Go to Baja!

**jbird** · 06-26-2013, 12:37 PM

Its fun!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=kIpvFA6s9aI

Lance Peterson did... And he stayed

**Darian** · 06-26-2013, 03:01 PM

What a great video. It sure is fun down there. Since 2004, I've fished beaches and out of boats from Mulege to East Cape. Haven't had a bad trip. Some were better fishing than others but always had a good time in the sun, good food, met some great people caught some beautiful fish. Even the occasional bad weather is spectacular. Got back from La Paz in mid-June and can't wait to get back down there, again.

**FISHEYE** · 06-26-2013, 08:37 PM

WOW! That is a wonderful video of Lance. I suspect he is one of the most accomplished beach fishers for roosters. Plus he is one heck of a nice guy.

**roywest** · 06-26-2013, 10:59 PM

OK, so that's a great fish and I'm deeply jealous. But as a beginning surf-fisher, the hilarious thing about this video is his total disregard for the stripping basket. Clearly this is a device better used to keep ice and beer handy than for managing line in the surf!

**Darian** · 06-27-2013, 12:38 AM

It's true that a stripping basket will serve as a pace to cool beers, etc. However, it's difficult to tell from the video where Lance is placing the line he's stripping in and the surf/surge at East Cape during the spring/summer isn't as sizable as waves in the open ocean. It's true that a stripping basket isn't absolutely necessary for landing fish in the low surf/surge inside the gulf but it's very helpful for casting.

If you're including surf on the Pacific side of Baja or elsewhere, if you don't have some sort of stripping basket you're probably going to have a hard time managing the loose line washing around your ankles in the surge.

**jbird** · 06-27-2013, 04:30 AM

What makes a stipping basket dificult for this type of fishing is well documented in this video. You find yourself sprinting a lot and you are stripping with long, fast strips (grabbing the line near the first guide and ripping it all the way behind your back). this is pretty specific to roosterfish. Actually pretty surprised to see Lance useing one. Most guys you see down there just let the line trail off in the sand. What a stripping basket will do for you is make your first cast hassle free, but dont expect to strip the line back into it. And you still usually have to RUN into position. Imagine doing 100 yard dash with a big basket on your hip.

**FISHEYE** · 06-27-2013, 09:02 AM

Yes, the basket helps with not having to strip out line and with the first cast. In my experience, seeing the fish and then stripping the line out means you miss many shots. Once the action gets going it is hard to strip into the basket if you are stripping fast; but for permit or tarpon where you strip slow a basket is the way to go. Check out Ray Hutcherson's (sea level) baskets. Modeled on the old mangrove hipshooter, but with some major improvements, these are the way to go!

**jbird** · 06-27-2013, 10:22 AM

Agreed Phil. When I'm standing waiting for a fish to show, I have 50-60' of line out, piled in the sand in my shadow. When I take off running, it just follows me. I dont recommend this if youre fishing a rocky area.

**lineas tenso** · 06-29-2013, 07:12 PM

After viewing the flick I would advise two things;
1. a hard, shallow (wind), plastic stripping basket is not a good tool for the running the beach and then casting. The line bounces up & down creating knots and the low sides allow the wind to mess up the line layers: both are distance killers. The Mangrove Shooter basket loaded with the long thin spikes works real good in bouncy/windy situations.
2. stripping the fish in instead of getting the line tight to the reel just asks for tripping or coming tight to the leader with a break off. "Slap" winding the spool is the way to go while snubbing the line against the cork to stay tight to the hook.