That's My Story

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE – published Feb. 2006 – Western Outdoor News

I got a call a few weeks back from a gent and it went something like this right out’ve the gate:

Him: Just wanna tell you that you’re nothing but a liar in your fishing reports
Me: Whoa…what did I do and why is that?
Him: I hauled my cruiser all the way down to your place in Baja and we didn’t catch none of the fish you said were hitting. I’m really pissed.
Me: I remember that call, Sir. I recall you said it was your first time fishing the Baja and I remember you were going to be fishing about a week in our area.
Him: That’s right and we got absolutely NOTHING worth shaking a stick at!
Me: I’m really sorry to hear that, but I also offered to either have one of my captains go with you. Or asked if you’d like to fish with us for a day or two to get the lay-of-the land. You declined.
Him: I remember but why would I do that when I have my own boat? I don’t even want to talk to you anymore nor will I read any fishing reports you ever put out!

At that he hung up. Sigh.. Collect self and exhale…

I’m sorry he did that. I had tried to explain to him several weeks earlier that I wasn’t trying to make a buck off him, although that would be nice. Rather, from the gist of my earlier conversation, I gleened that this amigo really hadn’t spent a lot of time in the water let alone fishing in Baja, but by golly, he had a new boat and he was going to use it.

What I didn’t get a chance to tell him before he hung up was that I actually saw his good-looking cuddy cabin out there among the panga fleets. Our boats were catching. The other fleets were catching. I saw his boat just motoring around lost or at times sitting in the drift with some bored-looking fishermen aboard. Not knowing who he was or what he looked like, I never hailed the boat, but the mood on his deck resembled the attitude when someone let’s one fly in an enclosed elevator. A lot of pinched faces.

Score: Pangas 40 100-thousand dollar boat: 0

In fact, I heard a couple of local skippers chattering over the radio about the “gringo rico” (rich gringo) that couldn’t get bit. It didn’t make me want to gloat. I felt sorry for this guy and his buddies. Nothing like being the only boat around with no bent rods and wondering what you were doing wrong

As I tried to explain to him, there’s nothing in the world like local knowledge. Whether you’re fishing in Mulege, Ensenada, Cabo or La Paz, the skippers who bust their chops day-in-and-day-out, have generations of knowledge behind ‘em. Unlike us, they’re not “weekend warriors” fishing for sport. When you’re fishing for your livelihood or because you have to feed your kids you get pretty good. Some years, I’ve been on the water some seasons over 200 days a year which is more than most guys will fish in a lifetime and I will NEVER be as good as many of the captains I have come across in my Baja travels or my daily work. I learn something everyday. I’ll know I’m good when every bait I throw and every cast I make produces a hook up and that day ain’t coming real soon!

Truth be told, I still consider myself only an above-average angler IN MY OWN WATERS. Drop me somewhere else and I’d be as lost as the next guy. There’s a lot to be said for “home court advantage.” Just because I know La Paz waters doesn’t mean I know Loreto, San Quintin, Bay of Los Angeles or the Madison River in Montana.

Conversely, just because you know how to fish the Channel Islands or the banks off San Diego or have your own boat, doesn’t mean it necessarily translates to fishing Baja. Fish are different. Areas are different. Buying $200 Michael Jordan shoes will not improve my jump shot and I never will be able to slam dunk in my wildest dreams. Just because you have a tricked-out boat doesn’t mean you’re gonna catch fish either. It’s an art. It’s a sport. It’s a learned skill. It changes from place to place and season to season. Give yourself an edge. It’s called research. Learn from a local. Fish with a local a few days. Get the feel for things…the bait…the style…It’s well worth the investment of time and money. Your boat, your rod and reel, your tackle…even the reports you read here in WON are tools of the trade, but you still have to know how to use them.

If you’re reading this between March 1 and 5, I’m going to be in my Tailhunter Booth at the Fred Hall Show at the Long Beach Convention Center. Come say hi. It’s been great meeting so many of you at all the recent fishing trade shows. I don’t know how it started but thanks also to all of you who keep bringing me food too! Last week at the Pomona Fairgrounds, at one time, I had a huge breakfast burrito the size of my leg (thanks to my amigos at the Pirate Fleet), pizza, sushi, cookies, soda, two In-N-Out cheese burgers (animal style), chili fries; 2 ham sandwiches and a pastrami sandwich. It was like my refrigerator back in college!

That’s my story. If you ever want to reach me, my e-mail is riplipboy@aol.com.

Jonathan