Rancho Leonero 7/16

We made the early run from Cabo San Lucas to Rancho Leonero to try some kayak fishing, Spike set us up, then we got our bait from the bait boat at about 7:30 and put them in past the mooring bouys. Constant bites from needle fish kept us busy. Out past the needle zone I saw what looked like a rooster fish cruise by, but no bites out there. The wind came up around 11:00 so we went back in. Talked to 4 other kayakers that went a bit further than us, they had the same result. My 13 year old son, Colin had a good first kayak fishing experience bringing 5 needle fish to the yak.
Home made bait tubes worked great.
We will be on a panga out of Cabo on Tuesday and move to the ranch on Saturday.

Ahhhh... needlefish... and more needlefish.   That pic brings back memories.  I'm glad you posted it so others can see what they actually look like.  Although needlefish are bait robbing, leader destroying pests, they're actually fun to fight! 

Glad to see your son having fun with'em.

Sweet memories of the Ranch... It's so awesome... except for those F-n needles. I hate them... I hate them all!!! I must've retied my leader at least 100 times during the week I was there... thanks to the needles. Little bastards...

Freddie the Needle Hater

I too am a HATER!  Glad you had fun!

What is the edibility of the needlefish?

They look pretty cool.

Why the hate?

mol, I have never caught one either (but have caught a baby rooster from the shore, and multiple mini-toros on my baja surf trips).

here's what the baja catch has to say:

Needlefish: Various. In Baja, you will meet two types of needlefish, the big and the small, and they are as different as night and day.

Small needlefish - to three feet - are a pest fish sometimes caught inshore along both coasts of baja. They occasionally get the lure too close to their mouths after a series of tap-tap-taps from their bony beaks and you'll nail one.  they look like a chunk of silvery broomstick with a green back and a six to eight inch beak with hundreds of protruding spike little teeth. They give a minimal fight. Pitch 'em back.

Now the giant needlefish, or great "agujon" is another story entirely.

This terrorist runs to over five feet in length, and will quickly shred the finest albacore feathers and plastic jigs to ribbons as it slashes with its alligator jaws. They are found only in the southern half of the Cortez, with their headquarters near Bahia Agua Verde. They will usually be caught near shore over shallow reefs and shoal water.

Giant needlefish attack from the sides in wolf pack like groups. You can actually see them bounding along breaking the surface in long leaps as they close in on a feather. Then there's a flurry back there as one after another grabs the lure and rips at it. When the tugging stops, it means there's nothing left of the lure except the hook and head, so you reel in and time on another one.

Mexican Needlefish, Tylosurus crocodilus (Large, to over Six Feet)

Eventually, you'll hook one (usually on the side of the head) and it'll bounce high in the air before makeing a spirited run. They fight on the surface by splashing, shaking their heads in the air, and jumping occasionally. After the first run they may make a couple of shorter ones. But keep that drag loose, and have fun with theml, for they tire rather soon.

with giant needlefish, the release is the most exciting part of the fight. The largest agujon we've seen was caught by Neil Kelly (an author) in the surf. It was 5 feet 4 inches long, with a 16 inch girth and a snapping 17-inch beach filled with teeth like big rose thorns. Grabbing one of these behind the head to release it is tricky business. Watch out for those snapping alligator jaws, and throw it overboard--mouth first!

And here's another weird story about this sharp-nosed fish. Recently there have been a couple of cases where fast-flying needlefish have driven themselves right through the legs of windsurfers! Ouch!

Giant needlefish meat is slightly greenish when raw, but it cooks up white. They are very good eating if you avoid the many tiny bones.

I'm guessing these weren't giant needlefish but the one in the picture looks pretty big.

What about the advice from that guy about weighting the bait to get it below the needlefish? Does that work?

J

I've caught needlefish in SD Bay, but they were tiny compared to that guy.

They look like they have the body of a barracuda.

MolBasser

Here is a story about a guy getting speared by one in HI last year:

http://starbulletin.com/2005/07/30/news/index4.html

Theres nothing "wrong" with needles, but when you want a tuna and can't keep your bait/rig alive for more than 30 seconds without a needle chewing it all to hell, its tough to catch anything else.  I would go through 20 feet of flouro leader a day because of needles this year.   All of that retying was also less time fishing.

We had better luck either weighting our baits or drifting them so they would get down, as the needles were on the surface for the most part.  In the past we have caught some huge ones, didn't see any biggies this year.

If you are not careful, it is really easy to get stabbed by one of them. When you hook one, they come to the top of the water and then start skimming across the top. If you are trying to pull one in, it will turn towards you and come flying right at you.

JohnK, how did you get the bait from the bait boat and into your bait tube? Did you put them in a bucket and transfer them? I was thinking of bringing a funnel that would be big enough for the fish to slide through and into the tube.

Have them loaded into the Plano, and then slide them in by hand (one by one) head first.  Keep the end of the tube in the water...EZ and only takes a few seconds.  A Plano load will easily fill two 2 foot x 2 inch tubes.  Any bait left in the Plano will die SOON.