Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Posted in Uncategorized on July 3, 2006| Leave a Comment »

ESSENTIAL GEAR – PUBLISHED AUG. 2004 -WESTERN OUTDOOR NEWS

ESSENTIAL GEAR
In my business taking folks out fishing here in Baja, I get to see a lot of pescadores unloading off the airplanes or piling out of vans or onto our boats each day. Standing among our drivers and captains, we often shake our heads at how much stuff gets brought own. It’s pretty amazing! Bag after bag and box after box and tube after tube…not to mention…here comes the 150 qt. marine ice chest!

This is not an unusual conversation at the airport as I often greet the guys coming in: “Hey Mr. Jones! Welcome to Baja. Hope you had a good flight! The vans to the hotel are outside at the curb. Is this all your uh…stuff? “

“Great to be here finally, Jonathan! Yup, this is just MY stuff! “(shaking my hand and huffing as he puts down the camera bag, small duffel, snorkel bag and followed by a porter, looking like a Himalayan sherpa with a six foot stack of tubes chests and luggage!) The other nine guys are right behind me and are ready for anything…blue marlin…sailfish…giant tuna…dorado…yellowtail…You name it! For the next TWO days of fishin’ , it’s gonna be beer and bendo!” says Mr. Jones with a grin as he leads the posada to the vans.

TWO DAYS?????

I shake hands and high five ‘em all and watch the parade of amigos and porters akin to a 3 month African safari conga line to the waiting vans and drivers who sigh knowing there’s some serious loading to be done! I can only smile and shake my head. God bless ‘em all for bringing all the toys because it wasn’t too long ago that I just about needed my own personal entourage to haul my gear to Baja. By golly, if the ladies can bring a change of clothes and accessories for any vacation event, then I think I need 15 rods and reels; 20 jigs; every manner of hook; 5 each of every type of sinker; 30 assorted feathers…blah, blah blah…I MUST have them!

For you Baja veterans, tell me it isn’t true! You will spend 2 hours packing your clothes consisting of 3 “lucky” t-shirts; one pair of fishing shorts ( you swear you’ll rinse ‘em out each night!) and (maybe) few pairs of underwear! Yet, you will take 3 weeks to pack and re-pack your fishing gear “just so” and you’ll do it several times a week. You are soooo busted!

Well, after working in Baja now for almost a decade and, being on the water sometimes hundreds of times yearly , I can tell you now that we’ve both been busting our collective humps for nothing!

Sure, bring it if you need it and always remember that if you lose it, there’s often no place to get another of those freaky-awesome-propeller-lures with the polka dots and aluminum tinsel skirt. However, one of the joys of fishing the Baja is the mere simplicity of it all! Think about it. When all was said and done, how much did you really use on most trips? Some hooks? A few leads? Maybe a heavy iron to the rocks? (That Leatherman you left in the cantina does not count!). There’s a lot to be said for keeping it simple! Just remember the local kid with the sparkplug and old mono wrapped around a beer can that outfished you on the last trip!

First things first, do a little research. Talk to the fishing fleet operator or person who booked your trip. Read the online boards and keep track of the fishing trends or the regular fishing reports submitted on these pages you’re holding.

What type of fishing are you going to be doing? Live bait? Trolling? Deep jigging? Surf? Bring what you need.

Who are you fishing with? Amigo, if your buddy is bringing 10 rods and you’re bringing 10 rods and each of you has 10 of the same-colored feathers and jigs, you’re only doubling yourself and your boat is gonna look like a porcupine out there and maybe hampering your ablity to move around the boat or fight fish.

More importantly, what type of fish will most LIKELY be biting in the place you’re going to fish and at the time you’re going to be there? I’ve actually had anglers ask me things like, when is the best time of year to catch blue marlin in San Felipe or how many dorado can they expect to catch in Loreto in DECEMBER! In the Baja, I guess anything could happen, but the likelihood of it happening is about like my chances of someday being able to grow more hair on my head! Pack your gear accordingly and I’ll keep my bandana on!

For the most part and under normal circumstances, the following would be my essential Baja quiver if I was going to be fishing on a boat. If you’ve never been down, hopefully, this will give you some ideas. For you Baja vets, you’ve got your own style, but maybe this will give you some ideas to save your back, not to mention the back of the bellman, porter, or skipper who has to help you schlep it all.

OUTFITS:
1 Thirty-pound live-bait outfit
1 Forty –pound live-bait outfit
1 Fifty or Sixty pound meat stick that could be used for trolling or deep jigging
Make sure the line is new and drags are smooth. Shorter beefy rods with quick tapers are probably better than long rods, not only for packing purposes, but more importantly casting distance is not that important (just move the boat!) Further, the shorter stick will give you that backbone you need when that bonito bite turns into a bull dorado; sailfish or yellowtail!

TERMINAL TACKLE:
Again, it depends on what you’re fishing for. I would bring one dark and one light-colored feather (pick your favorite) in sizes to match what you’re fishing for. I would bring 3 casting irons (one medium and two heavies). I’d pack a few crank-type baits like Rapalas, Yo-Zuris or other reputable brand matching the targeted species. Bring an assortment of hooks. I guarantee that you will NOT need 100 of every size for a typical 3 day Baja fishing trip! Same with lead. Be picky. If you’re not doing bottom fishing, there’s no need to bring those 12 oz. torpedo sinkers. Pack a few swivels and a few odds and ends and yes…bring that funky lure that always catches fish no matter what.

ESSENTIALS:

To this, add camera, sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, windbreaker, duct tape and plastic bags as well as your travel documents (two copies for safety). You would be surprised how many anglers forget some or all of these things. If you take medications take a few extra days supply.

NOW STOP BEFORE YOU HURT YOURSELF!

Of course none of this is meant to cover all conditions, odd situations, seasons and species of fish. But, it’s a basic beginning and an END! Remember, these are just the basics, but in most situations, you’ll get a lot of bang for your buck. You’ll tweak it to fit your own style. By all mean, however, don’t forget the freaky-awesome-propeller lure with the polka dots. It might just be the hot jig for the trip. OK, bring two in case you lose one! I gotta go re-arrange my tackle box again. The red lures go here. The chrome ones go there…

Read Full Post »

Posted in Uncategorized on July 3, 2006| Leave a Comment »



FALL TUNA – PUBLISHED AUG. 2004 – WESTERN OUTDOOR NEWS

FALL TUNA
You know, there’s nothing quite like a tuna and the feel of that first run as it jams and rips off line racing wherever tuna race to! Pound-for-pound, with perhaps certain members of the jack family (aka yellowtail and their kin), nothing kicks like a tuna! You tuna boyz know EXACTLY what I’m taking about. You KNOW the adrenaline rush! You know that feeling of rod-bending power where the fish is pulling so hard you’re praying on the rail for fear that the force of the fish is literally going to jack you over the side like a ragdoll and you know there’s bruise forming where the gimbal is rammed into your gut! You KNOW that first run that doesn’t stop as you high-stick that puppy and watch the line peel. Dang! Can I have an “AMEN!” Listen, you’ve probably caught that marlin already and you know that the 120 pounder with the pointy face was fun, but (yawn), it was a wussie punk compared to the 40 pound dawg of a yellowfin that just rolled on your bait!

Say what you will about the taste of the meat, but as a fighter and gamefish, the popularity is hard to argue among sports anglers, especially in Baja waters. I mean, there’s a reason that San Diego landings pile up with anglers climbing all over each other when the albacore siren goes off. There’s a reason that long range boys salivate over thoughts of big yellowfin off the Ridge or Mag Bay. Did someone say there’s big paddies off San Quintin? Why do my reservation lines and e-mails suddenly spike and tank-topped anglers tumble out onto Baja airplane runways when the tuna bite is on? Why is the WON Tuna Tournament so popular? This is tuna time, Baby!

Simply put, tuna kick butt. If you’ve never done the tuna tango, ask someone who has! A lot of you S. Cal and SW United States anglers know the beast of which I speak. However, I still get a lot of anglers , especially folks from other regions, who just don’t have any idea what we mean until they actually get bit my “Mr. T.” I’m not even necessarily talking about big tuna or even prime time tuna like yellowfin, bluefin, bigeye or even albacore. What about bonito and skipjack?

Many of you have heard something like the following…

“Sure, you may have caught your 30 pound king salmon on the Kenai in Alaska and high-give for that 5 pound hook-jawed German brown you got in the Rockies that busted your chops on the flyrod, but, amigo…that’s just a 12-pound bonito on the end of your rod and it’s taken you up the rail for 10 minutes already! “ Ah yes…feel the power!

Often, late summer and fall fishing can be spectacular for the yellowfin tuna that roll into Southern Baja waters. These are not to be confused with yellowtail, which are members of the jack family, but rather these are the critters that, along with albacore, often end up in your Chicken-of-the-Sea can and are also known in some places as “ahi,” or “Allison tuna.” Ranging in size from 5 pound “footballs” to 200-300 pound “gorillas,” Baja is a prime world-class destination for catching these sluggers.

There’s any number of methods for catching tuna. Often found as schooling fish, trolling is one of the most common methods of locating fish, especially fast movers. To cover the most area, feathers are regularly used. Many anglers will run their colors with the darker colors at dawn and dusk and the brighter colors during the daytime. Personally, I prefer a different method. I don’t think color makes that much difference (heresy!). I subscribe more to the theory that swimming action, movement and shapes are more important! Therefore, I like to use lures that have heads or actions that cause the jig to pop, shimmy or wiggle. I like to run my darker lures closer into the prop wash to create darker shadows in the white water and my lighter-colored lures outside to catch more reflection off the sun and water. Finding moving porpoise or birds working an area are definitely worth checking out! If I know that fish are “fer shure” in an area, either because of birds and porpoise or just because the area looks promising or I’m lucky enough to have electronics, I won’t wait for the fish to come up! I’ll bring the lures down to the fish using deeper running jigs like lipped-lures, heavy runners and the like, making sure to watch my boat speeds so that the lure “swims” properly.

If I’m bet-the-farm-certain that the fish are around, I’ll slow troll by cranking down the RPM’s on the motor. I like dropping back a live bait, if I have some, like a small mackerel or sardine coupled with the occasional one or two live baits (If I’m using sardines) tossed into the wake. Now-and-then, a small handful also goes over.

One of the lesser known tricks I picked up years ago from one of my skippers when I’m working the cockpit or doing the chumming, is to pop the eye out of the bait before launching it. I know…OK…I’m being mean and all, but by doing this, the bait will flip around on the surface a bit longer in circles generally causing a commotion in the wake rather than quickly jetting off. Can’t tell ya how many times that produced instant boils as the fish fly up to the surface to feed! Once they’re up and boiling and the frenzy is on, pin baits on hooks and get ‘em going!

One of the most effective and often unknown or ignored methods for taking tuna, especially the larger ones, is called “chunking.” The San Diego long rangers have used if for years with devastating effect and it works just as well from your private boat or panga in Baja. Essentially, it consists of taking “chunks” of other fish such as other tuna, bonito, bait fish, junk fish and tossing these cuts into the current…one or two at a time from an anchored or drifting boat.

Another chunk is then hooked and set adrift with the rest of the chunks gently floating and drifting down with the current. Line is continually peeled off a free-spooling reel to keep the baited chunk drifting naturally. The cardinal rule is “Dead bait does not swim!” If your slack line suddenly goes tight and starts “swimming away,” it’s time to slam the reel into gear because someone has your bait in it’s mouth!

In Mexico, my first experience with this technique was watching in somewhat restrained horror as my panga skipper (who now works for me!) took a few handfuls of our precious live sardines (that I had just paid 20 bucks for!) and killed it by tossing it rudely into our plastic bucket to die. To that, he added some of the already dead guys at the bottom of the bait tank. I watched incredulously as he stripped off a bunch of line from my reel into a small pile on the deck and pinned a dead sardine to the hook. As he let the boat drift, he then took all the dead bait and dumped it over the gunwale. Grabbing my hooked bait , the captain tossed it also into the slowly sinking morass of silver slivers and scales. Was this guy nuts? I looked on skeptically as my slack line and bait sank away into the depths with the rest of the mess when suddenly WHAM!!! My line goes tight and my skipper yells, “Reel! Reel!” I kick in the brakes and the rod goes bendo! I look up from the now-straining reel and my skipper just flashes a broad smile and taps the temple of his head knowingly! Ahhhhhhh…chunking! That’s what he was doing! I had done it on long range as a passenger and when I had worked boats. but never ever thought it might be applied to other applications!

Since that time many many years ago, that technique has been responsible for countless tuna. It works especially well when nothing else will. It works when nothing seems to be able to bring the fish to feed on the surface. If I’m guiding, it’s the technique I will most often employ, especially when things slow down.

Being diver and always bringing a mask and snorkel aboard, I’ve had many an opportunity to see how and why this works. I’m no marine biologist or expert on fish behaviour, but this is how I figure it. Fish are like people. No one likes chasing their food around. It’s why we LOVE our buffets! All you can eat right in front of you! It’s nice to have your chow all lined up for you when all you have to do is open your mouth!

I’ve seen some pretty impressive things underwater while fishing like this. As the bait drifts down, it tends to disburse because of current and gravity. The secret is keeping the hooked piece of bait among the other pieces. That’s why we keep the line slack and the reel out of gear to keep the hooked bait drifting naturally. If you let the line tighten the bait ball drifts away. By the same token, if you let your bait drift too long all the bait drifts and falls away as well. Time to start over! However, it’s pretty fascinating watching the tuna feed on these candy chunks! A tuna is a powerful fast fish, but I’ve seen them slowly and lethargically literally swim around the chunks and leisurely slurp up one chunk…then another…then another! Well, surprise! One of those pieces has YOUR hook in it! Often, I have seen the tuna continue to lawnmower through the bait zone even after it has picked up the hooked piece. I’ve caught dozens of tuna and found their stomachs gorged with chunks or whole pieces of bait! That’s why if you’re on the rod and reel and your bait starts swimming away, it’s time to grab your socks and throw the danged reel into gear!

Read Full Post »

Posted in Uncategorized on July 3, 2006| Leave a Comment »



FALL TUNA – PUBLISHED AUG. 2004 – WESTERN OUTDOOR NEWS

FALL TUNA
You know, there’s nothing quite like a tuna and the feel of that first run as it jams and rips off line racing wherever tuna race to! Pound-for-pound, with perhaps certain members of the jack family (aka yellowtail and their kin), nothing kicks like a tuna! You tuna boyz know EXACTLY what I’m taking about. You KNOW the adrenaline rush! You know that feeling of rod-bending power where the fish is pulling so hard you’re praying on the rail for fear that the force of the fish is literally going to jack you over the side like a ragdoll and you know there’s bruise forming where the gimbal is rammed into your gut! You KNOW that first run that doesn’t stop as you high-stick that puppy and watch the line peel. Dang! Can I have an “AMEN!” Listen, you’ve probably caught that marlin already and you know that the 120 pounder with the pointy face was fun, but (yawn), it was a wussie punk compared to the 40 pound dawg of a yellowfin that just rolled on your bait!

Say what you will about the taste of the meat, but as a fighter and gamefish, the popularity is hard to argue among sports anglers, especially in Baja waters. I mean, there’s a reason that San Diego landings pile up with anglers climbing all over each other when the albacore siren goes off. There’s a reason that long range boys salivate over thoughts of big yellowfin off the Ridge or Mag Bay. Did someone say there’s big paddies off San Quintin? Why do my reservation lines and e-mails suddenly spike and tank-topped anglers tumble out onto Baja airplane runways when the tuna bite is on? Why is the WON Tuna Tournament so popular? This is tuna time, Baby!

Simply put, tuna kick butt. If you’ve never done the tuna tango, ask someone who has! A lot of you S. Cal and SW United States anglers know the beast of which I speak. However, I still get a lot of anglers , especially folks from other regions, who just don’t have any idea what we mean until they actually get bit my “Mr. T.” I’m not even necessarily talking about big tuna or even prime time tuna like yellowfin, bluefin, bigeye or even albacore. What about bonito and skipjack?

Many of you have heard something like the following…

“Sure, you may have caught your 30 pound king salmon on the Kenai in Alaska and high-give for that 5 pound hook-jawed German brown you got in the Rockies that busted your chops on the flyrod, but, amigo…that’s just a 12-pound bonito on the end of your rod and it’s taken you up the rail for 10 minutes already! “ Ah yes…feel the power!

Often, late summer and fall fishing can be spectacular for the yellowfin tuna that roll into Southern Baja waters. These are not to be confused with yellowtail, which are members of the jack family, but rather these are the critters that, along with albacore, often end up in your Chicken-of-the-Sea can and are also known in some places as “ahi,” or “Allison tuna.” Ranging in size from 5 pound “footballs” to 200-300 pound “gorillas,” Baja is a prime world-class destination for catching these sluggers.

There’s any number of methods for catching tuna. Often found as schooling fish, trolling is one of the most common methods of locating fish, especially fast movers. To cover the most area, feathers are regularly used. Many anglers will run their colors with the darker colors at dawn and dusk and the brighter colors during the daytime. Personally, I prefer a different method. I don’t think color makes that much difference (heresy!). I subscribe more to the theory that swimming action, movement and shapes are more important! Therefore, I like to use lures that have heads or actions that cause the jig to pop, shimmy or wiggle. I like to run my darker lures closer into the prop wash to create darker shadows in the white water and my lighter-colored lures outside to catch more reflection off the sun and water. Finding moving porpoise or birds working an area are definitely worth checking out! If I know that fish are “fer shure” in an area, either because of birds and porpoise or just because the area looks promising or I’m lucky enough to have electronics, I won’t wait for the fish to come up! I’ll bring the lures down to the fish using deeper running jigs like lipped-lures, heavy runners and the like, making sure to watch my boat speeds so that the lure “swims” properly.

If I’m bet-the-farm-certain that the fish are around, I’ll slow troll by cranking down the RPM’s on the motor. I like dropping back a live bait, if I have some, like a small mackerel or sardine coupled with the occasional one or two live baits (If I’m using sardines) tossed into the wake. Now-and-then, a small handful also goes over.

One of the lesser known tricks I picked up years ago from one of my skippers when I’m working the cockpit or doing the chumming, is to pop the eye out of the bait before launching it. I know…OK…I’m being mean and all, but by doing this, the bait will flip around on the surface a bit longer in circles generally causing a commotion in the wake rather than quickly jetting off. Can’t tell ya how many times that produced instant boils as the fish fly up to the surface to feed! Once they’re up and boiling and the frenzy is on, pin baits on hooks and get ‘em going!

One of the most effective and often unknown or ignored methods for taking tuna, especially the larger ones, is called “chunking.” The San Diego long rangers have used if for years with devastating effect and it works just as well from your private boat or panga in Baja. Essentially, it consists of taking “chunks” of other fish such as other tuna, bonito, bait fish, junk fish and tossing these cuts into the current…one or two at a time from an anchored or drifting boat.

Another chunk is then hooked and set adrift with the rest of the chunks gently floating and drifting down with the current. Line is continually peeled off a free-spooling reel to keep the baited chunk drifting naturally. The cardinal rule is “Dead bait does not swim!” If your slack line suddenly goes tight and starts “swimming away,” it’s time to slam the reel into gear because someone has your bait in it’s mouth!

In Mexico, my first experience with this technique was watching in somewhat restrained horror as my panga skipper (who now works for me!) took a few handfuls of our precious live sardines (that I had just paid 20 bucks for!) and killed it by tossing it rudely into our plastic bucket to die. To that, he added some of the already dead guys at the bottom of the bait tank. I watched incredulously as he stripped off a bunch of line from my reel into a small pile on the deck and pinned a dead sardine to the hook. As he let the boat drift, he then took all the dead bait and dumped it over the gunwale. Grabbing my hooked bait , the captain tossed it also into the slowly sinking morass of silver slivers and scales. Was this guy nuts? I looked on skeptically as my slack line and bait sank away into the depths with the rest of the mess when suddenly WHAM!!! My line goes tight and my skipper yells, “Reel! Reel!” I kick in the brakes and the rod goes bendo! I look up from the now-straining reel and my skipper just flashes a broad smile and taps the temple of his head knowingly! Ahhhhhhh…chunking! That’s what he was doing! I had done it on long range as a passenger and when I had worked boats. but never ever thought it might be applied to other applications!

Since that time many many years ago, that technique has been responsible for countless tuna. It works especially well when nothing else will. It works when nothing seems to be able to bring the fish to feed on the surface. If I’m guiding, it’s the technique I will most often employ, especially when things slow down.

Being diver and always bringing a mask and snorkel aboard, I’ve had many an opportunity to see how and why this works. I’m no marine biologist or expert on fish behaviour, but this is how I figure it. Fish are like people. No one likes chasing their food around. It’s why we LOVE our buffets! All you can eat right in front of you! It’s nice to have your chow all lined up for you when all you have to do is open your mouth!

I’ve seen some pretty impressive things underwater while fishing like this. As the bait drifts down, it tends to disburse because of current and gravity. The secret is keeping the hooked piece of bait among the other pieces. That’s why we keep the line slack and the reel out of gear to keep the hooked bait drifting naturally. If you let the line tighten the bait ball drifts away. By the same token, if you let your bait drift too long all the bait drifts and falls away as well. Time to start over! However, it’s pretty fascinating watching the tuna feed on these candy chunks! A tuna is a powerful fast fish, but I’ve seen them slowly and lethargically literally swim around the chunks and leisurely slurp up one chunk…then another…then another! Well, surprise! One of those pieces has YOUR hook in it! Often, I have seen the tuna continue to lawnmower through the bait zone even after it has picked up the hooked piece. I’ve caught dozens of tuna and found their stomachs gorged with chunks or whole pieces of bait! That’s why if you’re on the rod and reel and your bait starts swimming away, it’s time to grab your socks and throw the danged reel into gear!

Read Full Post »

Posted in Uncategorized on July 3, 2006| Leave a Comment »

DON’ PUT AWAY RODS – PUBLISHED AUG. 2004 – WESTERN OUTDOOR NEWS

FALL FISHING IS NO TIME TO PUT AWAY RODS!


Well, I guess the trolling rotation has come around and I’m up and putting my best colors out for the team and into the prop wash! Hope it’s long and productive for all of us!

It seems that just when we were finally getting used to the summer bite around Baja and trying to figure it all out, fall is here. While I’m sure a lot of you might be thinking more about new school clothes for the kids and football in the states, don’t miss out on what’s happening south of the border!

Even when I was in California and working boats up north, it never surprised me that just about the time everyone was putting out the last embers of that Labor Day barbecue, they were also stashing their rods and reels too! Take a look at the counts at your local landing sometime. It’s like the numbers of anglers fall off the edge of the planet! It seems that some folks think that the fish just roll off the chew and stop biting once summer is over! I notice that even moreso here in Baja. With the exception of some weeks when the big tournaments rumble into Cabo and the East Cape, things get a bit ghostly at times! But re-think that! Fish aren’t reading any calendars…at least not the type you and I hang up on our refrigerators! On the contrary, fall fishing can be some of the best fishing of the season. I mean…there MUST be a reason that all the big money tournaments by Western Outdoor News, Bisbeees, Gold Cup, etc. are held in the fall!

But, it’s not just the well-know spots like Cabo and the East Cape! From the Pacific border of Esenada to San Quintin and south. And on the gulf side from Rosalia to La Paz and all the little pueblitos, bahias, puntas and playas in between, the fall is ripe for some outstanding fishing! Even before I set up my operation in Baja, I would always set out my calendar and chart up all the spots I was going to fish during the coming year. I would ALWAYS circle September or October in Baja and make at least one or two trips. The hardcore boys and Baja vets know what I’m talking about!

There’s a few reasons that the fall months can be especially good for you:

First, chances are, it’s gonna be a little cooler than in the summer. It can still be hot and there could still be bouts of humidity, but generally speaking, you’re not looking at the blazes of July toasting your coconut.

Second, again generally speaking, the summer storms are over, especially the deeper you go into the fall. Waters can be just as warm as summer without the air heat as well as clear and flat…just perfect for spotting those tuna boils 100 yards away; that kelp paddy up swell; or those finning dorado or tailing marlin! As well, water visibility can be incredible for getting bait, or if you’re a diver or spearfisher, for some awesome underwater activities.

Third, crowds are gone. Absent showing up right in the middle of Cabo’s Squid Roe during a tournament, many of the summer crowds are gone. Pick your spots. You could be the ONLY person on the beach or the only panga on the honey hole! Smaller crowds translate to less fishing traffic hammering the fish. Baja has more than 2000 miles of coastline so there’s a lot of choices without having to bang elbows and combat fish with 20 other boats on the same meter mark! Fish still have to eat. You might as well be the person to feed ‘em and drag a lure across their faces or drop a bait on their heads!

Fourth, prices seem to go down. Air rates often drop after Labor Day although they could , of course, be higher during tournament dates or to popular locations. Same with hotel rooms, in that there are some deals and packages to be had if you look around. Hotels want heads-on-beds! If you’re driving the Baja, look for less tourism traffic near the border as well as along the Transpeninsular. Hotels will have better vacancies. . Gas availability will generally be better. If you stay away from driving during holidays, you also tend to get fewer cargo trucks and local traffic as well.

There’s a few caveats, no doubt. Like all places near the ocean or involving ocean activities, I speak only in generalities because things can and do change. The deeper you go into the fall, the greater the chances the winds will come up and start rolling out’ve the north. This is especially true inside the Sea of Cortez. If you start looking too deeply into say…November, fishing could change drastically in terms of species and weather. Where I am in La Paz, winds could start shifting in late October. Same for the East Cape. Loreto and points north could get winds even earlier. Or not! Also, book as far in advance as possible to get the best rates and availabilities and if at all possible…Do NOT travel on Sundays! Everyone wants to go places on Sundays (like back to work the next day!) and it’s traditionally the most crowded and most expensive time to travel.

Just some food for thought, amigos. Fall is a great time for the Baja!

Read Full Post »

Posted in Uncategorized on July 3, 2006| Leave a Comment »

WINTER TACKLE TWITCHING – Published Dec. 2004 – Western Outdoor News Dec. 2004

WINTER TACKLE TWITCHING

I’m a professional fishing and diving guide in Baja, Mexico. I’m used to being in HOT weather., but as I’m here in the states at the moment on business, I”ve got a jacket and my wool boots on. Yes, it’s winter and off-season for fishing. I’m sorting through all the thousands of fishing photos I accumulate all season and keeping fishing videos playing on the TV in the background, jumping every time the clicker sounds off on a fishing reel.

So what now?

First things first, it’s a good time to go over your gear. Check what you lost and replace what you busted. Don’t wait until the fishing reports are starting to rage in the spring or summer and everyone and their brother starts to scramble. Sure, there’s the holidays and relatives and those unbeatable underwear sales after Christmas, but a little forethought goes a long way right now.

Check your rods for nicks in the guides that can shred line at the worst possible time. Get those replaced or re-wrapped. Finally give your rods a proper cold water and soap wash, then lightly spray and wipe with WD-40 that will give it a nice sheen again and help remove some of the minor dings. Store them covered or at least standing straight up or straight across in an un-stressed position. Make mental note to return the rods you borrowed, especially your neighbor’s classic Sabre rod you’ve now had for 2 seasons. Resist the temptation to wave your rod in the air like a sword when no one is looking. Kick gravel in driveway as you realize there was no warranty on that $29 swap meet rod you broke on that barracuda. Curse yourself for spending so much money and the vendor who “ripped me off, man!”

Take a look at your reels. Bust a lot of tuna or yellowtail this season? Go hand-to-fin with a marlin or two? Get rid of all the old line. Check the drags. Replace them if necessary. Take the reels to a shop and have a full maintenance done on them. Again, a nice light coat of WD-40 helps to buff them up. Don’t put line on them until you’re ready to fishing again so that the line doesn’t retain memory and go stiff on you. Mentally remind yourself that this is what you’re going to say when you return the borrowed reels with no line on them to your brother-in-law.

Terminal tackle? This is the fun part. We call it “tackle twitching!” You know what I’m talking about. This is where you plant yourself in front of your TV during football games and spread everything out on the floor. Even if you’re in your boxers put some shoes on so you don’t impale your foot on a hook! You then sort and re-sort all the red lures, chrome jigs, half-ounce egg sinkers and every single hook over and over and over again into their neat little compartments and make mental notes on what to replace. You take out the feather and trolling lures and you make them “swim” through the air making “whooshie” noises as you envision some sea critter attacking it in a froth of foam. You take all the rusty stuff and put them in a “special” container. You know darned well that you might just need that $2 rusty hook again sometime so you add it to the thousands of “vital” rusty hooks you’ve accumulated over the past 10 years. You also make a bold mental note that you now MUST visit the tackle store which now takes on the importance of say . . .attending your daughter’s graduation! You also make mental notes as to what fishing trade shows you must NOW attend in order to get the best deals and how you’re going to justify all this to your significant-other under the guise of “saving money in the long-run!”

Oh, by the way. . .check your freezer! Remember all that albacore you absolutely HAD to fillet for canning, smoking and giving away to your brother-in-law, the gardner, neighbor and mailman? Forget it. That was 4 months ago. The foil-wrapped/ zip-locked plastic bags in cold storage are so freezer burned that the only thing you can do is steam it for the cat. Make another mental note to release more fish this year. Uncle Joe can catch his own fish!

Take out all your fishing magazines from the pile in the bathroom library. That’s right. .. the one on top of the clothes hamper. Stack them by region and dates, freshwater and saltwater. Remind yourself that this is the year you make a real FILE system for these. Throw away anything dated more than 3 years. Make a mental note not to let so much steam from the shower ruin the great photos. Re-read several articles about that new Mexican resort you’ve always wanted to try. Drool at the pictures of big tuna and dorado. Imagine the warmth of hot sand under your bare feet and salivate at the thought of an icy Pacifico exploding at the back of your throat. Start to cut out advertisements reminding yourself to call and check on prices. Spread map on floor while sitting in your boxers. Put t-shirt on and watch that fishing video again. You start to make a mental list of your fishing chums who will stop whatever they are doing to go with you. How much vacation time do you have? Can you invite the boss? Hmmmm. .. some of the guys wanted to make this a “couples trip” this year. “NO!!!” you scream from the depths of your brain as the testosterone levels rise like a billfish to the bait. “That’s what Vegas is for!”

It never hurts to dream! Best fishes to you and yours for the coming year and season!

Read Full Post »

LOTS OF SPECIES MIX IT UP – LA PAZ FISHING REPORT FOR JULY 2, 2006

Posted in Uncategorized on July 3, 2006| Leave a Comment »

Lenny Salazar from Lomita came down with his “Pez Gringo” buddies for the first time to La Paz and hit quite a variety of fish including this nice dorado and football tuna not too far from the Las Arenas beach.

TUNA and MARLIN BREAK IN WITH DORADO – MEXICO ELECTIONS – THIS COULD BE THE WEEK FOR AERO CALIFORNIA –
GREAT MIX OF FISH

Sure feels like August here! It’s hot. It’s sunny and sometimes humid too and the fishing reflects it. Fish we don’t normally see until late in the summer like big blue and black marlin have come to prowl with a number of hookups on surprised anglers who thought they were fishing light tackle for dorado only to find themselves suddenly hooked to 500 pound billfish!
The dorado have been really active for our La Paz fleet with fish scattered from El Bajo to the north end of Cerralvo to the Channel and down to Las Cruces. Sargasso weed lines have been productive and dorado in the 30-50 pound class are not uncommon. For my Las Arenas anglers, they have had more variety with not only dorado; but breezers of tuna off Punta Perrico; sailfish, marlin, roosterfish and even dog tooth (pargo perro) and mullet snapper (pargo lisa) in the rocks. Nice mix of fish!

The tuna are really a bonus. We used to have tuna frequently, but in the past few years, the bite has been pretty anemic as marine biologist tell me the fish haven’t left. They’re just way down deep and have no reason to come up because one of the big sources of food…squid are down there too.

Well, the past few weeks, the sharp rise in water temps has brought a bloom of algae resulting in a phenomenon called “red tide” where the oxygen levels become so depleted by the rise in plant life, it literally chokes off the oxygen to the larger species swimming around. It hasn’t been a problem outside in the blue water, but in the bay…whooo-weeeee…it sure gets stinky as squid, mollusk, inshore fish and other marine life wash up daily emitting a stink as they roast in the Baja sun as folks try frantically to clean it up. This is just a natural thing we get a few times a year so no big deal, but for whatever reason, as the squid have shown up with great frequency, it’s not surprising that the tuna also seem to move into shallower waters.

If you’re coming down and the tuna are still around, you want to be fishing with as light a tackle as possible. I’d suggest 20-25 pound test for these fish and a short leader of flurocarbon wouldn’t hurt either!

MEXICO ELECTIONS

July 2nd is Mexico’s national election day as President Fox only serves one 6-year term as proscribed by Mexican law. At the time of me writing this, the polls were too close to call, but locals in droves were at the polls. Be interesting to see how it comes out and what effect it will have on everything else.

AERO CALIFORNIA

Could this be the week it happens? Aero Cal has promised that right after the elections, tickets would be on sale again and flights would resume. I’m so tempted to point my finger and call…’B.S.” but I gotta try to remain optimistic. That’s my story!
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s Tailhunter InternationalWebsite: www.tailhunter-international.comPhone: (626) 333-3355FAX: (626) 333-0115E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.comU.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745
“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”

Read Full Post »

Posted in Uncategorized on June 30, 2006| Leave a Comment »

TAKING BETTER FISHING PHOTOS
By no means am I a trained photographer. I can’t tell you an F-stop from film speed for the most part. I’m the fishing guy. I take people fishing and diving, but I’ve been writing fishing articles for years and several hundred of my photos have been published in numerous publications so I kind of have a feel for what works and what doesn’t. I often get photos submitted to me as well for publication and there’s a few things that you can do to improve your own personal fishing or outdoor photos!
Your Camera
Cameras are so much more affordable all the time. Features that were only found on the best cameras are now commonplace. So much of the camera is now automated that if you just turn the camera to “auto” it seems to do just about all the work for you. However, use the best camera you can afford. That does not mean buying a camera with every bell and whistle known to man! Some of my inexpensive cameras have tons of features on them that I NEVER use. It’s nice to have them, but don’t confuse yourself either. Learn the basics and you’ll be fine! So many of the cameras are so good now that you can take shots that only a pro could have taken 10 years ago. By the same token, disposable cameras are nice and handy, but listen, if you use a 5 dollar camera you’ll get a 5 dollar photo!
Digital vs. Film
I take hundreds of photos a week sometimes. I make copies for clients. I send out copies to friends and numerous shots to magazines and newspapers. The cost of film and developing used to be astronomical. With digital cameras I simply use and re-use the chips over and over. I download things to my computer. I burn them to a disc. For the computer phobic, this sounds like Martian, but believe me, it’s really incredibly user friendly to have a digital camera! Depending on the size of the chip you put in the camera and the resolution, you can literally hold hundreds of photos in the camera! Also, for you high-end folks, the newer models are as good as any high-end pro or semi-professional SLR camera these days! In terms of how many mega-pixels you want in a digital camera, I’d get one that has AT LEAST 2-3 megapixel capacity. In short, the higher the megapixel rating, the better resolution you’ll get out’ve your photos. I personally use cameras with 3-5 megapixels, but that’s also because many of my photos will be submitted for publication plus I like to print out 8 x 10 photos. If all you’re going to do is put photos through the internet, even a 1-2 megapixel camera will work.. If you’re planning to print photos out, then the 2-3 megapixel is best.
If you’re sticking with film, a simple point-and-shoot model works fine. However, below you’ll find some tips on actually taking and making better shots! If your camera has the ability to use different film speeds, use film made for bright lighting conditions. The most versatile film would be 100-200 speed. If I’m shooting for fast action like a dorado jumping, 400 speed is best. However, if mostly what you’re doing is people holding fish and “still action” you’ll get good resolution with the 100-200 speed film

Actually Taking the Photos

1. Center your shot – Seems fairly obvious, but I see so many photos with heads or fish chopped off. Try to put your subject in the center of the viewfinder before pushing the shooter button.
2. Fill the viewfinder – Try to put as much of your subject into the whole photo you see in your viewfinder. It makes for a much more dramatic shot when it’s close up! If the subject is your son holding his first tuna, you don’t need to see 10 boats behind him, the islands and the beach. Put him and his fish into the viewfinder!
3. Hold the fish so that you see it’s flanks – Fish are best viewed from the sides with colors gleaming, not from the top or bottom. Also, if you plan to submit it to your favorite magazine or newspaper, wash off the blood and goop. Even if not, it still makes for a more handsome photo.
4. The fresher the fish the better the photo – A photo of a fish just out of the water is much prettier and has better colors than a fish that has been sitting in the ice chest or fish box all day.

If you ever want to chat fishing or need fishing, diving or hotel reservations give me a call at 626-333-3355, or check out the website at www.Tailhunter-International.com or e-mail me at riplipboy@aol.com.

Read Full Post »

La Paz Fishing Report for June 25 – BIG MARLIN RUN WITH DORADO AND TUNA

Posted in Uncategorized on June 30, 2006| Leave a Comment »


MARLIN-SAILFISH-DORADO and EVEN TUNA GRAB SPOTLIGHT – NO BOOZE SALES – AERO CALIFORNIA – PHOTO OF THE WEEK

RODS BENT ON BILLFISH AND FINALLY SOME TUNA!

It only seems to be getting better. While you could still have the off-day, not only did the dorado continue to provide constant action for both our Las Arenas and La Paz fleets, but yellowfin (football sized) tuna finally showed up at Las Arenas off Punta Perrico just outside Muertos Bay close to shore. These were fun-sized 25 pound fish that all of a sudden showed up early in the week where guys were trying to catch a few bonito to strip bait. All of a sudden…tuna were blowing up all around out of nowhere! At first it started with about 1-2 fish per boat then by mid-week we had about 5-6 per boat. By end of week we were at a steady 2-4 tuna just 1/4 mile off the cliffs. The secret on these tuna was light line…20-25 pound test and using 20 pound flurocarbon leaders!

Additionally, several days this week it was almost impossible not to get a marlin or sailfish hook up and several of our pangas had double, triple or even quadruple hookups simultaneously and reported that other marlin were still swimming around the pangas eating anything thrown in the water as if they were 10 pound dorado competing for chum! (See the photo story below!) Besides that, a smattering of decent sized roosterfish, a couple of wahoo and even some hefty dog tooth snapper made for a darned good week! I fished one day with Dr. Dave Perine from the state of Washington. Dave comes down every year and decided he was going to get a big dog tooth. At one point he was 14 misses in a row as the big snapper were busting off 130 pound test in the rocks!!! Well, on number 15, we finally got one of the big dogs into the boat. It was only about 35 pound…quite respectable…but there wasn’t much of that leader material, but a fine looking fish!

I was out several times this week with folks actually . Great shout out to the Pez Gringo guys who spent most of the week with us and not only spanked the fish and parited to tell about it, but made a point of releasing a ton of marlin as well as huget 50,60 and 80 pound roosterfish. Today was a great example of fun fishing. I was with Julian Ramos who will be a sophomore next year in high school and his chum Alex Tovar who will be starting high school. While their dads were chasing larger offshore stuff, the buys hooked 2 tuna, 4 dorado, 8 roosterfish and 3 huge jacks. (most of the fish were released). What a great day and we probably could have sat on that spot of roosters and bent rods on them all afternoon.

Looks like we could have another banner marlin season. See the photo below but black marlin shouldn’t be here yet. They are generally a late summer/fall fish. Well, several huge fish were hung this week, but one 800 pounder was hooked and fought for 6 hours before it was released on our cruiser “Black Magic.”

STOCK UP EARLY

As I mentioned last week, July 2nd is national elections here in Mexico. If you’re coming down, no booze can be bought or sold that day so stock up ahead of time.

AERO CALIFORNIA

This is supposed to be the week that Aero Cal poops or gets off the pot, but we’ve heard that before. If they do come back up this week, you can be sure that we’ll jump all over that!

If you want to read a great piece on what Aero California’s closing did to La Paz, click this link to La Paz Mexico.com and written by my amigo Russ http://lapaz-mexico.com/articles/new.html

PHOTO:

If you ever doubted you could get big fish on small pangas…Greg Covello (holding the head) weighs about 280 pounds and is a security guard at the Tracy CA prison. He was on his first trip to Baja fishing this week. We can only estimate that this fish was around 400 pounds ore more…a huge black marlin. Remarkably it hit a mackerel then snagged itself in the stomach just deep enough for the 6/0 hook to bury itself just under the skin. The tough skin will not rip! On 50 pound test and no leader, Greg battled the fish for over 2 hours on the panga. He didn’t have a fancy reel. He was using a simple stock Penn 4/0. Had the fish been mouth hooked it probably would have gotten free by busting the leader, but because it was snagged, the 50 pound held. They were going to release the big fish, but 50 yards from the panga, the fish died and they had to handline the fish in. Captain Yofo is second from the left. Even he said he was exhausted. When the fish hit the beach…the anglers took only a small chunk of the fish and donated the rest to the towns of Aguamarga and San Pedro which have been on hard times. On the far left is Cesar Carillo who also works at the prison and also took a turn at the rod as well. An incredible fish!

That’s my story!
Jonathan
Jonathan Roldan’s Tailhunter InternationalWebsite: http://www.tailhunter-international.com/Phone: (626) 333-3355FAX: (626) 333-0115E-Mail: Riplipboy@aol.comU.S. Office: 3319 White Cloud Dr., Suite A, Hacienda Hts. CA 91745

Read Full Post »

Posted in Uncategorized on June 26, 2006| Leave a Comment »

Of the handful of fish that can really get people worked up into a frenzy, mention the word “Yellowtail” and it’s enough to get a young fisherman’s fingers twitching for a rod and reel and the eyes of any old Baja salt to glaze over. Despite the many gamefish available in Mexican waters, few offer the sheer tenacity, attitude and tastiness of the sierra dorsalis, otherwise known as yellowtail, but to the more knowledgeable as “yellows,” “forktails,” “forkies,” or “mossbacks.”

Not to be confused with yellowfin tuna, the yellowtail is a member of the jack family with blue/grey/silver sides and a darker blue/green back or, in the larger older resident species, a dark emerald back topped with bright yellow fins.

In the days before they were overfished, talk to an old Baja angler or even the old anglers from Southern California and they will re-count days when the birds dove on seemingly acres of boiling frothing fish. The kelp beds off S. California and paddies off northern Pacific Baja as well as the islands of Cedros and Benitos used to have schools thicker than mackerel. The areas off Loreto, Bahia de Los Angeles and the midriff islands were legendary for 40 pounders that would turn the waters to class 5 rapids when they came to feed! My own first encounter with these tremendous fish was at the age of 9 and I re-call looking into the water and seeing solid fish as far as my gaze penetrated. I farmed 6 fish before I was able to land my first one! It was a 25 pounder that the skipper said was “too small” and after a quick photo was tossed back into the water with a cavalier flip, as if he were tossing a bonito back! I was devastated, but quickly forgot as my next fish was probably closer to 40 pounds!

That same sized fish in many areas would almost be a trophy by today’s standards. Indeed the fish was so abundant, that it quickly attracted commercial interests that wasted no time in wrapping although not as plentiful, it seems the yellowtail is no less sought, especially by sport anglers. Especially during the winter/early spring months then again in the fall, yellowtail fishing in the Sea of Cortez can still be spectacular. In the summer and fall, warmer waters up the Pacific coast of Baja bring fish into northern Baja waters under kelp paddies and off structure well-within reach of San Diego/ Ensenada/San Quintin fleets.

Current fish have diminished in size where a 25-30 pound fish would be considered a trophy. Most of the fish along the Pacific tend to be under that size, but voracious schools carrying quantities of fish seem to more than make up for the smaller size. However, larger fish are often found around Cedros and Benitos Islands as well as the higher spots and banks off of Magdalena Bay and anywhere structure can be found. Generally speaking, however, the larger fish are in the Sea of Cortez. Less migratory than their Pacific counterparts, this is where most people come to find the grumpy angry fish of the past. The best areas continue to be the islands off Loreto as well as Bahia de Los Angeles as well as the areas of the midriff islands, but fish can be found as far south as Cabo on occasion, but with diminishing frequency. In general, if someone asks me for yellowtail, I send them north of my place in La Paz to fish L.A. Bay, Loreto or grab a mothership out of San Felipe to fish the midriff islands.

Most methods of fishing these prized fish entail some degree of effort one way or the other…either in getting them hooked, but then battling these bruisers back to the boat. Of course, the easiest is to find breaking fish and flyline (casting a bait with no sinkers) into the melee. Hang on! When they are on the chew, you won’t wait long and expect short brutal runs that can tax even the best anglers and gear.

The harder method, when you know you’re in the fish zone requires a bit more work, but is no less rewarding. One of the best methods favored by veterans is called yo-yo- ironing. Essentially, this consists of throwing out a heavy metal lure. It doesn’t even need to be cast as you can simply drop it over the side of your boat. Let it fall then wind as fast as you can! Wind until your arms feel like falling off! (I told you it was hard work!) The faster you wind, the better your chances of hooking a fish. Colors such as blue and white / yellow and green / all white / yellow, brown and white (scrambled egg) can be deadly with this method. Try retrieving from various depths. Try dropping all the way to the bottom. Don’t let it sit there long as yellowtail prefer rocky areas and you’ll get hung up and lose your lure. As soon as it hits bottom, give it a few twitches then wind like heck back to the surface. You can even stop and let it drop back down before you get back to the the boat. Another method is to cast out some distance then cranking like crazy; stopping and letting the lure flutter down; then cranking again so that you create a “z” pattern back to the boat. Expect huge heavy hits on this type of fishing so make sure you’ve got your rods securely in hand.

The other preferred method, if there’s bait is using a dropper loop method. Here, I’d favor a short stout rod and line in the 40-60 pound range. There were even times when I’ve had to go to 80 or 100 pound test. It’s not the fish that I’m worried about. It’s the fact that I’m going to drop my hooked mackerel, squid or sardine 100, 200 and even 300 feet down. When the yellowtail is hooked it’s first reaction will be heading right back down to the rocks to snap you off! These fish like structure, whether it’s rocks, kelp, an old wreck or other obstacle so gear your equipment to the surroundings and not necessarily the fish!

Once you’re hooked, whether via jig or bait, dig in your heels! Even if the fish tasted terribly, anglers would chase this sportsfish just for the sheer fight. It may not make the speedy runs of the tuna; leap like a marlin or dorado, but in sheer shoulder-packing-fin-beating runs, it’s hard to top a hooked yellowtail. It will most often head right back to the kelp or rocks it came from and will doggedly pull in bursts of power that will require the angler to constantly put pressure on the running fish to make it work against you; your equipment and the boat. Make the fish pay for any line it wants to take! Keep your rod tip up and short-pump the fish back to the boat between runs. If you can get it’s head turned away from the line-eating rocks and structure, you’re halfway there!

Excellent raw as sashimi; grilled, broiled or sautee’d, it’s hard to top fresh yellowtail. The meat is pinkish white and cooks up firm, flaky and white with few bones. It makes great eating along with the great stories of boating this legendary fighter!

If you have any questions or ever want to chat fishing, you can reach me at 626-333-3355 or e-mail me at riplipboy@aol.com or http://www.tailhunter-international.com.

Read Full Post »

Posted in Uncategorized on June 23, 2006| Leave a Comment »

Stay tuned for great adventure stories with Jonathan in La Paz. Here you will find his published print articles as well as special online stories exclusively available on the Tailhunter International website!

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »