Bait, Beans, and Octopus.

BAIT AND FISHING REPORT - MAY 19, 40 YEARS AGO



This is what happened so long ago.

A local buddy, Roberto, using his throw net - a 'ta-ron-yah' - at Posada Concepcion in 1975.

Having coffee early one morning on a beachfront patio, we see a school of silvery lisas (like a little mullet) right close to shore. You can see them dimpling the surface..even with the poor fuzziness of these captured-from-video photos. Perfect time for a throw...

Roberto makes his shoulder-hung net ready...



..and makes the toss...



...circling a bunch of the bait school...perfect toss, amigo! Being a local fisherman for many years in the Bay, he's had a lot of practice.



..Robert deftly draws up the net with the lisas trapped inside....the weights sewn into the bottom of the net come together like a purse.



He lifts them up as in a satchel...



..and shakes them off into my water-filled cooler, a makeshift livewell...done deal!



And there we now have some live bait. So....there was nothing else to do, buy say..."Let's go fishing!" On my birthday that winter, Roberto gave me that throw net and it hung in my game room at Coyote for many years. A fine remembrance of a fun day with my amigo on the waters of Conception Bay.

We make a quick lunch and then Jake and I head for Roca Frijoles...Bean Rocks, a well-known rockpile in the southern half of Conception Bay. Just out in front a bit from Playa Buenaventura (Mark & Olivia's) This barn-sized pile of big rocks comes up very quickly from the 90ft deep surrounding waters to an average depth of 12 feet. Lots and lots of big and weird creatures have been caught at this famous reef over the years.

And as soon as I let the weighted live-rigged lisa down the dozen feet to the rock tops below...Bingo!...I get a hit. Kind of a weird hit, though...now what?, I think...and as I bring the 'whatever' to the surface..this is what I see!



Well, shiver me timbers, matey. My first...and only... octopus on hook and line. That's fine, I thought...Fishing is like whiskey, it's all good!



Was I surprised, you ask? Yes, indeed..like this defendant at a...

- Court of Inquiry - Church House - London

Barrister: "Were you surprised when the lights turned from red to red and green? "
Defendant: "Surprised! Christ!.. You could have buggered me through me Oilskins. "
Judge: "What did the Witness say?"
Barrister: "He said he was taken aback, M'Lord."



And Yes! Like it's cousin, the squid, it's a Squirter! Got Roberto right in the face!



It had a death grip on my bait...one of Roberto's net caught lisas.







Some Octopus facts for the curious:

Two-Spotted Octopus - common name
Pulpo - local name
(Octopus bimanculatus) - brainiac name

About this octopus:

This guy has a variable color that can quickly change from mottled brown , gray, red, or rusty to yellow-green. The Two-Spotted Octopus has a warty skin not found in most octopi. The sexes are similar in size and appearance.

The Two-Spotted Octopus is found under intertidal and subtidal rocks and in crevices up to 150 feet deep in the water column. It ranges in total length from 10 to 18 inches and is found in all Mexican waters.

The Two-Spotted Octopus is very similar to the California Two-Spot Octopus, which has a blue chain eyespot. - feeds primarily on bivalve mollusks. It is collected by Mexican commercial divers throughout the Sea of Cortez, seriously impacting population levels. Scientific information about the lifestyle of this species is limited. However, I welcome additional comments and pictures of other octopi you might have found in Mexican waters.

Here's a photo of a neighborhood lad who shows his prize from a rubber tire his dad had anchored on the bottom of Coyote Bay.

I think he's yelling.."Mom, get the marinade ready!"



Back in 1973, our Mazatlan dive guide to the islands shows off his catch. He wanted to keep this little guy to take home for dinner. I wondered how small his family must be?




All octopi are known in Mexico as pulpos. They are cephalopods inhabiting a diverse region of the ocean, from the interdial zone to moderate depths and especially in and around coral reefs and tidal pools. All have eight legs, usually with sucker cups. They have the ability to quickly change shape, skin texture, and color, blending into their environment. When stressed these octopi can shoot out a cloud of ink as a smokescreen and vanish. My specimen did the nasty in my livewell. They are also capable of biting, with a beak found in the middle of the eight legs, delivering a small amount of toxin that is adequate to paralyze crabs and small fish, but which is generally harmless to humans. Females attach eggs to a sheltered area in rocks often as in an overhang or in small caves. They are highly intelligent and have very short life spans which on average are two years. They remain of interest to the scientific community due to their ability to tell the difference between colors and shapes, which they can retain for up to two years. In some parts of the world, including Mexico, they are consumed as food. An aunt of my amigo, Manuel, would often give me jars of pickled octopus as a present whenever I went to visit her family. Pretty yummy as an appetizer or my favorite...skewer-stuck in a martini glass.

I thought briefly of taking it to town for Manuel's aunt to marinate, but an impulse made me put it alive into the bait cooler and then later released it on the beach of Barga Island. It was one of my PollyAnna moments and I hoped that it would become a neighbor I could visit from time to time.

I think he liked the dark sanctuary of the cooler, because once back into the sea, I had to nudge him with my foot.

Off you go, buddy...



The octopus was not as eager for fellowship as I it seems, because I never saw it again....



NOTE: Another thing I recall about that day. (excuse all this nostalgia, but it goes with aging.) While snorkling off Barga Island and watching that octopus heading for the rocks, it was the first and last time I saw a live sea horse in the Bay. It paddled/swam right up to my face mask as if to say, "Howdy, pardner." Some kind of day!


[Edited on 5-22-2015 by Pompano]

Interesting!