| Pages:
1
2
3
4
5 |
Summanus
Nomad
Posts: 481
Registered: 10-15-2006
Member Is Offline
|
|
Hah!..Not to worry, whistler....was just kidding about the fishscent. And while I really don't plan on buying out the fishing stores, I surely AM
looking forward to shopping for and collecting various fishing equipment and books about all things finny. I am a collector-hobbyist at heart and my
understanding spouse can vouch that I get caught up in my enthusiasm at times. One example is that while I own way too many shotguns, I only use 1
for all shooting events..including skeet & trap...a 21yr-old 12ga. Browning Citori O/U that knows my shoulder well...I just use different loads
for different situations.
Fishing the local party boats sounds fine to me. I have checked out some nearby Fisherman's Landing near Shelter Island. Red Rooster II, amongst
others. They feature 1/2 day and full day...plus extended multi-day trips to fishing grounds near southern Baja. I would only take the short trips,
I believe...a week or so onboard a cruising boat might not be me..but who can say? Like you say, the experience and knowledge learned would be
welcome. From the pictures they showed, all seemed to have a good time and caught a lot of fish..tuna, wahoo, and many others. One thing, though, it
seemed to me that it was more about weights and numbers than fun times. I might be wrong, though.
[Edited on 11-11-2006 by Summanus]
Summanus....ancient Roman Nightly Thunder God. He liked refrieds too.
|
|
|
Alan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1626
Registered: 4-6-2005
Location: Yucaipa, CA/La Paz
Member Is Online
|
|
That is a nice choice for a GPS/Sounder and combo units are the way to go if you have limited space. Remember though that if it breaks you lose both
a sounder and a gps. I think Lowrance makes good fresh water units but for salt I still feel Furuno is the way to go and you can't beast Garmin for
GPS. It is more than just getting a sounder. You must learn how to use it. It sounds like you are in the San Diego area. It would be well worth
your time to take a drive to Huntington Beach some evening to attend Mark Wisch's class on reading your fishfinder. It covers adjusting it properly
as well as knowing what you are seeing. You can check the class schedule at pacificedgetackle.com
Yes you can catch fish with a Penn jigmaster. I have verified that. And you can also catch fish with just a handline and a sparkplug weight and I
have done that as well. The point is is that I am at a point in my life now that I don't have to anymore. I can now buy quality reels and (even pay
a little extra for some bling). I make my own rods so they are setup just for me. So I am very happy concentrating on and savoring the fight of the
fish without having to worry about fighting my equipment or worrying about equipment failures.
Yes you can find and catch fish with triangulation or dead reckoning and I had done that for many years. GPS now lets me get to my spots much quicker
and the sounder lets me set up on structure in proper relation to the current and it lets me know if I am wasating my time there so I can move to a
more productive area. Pangueros are masters of their area. Anybody, anywhere that fishes for a living and is on the water everyday becomes a master
through necessity. When fishing any area in Baja with your own boat, even with all the toys, it would behoove you to hire a skipper for a day that is
from that area. They can show you what is biting at that time while you are there and successful techniques for catching them. Everything changes
seasonally and by locale. Hiring a skipper for the first day in an area will definitely shorten the learning curve.
|
|
|
Skeet/Loreto
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4709
Registered: 9-2-2003
Member Is Offline
|
|
Hey Whistler; Just doing a little Kidding about all those Fancy Gimmicks: To each his Own- No I am still liveing in the future, just the Past in and
on the Sea of Cortez.
Simanus: If you like Guns do a Search on my Thread, I am trying to sell a 74 Winchester built in 1942, a 235 Stevenss Double Barrell Coach Shot gun,
a 30 Cal. Lugar taken off a N-zi Officer.
Make you a good Deal.
Skeet/Loreto
|
|
|
Don Alley
Super Nomad
Posts: 1997
Registered: 12-4-2003
Location: Loreto
Member Is Offline
|
|
Fishfinder: I have a gps/fishfinder combo, Eagle, about $200, on my kayak. I'll probably put a similar cheap unit on the boat I expect to have by
spring. It tells you where you are, how deep the water is, bottom type, and the water temp. We'll have to see if it works in deeper water (to 250 ft).
But I won't be buying an expensive sonar or a chart plotter. Or radar. Although radar makes a great fishfinder: it shows where the pangeros are.
Penn Jigmaster: I remember scrubbing decks, polishing chrome to make enough money to by my first, back then the ultimate casting reel. Now, well, if
you use lighter line it gets caught between the spool and frame. Drags aren't the best. Penn Squidder, other small old Penns, retrieve too slow. But
there are some really good reels out there at many price points; you don't need an expensive reel in Baja. Except maybe for giant marlin in the Bisbee
thing.
Fancy boats: We're about to get one. Yeah, it's technically a Mexican panga, but it's a fancy one. But it's no Grady White.
Still to decide: bimini or T-top.
And Skeet, it follows years of going out mostly with the local pangeros.
But I still won't know what I'm doing and will be hiring a local skipper for quite a while.
|
|
|
Summanus
Nomad
Posts: 481
Registered: 10-15-2006
Member Is Offline
|
|
Well, I had to make a little trip and buy something..anything. I now own a nice Diawa Sealine SL-X50HA baitcaster reel with a 5:1 ratio ...1 reel
down, about 3-4 to go. Saw some Penns and a dozen other brands, but liked this Diawa the best..seems easy to use with a large handle which fits my
mitt better. The salesman showed me a feature that will lessen my mouse nests when casting...we'll see. I like the fast retrieve models best, I
believe. I got 4 'crocodile' lures, also.
On the question of a fishfinder/sonar/ etc...here is one answer from a saltwater fishing pro back east:
" If you truly serious then you all need a Furuno CH250 Sonar to find fish etc ...................
Im able to see Blue and black marlin targets on the sonar, bait schools and individual sailfish/marlin/dorado around the bait schools.
The best feature is while slow trolling 30 lb live YFT down on the downriggers Im able to see a Blue or Black marlin eat the live bait..............
Track swordfish when the sound and know when they going to surface again and throw a live bait on them, same with striped marlin and sailfish.
I know Sonars are a west coast thing and many many east coast guys dont have them, dont use them ..............I cannot fathom why not ?
Most the West Coast Serious tournament fishing boats have them installed.
-----
A release today is a fish tomorrow
Cheers"
Well, I was all pumped up when I read that...imagine scanning fish a full 360 degrees around your boat..and watching a marlin hit your bait! Then I
found out how much this unit cost. Whammo!...my budget just got puny-lookiing...can you believe about $13,000! I briefly contemplate how soon my
wife would miss her old Landcruiser. Then I learn that this is a high-tech sonar/fishfinder for commercial boats and large sportfisherman...usually
50 footers and bigger. Okay, back to reality and maybe that Garmin 250 Blue for $140 will work just fine.
Don Alley..I do know one thing about a boat at least. I was a guest on a boat with a T-top and another with a bimini with straps. The T-top was much
easier to move around on with your rod than the bimini with the tiedowns. But I am quite large and that may have made a difference.
Summanus....ancient Roman Nightly Thunder God. He liked refrieds too.
|
|
|
Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
Member Is Offline
|
|
Definitely T-top !
Even with a framed canvas top is fine.
Gives you more room to move, makes much less noise, creates a place for an electronics box up high, and it will last longer. IMHO
.
|
|
|
Summanus
Nomad
Posts: 481
Registered: 10-15-2006
Member Is Offline
|
|
T-top...also can mount spotlights for night fishing. We saw these being used for catching bait in the wee hours.
Summanus....ancient Roman Nightly Thunder God. He liked refrieds too.
|
|
|
aquaholic
Nomad
Posts: 119
Registered: 9-2-2006
Member Is Offline
|
|
...hey, Skeet...you said to learn Spanish...better check it out...Does Rey really mean Queen...???
|
|
|
FARASHA
Senior Nomad
Posts: 848
Registered: 6-3-2006
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by aquaholic
...hey, Skeet...you said to learn Spanish...better check it out...Does Rey really mean Queen...??? |
According to my dictionary is REY - KING, QUEEN would be REINA.
But depends maybe on WHO is wearing the pants ( or having the SAY) in this case
|
|
|
Summanus
Nomad
Posts: 481
Registered: 10-15-2006
Member Is Offline
|
|
Dolfinfish...Dorado
Good afternoon, FARASHA...(it's morning here) What do you know about dorado? Help me out. I already know about mispronouncing
Spanish....rey-reina-king-queen.
Dolfinfish...dorado
I am reading where the folks at the East Cape, Loreto, and Mulege are still catching dorado. Let's hope those fish are still there when I arrive. That
got me to thinking about the matter of trolling versus casting. I suppose that casting depends on whether or not you KNEW if you were in close
proximity to fish or not. After all, the open sea is a huge place to cover with a casted line. You could spend all your time and cover a relatively
small area.
So, say we are 20 miles out on the Cortez. The bottom is many hundreds, if not thousands, of feet below. You will not have bottom structure to fish,
just the top layer of the ocean. Seems to me that trolling a lure for the surface or suspended dorado is the only way to find them..unless you
actually sight them jumping or chasing some food like the flying fish. Then casting might be the thing to do, I suppose.
I realize I should have 2 rod/reel outfits ready...one for trolling, one for casting. From what I have gathered, I am thinking 30-50 lb line would be
sufficient on the trolling rod versus 20-30 lb on the casting rod? I would like to stay as lightweight as possible..within reason of course.
Other questions come to mind:
How do you know when and where to start trolling? What's your lure choice for trolling for dorado? Any particular colors better than others? And how
fast should one troll? Are windy days better than calm ones? How far behind the boat should the lure be?
Casting...I am sure I will like casting for the fish better, so what other ways can one find and catch dorado by casting? Any favorite casting lures?
Should they always be used with a steel leader with a swivel or snap? I see where green line is one favorite line color.
Your thoughts? Gracias.
[Edited on 11-12-2006 by Summanus]
Summanus....ancient Roman Nightly Thunder God. He liked refrieds too.
|
|
|
FARASHA
Senior Nomad
Posts: 848
Registered: 6-3-2006
Member Is Offline
|
|
DORADO
a BEAUTIFUL CREATURE - I like to see during my DIVES rather then dead on the deck.!
Never the less its meat is quite good, and I had plenty for cooking after Dorado competition in end of MAY/JUNE.
Fishing - last time I was fishing was AGES ago, with my Granddad.Who was a passionate fishermen (casting from shore), can't even remember.
Was tempted to go out at that time of the competition, just to watch it, but the boat was rigged up for repair. And I was depressed too. HM, maybe
next time.
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64726
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
Photo from Whistler
Photo sent to me this morning, now reduced for Nomad posting... from whistler:
|
|
|
FARASHA
Senior Nomad
Posts: 848
Registered: 6-3-2006
Member Is Offline
|
|
Is that Apple considered as a BAIT for the Vegetarian species !?
But all in all, looks a nice boat! All nicely stowed away.
|
|
|
Alan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1626
Registered: 4-6-2005
Location: Yucaipa, CA/La Paz
Member Is Online
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by Summanus
Good afternoon, FARASHA...(it's morning here) What do you know about dorado? Help me out. I already know about mispronouncing
Spanish....rey-reina-king-queen.
Dolfinfish...dorado
I am reading where the folks at the East Cape, Loreto, and Mulege are still catching dorado. Let's hope those fish are still there when I arrive. That
got me to thinking about the matter of trolling versus casting. I suppose that casting depends on whether or not you KNEW if you were in close
proximity to fish or not. After all, the open sea is a huge place to cover with a casted line. You could spend all your time and cover a relatively
small area.
So, say we are 20 miles out on the Cortez. The bottom is many hundreds, if not thousands, of feet below. You will not have bottom structure to fish,
just the top layer of the ocean. Seems to me that trolling a lure for the surface or suspended dorado is the only way to find them..unless you
actually sight them jumping or chasing some food like the flying fish. Then casting might be the thing to do, I suppose.
I realize I should have 2 rod/reel outfits ready...one for trolling, one for casting. From what I have gathered, I am thinking 30-50 lb line would be
sufficient on the trolling rod versus 20-30 lb on the casting rod? I would like to stay as lightweight as possible..within reason of course.
Other questions come to mind:
How do you know when and where to start trolling? What's your lure choice for trolling for dorado? Any particular colors better than others? And how
fast should one troll? Are windy days better than calm ones? How far behind the boat should the lure be?
Casting...I am sure I will like casting for the fish better, so what other ways can one find and catch dorado by casting? Any favorite casting lures?
Should they always be used with a steel leader with a swivel or snap? I see where green line is one favorite line color.
Your thoughts? Gracias.
[Edited on 11-12-2006 by Summanus] |
Dorado relate to structure - any structure! Check out EVERY patch of sargasso weed or ANYTHING else that is floating along. Pallets, dead seals,
trash,. It doesn't matter, pitch a bait to it. Watch the birds! Frigate birds have been especially good to me when targeting dorado. They fly so
high they see everything. Yes it is a big ocean out there but the more time you spend on it the better you will understand it. If you pay attention
and begin to learn what you are seeing you will realize it is not just one big patch of blue. There are current rips, temp breaks and everything else
under the sun. Study and learn about how the specific fish you are targeting relates to these things.
There are several different ways of trolling. For high speed trolling when you want to cover a lot of ground while you are searching for those weed
patches, feather style jigs and cedar plugs are a good choice. They track straight and will entice several different species. For mid-speeds Rapala
style lures are an excellent choice. When you know you are in the area because you have seen fish, birds or boils, slow trolling a live bait is hard
to beat.
When you spot that weed patch or other flotsam a lot of guys will just troll by it and if they don't get a knock-down, they just continue on. I have
found that unless the fish are suicidal most times the boat can spook these fish. You are better off easing up to the paddy from about 200 yds away
and the pitching a bait or a jig to it while throwing a handful of chum to get thenm going.
|
|
|
Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
Member Is Offline
|
|
Alan gives good advice on dorado.
My small additions:
Good trolling lure: green/yellow feather jig. Feather works better than plastic.
Trolling location: troll about 35 ft behind the boat. Where the white water from the motor has just broken down into clear water.
Good trolling speed: about 8mph. You can use the gps unit to tell you that.
Good casting lure: poppers. I use Pili Poppers. Cast to edge of paddies and reel in agressively so that a lot of surface commotion is created. You
can't outretrieve these fish.
Frigate birds: frigate birds are an excellent way to locate dorado but you need understand their behavior. If they're circling high above it may or
may not mean a fish is below. Usually the fish aren't there. But if the birds are circling and will dip down occasionally and go back up you can be
pretty sure there is something going on. If they come down all the way to the surface it's almoost certain there are fish below.
buoys: There won't be sargasso weeds in the winter. A good strategy is to go to fish every buoy you know of in the area. Always keep an eye out for
buoys.
wire leaders: I don't like to use wire leaders on these fish. There teeth are not razor sharp like sierra. However, these will bite through light line
occassionally. I don't like to lose those jigs so I tie a thicker mono leader to the end of my line using a swivel. Keeps the line from twisting. I
think dorado can be line shy but when the lure is moving fast and behind that foam line - well the thickness of line is less important. When fishing
for dorado with flies I use fluorocarbon leaders (20lb).
weather conditions: I could get an argument out of this but I find that dorado fishing improves as the wind picks up. When the schools it really
doesn't matter. But when you're scratching for a fish then any advantage helps.
Other signs of possible dorado: Birds sitting on the water. They were diving before you showed up. Now they're just sitting. Rip currents around
points at the islands. If there's a large school of sardinas around you're pretty sure to see dorado if you fish long enough.
[Edited on 11-12-2006 by Skipjack Joe]
|
|
|
Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
Member Is Offline
|
|
Whistler,
If you're looking for a bait caddy, I will be in your neck the second week of January !!
Nice boat !!
Here's my old Aquasport with canvas T-top.
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64726
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by whistler
Thanks David,
I still don't know how to post pictures.
That was the T-Top on my Radon. |
I emailed the photo back to you that was reduced for Nomad... save that image to your pc's files (right click mouse over picture in email, then click
save picture as).
Back here on Nomad: Click Post Reply, do not use not Quick Reply and below where you type any text is a button called 'Browse'... Click on that and
the window to your pictur file comes up... double click the reduced image... that's it.
|
|
|
Alan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1626
Registered: 4-6-2005
Location: Yucaipa, CA/La Paz
Member Is Online
|
|
Just one thought on the t-top vs. canvas top. My T-top will support 300#'s so besides providing shade I can have a friend climb up there with a pair
of binos. Even that little change in altitude makes a huge difference in the ability to spot paddys.
[Edited on 11-12-2006 by Alan]
[Edited on 11-12-2006 by Alan]
|
|
|
Osprey
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3694
Registered: 5-23-2004
Location: Baja Ca. Sur
Member Is Offline
|
|
Dittos on the flotsam for dorado. Me and a pal each got a limit of big, big bulls under turtle no bigger than a sombrero. Dead whales will draw and
keep hundreds of dorado for as long as the whale stays afloat. The body of an overboard victim was found floating down here close to Vinorama. The
guys who reported it to the authorities caught hell for first treating it like my turtle. Dorado grow at a rate of 10% of their body weight PER DAY
at times in the open ocean. Probably much of that growth is in the fry stage otherwise there would be 500# 6 year old dorado. Killing a whale to
attract dorado is a bad idea. Throwing a guy overboard to attract dorado is a bad idea. Now if he was drunk, singing bad songs, keeping baby fish,
throwing lunch bags over the side, if you knew there were dorado around .......?
|
|
|
vgabndo
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3461
Registered: 12-8-2003
Location: Mt. Shasta, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Checking-off my bucket list.
|
|
In Stephen Callahan's excellent book "Adrift" the shadow of his life raft made him very popular with the dodos. The dodos were very popular with
him.
If I remember correctly he floated for about 70 days and his "pattie" kept him fairly well fed.
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
|
|
|
| Pages:
1
2
3
4
5 |
![[*]](images/xmbforum/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
