POMPANO FISH REPORT - TAILS - LIONS - SAILS

...WIDE OPEN YELLOWTAIL BITE - THIS IS EASY FISHING

Today, Feb. 17th, 2010. Being really pumped up for fishing, I awoke super early to make ready the boat gear, cooler with a light lunch, and thermos of coffee. Checked the trailer lights, unlocked and drove thru my gates at dark-thirty to start the 16 miles to Mulege's river ramp.

I had my coffee mug filled, the soft XM music was nice. I looked up at the Big Dipper pointing the way to Polaris, the North Star..my morning's direction. I'm going fishin, and life is good. I'm sure I was grinning.

But...(sometime these 'buts' sneak in your life, right?)..

Here's where my fishing day almost ended..

I had barely got past Rcho Coyote when I saw three big semis close together, speeding down the hill towards me... and then the unbelievable happened...the second one in line pulled out to PASS the front one...with me only a short distance away..blinking my brights on and off..on and off. Thinking, What the HECK? This guy must be crazy on uppers or just plain loco?

This truck was way, way over the speed limit..plus it was pitch black in this open-range area for livestock. This was one crazy, risk-taking truck driver.


I swerved/bounced to the side into a open area across from Boney's roadside cafe and slid to a stop..bouncing everything all over the cab..including my coffee. That burro of a semi-driver had missed my trailer by 1 foot as he roared by. Carumba!

I was a tad upset. "Hey, you damn fool..that's my NEW boat you almost creamed, let alone me!"

I ALMOST disconnected the boat to go after the creep and shove a Mirrolure up his burro, but thought...nope, no way do I want my blood pressure to go that high...as I was just back from the Mayo Clinic due to some vein problems in the old cabesa. Not a good plan for the future. So..best to just chalk this close call up to experience and hope the maniac doesn't take out others when he finally piles up. Fortunately for us all, these kind of semi-drivers are getting rarer and rarer on the Baja Road.



Okay. All's well that ends well. Nobody is dead this time.


And Hey, good karma...shaking my head at what just happened, I sit there for a bit and then comes Willy singing.."On the Road Again" on the XM ..sooo ....refilled the mug and now it's Let's Carry On time.

Life's too short to sweat the small stuff...and the fish are waiting.

With no further weirdness from my fellow drivers, I get to town and ready boat gear for my launch at the Serinadad donation pier. The new boat dock put together by Mulege fishermen and others was very helpful..AGAIN. Many thanks to all the many residents and visitors who contributed thier work and money to this welcome addition to Mulege area fishing/boating.

I launch with no problems, tie up to the floating dock, run the pickup and trailer out of the way, and get back in the boat ..all muy pronto. As Co-pilot would say.."Andiamo! Let's go fishing!"

MAKING BAIT:

Note: You don't actually 'make' the bait..you 'catch' it (or 'buy' it in some cases) It's just fisherman-cool to say.."I MADE bait", like it was an oil painting by DeVinci...or something fishy-looking you created in the workshop?

Slowly motoring seaward through the shallows of the river channel, I hear via marine radio that there's just small wind and wave action at the baithole outside the estuary..good news. The Mulege local baithole is Punta Prieta, and I have made good bait there for many ye ars. Easy to find, just head north of the river mouth and you will run right into it soon enough...it's the first point.

Some items that generally come in handy for making bait:

-A working live well.


-Sonar unit (call them fish finders, depth finders, whatever, and make it the best you can afford. This will be your most important tool.)

Huge 10.4" screen, GPS+WAAS, Mapping, connecting to home pc, etc are valuable options.

-An easy-to-use rod/reel 'ready' with a sabiki rig (or similar multi-hook rig) and bottom weight. ('Ready' = beforehand = means no hassle rigging up in darkness = no glares from your fishing buddies while you fumble around in the dark boat and hook your ear).


-A small towel or glove to better grab the bait and release unhurt into the baitwell.



-Some extra Sabiki rigs & weights



And...I throw in a little extra fudge factor. Some smelly stuff on the jigs. Hot Sauce. Hey, it can't hurt.




-A lighted cap is very helpful. Most of the sabiki jigs are luminescent when pre-charged from a light source, as with your cap lights. You can buy a cap with the lights already built into the bill..or just buy this handy clip-on model at any good fishing tackle store. I bought a couple at Squidco near Midway, San Diego, for 12 bucks each...a very handy light/tool.




- Or flashlights...Plus any and all lights on your boat are GOOD and fellow boaters will thank you for that.

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Newbie fishermen, it is EASY to make bait.. that is to 'catch' bait. Anybody can 'catch' bigeyes or mackerel, two very good baits in this region. All you need is the sabiki rig above to 'catch' them.

The key is to FIND them. How? Follow the other boats, sure. But..IF you want to find them yourself...Get a GOOD sonar unit and it will do all the work for you. Showing you exactly where, how big a ball, and how they are related to the surface and bottom. See this photo below?



The bait is shown very distinctly by my Lowrance 104C ('C' - color units are best) as the solo curved arches & red masses between the surface and bottom....and all that's left for me to do is get the little sabiki jigs down to them. This is the 'So easy a caveman can do it' part. Baits will almost always hit the jigs as they drop past on the way to the bottom. If not, then merely jig it around, up and down, move it..this ain't rocket science. Sometimes you get one, sometimes you get one on every jig..a bunch of wiggling bait for you to handle. Have fun there! Also, a really good sonar unit will distinguish the smaller baitschools from the wolfpacks of little barracuda which will always be in the same spots. (Barracuda are my favorite cutbait for single or multi-hook rigs at 200' plus, but we are talking live bait here for yellowtail...we want swimming bigeyes and/or mackerel. Sardines are no bueno..plus they foul up your livewell with all thier scales.)




Sightings:
You may have some company. Like these visitors to the baithole:



Shrimper going to anchor for the day. Vampire-like, they only hunt at night.


Okay, we have about 8 or so baits per person. (Don't dilly-dally at the baithole too long. You'll miss the first early bite. Andiamo! Off we go.


Photo using the gps handheld to check the main gps to the waypoint hotspot I made the other day. It was yellowtail paradise the other day...and it is located ..hmm..let's see..where was that place again??
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Oh, yeah..it was about 6 1//2 miles almost due east of San Lucas Cove..or was it Tortuga..I doubt it was Guaymas...or was it closer to San Marcos...or...Ille Delfonso? ..naw, it was...?

"Hey..I CAN be bribed, y'know."






After a bit of running I get to the fishing hole..with boats all around. I'm late, but am okay with that. Good thing Co-pilot is not along today. Her rather cute announcement the other day over the radio was: "I don't like waves." Hmm..Well now, Co-pilot, these little dimples today are 'wavelets', not waves. 'Waves' are...well..much BIGGER. I can recall the 25 footers going over the Columbia bar in a storm at Astoria that time when .....ah, but that's another tale for another time.


On The Spot.
A couple of amigos, John & Jim, are having a ball with some hookups. Go get 'em, guys!




I do a little searching with the sonar to 'get the lay of the ground'..and soon spot my old structure..the rock ledge at 231' coming up from 280'. I figure it's a good place to swim my live bait.


I free-spool my bigeye down to the bottom..almost. About halfway down it suddenly stops falling..and my line goes slack. Then Zoom!..off it goes and then slack again..hmm.. Suspecting something amiss...well, duh...I reel in and find that I was visited by something with sharp teeth. That's what is interesting about ocean-fishing..you never know what's gonna happen next, do you?


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Well, down goes another bait, a tasty mackerel this time,


and this time it makes it ALL the way down to where I want it to swim..attracting some big yello...

...WHAMMO!..FISH ON!


OH, YEAH!..this is a nice one. I feel his strength as he puts my lever drag to it's test. I'm using 50lb test, so I'm confident in the line's strength to hold him in open water, but he could cut me off easily if I let him get to the rocks below. He peels off more line in many dives, but I stop him in time and gain back the lost yards..and a little more..pump and reel, pump and reel...zzzzzzzzzz....damn..pump and reel, pump and reel....zzzzzz..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..whew...didn't know rod could bend that much..hee hee...radio calling encouragement from fellows around me..zzzz..zzz..pump-reel, pump-reel, pump-reel...I am now thinking of a cold Pacifico...pump and reel....Ah..I see color below!....Damn, he's got shoulders!...okay, bring him alongside after he's made one more last hard lunge to tire him out...then slide him alongside....reach for gaff...slide it underneath him...and get him NOW! Gaffing him in a good spot..for killing and bleeding..I haul him in and take a photo before tail-lassoing him over the side. (An event that will came to haunt me soon enough)

Whew..I am pooped...but laughing hard. What a fish..what a fighter..salud!


That was the first of two big yellows I caught on that ledge the sonar had showed me. They were twins..big bad boys. After an equally exhausting, but fun tight I brought the other to gaff and soon it joined it's brother over the side..hanging down on a rope stringer...bleeding out.

I sat back to have some lunch provided a couple weeks ago by fellow nomad, bill earhart, of Loreto..some delicious canned wahoo on stonewheat crackers...ummmm good. Muchas gracias, amigo..delicious.



Suddenly I heard a loud Zip-WHACK! and looked over to see one of the yellowtail lassos straining hard against the cleat! Wha the..? I jumped up and saw a goshdurn sea lion holding the yellowtail in it's maw about 4 feet below the boat!!..the only thing holding the lobo from going further with my fish was the stringer's metal pin that got hung up on the cleat hole. Looking the lobo in the eye, I grabbed the stout line and pulled hard..the big lobo pulled back harder!

Carumba! This is an unusual day, I thought to myself. First a trucker almost wipes me out, then some unknown deep-sea critter chomps my bait in half before reaching the bottom, and now I am in a tug-of-war with a fish-stealing sea lion. Wonder what the rest of the day will be like? I need a Pacifico..now.

I got serious about keeping my fish and yanked and pulled hard on the yellowtail...the lobo lost it's hold and quickly as I could I hauled it over the side. The tail was half-eaten away and there were several deep tooth marks in the fish's side. Damn nasty big fangs. those lobos have..like a sabretooth tiger! I'll probably never forget the sight of that lobo below me..pulling hard on my yellowtail while looking up at me. That's Baja for you..never a dull moment.


I secure everything and motor over to confer with Mi Mujere..John & Jim. We both had enough yellowtail by now and thought we should try some pinto fishing over at another rockpile we knew was good for those little tasty guys. So off we went...to the Pinto Hole.


Because my old handheld gps with the Pinto Hole co-ords is resting on the bottom in 350 feet of water since last season, I use my high speed sonar to locate the rockpile. And I soon find it....


John and I send down pinto rigs...darts and some cutbait on a rockcod rig with 3 ounces of lead...down deep. Jim decides to try a live bait..not my best choice for a pinto which may indeed be smaller than that bait!

Well WHAMMO AGAIN! Jim ties into another large yellowtail. Seems we just can't get away from these guys. It turns out to be thier boat's biggest of the day...and taken with a live bigeye on a pinto rockpile in the middle of nowhere.

Hmm..now I have another yellowtail waypoint??? I am open to bids on these locations for the upcoming yellowtail tournament.




Okay, enough is enough. We both decide to call it a day. We have had a ball and have way more fish than we usually keep, although I have a certain favor to repay and know where my two yellows will be going. What goes around, comes around..is a good motto.

I head over to Domingo Cove to spend a little time on the beach and to snap a couple photos of the boat and today's nice catch..even with sea lion tooth marks!




Some sailboats at anchor there keep me company.





Even solo this beach is always a nice stop. Hola to all from Domingo Beach.



Now I am back on land..running that errand to repay a big favor done for me by Russ, proprietor of Ana's Cafe, Santispac. Russ is a truly fine gentleman and did me a huge kindness the other day when a boat trailer I own burned out a wheel bearing and seal near his restaurant. (A different trailer than my Yarcraft sits on). Knowing that I was not in the best condition to repair this myself, Russ, along with Jay and Herb from Posada, hauled my broken trailer to safety alongside his cafe. Then these three good samaritans went to considerable trouble and hard work to get it all repaired. Russ especially got his hands greasy. An offer of money was politely but firmly refused, as I knew it would be amongst friends. Nice fellows well found and kudos to them all. (Don Jorge, I think they are really from North Dakota!)

My pleasant task in returning the favors will be mucho pescado for the season..which fits in pretty well with my original plans of goofing off on the ocean!

Here is Russ's esposa, Lupe, smiling at the prospect of fresh fish for the cafe tomorrow. Bon Apetito!




It's now almost beer-thirty..time for my run back to Ana's for that cold Pacifico. I hope that dang sea lion ain't there, too.

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[Edited on 2-19-2010 by Pompano]

[Edited on 2-20-2010 by Pompano]

A walleye boat in Baja Sur. Nice. They sure look happy about the fish! Way to go Pomp!! Nice people, nice Karma. I wish I had film of demure Mrs. Bajabass beating a seal with a paddle that tried to steal the biggest calico she ever caught! I rolled for days Poor guy did not know what hit him.

where's the chica???
i miss her!! come on Pomp...

Pomp... Great story!

-"A small towel or glove to better grab the bait and release unhurt into the baitwell"

Try using butter knife near the hook, to get the bait into the tank without handling them.
They will slide right off the hook

Quote:

Originally posted by LaTijereta Pomp... Great story! -"A small towel or glove to better grab the bait and release unhurt into the baitwell" Try using butter knife near the hook, to get the bait into the tank without handling them. They will slide right off the hook

Thanks all, I'm glad you like reading these fishing reports of mine. I sure have fun making them!

Vince, your predictions were right..the wind arrived at Pta. Teresa about the time I got there yesterday. Glad you made it home ahead of the weather.

Now just heading out the door to the ramp for more of the same. Today we explore further north of Mulege...The Ranch - San Marcos - Jorge's Reef - and beyond. Stay tuned...

Can't wait until you
1. go clamming
2. stroll thru Mulege, grocery store, hardware store etc
3. have ribs at Ana's

hint hint

Looking foward to more photos !!
Thanks again

Friday, Feb. 19, 2010

Dawn finds me finishing making bait at Punta Prieta near Mulege. Most of the Mulege anglers gather here every morning before daylight to sabiki-rig bigeyes and green mackerel. Friendly competition goes on between the guides and gringos. I usually see Mateo and Alejendro in thier guide pangas...making bait with the clients. This morning was no different as I quickly made my usual dozen live baits.


A bonus came as I made 4 baits on one lift, not so usual, but a welcome shortcut. A further bonus were the three green macks in the bunch!


Sunrise at sea...finest kind.


John and Bart pull onto the fishing spot to try thier luck. Bart is a happy guy and waves Hola. I liked the early morning light on this scene...


...and move around to silhouette the action against the sun as they are quickly into the yellowtail.




A montage of John & Bart showing thier angling prowness with a fine cabrilla and some large tails. Fun times, guys!



I finish my photos of my buddy boat and get down to my own fishing...locating a likely looking ledge near deep water. Let's give this a go, okay?



I grab a bigeye from the dozen or so that are lively swimming in my large aereated livewell. I decide to use a circle hook this morning and let the yellowtail do the work of setting the hook. With a circle hook there is no need for the angler to set the hook after the initial run. Your choice...some like to do the set themselves..like John and some others who like to "Give Em The Steel!"

Me? I like variety and 'changes'..

"These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes,
Nothing remains quite the same.
Through all of the islands and all of the highlands,
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane"

.... lah lah lah..okay, okay you parrothead...back on track here.




I barely got the bait to where I wanted it..about 10 feet off the 233' bottom..put the reel into free-spool with the clicker on..when it went ZZZzzzzzzz...and the morning got officially underway for me. Damn, back to work so SOON? Oh well, it's my ricebowl and I accept that fact.


This first yellowtail of the day was another beauty..and again I think one of these is enough, as I am alone this morning. It fought a good fight with much hufffing and puffing on my part before I bring him to gaff. Pant-pant-pant...uff da. (that's Norsk for 'pooped.')

John is thinking of packing a defibulator in case he finds me having the Big One some morning.

I say, 'There's worse ways to go.'


Note: Get bigger plastic tub.


I hand off my camera to Mi Mujer so he can take a shot of yours truly holding up this tail. Gracias, amigo.






I decide that it would be a good day to head south. Punta Teresa, Ille delFonso, and San Sabastian maybe? What the heck, I've got a full tank and it's a gorgeous day. I'll try for some cabrilla, roosters, pintos, snappers, senoritas, and take a siesta on a nice beach down there. Co-pilot is whispering in my ear..."Andiamo! Let's Go!"






Running south of Pt. Conception I encounter a nice sighting..this whale..also southbound. Let's run alongside for a spell, brother. Wish I could dive like you..what a world you must see way down in the Deep.











Seems everytime out I see porpoise, but I never get tired of looking at them. This is a nice family group cruising for food or ? just off Pta. Teresa lighthouse.



Another nice sight..this fine-looking trawler also heading south. It had been at anchor in front of my place for a few days back in the Bay. I hailed the skipper and we talked for a bit about this classic design by a Norwegian shipbuilder. She is a wooden boat, a rarity these days. She had been built in NE Canada just a few years ago and was now seeing the sights in the SOC. For some reason, when I looked back at her for the last time, I thought of Peter Pan and Capt. Hook. Must be too much lime juice. Bon Voyage, explorers.




The wind has come up a bit, and I spot these ominious warnings on the horizon. Might be a good time to start back up north to Pt. Conception and then home to Mulege. I am about 38 miles away now. Could get a bit lumpy and I am glad Co-pilot is not aboard ("I don't like waves!")


I trolled a new color of Mirrolure as a test and it did very well. Caught 2 nice cabrilla along the rocky points and ledges.


I usually troll the deep-diving Mirrolures as fast as I can without popping them..at times I can get almost 8mph out of them..most often 6-7 will do the trick. And the new ones will run down to 30 feet, so be careful to stay in 30 feet or better. I cut it a little close here, but it produced results.



Just one of many commercial fishing buoys. Steer clear of these as they will have smaller buoys out to the side with a rope connecting the two..a good prop snag for you to avoid at all costs.





Ah..almost to the ramp. The Mulege Lighthouse and river mouth.










It gets VERY shallow at low tide coming into the Mulege estuary, so be careful and go slow. Once a few years ago, we had to wade in that muck. Never again!


This day is over and I am home. Whew..almost a hundred miles round-trip. Kept a nice limit of 5 fish. That will be a nice fish dinner for many people. I nice yellowtail, 2 cabrilla, and 2 pintos. All great on the grill, right Co-pilot? I'm still on target, tesoro.


NEXT DAY'S FISHING REPORT - FEB 20TH - THE WINDY ONE!


Wind? Did you say WIND??!!

It was sooo windy today.. that my dog had to back up to bark.

(Okay, okay, so it's an oldie..)




Back to the baithole. Hmm..strong offshore winds seem to be telling us something, but we ain't listening too well..yet. Careful, careful..we don't want to ram Mateo up there.



Uh...guys, it's look a little bumpy out there. Waddya think?

Oh, it'll lay down. Be perfectly calm in an hour or so..not to worry.



Hmm..not too many boats out here today...must have overslept.


Hmmm..Guys, doesn't look it's laying down too much. Guys? Guys? Waddya think?


HEY..how about THAT! FISH ON!



When the boat is rocking, always, always have a hand on the rail. We had now caught a fish..our job was done and we could return to port without losing face.


Speaking of faces, yours looks a wee bit wet, Macy. Would you like a towel? Rainsuit? Body glove? Think of it as a bath.
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We make it back to dry land. Of course that doesn't matter a bit, because we are already soaked through and through.

Note: We have learned a valuable lesson today in the wind and spray.

- Pack more Tecate if Two Dogs is coming.


I am prepared for the next WIND EVENT. I had devised what I considered to be state of the art live-rigging in gale force winds..but unfortunately was not able to put it to the test. Next time for sure! I call it The Mulege Necklace.

I sure hope you like doing these Roger because they sure provide a lot of enjoyment for a lot of people here, me included of course . Thanks again, ++Ken++

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Bondy I sure hope you like doing these Roger because they sure provide a lot of enjoyment for a lot of people here, me included of course . Thanks again, ++Ken++

You could not be any more correct Ken. My wife is heading to La Paz in 3 weeks to find a job and a house for my boat,uh, I mean us. I hope to be making posts like this from La Paz and points north and south within a year. Mrs. Dra. Bajabass and co-pilot need to get together Roger, we can fish!!

Pompano, Holy Cow that is some weight setup. Pomp, was that a staged shot or is it really what it takes to get to the bottom. Inquiring minds want to know. As you may deduce from my comment I am not really a fisherman!

Ah's a pukin

You're lucky you weren't on a party boat, Roger - they don't leave when the wind comes up.

I once came up to visit my friend in Monterey and do some fishing back in the 70's. The wind came up much like in your pictures and half of the people were seasick (and the other half didn't look too good either).

Anyway there was a black GI on the rail next to us bent over the rail just retching the whole time. I guess he noticed us watching because he slowly turned his head to the right and said:

"I's a pukin. Fish's a bitin. And my head is going round and round. Sheeeet"

It wasn't funny at the time but as time passed he became known as "I's a pukin" and became a great memory for the two of us.

[Edited on 2-23-2010 by Skipjack Joe]

HOLA POMPANO

Ahhh...WINDY DAYS...

My son and I have had a few windy fishing days on trips to the East Cape.
A couple of times we were in the outer fringes of oncoming hurricanes and it wasn't much fun. BUT...we were there to fish and weren't going to waste a day. I know how it feels to be wet. When you're riding in an open Super Panga, there's not many places to hide.

However...one windy day with big rollers was actually one of our best fishing days. We were fishing for Striped Marlin and the extra action the waves provided made the lures move around more and made them more enticing to the Stripers.

KEEP YOUR WONDERFUL REPORTS COMING! I really enjoy them and you're pictures are really great!!...and oh...ummm...ah...the pictures of
co-pilot are nice too!


Miguel aka: Amo Pescar