at Safeway look paltry by comparison. So while you are not despairing figure out which one makes more sense to you, jump on the internet, and buy a bolleta or two. David

The missing yellow fin pic

At the risk of boring you, it just keeps goin'..... like the Energizer Jurel

And a little something for the ladies, wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more....

When we have yellow tail, Lou wants pargo, when we have pargo, the General wants yellow tail.... We gots 'em both now, with our first good day on pargo at Punta Perico. And a little beef for the Senoritas, and those that know that inside, they are too. I'm not sure why these guys are on there sides, I've flipped it a million ways but blogspot won't cooperate. David

Whole lotta things I ain't never done, I ain't never had too much fun

Continuing the "quickie" beat, those yellow tail just won't quit. With a week of really good spring weather the guys have zeroed in pretty well on the 'tails. Using mackerel or caballito, circle hooks, flouro leader, it just is a pretty can't fail recipe. Hamachi anyone? David

Pics from yesterdays quickie

MORE TO COME!

Time for a Quickie

Wind Stopped for at least a few days, "bring out your dead, fish". Had 3 boats out today. One had 7 yellow tail, from 28-40 lbs. on mackerel, by 10:30am,'nother had 8, 30-38, third one didn't get yellowtail, but had yellow, a 45 KILO yellow fin tuna. While they now sleep Andres is hack'n and a hewin' on them carci. More good weather tomorrow, and after they wake up I'll try and get some photos for ya'. David

Spring Yellow Tail, no more need be said

Mike brought family and friend down this week to enjoy some very solid yellow tail fishing. No need for more words I reckon, david