Pompano Fish (And Hunting Dog) Report 5

Saturday, April 28, 2007

After a long ride the other day ‘in search of’ the first dorado arrivals, our group figured to give our local yellowtail schools another go. Always a good bet and their area is a lot closer to home.

According to our old wind and fishing predicters..the predawn stars told us the day should be calm with little or no wind...which is good news for our sore backs! On the other hand the moon did not hold water which indicates poor fishing...sigh. It looks like we will just have to... ‘fly in the face of tradition’.. one more time. (Seems like we do this a lot.)

We launched at the Serindad ramp about 5:45 and were the first on the bait hole long before first light. Using the Zubiki rigs, we made some nice big-eye and green mackerel baits in very quick time. There were 4 of us, so we put about 25 baits into the livewell.

The water was still a steady 73 degrees, no wind (the stars had foretold this, remember?), clear sky, and looked to be a good day on the Cortez.

We headed north, thinking to go past Pta. Chivato and fish the southern end of San Marcos Island..with north end San Marcos or Tortuga Island our other options in case we bombed at the first holes.

On the run north we spotted a little bird activity just to the EAST of Sta. Inez Islands off Pta. Chivato. As we came into good eyesight range we could see some small bunches of jurel (yellowtail) smacking baitfish, and of course the ever present tellale..lots of gulls and pelicans.

We had 3 different rigs ready for our group of 4 fishermen: 2 livebaits on deep rigs (2oz. egg sinkers) 1 fly-lined bait and me pitching iron...I love getting em on iron the best.)

Our first hookup was with the fly-lined bait and one of my visiting north country amigos, Randy, did a great job on pumping and reeling the jurel.

[Edited on 5-1-2007 by Pompano]

First fish...

Randy brings the fish close enough for our host, Gary, to gaff aboard and hold for a photo. Although not a giant, it was a good fish and a nice start to a fine day.

lots of hookups...but not all 'tails'

Now we were seeing lots of surface action all around us...not big schools, but many small bunches scattered in the general area. We trolled live baits for a little while thinking to cover the area between the nearby boils that way. But, we soon decided that the feeding jurel were not going to give us enough surface time to get to them. The fish would come up, be on the baitfish for just a short time, then disappear before we could reel in our trolling baits, and run over to the boil.

Lacking any Rhodes scholar types or intellectual giants amongst the crew, we pondered just what we should do to improve our chances. Our skipper, Gary, who actually has had a coherent thought or two in his life, suggested that.. ‘perhaps instead of sitting on our butts drinking Pacificos and watching our baits soak in the wake, that maybe..Just Maybe..we could all have our baits IN the boat and be ready to cast to the boil when it appeared’..thus putting the bait where it would most likely trigger a hit. We all thought this was a helluva idea and said let’s go for it.

By golly, that was a pretty good idea and we soon got a hookup...although the first one was unfortunately to a shark...which left my amigo, another Roger, with a bitten line.

we see 'color'.....

We see another boil and quickly run to it, rods rigged with casting baits at the ready. We slow down before the boil so as not to spook them and swing sideways to allow for a good cast with the baits...and Bingo!...a nice hookup right away!

My other north country amigo, Randy, is into another nice yellow and we soon see ‘color’ beneath the boat.

Chili...our fish pointer.

Having two yellowtail ‘pointing dogs ‘ aboard helps.....

Meeting some new friends....

Speaking of the boat dogs, it seems that the always present porpoise are taking a liking to them. The 2 German shorthairs love to hang over the bow and these porpoise came up to have a look-see....a nice sight for all of us, too. At one point I thought the two dogs were going for a piggy-back ride.

Porpoise are great buddies...

Pepper is asking..."Can I go for a ride with these guys?"

I like to fish from the bow...but...

sharing the front bow with a German shorthair has it's downsides....

Getting back to fishing....

We got back to fishing and chasing those boils. We were good at getting to the fish before they went down and soon were into our 3rd and 4th yellowtail of the day. All caught by waiting until the boils appeared and then casting live baits to the swirls. One school in particular was much larger fish and produced this nice brute of about 30lbs or so. This one took a lot of line and made numerous dives...peeling line off my reel. My left arm still aches from all the pumping and reeling.

The day's catch...

At the end of a fine day, we had 4 nice yellows in the boat. 2 are going to a nice Mexican lady whose husband is putting on a fiesta to celebrate her birthday today..Sunday. We will stop by and pay our respects before heading down to Loreto airport to drop one of our crew off for the return flight home. With another promised to Russ at Anna’s beach café in Santispac. A good time for all of us!

The End...

It was great to have these moments together again....and we look forward to many, many more on the Cortez and Up North.

Pompano...looks like a perfect day!! (well...perhaps dorado would have made it perfect!)
Thank you so much for the report and those fabulous pics! One of these days I will figure out how to post pics I keep trying!!!! Maybe it's this damn mac???

These fish reports are getting better and better.Thanks. Gonna get back to Augies on the Loreto?Have a safe trip.

No, Pam, I am not a breeder, just a dog lover, but I can say a lot about these two.

These two shorthairs are Chili and Pepper, and the crew to my friend and skipper of the boat in my fish report. Hence the boat name 'Two Dogs'. He got one from a Washington breeder and the other from a hunting friend's litter. I will not recommend that breeder...but the friend I could if he has more litters and will let you know. He lives in Oregon and is a avid bird hunter and pointer breeder.

Chili is the taller of the two, and Pepper has darker markings. I think Chili is just one of the best chukar dogs around and is a great all-round dog. Pepper is a fine hunter and loves the water more than a lab, if that is possible. Both dogs exhibit the best of the German Shorthair breed.

I love these pointers like my own, although my dogs mostly have been water retrievers...labs and chessies, with one shorthair long ago...a pup who unfortunately got a virus early on and earned a renaming to...Deaf Bob. A great nose, but couldn't hear the cattle truck coming! RIP, Deaf Bob.

Here some humorous dog breed advice I have chuckled at for many years....Do you have kids? Dachshunds are ideal dogs for small children, as they are already stretched and pulled to such a length that a child cannot do much harm one way or another.

Hola Jorge y Patti, glad you got out fishing.

Jorge, we will be primed and ready to bust some roosters with you this fall Up North in God's country.

Per the fishing...The waters here are still good for yellows, but no sign of dorado yet. Not even the small ones. Shoo some up this way, okay?

On those hunting dawgs that will be joining all of us...Here's a pic of Jet...a veteran rooster hunter. Hasta pronto, amigo.

and another 'pup-in-training'

This is one of Randy's proteges....hmm..so far has a good nose for Canadian lager.

Typical scene Up North during the fall...

I truly love the autumn season...

But enough from the North...now back to Baja and waiting on the dorado.