Are you ready to rummmmmble !

[Jay Murakoshi]

Just a few more weeks and we will be kicking but or getting our butts kicked. Yes, we are heading south of the border to the La Ventana area for some Yellow Fin, Dorado and even roosters.
The weather, today it's in the high 80's but with 84% humidity and with a 65lb tuna running out and down deep it might as well be 100% humidity. It looks like there's a lot of YF right of the rocks at Punta Perico and the hotel. With all the preparation of trying to figure out what the heck to take, tie the right fly and make sure I have enough pretied leaders, there's no time to think about bass fishing.

While I'm on the subject of baja, I will be doing a Baja presentation for the Russian River Fly Fishers this coming Wednesday in Santa Rosa. Not sure if the meetings are opened to the public (I'm sure they are) but if you're thinking about a trip next year, ya ought to come and sit in..

Back to tying


Jay


Darian, you have enough flies? I might be checking out your box for the hot pattern.

[Darian]

OK!!! Yellowfin at Punta Perico!!! Hope it stays that way. I still can't get over seeing all of those Yellowfin thrashing the surface last year in front of the old hotel. :eek: First cast, first fish on!!!! :D :D

Got the big stick and a large capacity reel. I'm tying lots of Tuna Tux (black/white, Olive/white, tan/white). Plus the usual suspects.... My box'll be stuffed.... :nod: :nod: Lookin' forward to some grilled, fresh Ahi for dinner at the hotel. Can't wait to get down there!!!! :D :D

[Jay Murakoshi]

I just received the latest report from my buddy Jonathan in La Paz. This past week looks like it was a pretty decent, no damn good week. If you want to see what you will miss if you didn't sign up :-) take a look at his latest fishing report.
I know for fact that these are accurate reports. His captains keep tab and Carlos, his driver writes down every thing.

I'm really getting excited. The more I look at those big tuna, the more I might chase the baby dorado. Heck, I'll fight anything that will eat my fly.

It's not too late to join us.

Jay

http://fishreport.jonathanroldan.com/

[Loren E]

Jesus Christ what a slaughter fest.....not even the billfish get spared

[Jay Murakoshi]

Hey Loren,

This is not an uncommon thing. I see a lot of ice chests go home every week filled to the top. there is a limit on certain species but most captains want there clients to be happy.
I have VERY few who take fish home but we do keep some for dinner.
this past season, we were checked twice in the 3 months I was there only for boat and license and once for how many dorado we had on board.
What makes me sick is to see roosters and jacks in the meat box. Not a good fish to eat.

You're going to have to live with reality if you fish the baja. Once it's gone, it's gone

Jay

[Jay Murakoshi]

Loren,

One thing I forgot too mention. If you're a fishing outfitter and your clients pay you the bucks to fish, you don't say a thing, that's if you want to stay in business, that's just the way it is. This happens every where.
Look how many stripers are taken off the beaches where you fish and the perch and the halibut, etc... Do you walk up to the people and question them? I did that one time and boy did I get my A$$ ripped on the board. I was told that it was none of my business that this guy killed an under size striper.


A question for you.... what would you do if you ran a fishing company and your clients were bagging their catch? Like in the photo's. When my clients ask me " can we take fish home" I say, it's up to you, you pay the money, I can't say yes or no.


Jay

[Tony Buzolich]

Jay,

This is the first year I've seen the locals actually harpooning marlin. Marlin was also now listed on several sandwich boards at various restuarants in La Paz. The one marlin that was actually brought to the boat by my guys this year, was never gaffed though the guide was ready to. The guide that day got a little extra tip for NOT gaffing a fish he could sell.

The regular shark fishing seemed poor judging by the daily catches that are usually drug up onto the beach. If the shark fishing has slowed down because of lack of sharks this might be why the squid have taken hold in the area. With the abundance of squid comes the reduction of the sardina as we all experienced.

As for the taking of roosterfish, all of our guides were very conscienious about NOT killing the roosters and wanted to get them back into the water as quickly as possible. Judging by the pictures, Jonathan's groups seem to regularly kill them. I think there were actually some pictures of divers spearfishing them in a contest on his website. Up in Loreto, Pam Boles says they are actually a protected fish throughout Baja and folks are encouraged to report the taking of roosters to the authorities.

I completely understand about outfitters not wanting to turn down business but educating the locals might help boost their economy by improving the fishing. In Belize, the taking of any tarpon, bonefish, or permit is completely forbidden and everyone knows that. By imposing this kind of restriction, it has helped improve a valuable resource that keeps tourists coming back because of the better fishing.

I hope the fishing down there continues to be some of the best anywhere and we can hold on to for a while longer.
TONY

[Jay Murakoshi]

Tony,

The shark fishing was pretty good earlier in the season. The boys had a lot of sharks on the beach and some big ones. There was one mako around 300lbs and a few in the 175lb range
I think as the season progresses, the shark count slims down.
During my time down there, I haven't seen one humboldt squid. The sardina population gets hammered daily and that can only take so much abuse. Plus when it gets windy, it's harder to catch get or get in closer to the shore line. But definitely the daily netting of the sardina has a lot to do with the decline.
I know all my trips to Australia, for tuna, queenfish, spanish mac's, etc.. we never used any bait to chum up the fish. First, we would look for the bait balls or birds and then the big boils of the school working. The other method was one person would throw a hookless plug and work it back in while the other person took his shots at the fish. When I'm out by myself, I have my captain throw a hookless plug or troll the plug behind the boat trying to tease up dorado or a marlin. We had a wahoo, smack the plug and in a split second the plug was gone.
I've had a few guys tease up skip jack and yellow fin just by slapping the fly on the water a number of times. Yes, it definitely will tire you out but no bait is needed.

Anyway, I hope the yellow fin will be on the prowl. I can taste some good ahi steaks grilled at the restaurant.

Jay

[Loren E]

Jay, I know that your groups don't kill fish like that, and when I fished with Gary down there I would always kill a few football YFT for sashimi and maybe one dorado for dinner. I have no problem with that kind of harvest, even taking a few tuna or dorado home, that is definitely sustainable harvest. It makes me sick to see those gear outfitters though like that guy's post who kill just so many fish.

"A question for you.... what would you do if you ran a fishing company and your clients were bagging their catch? Like in the photo's. When my clients ask me " can we take fish home" I say, it's up to you, you pay the money, I can't say yes or no."

If I were in your position and clients asked me that question I would tell them that it is commonplace to keep a tuna or dorado or wahoo here and there for dinner, but that it is highly encouraged to release most fish to keep the fishery in the best health possible. I don't think this response would lose you any clients, granted it might for the gear outfitter as he is booking clients who often are coming for a different reason. I think that being in the position you are in is a valuable opportunity as you are influential and it could be used to encourage (not require) largely catch and release, with of course a tuna or dorado here or there for the table. The reason I think this would not lose clients is because fly fishermen are paying those bucks to have great sport fishing and lots of action, not for coolers of meat. It is common sense that to ensure this type of action for the future catch and release will help the effort, and so these fishermen would have to be very ignorant to refuse to book because a practice that is in place to ensure the continuation of your job and the jobs of your captains would come in their way of bringing home pounds of fish. This just wouldn't be an issue with the fly guys, but I think it is largely a moot point with your groups anyways because as you said these guys don't kill a lot of fish anyways. Like Tony mentioned, if Turneffe Flats Lodge came out with an official statement about not killing any fish while in their boats they would not lose a single client, who knows maybe it could lead to positive publicity and gain them a few clients. The people come for the fishing, not the fish, if that makes sense, they are ensuring the future of the resource and as is the case in many places when the shift is made from the value of fish being market value to sport value it is a beautiful thing but a serious struggle to get to that point with many who are in mindsets not open to that type of thinking standing in the way. I see big spawner stripers get killed at the beach and think about all the young that fish might have produced if it went back to the river to spawn, but if it is legal I don't question the fisherman, it is the regulation that I question. It is very sad the lack of enforcement in Mexico, hell even in CA (you probably saw my post on Blanton's about the crab poachers) If someone were taking under-sized stripers though that is a different matter completely, and I would not let this happen without trying to get the poacher busted. That is ridiculous that someone burned you on the boards about the kill of undersized stripers, that is blatant poaching of a limited resource that is very much in jeopardy and is very much the business of every sport fisherman in this state who cares about these bass.

Now the gear outfitter is in a different position, and is in a position I would not put myself in as I would not want to be an enabler for that type of slaughter of a limited and dwindling resource. If I were in your position I would have a difficult time not feeling angry at this guy, heck I'm not in your position and those types of guys still piss me off and my job isn't dependent on the resource they are depleting! One must be very careful with making generalizations, as there are many light tackle conventional fishermen who are not the problem, but that being said this guy just has a different clientele than you and likely would lose a lot of business if he started not encouraging the excessive harvest of fish that he does. For that reason he is in a nasty position, maybe akin to the environmental consultant for the oil company....if he says the effects of drilling would seriously harm the ecosystem and decides to do something about it, well he loses his job, but it was a pretty bad job in the first place.

I touched on this point before in my post about the justifications for harvesting fish, but there is nothing lamer than the little justification below the marlin photos about "meat donated". If the hope is to help the community then bring down shoes for the kids or basketballs or something, don't kill marlin that you are not even going to take home anyways. I realize at times the captains play a part in this as they see food, but these are the mindsets that need to be changed as they will be in a serious pickle in 15 years when there are no more gringos booking them because there are no more marlin (and yes I know the commercial fishing problems are a big issue here too, larger than sport, but none the less sport fishing harvest still takes a toll and in many instances a serious one).

As a fisherman who loves roosterfish and (granted out of self-interest) wants them to be around in good numbers down in the Sea of Cortez forever, it disgusts me, just as it does you, to see these fish killed, or almost worst gut hooked on bait, dragged out of the water for many photos being held up by their gills vertically...and then "released". Without sounding elitist, this, along with the lack of foresight (as I see it) of the conventional outfitter, are examples of ignorance where these folks just don't get it. This is where education is key. Granted with the outfitter he is making money and things likely won't change there, but with poor release techniques the intention of releasing fish can be turned into the reality of releasing fish and not wasting the effort with some guidance.

In conclusion, I think what that outfitter does is a real bummer, but everyone has gotta eat I guess, it just sucks that that is at the expense of the future of the fishery that provides his job...the cliché proverb comes to mind here about teaching a man to fish instead of giving him a fish. Although I disagree with the perspective of "it's up to you, you pay the money, I can't say yes or no.", as I think that is passing on the opportunity to use your influence for the positive in a way that I don't believe would hurt your business, this is a trivial point as your guys don't kill many fish anyways. I respect what you do Jay and don't doubt the sustainability of the limited harvest of sustainable species on your boat, it is the conventional outfitter who seems to use the so very limited sea as a limitless resource to make a buck who I take serious issue with.

long live pez gallo -Loren

[Ken Magoon]

Jay,
Yes, the public is welcome to your presentation at our RRFF meeting tonight in Santa Rosa. It starts at 7PM in the Veterans Memorial Bldg., which is across from the Sonoma County Fairgrounds off of the Hwy. 12 Sonoma Exit from
US 101.
There's no charge for guests. We do have some nice raffle items though.
Join us.
kenm

[Darian]

Loren,.... Well thought out post. I know you're concerned about fishing and fish harvest practices but you're preaching to the choir. Without getting into a point by point discussion, being offended at what is a days catch by some gear guys thru an outfitter is a bit too preachy. This catch is relatively small even if each fish is killed when compared to all of the legal and illegal, charter and commercial fishing in the Sea of cortez and the balance of the Pacific (including the US).

When I read about a US licensed, commercial purse seiner being caught at anchor in Magdellana Bay with 14 tons of Dorado in it's hold (allowed only as by-catch) scheduled to return to US markets and see commercial long liners and purse seiners operating in waters closed to commercial fishing down there, I realize that's the real issue. This isn't the only example. As has been pointed out by anglers in the past, commercial fishing activities are the primary cause of depeletion of fish stocks thru over fishing. If there's something you want to work on, concentrate your efforts on stopping illegal fishing (commercial and/or other).

Not trying to discourage your efforts but it seems to me that trying to influence people in Mexico that they shouldn't exploit their ocean resources for food or sale isn't gonna gain much traction. Especially, when we're demonizing them (I'm being charitable here) every day in our national debate about immigration. Remember, recreation outfitters (fly & gear) provide jobs and economic benefits to locals.