Hard to believe it’s been almost 17 years now in Baja. It’s been grand, but where did the time go? Comes a time when you realize you’ve got more fishing days behind you than ahead of you and you count all the blessings!
NEED NOT GREED
Originally Published the Week of April 4, 2013 in Western Outdoor News
I’m reminded of a father and son who attended a fishing school I had been giving many years ago at the old Hotel Las Arenas near La Paz. We were fishing along the shallows on the east side of Cerralvo Island and my fishing school was all about fishing for rockfish like pargo (snapper) and cabrilla (seabass).
Papa Fred and young adult son, Todd, were with me on the panga that day. It was their first time fishing in Mexico and it had been a number of years since they had fished together.
It was early morning and we were slow trolling the shallow reefs that ring the eastern side of the island. Dad had taken several nice three or four-pound cabrilla and had flipped a few smaller ones back into the water.
Todd, the son, hadn’t caught any of the the larger ones, but had kept several of the smaller ones. He had just hooked another and deftly popped it off the hook and tossed it into the fish box.
“Why don’t you let some of those smaller ones go, son?” asked Fred.
“The smaller ones are good to eat, Dad,” replied Todd. “And besides, if we let them go, commercial guys or someone else is going to catch them anyway so we might as well keep them,” he said with a smile and a shrug.
The older gent squinted into the rising morning Baja sun and said, “There’s this story I once heard about a big nighttime storm on the gulf coast. In the morning, the beach was littered with starfish. As far as the eye could see. The storm had washed all these starfish up on the beach above the water line. With the sun climbing into the sky surely, they’d start to bake and die off. “
A morning jogger came upon a young teenager walking from starfish to starfish picking them up and tossing them as far into the ocean as he could. One at a time.
“What are you doing?” asked the jogger casually, as he pulled up to catch his breath.
“The storm washed all these guys up here onto the sand,” replied the youngster. “I’m saving starfish,” as he picked up another and pitched it seaward.
“You’re crazy,” laughed the jogger standing tall and surveying with squinted-eyes all the starfish dotting the sand. “There must be thousands. You can’t hope to make a difference!”
“It makes a difference to this one…” said the teenager as he smiled at the jogger and picked up another starfish and tossed it back into the waves.
Little bits make a difference.
I will readily admit that in my fishing career, I’ve taken more fish than most. That “career” has now spanned more than 50 years (ouch!) and started with my first bamboo rod and some shrimp for bait. I’ve had the “bloodlust” where excitement over-rides better judgement and nothing is as important as hooking fish.
In those early days, it was about chest-thumping and high-fives. It was about catching more fish than the other fella and big heavy stringers. Who hasn’t gone down that road a time or two…or more? For me, that “road” was often a four-lane express-way and I was at the helm of a mack truck.
But somewhere in the last few years, that changed. I don’t know when or where fishing became more important than catching. Maybe it was realizing that I’ve probably got more fishing time behind me than ahead of me these days.
At some point, a day with my wife, family or friends on the water and a bit of sunshine has become more crucial to my well-being and self-esteem than tight lines. Reveling in a simple day when four walls…cell phones…and the internet weren’t sucking my soul dry were the best 5-star vacation ever invented.
Need vs. Greed. My need to just take a breath and put my toes in the sand trumps my former greediness to be putting fish in the boat…everytime…all the time.
And, although I still love catching fish and can do it with the best, maybe keeping just one or two for dinner, is enough. Especially if it means breaking bread…er…tortillas to share with family and friends!
And more than it ever did…releasing fish to swim away is even more of a kick and makes a big difference in a small way…to that one fish. And yes…to at least this one fisherman as well.
That’s my story!
Jonathan
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Jonathan Roldan has been writing the Baja Column in Western Outdoor News since 2004. Along with his wife and fishing buddy, Jilly, they own and run the Tailhunter International Fishing Fleet in La Paz, Baja, Mexico www.tailhunter-international.com. They also run their Tailhunter Restaurant Bar on the famous La Paz malecon waterfront. If you’d like to contact him directly, his e-mail is riplipboy@tailhunter-international.com or drop by the restaurant to say hi!
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Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website: http://www.tailhunter-international.com
Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
U.S. Mailing Address: Tailhunter International, P.O. Box 1149, Alpine CA 91903-1149
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
.
Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report:
http://www.tailhunter-international.com/fishreport.htm
Tailhunter YouTube Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/pangapirate
“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”
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