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Topic: Baja, The East Cape Revisited  (Read 3884 times)

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otobepelagic

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Last year my brother was invited to a fishing tourney at the East Cape. This event raises money for a local school in La Ribera. In addition the fishermen are all asked to stuff a huge duffel bag of clothes to donate.

This year Patrick and I were invited to the charitable event and we just couldn't say no to the needy. Then we figured if we are going all that way why not go to Rancho Leonero for a couple days and get a head start on the rest of the group. It's a bit early in the year for most of the fish within kayak range but we gave it a shot.

A few hours after our arrival I ran into Gary who runs the fishing program at The Ranch and he made arrangements to have a couple Hobie PA 12's delivered to the beach...SWEET. The next morning I waited at the dock at first light to get a panga ride out to the bait boat and picked up a half dozen feisty caballitos...the only live bait at this time of year. I pedaled out to the reefs and began fly lining one of the huge baits. A couple hours went by without even seeing any surface action so I headed to the beach to troll the surf ....well ...more like a kayak wake than surf. Within minutes I was HOOKED UP with a small rooster on my two piece Ugly Stick and quickly CPR'd the little monster. By then it was time for lunch and a well need break so I headed in.

After lunch I decided to get back out in the "surf" and give it another go after reloading the live well with fresh bait that we keep in a Promar collapsible net (another sweet tool to have in Baja) we keep hanging from the portable dock. The tough part of fishing with live bait is having to out run them to keep them from hiding under the kayak. You can cast them out and run a full speed only to find the little bugger still with you. Now back in the shallows with my dog running about fifty feet away on his leash it was only took minutes to hook up again...this fish being just a bit bigger than the first....again...cpr'd.  I baited up again and soon after my clicker began to zzzzzz like crazy so thumbed the barrel a bit and slid the reel into gear....FISH ON!. This fish had some shoulders and took me out to the reef and back on a glorious slay ride. Patrick was on the beach camera in hand as I jumped out of the boat for a couple quick pics and release.The wind was up and with four more days to fish I called it a day.  Yaaahoooo ....(wait that comes later)

The next day we joined the other sixty or so others at the hotel in town for the beginning of the tourney.

to be continued
« Last Edit: June 12, 2013, 12:38:44 PM by otobepelagic »
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otobepelagic

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mas
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SWEETNESS!  :smt007 you are good to All Mankind! :smt008
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Fisherman X

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Dang, that's livin' right there! Thanks for sharing O2B!
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beautiful fish papa leepin!

I was showing my wife some pictures of roosters last night and she seemed pretty down with going fishing for em sometime in the future.  maybe next year i can get down to baja!


otobepelagic

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Continued...
We joined the sixty or so others at the hotel in town for the beginning of the tourney. The next morning was a panga shoot out. Patrick and I were on the fastest and finest panga I have ever seen in Baja. That morning was a shot gun start. All the boats lined up and the horn was sounded and all the other boats but ours took off like a bullet ...our captain hadn't even put the boat in gear yet as if to say waaait fooor It and we took off. Withing five minutes there wasn't another boat in sight...they were all well BEHIND US. I was summoned to the wheel and our skipper prepared the boat. At one point I glanced at the gps and we were going over 40 mph so I knew we would be on the grounds before the others.

Arriving at the shark buoys we caught some bait and began fly lining those. Patrick was first to hook up but broke off. We couldn't get any other action there so we began a long troll. There was constant action behind the boat with marlin and sails sliding in behind but even after slowing and casting live baits the fish left uninterested. On one stop my reel (tld 2o mounted on the two piece ugly stick) began to sing so I waited and slowly slipped it into gear and set the hook...YeeHaw...FISH ON. The beast dove deep and circled the boat a few times with me following. I asked the skipper what it was and he didn't have a clue. I worked and worked and finally got the fish to color....a Hammer Head Shark! We coaxed the approximate six footer along side and cut the leader.

Next up it was Patrick's hook up but that's his story. The day wore on with the usual suspects entering the spread behind the boat and refusing our live bait. We had to be at the dock by 3:30 and with the speed of the boat and Captain HOLY TOLEDO at the wheel we made it with time to spare.

Day two was on cruisers. Each day they mixed it up and paired each of us with two others we had never met let alone fished with before. Today was windy and the real short duration between waves it was more like victory at sea rather than fishing. My ship mates each scored bill fish but I was denied even after several screaming take downs.

Day three (windy again) was more of the same for me...fish on...fish off. My two newest partners landed fish..dorado and a marlin. Around mid day I had a blind strike and set the hook into a bullet train...this fish was fast. After a few aerials the fish was identified and my heart raced knowing the fluorocarbon leader was no match for this variety. Gingerly I get the fish boat side and the deck hand took a swing and missed...now the fish turned into a torpedo and raced off to the horizon. Again coaxing the fish boat side the gaff was struck home and fish landed....YAAAHOO (rhymes with that). First one for me in +20 years of fishing Baja! The day wore on and the ocean got angry...so angry we had to divert the boat to the new marina and take a van back to the hotel. Many fellow anglers became haters (like we do here...in a good way) upon hearing of my catch. I have been emailing friend on the trip (who's fished Baja longer than me) a picture of the fish every few hours since our return... :smt003

Day Four magically I was paired up with Patrick and Ken from Petaluma. Patrick hooked up (his story again) and then Ken landed a nice marlin. I landed a sail and we called it quits with the wind and waves making it too tough to stand up let alone fight a fish. Back at the dock the other boats had multiple flags flying again.

We had a blast meeting all the different fishermen each with differing characters and stories to tell of their adventures. The trip was a blurrrrrrr......

Another Great Adventure with Family, Friends, and New Friends
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otobepelagic

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YaHoooo...Wahoo!!
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PISCEAN

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perfect hook placement to land a wahoo on fluoro! Congrats 2U O2B.
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Living the dream! Way to go sounds like an epic adventure once again. Thanks for sharing!
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Allen, I'm stoked that you and Patrick were able to revisit East Cape and have the time of your lives!! Always do love your father-son adventures!! :D


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Congrats on the WAHOO!!! & another excellent adventure Uncle A.  :thumleft:


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I sure miss Rancho Leonero.  The next best thing to being there is seeing our beloved father-son team living it up in Baja.   Great pics!!!.... especially of that rooster, wahoo, and f'd up bat. :smt044

What a great early Father's Day treat for O2B.
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This report made my day.
The only thing better would to be there myself.
Very happy for the both of you..
<=>


 

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