ENSENADA FISHING BOAT BAD DOG SCORES FIRST ALBACORE OF THE YEAR

March 1, 2005, Steve Ross, Bad Dog, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico:

Last Saturday, February 26th, I took out 2 members of San Diego Anglers Sportfishing Club fishing out of Marina Coral at Ensenada in an effort to hunt down and kill albacore and capture "First Albacore of the Year." It used to be a big deal amongst the clubs. Once Gary Graham called me up and invited myself and other club presidents to join him on his "Water Closet" to knock off the award on his boat for all the clubs. Man it was rough, but we did it. It used to be a big deal.

I found the albacore from studying Jeff Gammon's Terrafin SST chart from Thursday. While underway to our fishing area around the 450 spot I put a black spot to where I wanted to go in an elevated temperature zone. I then recorded this spot in my GPS.

When my arrival alarm went off, so did the clicker on one of the reels which was the one I drew in our lottery conducted in the slip before departure.

What great fishing luck it was, as I left the wheel to reel up the first albacore for Bad Dog this year and this weight receipt is being submitted to San Diego Anglers claiming the plaque. This will be 2 years in a row where Bad Dog and I have won this prestigious award.

The Ensenada fishing water was a cold 59.8 degrees and it was blue. The seas off Ensenada were up to 5 feet and it was blowing 18 knots on a friend's sailboat instrument. Whitecaps were everywhere, and one guest did something I have only heard about, he actually turned GREEN after he turned deathly white. There was no live bait available in Ensenada so we were a jig boat. No takers on iron drop backs. We found a few paddies, no one was home.

One wave dropped so fast that it even surprised the marlin I was looking at. He dropped out of the sky with water only left on his rear end. It wasn't soon thereafter when I heard a loud crack, and the crew goes, "I dunno what that was." Looking closer at the deck, I discovered a missing rod and reel from the port shotgun. Someone had changed the jig from a cedar plug daisy chain to a single albacore jig and had forgotten to put on the safety line. Bye, bye Shimano two-speed and Outrageous Custom Rod in a 5 rod set. Did we get marlin bit? Maybe! I would suspect so, but since he didn't come up jumping with a rod and reel hanging from him, who's to know? Had that deck person connected it all to the safety line I might also be claiming "First Marlin of the Year." If you catch a marlin with 700 yards of 40 pound and my rod and reel, please call me.