That's My Story

AYE DIOS! HELP ME UNDERSTAND!

Originally published in Western Outdoor News the Week of Aug. 25, 2009

Every now and then, I pull out the Mexican fishing regulations. It’s a good thing to read over now and again. Every time I read it I find other things that make me shake and scratch my head.

Like so many laws here in Mexico, even giving the legislators the benefit of the doubt, I just don’t get it. Who’s writing the laws and/or what planet/country/ ocean are these laws applied to?

I won’t go over the whole list. I already know I’m going to get e-mails and calls, but check out some of the little “points” where you can get busted if the regulations are interpreted and enforced as they are written.

They are as archaic and nutty as some of those laws still in the books in the U.S. like the ones that say it’s “prohibited to ride a horse on Mainstreet on Sunday” or “eating ice cream in public on weeknights is illegal.” You get the idea. Check out a few gems I found in the Mexican fishing regs:

• “Each fisherman is permitted to use a single rod and reel or a single line with a hook, bait or lure…It is prohibited to have the simultaneous operation of more than one fishing rod.”

As I read that and as it has been enforced of late in some areas of the Baja, that means ONE rod in use per person. So, trolling 4, 5, 6 or more rods on a cruiser with short lines, long lines, riggers, etc. is prohibited. One means ONE!

• Did you know that “Live bait chumming is not allowed except when authorized during fishing tournaments.”

Whoa! Everyone reading this who has fished the Baja, a long range boat, a charter boat or panga who has NEVER used live bait to chum, raise your hand! I thought so.

It’s a common practice. It’s like that old saying among divers who pee in wetsuits. “Sixty percent do it and the other 40 percent are liars!” Don’t act shocked. Yes, we’ve all chummed with live bait!

• “Live bait may be used only for the FIRST TWO specimens captured each day. After that, bait must be dead, either fresh or unfrozen.”

Hehehehe…Of course! After the first two fish are caught, we shut off the aerators in the bait tanks and let the sardines, caballitos and mackerel die. Yessiree, Senor. Just paid 20 bucks for that load of bait. Love seeing them just float upside down in the bait tank.

• “For the capture of deep sea fish or live bait…the use of 3 prong hooks is prohibited.”

Think about that. Surely, they can’t mean your throwing iron? Or your Rapalas, Yo-zuris, Megabaits, etc. Say it ain’t so! What about squid jigs? Those have a set of mean prongs. But maybe squid aren’t considered “deep sea fish”. But some folks do consider them bait. Frankly, I consider them calamari salad. Or breaded and fried!

• “The weight of a line must NOT exceed 130lb (test).”

Has anyone told all the anglers fishing in the big upcoming tournaments like the Bisbees and WON Tuna that their leaders can’t exceed 130 lb. test?

Oh-oh…dangit, now we all have to re-rig our lures and leaders! And remember, only ONE rod per angler at a time. No multiple trolling rods out there! By the way, it’s also prohibited to derive any “economic benefit” from any sport caught fish. So, there goes those big money prize packages too! But if you win an outboard motor, isn’t that an economic benefit?

I’m not trying to make light of the legislation. However, I am trying to point out that some of the regs are simply unrealistic or unenforceable. As written, it encourages either disregard for the law as we openly sneak around. Conversely, it encourages the Mexican government to wink and look sideways when it behooves them NOT to enforce the laws as they are written or simply promotes uneven enforcement. That just confuses EVERYONE!

Nothing worse than laws that can’t be enforced, understood or not applied uniformly.

Jonathan Roldan is the Baja Editor for Western Outdoor News and his column appears every other week. He can be reached in La Paz at: riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com