Tunaslam
07-20-2015, 10:54 AM
Mike and his lovely wife Amy invited me to them on the El Cazadora out of Sergio’s Sportfishing in Ensenada, which Mike had chartered. I met Mike at my work in San Bernardino, as he lives in Lake Arrowhead, at 11:30 am Saturday, 07-18-15. Mike had rented a van to take all of us down south in comfort. At the last minute he had four people cancel on him. So only one other angler joined us, Rick, a working associate of Mike. Four people to share a 63’ long boat, yikes!
It literally poured down rain for some 80 miles of our 120 mile journey to the Mexican border, where it promptly ceased raining. Baja had received some rain though, as there were plenty of puddles everywhere. Mike stated that he would stop at the local fish market in Ensenada and purchase some filets of Black Seabass to take to his favorite restaurant “Shalom” located just a little north of the pier in downtown Ensenada for dinner.
I was licking my chops thinking about the last time we were there and brought them Red Snapper filets. They put on a feast, cooking the fish three ways, Blackened with a light green cilantro sauce, that is incredible, Vera Cruz Style and cooked in Lemon Garlic Butter. Mike also bought some ripe Avocados, so they could make some of the best tasting Guacamole I have ever had the pleasure of tasting.
Our dinner includes appetizers, chips and hot salsa, Pico De Gallo sauce for us guys and gals that handle the heat, cooked Jalapeno, Serrano and Yellow peppers, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, sautéed onions (caramelized), a salad, cerviche and fresh baked sourdough bread. Also included is a mega sized Margarita for $10.00 each! Unreal?
The Black Seabass was to die for, and I ate so much food I could hardly walk. We were spending the night on the boat, which would leave at 5am. So we went to Sergio’s and checked in. The boat would not be ready for boarding until 8pm, and it was only 6:30 pm, so we walked around the pier and through all the street vendors and other shops, plus a second visit to the Seafood market.
It is good to see Ensenada alive again. The Cruise ship was just leaving, and still there were 100’s of folks walking around. The skies were clear, there was no wind at all, and it was as balmy as any evening in Hawaii! The sunset was as pleasant as it can possibly get, although no red skies, with not even a single cloud in the distance. Just simply serene.
We got some help loading our gear on the boat, however, the bunks were still not ready, although no one was thinking about sleep yep, just taking it all in. Besides it was so warm and humid, the bunk room was no place to hang out until it cooled off.
A few cold ones later and lots of fish stories, the bunk room was tolerable at 10:30 pm. Lights out for me and Amy, while Mike and Rick continued their discussions of past conquests.
The engines fired up at 4:30 am and we pulled away at a 5:15 am. Nothing changed on the weather scene, balmy, clear skies and not a breath of wind. I waited too long to take a picture, as it started getting hazy at 9am. But this gives you an example of conditions:
This is Todo Santos Island.
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Mike%20K/100_4143%201024x768_zpsr62q96qj.jpg
The Banda Point:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Mike%20K/100_4141%201024x768_zpspxfcxgpt.jpg
We spent about an hour making Mackerel for bait, and fortunately they had about 50 pieces leftover from the previous day’s fishing, as we only made about 30 pieces in our time frame. We headed towards Punta Banda Point.
About a ½ hour later the Captain spotted some braking fish under the birds and we slid up on them. There were puddling Yellowtail everywhere. I grabbed my jig stick and ran to the bow. One of the crew Antonio was already casting iron. He got followed and boiled on several times, but no hook ups. I tried both Yo Yoing and surface casting for nothing. I heard the sounds of hookup in the stern and went back to see both Mike and Amy bent over.
Mike was first to land his Yellowtail about 12 pounds. Shortly thereafter Amy brought hers to gaff, maybe a little bigger. The fish sunk out and we began slow trolling Mackerel. Maybe ten minutes later I was bit on the slow troll, yeah I hollered fresh one. The Yellowtail took one long run and then I almost straight grinded it to the both, then sounded and put up a little fight before Antonio stuck him with a gaff, about 14 pounds.
I got bit as did others on the troll, and unfortunately we usually reeled in squashed and mutilated baits. Tough for them to swallow the bigger Mackerel. We had some smaller Spanish Jacks, however, they died quickly when slow trolling?
We saw school after school of Yellowtail, they just would not stick with the boat and simply didn’t seem interested in biting. There was plenty of schools of Anchovies they were crashing on, so the bigger baits weren’t getting their attention.
Late morning I hooked another nicer Yellowtail in the 20 pound range. After getting it quickly to deep color, the Captain started yelling, hurray a seal is on it. I quickened my stroke, and got it within 10 feet of the gaff, when obviously sensing the seal nearby took one last run. I should have buttoned down the drag, but the seal grabbed it and surfaced, and with one slap on the water, separated the body from the head. Bummer!
A few minutes later Rick got bit on the troll and it stuck. He also had a nicer fish and it fought valiantly. A good tussle and the nice Tail was finally gaffed:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Mike%20K/100_4144%20588x1024_zps2majb3fe.jpg
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Mike%20K/100_4145%201024x747_zpstj83nhii.jpg
We saw fish everywhere, and heard that some of the porpoise schools all around were holding Tuna. Several boats caught Tuna and Dorado in the same area we were working, inside the bay.
At 12:30 pm the winds came up and it started to rain. We put out the feathers and Rapalas for our troll home, but nothing bit.
A picture of all the Yellowtail caught:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Mike%20K/100_4147%201024x579_zpsnkeqakwq.jpg
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Mike%20K/100_4146%201024x570_zpsrjekbg6k.jpg
A slow day, however, the fish were there, just no chewing in force today. On Mike’s and Amy’s last two trips out, they both caught easy limits of Yellowtail, plus Bonito and Barracuda.
Enjoyed late lunch at Shalom’s with fresh Yellowtail filets the main course:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Mike%20K/IMG_0154_zpsjjrkhgpn.jpg
We started our long trek home at 3:30 pm, choosing Otay Mesa over Tecate, and no way would we go through San Yasidro on a Sunday evening! It rained off and on all the way and the poorly constructed streets and gutters were filling up fast with water, which the likes of which have not been seen in many years?
After several detours to get around flooded streets, we arrived in line at Otay Mesa. Yikes it was as far back as I have ever seen it. I guessed a minimum of 1.5 hours on up. Made it through in 58 minutes, and the custom agent simply compared passports to faces, looked inside the van, asked us where we had been and where we were going and sent us on our way. Yee ha!
Rain, rain and more rain all the way home, several times stopped by CHP to clear vehicles that had stalled or slid out. Back in San Bernardino at 9pm, I was home in Diamond Bar at 10PM. Still raining.
Thanks so much for the invite Mike and Amy, had a blast. Nice meeting you Rick. I can’t wait for our next adventure together.
Hook up! Cory
It literally poured down rain for some 80 miles of our 120 mile journey to the Mexican border, where it promptly ceased raining. Baja had received some rain though, as there were plenty of puddles everywhere. Mike stated that he would stop at the local fish market in Ensenada and purchase some filets of Black Seabass to take to his favorite restaurant “Shalom” located just a little north of the pier in downtown Ensenada for dinner.
I was licking my chops thinking about the last time we were there and brought them Red Snapper filets. They put on a feast, cooking the fish three ways, Blackened with a light green cilantro sauce, that is incredible, Vera Cruz Style and cooked in Lemon Garlic Butter. Mike also bought some ripe Avocados, so they could make some of the best tasting Guacamole I have ever had the pleasure of tasting.
Our dinner includes appetizers, chips and hot salsa, Pico De Gallo sauce for us guys and gals that handle the heat, cooked Jalapeno, Serrano and Yellow peppers, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, sautéed onions (caramelized), a salad, cerviche and fresh baked sourdough bread. Also included is a mega sized Margarita for $10.00 each! Unreal?
The Black Seabass was to die for, and I ate so much food I could hardly walk. We were spending the night on the boat, which would leave at 5am. So we went to Sergio’s and checked in. The boat would not be ready for boarding until 8pm, and it was only 6:30 pm, so we walked around the pier and through all the street vendors and other shops, plus a second visit to the Seafood market.
It is good to see Ensenada alive again. The Cruise ship was just leaving, and still there were 100’s of folks walking around. The skies were clear, there was no wind at all, and it was as balmy as any evening in Hawaii! The sunset was as pleasant as it can possibly get, although no red skies, with not even a single cloud in the distance. Just simply serene.
We got some help loading our gear on the boat, however, the bunks were still not ready, although no one was thinking about sleep yep, just taking it all in. Besides it was so warm and humid, the bunk room was no place to hang out until it cooled off.
A few cold ones later and lots of fish stories, the bunk room was tolerable at 10:30 pm. Lights out for me and Amy, while Mike and Rick continued their discussions of past conquests.
The engines fired up at 4:30 am and we pulled away at a 5:15 am. Nothing changed on the weather scene, balmy, clear skies and not a breath of wind. I waited too long to take a picture, as it started getting hazy at 9am. But this gives you an example of conditions:
This is Todo Santos Island.
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Mike%20K/100_4143%201024x768_zpsr62q96qj.jpg
The Banda Point:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Mike%20K/100_4141%201024x768_zpspxfcxgpt.jpg
We spent about an hour making Mackerel for bait, and fortunately they had about 50 pieces leftover from the previous day’s fishing, as we only made about 30 pieces in our time frame. We headed towards Punta Banda Point.
About a ½ hour later the Captain spotted some braking fish under the birds and we slid up on them. There were puddling Yellowtail everywhere. I grabbed my jig stick and ran to the bow. One of the crew Antonio was already casting iron. He got followed and boiled on several times, but no hook ups. I tried both Yo Yoing and surface casting for nothing. I heard the sounds of hookup in the stern and went back to see both Mike and Amy bent over.
Mike was first to land his Yellowtail about 12 pounds. Shortly thereafter Amy brought hers to gaff, maybe a little bigger. The fish sunk out and we began slow trolling Mackerel. Maybe ten minutes later I was bit on the slow troll, yeah I hollered fresh one. The Yellowtail took one long run and then I almost straight grinded it to the both, then sounded and put up a little fight before Antonio stuck him with a gaff, about 14 pounds.
I got bit as did others on the troll, and unfortunately we usually reeled in squashed and mutilated baits. Tough for them to swallow the bigger Mackerel. We had some smaller Spanish Jacks, however, they died quickly when slow trolling?
We saw school after school of Yellowtail, they just would not stick with the boat and simply didn’t seem interested in biting. There was plenty of schools of Anchovies they were crashing on, so the bigger baits weren’t getting their attention.
Late morning I hooked another nicer Yellowtail in the 20 pound range. After getting it quickly to deep color, the Captain started yelling, hurray a seal is on it. I quickened my stroke, and got it within 10 feet of the gaff, when obviously sensing the seal nearby took one last run. I should have buttoned down the drag, but the seal grabbed it and surfaced, and with one slap on the water, separated the body from the head. Bummer!
A few minutes later Rick got bit on the troll and it stuck. He also had a nicer fish and it fought valiantly. A good tussle and the nice Tail was finally gaffed:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Mike%20K/100_4144%20588x1024_zps2majb3fe.jpg
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Mike%20K/100_4145%201024x747_zpstj83nhii.jpg
We saw fish everywhere, and heard that some of the porpoise schools all around were holding Tuna. Several boats caught Tuna and Dorado in the same area we were working, inside the bay.
At 12:30 pm the winds came up and it started to rain. We put out the feathers and Rapalas for our troll home, but nothing bit.
A picture of all the Yellowtail caught:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Mike%20K/100_4147%201024x579_zpsnkeqakwq.jpg
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Mike%20K/100_4146%201024x570_zpsrjekbg6k.jpg
A slow day, however, the fish were there, just no chewing in force today. On Mike’s and Amy’s last two trips out, they both caught easy limits of Yellowtail, plus Bonito and Barracuda.
Enjoyed late lunch at Shalom’s with fresh Yellowtail filets the main course:
http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i394/tunaslam/Mike%20K/IMG_0154_zpsjjrkhgpn.jpg
We started our long trek home at 3:30 pm, choosing Otay Mesa over Tecate, and no way would we go through San Yasidro on a Sunday evening! It rained off and on all the way and the poorly constructed streets and gutters were filling up fast with water, which the likes of which have not been seen in many years?
After several detours to get around flooded streets, we arrived in line at Otay Mesa. Yikes it was as far back as I have ever seen it. I guessed a minimum of 1.5 hours on up. Made it through in 58 minutes, and the custom agent simply compared passports to faces, looked inside the van, asked us where we had been and where we were going and sent us on our way. Yee ha!
Rain, rain and more rain all the way home, several times stopped by CHP to clear vehicles that had stalled or slid out. Back in San Bernardino at 9pm, I was home in Diamond Bar at 10PM. Still raining.
Thanks so much for the invite Mike and Amy, had a blast. Nice meeting you Rick. I can’t wait for our next adventure together.
Hook up! Cory