It's not just about the fishing

Its not just about the fishing, it's about the whole Cabo experience...pictured here are Jane and Chris Malone from Greenbrook, New Jersey...newlyweds. Jane, seen here, is feeding a left over bait, to the resident marina sea lion that the crews have christened "Paco", who happens to be a pretty big boy, probably equally or surpassing the weight of the two striped marlin they caught aboard "Andrea" on May 27th...they also lost a third fish. Great job by Captain Orlando, especially for landing Jane her first ever fish; she started out big, no trout for her!
You may want to know what the difference is between a sea lion and a seal and my method is very unscientific but easy...seals have holes for ears, sea-lions have tiny ears.

Great day for Tom McClocklin and son.

Pictured here is 74 year old Tom McClocklin from Saskatoon, Canada, with a beautiful wahoo that will make several tasty meals. The wahoo was just shy of 30 lbs. He also released a striped marlin that was 200 lbs and his son fought an early season sailfish that he released, approximately 90 lbs.

So it goes to show, even in later years you can have fun in Cabo.

All fish were caught on May 25th aboard "Valerie" captained by Roberto Sandez.

Our friend Mike Conolly shares with us his trip to Georgetown Lake.

Friends,

Georgetown Lake yesterday. This area is closed until July. With no moving water to carry their eggs the trout go through a false spawn and it seems as if every big trout in the lake is in 3 feet of water. The rest of the lake is open to fishing and yesterday was the first time the ice melted away from the shoreline enough to fish. I was waiting. The big trout were there. Sight casting to them is about as good as it gets. I was able to watch nice rainbows attack and take my flys for four hours.
There were no other fishermen. Zero.
Saw elk, antelope, whitetails, mule deer and bighorn sheep on the way home.
Wanted to share this.

Mike.

As a follow up yesterday to the strange fish that caused a sensation, we now have more information. Firstly the fish has been identified by local marine biologists as a Ratfish also known as a Chimaera or Quimera in Spanish. None of the local fisherman had any idea of what it was, not even those that have spent their whole lives on the sea. The crew of Minerva IV were fishing eleven miles south of Cabo yeserday around 1.00 pm, when they spotted a red stain in the water, thinking it was a squid they drew nearer to it and when they saw the odd creature, they exchanged puzzled looks not knowing what it was. The fish would flip belly up and then try to dive.
They decided to bring it on board and easily managed to pluck it from the water, then put it in the bait tank where it remained alive until just before they got back to the dock.
There are differnt kinds of Ratish though we have still not identified exactly which kind this is. Most of the information availalbe refers to the Spotted Ratfish, which this one obviously isn't.
They are found in deep water:
Biology Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Bathydemersal to benthopelagic generally between 300 and 500 m depth. Found in the upper continental slope. Usually found in deeper waters in southern latitudes, while making a summer inshore migration up to 40-100 m in the northern areas. Sluggish, usually occurring in small groups. Feeds mainly on bottom-living invertebrates. The single dorsal spine is sharp and pointed, and although only mildly venomous can inflict a painful wound. Oviparous. Males have a clasper on the forehead that is probably used to hold on to the female during copulation. Egg capsules are about 17 cm long; young look alike adults and hatch when 10 cm long. Common by-catch when trawling for shrimps in the North Sea or Skaggerak.

Any guesses on what this is? we don have the answer yet, but as soon as we find out, we'll let you know.

This fish was caught today by Captain Agustin "Guty" Dozal and deckhand Edgar Chong aboard the Minerva IV close to La Herradura, they thought it was a big squid as when they saw the fish, it was red, it looked like it was trying to dive deep but couldn’t make it, so they took it out thinking it was squid.

I looked on the internet under weird fish and rare fish but couldn’t find a match, maybe you guys know what it is.

Testimonial from Glenn Hook and friends

Hello Francisco,

Thanks for your reply. First let me say that was the best fishing trip ever, and my wife and I, along with other family members are hoping to come again this year. It was one of my most memorable experiences. My wife Dawn Hook caught one, and I caught two. Unfortunately the second one got tail rapped and we could not revive it. I was told it was a release, but I don't know the specifics. I surely would have let it go. The captain said the meat would be of some value to the men at the dock. I can't remember the name of those two off hand, but if you know who captained the LaBrisa then, they were wonderful. We had two other boats in our trip for other people, we were the first at the gate that morning, and the only to catch marlin that first day. We also got our fill of dorado on the way in. Next time maybe some tuna, or bottom fish in the Sea of Cortez. Paul Koch worked with me then, and recommended you, I would recommend Pisces to everyone going to Los Cabos.

Thanks so much for the memory, hope to see you again soon.

Glenn Hook, Deerfield Beach, FL.

Post on the La Times Blog

The owner of Pisces Sportfishing in Cabo San Lucas e-mailed me the accompanying photo of her crew with the caption: "Come on down, everything is fine here, weather is fantastic and we are waiting to catch you some fish.”

Everything is not fine. The mega-resort community at the tip of Baja California is in dire straits, thanks to the same factors that affect tourism in all of Mexico: global recession, drug-related violence and the swine flu scare.

It doesn't matter that the latter two issues are localized in other areas. As far as many non-Mexicans are concerned, because of what they've seen on TV or read, the entire country has plague.

In Cabo, which was built initially around sportfishing, the main drag is all but deserted. Hotels are nearly empty. Cruise ships aren't coming. The number of flights have been reduced. Tracy Ehrenberg, longtime Pisces fleet owner and wife of a prominent politician, said the town is emptier than it was in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist strikes and a subsequent devastating hurricane.

But tourist destinations throughout Mexico, as the worst of a flu-related heath crisis seems to have passed, are begging people to come back--and some are doing so imaginatively.

According to a story in the Latin American Herald Tribune, eight hotels in Cancun and the Riviera Maya are offering full refunds and free vacations for up to three years to anyone who contracts the swine flu virus during their vacation.

While there have been cases of the virus in Cancun, there have been none reported in Pacific coastal destinations such as Cabo San Lucas and the entire Los Cabos region; Zihuatanejo, Puerto Vallarta or Mazatlan, according to Jose Angel Cordova, Mexico's health secretary.


In Cabo and throughout Baja California Sur's East Cape region, locals occasionally make fun of a swine flu issue that they believe was blown out of proportion by the media (see photo). But in reality, anyone who makes a living off visiting fishermen or other tourists is feeling a major pinch and knows this is no joke.

This will pass, however, and tourists will regain confidence and resume traveling to Mexico and elsewhere abroad; but when it will pass is anyone's guess.

-- Pete Thomas

Photos: Pisces Sportfishing crew in front of waterfront Cabo San Lucas office. Courtesy of Pisces. In second photo, East Cape anglers poke fun at the swine flu reports after catching, and masking, a large dorado. Courtesy of Mark Rayor

Salsa lesson

Hi guys,

As you know, this blog is not entirely about fishing, and as Ady, our reservations manager is taking salsa lessons and getting pretty good at it, I though I'd show you what I think she will dance like very soon.

Great catch for our British friends

We had a couple of geat guys from England fishing with us this week, Peter Garnder from Hereford and Jack Lester from Cheshire had a great time, catching fish from a panga and also from the beach. They caught a sierra and two beautiful snappers up to 40 lbs aboard a panga.

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Come and have drop a line!!