BajaNomad - That ultimate hook up.

That ultimate hook up.

baitcast - 4-10-2011 at 02:26 PM

We did this four years ago and had alot of fun with it,lots of new folks also.

That ultimate hook up

If you have been fishing very long this has happened to you maybe more than once,that hook-up that brute that you have no control over,and a fight thats seems to last forever only to lose him,maybe never even getting a look at him,its that one hook-up that you will never,ever forget.

The one that sticks in my mind most was 1963,on the stern of the old red rooster,Guadalupe Island,12:00 midnight soaking a big mac just off the bottom,my weapon of choice was an old black 6/0 penn loaded with 60#,I remember everything about the encounter,including losing him at 1:30!! 90 min. of hell but loving every sec. of it,felt like I had been in a train wreck.

Now lets hear one of yours,I,m sure there are some great storys out there.
I will bring back a couple of the good ones also.

[Edited on 4-10-2011 by baitcast]

shari - 4-10-2011 at 02:37 PM

my ultimate hook-up was when I landed Juan!!!!! I'll never forget THAT either....jajajaja

Cypress - 4-10-2011 at 02:44 PM

baitcast, You should have spooled up with 120 #.

baitcast - 4-10-2011 at 02:51 PM

Story by Vgabndo
Fishing with a buddy in his panga on the San antonio end of Bahia San Nicolas

We had been pretty well skunked by the yellows at Ildifonso, and our carnada was gone or dead so we had been drifting cut bait across the bottom in about 80 feet of water. I was fishing a joke under the circumstances. A Penn 9/0 with 80 lb. dacron and 8' of 60 # SS leader. Very slowly I was aware that I was hung up, and when the drift got beyond my drag setting I eased off and told my partner I had the bottom.

We had come to the end of the drift so he fired up the little kicker and started to back us up wind of my snag to see if I could save my rig. In the process of keeping a tight line and adapting to my buddy's wild attempts to back up (!) I was watching the line and the shore and the boat and came to the inescapable conclusion that the bottom was moving.

We positioned the panga to let me get my knees against the gunnel and I started laying some pressure on it. LOTS of pressure. There was never a surge, no headshake, no dipping of the massive roller rod tip. The pressure was relentless and slowly moving from my left to my right. Then it turned directly away from us and wandered away. When the spool was half empty I laid on the rest of the drag until one end of the stainless 60 pound leader failed.

There was a lot of talk about Russian Subs, but I suspect I must have snagged a big Manta.

Like the man said...you never forget

baitcast - 4-10-2011 at 03:16 PM

Story by Igor
The most memorable fish I lost was probably my first tarpon on the Yucatan.

My ex and I were traveling by van through southern Mexico back in 1983 when someone at a resort (Boca Paila, are you familiar with it?) recommended that we camp on a spit of land that connects the Carribean with an enormous lagoon.

I waded out there with my Mitchell 300 spinning reel and a 5 inch rapala and started casting in the shallows, by the outflow. Finally I come up solid on something out there and out comes this fish that looks to be the size of a canoe. I mean, I am standing in knee deep water and expecting snapper size fish or a snook or something. My jaw just dropped.

In the beginning the fish jumped a lot and I thought I had a chance. About a half an hour into it he stops jumping and there is no movement whatsoever.

"What now?", I think to myself.

Then the line starts to go out slowly ... out to sea. I put all the pressure I can on that fish. I hold the rod straight level so that all the pressure is on the butt of the rod. Still he goes out.

I see the knot starting to show at the bottom of the reel. Finally it's at the knot. I start to wade deeper and pull back. I keep going deeper and deeper. I am finally neck deep in the water, holding the rod above me as I keep hoping. Finally the line breaks ....

I wade out of the water, wet T-shirt and all and plant my butt down on the shoreline. I sat there for about a half hour with a big smile on my face.

Usually you don't know you've had an experience of a lifetime until it's long gone. That was not the case here. I knew this was a very special day in my life.

AmoPescar - 4-10-2011 at 03:54 PM

ULTIMATE HOOK-UPS?

Oh my goodness...there have been MANY over the years!

But one I remember most was fishing on a Super Panga out of Palmas de Cortez on the the East Cape. My son and I had set out looking for Roosters and since they were our goal, we only brought about six rods, mostly in the 7'-8' range and reels loaded with 15-40# test.

Well, the roosters were just not biting, so the skipper started back north stopping to try several spots. After a couple of stops, we got into a school of 15-20# Yellowfins and had a blast loading up on those. During this stop, I also caught and released a Sailfish and also managed to hook and catch a Wahoo that was about 40#.

We were VERY happy with how our day had turned out and would have been perfectly happy to head in. BUT...in the afternoon, the Pangero got a radio call that they had found the large school of "BIG" Yellowfins about 4 miles out, so we pulled in our lines and he raced out to where the YF were located.

Reaching that area was actually one of the coolest moments we ever experienced on the water while fishing!!! Every direction you looked for hundreds of yards, there were hundreds of jumping Dolphins...and Giant Yellowfins jumping right along with them!

We baited up our heaviest rigs (8' rod, 40# on 4/0 Penn) and tossed them in and we were hooked up immediately. On that first hook-up, I was hooked up to a monster and fought him for over half an hour. But, in the end...I was over matched by a big fish on too light of a rig!

I did however, get hooked up again...and won the battle over an 88# Yellowfin!! My son (who was 12 at the time) lost a couple and landed a couple in the 40-50# range.

Happy from a great day of fishing, we headed back, having experienced one of our best fishing days ever!

Miguelamo :yes:

Santiago - 4-10-2011 at 07:41 PM

My buddy and I are trolling Rapalas out at Guadalupe Reef in the middle of a good yellowtail surface bite., mid-riff area. Both of our rods go off seconds from each other and the fights are on. About 3 or 4 minutes into it my line goes slack and I reel in empty line, nada. My buddy brings his fish in to gaff and when we get it in, my lure is in its mouth and my broken line is wrapped around his line and his lure is gone. Go figure. To date, we still argue whose fish that was.

baitcast - 4-11-2011 at 12:37 PM

Towed to sea

Not being able afford a boat in my early trips to willard bay,just next door to Gonzaga I did all my fishing from the beach, punta willard and walking distance from Papa Fernandez,s campo and it was there I met my first rooster-fish.

Every morning first light you could hear them coming,hunderds of mullet would be out front with a dozen or so huge pez-gallo in hot pursuit, the noise would wake us up every morning and if it didn,t my daughter would,"WAKE UP DAD THE ROOSTERS ARE HERE" and I would jump up and grab my rod and start throwing everything I owned at them and never a touch,what to do?

I began to put together the master plan no boat,what could I use to get off the beach? then I remembered a friend who had a one man life raft,problem fixed.

The following took place in front of PaPa,s casa 1966 or 67,I had the raft inflated and in the ready position,two outfits,one for snagging a mullet and the other for fishin,and here they come just like I knew they would,my heart rate started to climb just like I knew it would.

It didn,t take long to snag a mullet,pinned him on a hook an jumped in the raft and shoved off,I hadn,t went 50 yds when two big boys crashed the bait,an I was hooked up to a fish I had dreamt about for two years,everything was going to plan,but then he had other ideas an started steaming east toward the mouth of the bay doing a easy 40 knots.

I began hearing cheering from the camp "Dads got a rooster ya ya"but I think it was the other way around.

One man life rafts do not tow straight I found,they do slow spins and things were getting out of control,the line was heavy enough so no problem there,and as the man said "getting towed to sea by a large fish what a hoot"

To shorten the story,after he cleared the point he headed south with me a couple hunderd yds behind,sharp rocks an fishing line do not mix! and that was that.

I will never forget that morning and think of it often.
BAITCAST

moogie - 4-14-2011 at 11:36 AM

I don't have any stories about losing fish.
I never lose them, except for the Striped Marlin I lost last year, and the 70 pound Rooster that took me into the rocks,

and the giant Bluefin that beat me up for 2 hours and then the hook pulled out,
and the 15 pound largemouth bass that jumped at the boat and threw the hook,
and the huge Yellowfin tuna that a seal took away from me,
and the 150 pound Tarpon that a shark chewed to pieces. . . . .
There's not enough room on this board for all my grief!
Moog

baitcast - 1-7-2016 at 12:53 PM

Its been really dead in here so I thought I would bring back an old posting for some reading might get something going.
Rob

My best hook up

Howard - 1-7-2016 at 01:07 PM

I remember this bar in Bangkok...................

dtbushpilot - 1-7-2016 at 02:13 PM

At Squid Row, Cabo San Lucas, October 2003....

Bob53 - 1-7-2016 at 02:28 PM

One that comes to mind was about 15 years ago. A couple friends and I were in my boat out around the 182 bank off southern California trolling for Marlin. We had been trolling for hours without a single knockdown or any sea life in sight. All of a sudden one of the rods went off and we quickly reeled in the other three. I grabbed the hooked rod and began what turned out to be a 2 hour long battle with what I'll never know. It never jumped and we never got a look at it. After it came off, I reeled in the line and the stainless hook had been straightened.

baitcast - 5-7-2017 at 07:08 AM

Its been to quiet lately,need some fishin stories.
BUMP

bajabuddha - 5-7-2017 at 07:42 AM

My last hook-up

The very last fish I battled in Baja was a doozy. I was out at the west side of the north light rock of Isla San Marcos SE of Sta. Rosalia, bouncing iron hoping for a yeller. Wham! and TUG! The fun was on. I was in my 14' inflatable, and had my short rod w/ 50# test. Whatever it was gave a straight on pull, stripping line off my reel. Damn thing was towing my boat north, then east for deeper water, and out to sea we went. It spooled me twice, my depth finder said it was deep... I was frantically running my 9.9 motor steering the extension tiller with my armpit while trying to manage my drag and not completely run out of line. The event lasted an hour and forty-five minutes, and took me over 4 miles of distance. By the time I got the beast to the boat it was after noon-time and the afternoon breeze was kicking up; and I was over 9 miles out from San Lucas Cove... that's a loooong way home in chop, a bad spankin' for sure. People were calling me on the radio to see if I was ok.

It turned out to be a big manta... size-wise I don't know how much it weighed, I'd guestimate between 70 and a bazillion pounds... a wing span of over five feet easy. I did finally bring it to the surface and right next to my boat, and while trying to get my camera out of my waterproof bag, turn it on, and get a souvenir pic of my most epic adventure, just as I got the camera to life my lure went flying over my head..... and I think they heard me holler all the way back in camp. The one barb (barbless) on my hook was straightened out like a pin. It was only a 5/8 oz. blue Krokodile lure. Figgered I was gonna cut the line to release it anyway; still have that lure in my tackle box for nostalgia's sake.

The One That Got Away.

[Edited on 5-7-2017 by bajabuddha]

BajaMama - 5-7-2017 at 04:35 PM

On a chartered sport fisher out of San Diego about 15 years ago - I was the only woman on the boat (and I am only 4'11" we got into tuna. The best hook up of that day was when the deck hands, chumming behind me, saw me get bit so I jokingly started counting 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5, clicked it in gear and bam set the hook. The deck hands were cheering! It was one of those days when after my hubby and I caught enough, we started hooking and handing.

[Edited on 5-7-2017 by BajaMama]

Cliffy - 5-7-2017 at 06:41 PM

30 years ago I was with a buddy on the outside of Isla Smith in BOLA in my 15' Bayrunner and hooked something big on my Salas jig. Fought it for a while and it and my jig disappeared. Next thing we see is a whale shark next to my boat way bigger than my boat. It was just doing its thing as we maneuvered around it. I know it didn't take my jig but boy was it big compared to my little tin boat!

A few years before that I was in another buddies 14' Glastron off shore about half way to Catalina Island (ya, we were all of 10 miles off shore) drifting for rockcod down 500' when we see a gray whale roll on the surface about 200 yds away. It was moving our way and as it got next to us we saw it had a calf. It actually went directly under us and as the cow went by she rolled left and looked up right at us looking down over the gunnel at her. She was mighty big and we were mighty small at that moment! That big right eye was just staring at us as she went under. That was the biggest one that got away in my book!

More of a catch and release type story

Sonora Wind - 5-17-2017 at 01:01 PM

It was May 1993, a different sort of year on the Cortez. Wife and I were trolling long side a Long Liner hauling in sharks. Dodos everywhere and finally as the last shark came aboard the deckhand of the long liner held up the bill of what I would estimate was a 200+ Blue Marlin. The point was I could have the billfish if I came along side a gave a good look for the crew of my bikini clad new custom double D wife's boob job (sorry but they where a great set, and did I mention the pink bikini). So at this point I have 20 Dodos and this nice fresh caught blue on board and it's only 9am. Long line in, no more shark guts in the water dodos leave. About that time I spy another long liner a mile south. Off we go to catch more Dorado. But when we arrive I see a big splash and see they just tossed a 100+ sailfish overboard. I gaff that sucker and haul him on board. I guess they can't keep them so the bi-catch goes overboard. Sad. That day we caught it all on a Pink Chi chi granda. The only thing that got away was the wife. She swam away shortly after that trip. Catch and release :cool:

woody with a view - 5-17-2017 at 01:23 PM

The one(s) that got away keep me coming back!

baitcast - 8-6-2021 at 09:14 AM

Its so quite ! doesn't anybody fish any more?

Tioloco - 8-6-2021 at 09:35 AM

Quote: Originally posted by shari

my ultimate hook-up was when I landed Juan!!!!! I'll never forget THAT either....jajajaja

The title of this thread had me thinking like you! haha!

boe4fun - 8-6-2021 at 10:16 AM

Hooked onto a basking shark out of Morro Bay once. It was on the surface and as I approached it (giving it plenty of girth), it spun and descended, latching onto my port downrigger. I had two lures hard tied with a 10 pound weight, and the large croc hooked the beast! I thought he was gonna rip off my port gunnel before the line finally broke!

Skipjack Joe - 8-6-2021 at 11:18 AM

Quote: Originally posted by shari

my ultimate hook-up was when I landed Juan!!!!! I'll never forget THAT either....jajajaja

That comment is dated.

BornFisher - 8-6-2021 at 12:17 PM

Dropping a mackerel down getting picked up by some monster that I had to break off was the biggest. Best was either the 55# white sea bass on a bass rig or the 15# ling cod that won second place and $1,000.

Adding a pic from Monday, calico that went 21", weighed about 5lbs and made a wonderful dinner last night! Had to pull him up a 30' cliff between some big waves! Caught 6 calicos that session, kept only the pictured fish!

calicobass.jpg - 127kB

willardguy - 8-6-2021 at 12:47 PM

nicely done! was that from your front yard?

BornFisher - 8-6-2021 at 01:55 PM

Quote: Originally posted by willardguy

nicely done! was that from your front yard?

Thanks, yeah basically, actually about 150' to the left of my refrigerator, so easy walk to refresh!! That was a great session, but Tuesday`s session was terrible!!!

willardguy - 8-6-2021 at 02:48 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BornFisher

Quote: Originally posted by willardguy

nicely done! was that from your front yard?

Thanks, yeah basically, actually about 150' to the left of my refrigerator, so easy walk to refresh!! That was a great session, but Tuesday`s session was terrible!!!

yeah im just down the road, today is the first day it isn't howling! 150' from the refrigerator sounds perfect

Don Jorge - 8-6-2021 at 05:55 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BornFisher

Adding a pic from Monday, calico that went 21", weighed about 5lbs and made a wonderful dinner last night! Had to pull him up a 30' cliff between some big waves! Caught 6 calicos that session, kept only the pictured fish!

That is a nice calico from the bluff and great table fare for a sure. Well done!