That's My Story

LA PAZ LIVING – Published Jan. ’05 – MSNBC

For the 3rd time in the last ten minutes, Bill Johnson buried and re-buried his feet in the warm white sand of Tecolote Beach and sighed again as he squinted out over the flat turquoise waters. Leaning back in the white plastic beach chair, he looked at his wife in her own beach chair and, even then, accepting another frosty umbrella-tipped marguerita from their mesero (waiter).

“I feel like I’m part of a Corona Beer commercial sitting here,” said Bill. “I have half-a-mind to send a digital photo back home to the guys at work where I hear it’s cold and raining,” he added with a grin.

“This was a great and easy get-away idea,” smiled Sherri Johnson from behind her sunglasses inhaling the fresh tartness of the icy lime-flavored concoction then laying down to let the sun warm her back. “Here the all the snow is in your glass instead of on your driveway,” she joked.

If you mention the “Mexican Riviera” to most people, images of Puerta Vallarta, Acapulco and maybe even Cabo San Lucas come to mind. Yet most would be hard-pressed to find La Paz on the map, let alone know were to find the Baja Peninsula in Mexico.

However, just a quick two-hour flight south of Los Angeles, this sleepy colonial city of 150,000 friendly folks sits serenely on the Sea of Cortez nestled next to the warm waters of the Bay of La Paz. At the southern tip of the 1000-mile long finger peninsula knows formally as Baja California, Mexico (Lower California) the city is slowly being discovered laughingly as “The anti-Riviera.”

“This is so different from other Pacific Coast Mexican destinations,” explained one first-time visitor. “It’s not so ‘touristy’ and more like Mexico 50 years ago without all the high-rises and tourist traps.”

Indeed a walk down the waterfront “malecon” reveals white sand beaches bordered by colorful side-walk cafes and restaurants. Palm trees and thatched umbrellas line the beach where there is a distinct lack of hustle and bustle characteristic of so many other popular Mexican populations. A guitarist strolls by. A local family picnics on the beach. A young Mexican couple peddles by on bicycles giggling and waving at a white-uniformed police officer also astride a bike who waves back and blows his whistle.

Marjorie Duncan of Oregon was out for an afternoon stroll. This was here 4th visit to La Paz and she makes a point of always getting some fresh made local Mexican ice-cream. “It’s the BEST mango ice cream on Earth!” she explained between big spoonfuls. “They make it by hand here and people come from all over to just get ice creams and sit and watch the world and all the sailboats go by. Everyone is friendly. There are hardly any tourists and unlike other places I have visited, no one keeps trying to sell me time-shares!” she added with a laugh.

It’s not that there aren’t things for tourists, it’s just that La Paz is a “real” city. The product of Spanish conquistadores, zealous missionaries and roving pirates, La Paz is the capital of the state of Southern Baja (Baja Sur). It is the home of the University and soon-to-be national aquarium plus the center for business, agriculture, shipping and light manufacturing as well as art and culture in the area. Major hospitals, shopping and other amenities are available. Life just moves a little slower along it’s centuries-old cobblestoned streets and narrow alleys that wind back from the waterfront back towards the old Spanish mission cathedral. Locals play the Mexican version of bingo on Sunday afternoons. Eating fresh seafood from local open-air vendors is almost an artform. Half the city still takes a siesta a mid-day to awaken at night, European style, to dine al fresco by candlelight under the warm starry nights or catch improvisational waterside concerts by local musicians.

Most visitors fly directly into La Paz’ modern airport only 10 minutes from downtown and several excellent hotels where a nice room averages about $100/night for two. Taxis are everywhere, but one often wonders how the drivers make a living since everything is within walking distance. Foot-power is the way to go and most tourist oriented activities are within blocks of the beachfront. For daytime activities, La Paz is a hidden gem for sportfishing, scuba diving and other water sports where water temperatures can reach into the 80’s and 90’s with gin-clear visibility. Daytime temperatures range from the 70’s in the winter to upper 90’s in the summer on the average.

“I know it sounds manufactured,” says Tracy Sullivan, an office manager from San Francisco, “but at night, I really can hear guitars playing from my hotel room overlooking the bay. Combine that with the gentle lapping of the waves and this is the ideal place to just de-compress with a good book and conversation on the balcony. I come here twice-a-year and the hotel treats me like one of the family. Often, there are so few tourists here I just love it!”

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WHALE WATCHING – Published Feb. 04 – Western Outdoor Magazine Feature Article

With a sputter and pop the 55 horsepower outboard of Captain Rodrigo’s 22 foot panga (Mexican skiff) purred to life and we pulled away from the short dock at Lopez Mateos. The little pueblito on the shallow shores of Bahia Magdalena on the Pacific Coast of Baja, Mexico is normally just a collection of colorful cinder-block houses and storage shacks for the fishermen and their families, but today, it was a bustle of activity.

“Muchas ballenas ahora!” (Lots of whales now!) smiled Captain Rodrigo as he grinned and pointed his craft out and across the strait that separated his village from the series of sand dunes that make up the major part of the bay in this area. More like a giant-slow moving river at this point than a major seaway covering hundreds of square miles, the bay was literally only a hundred yards wide and perhaps only 20-30 feet deep moving languidly among the sandbars, shoals and mangroves that lined the shores.

It didn’t take long. Capt. Rodrigo slows the boat.

We could hear the yells from some of the other boats as nine-year-old Emily Duncan from Santa Barbara suddenly pointed, “Look! Look! There’s one of them!”

Swiveling around in my seat, camera at the ready, I hadn’t been fast enough but in the glassy greenish seawater, a giants’ “footprint” was clearly visible in the water. I hadn’t seen a whale, but the huge swirl, as if a huge hand had swept beneath the water, was excitingly evident. I was quicker next time as just ahead of the swirl the huge gray and barnacle-mottled body of a 30-foot California gray whale rose with barely a ripple moving in-no-particular-hurry and 15 feet of dark-charcoal dorsal parted the waters. Collectively, our boat ooh’d and ahh’d!

“That’s incredible!” said Emily’s father, Bob, as he tried to take a photo. I could hear squeals and excited talk from many of the surrounding pangas as several other whales could be seen in the area as well. “Oh wow! Look! It’s coming to the boat! ” said Jorge Romero of La Paz sitting on the starboard side of the panga as he cautiously backed away from the gunwale and the rest of us rushed to the side he had just vacated. Gazing down and now 2 feet below the surface, a baby whale of perhaps only 12 feet seemed to have turned on it’s side and was eyeing the boat. A bump near the bow that lifted the boat a with a thump and a larger body scraped and passed by…and by…and by as we pointed excitedly into the water. It was like watching the sides of a slow-moving train go by as you sit at the train stop. (When does the caboose get there?) Mom had arrived!

Raising her head in an activity called “spy-hopping” mom appeared to be checking us out, her huge eyes barely blinking as she just hung and suspended some 6 feet of her head out of the water vertically. She must have given the OK, because both she and the smaller calf were shortly rubbing themselves against the boat and alternately lifting their heads (faces?) out of the water to be petted, scratched and rubbed. Occasionally, one or the other would lift and eye out of the water and you couldn’t help but think there was a connection.

“I think the baby just winked at me!” yelled a delighted Emily, as she rubbed the nose of the baby.

“Except for the barnacles, I can’t believe how soft their skin is!” said her father. As a boat owner in California and an experienced sailor, he had seen numerous whales, but had never encountered anything like this as over the next 2 hours, we saw perhaps a hundred whales and were able to touch several dozen friendly or curious enough to come to the boat.

The area around Lopez Mateos was ideal for this. It’s slow moving waters protected by sand dunes created a virtual flume for the whales to pass through on their way to and from the large and more open parts of the bay.

“This just exceeds all expectations. What an unbelievable experience!” commented Bob Duncan. He started to say more, but suddenly, two more whales appeared off the bow with one making a sudden dive displaying the classic flukes of it’s tail just in time to be captured in Bob’s camera. “It’s so different here. Unlike the open ocean, the bay is so shallow, they can’t dive away. There’s also so many of them and many are seemingly so tame they come right up to the boats. This is a lifetime event.”

It hasn’t always been like this. By the turn-of-the-century, the whaling industry had tragically decimated the gray whale and brought it to the brink of extinction. Even today, remnants of carcasses can be found among the lonely blasted sand dunes in this part of the Baja. However, through conservation efforts, the whales have made an outstanding comeback and now numbers between 20 and 40 thousand. In what has been called the longest migration of any mammal, the whales begin their long journey from the Bering Sea in the frigid waters of the north and begin heading south along the Pacific Coast of North America. By January, they begin arriving at their 3 main destinations along Baja, Mexico’s Pacific Shorline. The areas of Scammons Lagoon, Guerrero Negro and here in Bahia Magdalena offer warmer, protected, shallow waters for the whales to mate as well as give birth. Quiet little towns such as Lopez Mateos literally boom during whale-watch season as tourists, scientists, photographers and school kids pile into small skiffs to see these great creatures.

“Everyone should do this,” I heard one teacher say to her charges clearly still excited and chattering happily after climbing out of their boats. “It helps people understand the need to protect such creatures and there’s no better time than when we can make an impact on the children.”

At first, the whales are leery of the boats early in the season. However, by February, the cetacean visitors seem more tolerant and almost appear to enjoy the daily company of so many two-armed and two-legged visitors with their cameras clicking and whirring. Females are less reluctant to come between their curious calves and the pangas. Males seem to enjoy a good nose rub. When they get tired of us, one flick of the tail and they move on or like a living submarine, they fill their “ballast” tanks and simply sink out of sight. The leviathan simply disappears below the surface. However, almost like clockwork, another often appears.

The whales will be around until March or early April then head back north along the coast. Trips can be arranged by a number of operators and it’s truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

That’s my story…Jonathan

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EMERGENCIES – Published Jan 2005 – Western Outdoor News

Watching all the disaster stuff going on around the planet from Asian tsunamis to California flooding, I’m reminded of 9/11. It’s a day that’ll be permanently etched in just about everyone’s brain, but for me, even moreso being in another country when all hell breaks loose.

I had a large group of divers and fishermen that had just spent the week with us in La Paz and I was sending them on their way to the airport that morning. They were all having breakfast in the hotel lobby and I took a walk out to the local dive shop to check on some equipment for the new group of anglers set to come in later that day. It was there at the rental shop that I saw those first images that would certainly change the world and had to go back to the restaurant and actually try to convince my clients that I wasn’t joking. I mean…how do you break such incredible news to folks who are still buzzing from last night’s margueritas and convince them that I wasn’t having post-fiesta problems myself. It wasn’t until I had a TV wheeled into the restaurant that faces and hearts dropped.

To make a long story short, the next few days were not only hellish, but amplified by the fact that we were not in the United States. Everyone wanted to be home and there was no way to get there. Several of the guys were military. Cell phones were not working very well. The only news of home were from the same repeated reports on CNN in their hotel rooms. There were no flights. There was a heightened sense of not being connected to anything. Try as I could to keep everyone chipper under the circumstance, it was understandable that no one felt like fishing or diving any longer. Both figuratively and literally, vacation was over. I spent the next week not only trying to keep them relatively entertained, but also trying to find flights; connect to families; find transportation; keep them in their rooms; loaning money…you name it! They were a good bunch, but obviously, I got them all home. Me included and it was never so nice to get back across the U.S. border.

However, several things occurred during those incredible post 9/11 days and I jotted notes promising to pass them on someday to be better prepared in the event either myself or others are stuck in another country when disaster hits or even a personal emergency.

First, make sure the folks back home have the number of the place you’re staying. Seems like common sense, but it’s amazing how often I get phone calls or e-mails from the families of clients who have no idea where their husband, brother, kids, etc. are located.

Second, everyone should have a secondary number to call such as a different family member where messages can be left just-in-case primary numbers aren’t working. If for no other reason than to say, “I’m alright” such a short message can alleviate a lot of problems.

Third, carry duplicates of your paperwork. Got your passport? Got your I.D.? Got your insurance paperwork? Got your tickets? Good. Now make copies and place the copies in a different spot than the originals. If the originals get lost, stolen, destroyed, you’ll have extra copies. Do the same for everyone in your group. Nothing like holding up the whole group because one person loses their passport.

Fourth, carry calling cards that allow you to call from outside the U.S. Many 800 numbers on calling cards don’t work outside the U.S. so check with your carrier. Same for cell phones. Currently in Baja, AT& T, and sometimes Verizon, Nextel and T-Mobile work (this differs from place to place). Make sure you have an inexpensive international calling plan. I pay about 5 bucks a month for my AT&T cell and it works better in Mexico than it sometimes works in the U.S.

Fifth , if you’re on medications, bring extra to allot for more days than your vaction schedule in case of travel delays or disaster. After 9/11 one of the group ran out of a critical heart medication and we spent days trying to get his doctor on the phone to OK a prescription and finally found the medication at $600 for a bottle. Another couple on the trip ran out of a special anti-biotics that took us awhile to track down as well.

Sixth, if you’ve got kids and one of the parents is not traveling, make sure you have a written notarized copy from the other parent allowing the traveling parent or adult to administer medical care if needed.

Finally, bring extra money in small denominations and forget about it. Put it somewhere in your luggage and don’t even consider it on your trip. This is not extra money for Pacificos, shopping or dog races. There should be enough for plane fare home and extras. I have traveled in a number of countries and no matter what folks might think of you or think of America, the one truth is that the world loves U.S. currency. Make sure it’s wherever YOU want to be, even moreso than plastic credit cards.

Heaven forbid anything ever happen to you on your travels, but a little planning goes a long way.

That’s my story…
Jonathan

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BRINGING THE KIDS – Published Dec. 04 – WESTERN OUTDOOR MAGAZINE BAJA BACKBEAT

I’m not a dad, but I like kids. Some laughingly say I like ‘em because I never had any ninos of my own…sort of like being the cool uncle. Some say it’s because I never grew up myself. I mean, you have to be a bit of a kid yourself to be running a fishing and diving business in Mexico where you get to be Tom Sawyer, Captain Kidd and Jimmy Buffet most days!

But , I sure enjoy it when clients bring their kids along. Whether it’s families or dads bringing their sons and/or daughters or both; or groups of guys bringing their boys, it’s all good. I know my own times with my dad when I was a kid are remembered fondly and I laughingly tell him that my current career is all his fault. Now I get to bring him fishing instead.

If you’re reading this then maybe you’re planning a trip this coming year down here to Baja or giving it some thought. Maybe you’re thinking of bringing a youngster or two. Here’s a few things I’ve learned over the years with respect to kids, especially if they’ve never done this kind of thing before.

Fit the activities to the age and experience of the kid – If your kid has never fished, you may want to think twice about bringing the youngster down when it’s rough or cold or it’s really hard core fishing. Remember, this is supposed to be a positive experience, especially if you don’t want to discourage the youngster from future trips. They’re not gunners like you. Keep it warm. Keep it safe. Keep it fun. Wacking bonito all day on light tackle beats trolling for 8 hours in big water looking for one marlin. A big mistake I often see is the parent who thinks he has something to prove to the kid. Believe me, if your kid catches fish and has a good time, your “parent” stock all rises. Nothing like big smiles and tired arms!

Fit the crowd to the kid – It’s one thing if you’re coming down with other families or other youngsters. It’s quite another if your kid is tagging along with you and your drinking and fishing buddies intent on tearing up the town. It’s about quality time, not about watching dad do shooters or leaving the kid for hours alone wandering around the hotel or playing in the pool.

Kids still need supervision even in Mexico – I once saw a youth group of high schoolers come in of maybe 50 kids. There were maybe 10 kids for every adult. Within ½ an hour of arrival a lot of the kids had beers or cigarettes in their hands. Just because it’s Mexico, often folks think that rules don’t apply to adults let alone kids. Mexico has laws like anywhere else and there are places and things kids shouldn’t be doing. We’re guests and often forget that. In all my years, I’ve experienced only two major injuries on our trips. Both involved kids. Both were crippling injuries and on both occasions, the kids should have been supervised. The parents were at happy hour in both situations and had left the kids to “hang out.”

Medical and safety precautions – If the child is traveling with one parent, the youngster should have a notarized note from the other parent giving permission to the traveling parent to take the child out of the country. . It’s also a great idea for the child to have a notarized medical release allowing the traveling parent to make medical decisions in case of emergency. Don’t forget to bring medical insurance information and birth certificate. Then, make a copy of each document and keep them someplace different from the originals. If the child uses medications, bring extra. Know if the kid has food or medication allergies. Last season we took one young man to the hospital thinking he had an allergic reaction or some type of food poisoning. As it turned out later, he just loved Mexican salsa and literally put it on everything until he got sick! Too much of a good thing.

Fishing and diving gear should fit the purpose and the user – Again, match the abilities and experience of the child. Kids have smaller hands. Things don’t balance as well and they may not be as coordinated as you. Remember the first time you used a conventional rod and reel? I’ve seen adults struggle with the equipment so you can imagine what it can be like for a youngster. Most 8 year-olds will not be able to hold onto your Calstar Boomer with your 50W reel, let alone one with a huge marlin on the end so don’t ask them to. Find gear that feels comfortable and then have them practice with it before going out. Less stress for everyone later on.

Make sure the captain or operator knows you’ve got kids or that they have minimal experience – It doesn’t hurt to ask. Captains are just like everyone else. They are all different. In my own fleet, I have skippers who are simply better with families, kids or inexperienced anglers. They have patience. They smile and laugh a lot, even if they might not speak the best English. Everyone has a good time. It makes it easier on you, but by all means, work with the captain or deck hand. You know your kids best. Put your own rod down for a bit and the ego aside and I guarantee you’ll catch a lot more than fish when the fish bite for your kid.

Safety and comfort – While almost all operators these days have lifesaving equipment on board, kid-sized stuff is not often found. If you have a small youngster, their own PFD is a good thing to bring. Additionally, when a kid has his own “stuff” it puts a new spin on any activity. Most kids I know won’t fit that 38 inch fighting belt you lug around so get one for them. My most prized possession as a nine-year-old was a pair of 5 dollar needlenose pliers from Sears. (I still have them). Don’t forget the sunglasses, hat and sunscreen unless you want a miserable child on your hands at the end of the fishing day.

Make sure the kids get lots of props – I had to start somewhere too. So did you. Thankfully in my case, my dad, uncles and cousins never jumped on me for all the tangles, broken gear, fouled bait and lost fish over the years. I would fall in the water. . . throw rocks. . .eat all the Velveeta and marshmallows. However, no fish was too small. Lots of photos were taken. I was encouraged to always try again. Do the same. When you put them down in the evenings and they are dead to the world, that exhaustion and smile will be priceless for years to come. Hold that memory. They grow up fast.

That’s my story…
Jonathan

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JUNK IN THE TRUNK – Published Dec. ’04 Western Outdoor News

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CABRILLA FISHING – PUBLISHED WESTERN OUTDOOR MAGAGAZINE / BAJA BACKBEAT – NOV. 04

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SIERRA MACKEREL – PUBLISHED WESTERN OUTDOOR NEWS- NOV. 04

For years, before I lived in Baja, I would come down like so many other anglers and fish for the glamorous bluewater species that grace the pages of many brochures and magazines…the dorado, tuna, marlin, et al. That’s what I paid my money for and that’s what I hunted. There were so many other species that I caught and quickly tossed aside as “basura” or garbage fish. Some, like needlefish, trumpet fish, lizard fish or puffers because they were either outwardly ugly and I’d never want that evolutionary mess on my plate or because someone somewhere along the line told me it was garbage fish. I mean, given a choice between a slab of needlefish on your grill or mahi-mahi (dorado), most folks could understand my choice.

Sierra (scomberomorus sierra for you academic types) were one of those fish. It wasn’t outwardly ugly. On the contrary, it’s sleek silver/blue exterior with golden dorsal dots is actually pretty stylin’. However, somewhere years ago, I caught one on the iron and my panga skipper at that time laughed and told me it was “yonke” (junk) and that I should give it to him. Not knowing any better, I gave him all my sierra that day as he said it was part of the mackerel family and of course, we all know that mackerel is an acquired taste to say the least! From years of playing off the bait barges and piers of California, I knew exactly what to do with my mackerel. Yessiree, you can have all you want. So, for years, any sierra I caught was given to my skipper or whomever would kindly take it off my hands and without exception it was always accepted with a smile.

It wasn’t until years later that I realized why that first panga skipper was smiling and everyone else was smiling too. It turns out that sierra might be one of the most prized-eating fish in the Baja on top of being a great light-tackle gamer. That first pangero was pulling my leg and he knew he had a “burro” (donkey) on the line when he told me it was a garbage fish.

One of the first sure signs of cooler water this time of year is the appearance of schools of sierra along the Baja coastline. Given their abundance and preponderance to school up along shallow areas, it’s easy to see why they might be mistaken for being “just another mackerel” only prettier. Ranging from 1 to as large as 15 pounds, sierra have the long rakish body of the mackerel except tending towards being more silver. They are powerful fast predators with razor like choppers that draw comparisons to being “baby wahoo” insofar as their teeth can sever mono in a single bite. Like their big cousins, they strike hard; run fast; and make excellent eating with light flakey fillets that can be sautéed, broiled, baked, fried or barbecued. They are possibly the most popular fish in the Baja for ceviche when fillets are chopped, tossed with a bit of garlic, chili, cilantro, onions, tomatoes and left to chill with some fresh lemon juice. Add chips and a balmy afternoon under a beach palapa for instant happy hour.

As gamefish, they are frequently overlooked in much the same way that I used to treat them as just another pesky mackerel. These fish like to school. They like shallow reefs and dropoffs as well as inshore beaches. Find some breaking or schooling bait from November to April and don’t be surprised to get hammered by sierra. Once you get them going, it’s easy and fun to fill the box too as they are hardly picky biters. Fish them directly from shore or from a small boat or panga and they can be one of the most entertaining fish on light tackle. They will certainly eat live bait, but with their sharp teeth, wire becomes mandatory and often wire inhibits the anglers ability to present a lively bait. Like cats that prefer their food to be moving, sierra seem to respond to food that moves. This is where jigging or slow trolling comes in.

My favorite method is to use either a medium spinning rod or even a medium baitcasting/bass rod with a level wind reel loaded with 10-12 pound test. Throwing a shiny chrome spoon like a Kastmaster or Krocodile that wobbles or a light chrome iron like a Christy can result in jarring strikes. A lot of anglers like wire, but I prefer to double-leader the end of my mono with either a Bimini twist or even better, an improved spider hitch as I feel my jig swims better. I’ve also gotten pretty good results with the new tie-able leaders now being offered. Casting to drop-offs, over reefs or into jumping bait or slow trolling those same areas can be a real hoot. Trolling or casting a crank-bait type lure like a broken-backed Rebel or a smaller Rapala will also work, but again, either use wire or double-leader the business-end of your line.

The hit is never ambiguous so you’d better be holding onto your rod. It’s usually a good slam! Like scaled-down wahoo, they will go on some relatively long runs so you’d better give them the high-stick and make sure you have a good drag on your light reel. As mentioned, some of these fish can get up around 10 pounds and no matter what you may think about how mackerel taste, any member of the mackerel family can rumble hard and bend a rod. Sierra stay generally on the surface so even though they might be hooked around structure, they won’t usually dive like their rockfish brethren. The runs will get shorter and shorter, but they will fight all the way back to the boat or beach. Watch those teeth when you remove the hook, but get your rig out again as soon as possible. Where there’s one, there’s usually more. Just don’t let anyone tell you later on that it’s junk fish!

That’s my story.
Jonathan

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SEASONS CHANGE – WESTERN OUTDOOR MAGAZINE BAJA BACKBEAT – DEC. 04

When you live in a tropical place like Baja, it’s often hard to tell the changing of the seasons. Leaves on the arboles de cocos (coconut trees) along the waterfront don’t turn color, although they do drop the occasional noggin’ crunching coconut. Frost does not form on the windshield of your car in the morning and you don’t see the local neighbor kid bundled off to school in a heavy jacket or ditching those butt-crack-displaying-boxer-showing-shorts for oversized jeans. When you don’t live life by the clock down here or watch a lot of TV to know that all the ads are geared toward this-year’s flavor in Cabbage Patch/Beenie Baby/Game Boy (I lost track of all those toys), you just can’t tell! Unless one of my fishing clients reminds me, it’s hard to remember that football season is on and that the NBA has started it’s season. Yesterday it was 85 on the water while fishing. For criminy-sakes, the water temperature was a “chilly” 82. I was in fishing shorts and a torn t-shirt yesterday when I was guiding on the boat and today in the office, I’m in fishing shorts and a torn-t-shirt again minus a few scales and blood stains. Oh, and I have on some sandals instead of being barefoot. My clients caught a bunch of dorado and we had a big dorado taco barbecue on the beach. Yea, it’s real different down here in the Jimmy Buffet zone, amigos!

So, what was that song I was hearing in the grocery store the other morning? Hijole, that sounds familiar. At least the tune sure does. I had a cart full of Pacifico and Tecate beer and several bags of lime (not for MY consumption of course…for a clients’ beach picnic!) and I ran smack into the toy department and there were several kids running around as kids do. Except, from what I could tell, they were singing Jingle Bells in Spanish. I couldn’t quite make out the words, but looking up, I was right in the middle of K-Mart U.S.A. or something similar. Stacks of toys, garland, lights, bikes, ceramic manger scenes, giant plastic lawn Santas (are there lawns here?) and kids, just like kids anywhere tugging on mom and dad to tell Santa what they want.

“Yo quiero esta y esta y esta!” (“I want this and this and this!”) said one little nino who couldn’t have been more than 9 to his bedraggled mom. She looked like she just wanted to get done with the weekly shopping. She had that disgusted look that so many of us have these days that said, “These stores start earlier and earlier every year and I hate them!”

The sound of “White Christmas” wafted…yes wafted.. from somewhere in the aisles with that tin-like recorded sound that comes from one of those “press this button” cherubic Christmas angels or some other chingadera. It made for quite a cacophony with the other kids still charging around parroting the out-of-tune Jingle Bells.

“Puedes comprarme un rifle de BB?” (Will you buy me a BB gun?) pleaded another kid after my own heart. Of course, I heard the standard father-reply. I couldn’t understand all of it because dad was walking away from the kid, but in Spanish it something like “Do you think I’m crazy?” and something else about “What you did to your sister. . .” and few other choice smack-downs to the kid’s request.

The coolest thing is snow flocking. You know…it’s that fake snow that comes out of an aerosol can and is used to stencil snowflakes. Along with the requisite tempera-paint elves, they were decorating the store windows with it. In fact, it’s everywhere. Folks down here have some affinity for snow flocking. The yard can be full of cactus, but darned if they don’t flock their windows with that spray snow! I was in Cabo yesterday and quite a few of the shops were getting their fake snow together too. Nothing like fake snow on the ventanas (windows) to get you into the holiday spirit in Baja where the only ice most folks here have seen was clinging to the side of a marguerita glass. I spoke to an amigo of mine who does the buying for one of the big grocery chains in Baja and he tells me they sell out of the spray cans of snow every year and never have enough. Talk about another contrast, I saw them hanging fake icicles under a palapa (palm frond roof) of a bar. Chingon!

Maybe the most startling thing is seeing the Christmas tree lots popping up. Fresh firs and pines “direct from Oregon!” (It says so on the side of the trucks unloading the trees.) These trees are as fresh and fragrant and verdant as any you’d see in your hometown lot. How they get them down here, I have no idea, but you can’t beat the price. Try buying a 7 foot tree for 10 bucks in the U.S.

Yup, I guess the seasons are changing, but unless I had seen all of this, I probably would never have known. Just goes to show you that folks are the same all over. Kids are kids. The language might be a tad different, but the melody and the messages are certainly the same. Kids are excited. Parents roll their eyes. Jingle Bells is played with a salsa beat. Santa wears a sombrero and serape. I was walking down by the marina and I did hear one kid ask for a panga ( fishing skiff) for Christmas so he could go fishing whenever he wanted. I spun around in my tracks when I heard that Now that is a kid to keep an eye on. I do know that the dorado are still biting and so are the marlin. There aren’t too many places where you can eat your big Christmas brunch and still go catch a world-class fish before coming back for Christmas dinner. That’s Baja. Seasons greetings, Pescadores.

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FISH FOR WHAT’s THERE – PUBLISHED WESTERN OUTDOOR NEWS OCT. ’04

Given that I run a fishing and diving operation down here in Baja, there’s not too many of us operators that stick around if you’re not good. I mean…you gotta produce fish! That’s the bottom line, right? Well, let me tell ya, I don’t care how good any of us operators might be, there’s a limit. I mean, what do I tell the client who complains to me in the dead of December “How come we can’t catch blue marlin?” Or the guy who recently came back with a rack of nice football tuna and told me he had a bad day. “Tell the captain to catch bigger fish tomorrow!” he said. He was serious. Oh if I only had a magic wand or magic fishing dust…sigh…

Truth be told, old Jacques Cousteau may have called the Sea of Cortez the “aquarium of the world”, but like a football quarterback that is most successful taking what the defense gives him, I we can only fish for what’s there. I can’t make world-class roosterfish jump into the boat or make dorado magically appear if it’s the wrong time of the year or the water and conditions aren’t cooperative. Unfortunately, I get a lot of questions from folks asking just for such miracles and, at times, blaming me for the absence of certain species. You guys that run operations in Baja just nod your head. You know exactly what I’m talking about. This is especially true in the winter months when winds can howl; seas can get grumpy and many snowbirds from colder states come to find sunshine and the big gamefish they’ve read about in all the brochures.

Admittedly, if it’s Baja, anything can happen and it’s not unheard of to get bent on the kinds of species that make Baja famous, but many times, folks overlook the great inshore fishing Baja offers, especially in the colder winter months. I’ve always been of the opinion that if you can’t make the fish bigger, make the tackle smaller and go tear up the inshore species. Often, many of the inshore species can be just as mean, nasty and sometimes even larger than their offshore cousins. I’m talking about yellowtail, cabrilla, seabass, amberjack, jack crevalle, sierra and snapper, among others. Maybe they aren’t always the poster-fish that get all the glamour shots, but most fight hard, taste great, and are under-appreciated.

Tackle is hardly complicated. Even a good spinning rod, some shiny spoons or crank baits or some plastics are worth hours of fun. Fishing from the shore or working in and out with pangas, kayaks or cruisers can be an eventful day. I recently spent a day with a TV crew from the Sportsman’s Channel to see how many species we could do and rolled on 15 different species from jacks to bonito and cabrilla to rainbow runners. At no time were we in water deeper than we could have stood up in and never further than 50 yards from the beach. I have a number or regulars who show up with bass rods year after year in the winter and never seem to stop being bent. I’ll take a day inshore in calmer waters catching fish over bouncing around offshore any day. Cacer Chang, formerly of Tady Lures, has to be one of the best. Spend a day with him throwing crank baits into the rocks and you’ll catch 10 times more than my guys working offshore. With something like 2000 miles of coastline, Baja has tons of structure that will produce fish if you just fish for what’s there. At least until I discover some kind of magic wand…

Update on reels – A few columns ago I thought we cleared up the “line on reels” airline debate in which we were specifically told by Aero California that it was fine to carry-on the reels. Since then, several of you have e-mailed me that they were stopped and asked to check-in their reels. Good old Aero Cal. There’s a reason that even here in Mexico the locals call them “Aero Tal Vez” (Aero Maybe). They reserve the right to change their minds…and not tell anyone about it.

That’s my story!

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FALL WAHOO – PUBLISHED WESTERN OUTDOOR NEWS OCT. 2004

Show up on the beach with one of these or pull back to the docks with one to show off, and the reaction from other anglers will certainly confirm that you got yourself a prize. No doubt the exotic wahoo are among the most sought-after, and elusive fish in the Baja. Known for their speed, fighting ability and great taste, this elongated fish with the mouth full of razor-sharp choppers is quite a prize, especially during the later months of the year.

They’re not easy to catch and maybe even harder to locate. However, from about October to December the waters of Baja are among the best areas to find these fish which rate high on the scale of “exotic fish.” Unlike say, dorado and tuna which are also hard-chargers and certainly get anglers twitchy about catching, there’s never any guarantees about wahoo since they don’t school up like their gamefish brothers and even when caught, don’t often stay caught!

Insofar as you probably won’t encounter “Mr. Hoo” on a normal basis, trying to increase one’s chances of getting one should start with finding the best location. Just like real estate, it’s all about location…location…location. For the long range San Diego boats, one of the best spots for wahoo used to be Roca Partida and Clarion Islands, but those areas are currently closed and short of jumping on a long ranger which has the ability to chase big game fish for several days, you’ll have to narrow it down.

Interestingly, it seems that wahoo are more likely to be in larger congregations in the Pacific than in the Sea of Cortez. Areas off of Magdalena Bay such as the Thetis Bank have been prime wahoo honey holes for years. However, unless you’re long ranging out’ve San Diego, there’s not much to charter out of nearby San Carlos so either you roll your own rig or you charter out’ve Cabo San Lucas. Still, if you can get something that floats under you, I consider this area to be among the best anywhere to stick a ‘hoo.

The areas around Cabo and San Jose can also be productive although as you move closer into the Sea of Cortez, you don’t seem to find the larger concentrations. Still, that being said, San Jose’s Gordo Banks, Cabo’s Golden Gate and Jaime Banks and several offshore ridges off Los Barriles can produce some nice flurries of fish. Moving north, one of the little known hot spots for wahoo is Cerralvo Island with it’s steep drop offs and nearby reefs. Insofar as I fish these waters almost daily, several points at the north and south end of this massive island where deep waters join warmer currents can be banner for wahoo as can the area known as “El Bajo” (The Embudo Bank) north of Espiritu Santo Island about 32 miles north of La Paz.

As mentioned, putting one aboard is almost as difficult as finding them. They are well-known for their dental work with a scissors-like jaw that can cut easily through hundred pound monofilament. On several occasions, I have seen Rapalas bitten in half or nearly by the hard bite coupled with blinding speed of attack. Arguably, I seen it written that they are the fastest fish in the ocean and have been clocked (I don’t know how they do this!) as fast as 70 mph.

If an area looks promising, one of the best ways to bring them up is by trolling. Deep running lures like large Rapalas or fast swimming lures like Marauders have been extremely effective fish takers as well as heavy chrome coated feathers. Colors such as blacks, purples, oranges, and fluorescents are most popular. One trick is to take off any treble hooks that may come from the factory and replace them with single hooks to increase the effectiveness of the hook pentration of the bone-hard jaw and to prevent the twisting fish from using the torque of it’s body to get free.

Where fish are schooling, such as in the Pacific, throwing heavy “wahoo bombs” or lures, especially flashy chrome coated jigs on a fast retrieve or using live bait can be employed. Studies have shown that a wahoo will often charge in and bite it’s food in half, then swim back and pick up the pieces. If you feel that first tug or bite, anglers often make the mistake of immediately retrieving their lures or thinking their bait is gone. Waiting a moment for the fish to come back often results in a hook up.

The most controversial thing about fishing wahoo is whether to use wire leaders to prevent losing the fish (or an expensive lure) to the mouthful of teeth. It’s the topic of endless debate and a personal choice of your own fishing style and depth of pockets to replace lures! If I’m trolling, a lure such as a Marauder or heavy headed feather, I always use wire. At 20 to 40 bucks a pop, I’d rather not take a chance. I hate losing my big Rapalas as well, but I’ve found that fishing without wire produces more strikes and, if I tie a double leader or use some of the new flexible and tie-able coated wires, I really don’t lose that many. It’s the same with my casting lures. I just get more bites without the wire although I’ve noticed that many of the folks who advocate the use of “no wire” are also lure manufacturers!

Either way, there’s nothing like getting bit by one of these speedsters; nothing quite so good eating as the meat; and a great time to fish for them is right now.

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