GOING NOWHERE FAST!

Published the week of July 30 in Western Outdoor News


We gringos are in such a hurry. Everything has to be FAST! We want to get down here to Baja as fast as we can on the fastest non-stop planes. Then… Into our hotels and onto our boats and out on the fishing grounds as soon and as fast as we can.

Even our other leisure activities, are fast! We invented “fast food” and live by the microwave even on vacations. We book waverunners and off-road vehicles and dance to FAST music in the nightclubs. Look out if our hotel does not have “high speed” internet.

And then there’s guys like Captain Manuel. Manuel is 45, but looks 55 with salt and peppered hair; calloused hands from years of fishing and skin weathered from more sun than any SPF could protect you from. The lines of his face are permanently creased from squinting without sunglasses into the glare of the Baja sun and the Cortez’ rippled waters for fish that will feed his family; please a fishing client; or draw the highest prices in the fish stalls at the mercado publico.

He doesn’t say much, but laughs a lot and most of the lines on his face are from smiling more often than not.

And today was one of those days when it was just him and me on the panga. Our mutual client begged off the day after his evening’s rendezvous with the three Mexicans of the apocalypse Don Julio, El Patron and Senor Cuervo. He was in no mood or condition to fish so I found myself guiding no one.

But the boat was paid for and it has been awhile since I had spent time with Manuel so off we went to go fishing…in a loose sort of way. There’s not a day that I don’t learn something new out on the water and today was no exception but it had nothing to do with fishing.

The season had already been long. Manuel was in no particular hurry to find fish and I didn’t particularly care either. I had lunches and drinks for two so like a couple of Baja Huck Finn’s we baited some hooks; tossed them overboard and let’ em soak. No pressure. No hurry. Lazy sunshine Baja day. The radio crackled with other pangas catching fish, with that inane captains chatter that on one understands, but so what? We lay back across the panga benches and tipped our hats over our eyes!

“So what do you think about the Patriots chances to get back to the Super Bowl?” he asked in Spanish after a prolonged silence of soaking sunshine.

“What? The Patriots? What do you know about American football?” I asked surprisedly taken off-guard. “I thought you all watch soccer!”

“Several of the captains now have satellite TV so we all watch sports. Mexico’s soccer team is terrible this year so we have started watching more American football and of course, there is always BASEBALL!” Manuel said with relish. “ Viva Los Yankees de Nueva York!”

I couldn’t help but smile. I’m thinking most of the captains have dirt and concrete floors with chickens running around, but they have a sat dish sticking onto a wall!

I laughed. “Ever been to the United States, Manuel?”

“Nunca” (never), he replied.

“Ever want to go to Disneyland or Hollywood? ( I thought everyone did!) “

“No.” He shrugged with a smile.

“Maybe Tijuana?” I continued

“No reason to.” He said stifling a siesta yawn.

“Cabo San Lucas? “(only 3 hours drive away). I queried.

“Maybe one time a year. But only if it’s absolutely necessary to visit my mother-in-law.” (Had to nod to that line of reasoning).

“Really? Not even Cabo? “

“For what?” Manny looked at me now with grinning cheeks. He knew where this was going.

“Well, how often do you go to La Paz? It’s only an hour away. For shopping? Entertainment? “

“Why? Maybe 4 times a year for a car part,” replied Manny now sitting up shrugging.

“Oye (Listen). “Everything I need is close to the pueblo. My home. My wife. My friends. We buy tortillas and some meat. We trade for cheese and vegetables at the ranchos (farms) for my fish I catch. I raised 3 grown children, thanks to God. All of them graduated from the university and I am very proud. One is a teacher. One works for a big shipping company. My youngest has just become a dentist. I have nietos (grand kids) and their parents bring them to see me and tell me stories of all the places they go and see. It is enough. I am content.”

He lay back down on the panga bench hat over eyes.

“And there is always satellite TV and that should be enough for any man,” said Manny from under his hat. “As long as los Yankees de Nueva York win…”

He pulled down his baseball hat over his eyes to doze.

Enough for any man.

I reached into my backpack and turned off the ringers for my two cell phones and my Blackberry and tilted my own straw hat over my eyes. Wouldn’t want to wake Manuel.

We drifted and swung in the current on the anchor chain. I don’t even think I had bait on my hook and didn’t care. Going nowhere fast in the Baja. And the sun felt good.



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

FISHING THE JUG!

Originally published the week of July 22, 2007 in Western Outdoor News

Fishermen are an inventive lot. If you ever have any doubt, take a look sometime in a fishing gear catalog like Bass Pro, West Marine, Melton’s or any of a number of online websites that cater to the needs of us anglers to have the coolest gadget, device or “next hot thing.”

The best example is to just take a look in the lure section. The lure section for bass lures is a prime classic example. I mean, how many types of crankbaits, jerk baits, plastic frogs or wiggle worms can there be? How many do you really need? Ask any good bass fisher and, of course, he or she will say, “All of them!” Each touts to be the most “deadly of the deadly” or my favorite, “made for fishermen BY fishermen!” (Of course they area!)

But if any garage-tinkering angler can come up with a better idea, we certainly will! We anglers are constantly plagued by the “What if?” disease and off we go to mold, hammer, construct the “next best thing!”

Well, being down here at “ground zero” I certainly have seen some interesting inventions and gadget. Not all of them are bad either and a number of them work! Some are actually marketing commercially now, but others are as homemade as your grand daddy’s sawhorse.

One amigo came down with a pair of shorts where the clips on his fighting belt/rod holder were already built into the reinforced waistband of the shorts. When he was ready to fight, he merely clipped his fighting pad into the two drop clips on either side and he was ready to go. That was a good one.

Another guy came down who was convinced that the faster the jigging the more fish you would catch. So, he took his Penn 500 reel and turned it into a virtual dragster of 15:1 ratio! It had a sideplate that stuck out a good 2 extra inches on the side of the handle to accommodate the extra gears as well as a larger handle and the whole contraption looked every-bit like it came out’ve a high-school shop class. It sure made a lure buzz through the water. Only problem was that when it got hit by even a bonito, it was almost impossible to turn the handle and get any torque. I think he went back to the drawing board.

My vote, however, for the best and most humorous of the year (so far) is something called “jug fishing.” That got my eye-brows raised when I first heard of it. Our amigo, Bill Kennedy and his sons brought it down and swore that it slayed the fish in Panama. OK…I’m all ears and eyes!

Let me see if I can explain. They showed up with a 5 gallon jug. Affixed to this was a length of heavy leader. To this leader was attached either a trolling feather or hook for live bait. There was also a clip whereby this huge device could be clipped to a rod.

If they were trolling and a fish hit, the big jug would disengage itself from the rod. Same if they were drifting a live bait.

Follow me on this. The fish would grab the bait or lure. It would then go swimming off trailing this ultra buoyant jug usually unable to drag it underwater. It would go zipping off and around as it tried to escape. Do you remember the movie, “Jaws” where huge buoys were attached to the line and the shark swam off with it?
Same idea! Even if the fish pulled it down for awhile, it would eventually pop up!

In the meantime, back on the boat…

The fishermen popped beers and watched the jug go this way and that. They would high five each other and pop more beers. The “size” of the fish was described in terms of being a “1 beer,” “2 beer,” 3 beer,” etc. fish by how long the fish fought. Or judged by how deep the jug was pulled underwater via dark black hash marks on the side of the jug that could be seen from the boat.

When the jug stopped moving, they moved the boat and simply handlined the fish. No sweat! The swore they got tuna and wahoo in Panama “jug fishing” and got several dorado fishing with our own fleet here.

At some point, I think the beer drinking began to take precedence over the fishing. The clue for me was when one of them got off the boat happily proclaiming they had drank “24 beers before noon” yet only 1 medium dorado ( certainly rating no more than a “1 beer” status) was in the fish box. These guys knew how to enjoy themselves and that ultimately is what fishing is about.

Me? I prefer to battle my fish old school style. Maybe I’m just funny like that, but I like to have a bent rod in my hand. However, I can certainly think of a lot of guys who would consider any device which kept your hands free to pop another cerveza while catching fish smacks of inspired genius.

I’m sure one of you readers is now hustling down to the basement to build your own and we’ll see these in the 2008 catalogs and at all the fishing shows!

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

THE ROARING SILENCE OF BEING IGNORED

Originally Published the Week of July 15, 2007 in Western Outdoor News


The controversial Shark Norma laws that went into effect in May allowing commercial fishermen to come within 15 miles of the shore as well as indiscriminately take, kill and sell commercial fish such as tuna, dorado and marlin (not to mention turtles, sealions and rays) seems to be going nowhere fast on the political scene. However, at ground zero, the effects are difficult to ignore.

It has been almost two months since Cabo San Lucas was marked by protest marches and burning boats. It has been more than a month since delegates from Baja rushed their concerns and pleas to the federal government in Mexico asking for modifications of the Shark Norma plan which purports to save sharks, but realistically will devastate Baja’s sportfishing industry. Thousands upon thousands of letters and petitions have been sent to the Mexican government.

So far the word from Mexico City is deafening silence! Not a word. Not a howdy-doody. Not an acknowledgment that there’s trouble in River City or that Rome is burning.

In the meantime, here’s some snapshots from the trenches:

“For the first time in 25 years, my regular June fishing trip to Loreto was essentially a bust. Few billfish and few decent sized Dorado MAY have been caused by cooler than normal water temps, but I suspect that the commercial fishing fleets and Shark Norma 029 are really to blame. Specifically, I'm writing to tell you both that I actually caught them in the act at Punta Pulpito, 40 miles north of Loreto. They had virtually cleaned out the yellowtail by the time my panga (and three others) got there. Upon seeing us approaching, the commercial guys immediately recalled their six pangas back to the mother ship and weighed anchor. They headed south toward Loreto, but pulled into a bay and waited for us to leave. As soon as we did, they motored right back to Punta Pulpito and presumably resumed operations,” writes B. Summer, Las Vegas NV.

Ed Hoffman owns a place in Puerto Escondido. “The fishing here in Loreto has been terrible the last two weeks. We feel its is because of the long liners. Very few Dorado, Sails or Marlin are being caught in a 100 mile radius. . . I fished the tournament on Saturday. Did not get a bite but saw a lot of (commercial) floats. All 73 boats fished north and south up to 70 miles almost no fish.”

Fishermen vs. Fishermen. In the La Paz area, local commercial pangeros have allegedly been doing ninja work in the evenings cutting the valuable long lines of the big commercial boats who threaten the local fisheries. Reportedly the big commercials have retaliated by running over and destroying the buoys local fishermen use to attract dorado and sharks.

Off Chileno Beach east of Cabo, both the Mexican Navy and sportfishers were reportedly instrumental in chasing off an 80’ Mexican commercial boat that was laying it’s nets. There were some rumors that the sportfishers threatened to board it and burn it if it didn’t leave.

The Mexican Navy captured one commercial boat off the East Cape that had 3000 pounds of marlin and 4000 pounds of shark.

I don’t know, fish brothers. These are just the tip of what’s going on down here. The local political parties are denouncing the new laws as illegal and it seems the whole peninsula, rightfully so, has their underwear all bunched up. And still, not a word from the heartland in Mexico. Silence. Nothing like being ignored.

On another front. . .

CNN reports that the government has further eased the passport requirements after the FUBAR situation that was created this past January requiring EVERYONE to get passports. According to CNN, Homeland Security now says:

Travelers now have more time to gather the secure travel documents they will need at U.S. land and sea entry points when a new identification requirement plan is fully implemented.A requirement for U.S. citizens to show passports at land crossings into the United States from Canada and Mexico was scheduled to be fully implemented next January, but now will not go into full effect until summer 2008, the departments said.But the new plan includes a preliminary phase: Beginning Jan. 31, travelers will be required to present some form of government-issued photo ID at land and sea ports. New rules also will apply to residents of Canada, Mexico and Bermuda.Currently, U.S. residents arriving by land are not required to present any documentation, although driver's licenses, passports and other government identification can greatly ease a traveler's crossing.





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

SUMMER TRAVEL HEADS UP!

Originally published week of July 9, 2007 in Western Outdoor News

I’m writing this and it’s 4th of July and I am jones-ing for a good old fashioned patriotic parade with flag waving, fried chicken, potato salad and barbecued corn and of course, fireworks. I never get to see that anymore. Say what you will about all the problems in the U.S., but from down here in Baja looking in, the U.S. still has it going on in spades. Judge a country by how many people want to get in! Much to be thankful for.

Now that the kids are outta school, summer vacation is in full swing and the bite finally seems to be on, let me throw some travel tips your way regarding Delta Airlines. We were really excited when Delta decided to bring flights into Baja. Good solid airline finally! Well, I don’t know wassup with them, but I think they are having some problems. I still have nightmares about all the problems last year with Aero California.

If you are travelling in September or October of this year on Delta, check your tickets and give your agent a call. Out of the blue, Delta canceled and changed many of it’s flights in the fall.

Interestingly, there was nothing on it’s website and several travel agents we contacted knew nothing about it. So, we got a hold of Delta’s Atlanta office. The initial agent knew nothing, but when we spoke with a supervisor, she was also surprised but after checking confirmed, “You’re right. We have canceled flights!” Oops!

Fortunately, most have not been canceled, but many more have had schedule changes or are no longer non-stop. You should check just to be safe. I’ve had several clients get refunds and book alternative flights.

Another heads up. In the last month, I have never seen an airlines lose so much luggage or plain even forget people! Even old Aero Cal wasn’t this bad when Cal’s poor service was so legendary that they got to be known as “Aero Maybe” and “Aero Scare-O” even by the Baja locals.

So many flights seem to be having trouble with missing luggage. I use the term “missing” loosely. It’s hard to call it “losing” sometimes. I don’t know if airlines are merely trying to save fuel costs or simply doesn’t anticipate that guys flying to the Baja are fishermen with ice chests and fishing rods, but some anglers have actually been sitting on the plane ready to take off and seen their ice chest and rods removed from the plane.

Some planes arrive and many of the anglers find that many of the ice chests and tubes have been left behind. That’s not “misplaced.” When one guy’s stuff doesn’t make the flight, that’s “misplaced.” When 20 guys arrive home without their rods, that’s a different story!

Insult to injury, some airlines (not all) charge as much as $100 for extra luggage and rod tubes! This is also happening for flights returning to the states as well. Ice chests filled with fish and tubes packed with rods, never make it back until days later. That does wonders for frozen fish.

As one of my amigos explained to me , who is himself a commercial airline pilot for another carrier, the planes are already packed to the max coming in. If you think about it, a Baja fisherman is now 30, 40, 50 pounds heavier with fish on the way out! He told me that it’s harder for a plane to lift off in hot weather so adjustments have to be made. Your tube full of sticks gets taken off or, heaven forbid, your ice chest full of fillets! It’s not like your trip to Alaska where fish boxes can be kept chilled at the airports.


Tips:

Be early. Last in line stands the great chance of not getting your luggage.
Put tags on all your luggage
Carry on all important documents, medicines, money or important items. Don’t check them in.
Combine as many rods into a tube as possible so you’re not paying extra when you don’t need to


I’m not saying don’t fly. Ninety-nine percent never have problems, but I’d hate for you to be one of the unlucky ones. Just be aware so as to minimalize any potential hitches in your flights down here to Baja so you have a great vacation.

Happy 4th of July everyone. Save me some potato salad. I’ll bring you up-to-date on Shark Norma developments next column. Getting ugly.


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