Sometimes, you just live right. Or get lucky. Helps make up for the times when you called it wrong!
Went down Friday to work on the boat. Had been having a fuel issue with one of the motors and the problem seemed to be a dead fuel pump. Yamaha is VERY proud of their fuel pumps; to the tune of about $450 proud! So, replacement pump in hand, I start tearing the motor apart to get to the pump and, lo and behold, I discover that when the mechanic recently replaced the VST filters (required removing the fuel pump), he simply forgot to plug it back in. Unfortunately, this is not something you can readily see with a visual check. It's hidden behind a bunch of other parts you have to remove to even see the connection. Snap the electrical connection back together, put the motor back together, start the motor -- runs as good as new. This is the reason I always do most of my own work on my boat! Ugh. Anybody need a Yamaha four-stroke fuel pump, cheap?
Saturday, there was a light breeze, but the water was very nice. Connie and I had no problem loading up the bait tank at the 10 mile reef with large horse macks and some equally as big sardines. The ride out to the 51 was quick and smooth. We stopped a couple of times on the way to troll the bonita schools that were seemingly everywhere. They were easy to hook up just slow trolling a sabiki rig out behind the boat and a lot of fun to catch on the light tackle we use for making bait. At the 51, we dropped live baits, but nobody was interested. Switched to cut bait and squid and that put some smallish gold spots in the fishbox. After an hour of being nearly ignored by the fish, we pulled lines and ran to a different mark a mile and half further south. Bingo! White seabass on the first drop, followed by big-hawg gold spot after gold spot after gold spot. We hung out until about 4:30, then ran back in on calm seas.
Sunday, we had Dave from Al Capone's join us on board. The fish are very afraid of Dave. So afraid, in fact, that we could not catch a single piece of live bait. It was like every mackerel and sardine had magically disappeared from the sea overnight, even the exact places that were loaded with them the day before. After burning too much daylight on non-existent bait fish, we started the run to 51. The water was absolute glass on Sunday, as flat as I've ever seen it. Again, the bonita were everywhere on the way out, but much more shy with the perfectly flat water. They seemed to go under anytime we got near them and the couple we did hook up chewed off the sabiki. Go figure.
Again, drift on some 51 marks with just some smallish gold spots. Then, over to my 52 mark. LOTS of fish. White seabass bigger than the first day (about 25-30 lbs) and lots of BIG gold spot. We figured the only times we were catching something different is when a white seabass could get to the bait BEFORE a gold spot could! The fishing was just fantastic and our baits were getting hammered the second they hit the bottom. Then... came the sea lion. Not just your average cute little "swim with the sea lions" at the island kind of a guy, no, this was some gigantic bulbous-headed 1200 lb. bull sea lion from hell! And he was HUNGRY! Dave was 1st to experience his wrath with a nice yellowtail hooked-up. Managed to get MOST of that one to the boat. The sea lion liked Dave. Bye-bye big white seabass. Hell, the action on the sea lions was so good that I decided to get in on it and donated a very large white seabass to the cause while trying to untangle two of our lines the seabass had tangled. It's kind of eerie reeling in nothing but a huge seabass head!
Jeff and his crew came by and started fishing near us and we thought the sea lion might go play with them for awhile, so while the fast bastard was laying on his back sunning his now gourmet fish-filled belly, we tried to sneak away to a different mark and loose him. But, he liked Dave a lot and popped right up by us at our new location, smiling at Dave, just like a dog begging for a Milk-Bone. Bye-bye red snapper this time. Figures. First red snapper I've seen out there in over two years and the sea lion eats it! GAAAAHHHHH!! I used to buy some "seal bombs" (plastic cased M-80's with a waterproof fuse) down on the Malecon and it's time for me to go find some more of them to scare these fish-stealing bastards away while we're fishing. They just don't respond well to me screaming and cursing at them to leave. Time for heavy artillery!
Again, around 4-ish, time to pull lines and get in before dark. Smooth ride at 40 mph on glass seas, with a stop to see the whale that's been hanging around about a mile out of the harbor. The sunset cruise ships have been having a field day because he's been there for awhile and the whales don't usually come in that close. I think I discovered why. And, before all the eco-whale lovers and such blast me, I'll just say this - that whale is sick. So sick that his breath stinks like he's rotting from the inside out and it's only a matter of time until he dies and washes up on Sandy Beach and stenches all the condos. Maybe just in time for Spring Break! I've been around lots of whales over the years, traveled right in the middle of their pods and have NEVER smelled anything that bad coming from a whale. So what the cruise ships are telling their passengers is "whale breath" as they smell the god-awful stink coming from this creature is, in my opinion, the rank smell of him dying. It's not natural for him to be there where he is in the first place, doing slow laps around and around in circles. If anything, say a prayer for the poor creature.
Other fishing "News You Can Use" - the Mexican Navy is out there and they are stopping and boarding. Audi got stopped and boarded on Sunday, I got stopped and boarded on Sunday, so did other sportfishing boats. Have ID with you to prove who you are and your boat registration or paperwork. They did not ask for fishing licenses, but I volunteered them as well since I always have them. No complaints from me. The Navy guys were well-mannered, very professional and polite, and after a quick look confirmed we're just gringo fishing nuts, we were quickly on our way again. Young kids with full-auto, loaded machine guns tend to be pretty scary, though.
Also - Safe Marine needs to get their damned tractor fixed! Like NOW. The transmission is no bueno, or so I'm told. They are launching and recovering with an old truck and it's not safe. Saturday's launch was at very low tide and the truck conked out and we back slid right down into the harbor, nearly cracking my boat up into the dock. We were able boat-pole and push the boat of the trailer, and fortunately, no damage to the boat because the plastic bumper on the dock took the damage. VERY scary because there ain't a damn thing you can do while they're launching you but stand there and watch it happen.
All in all - Another beautiful weekend on the beautiful Sea of Cortez! Thanks to the weather gods, fishing gods, and boat gods; curses to the sea lion gods, and prayers to the whale gods. I'll post a couple pics when I get a chance to download/upload them.
uff:
Went down Friday to work on the boat. Had been having a fuel issue with one of the motors and the problem seemed to be a dead fuel pump. Yamaha is VERY proud of their fuel pumps; to the tune of about $450 proud! So, replacement pump in hand, I start tearing the motor apart to get to the pump and, lo and behold, I discover that when the mechanic recently replaced the VST filters (required removing the fuel pump), he simply forgot to plug it back in. Unfortunately, this is not something you can readily see with a visual check. It's hidden behind a bunch of other parts you have to remove to even see the connection. Snap the electrical connection back together, put the motor back together, start the motor -- runs as good as new. This is the reason I always do most of my own work on my boat! Ugh. Anybody need a Yamaha four-stroke fuel pump, cheap?
Saturday, there was a light breeze, but the water was very nice. Connie and I had no problem loading up the bait tank at the 10 mile reef with large horse macks and some equally as big sardines. The ride out to the 51 was quick and smooth. We stopped a couple of times on the way to troll the bonita schools that were seemingly everywhere. They were easy to hook up just slow trolling a sabiki rig out behind the boat and a lot of fun to catch on the light tackle we use for making bait. At the 51, we dropped live baits, but nobody was interested. Switched to cut bait and squid and that put some smallish gold spots in the fishbox. After an hour of being nearly ignored by the fish, we pulled lines and ran to a different mark a mile and half further south. Bingo! White seabass on the first drop, followed by big-hawg gold spot after gold spot after gold spot. We hung out until about 4:30, then ran back in on calm seas.
Sunday, we had Dave from Al Capone's join us on board. The fish are very afraid of Dave. So afraid, in fact, that we could not catch a single piece of live bait. It was like every mackerel and sardine had magically disappeared from the sea overnight, even the exact places that were loaded with them the day before. After burning too much daylight on non-existent bait fish, we started the run to 51. The water was absolute glass on Sunday, as flat as I've ever seen it. Again, the bonita were everywhere on the way out, but much more shy with the perfectly flat water. They seemed to go under anytime we got near them and the couple we did hook up chewed off the sabiki. Go figure.
Again, drift on some 51 marks with just some smallish gold spots. Then, over to my 52 mark. LOTS of fish. White seabass bigger than the first day (about 25-30 lbs) and lots of BIG gold spot. We figured the only times we were catching something different is when a white seabass could get to the bait BEFORE a gold spot could! The fishing was just fantastic and our baits were getting hammered the second they hit the bottom. Then... came the sea lion. Not just your average cute little "swim with the sea lions" at the island kind of a guy, no, this was some gigantic bulbous-headed 1200 lb. bull sea lion from hell! And he was HUNGRY! Dave was 1st to experience his wrath with a nice yellowtail hooked-up. Managed to get MOST of that one to the boat. The sea lion liked Dave. Bye-bye big white seabass. Hell, the action on the sea lions was so good that I decided to get in on it and donated a very large white seabass to the cause while trying to untangle two of our lines the seabass had tangled. It's kind of eerie reeling in nothing but a huge seabass head!
Jeff and his crew came by and started fishing near us and we thought the sea lion might go play with them for awhile, so while the fast bastard was laying on his back sunning his now gourmet fish-filled belly, we tried to sneak away to a different mark and loose him. But, he liked Dave a lot and popped right up by us at our new location, smiling at Dave, just like a dog begging for a Milk-Bone. Bye-bye red snapper this time. Figures. First red snapper I've seen out there in over two years and the sea lion eats it! GAAAAHHHHH!! I used to buy some "seal bombs" (plastic cased M-80's with a waterproof fuse) down on the Malecon and it's time for me to go find some more of them to scare these fish-stealing bastards away while we're fishing. They just don't respond well to me screaming and cursing at them to leave. Time for heavy artillery!
Again, around 4-ish, time to pull lines and get in before dark. Smooth ride at 40 mph on glass seas, with a stop to see the whale that's been hanging around about a mile out of the harbor. The sunset cruise ships have been having a field day because he's been there for awhile and the whales don't usually come in that close. I think I discovered why. And, before all the eco-whale lovers and such blast me, I'll just say this - that whale is sick. So sick that his breath stinks like he's rotting from the inside out and it's only a matter of time until he dies and washes up on Sandy Beach and stenches all the condos. Maybe just in time for Spring Break! I've been around lots of whales over the years, traveled right in the middle of their pods and have NEVER smelled anything that bad coming from a whale. So what the cruise ships are telling their passengers is "whale breath" as they smell the god-awful stink coming from this creature is, in my opinion, the rank smell of him dying. It's not natural for him to be there where he is in the first place, doing slow laps around and around in circles. If anything, say a prayer for the poor creature.
Other fishing "News You Can Use" - the Mexican Navy is out there and they are stopping and boarding. Audi got stopped and boarded on Sunday, I got stopped and boarded on Sunday, so did other sportfishing boats. Have ID with you to prove who you are and your boat registration or paperwork. They did not ask for fishing licenses, but I volunteered them as well since I always have them. No complaints from me. The Navy guys were well-mannered, very professional and polite, and after a quick look confirmed we're just gringo fishing nuts, we were quickly on our way again. Young kids with full-auto, loaded machine guns tend to be pretty scary, though.
Also - Safe Marine needs to get their damned tractor fixed! Like NOW. The transmission is no bueno, or so I'm told. They are launching and recovering with an old truck and it's not safe. Saturday's launch was at very low tide and the truck conked out and we back slid right down into the harbor, nearly cracking my boat up into the dock. We were able boat-pole and push the boat of the trailer, and fortunately, no damage to the boat because the plastic bumper on the dock took the damage. VERY scary because there ain't a damn thing you can do while they're launching you but stand there and watch it happen.
All in all - Another beautiful weekend on the beautiful Sea of Cortez! Thanks to the weather gods, fishing gods, and boat gods; curses to the sea lion gods, and prayers to the whale gods. I'll post a couple pics when I get a chance to download/upload them.
uff:
