That's My Story

VAMPIRE FISH OF FALL – Published Sept. 2005 – Western Outdoor News

Mostly when someone tells me they want to fish for pargo (snapper) , I tell them to come in the spring to Baja. Those are the days when these big rockfish come up into the shallows to spawn in the rocky areas along the islands and dropoffs of the Baja coast. Often, they can be seen in schools so large it looks like a dark red school of Japanese koi (carp) except the Mexican pargo would probably eat your tea-garden-zen-master koi for lunch since these bad boys can be anywhere from 10-60 pound fish. Yup..come in the spring for your best shot at taking one of the most prized sportfish and eating fish in the Baja.

However, I don’t know why I forget about the pargo of fall. I guess I get so wrapped up in the “glamour” species during this time of year…tuna, wahoo, dorado and billfish…the surface warriors, that I forget about the down-and-dirty sluggers in the rocks. Until we start catching them that is. Then it’s slap-myself-in-the-head-how-did-I-forget-about-pargo-time because the fall is also an excellent time to roll with one of these toothy creatures. I call them “vampire” fish and if you’ve ever seen the teeth on one of these things, you’d know why. The literally have fangs that protrude from their mouths making them look pretty fearsome.

Fishing for pargo in the fall is a little different than fishing them in the spring. For one thing, they generally do not school up like they do in the earlier parts of the year. The fish on the fall are more solitary, sullen and sedentary fish. You won’t see them marauding in the shallows in huge groups where you can often site-fish them. Instead, anglers are often surprised when they catch these fall snapper while fishing down in the water column looking for cabrilla, amberjack, grouper or seasonal yellowtail.

The one thing they do have in common with their springtime habits is that they LOVE cover. You may see the occasional fish swimming around sandy areas, but by-and-large, you hunt for pargo in the worst areas possible…in the sharp rocks, ledges, reefs and dropoffs that made Baja famous. If you’re going to hunt the bad boys, you’re going to have to go into their neighborhood in just about the worst environment to wet a fishing line. This is what makes them so hard to catch. Not only do they have teeth. Not only do they have sharp gillplates and spines. Not only do they have armored plated scales, but their habitat will shred your line like razors and these fish know how to use that structure to the fullest.

Gifted with not only brutish and relentless strength and bad attitudes, but they also have keen eyesight. Using heavy line to protect against breakoffs will limit your bites either because the fish see the line or the stiffness of the heavy string makes for poorer bait presentation. Use light line and you may get bit more, but once it touches any rock or sharp object, it’s toast. I can’t tell you how often we’ve busted off on pargo and seen scrapes on the line 3, 5, 10 or 20 feet up the line which means that line was laying over a number of abrasive rocks and ridges and could have broken at any of those stress points.

The pargo have a tendency to grab and head right into the nearest crack or crevice so unless you can stop that first run and turn it’s head, you’re only feeding the fish. Therefore, no matter what line you use, a set of good drags and a short stiff rod with some backbone are the ticket because that’s the other thing about fall pargo…they tend to be bigger. Whereas the springtime spawners might average 10 or 20 pounds, the fish-of-fall START at 20 and go up. Fish into the 50 and 60 pound class are not uncommon.

Although they’ll readily take live bait like sardines, mackerel, small barracuda and needlefish (yes…there’s actually a use for needlefish!). I’ve found one of the most effective ways to get them is via “chunking.” That is…chumming with chunks of dead squid, bonito, or other fragrant or oily fish. I ladle whole handfuls of the stuff into the water; bury a hook into another chunk and strip off alot of slack line so that my hooked bait settles down to the bottom with the other chunks. Although we’re not in shallow water, it’s not deep either. I find pargo holding in waters 20-40 feet deep are the best candidates to chunk. Just remember that “dead bait does not swim.” So, if line starts to peel off, time to set the machine in gear and pull like heck to get that fish turned and headed away from the rocks.

When you get one aboard, handle with care. They bring a lot of sharp edges into the boat including those vampire teeth.

That’s my story….
Jonathan