Pompano Boat Trip Report - March 23, 2010

Yellowtail Day

Today was a day to just 'get out on the water' again.

We've had way too many windy days. It's been weird for wind this year. That many consecutive days of wind usually happens in this stretch of the SOC in February, (the Loco Month).. not March.

There's gotta be a good reason for this, so I'm blaming it on the Swedes gorging on frijoles.
.

One thing I'm doing different today.
I'm up early, but not in such a hurry to get on the water. The early bird reasoning (for me anyway)... was making bait. The common belief is that bait is only available in the wee hours before...yawn... dawn. Well, I knew better years ago, but lately I have somehow fallen into the habit of making pre-dawn bait...seriously cutting into my snoring time.

Sure, there are countless other reasons to get on the water in pitch blackness...but making bait ain't one of them!
Of course, it could be that I am getting lazy.

Okay, okay..enough excuses...so I finally make it to the baithole off Party Beach at Punta Prieta, Mulege. Well, even as late as I am, the place is still busy with baitmakers.


I see my usual spot for bigeyes is pretty crowded up ahead there.. so I stop where I am, turn on the baitfinder and..Presto!..there they are right below me. I drop my 2 Sabiki rigs down to the bottom, crank up about 2 feet..and rat-tat-tat-tat...get 4 mackerel on each one on the first drop. Got to be some kind of personal record there. Quickly shedding the baits into the livewell and setting a 3-minute timer on the aereator, I drop the sabikis down again. This time I get a couple bigeyes, a smallish mack that I liked, and some weird UFO (unidentified finny object).




Well, I had enough baits and I had only been at the baithole for 10 minutes...now what? The wind had come up NNE at 9-12 knots and it looked to be damn bumpy for the long trip north to San Marcos. I stared at the dark blue water forming on the horizon and my back started aching. Well, shoot.. Goddang Swede Syndrome again...for sure I can't go that way. It's a 17 mile run to Seal Rock and Jorge's Reef.






.
.
Then I look east and south...and receive an omen from Neptune. A shaft of bright sunlight beckons me to Wilbur's Hole and beyond. Great..Wilbur's is only about 6 1/2 miles away on a tangent to the wind...I'll start there. I'm a great believer in following omens.

.
.




Underway, I come upon our first ocean sighting of the day. Shrimpers are always worth a photo or three.

.
.


I arrive at Wilbur's Hole after a short run and drop a mackerel down to about 220 ft over the rock piles at 238ft.

I had barely set the clicker and poured myself a cup of coffee when I heard the first zzzzzz of the day...



...and brought to the box this nice yellowtail. A nice fight and I almost lost him on a final thrust under the stern. I put that size-12 watershoe in there for a judging gauge.

.
.
I put down my rod and just sat there, drifting and daydreaming...not doing a damn thing...just being lazy...and more than a little sleepy...

I was almost asleep when I heard something..and looked up.

I saw a small pod of porpoise swimming around the boat. They said, "Hey!..Got some time?... follow us!"




Well, talking porpoise was clearly another omen, so naturally I had to go with them...

.
.

They took me to the old mine at Point Conception. I had not been so close to this place in ...oh, 20-30 years or so I suppose. Wow, good to see it again..and the place has not changed much. Now how the heck did those porpoise know I would like seeing this familar old site again?




What's left of the ore-ship loading pier.

.
.
Some pelicans fly by and this sound comes down, "Hola, Pompano...remember Osprey Rock?"

..sigh..I sure do, guys. I camped/fished/snorkled by that rock so long ago...
.
.
I follow the porpoise south as the pelicans join their buddies for a bull-session on the rocks.

.
.
Now the porpoise ask me if I have any bait left...and if so, how about tossing them one or two by way of gratitude?

Sure thing I said...how's this one look?!


"Looks delicious to us, amigo..toss it here...just try to keep it away from those pesky gulls."

No problemo, guys...Here, Catch!

..Opps..gee, those gulls are FAST.


.
.
The porpoise are gone..disappeared into the waves. "Hey, sorry about that, guys...I tried, really I did. Guys?...yoo-hoo... guys?....sigh.."

.
.
In the distance I see Mulege is burning, so I head back to town quickly.

False alarm, it's just Tim firing up his pipe at El Patron's.

.
.
Heading for the floating dock on the Rio Mulege.

.

The late afternoon sun catches the white of the lighthouse and harbor captain's office.
.
.
I trailer the boat, and head for the highway Pemex to top off the pickup's diesel and the boat's gas tank. Took a few pesos. 1820 more into Mexico's economy...
.
.


I head for home...but first stop at Ana's Santispac to barter for my bar bill and offset the fuel bill.

Gracias, Russ and Lupe. Now home to clean up the boat and gear.
.
.


Highway view overlooking Posado anchorage on the way home to Coyote.

See you on the ocean next time..saludos.





[Edited on 3-25-2010 by Pompano]

Thanks Pompano!

Nice photos, nice fish !

Thanks to all and, like myself, I'm glad you like the sea.

Man!!! I can't wait to retire...in 20 years...

Darn, they sure look good on this 20" HP2009m monitor I got for Christmas! Now if this computer dummie could figure out how to downsize pics, , I am computer challenged Pomp, so I love your work. Hope to share a rock pile off San Bruno one day soon!