NEW TIN BOAT ADDITIONS AND SIERRA CAUGHT ON REBEL FASTRAC LURES

Oct. 11, 2006, Torrance Eddy, Buena Vista, East Cape, Baja California Sur, Mexico:

This is mostly informational. I went fishing yesterday. I had two newly acquired pieces of gear. One was a 25 watt marine VHF radio which I mounted onto a plastic "milk" box using a Quick Start as my battery as my power source. I have a standard antenna mounted onto the boat itself. This is a great way for a small boat to use a "big" radio without the weight and nuisance of a regular battery.

The other new piece of gear was a 150 quart split-lid Igloo cooler for putting (dream on) big fish into. Slowly, I'm turning my 14 foot aluminum skiff into a fishing boat.

The cooler is really big and I suppose I could get around it by filleting bigger fish as soon as they are caught but that plan would destroy the dream of catching more than one.

My next addition will be a bigger motor which should happen in a week or two.

Yesterday, I did my usual East Cape fishing run on a zigzag line between Los Barriles and Punta Colorada to a point a bit over a mile off Rancho Leonero and back.

My only catch was 2 each 24-inch Sierra, both caught on the same lure, a five inch jointed, black/silver Rebel Fastrack.

I'd heard there were a few sierra around but was still surprised. I think I could have caught more if I had left earlier.

As it was, I got underway just after Palmas and Verdugo. One of the sierra was tail hooked. As soon as it struck it took off straight down and very fast. I thought I had a tuna with its speed and strength. But that lasted for well less than a minute before it came in easily.

I am both a fisherman and bird watcher. So, when I spotted a Frigate Bird a couple of hundred meters away feeding on the surface, I kept my eye on it and soon the water went wild with some kind of fish chasing bait fish very fast and sending a wake into the air. It resembled that of a roosterfish near shore and I suspect that was what it was. The green, or shallow, water there goes out well over a mile and this was in that area not far from the blue water.

(See "Mexico Fishing News" online for current fishing reports, photos, weather, and water temperatures from East Cape and other major Mexican sportfishing areas. Vacation travel articles, fishing maps and seasonal calendars, and fishing related information for East Cape may be found at Mexfish.com's main East Cape page.