Originally Published the Week of May 22, 2021 in Western Outdoor Publications
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         âIâve never seen it like this beforeâ
        âI think this is what it must have been like back in the day.â
        âThis is almost eerie. Been coming for years and thereâs something has definitely changed.â
        âItâs like thereâs something in the water.â
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Quotes from a recent sci-fi thriller?
Nope.
Recent comments from Baja fishermen.
And theyâre not talking about some toxic sludge, eco-disaster or some other ominous occurrence or disaster.
On the contrary.
Theyâre actually talking about what might be one of the more incredible fishing seasons in many years.
From all parts of Baja and the west coast of Mexico, reports have been trickling in about phenomenal catches.
Big fish.
Most fish.
A plethora of fish not experienced for far too many years.
Sure, every location is subject to the occasional fish that has a âwow-factorâ to it because of its unusual size. Or the occasional day when all the planets, the moon and stars line up for a haul of a lifetime.
It happens all the time. Worth a thumb-up; a high-five and a photographic Kodak moment.  Thatâs why there are fishing magazines and online websites showing the latest and greatest.
However, almost half-way through the year, these âKodakâ moments are getting too frequent to ignore.Â
Maybe Iâm wrong, but stories are coming in of species that havenât been seen in these numbers for awhile. Stories of fish with incredibleâŚand even world-record size. Stories of fish that are attacking baits and lures with a rabid ferociousness.
Even divers and snorkelers, sailors and other water-enthusiasts report, more dolphin and porpoise; more whales; more sea-turtles; more manta rays. Just an abundance of life unseen for a long long time.
What gives?
âIâm sure there were at least a dozen 80-pound roosterfish swimming under the boat!â
âWe were back at the docks by 10 a.m. Limits like crazy in a single day and we threw back more fish than Iâve caught over several days!â
âMy kid caught a huge dorado one day. It had everyone saying how they had not seen a fish that size in years. The next day we got one even bigger. The next day we caught one even bigger than that plus a lot of smaller ones!â
I was discussing it with some of our captains at our fleet here in La Paz.
I think one of them hit the nail on the head in one word, âCovid.â
We all laughed. But, I think he had it correct.
Think about it. Last year with pandemic rampaging around, fishing was brought to a standstill. No boats. No charters. No fleets. No traffic on the water.
Even the commercial boats were diminished.
For the first-time by social, government and health mandate, the fish were left alone. The ocean was quarantined. Maybe the first time ever.Â
Mother nature was left alone.
Left alone to heal, if you will. While the rest of us on land tried to find a way to heal as well.
Proving once again, what can happen if we just keep our doggone hands outta the pot. For the better part of an entire year, we were forced to stay off the big pond.Â
And she responded. Fish had time to grow. Fish had time to re-produce and make more fish.  Waters and habitat got cleaner. Less pollution.Â
Itâs a magnificent thing to see again.  I donât want to be outâve work like that again. But, maybe we all needed a little rest and re-assessment.
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.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: jonathan@tailhunter.com
Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. Itâs right on the La Paz waterfront!
Originally Published the Week of May 17, 2021 in Western Outdoor Publications
The vibe just kinda just hit me this week.
        I had to go down to Cabo San Lucas which is about 100 miles south of us where we live in La Paz.  Had to take care of some business, but also check out the Cabo Airport.
        I got stuck in traffic.
        Itâs been awhile since Iâve been stuck in traffic down here. I mean, not just slo-mo movement. I mean gridlock bumper-to-bumper stuff. Â
        At the airport, to drop off folks, shuttle vans and taxis were triple-parked trying to let folks off at the curb. Inside the terminal lines snaked back-and-forth and up-and down.Â
    It was a morass of people struggling  to find their proper lines to check in for their flights as well as get their covid tests.
        Picking folks up, the same thing.  Chaos. People ready and anticipating a cold margarita and sunny vacations now stuck in lines. Buzz kill.
        Like being a kid getting taken finally to Disneyland then realizing itâs a 2 hour line to get on your favorite ride.
        From the time planes were landing, it was taking 1-2 hours for folks to get off the plane and get their luggage. Then, they had to navigate get through more snaking lines for immigration and finally customs and luggage x-rays.
        It was another hour wait to get a rental carâŚif youâre lucky.
        As my amigo and I sat in the car waiting for traffic, I looked at him and said, âI guess weâre back to normal.â And went back to drumming my fingers on the steering wheel.
        And so it is. I guess weâre somewhat back to normal. At least it feels like it. The new normal? Maybe so.
        Thereâs no doubt that Mexico, especially Baja, has become the #1 vacation target for Americans looking to get awayâŚfinally. Covid or no covid. Vaccine or no vaccine.
        Mexico is close. A quick little plane ride.
    Thereâs no quarantine. Itâs economical. Itâs a long weekend. Â
    To many the culture is not so unfamiliar. It’s second nature to many Americans.  Itâs not like going to France or Italy or somewhere in Asia. And, getting back home is easy too.
        Although Baja still has restrictions, truthfully, they are almost un-noticeable.
        Sure, you still gotta wear a mask. Itâs a requirement, but it feels very relaxed. No one is shaking a finger at you if youâre not wearing one.Â
    And for sure, itâs rare that someone is going to remind the precious tourists with the American dollars to put on a mask.
      As you walk around, youâll know if you need to pull up your mask.Â
        You will still have folks taking your temperature at some places. No big deal.
        Admittedly, restaurants and hotels are supposed to only be at 40-50% occupancy.Â
     But, I see hotel parking lots are full.  Many restaurants are full and I sure donât see many tables supposedly 6â apart. Â
     If the restrictions are being observed, itâs pretty loose. Or maybe no one is really checking that hard. Getting people working is too important.Â
        Everyone is trying to make up for a devastating 2020, no doubt.Â
        Those are just my own personal observations.  A generality, if you will.Â
        But, honestly, itâs exciting to feel the nice buzz in the air.  A nice energy.  Visitors are excited to be here.
     Folks are excited to be working again. Locals are excited to have you. Businesses have open arms waiting for you.
        Baja had it especially tough last year. I remember everything being closed. I remember night time curfews.Â
     I remember only being allowed to have 2 persons in a car and everyone better have a mask on. I remember having to sanitize your shoes and feet before entering a business.
    For Peteâsake, I remember when they cut off beer sales because brewing beer was a ânon-essential activity.â  Long lines and small riots ensued at convenience stores.Â
        Toilet paper no problem, but cutting off beer in Mexico? Thatâs a real crisis.
        I donât miss any of that.
    In an ironic bitter-sweet way, I will miss some things however. Not that I ever want to go back to 2020.
    In a weird Twilight Zone kind of way, it was a peek at Mexico the way it was 30 or 40 years ago.  Â
        The ocean was empty and uncrowded.Â
        The fish were ready and eager. There had been so little traffic on the water.Â
        I had the beaches to myself. Â
        At restaurants the service was crazy good. Waiters were falling all over themselves to wait on me. Few tables were occupied.
        Hotels were almost giving away rooms to have you be there.  You got the pool all to yourself. The jacuzzi didnât have 20 kids diving in it.
        The swim up bar was just you and the bartender.  And he was anxious to have some company.
        And traffic? What traffic? Roads were empty. The airport was empty.Â
        Things moved at a much more leisurely pace.Â
        I couldnât wait for it all to end and itâs good to get back to some normalcy. Good to see people back working and visitors flocking back.
        But, for awhile I got to see a different older Mexico. Just for awhile.Â
        Itâs like those movies where someone invents a time machine and goes back in time. Nice to visit, but you donât wanna stay there too long!
        Itâs good to be back to business. Even if Iâm stuck in traffic now and then.
That’s my story!
______________
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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.com.
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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: jonathan@tailhunter.com
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Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. Itâs right on the La Paz waterfront!
Originally Published the Week of May 13, 2021 in Western Outdoor Publications
     Weâre gonna do a little âword associationâ test. Read the following words then close your eyes.
     “MEXICAN DRIVERS”
        I bet I can guess what went through your head after reading those words. All those âstereotypesâ come flooding into your thoughts?
        Just to be fair, stereotypes are stereotypes.Â
        Theyâre a broad-brush painting that may-or-may-not have a lot of truth or fairness to it. But, after living in Mexico for almost 3 decades, the thoughts that flew through your brain probably werenât too far off.
        Listen, thereâs bad drivers all over the world.Â
        How many people did you call out under-your-breath on your last freeway commute home from work? Everyone slower than you was a âjerk.â Everyone faster than you was a âbutthead.â Right?
        I donât want to say that Mexicans are bad drivers. But, I will say they drive âdifferentlyâ and it behooves you to be a âbetterâ driver because of it. In other words, CYA. . .âcover your backsideâ and drive defensively.
        Why is that?
        Well, a couple of things that happened recently might have coalesced my thoughts on the matter.
        For one, I just realized that of our employees that âknowâ how to drive,  most have no driverâs licenses. Some have NEVER had a license or have expired licenses.  They just laugh.Â
        When you need to get from Point A-to Point B for work, you do what you gotta do. Donât need no license and donât have time or money to get one!
        As a foreigner, I never had to take a test to get a Mexican driverâs license. I never had to even prove that I could drive. I just had to fill out the paperwork.        Â
        I had to pay my money. And, like DMVâs everywhere, I had to stand in several long lines.Â
     However, unlike say the DMV in the states, I found out that I could pay a proxy to stand in line for me. Yup. Pay for someone to stand in line for me!
        I could go sit down; check my e-mails on my phone; buy a hot dog or a churro from one of the vendors inside the TRANSITO (DMV) office. My proxy calls me when itâs my turn to run up to the line.Â
        He follows me to the next line. He tells me where I need to sign documents. He basically leads me by hand from one teller window or clerical office to the next. Nothing is done in one line.
        Itâs a good thing because the TRANSITO office is a small version of the floor of the NY stock exchange. Itâs chaos incarnate.
    Noisy.  Little offices everywhere. Lines everywhere. Lines to nowhere. Confusing signs on the walls.
    People milling and yelling and papers being shuffled. Thereâs no appointments. Thereâs no obvious order.
        Paying a proxy a few bucks and a hot dog was well worth it.  Turns out my guy was a police officer making a little money on the side. Tipping is appreciated.
        Circling back, however, the point of my story is that to get a license you do NOT have to prove you can operate a moving vehicle.
        Unlike, the U.S., however, you DO have to prove that you are âalive.â
        I say that tongue-in-cheek because to get a license, you must submit to a blood test. Yes, a blood test. I donât know why.
        But, you go across the street to an approved âlabâ and they take a blood test. Cost is about 20 bucks. You take your test results when you get your license.
        Thatâs it. No driving test. No written test.
        Painted outside the TRANSITO office thereâs ariel-view street grid l painted on the asphalt/ concrete. . Kinda like Lego-land. Â
     The streets area about 12-inches side.  It has little streets and buildings painted there with parking spaces and stop signs and left-turn lanes and one-way streets.
        Iâm told that an examiner will take you through a âtestâ and let you WALK through the faux-streets. You get to show that you know when to stop and how to back up and how to make left turns.
        You are not in a car.Â
    You are in an âair-carâ like playing âair-guitar.âÂ
    You are not in a vehicle. You turn our âair wheelâ to make a turn. You shift gears in the air like when you were a kid. You step on the imaginary brakes.
     Maybe you even have to make âvroom vroomâ sounds as you drive around.
        Like I said, I never had to take any kind of driving or written test to get my Mexican license.
        However, Iâve had local friends who were given written exams. They were getting their driving licenses for the first time.
        The tests are not open book. There is no book.  Thereâs no manual.
        If you know how to drive, itâs not because you took lessons. Itâs because someone else, maybe with questionable skills shows YOU how to drive. The circle continues.
        With the written tests,  no one is monitoring the test takers.  Apparently,  youâre welcome to discuss questions with your neighbor test-taker.Â
    Answer by committee. Everyone gets to agree on the right answer about when itâs OK to blow through a stop sign or not having to signal a left turn.
        When, my wife, Jill went to get her motorcycle license so she could ride her scooter it was a good example. She panicked when she was given the written test in Spanish. Multiple choice.
        To her great joy, about 5 other test-takers all gladly helped her. They not only interpreted the questions, but also gave her the correct answers!
        She only missed 1 answer and later told me she didnât understand half the questions. But, she did got her scooter license.
        Two weeks later, she stopped riding the scooter because of all the âcrazy drivers.â Iâm glad she did!
        Just sayingâŚ
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.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: jonathan@tailhunter.com
Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. Itâs right on the La Paz waterfront!
Originally Published the Week of May 4, 2020 in Western Outdoor Publications
âOUCH!â
âHEY!â
I admit hearing my lovely wife squirming behind the closed door had me squirming and wincing myself. First, because no one likes to hear a loved one in distress or pain.
Secondly, it was because when she came out from behind that door, it was my turn to go back there.
We were there for our required Covid tests in order to fly back to the U.S. for a quick turn-around trip.
Since January 26th, the CDC and Biden Administration are requiring that everyone FLYING back into the U.S. from an international destination needed to have a Covid test. Further, it canât be any older than 72 hours before the date of travel back into the U.S.
You need to have the test even if you have been vaccinated.
Many hotels in tourist-saturated areas like Cabo San Lucas have facilities to obtain the tests. Plus labs have sprouted up all over. Additionally, all the international Mexican Airports have testing labs to facilitate the tests.
Where we live in La Paz, the hotels do not have enough international tourism to warrant erecting labs or creating testing facilities or services. Therefore, my wife and I opted to go to one of the local labs.
So, there we were.
Nice clean little place that offered all kinds of lab services; blood tests; or pretty much anything diagnostic to poke and prod oneâs body. As mentioned, lots of labs have popped up everywhere to administer the covid testing.
I didnât have any trepidation.  Figured it would be in-and-out-and done. I heard it was a 15-minute issue. Results in an hour.  How bad could it be?
We had to show our i.d. and the expression-less lady behind the acrylic glass reception office with the mask took our info. TapâŚtapâŚtapâŚtyping stoically on the keyboard.
No expression. Reminded me of the one of the old nuns when I was in grade school. All business.Â
Of courseâŚjust beforeâŚI got whacked on the head with a ruler.
They told us that the test would take 15 minutes, but like most things, the paperwork part took âat leastâ 15 minutes by the indifferent receptionist.
A lady in a white lab coat came out. I was directed to take a seat. Jill was told to follow the lady in the lab coat behind a closed door.
At first I heard my wife giggling.Â
I grabbed a magazine and opened a page.
Then, I heard the giggles turn to groansâŚand a bit of agonized yelps.
That didnât sound so good. My anxiety level took a couple of up-ticks.
More bad sounds and squirming.
Then Jill came out. She did not look happy. And I know she has a pretty high pain tolerance.Â
Before I could say anything to her, the lab-coat lady beckoned me into the room.Â
My turn.
I sat in the chair with a nervous laugh as she took out the long nasal swab. I tried to smile and I know my hands gripped the arm-rests of the chair. Â Based on what my wife went through, I prepared for the worst.
 Here she goesâŚup my nose!
âŚand then she was done.Â
Just like that. Maybe 2 total seconds where she was actually WAAAY back there that were uncomfortable, but otherwise easy-shmeazy. I felt a little tickle.Â
We were done.
Got results in 30 minutes on our cellphone. Both negative.
As I found out later, just like anything else, folk re-act differently to the actual testing. I guess it also depends on whoâs sticking that swab up your nasal passage too. But, I did feel really bad for Jill. Hours later, she said she could still feel it.  Iâve heard that from others as well. It can hurt! Or not.
One friend has had the test 6 times for work related requirements. He works in a testing lab.Â
He told me 3 times it hurt enough to bring tears to his eyes. Three times, he felt almost nothing. All done by the same lab tech at his work. Â
He told me it had alot to do with the condition of nasal passages. Allergies, dry weather or a recent cold can inflame the nasal cavity. Previous nasal injuries can also produce scar tissue. Using a saline rinse before and after the test helps. So does putting some non-fragrance vaseline in your nose.Â
Anyway…for Jill and I…
Cost was 1000 pesosâŚ$50 each.Â
Had we gone to the Cabo Airport, itâs a little different.
For one, give yourself an extra hour so you have enough time for the test. Keep in mind that there could be a line.Â
(The testing tent outside Cabo Airport)
However, according to one of our friends who took the airport test, ââŚthe test was pretty easy. You walk in (take your luggage with you);  scan your QR code with your phone to fill out the questionnaire; and you pay. â
Â
âYou are then led into a corridor to sit down, wait until someone sticks that swab down your nose, leave, and 30 minutes later, get an email on your results!â
Â
        Cost was about $40 and he said they accept credit cards and pesos, but no American dollars.
Â
        Itâs also important to have functional cell service while at the testing site (airport WIFI doesnât work) because when scanning the QR code, you go to a site that you need to fill out which includes an email address.Â
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Thatâs where your results will be sent. Thereâs someone there to help with English or Spanish. Â
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Bring your luggage back with you to the counter and show your results to get your boarding pass.  Youâll also need to show your cellphone questionnaire before they let you up to the gates.
As this is a new thing, the airport can be a morass of frantic travelers wrestling with cellphone reception; figuring out where to go; filling out the forms, etc. However, there are numerous friendly and patience airport assistants all over the place being very helpful.
        Off you go. No quarantine when you get back to the U.S.  Hopefully, as things get better, theyâll eventually do away with the test requirments.Â
        Until then, best to know what to expect.
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.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: jonathan@tailhunter.com
Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. Itâs right on the La Paz waterfront!
TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR FISHING – DON’T LEAVE FISH TO FIND FISH
Originally Published the Week of April 28, 2021 in Western Outdoor Publications
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How does that saying go?
        âHell hath no fury like a woman scorned.â
        I would like to throw out a challenger:
        âNothing worse than a grumpy fisherman when everyone else is catching fish except him.â
        I know from experience. I have been in the path of such a demon and it can be like watching one of those disaster movies where the huge apocalyptic tidal wave is coming. Thereâs no escape. Climbing the tallest tree or building isnât gonna save you.
        Running a couple of fishing fleets here in Baja, I get the reports from my captains before they get back to the beach. Everyone has caught lots of fish. Everyone had a great time.
        Except one boat. And the one guy.
        And itâs the guy who calls himself the âexpert.â Heâs fished everywhere and caught everything and heâs done it all.
        And my captain gives me the code word on the radio âcalienteâ meaning, theyâre coming in hot. The client is NOT happy.
        Oh no. Not like I can run away. I know Iâm gonna either get an earful of what went wrong ( itâs never the anglerâs fault). Or, Iâll get the silent Clint Eastwood squint of the pissed-off fisherman.
        Nothing like someone whoâs upset and when you ask them whatâs wrong, you get a brusque, âIâm fine!â
        WellâŚalrighty thenâŚweâll just walk to the other side of the room and give you some space!
        Before trying to figure out what went wrong I always chat with my captain. I donât like asking questions that I donât already know the answer to.Â
        Was the bait bad? Was the guy simply unlucky? Did he actually hook fish, but they broke off ? Thatâs not bad fishing. Thatâs simply bad catching.Â
        Did he have a tackle box full of bananas?
        Often, one I hear is that the client just kept moving around too much and kept telling my captain he wanted to move.  Even when the fish were biting.
        The client wanted bigger fish.Â
        Or he wanted a different speciesâŚthen another typeâŚthen another type to cross of his bucket list.
        Or he simply had read too much and wanted to try all the âfamousâ spots he read about.
        For whatever reason, the client was like a waterbug scooting from spot-to-spot-to-spot.  Even when the fish were biting. Even when other boats were catching fish.Â
        That spot just wasnât up to his expectations and in a version of âgrass-is-greener-on-the-other-sideâ wanted to keep movingâŚand moving again.
        When I am finally able to confront the angler, itâs really hard to tell them to just stop racing all over the ocean. Especially, if itâs an angler that attests to knowing more than my captain or me about fishing.
        However, I learned long ago when working as a deckhand and also as a fishing guide âDonât leave fish to find fish.â
        Thereâs only a finite number of hours in a fishing day.
        If the fish are biting where you are, you probably shouldnât pull up and go looking for a different spot. At least give your current spot time to produce whatever itâs going to produce.Â
        Sure, you might find a better spot. But, thereâs a good chance you might not. And youâll be wasting time and bait and gas chasing around.
        While everyone else is hooking fish and having a good time!
       Â
       Â
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.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: jonathan@tailhunter.com
Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. Itâs right on the La Paz waterfront!
Originally Published the Week of April 20, 2021 in Western Outdoor Publications
Presentation is a simple concept explain. How something looks, feels or even acts has a lot to do with how that subject is perceived.
        Perfect examples.
        Two hamburgers. Same meat. Same cook.  They both taste the same.
 But, one is served on white table cloth with nice silver. Thereâs a nice garnished sprig of parsley and the plate is shiny white ceramic.Â
        The other burger comes in a greasy wrapper.Â
        Most folks would be more inclined towards the nicely packaged burger, even though personally, Iâd probably grab the one in the greasy wrapper thatâs all messy. But, thatâs just me. Â
        But, that wrapper registers an impression in my little brain that the one in the greasy wrapper is gonna taste better.
        Possibly a better example:
        The young man that comes to pick up my daughter for the evening at the movies. For the first time. First date.
        Torn jeansâŚdirty fingernailsâŚway too many piercings and a dragon tattoo up his arm. And honks for her to come out.
        Danger! Danger! Not with MY daughter!
        Or the young man shows up on time. Calls me âsir.â Holds the door open for my girl and heâs nicely dressed.
        In both scenarios, itâs the same kid. If my daughter is going out with him, Iâm sure heâs probably a sweet kid and nice guy despite first impressions. Clothes arenât everything.Â
        I didnât exactly look like a prize at that age either.Â
        And the dad writing this article has a piercing and several tattoos!Â
The nicely dressed kid does get bonus points for calling me âSir.â
        But, first impressions are important. Thereâs no getting around it.Â
        Fish are a lot like that too. Presentation is everything.
        Some folks think if they have a lure in the water or if they have a bait on a hook in the water, the fish will jump all over it.  And they canât figure out why theyâre not getting bit.
        Or how come the guy next to them is getting hits left-and-right.
        Thereâs the old saying that, â20% of the fishermen catch 80% of the fish.â
        Thereâs a reason. Much of that has to do with presentation and the impression it makes on the targeted fish.
        Imagine that âMr. Fishâ has a whole bunch of choices down there.Â
Why should he bite you? What makes your bait stand out and gets his brain neurons saying, âEat! Eat! Eat!â
        Letâs talk about live bait for the moment.
        How is it acting? Lively? Lethargic? Plain dead? Â
        Take dorado fore example. Dorado, are like cats. Fast moving lively things put them into attack mode. The livelier the bait the better.Â
        By contrast tuna can be notoriously lazy and love picking up dead bait or barely lively bait. Itâs like they donât wanna chase anything.Â
Thatâs why chunk bait is so effective. Just a big mass of dead and dying bait dumped into the drift. One chunk has a hook in it.
        Speaking of hooksâŚHow you rig (âpinâ) your bait on a hook can have a massive effect.Â
        For one, generally, match your hook to the size of the bait. Donât match your hook to the size of the fish youâre chasing.Â
        For instance, if using a 6-inch sardine or anchovy, jabbing a 10/0 hook in it is going to kill the bait, even if youâre chasing 100-pound fish. Thatâs not doing you any favors.Â
Simple logic.
        Likewise, if your line is very heavy, your bait is gonna tire out faster and youâre not even going to know it. Your line is way out there and you have no clue that your poor little bait is half-dead floating where you canât see it.  Â
     And you wonder why your buddy keeps hooking fish!
        A lot of anglers also donât know that you can actually control how your bait swims.Â
        Pinch-off or cut off a bit of tailfin and your bait will swim erratically. Often, this is a great attractant for gamefish who like to grab injured bait that canât escape.
    Darwinâs theory. Culling the herd. It sets your bait out from the rest of the bait in the water.
    Try these next time.Â
    If you pin your bait on the bottom-side behind the dorsal fin, you bait will tend to swim directly away from the boat and down.
   If you hook your bait on the top-side behind the dorsal fin, your bait will tend to also swim straight out, but will stay on the surface.
   If you put the hook through the right collar, the bait will swim to the right. Through the left collar and the fish will swim to the left.Â
   Handy to know for those baits that continually want to swim under the boat or if youâre on a boat and you canât get around someone or something.
   If how âfoodâ looks and acts is important, consider how something âsmellsâ also affects attractiveness just like smelling a steak on the grill.
   When I was first learning to fish as a kid, my old Japanese uncle taught me to keep the bait as fresh as possible.
   Donât touch the bait with hands that touched food or something oily. Or suntan lotion.Â
   He was a smoker and never ever touched his bait with the hand holding his cigarette.Â
   If you do have stuff on your hands, wash it off then put some fish slime or dead bait on your hands to cover up the fragrance of soap or other detergent.
   Presentation makes a difference. First impressions are a game changer.
That’s my story!
Jonathan
Â
______________
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.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: jonathan@tailhunter.com
Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. Itâs right on the La Paz waterfront!
Originally Published the Week of April 4, 2021 in Western Outdoor Publications
Back in the day…state of the art. (Shudder)
     There was a time, many decades ago when I worked as a deckhand on sportfishing boats, when there would be an audible groan when someone walked on board with a spinning reel.
        If you donât know, thereâs basically two kinds of reels.  Everything else is a variation of those two reels.
        Thereâs a âconventional reelâ that looks kind of like a barrel-shape on top of the rod.Â
        Then, thereâs the âspinning reelâ that goes under the rod and looks likeâŚwellâŚa spinning reel. Itâs not easy to describe.Â
        A lot of fishermen started out as kids with a spinning rod fishing in lakes and streams. Great reels, no doubt. Easy to learn. Easy to use.
        My own first was a black Mitchell Garcia (remember those?) with 4-pound-test line that my dad had attached to a K-Mart fishing rod. (Remember when K-Mart ruled?).
        But, as far as many of us saltwater fishermen were concerned, spinning reels should stay in lakes and stream.Â
        In fact, many of us called them âcoffee grindersâ outwardly or at least under-our-breaths. This was due to the big handle you would âgrindâ when retrieving line or fighting a fish.Â
        âCoffee grinderâ was not a complimentary title. Anglers who brought them out on boats werenât held in high esteem either.
        Justly or unjustly,  it marked that person as someone to avoid. You stayed away from them. You fished as far away from them as possible.
        Youâd just as soon fish next to a guy who picked his nose than a guy with a spinning reel. It was that bad.
        There was a good chance that if that fisherman had a coffee-grinder reel, they werenât very good fishermen. Additionally, the reels themselves had a hard time controlling fish.
        The reels often werenât very good. Poor engineering . Poor components.Â
Ultimately, they were just overblown and oversized freshwater reels. Iâve seen these reels seize up or break. Iâve seen big fish just blow these reels apart.Â
        A novice fisherman with a reel and equipment that doesnât do much to control a fish is a bad combination.
        Chances are theyâre gonna tangle you which wastes a lot of time and gear. It will always happen at the worst time. And they wonât know how to untangle things. Itâs now YOUR problem.Â
        Additionally, because of the gear and inexperience, they canât control their fish during the fight . That means, not only are they tangling you, but they have a good chance of cutting your lineâŚespecially if your line is taught as you also fight a fish! Adios fish! Seee-yaaaa!!
        DANGER! DANGER!!! STAY AWAY FROM ME!!! RUN AWAY!!! GO FISH ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BOAT!!!
        This was years ago. And all things considered, I knew there had been many improvements. However, old prejudices die hard and old dogs donât learn new tricks very well.
        The only reason I mention it is because over the last few years, Iâm seeing more and more of these spinning reels showing up on fishing boats in Baja. With the exception of trolling or the biggest of big fish, they seem to be working well.
        The technology has improved.Â
        They are lighter and stronger alloys.Â
        They have better line capacity and are able to hold larger line classes.
        They cast as smoothe as silk and even a novice can learn to handle one very easily and quickly. Certainly itâs a lot faster and initially more comfortable than a conventional reel set up.
        They also have reversible handles so both left-and-right handed anglers are comfortable and âbait runnerâ innovations that allow baits to free-swim more naturally than the predecessor reels and more like conventional reels.
        First and foremost, the drag systems are so much more improved. They can really put the brakes on some of the biggest and most powerful fish most anglers will encounter. That includes tuna, marlin, giant roosterfish and others.
     Frankly, they look like something a starship trooper would would use in a Star Wars movie.
        I know a lot of these innovations have actually been around for a bit, but wellâŚlike I saidâŚIâm old school. And more spinning reels are catching my eye.
        And folks are doing well with them.  Even veteran fishermen are finding a spot for them in their arsenal.
        Iâm not giving up my conventional gear, but I stopped making fun of anglers with coffee-grinders and looking sideways at them with a wink or raised eyebrow.
        Always room to learn at least one new trick, although sometimes Iâm a slow learner.
Â
That’s my story…
Jonathan
______________
Â
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.com.
Â
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: jonathan@tailhunter.com
Â
Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. Itâs right on the La Paz waterfront!
Originally published the Week of March 21, 2021 in Western Outdoor Publications
   Â
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     Yâknow, say what you will about fishing, but sometimes you have the most profound and interesting conversations when the fish arenât biting.Â
        I have a friend. You donât know his name, but youâve probably heard or seen his product. Or you have used it.
     Heâs a fun hard-core East Coast angler.Â
        Years ago, he came back to his home in Massachusetts from a day fifishing and was sitting at his kitchen table drinking beers. He started fiddling with his plastic lures and decided on a whim to modify some.Â
        He tested them and they worked. He went back to the kitchen table and more beers and modified them sâmore. They worked even better.Â
        He then started pouring his own molds and started marketing them. Sales went viral.
        They went so well that Walmart or K-Mart or someone like that paid him mega millions for the rights. And then it went the route of âAs seen on TV.â
        And thatâs where you probably heard of the famous âHelicopter Lures.â Just a goofy piece of twirly-colored-rubber with a hook that catches fish and made millions for my buddy. Â
     He never worked again in his life. Only fishes. Living the dream.
        So he and I were sitting in a boat. On the ocean. And the fish had stopped biting for the moment.
     He and I were talking about âthe best all-around lure to have.â
        We had a laugh about it. Him a famous (now wealthy) lure inventor and me running a charter operation in Mexico.
        We agreed that like cameras or guns itâs the old adage. âThe camera or gun you have in your hand when you need it is better than the one you left at home.â
        Lures are like that too. The one you have beats the one you left home.
        But, maybe as knuckleheads, thatâs why us fishermen bring 50 lures to every waterfront battlefield. Canât leave any at home.
        Realistically, however, itâs harder and harder to bring every lure when you have to fly. Thirty-pounds of lures is not only impractical, but airlines make you pay dearly as well.
        So, itâs a question I get all the time.Â
    Here are my essential lures I would not leave home without if headed to Mexico. These would apply pretty much anywhere.
        Any tackle store will know these or you can see them online if you donât understand the terminology.
        Iâd bring two tuna-style feathers for trolling. One dark-color. One light color. Iâd have them rigged with 80-pound leader line.
        To my trolling arsenal, I would add one cedar plug. Natural. Unvarnished. No fancy paint job. Trust me on this one. Plain old wood with that ugly grey leadhead.
        Iâd bring 4 Rapala-style lures. These are the ones with the big lips that dive down when cast and retrieved or slow-trolled. The two larger ones would be the âMagnumâ sized lures. In our area the Rapala Xrap style has become very very popular.Â
        However, other companies such as Yo-Zuri and the old Bomber-style lures are excellent as well. Get one dark colored and one lighter color .
        The two smaller ones would be 4 to 6 inches long for trolling the shallow areas or over rocks. Bass fishermen are very familiar with these. A zillion companies manufacture them. Call âem âcrank baits. â
        I canât tell you how many fishing trips were saved by slow trolling or casting one of these in the shallows. There are few fish that wonât eat one of these.Â
     The problem is that often, these are so effective that they get chewed up and busted up. Or they get blown up by some huge critter and get dragged into the rocks and lost.
        Then, you suddenly find out you should have brought more!Â
        Again, one dark one and one light one, but I especially like any style that looks like a shiny sardine or baitfish.
        SoâŚthe count. We have two tuna feathers. We have one cedar plus. We have four Rapala-style lures.
        Next, into the box goes two or three casting lures.Â
A yo-yo style or candy bar style casting jig. Blue and white or something with chrome on it. Used to sink and retrieve. Tons of manufacturers. Tady, Marauder, UFO, Krocodile (the large ones) and Salas come to mind.
A knife-style jig like a Shimano butterfly jig, but others make good ones too.
Â
    And that, my friends, is kinda of it! Doesnât take much space. Wonât cost you much money to purchase or bring down.
   I would add in a Lucky Joe or Sabiki style rig and a 4 oz. torpedo sinker. Good to have just-in-case, thereâs the opportunity to use live bait.Â
   You never know.  Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
        Several caveats:
        First, I used brand names only as a means of simplifying the description. Kinda like saying âKleenex.â Everyone knows tissue by that name even if itâs made by a dozen other companies.Â
        Same with lures. I used the brand name simply to make it easier to describe and find.
        Secondly, I left out plastic luresâŚswimbait and plastic jigs and such. These are very very effective.Â
        However, I was trying to minimize the space and keep things simple. Plastic jigs are deadly-good. But, everything in Mexico worth catching has a mouthful of teeth. Even the smallest fish have teeth.Â
        Plastics get torn up really fast.Â
    In my experience, you need a whole zip-lock bag of each color just to keep up. So, I purposely kept those off this list. If you love âem, Iâm sure youâll bring your plastics anyway.
        Third, I mention colors. These âcolorsâ I mention have worked for me and zillions of fishermen over many decades.Â
        But, I have often wondered.Â
        When I worked as a deckhand, for instance, you would hear in the reports that all the yellowtail or barracuda, etc were being caught on blue and white jigs. But, Iâve often wondered if thatâs because 90% of the anglers are using blue and white jigs and they had a reputation about being effective.
        That being said, donât be afraid to go outside the box of my recommendations and throw in some zany polka-dotted pink lure. Just for the fun of it!
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.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: jonathan@tailhunter.com
Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. Itâs right on the La Paz waterfront!
Originally Published the Week of March 11, 2021 in Western Outdoor Publications!Â
        I guess thereâs two stories to pass onto you this week in a round-about-kinda-way.Â
        One actually is possibly some useful info about fishing in Baja, which is what this column is normally supposed to be about.
        But, let me start with the first story!
        As a kid I really only cared about three publications in my life.
        One was the Sears Christmas catalog. If you were a kid, my reasons need no explanation. It was the most dazzling thing to have in your hands. I should have saved a copy or two to show to the grandkids.
        Another was MAD. Donât laugh. If any of you are old enough to remember, MAD Magazine, I think itâs how I learned how to read. Itâs where I got my weird bent sense of humor.Â
        Itâs where I learned goofy songs and rhymes and things I didnât even understand in those pre-teen years. And, of course, there was that backpage fold-out that was brilliant.
        My mother, a dedicated 2nd grade teacher for 30+ years would always try to steer me towards good literatureâŚclassicsâŚauthorsâŚetc. She was usually successful.Â
    Except there was MAD Magazine. I donât know how she and dad let me get away with that or knowing my allowance money was not being used very wisely.
        But, there was one other magazine that I treasured and that DID receive a better nod of approval.
        It was Field & Stream. Â
        Now THAT was a magazine that I would definitely save my allowance to buy.   It was everything I ever wanted to know about hunting and fishing and all the places and adventures I would someday have.
        It was the Sears Catalog for the outdoors to me.
        It was geography and adventures, Daniel Boone and Tom Sawyer all rolled onto the printed pages.
        Cover-to-cover and back-and-forth. I would cut out articles and save them in scrap books. If I got caught under the bedsheets at night with a flashlight reading MAD Magazine or the Sears Catalog, they were confiscated.
        With Field & Stream, they let me slide. Or dad would take it and read it himself.Â
        WellâŚof all thingsâŚtwo weeks ago a writer for Field & Stream contacted me for an interview about fishing in Baja! Me? Are you kidding?
        That icon of outdoor magazines wanted to know what someone like me thought?  Wow! Needless to say, I was thrilled. Iâm not sure how the interview went or how it will eventually look in print, but hey, I was happy to do it!
        Which leads to the 2nd story of this column.
        The reason they had asked me for the interviewâŚ
        Apparently, I was part of a series of outfitters being asked how the Covid pandemic had affected us. As well, more importantly, they wanted to know what we thought of the coming year.
        The first part was easy.
        I think anyone who was in the travel industry or is still in the travel industry and didnât get pulled down by the pandemic/ quarantine wolves will agree. Last year was devastating. It continues to be so in 2021.
        It doesnât matter if you were/are an outfitter, lodge, charter operation, guide, hotel, travel agent, airlines, cruise lines, taxi driverâŚIf you dealt with any aspect of the travelling public, 2021 was unlike anything we had ever seen or could imagine.
        Travel to Mexico? Travel abroad? Travel to another state? Travel to visit your family, kids, parents on the other side of town?
        Are you kidding? We couldnât even leave our houses, either because we couldnât (lockdown); or were simply afraid to (contagion); or didnât have the ways or means (no money) to travel.
        No one could travel for essential things like work and school. So forget leisure travel like taking vacations or other discretionary trips.
        Yea, we got hammered. Punched in the nose. Kicked in the nether regions then dog-piled while we were already on the ground. Many of our friends in the industry lost their jobs or had to find other or supplemental work.
        For those of us in the travel industry still treading water, itâs not over yet.Â
        For us in Baja, things really started to take an upswing there at the end of 2020. Americans were really scooting to Baja.Â
        Mexico is close. It was economical. It was easy to there and get home. Â
Canada was a no-go because of the border closures and quarantines in place.
Going to Europe or Asia take some planning. Pack an overnight bag with shorts and t-shirts and you can fly off to Mexico.Â
        Locally, more hotels and restaurants and other services were opening up. Airlines were having to add more flights to keep up with the demand. For us and other operators in Baja, things were looking up.Â
        Bookings were picking up. People just wanted to get out no matter if there was vaccine or no vaccine. Covid or no covid.
        Then, the new CDC rules were implemented in January of 2021. It required that everyone travelling into the U.S., including returning vacationers, have a negative Covid test within 72 hours of flying back to the U.S.
        WHAM! BAM! Travel took another knee below-the-belt.
        Bookings took a dive. Cancelations jumped up. Airflights got canceled. Folks not wanting to get stuck in Mexico made a mass exodus for home and left on-going vacations.
        But, now things are looking up again. Whew!
        Vaccines are being implemented. Moreso, Mexico got itâs game together and erected testing facilities at airport, hotels, timeshares and labs to make it cheap and convenient to get the tests. Canât lose the all-important tourism sector again.
        So, people are booking again.
        But, will it be a good season?
        I think so. The fish were largely left alone last year. Six to 8 months there was literally zero sportfishing traffic on the water.
        Even when things opened, it was only a fraction of the usual crowds.
The fish had time to grow. The fish had time to spawn and mate without getting bonked by lures run scattered by boat motors. More importantly, their food sourceâŚthe critical baitfish werenât depleted.
I thnk this year of 2020 will be an improvement over last year. But, it still wonât see the normal numbers and the experts are saying weâre really only going to see 30-50% of the normal visitors.
So, bigger fish. Hungrier fish. More fish. More bait.
And maybe just you out there on the water!
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.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: jonathan@tailhunter.com
Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. Itâs right on the La Paz waterfront!
Originally Published the Week of March 1, 2021 in Western Outdoor Publications
About a month ago, I received a reservation request from one of our regulars who had fished with us many times over the years. He wanted to set up a whole week of fishing with our fleet in La Paz.
He had not fished with us in a few years. As he put it laughingly, âLife got in the way of my fishing. Then this darned pandemic thing knocked last yearâs fishing helter-skelter.â
This year, he was coming with his wife and 2 grandkids. Three days fishingâŚhotelâŚsome snorkelingâŚone of our taco tours of the city. The whole package.
Heâs always a pleasure. Low maintenance. Fun to be around him as well as whoever he brings along.
But, something he said to me has stuck in my head like a song that keeps re-playing. I wanted to share, but didnât quite know how to write about it in my column.
We were talking about all the cancelled vacations and fishing trips everyone endured last year.
He said, âIâm 86 years-old. I can still do a lot of things, but at some point very soon, I know that I wonât. Itâs just the way things are. â
âI can still enjoy a beer. (laughs) I like dancing with my dear wife who puts up with me. I can still give the grandkid a piggy-back ride. I can work in the garden. â
âAnd darnit, I can still fish!â He added emphatically at the end of that.
He went onâŚ
âLife is not forever. I know people are scared to travel right now. However, I could get sick tomorrow going shopping at Target as easily as I could get sick going on a fishing trip.â
âIt seems, in fact, more likely to get sick in a crowded store than in an open fishing boat!â
âWhen youâre young, you think youâve got all these fishing days to look forward to. Good times on the water with the buddies or with family. But nowâŚwellâŚI donât have that many more days ahead of meâŚif you know what I mean.â
âWe always talk about the âgood-old-days.â Well, even with this Covid-thingâŚwhat if these ARE the âgood old daysâ weâll talk about in 5 or 10 years?
âTo me, the âgood-old dayâs will be the days I could still do the things I want to do. â
âIâd rather spend my good-old-days on the beach or on a boat or hanging with my family than sitting in the Lazy-Boy with the remote. At some point soon, I wonât be able to get up from that Lazy-Boy.â
âSo, JonathanâŚbook me a trip!â
        I was pretty much ready to give him the trip for free at that point. Priceless thoughts.Â
        When I was younger, it seemed I was always the one who talked. I had stuff to share and needed to be heard. Blah blah blah. I mustâve been insufferable.
        As I get olderâŚwellâŚI need to listen more.Â
        Life should have been reversed.
I shouldâve listened more when I was younger so that now when Iâm older, I could talk and say something that actually meant something.
Iâm 20-years-younger than my fishing friend.
But, Iâve got a birthday this week. Â His words that Iâve hung onto for a few weeks have a little more poignancy.Â
In the past 2 months, Iâve had 7 close fishing buddies pass awayâŚDave and JackâŚRogerâŚKevinâŚLloyd and JohnâŚStan.
CancerâŚHeartsâŚCovid
How the heck did that happen? In fact, except for one (Hi Leroy!), all of my fishing buds are gone now. Â I just realized that. Â Itâs a long list growing longer.
These were guys who took me under their wings. Showed me stuff. Taught me. Kicked my butt when I needed it. I used to like to think they were proud that I had taken a hobby and a passion and made it into a career.Â
They took a kid with a rusty spinning reel and old line on overnight trips and long-range trips. Â On the boats, I was the kid tangling everyone or playing in the bait tank. On the lake or stream, I was the annoying bored kid who threw rocks in the lake when everyone was trying to fish and âshushedâ by my elders.
I always looked up to them. Itâs like at Thanksgiving when you sit at the kidâs table and the grown-ups sit at the big person table. Itâs your momâs and dads. Auntâs and Uncles.
And then they are gone. And you realize that now youâre the one at the big person table and thereâs more and more empty seats.
Iâm the only one still fishing. Sort of.
I feel great. A few extra pounds from too much good food from Jilly during Covid. But otherwise, still good.
But yeaâŚIâve got more days behind me than ahead of me.Â
And, I donât want some pandemic to define my âgood old days.â Not while I can still do things. Before I get too creaky.
I canât wait to put my toes in the sand this year. Iâm gonna fish more too. Still drink my vitamin shake, but an extra beer or two wonât hurt.  Say âyesâ more often to doing things. Gonna hug my wife and kids and grandkids more too.
These are the good-old-days. Here and now.
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.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: jonathan@tailhunter.com
Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. Itâs right on the La Paz waterfront!
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His articles also appear in:
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That's My Story 