“EL NINO NEENER NEENER”
Originally Published the Week of Nov. 10, 2014 in Western Outdoor News
It’s inescapable. There are just certain things that puzzle you so much and make you sit back and go “hmmmmm…”
Like, how come a pair of socks go into the dryer and only one side comes out?
Or how come birds overhead ALWAYS know when you’ve just washed your car?
Or two treble hooks left in a tackle box will ALWAYS hook into each other?
Anyway, I’m writing this while overlooking the marina here at Cabo San Lucas waiting for the start of the Western Outdoor News/ Yamaha Tuna Jackpot Tournament.
It’s a lively place and the excitement that’s going to kick off is pretty palpable. It’s quite the circus atmosphere as more than 130 teams from around the world get ready to fire it up.
But, for the rest of Cabo San Lucas, life goes on as “normal.” Whatever “normal is, in this fun place!
The cruise ships are downloading swarms of sandal-wearing sun-seekers looking for t-shirts and “authentic pottery”. The booze cruise has a deckload of bikini-wearing gals and tattoo’d boyfriends whooping and vibrating to some bass-laden song my kids would know; and the street vendors descend on tourists swaying down the sidewalk with red Solo cups in hand and “Cabo Wabo” t-shirts stretched across sunburned shoulders.
“Cuban cigars. Best price, amigo!”
“Silver jewelry. Almost free, pretty ladies!”
“Two for one tequila shots all day, right here, senores!”
But part of “normal” all of the folks fishing here who aren’t part of the tournament and this afternoon, I’m watching sportfishers unload their catches. Catch flags are flying and it’s always interesting to see what gets off-loaded.
There’s some dorado. There’s a few tuna. Hmmm…a marlin. Wahoo on that boat, nice one. A few more dorado over there. Looks like a decent day on the water.
But one fish catches my eye and seems to be drawing a crowd. It’s about 15 pounds and in a plastic bucket and I hear someone say, “That’s the strangest yellowfin tuna. It’s a mutant.”
But, it’s not. It has the familiar football tuna shape, but the elongated pectoral fins…that’s no yellowfin tuna! It’s an albacore.
Yes, the “chicken of the sea.” Highly-sought commercially. Normally associated with 57-62 degree water. Caught in the dark-blue-purple oceans from California to Washington. But, caught here in Cabo? In 85 degree water?
I guess it’s just one more thing to chalk up to El Nino. Or is it?
After experiencing a season’s worth of signs indicative of El Nino conditions, the scientific forecasters have finally “decided” that we are surely in an El Nino year.
It has been highlighted to the delight/ dismay of many depending on where you live and what you do for a living!
- Warmer waters than normal played havoc with fishing season. Dorado and marlin up the coast of the Pacific Northwest. Massive tuna schools in southern California. Wahoo on ½ day charter boats out of San Diego.
- Those same unseasonably warm waters killed off the bait south of the border in many areas which meant the fish schools moved elsewhere or, there was little or no bait for the fishermen to use
- The same conditions lead to more storms on the Pacific Coast of the U.S. and Mexico. Some 2 dozen big storms were charted as evidenced by the recent “Hurricane Vance” that just skimmed off Baja the week of Nov. 4th. But it numerically underscores the fact that the storm folks have almost gone through the whole alphabet naming all the storms.
- Highly unusual to even see storms in November in Baja, but warm waters draw storms!
- The highlight/ lowlight of the year was the devastating “Hurricane Odile” in September that ripped Baja and was the strongest storm in Baja history registering winds in excess of 150 mph. Months of repairs and recovery continue almost 8 weeks after the blast.
- Should “El Nino” continue as predicted, heavy rains might show up this winter and early next year for much of the drought stricken western U.S.
So, if this actually is an official El Nino season (they usually span parts of two successive years), then one would expect that warm water fishing would continue for Baja fishermen for species like marlin, sailfish, wahoo, tuna and dorodo. Conversely, fishermen on the West Coast of the U.S. should continue to enjoy their phenomenal year on unusual species as well.
But, hold on. Something doesn’t fit.
Colder winter winds are already starting to blow into Baja. Water temperatures are dropping in many areas.
The fishing is already changing too. I doubt we’ll see a full-blown “albacore” run in Cabo San Lucas, but the fact that an albacore was caught says something about a fish that has a messed-up directional radar or, has followed a cooler current of water. I tend to think it’s the later rather than the former.
Where we are in La Paz, we’re seeing fewer dorado and other warm water species and already getting sierra, amberjack, roosterfish, cabrilla and pargo. These are all fish associated with cooler conditions.
Our air is already many degrees cooler than normal and humidity has dropped considerably. Winds are blowing stronger from the north and there are areas that are already too rough to fish on some days.
Everyone asks me , “What do you think, Jonathan? What do you predict if we come fishing?”
I’m stumped. It’s one of those things that make me go, “Hmmmm….”
One of my captains just taught me the word, “Perplejo.” It means “perplexed.” And that’s me. None of this year has made sense.
Roosterfish or dorado?
Bait or no bait ?
Full moon no moon ?
Rain or sunshine ?
I’ve been wrong more often than not this year. My crystal fishing ball is on the fritz. I stopped trying to over-think it and ultra-analyze it. I just tell people, “Come fishing.” Then I shrug.
It’s gonna be what it’s gonna be. Maybe we should be more concerned with fishing than what we’re gonna catch. It still beats work. And it’s still Baja!
That’s my story
Jonathan
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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