ANCIENT (THROWING) IRON!

Originally published the week of Nov. 26, 2006 in Western Outdoor News

I love pirate stories. Can’t get enough of them and the history of the Baja Peninsula is interwoven with tales of rogues, vagabundos and sea wolves. Many would say it still is!

Not all of them sailed under the proverbial “Jolly Roger,” but were actually supported by powerful countries, especially during the colonial periods when sails and cannon ruled the seas during the 15th-18th centuries. Spain, England, Portugal and others nations had their regular navy, but they also had their “privateers.” Essentially, these were private mercenary ships who sold their services to a particular country. But, make no mistake, they were pirates. However, under contract, they promised to only attack ships of opposing nations.

It was difficult to control piracy in those days so rather than eliminate them, the safest and most economic thing to do was to hire these scalliwags; let them attack someone else; then ask them to share a bit of the booty! A win-win for everyone. Shades of Captain Jack Sparrow and Johnny Depp.

Of course, if a marauder was on your side, he was a “courageous captain.” If you were a victim, you were labeled a “murderous pirate.” Where we live in La Paz, the bay was a natural haven for pirate activity.

We have an afternoon breeze in La Paz that comes up like clockwork and usually blows offshore. It’s so regular, it’s called the “Corumuel wind. (KOR-uhm-wel)” As the story goes, the Spanish would load up their big galleons with Baja’s new world treasures such as pearls, gold and other things bound for Spain’s court. There was a “heroic” English sea captain named Cromwell, who would brilliantly wait until the Spanish did all the work gathering and loading up all the goodies.

Cromwell, in his smaller and faster English ships would attack the Spanish. He’d loot their booty (sounds kind of kinky) and using the afternoon winds he’s scoot. The Spanish could not catch the “villainous brigand” so the winds took the names of the (in)famous captain. The “Cromwell” winds became the “Corumuel winds” over time.

I hadn’t thought about that story until a few weeks ago. I was snorkeling in a warm secluded cove several weeks ago. I won’t tell you where it was. But, in the clear blue waters, triggerfish, puffers and trumpet fish darted by.

But amid the mottled sandy bottom, unusual “rocks” poked out. They were completely round and generally uniform. As I scanned the bottom, there were dozens of varying sizes. Pulling one free from the sand, the encrusted rock clearly wasn’t a rock. In fact, it was metal. I swam to the shore to examine it more carefully.

Despite the corrosion, what I was holding in my hand was a metal ball. I’d guess it weighed about 4 pounds and was completely round and either iron or lead. I tossed it back onto the sand and re-entered the water. For sure, the shallow bottom was covered with them. Stones and rocks aren’t all the same size and neither are they uniformly round! Some were larger than others, but I would guess that there were some that were smaller 4 pounders and others were perhaps 6 or 8 pounders.

Cannonballs? Ballast? Gives a whole new meaning to “throwing iron” if these were indeed old munitions from a wooden ship of old.

Stand on the waterfront in La Paz some summer afternoon about 4 p.m. As the cars whiz by behind you and the sounds of mariachis waft up from the fronts of storefronts selling timeshares, the winds will come up from nowhere. That’s the Corumuel wind you feel cooling down the city. Like clockwork. Just a fable or the same winds that pushed the English out of reach of the Spanish guns? Only the Spanish ghosts know for sure!

That’s my story. If you ever want to reach me, my e-mail is riplipboy@aol.com

HEADS UP FOR NEW PASSPORT REGULATIONS

Originally Published Week of November 20, 2006 Western Outdoor News

Just a reminder for any of our readers who are going to be headed into Mexico, especially at the beginning of the year. You’ll need a passport next year to fly in or out of Mexico.

As part of the war against terrorists, starting January 8, 2007 , you will need a passport to fly in or out of the U.S. That includes flying in or out of Canada or Mexico as well as basically anywhere in North, Central or South America or the Caribbean. Previously, for many of these destinations, it was OK to have merely a picture i.d. and a certified birth certificate.

Give this some thought. Getting your passport is not quite so easy as uno, dos, tres so you should plan ahead. For instance, if you’re leaving the country for the Christmas holidays but planning to come back AFTER the deadline and you don’t have your passport you COULD be refused entry back into the United States. You might love staying some extra time in Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco or St. Thomas, but your boss might not be too happy.

This only applies to air travelers. It does not apply to folks traveling by boat or over land. According to the U.S. Department of State (Homeland Security) , that part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative kicks in June of 2009.

The biggest issue that has arisen from this is how to deal with frequent travelers who cross the border regularly. Many people on both sides of the border traverse the border for work, vacations, visits and shopping or it’s required for business. In addition to the economic hardship on the traveler, many were worried about the severity of the impact on Mexican and U.S. businesses who thrive on the border traffic especially those within proximity of the border. . Thousands of Mexicans and Americans legitimately cross the international borders daily. For many, especially Mexicans, it would be nearly impossible to obtain passports.

According to USA Today, there is a proposal up for debate which might alleviate the situation. It involves the implementation of a credit-card sized travel card that would substitute for a passport. The cost would be a mere $20.

These high-tech cards would use radio technology and allow border agents to quickly scan the card from as far as 20 feet away. For example a motorist commuting from Rosarito to San Ysidro wouldn’t even have to get out of his or her car.

They are still wrangling with the fees somewhat. Originally, the card would cost $50 which is about half the price of a passport, but now they are saying $20 for adults and $10 for kids under $16 with an additional $25 fee for a background check. It still seems pretty exorbitant to me. That’s about half-a-months wages to a lot of my Mexican friends. I guess there’s no easy answers.

They are still working out the bugs. Originally, all of this was to have been implemented by January of 2008, but heavy lobbying has pushed this back to June 2009. In the meantime, if you’re flying, you should look into getting your paperwork started to get your passport. For more info, check out: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html

By the way, holiday flights to Baja are booking up or prices are getting jacked up real fast. Don’t miss your flights by sitting on your hands!

That’s my story. If you ever want to reach me, my e-mail is riplipboy@aol.com.

FROM THE COCONUT TELEGRAPH

Originally published week of Nov. 13, 2006 Western Outdoor News

This week…bits and pieces I’ve scratched out on my tackle box that I wanted to pass onto you.

THE BAJA 1000 – The 39th running of one of the most grueling races kicks off this week. It starts in Ensenada Nov. 15th (Wednesday). The “survivors” who arrive on time Nov. 18th (Saturday) should be in La Paz. Believe me, the desert extracts a huge payment and a lot of teams and cars don’t make it or hobble in way after the fiesta is over, like being the last person in the Boston Marathon.

If you’re planning a spur-of-the-moment trip to any place along the race route and expect to find lodging…NOT! You’d better bring a sleeping bag because even many of the worst cucaracha places have been sold out for months let alone the nicer places along the route. Many rooms have been rented at a premium and have a waiting list to get in.

The old saying of “lead, follow or get outta the way!” is probably going to be really true as a record breaking 400 plus entries are expected from 11 countries and 35 states plus their teams and entourages. This is a major event. I haven’t decided what I’m doing yet. I’m either leaving town or I’m gonna get a lawn chair and an ice chest and watch from a hill far above the crowds, but it should be a lot of fun.

TROUBLES in PARADISE? – I don’t want to say it’s widespread, but several incidents at the airports have been reported enough that I’m gonna mention it. Something is smelling fishy at the Tijuana and Cabo airports.

Several anglers reported that at the Cabo airport, their ice chests were routinely searched and re-taped. No big whup. But then, when they got to their U.S. destinations, the ice chests were found to have been opened and fish either removed or, in at least one case, someone else’s fish was found in the ice chest! He packed gallon bags of dorado and found smaller bags of someone else’s tuna when he got home. A hocus-pocus-slight-of-hand-going on?

Also, at both the Cabo and the Tijuana airports, beware of the “heavy-finger-behind-the-counter” trick. The last several months, I’ve sent clients home with full ice chests that were weighed before they left for the airport. However, when the clients got to the airport to depart, their ice chests somehow “gained” weight by as much as 10 or even 20 pounds! Now, I don’t have the world’s most accurate scale, but it’s not THAT bad or that off.

The clients were then required to either pay an exorbitant overweight fee (one paid $6 extra per pound over) or were required to lighten the load and hand out bags of fish to airport employees who were only too happy to help.

Here’s the further rub. When I started hearing about this, I started to advise clients to tell the airline employee they had no cash and only credit cards to pay. Interestingly, many times the airlines folks would wave the ice chests through no problem. What? Only interested in cash? No paper trail? Hmmmmm…What happens to the cash that gets collected? Employee’s Christmas fund no doubt. Sure. Right. Always ask for a receipt.

I’m not saying this is widespread nor to I want to paint everyone with the same brush. Thousands of folks go through daily with nothing but good experiences. But keep an eye out.

PHOTO 1: Dr. Craig Petersen swims his giant yellowfin tuna to the surface unaware that he has a spearfishing world record in his hands. He was freediving/spearfishing off Puerta Vallarta.


PHOTO 2: Good thing Craig found a certified scale to weigh the monster 317 pound yellowfin tuna he speared.

THAT’S A LOT of SASHIME – Congratulations to Orange Co. CA chiropractor, Craig Petersen. Craig is one of the growing number of freediving bluewater hunters who have taken up spearfishing in Mexico’s fertile waters. Now, check this, it’s illegal to spearfish with tanks. These guys hold their breaths and dive to incredible depths to hunt. Try holding your own breath for even a minute in the pool. Guys like Craig, dive to 40, 50, 60 or more feet on a single breath of air and stay down for several minutes. Yes, divers do get killed doing this…

Craig was off Puerta Vallarta and popped a new spearfishing world record yellowfin tuna that ran 317 pounds on a certified scale.

“We were diving high spots around a rock about 25 miles out and making dives to about 50 ft and just hanging there for 30 seconds or so. Once in a blue moon a monster tuna will swim by. On this dive I had just leveled off at 50 ft when I saw him in the distance maybe 40 ft. from me. I quickly kicked hard to close the distance and was able to get about 20 feet away before the fish started to act like he didn't want my company.”

“ I let the shaft fly and it found its mark a bit lower and further back than I would have liked and not as deep of penetration but I hoped the shot would hold. He pulled me around for at least 45 minutes. I think he died or was close to death as I could finally start to pull him up. As I got him to within 30 feet, I could see that the slip tip (detachable spear point) was toggled just under the skin! I decided I would try to grab him and point him up and swim up with him. I tied him off to the boat feeling great but thinking he was only 250 to 280. When we got him on board the captain said he was definitely over 300! WOOOHOOO! Luckily we found an IGFA certified scale and well... I am one happy camper.”

That’s my story. If you ever want to reach me, my e-mail is riplipboy@aol.com.

SAVING THE DAY!

Originally published in Western Outdoor News week of Nov. 6, 2006

So, you booked your trip to Baja or finally got everyone together to make that drive down the Transpeninsular. Man, you were gonna fish your brains out; drink beer; and suck down carne asada tacos until your eyes popped outta your head!

And then, dangit…you couldn’t go out. What’s up with that? The weather is bad? No way! It never said that in the travel brochures! You can’t push your tin boat off the beach; or your favorite local panga captain said, “Perdon, Senor, es muy peligroso hoy!” (“It’s dangerous today you idiot and there’s no way I’m gonna take you or my boat out there!”...or something like that!) What do you mean the captain has closed the port? Or your captain simply says, something about not getting out to those tuna grounds that were on fire with fish just before you came. He says it’s too rough and the spots are too far away.

And there you stand on the beach like a kid who was just told he’d have to go to summer school, watching the seasonal winds whip the ocean into a froth and kicks up the sand so it stings your bare legs that were all prepared to get their seasonal dosage of sun. Johnny can’t come out to play today.

So, whatcha gonna do, Pancho? Once you’ve stopped blaming and villifying your captain, the hotel; your booking agent, and your buddies for picking these dates and settle down, you realize it looks silly to keep stamping your feet in the sand. Yes, you could go back to the hotel and drink more beer, but Madre de Dios, you came here to do some fishing and you sure don’t wanna wait until the winds and weather are more amiable. In November and December that could be quite few days.

A contrario, Pancho. Get your gear, unpucker your shorts and follow me!

Just because you can’t get to the offshore fishing grounds doesn’t mean you have to fold up the tents. If you can either get your own boat in the water or your chartered cruiser or panga can still get out, go work the inshore stuff. OK, so maybe you won’t hang a 30 pound dorado today, but how would you feel about a 50 pound pargo or 40 pound amberjack or a dozen sierra, assorted snapper, seabass and other species?

Even if you can’t get on a watercraft of any type, you can still fish many of these species right from shore.

Fall is some of the best times for inshore fishing. Unlike the spring when big pargo…the dogsnapper, mullet snappers, barred snappers…are often tight up in the rocks while moving in schools, during the fall many of these fish leave their fortress-like structures. Instead, you can find them in areas where rocks and reefs are more minimal, although they do like a little bit of cover. You can even find them cruising the sandy areas during tide chains looking for baitfish and food uncovered in the sands being shifted by the tides.

All this means is that you won’t get busted off so often as you would at other times of the year. You can even lose lighter tackle than before. Use live bait if you have it. If not, make it,; catch it; or buy it. If you can’t get your hands on live bait, use fresh dead like squid or strips of smelly strong muscled fish such as mackerel or bonito. If you can’t get anything organic or can get it, but don’t like using it, break out the plastics and iron.

Fluttering spoons that are shiny impersonators of the baitfish that roam the shoreline and rocky areas, as well as crankbaits; surface poppers and other noisy topwater performers can generate explosive strikes. Sierra especially love the shiny stuff. Bonito, skijack and other jacks will also greedily put the hurt on shiny lures and things that make a commotion on the water.

If you’re a plastics man, swim baits, jerk baits and grubs worked slowly around structure and close to the bottom are also extremely effective for snapper, cabrilla and other structure inhabitants.

Amigo, if the boats aren’t leaving the marina, work the marina! To the smart angler the marina is nothing more than a giant man-made fish habitat. Pilings, docks, under boats, or anything submerged can be holding fish. The only caveat is to bring a bunch of plastics. All the critters in my backyard have teeth and will destroy a plastic in a few well-placed bites leaving you with not much more than a sliver of amputated plastic attached to a leadhead. Don’t think there aren’t some beasts under the marina. I have seen or caught 10, 15 and 20 pound fish while I was goofing off in and around marinas.

There are always way to change a bad fishing day into something productive! When you walk back up from the docks or back to camp with a boxload of fish for dinner, you’re gonna be a hero to your buddies that stayed ashore. Trust me!



That’s my story. If you ever want to reach me, my e-mail is riplipboy@aol.com.