Nostalgia anyone? (It ain't what it used to be)

As my old Serinadad greeter-amigo, Pete, would always say….Mucho Howdies, Amigos.

Good to see all of you again. As some Nomads have noted, I’ve been AWOL from the forum for awhile. The usual lame excuses:…sick, hospitals, recuperating and boring as hell...blah, blah, blah...then some fun nomadic adventures. I’m back now. And so… the following is in the way of a warm up to post again on BajaNomads.

To begin, I’m in a nostalgic mood this morning and got to thinking about some of my old Baja fishing reports.
Here’s an early one. By it’s title I suspect it was of my first? But hey, it’s Baja, so who really knows anything…except that it changes.

Hint: I’m just glad that memories give one the power to gather roses in winter.


From a few years back:


Pompano Fish Report #1, Feb 14th.

Okay, ... FISHING!

Let me explain that I live near Mulege so I mainly fish from Sta. Rosalia to Loreto..but make occasional sidetrips to the East Cape, Mag Bay, etc....also western US, Canada, Alaska, across the salt ponds, rivers, sloughs, water traps, wet bars, and bogs...I really like to fish!!

I love my time on the water and like to share my experiences with all interested. I've never been one to keep fishing hotspots or techniques a secret. Why hide your joys & successes? There’s plenty of fishing fun for all! Personally, in all that time spent on the water..I have found there are TWO truths to fishing.

1. You'll never know it all.
2. You’ll never want to!


Enough palaver...let's get to fishing…and if we’re deserving, some catching.

These last 3 days (13th-15th) have been good for yellowtail and cabrilla using live bait and trolling Mirrolures! Lots of fast action!

We are getting an early start, about 5:30 a.m. As I have already packed the Yarcraft (open fish boat) the night before.



Just grab your lunch and get aboard. I’ll meet you at the boat landing. You do have a current tetanus shot, right?






First stop will be a 1/2 mile north of Mulege river entrance at Punta Prieta..where we will make bait..bigeyes and mackerel are what we'll be jigging for with our weighted Sabiki multi-hook rigs. (See the photo of a big eye..good live bait for yellows, cabrilla, & grouper.)





A lot of local commercial and sports fishermen use this spot, so if it's a little crowded this morning, but I know a spot about a mile further north where there's always lots of baits.






Unfortunately some pesky barracuda too!

Let your weighted jig free-spool quickly to the bottom and you'll avoid most of those toothy slimes...small barracuda…ugh. We’ll make about 6 baits per person. If you lose them all, it's time to pitch iron!

Remember, the limit is a total of 5 fish … for most species. But..most times we won't be killing 5 yellows or cabrilla per person, so if you are just after filling your freezer?... get out of my boat..now.



Okay, we’re done bait-making. We now have enough baits in our 30 gallon live well plus made some cut-baits…which reminds me…Did you bring any crackers?

We’re headed for a steady 'tail' producer about 3 miles off Pta. Chivato in 240-270 feet. Right now the fish are real active from first light to 10:30 so we have plenty of time.



We will be rigging your reel's spool with 50lb test using circle hooks and a 3-4oz sliding egg sinker. NO swivels or other hardware...just line with a sliding weight, then the hooked bait . I see you know how to tie a blood cinch or Palomar knot...good enough for this kind of fishing.

Here we are at my GPS coordinates from last week. And there's already a few fishermen with 'fish on!' (Well, if you would have made bait a little quicker, we would have been here a little sooner!)...I figure you’ll try harder manana. (Here's a bait-making tip to make things easier and lots quicker for you...Crimp the barbs down on those Sabiki hooks and use a spoon for a quick release..Pop ‘em…right into the livewell. You’ll look like a real pro, amigo.)

Now let's each net-dip a bait and punch the circle hook completely through the nose just below the eyes...it really doesn't hurt that much, except when you get the barb a long ways into your thumb.

We let the bait free spool down to the 245 foot bottom and crank it back up about 10 feet...then back to free spool with just the clicker on to hold the bait at that level...you might have to adjust from time to time to compensate for wave or swell action taking some line.

Remember…Pay attention to your rod!




Let's do one deep and the other just fly lining with no weight...rod, line, hook, and bait, that's it. Let that one out a long ways...let it swim down, down, down...and wait for the hit.




Now we're set...and suddenly the clicker goes ...zzzz...zzzzzzzzz....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..and you've got the rod back in your hands and …WHAMMO!..you throw the reel into gear and set that hook HARD! You try to cross that fish's eyes! But it just peees him off and now he's headed for the bottom...BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!

You're not stopping him very fast...I would adjust that drag a bit. Okay, now he's slowed up and it's time to show him who's boss. Pump and reel time. Keep it up...he's gonna take a little back now and then, but you are stronger and that rod’s not going to break. Pump and reel...pump and reel.

This might take some time. Where did you put your lunch, by the way?

Good man! I see color...




MADRE!, that's a big one..might go 40 lbs or more. ( You have got to remember to say that without smiling) Keep that line tight and get him closer to my gaff...easy now...easy..a little closer...THERE!...Opps! ..Carumba!!...okay, okay, I'll get him next time….

GOT HIM!...oof-da… jeez, nice fish!





If wanted, take your picture first , then you cut and tailrope him over the side to bleed out….then we box him on ice. Now get back to fishing …or take a short break and look around while I finish your sandwich and beer.

And get your shoe out of my fishbox.

That's Tortuga over to the north-northeast and San Marcos to the left towards Sta. Rosalia. Pta. Chivato is close by to the west. Very little wind and no swells at all. Surface temperature is 65.8 degrees. Bright skies. Couldn't be a better day.

Okay, we got 5 nice yellows..and broke a couple off..let's call it a day on them and head over to Sta. Inez's 'Lighthouse Island' and try trolling some Mirrolures for cabrilla.

Why troll, you ask?

I started as a Huckleberry Finn type, and then became engaged in less serious fishing during the last 50 years. Trolling permits one to relax…open a cold one… start a warm conversation....
...or if alone, to put your feet up...... and contemplate why you’re out here wearing two different sneakers.



Why cabrilla, you ask?

Well, it's Valentine's Day and that fish is Co-Pilot's favorite so let's go catch her a dinner. We can troll 3 lines if you're experienced enough to keep them untangled...2 if not. I abhor tangles and can get crotchety if you don't pay attention. Remember, we are a long swim from shore and I like to fish with chum.

So here we are in 30-60 feet just offshore of that island...lots of rocks down there and the screen shows mucho pescado! Get those 9" Mirrolures...I don't care what color...tied directly onto your mono with nothing else, no swivels, etc…nothing at all...just another Palomar knot or your favorite trolling knot will do. Get it back behind mine a little bit...cuz I want the first hit, duh!

Learn to tweak it left or right..up and down. I would also troll at the highest speeds possible for whatever lure or bait I was using. Then run a zigzag course, speeding up and down occasionally. You will find you will most always get a strike on changes of direction and speed. (Ever watch a coyote running down a snowshoe hare or someone’s poodle in the winter?..same thing.) Also, if windy, your downwind troll generally produces more. If you have a choice, fish the windy shores rather than the lee.



We now have them all back there about 150 feet or so...we don't want them too close to the boat. We are going to vary our speed from 3-7 knots and change direction often...that's most likely when the fish will hit..on a change of speed and/or direction. Skirting the reefs below, we nail a nice 12 pounder right off the bat!

He fights hard to the gaff, but you get him in okay. NICE cabrilla.

Okay, let's take one more, then head home..it's been a long day already and we still have to gas up, fillet fish, clean the boat, have a couple cool ones at the Jungle, get our fish stories straight, and shower for that Valentine's dinner.





After that, we get ready for tomorrow. What would you like to try for? And where?

p.s. Hint for tormorrow…. Bring a bigger lunch and way more beer. Done deal, hasta manana.


And remember folks, everyone is entitled to his own nostalgia…


[Edited on 11-24-2013 by Pompano]

Too many hooks, too many nets. They've taken their toll. Catching a few specs and redfish in the marsh, not as many as in the past, but enough to fry-up and enjoy.

Hola and welcome home !!

Btw That's a sweet motor !!! and great pics as always....suggestion..if you troll much change those plugs every 75 hrs max and make sure you indext them......K&T

Roger,
Great to see you back. Your reruns are better than most of our original posts (especially mine )

Hola Vince,

Salud! I can see you out there now, amigo... in your Whaler.....catching dinner in our front yard. What truly great times we've had there! I know you will fondly remember this. The following photo is of a scene all of us baydwellers grew used to... back in the day.

Thousands of birds in a feeding frenzy! A huge school of baitfish with plunging Beaks from above, toothy Jaws from below!

Being a bit Norsk and enthusiastic about anything finny, I was always tempted to dive overboard wth my water Nikon to snorkel around in those boils...but sanity prevailed and I remained un-chewed.





While today's scene is a little less 'active', it's still got a ton of charm.

Bayride, anyone? All Aboard!


Going north?



Or south?




Watch out for flotsam.



[Edited on 11-23-2013 by Pompano]

Looking forward to it