YELLOWTAIL AND BIGEYE TUNA CAUGHT BY OFFSHORE FISHING BOATS

Oct. 31, 2004, Steve Ross, Bad Dog, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico Fishing:

I arrived in Ensenada looking for crew. I found no one. Well you know what they say, at this time of year, the fish outlast the fishermen. I finally recruited Tom McInally (Wide Open) after his food poisoning died down and this took through Saturday to set up a Sunday trip.

We got a late start on purpose. Barney, had filled my bait tank with the most incredible sardines from Mike's Ensenada Live Bait and by Sunday they were killers and cured.

So we headed for the 238 (The Boot). It's amazing what you see in the light of day. Floating 55 gallon drums, huge kelp paddies in the Todos Santos Bay, and just as you get out of the Marina, lobster traps all over the place. Later in the day when I was backing down to get the line Tom wound onto my prop, a lobster rope came undone. Whoa. Don't have a clue when I did that.

On the way to the 238 in 66-degree cobalt blue water I observed a panga flying a Mexican flag running alongside. I picked him up on Channel 6 and we began talking. Nice enough chap. We promised each other to keep in touch and report findings. He was Guillermo on the panga El Dorado.

He found a paddy first, about 6 miles East of the spot and called me. We had already found one and Tom's little yellowtail spit the bait while I never connected with one.

So I stepped her up and that's when the jig rod long starboard went off at about 10 knots. What a disturbance as I could see El Dorado off in the distance and he said that the yellowtail are wide-open and he's boated 13 so far. But, this jig strike proved to be a 14-pound Bigeye Tuna. We cut out his liver and examined it later on the boat while traveling back to the Marina. This is the season for killing juveniles. If you have a problem with this, stay on the dock as this is the game. As a side note, in my opinion and others who have fisheries degrees, the preservation of any species is better maintained with killing juveniles than top of the pyramid surviving breeders. So we're unsung heroes in a sense outside of PETA's opinions.

Well, we arrived and I carefully positioned Bad Dog on THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PADDY, and far enough away not to piss anyone off. All 3 anglers were bendo on the panga. I nailed one instantly on live bait and boated a 5-pound yellowtail. That was it for us and also El Dorado. I think they got them all and we landed the last survivor.

By the end of the day we had scratched out 1 Bigeye tuna and 3 yellowtail (all on bait). There were no boats anywhere nor on the radio. We represented America. The radio was blank all day on 72. However I must admit I was on 6 for most of the day talking to Guillermo (my new friend from Ensenada Sportfishing) from time to time during the day. I also didn't want to miss his call as he had hawk eyes in his panga and found many more paddies than I.

Thanks to Gene Kira for inspiring me to research the ID of bigeyes. This along with Mar Diosa's specimen has caused me to always take a second look on tuna captures. Sure enough, jerk out the livers and lay 'em on the deck, you'll be surprised. One friend of mine the other night (Ski) said, "I thought that Bigeye are bigger than that." He was referring to it's 14-pound weight. I replied, "They gotta get born, don't they?"

How long will tuna be around? How long before we HAVE TO go rock codding? Beats me, but I know for right now you can still snag a tuna a day offshore Ensenada and the paddies are holding...only if you find the right paddy as Guillermo was complaining that most of the paddies he found were bare. And he can surely find them.