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“WINTER OBSERVATIONS FROM BAJA”

Posted in Baja, Baja Fishing, Baja Life, Baja Mexico Fishing, Baja Rockfish, Cabo San Lucas, Fishing, Fishing Tackle and Techniques, Fishing techniques, holidays in mexico, inshore fishing in Baja Mexico, Jonathan Roldan, kids, La Paz Fishing, Living in Mexico, Mexican, Mexico, Mexico Christmas, Mexico life, Panga Fishing, Salt Water Fishing, Sea of Cortez, Tailhunter International, Western Outdoor News, Western Outdoor Publications, tagged baja, baja fishing, Baja Mexico, billfish, Cerralvo Island, charter, dorado, Espiritu Santo Island, expatriates in mexico, Fishing, fishing charters, gringos in mexico, holidays in Mexico, Jonathan Roldan, La Paz, La Paz Fishing, Light Tackle Fishing, living in Mexico, mexican, mexican culture, mexican life, mexican retirement, mexican vacations, Mexico Christmas, panga, Panga Fishing, roldan, sea of cortez, sea of cortez fishing, tailhunter, Tailhunter International, tuna, vacations, western outdoor news on December 26, 2011| Leave a Comment »

A quiet winter evening on the La Paz waterfront

La Paz' busiest intersection on the watefront...no parking issues!

A quiet winter game of the Mexican verson of "BINGO" in the town square downtown.

WINTER OBSERVATIONS FROM BAJA

Originally published the week of December 29, 2011

I pulled the hood of my sweatshirt a little more snuggly against my neck as the cool ocean breeze was starting to send a few chilly evening fingers down my back. As I walked down the old boulevard, I smiled at others also out for an evening stroll. Long pants. Hands stuffed in down jackets for warmth. Girls wearing furry boots. Guys covering their heads with watch-style pull down stretch hats to cover ears against the blustery night.

Everyone you pass has a nod and a smile all somewhat grinning about being so bundled up. It’s an inside local joke. In addition to my hoodie, I’m wearing thermals, my Levis and my hiking boots with actual socks! Quite a divergence from the flip-flops that adorn my feet the majority of the year.

Despite all the sunny palm-tree travel posters and brochures, yes, Baja does get winter. And yes, it does get “cold.” For us in La Paz, that means down to about the mid-50’s at night.

Relatively speaking, that translates to about a “3-dog-night” up in Alaska where the frigid evenings are judged by how many dogs one must sleep with to keep warm.

The few tourists, mostly snow-birds escaping places that really ARE cold like Canada, New York and Montana, continue to stroll in shorts and loud Hawaiian shirts and laugh to hear us talk about using drinking hot cocoa and “electric blankets” and staying in-doors at night because it’s too cold to go out!

For the visitors that normally come down to enjoy the warmer months, it’s sometimes a shock that the sun isn’t always out or that everyone isn’t down at the beach or out drinking margaritas on the terraza or fishing or how windy it can be!

I remember a few years back a guy wanted to build his dream boutique hotel on one of our beaches. He had been a visitor for many years enjoying the sun, sand, fishing and diving for many years of summers. He finally had all his papers in order. He purchased the beach-front land and got the work crew to break ground…in December!

Revelation! The winds howled. Scaffolds blew over. Sand and concrete scattered. Half-the-days, the work crew couldn’t work. The owner had never spent any winters in Baja! He thought it was 90 degrees and sunny year-round. But in winter…No fishing. Very few tourists. After two months of futility, he packed it up.

But, it’s a nice time to be in Baja. It’s a time, many of our anglers and regulars don’t get to normally see since most fishermen visit the Baja from March to November.

Yes, it can be windy and (for us) chilly too! But, generally, the sun is out and there’s a certain tranquility that descends on each place from the desert to the beaches and from the smallest pueblo to even the larger tourist cities. There’s even a word for it “tranquilo.” (calm or quiet). And it’s a good way to describe it.

The sun light is different. It’s more subdued and the days are shorter although the days can be brilliant as a winter day. Beaches are relatively empty. So are the streets.

Don’t be surprised to find you have a store or restaurant all to yourself to enjoy the full attention of the staff. There just aren’t that many tourists around!

If you thought Mexican “manana” was a leisurely pace, try “manana” in the winter! There’s no urgency. There’s no “prisa” (hurry). Lo que sea! (Whatever!).

No one’s rushing around for office parties; setting up the electric Santa on the roof; cookie bakes; midnight sales; Christmas cards; parking lot crushes…”Calmate” (Take it easy) is the attitude. No stress. No underwear-bunching is allowed! You will never be late and there’s no such thing as a cocktail dress or an ugly Christmas sweater. Imagine that!

It can take some getting used to for folks that move down here.

Gringos get frustrated because we’re used to the frantic pace of Christmas and the holidays. Here, the “holidays” start about mid-November and go until after the feast of the Three Kings in January. So, no sense in getting frustrated. No one is real motivated to get much done so you just roll with it!

People sometimes don’t leave their homes. People don’t go to their offices. For about a month, government and municipal employees barely work or are on hiatus with diminished staffs (sounds like a lot of government offices, doesn’t it!). So, if you need anything “official” done, forget it.

If you need to rush or get something done RIGHT NOW…wait until February!

It’s not a bad way to look at things no matter where you’re spending your holidays.

Take it down a notch. Park your sled and give the elves and reindeer the day off. Whether you’re eating menudo or Aunt Mary’s cheese log with crackers, take the time to enjoy the moments. Savor your family and friends. Tomorrow can wait. Put it off until February like we do in Mexico!

Best to you and yours for many blessings now and in the coming year! And thanks too for reading my two-cents columns all year long too! Cheers!

That’s our story…

Jonathan

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Jonathan Roldan has been writing the Baja Column in Western Outdoor News since 2004. Along with his wife, Jill, 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!

________________________

Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International

TAILHUNTER FISHING FLEET #1 Rated on Trip Advisor

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Website: www.tailhunter-international.com
U.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Drive, Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
Mexico Office: 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

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http://fishreport.jonathanroldan.com/

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“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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“SOMEDAY IS ALREADY HERE!”

Posted in Baja, Baja Fishing, Baja Life, Baja Mexico Fishing, Baja Rockfish, Cabo San Lucas, Fishing, Fishing Tackle and Techniques, Fishing techniques, fishing tournaments, holidays in mexico, inshore fishing in Baja Mexico, Jonathan Roldan, La Paz Fishing, Living in Mexico, Mexican, Mexico, Mexico life, Panga Fishing, Salt Water Fishing, Sea of Cortez, Tailhunter International, Tuna jackpot, tuna tournament, Western Outdoor News, Western Outdoor Publications, tagged baja, baja fishing, Baja Mexico, billfish, Cabo San Lucas, Cerralvo Island, charter, dorado, Espiritu Santo Island, expatriates in mexico, fishing charters, Fishing Techniques, fishing tricks, gringos in mexico, holidays in Mexico, inspiration, jonathan, Jonathan Roldan, La Paz, La Paz Fishing, Light Tackle Fishing, living in Mexico, marlin, mexican, mexican business, mexican culture, mexican life, mexican retirement, mexican vacations, mexico, mexico life, panga, Panga Fishing, roldan, sea of cortez, sea of cortez fishing, tailhunter, Tailhunter International, tuna, tuna jackpot, tuna tournament, vacations, western outdoor news on November 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Five hours...214 pounds on 60 pound test line...one leg...alot of heart!

Big check aside, there was a larger story behind the win at the Western Outdoor News Tuna Jackpot Tournament in Cabo San Lucas

SOMEDAY IS ALREADY HERE

Originally Published in Western Outdoor News the Week of Nov. 17, 2011

If you’re in the travel / fishing business like we are, you get alot of ” We’ll get out your way someday!” or “One of these days, we have to try doing something like that!”

You smile. You nod. That’s great. Sure thing.

This past week, my wife, Jill and I spent a great time working with the wacky crazy fun crew of Western Outdoor News at the 13th Annual Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot. Imagine throwing a five -day party for about 600 of your best friends.

It’s alot of work, but far outweighed by the smiles and fun. With over 100 teams from around world participating, how can you go wrong with a tournament that has the motto, “FISH HARD! PARTY HARDER!”

Ringmaster and WON Editor Pat McDonell pulls out all the stops as tournament director to make sure everyone has a good time. The best thing is that you see so many of the same faces every year. Many participants tell us this is sometimes the ONLY fishing they do all year and look forward to ONLY fishing in this event…because it’s such a kick.

This year, Jill worked the papers and stats helping to keep the tournament central booth manned and everyone straight. I thought I had the “easy” job of working the weigh scale with Pat.

Not so. There were alot of fish to weigh! It was pretty crazy. Drama right to the end. As it turned out, it was historic! More fish were weighed than ever. There were so many fish over 100 pounds, let alone the bigger slugs. (23 fish over 100 pounds and 3 over 200 pounds). I was pretty much covered with fish goo by the end of the day.

And there was the winner…214 pounds of tuna muscle. And it was worth almost 37 grand in prize money. Yay!

It’s quite a story.

Oroville Henseler fought this thug fish for almost FIVE hours. He was a FIRST TIME angler. When we saw his rod and reel, it almost looked like a rental rod. No fancy upgrades. No two-speed gears. No aircraft precision. It was a simple out-of-the-box Penn 6/0 reel. His rod…I dunno…a no-name-brand from what I can tell. Better suited for 20-pound dorado than 200- pound gorilla tuna. Granted, he had 150-pound Seagaur leader, but his mainline… only 60 -pound mono!

He refused to pass off the rod for all five hours. He wouldn’t hear of it. Imagine dangling a 200-pound refrigerator over the side of a building on a string and hanging onto it…for five grueling hours in the Baja sun on a rolling boat. That’s manning-up on a fish!

But that’s not the story…the real story. The winning story.

See, Oroville Henseler came all the way out from Springtown, Pennsylvania. Yes, THAT hotbed of ocean-fishing. Oroville had never fished in a big-time tournament. Heck, he hadn’t even been ocean fishing before.

Six months ago, he never imagined himself standing on the winner stage with a big fat check in one hand and his wife, Cindy, holding his other hand and holding back tears of her own.

You see, about 6 months ago, Oroville Henseler from Springtown was more concerned with staying alive and maybe walking again. He had lost his leg in an industrial accident when his shoelace got entangled in a machine. Surgery was unable to save his leg.

Fitted with a prosthetic leg, he had one of those life-changing experiences you hear about.

As the story is told, just two weeks before the tournament, he decided to go. A big -time tournament was on his new “bucket list” and he said no more “what if…” moments in his life. He plopped down the credit card and stepped up.

As he stood up there in the lights accepting the roaring congratulations and applause from more than 600 people, politicians and dignitaries at the awards banquet at the Cabo marina, he was choked up. I could see his eyes tearing up. His metal bionic leg sticking out from a pair of jeans shorts. A Kodak moment of moments.

Winning. It’s not about the money. It’s about saying “No more somedays.” There might not be time for “someday.” Someday is already here.

That’s our story!