BajaNomad

Loreto report and SECRET OF FISHING

Don Alley - 4-24-2008 at 03:43 PM

I've been fishing the last three days with friends from the Big Apple, Jim and Laura.

Tuesday: We fished Isla del Carmen between Cholla and Punta Tintoria. The yellowtail were there, but they were not too keen on taking our baits, all larger bigeye and mackeral caught off the shore north of town. We saw few fish hooked. But we caught many triggerfish, and Laura caught this beauty, our only yellowtail of the day:



There have been reports of large scale netting here; one neighbor told me that 3 tons were taken and landed at the colonia south of town. Baja Big Fish has more info on its site, and the authorities promised to investigate....

Wednesday: Jim and I headed to Juncalito and fished with Manuel Torres on his boat Suerte II. The bait bite shut off early, so we headed to Catalan with a light load of bait. The bite was red hot for a while but a stiff breeze slowed it. We caught 3 fish each despite a line break and pulled hook or two, plus skipjack, and Manuel got five. All caught on flylined bait in mostly shallow inshore water. We left a little early, after running out of bait. We were told that later the authorities, perhaps investigating the reports of illegal netting near Loreto, made the long trip to Catalan to check the gringo sportfishermen. :lol::(:fire: (choose your smilie)

Thursday: Back to Juncalito, this time to fish with Jose Torres, the fishing family's patriarch. Despite fishing many times with his three sons, this was my first time out with Jose. A clear cloudless sky and no wind greeted us at Catalana, and the bite was on. All fish were caught with flylined baits; we used mostly 30 lb line in water most of the time shallow enough to see the bottom. Fish could be seen under the boat, and feeding on all sides on plentiful baitfish and boils of small squid. We also saw turtles.

Jim and Jose:




Jim's a Happy Camper




Last fish of the day: Limits!




And Jose's Secret to Good Fishing....


Bob and Susan - 4-24-2008 at 03:50 PM

is THAT a banana???

123.jpg - 16kB

DianaT - 4-24-2008 at 03:53 PM

ALWAYS enjoy your photos----thanks

Diane and John

Skipjack Joe - 4-24-2008 at 04:15 PM

Nice fish, Don.

And such a beautiful day! I can almost feel the warmth all the way up here in Frisco. Wish I was there to enjoy it.

Frank - 4-24-2008 at 04:24 PM

Too bad you had such bad weather :lol:

Unfortunately the park rule of 300m does not cover Catalana

flyfishinPam - 4-24-2008 at 04:34 PM

According to the park management plan, page 52 and 53 this kind of gillnetting within 300m of the shoreline is legal throughout the year for Yellowtail off Isla Santa Catalina. If indeed the park does re-write the management plan as they've been promising for two years, the sportfishing industry here will have a say and we'll try our damnedest to close the Catalana loophole. The new park director promises to revise the current management plan that was completed when the park initiated and was only made available in writing as of 2002.

[Edited on 4-24-2008 by flyfishinPam]

Iflyfish - 4-24-2008 at 04:43 PM

Great Post, made my day Don!

Those don't look like fly reels I am used to. Tell me about them?

They look like the bait casting or trolling reels I use on my medium weight trolling rods.

I really appreciate your pics. Your friends must have been extatic!

Iflyfish

flyfishinPam - 4-24-2008 at 04:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Don Alley
We were told that later the authorities, perhaps investigating the reports of illegal netting near Loreto, made the long trip to Catalan to check the gringo sportfishermen. :lol::(:fire: (choose your smilie)


OMG I just re-read that! I pick this one

:fire:

Don Alley - 4-24-2008 at 04:45 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by flyfishinPam
According to the park management plan, page 52 and 53 this kind of gillnetting within 300m of the shoreline is legal throughout the year for Yellowtail. If indeed the park does re-write the management plan as they've been promising for two years, the sportfishing industry here will have a say and we'll try our damnedest to close the Catalana loophole.


Clarification: The netting I was referring to is the same netting you have reported (by the way, thanks for that report via Lynn's emails). What I was referring to at Catalan was that the park/profepa team went all the way out there to check sportfishers... I was making the nasty insinuation that they will move mountains to check for wristbands while Rome burns. :rolleyes:

By the way, I attended a little get together at the Lorato campus for the new Marine Park director a few weeks ago. He stated, after being questioned, that netting in the waters adjacent to the islands was illegal. Period. Yes, I agree that's not what the written regulations say, those regs are far kinder to the commercial net fishermen.

I did ask about the promised revision of the management plan; he was very happy I asked and said they are looking forward to doing that soon, and would welcome input from the sport fishermen. I will try to be patient, and restrain my more cynical interests.:biggrin:

Don Alley - 4-24-2008 at 04:51 PM

Pam, we crossed posts...:lol:

Iflyfish...

despite being the former local pro flyshop owner in Kalispell Montana, I'm on a sabatical from flyfishing. And I don't know if I can ever tie another darn fly (or fly another tie). Maybe when the dorado come.

In the barbaric meat fishing circles I now run in (grin) flylining is using only a hook on your line, and a live bait, which you let run free until it gets eaten by a Big Fish. I used mostly a two-speed Avet MXL reel... fancy smancy!:lol:

Hook - 4-24-2008 at 04:53 PM

Beautiful fish.

Beautiful boat.

Beautiful conditions.

Beautiful pics.

The word "soon" seems to have the biggest variety of definitions in the Spanish language, in my experience. :biggrin:

know when they'll ask sportfishing to help revise the plan?

flyfishinPam - 4-25-2008 at 09:49 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Don Alley
Quote:
Originally posted by flyfishinPam
According to the park management plan, page 52 and 53 this kind of gillnetting within 300m of the shoreline is legal throughout the year for Yellowtail. If indeed the park does re-write the management plan as they've been promising for two years, the sportfishing industry here will have a say and we'll try our damnedest to close the Catalana loophole.


Clarification: The netting I was referring to is the same netting you have reported (by the way, thanks for that report via Lynn's emails). What I was referring to at Catalan was that the park/profepa team went all the way out there to check sportfishers... I was making the nasty insinuation that they will move mountains to check for wristbands while Rome burns. :rolleyes:

By the way, I attended a little get together at the Lorato campus for the new Marine Park director a few weeks ago. He stated, after being questioned, that netting in the waters adjacent to the islands was illegal. Period. Yes, I agree that's not what the written regulations say, those regs are far kinder to the commercial net fishermen.

I did ask about the promised revision of the management plan; he was very happy I asked and said they are looking forward to doing that soon, and would welcome input from the sport fishermen. I will try to be patient, and restrain my more cynical interests.:biggrin:


my prediction is late June or July 4th or during the Mission tournament when we're all too busy to attend. I will make it a point to not be too busy I'm there so to speak. As for fly fishing, I love it but I bait fish handline or catch them with my bare hands when possible. So I have no problem with your sebatical from flyfishing. I'm not on Lynn's list so had to search for her e-mail so she could put out the word. So far since Tuesday no netters off Carmen, but they've been working Catalana. I will also try and be patient and keep the cynical comments to myself when helpiing to revise this management plan. When I presented the laws to the Marine Park during my denuncia (denouncement or complaint), the passages were highlighted in pink (the current park ticket color) and bookmarked with tickets! I and the others in the room (my husband and Arturo's accountant) were very clear in reminding them that in exchange for our purchase of these (bogus) tickets they are obligated to do their jobs and enforce their own regulations. :biggrin:

Paulina - 4-25-2008 at 10:28 AM

Don Alley,

Thank you for the report, very fun to read and nice photos to boot. We liked the boat, the fish, and Jose's white boots. I want a pair.

I give huge kudos to both you and to Pam and her crew for sticking up for what is right. (I picked the flame thrower smilie right off the bat for those guys who made the effort to cruise out to check for your pinks.) What b.s.

Thanks again,
P. <*)))><

On edit; the banana photos got a good chuckle out of me this morning, thanks.

[Edited on 25-4-2008 by Paulina]

hola

BFS - 4-25-2008 at 11:32 AM

Beautiful pictures, thanks. Really makes one want to be there.
What does "flylined" mean?
Possible to do from my jayak? probably not.
I assumed it was something to do with fly fishing but in the photos you have a conventional reel.
Que honda?
Aq

Don Alley - 4-25-2008 at 01:11 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by aqbluegreen
Beautiful pictures, thanks. Really makes one want to be there.
What does "flylined" mean?
Possible to do from my jayak? probably not.
I assumed it was something to do with fly fishing but in the photos you have a conventional reel.
Que honda?
Aq


"Flylining" for marine bait fisherman is when a live fish or squid is hooked on your line without weights or swivels, often without a leader, and allowed to swim freely.

Ideally you want a lively, healthy bait for this purpose. On SoCal party boats using small, fragile anchovies, picking a good bait that swims well is arguably the most important skill in catching fish. Predatory gamefish seem much more willing to take a fast fleeing baitfish over a cripple. Here mackerel are perhaps the best flylining bait fish; bigeye may be more durable but mackerel are more highstrung and swim faster, asuming they are fresh.

The flylining fisherman wants to let his bait swim freely, yet still keep MINIMAL contact with the bait, so it knows what the bait is doing and where it's going. No slack in the line, yet not too much resistance either. This is easier, IMO, with a conventional reel with good freespool than with a spinning reel. When a fish takes the bait, let it run with the bait long enough to swallow the bait. Then put the reel in gear, wind and tighten up, but do not swing the rod to strike. That's dramatic but mostly bends the rod, when simply tightening up with the rod down puts more energy into setting the hook. And I have been very happy with the circle hooks I've been using and highly recommend them.

To flyline from a kayak, you need a source of live bait. Kayak dealers in the San Diego area have such live wells for kayaks, and kayakers in that area score some BIG yellowtail and white sea bass on their kayaks. But my baja kayaking is an iron jig pursuit for me.

One more thing. I'll let the live bait run a LONG ways if I need too. I know some very skilled local captains who do this too. Lots of line goes out. Watch out for trollers.

Iflyfish - 4-25-2008 at 05:05 PM

Don, thanks for the clarification. I get it. That sounds like a lot of fun! It must be a blast to feel the take! I want to do that!

I have been thinking of bringing my 9wt fly rod down with me this winter, but landing that big yellowtail on my 30wt line on a medium weight rod took all I had in me.

Thanks,

Iflyfish

ok

BFS - 4-26-2008 at 05:11 AM

Great, thanks for the clarification.
Now how do get the live fish out far enough? I imagine if you cast you will potentialy damage the lively bait. Do you hook it in the upper lip or near the dorsal fin so as not to injure it and allow it to swim?
But sounds like a fish killer for sure.
Thanks again.
I promise to send you a piccie of my first successful landing!

Aq

Iflyfish - 4-26-2008 at 05:27 AM

I met a guy once on the the Chain Lakes in Idaho, told me how he and his buddy used to use mice to fish for largemouth. Put the mice on a piece of cedar shingling and let the line out till it was far enough away from the boat and then pull the mouse off the shingle and watch it swim. I prefer to use a pork skin bait that looks like a mouse, a bit squeemish I guess when it comes to using warm blooded creatures for bait, but it sounds like what you are doing with live bait. That sounds like so much fun!

Iflyfish

Cypress - 4-26-2008 at 06:25 AM

Don Alley, Thanks for the pictures and the fishing report:bounce:

Don Alley - 4-26-2008 at 07:15 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by aqbluegreen
Great, thanks for the clarification.
Now how do get the live fish out far enough? I imagine if you cast you will potentialy damage the lively bait. Do you hook it in the upper lip or near the dorsal fin so as not to injure it and allow it to swim?
But sounds like a fish killer for sure.
Thanks again.
I promise to send you a piccie of my first successful landing!

Aq


OK, you can make a short cast, or even just let the bait drop in the water and swim away from the boat. But watch it! It may swim under the boat, or, worse, around the prop. If so, reel in and try again. Or, put the motor in gear and "troll" the bait until it is well away from the boat. Even then, in the end you must rely onthe bait to swim away from the boat. If it doesn't, and the line goes slack as it swims towards you, wind in line, and maybe when it feels tension it will reverse course and you go back into freespool.

Often, when a yellowtail or dorado move into the area, you can feel your bait panic and speed up. Get Ready!

Casting: A short lob is usually enough for a large mackerel or bigeye, or a sardinia, but sometimes when baiting a specific fish, like a billfish or large dorado, you'll heave it out there, and it seldom seems to harm the fish. The small anchovies used in California are perhaps more likely to suffer from a too-far cast, if you can do it. Casting a small anchovy without weight is the hardest kind of casting I've tried; it's harder than a flyrodder's slack-line curve cast on a spring creek.
Quote:
Originally posted by Iflyfish
I met a guy once on the the Chain Lakes in Idaho, told me how he and his buddy used to use mice to fish for largemouth. Put the mice on a piece of cedar shingling and let the line out till it was far enough away from the boat and then pull the mouse off the shingle and watch it swim. I prefer to use a pork skin bait that looks like a mouse, a bit squeemish I guess when it comes to using warm blooded creatures for bait, but it sounds like what you are doing with live bait. That sounds like so much fun!

Iflyfish


I've been told live mice work great for large brown trout, but I never did figure a good system for carrying one in my vest. And you have to catch your own; none of the shops sold them. Mine certainly didn't. :lol:

But I did tie and sell mouse dry flies made of spun deer hair. Good for the browns when drifted under a cut bank on the Firehole.

Iflyfish - 4-26-2008 at 07:53 AM

I hate the pleading look in their little brown beady eyes....don't throw me in the water....please don't throw me....gurgle

Got a couple of those flies in one of my boxes! Cool!

Iflyfish

Capt. George - 4-26-2008 at 03:54 PM

Da "Big Apple", OH YEAH!

Don Alley - 4-26-2008 at 04:50 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Capt. George
Da "Big Apple", OH YEAH!


I was told apples are good luck by a pangero.

:biggrin:

Capt. George - 4-26-2008 at 05:31 PM

They lied, "I would never lie", bring bananas!!!!!!!!!!!