Fishing the Baja

[ksanders]

Today was a good day on the water catching Dorado.
We caught our limit of nice fish, and have had good winds and seas.

Today we are in between Magdalena Bay and Cabo San Lucas.
This is the last big run of this trip. We left Ensenada last Tuesday and will make it to Cabo right at daylight tomorrow.

A great run with great friends!

 

[SteveK]

I should have talked you out of leaving AK.
The stress you have to endure every day keeps me awake at night.

Give yourself a pat on the back

 

[slowgoesit]

Great job Vicki! How about you, Kevin? Did you catch any fish as well?
That makes our 1 Mahi Mahi and two Bonita yesterday look a little puny . . . .
And I don't know what your talking about, the Bonita were delicious! We just made sure we cut out all the really dark meat, and lightly breaded, they were scrumptious! We're trying the Mahi Mahi this evening with Peter and Cheryl of Weebles. . . . stay tuned!

 

[ksanders]

Great job Vicki! How about you, Kevin? Did you catch any fish as well?
That makes our 1 Mahi Mahi and two Bonita yesterday look a little puny . . . .
And I don't know what your talking about, the Bonita were delicious! We just made sure we cut out all the really dark meat, and lightly breaded, they were scrumptious! We're trying the Mahi Mahi this evening with Peter and Cheryl of Weebles. . . . stay tuned!

Vicky is the fisherwoman! I just drive the boat.

hmmm on the Bonito! Maybe I did not cut out the dark meat.

Glad all is going well in Turtle Bay!

 

[ksanders]

I should have talked you out of leaving AK.
The stress you have to endure every day keeps me awake at night.

Give yourself a pat on the back

It has been difficult! This whole being a cruiser as a retiree lifestyle is just overrated!!

 

[mvweebles]

Kevin - I am perhaps the worst fisherman on the planet. My luck is so bad it's contagious.

What are you rolling and how far back? I run 6.5 kts.

Also, in the odd chance I catch something, any tips on killing it? Claw hammer?

Help please.

Peter

 

[ksanders]

Kevin - I am perhaps the worst fisherman on the planet. My luck is so bad it's contagious.

What are you rolling and how far back? I run 6.5 kts.

Also, in the odd chance I catch something, any tips on killing it? Claw hammer?

Help please.

Peter

We use a Tuna Feathers or large rapellas. Maybe 80 yards behind the boat. your cruise speed is perfect!

The best color is blue and white but others work pretty good as well.

Yes a hammer will dispatch them, we have a couple of fish smackers, think mini baseball bat.

 

[slowgoesit]

We've hooked 4 Mahi Mahi so far today, brought 3 to the boat. All three were on a hand line about 120' behind the boat . . . . and the good part . . . . all three were on the handline with the home-made lure, made out of water bottle and potato chip bags!
The other one (that got away) was probably a tuna. It was well on it's way to spooling the reel when it got off, Damnit.
Still looking for the tuna!
Peter, if you get out there, you'll have no trouble hooking up fish! But first you have to put a line in the water!

 

[slowgoesit]

Sailboat from the HaHa coming in last night cut a corner too close, and hit. Sunk, total loss. No injuries from what I've heard, so at least that's good.

 

[ofer]

Kevin - I am perhaps the worst fisherman on the planet. My luck is so bad it's contagious.

What are you rolling and how far back? I run 6.5 kts.

Also, in the odd chance I catch something, any tips on killing it? Claw hammer?

Help please.

Peter

if you run over a school of Dorado they will bite anything you throw at them. tuna are more choosey.

try to get water around 72-74F for dorado.

don't troll too far behind the boat as engine noise actually attracts the fish

 

[slowgoesit]

if you run over a school of Dorado they will bite anything you throw at them. tuna are more choosey.

try to get water around 72-74F for dorado.

don't troll too far behind the boat as engine noise actually attracts the fish

It's 75 degree water here. Should I start throwing ice cubes off the stern?!?

 

[slowgoesit]

We finally got into the fish yesterday!


We hooked 4 Dorado, landed three, two of which we let go, as they were under 38" long. The last one was 38", so a keeper.
We finally caught some Yellow Fin Tuna! First ones we've ever caught.
We also learned several things:

• We need a bigger cutting board
• We need a longer Fillet Knife
• I need to learn how to fillet fish better! I probably left a good 5 lbs of meat on the fish . . .

We finally pulled in the lines as we were tired of pulling in and cleaning fish!
Tuna were caught on 1) plain cedar plug, 150' behind boat, rod and reel, 2) yellow plug (attached) with two treble hooks, on hand line 75' behind boat.


All the Dorado were caught on the home made plug (pictured, now looking a little scraggly) made of the top of a water bottle, with cap, a round sinker (fits into underside of cap), and the feathers are strips from potato chip bags! I saw it on Youtube, and thought, "What the heck? I'll give it a try! We caught 4 Dorado on it though!

 

[ksanders]

You guys are rockin!!!

We have a freezer full of Tuna and Dorado, and clams, and are heading into La Paz today.

Water temp here is 86

 

[slowgoesit]

Just caught another Yellow Fin, this one 38", on hand line!

 

[Mainship Pilot]

Mag Bay is the home of Striped Marlin this time of year, most boats go there specifically this time of year and release dozens of them a day, some many more! I'm sure in your travels you have seen the frigates, and the boils of marlin and bird piles, it's like a National Geographic scene this time of year! Enjoy!!

 

[psneeld]

I found there is rarely a fish that isn't better if you bleed them.

Though bloody (containers help), cut their gills as soon as they come aboard.

Then get them as cool as possible...even if just in the shade of a wet towel.... better in a fish bag or cooler with even just enough ice to keep it cool.

I wouldn't use something to stun them that is hard enough to damage your deck like a hammer...flopping fish are a pretty hard to hit moving target. Big fish may need stunning, smaller harder targets not so much. Especially if bled as they calm down quick.

Some species will hit pretty close to the boat in whatever disturbed water you are creating...others (especially dolphin) seem to hit the long lines....more than 100 feet back. Of course lure size/weight/action may change where they should run.

 

[Cargile]

Kevin -................ any tips on killing it? Claw hammer?
Help please.
Peter

Lay it on the deck and put a couple of rounds from your .45 through the head. Geez

 

[psneeld]

That how you knew the first big halibut of the day was coming aboard on Kodiak, Ak.... the peace was broken by gun shots.

 

[slowgoesit]

Mainship, are striped Marlin good to eat? The Marlin in Hawaii were delicious, but pretty difficult to chew!


PSN, we bleed everything! Good advice. Just caught another Dorado (shaker), and a small Yellow Fin, 33 inches long

 

[Serene]

The best way to dispatch a fish is the Ike Jime or Iki Jime method. Basically a spike through the brain.

Of course, some fish that flail around on the deck make this method quite difficult, which is where a solid piece of hardwood shaped like a small baseball bat is handy to administer a blow to the head to subdue the fish first.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikejime

 

[Serene]

Mainship, are striped Marlin good to eat? The Marlin in Hawaii were delicious, but pretty difficult to chew!

[SNIP]

I personally would not eat marlin. Being an apex predator at the top of the food chain they can accumulate high levels of mercury in their flesh.

 

[Serene]

But the Yellowfin Tuna and the Mahi Mahi (or Dolphinfish or Dorado) that you are catching are awesome table fish!

Use the Yellowfin for fresh sashimi and the Mahi for Baja fish tacos!

The other positive with Mahi is that they are very fast growing, so are a reasonably sustainable source of food.

 

[KnotYet]

Kevin - I am perhaps the worst fisherman on the planet. My luck is so bad it's contagious.

What are you rolling and how far back? I run 6.5 kts.

Also, in the odd chance I catch something, any tips on killing it? Claw hammer?

Help please.

Peter

I've heard that budget booze into the gills quiets them right down. Haven't tried it.

 

[Serene]

And yes get your fish into an ice slurry as quickly as possible after dispatching them. A mix of ice and saltwater is best as the temperature will be below the freezing point of freshwater and thus bring the temperature of the flesh down quickly.

Residual heat in the muscle can cause lactic acid after the fight to damage the eating quality of the flesh.

 

[psneeld]

Problem with too much subduing the fish before they bleed out is a lesser quality taste in my opinion.

As long as you don't destroy enough of the brain to stop the heart... I would agree with the method.

While I know that the two methods are debated.... the lactic acid argument/preferred subduing method to me goes out the window whenever there was much of a fight bringing it in. If it was quick and the fish lively on deck and a big boy, by all means subdue it... but still try to bleed it if it's heart still is pumping.

 

[Taras]

I caught a stripped Marlin in Cabo several years ago. We had it cut into steaks and grilled it. It tasted just like Swordfish. I think I ate 3 steaks it was sooooo good! I'm not sure about the mercury levels but that would explain me regularly setting off the metal detector at the airport

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
So, bloody decks then? This is gonna be good.

 

[Mainship Pilot]

Mainship, are striped Marlin good to eat? The Marlin in Hawaii were delicious, but pretty difficult to chew!


PSN, we bleed everything! Good advice. Just caught another Dorado (shaker), and a small Yellow Fin, 33 inches long

Not really, Thus the release statement. Some think it's good, if you do this ,and that and this and that to it.....if you have to put a bunch of work into making a fish taste bearable, then its not edible IMHO. We typically release a striped marlin within 2 minutes of hook up, with the proper tackle, designed specifically for this fishery, and to release healthy. Eagle claw hooks designed for this style of fishing, deteriorate within 3 days.

On the killing of meat fish, the best way to subdue a meat fish is to put a wet towel over the eyes of the fish while on the deck, and use a small bat, or something like it. Obviously, You dont want to hit the deck and damage the gelcoat. The wet towel has a calming effect, to allow you to strike the blow.

 

[guy with a boat]

... Eagle claw hooks designed for this style of fishing, deteriorate within 3 days...

I’ve heard this all my fishing life and have yet to see these magic hooks. I would like for it to be true that the hooks dissolve quickly, but I don’t know what kind of metal that has the strength to catch a fish would rust away in any reasonable period of time. Is your thought that the hook deteriorates in some manner other than rusting?

I have even done highly scientific research by tying hooks on a piece of mono and hanging them down below the dock, then checking progress. They eventually will rust, but they stay solid for a long time.

Have you ever tried a test to confirm how quickly the hook deteriorates? If so, what model Eagle Claw do you use?

Must be off season to be talking fish hooks on TF.

 

[socalrider]

I've noticed that the barbs on even normal hooks decay pretty quickly during extended trolling. I could see them deteriorating to the point where the hook would basically be barb-less within a few days?