BIG BAIT BIG FISH…NO BAIT NO…????

Originally Published the Week of May 11 2016 in Western Outdoor News

Yikes! Hijole! What’s wrong with this picture?

 

You may have heard the old saying in fishing. “Big Bait Big Fish.” Basically, to catch a big fish, use a big bait. Makes sense.

 

So, what if there’s no bait? No bait no…?

 

For the past two-to-three-years and maybe even a touch longer, there’s no doubt that something is up with the bait stocks here in Baja. What’s up with that?

 

Here in the “Aquarium of the World” as Jacques Cousteau called it, we are used to huge dark undulating ribbons of millions of Mexican sardines. We are used to giant baitballs of mackerel. We’re used to having a cornucopia of all the green jacks, cocineros, ballyhoo and other baitfish we needed for sportfishing.

 

So, what’s going on and why have we all been scrambling to find bait? In the local Baja waters where we took bait for granted, we’re lately perplexed, annoyed, troubled and sometimes angry at the dearth of stuff to stick on the hook!

 

The commercial bait guys used to pull up to our cruisers and pangas and they’d be hawking and competing against each other to sell you all you wanted. They’d be zipping around in their own pangas like gadflys from customer-to-customer trying to make a deal in their best Span-glish…

 

“Almost free, amigo! Almost free! Cheap bait, Senores! Best quality! C’mon! C’mon! How much you want to buy? Vamanos. Let’s go. No waiting! Sure, we got change! Twenty dollars, no hay problema! Si, senor!

 

       And we surely used it too! We burned through it like a sailor burns through his money roll on a 24-hour liberty.

 

We tossed handfuls out for chum. If a bait wasn’t looking exactly real good or lively, we tore the hook out and pinned on another one.

 

Feed the pelicans and seagulls? What fun. Sure!

 

Dead bait? Don’t need it. We scooped it over the side and watched the trigger fish chomp it or the scavengers in the marina water frenzy on it.

 

The times have changed.

 

Before, there was so much bait, the bait guys eked out a living because there was such an abundance and so much competition, prices were low. Now, they eke out a living because they can only find a few bits and pieces and gringos are willing to pay dearly for each precious piece.

 

But so often, fishermen now pull up on the commercial bait guys in those early mornings and find the carniceros still trying to catch or net the enough to sell.

 

And, to a greater degree, anglers are met with a shrug and frown and hands turned up in resignation.

 

        “Sorry, amigos. No bait today.”

       “No mas, amigos. No more bait today. Ya los vendemos. We sold it already.”

       “Si, pero tenemos solo poquito. We have just a little to sell.”

 

And we get angry with them or wrongfully blame them or our crews. And can’t understand why we don’t have bait today. Heck two years ago, we had all we wanted. Or we think that the bait guys just didn’t work hard enough on YOUR day that YOU want to fish! It’s THEIR fault!

 

Actually, believe me. If they had it, they’d sell it to you. There’s families to be fed and kids need shoes.

 

Chances are by the time you’re ready to go fishing at 5 a.m., the bait man has been trying to catch bait for you all night. He’s as ticked, perplexed and disappointed as you.

 

So, que paso? What happened?

 

I speculate that it’s a combination of things.

 

As a matter of nature, we’re in an el Nino cycle. Waters are much warmer than normal on this side of the Pacific.

 

The cooler waters from down deep never came up bringing with it the micro-nutrients that the bait fish need. The bait fish either starve or don’t re-produce in their normal numbers or simply follow their food source somewhere else.

 

That applies all the way up the ecological food chain.

 

With altered and diminished food sources, the sportfish also lack their usual chow.   They are smaller. Or they starve. Or they move to other areas. Simple natural logic.

 

The other part of the equation is points directly at us.

 

There’s more pressure on the current bait stocks, small as they are.

 

There’s more anglers on the water. There’s more boats and charter operations. Everyone wants bait. Everyone expects it! Plus…

 

As sportsmen we’re used to having all we want and we will use all we can get. And we’ll also use anything we can find.

 

Whereas, before, we might use 4 or 5-inch mature Mexican sardines, now we’re taking one-inch fry. We’re sticking 3 or 4 of them onto a hook at a time because one doesn’t cover the hook.

 

Conversely, the bait sellers are using nets with smaller and smaller mesh-holes to trap the smaller baits. Nothing gets to grow up.

 

As one bait vendor sadly told me, “I know we’re not supposed to use nets so small, but I am just trying to make a living. I know that this is taking all the small baby baits. “

 

The other side of the commercial coin is acuaculture. Huge stocks of bait are being used to grow marketable fish in the fish farms. It takes many POUNDS of baitfish to grow one of these market fish a single pound larger.

 

There’s a hungry world out there and the demand for seafood exceeds the supply.

 

Simple economics.

 

The earth is doing it’s thing. And it’ll cycle around again. El Nino is supposed to be slacking off this year.

 

I’m not sure what we’re doing about our end of things. But, I know I sure don’t take those little fish for granted anymore.

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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