That's My Story

PHOTO: Keep an eye on the cleaning process. Cut it. Clean it. Take care of it!

HASTE MAKES WASTE!

Originally published the week of Aug. 19, 2008 in Western Outdoor News

After all these years here, it still amazes me how little attention many anglers pay to the end-product of their endeavors. They’ll spend weeks prepping and primping to get all the lures, hooks and rods together and making sure they have CD’s for the boombox and digging for that smelly fishing hat, but the object of the hunt gets scant attention.

I’m talking about your fish. That’s why you come down here, right? Fish for the barbecue when you get home…fish for the gardener…fish for all your office buddies.

Well, like anything else on the trip, it requires two things. Namely preparation and forethought. Stop and take a breath. Stop worrying so much about whether you can find your fishing shirt with the funny logo and 4 seasons of blood stains on it and give a little thought to actually bringing home some fish.

I get questions all the time from first timers. Many of them have fished places like Alaska and assume that fish can just be flown home from Baja neatly packaged and wrapped, if not by the charter service then by UPS, DHL or other carrier. NOT!

I mean, sure, it can be done, but chances are, it’s costly and in many places carrier services are not offered or even “express” service means 3 to 5 days with no guarantees!

So, assume your fish is flying home with you in most cases. That means you need some kind of packaging and something to bring it home in.

Vacuum sealing is increasing, but assume for the moment it probably is NOT available. So, bring the zip-lock style bags. Gallon size is preferred, not little teenie sandwich bags. It’s rare that anyone will have the time and patience to cut your 40 pound dorado into 4 oz. squares.

Do not assume that these types of plastic bags are readily available in Baja. Sometimes they are. Sometimes they are not. Often, they are a thinner or inferior quality and often much more expensive than in the states. Big-box retailers like Costco and Sam’s Club offer great deals on bags.

Second, you’ll need an ice chest. In the old days, we all brought down huge coffin-like 100 qt. marine coolers. These days with weight restrictions and airlines charging for excess baggage, we’ve found that a 40 qt ice chest filled with frozen fillets weighs just about 50 pounds more or less. Remember that those extra-thick chests or chests with wheels will weigh more than regular ice chests.

Sure, you can buy ice chests in Mexico, which is often a good alternative, but know that an ice chest might cost almost twice as much in Baja as back in the states.

Now, at ground zero, when you’re nailing fish and pandemonium is on the deck, don’t forget your fish. It would be nice to bleed the fish, but that’s often not possible or feasible when all heck is busting loose and the tuna and dorado are boiling.

That being said, bleed them when you can, but at least get your fish out from the hot sun. The Baja blaze will turn them to mush so put them in the shade and into some kind of chiller as soon as possible. The cooler the better. As soon as a fish is dead, it’s already decomposing. That’s nature. Heat is your enemy.

That goes for fish cleaning as well. I know it’s hard to resist the high-fiving, fish tales and beer toasts at the end of the day but keep an eye on whoever is cleaning your fish.

Pack it yourself in your bags if possible so that they’re in the size you want. If there’s only two of you eating, there’s no senses in putting 10 pounds of fillets in a bag that has to be defrosted back home.

Resist the urge to pack too much into a plastic bag as well. So often, I see anglers jam everything they can into a plastic bag.

When it goes into the freezer, it will freeze like a giant bowling ball that will have a hard time getting into your ice chest. Often, it expands as it freezes. The enclosure pops open and now you have freezer burned fish.

One trick is to put just a few fillets in the bag. Using a bucket of water that most boats have handy, push the bag under water just far enough that all the air comes out. The water pressure compresses it. Press the bag closed. Instant Mexican-style vacuum seal! And, by all means, don’t leave bags of fish on the cleaning table or deck to steam cook in the sun! Get them iced!

You paid too much for this trip and fish is too precious to waste! Take care of it.

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