Well, Bia and I have finally decompressed from our week in central Baja. We had the campo to ourselves the entire week, except for 2 days we shared
with 2 Mexican families.
On the second day we dug some clams and headed down the beach to fish. Big perch and a few jack smelt gave way to some big spot-fin croaker. We each
landed one and broke off one other. The biggie went around 12 pounds and was 29” long while the smaller one was 25”. Each gave a fun 5-10 minute fight
up and down the beach. We fed three families that night on bone soup with fish, shrimp, clams, zucchini, rice and corn. Mmmm…
The surf was pretty small averaging rib high on the big ones. I only surfed once, alone, and made the best of it. Heck, alone in the water in Baja?
I’ll take it every time!!!
Around 9am on Tuesday we decided to go check out the whales at Ojo de Libre. What a great decision that turned out to be. We arrived about 12:30, ½
hour early for the next boat. After a beer Leopoldo announced he would be our captain and we were of. The first hour or so was spent seeing whales
from 100 yards or so. Just as we started to resign ourselves to more of this kind of whale “watching” something magical started to happen. Within
minutes we were approached by a mother and calf that spent the next ½ hour on the rail of our panga being loved and scratched by every eager gringo in
the boat. Even Poldo got in a scratch or three. These two tired of the interaction and we all voted,” let’s go in now” but Poldo wouldn’t budge.
Amazingly, another pair of ballena gris approached and spent the next ½ hour or so on our rail. We definately have our Xmas card photo this year! All
told, it was worth every peso we spent on the entire trip, not just for the panga. If you’re dreaming of going-do it. And ask for Capitan Poldo!!! He
has a way with the whales!
We made our way back to camp with a stop for take-out at Carmelita’s. Back in camp by sunset and everything was groovy. The camp was deserted still
and I’d forgot to put rocks on the coolers but Neptune was smiling so even the coyotes didn’t try to get into the food.
All in all, it was a great week in Baja. Bia and I have both scratched off one of the greatest things we’ve ever done from our To-Do-Lists.
[Edited on 3-24-2007 by woody in ob]
wishing it was better
woody with a view - 3-24-2007 at 12:31 PM
xmas card?
woody with a view - 3-24-2007 at 12:31 PM
magic happens!
woody with a view - 3-24-2007 at 12:32 PM
Capitan Poldo thanking the baby
woody with a view - 3-24-2007 at 12:33 PM
Gracias Poldo
woody with a view - 3-24-2007 at 12:34 PM
sunup over baja
woody with a view - 3-24-2007 at 12:35 PM
sopa de mariscos, Peruana style!!!
woody with a view - 3-24-2007 at 12:38 PM
[Edited on 3-24-2007 by woody in ob]
Cypress - 3-24-2007 at 02:45 PM
Thanks!Nice croaker!Halboo - 3-24-2007 at 04:25 PM
Nice? That's a toad! If you caught that fish anywhere north of Baja you'd be famous.
Nice the man says? :woody with a view - 3-24-2007 at 05:11 PM
last time i saw one like this was as a kid. we'd get them in mission bay near the bridge to mission beach near the islandia hotel. them were the
days.....Don Alley - 3-24-2007 at 05:44 PM
Wow, the mother of all croakers! woody with a view - 3-24-2007 at 06:03 PM
here's Bia's "biggest fish ever".
note my fish lounging in the chaise!
chino - 3-24-2007 at 06:04 PM
Indeed a lucky guy that woody is!
Trips like that make the work worthwile.
oooops!
woody with a view - 3-24-2007 at 07:49 PM
Bia just informed me that she's holding my big croaker.
here's the other...
DianaT - 3-24-2007 at 07:54 PM
What a great time! Thanks and I do think you have your Christmas Card.
However, can't believe you were so close and did not go to the concert at San Borja---wish we had been there.
Also, don't scratch the whale watching thing off your list, now you must do the same a San Ignacio and Bahia de Magdelena.
Thanks for a great report.
DianeFrank - 3-24-2007 at 09:41 PM
Congrats you ate the all tackle record for spotfin croaker! I thought that spot was huge, you got him by 3 pounds!
Harold Rigg of El Segundo, Calif., USA, landed a 9 lb 7 oz (4.28 kg) spotfin croaker (Roncador stearnsii) fishing with a sand crab in Morro Santo
Domingo, Mexico. He’s applied for a potential all-tackle record. The current record for the fish is 7 lb 10 oz that was certified 6/21/02. (Photo:
spotfin croaker -- 06040008)
Congrats you ate the all tackle record for spotfin croaker!
and boy was it ever good. the 12# was only an estimate. no one around with a scale but the 29" came from an old craftsman tape measure.bajaandy - 3-25-2007 at 08:43 PM
Well done my man! Sounds like a winner of a trip. That fish ought to make up for the lack of sizable surf! Looks like you had a blast.Taco de Baja - 3-26-2007 at 08:36 AM
Very nice fish!
Even the little croakers put up a fight of fish many times their size. That must have been a lot of fun to bring them in.David K - 3-26-2007 at 08:43 AM
You need to show those photos to Gene Kira on his MexFish.com web site!!!!
I have never seen croaker that big... Wow!!!
Thanks for sharing your great Baja experience!marv sherrill - 3-26-2007 at 02:35 PM
Woody - where did you leave from to get into the fantastic whales?Yakfishing - 3-26-2007 at 03:24 PM
Woody,
Great report!
I just got back and I need to do a write up, but right now I'm swamped with work.
Will post soon.
Joe O.woody with a view - 3-26-2007 at 03:33 PM
diane- if i could go back i'd make time to go. we were feeling lazy that day. we'd only been in camp 1.5 days and weren't ready for more driving.
dk- i'll check it out.
marv-ojo de libre.
!!!!!!!!!
baitcast - 3-26-2007 at 05:29 PM
That the biggest damn SPOT I ever saw
like the man said you just ate a record fish!!!!!!!!
BAITCAST
P.S. you know how to have the pic taken,still a brute,I didn,t know they got that big.Skipjack Joe - 3-26-2007 at 05:52 PM
Wow! That croaker is big enough to be a white sea bass. As I read your report I kept thinking "Why doesn't he stop talking about those croakers and
tell us about the white sea bass he's holding"
.... and, of course, my eyes raced through the words to see if you mentioned the beach where you caught them.
[Edited on 3-27-2007 by Skipjack Joe]bajaandy - 3-26-2007 at 05:58 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
.... and, of course, my eyes raced through the words to see if you mentioned the beach where you caught them.
[Edited on 3-27-2007 by Skipjack Joe]
I swear that beach looks familar.... but then, they ALL look familar after a while.David K - 3-26-2007 at 06:35 PM
What happens in the 7 Sisters, stays in the 7 Sisters, eh Woody??? LOLIflyfish - 3-26-2007 at 07:37 PM
Look Ma! I ate the whole thing!
Great report, great fish, happy wife, life is good!
After all, you can't eat a world record, eh, oops, you did!
IflyfishME - 3-27-2007 at 02:59 PM
great report, woody. there is magic around every corner along that strech of coast, and it looks like some big fish. Congrats on the new record... I
know it is not offical but the photo works for me Bajalover - 3-27-2007 at 03:33 PM
Awesome photos Woody. Great looking fish, must have made some good tasting meals. Whale shots - outstanding. Where were you fishing.woody with a view - 3-27-2007 at 05:20 PM
Quote:
What happens in the 7 Sisters, stays in the 7 Sisters
well sorta, the stories emerge but the names are changed to protect my u2u inbox!!! it's not the exact spot that matters, you just gotta get out there and soak some bait, matey's!
reading up on the spotfin and it looks like i may have eaten a record. 27" 10.5# is the largest recorded. OH WELL, it was the 2nd or 3rd day of a week
trip and i wasn't gonna run home just for a fish record. i have the foto to prove this fish tale was real.
[Edited on 3-28-2007 by woody in ob]David K - 3-27-2007 at 05:24 PM
I guess you didn't measure it then, eh Woody?woody with a view - 3-27-2007 at 05:27 PM
big one = 29"
little? one = 25"Sharksbaja - 3-27-2007 at 07:11 PM
I bow to "O Great One" !
Woody, I can imagine the thrill. Congrats!
Bait?David K - 3-27-2007 at 07:33 PM
How loud did it croak?
We pulled out lots of yellow fin croakers between the corbinas we caught at the lagoon (Bahia Santa Maria), and their croaking drove our dog nuts!
[Edited on 3-28-2007 by David K]
Slowmad - 3-28-2007 at 09:52 AM
You are officially Mister Toad.
That spotty is just gross, and extra credit for the preparation.
Great report, great stoke, great way to preserve the adventure for future travelers: "those beasts are out there...go explore and find a spot and a
toad of your own."
You and your gal might enjoy "Men and Whales at Scammon's Lagoon" by David Henderson.
It's in the Dawson's Baja Travel Series, and you can find used copies online.
Cool maps and stories of Ojo de Liebre ("Spring of the Jackrabbit"), Bomb Island, whales surfing the inlets, etc. etc.TacoFeliz - 3-28-2007 at 12:06 PM
The very best kind of trip report -- Thanks!woody with a view - 3-28-2007 at 04:37 PM
Quote:
We pulled out lots of yellow fin croakers between the corbinas
that's funny because we were targeting corbina because i'd caught a big one before at the same spot but none this time. after we got these two we
broke off two others. i told Bia, "we've got enough" so we started walking back to camp. the fish were still alive and croaking but Bia couldn't hear
them because of the wind. i told here to touch the fish because they're doing something weird!!!
she almost freaked when she felt the vibrations in their bodies. i told her, "that's why they're called 'croakers'".
from what i understand the vibrations are from bones (like kidney stones, really) in their heads!!!
[Edited on 3-28-2007 by woody in ob]windsurfeddy - 3-29-2007 at 11:17 AM
So, can you give a hint as to the location of the sunset shot...north or south of El Tomatal?Hook - 3-29-2007 at 02:06 PM
I'm with you, Woody. I aint ending my Baja vacation to drive a day or more to find a freakin' IGFA scale. To me, record submissions are an ego thing.
I imagine that the current record for spotties has been broken more than once along that section of coast. Just not that easy to verify it.Skipjack Joe - 3-29-2007 at 02:11 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Hook
To me, record submissions are an ego thing.
What about tournaments?Hook - 3-29-2007 at 02:52 PM
To me, tournaments are different. Many are now geared to releasing fish or only taking such a small amount of 1-2 species. In many cases, literally
only ONE submission by each angler of each species.
Plus, many are for local charity and they do have their appeal as a social function with the expected banquet and watering hole stories. They also
provide income for locals as guides, cooks, etc. Nice mixers for locals and gringos, too.
Besides furthering an ego, what good do records accomplish? If we really need to know the largest of a given species, then send divers into the water
or net em, measure em and release em.woody with a view - 3-29-2007 at 07:36 PM
Quote:
So, can you give a hint as to the location of the sunset shot...north or south of El Tomatal?
a la derecha..............woody with a view - 3-29-2007 at 07:37 PM
Quote:
"......we've got provisions, and lots of beer. The key word is survival on the New Frontier."
sounds like a man with his priorities in order ......
Nice croaker!
.
it's not the exact spot that matters, you just gotta get out there and soak some bait, matey's!