MAKO SHARK CAUGHT BY ENSENADA SPORTFISHING BOAT BAD DOG

Sept. 9, 2005, Steve Ross, Bad Dog, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico:

Fishing out of Ensenada on Friday, September 9th, at 0400 Gail, Louie Garcia, San Diego Angler member, and I departed Marina Coral.

We took a load of anchovies from Gordo's seiner who was floating outside the Marina. Gail and Louie liked each other sooooo much that they couldn't keep their lucky Joes away from each other while the mackerel were boiling on the chum the Mexicans threw out to help us.

Actually, after they unhooked from each other, they both had bird's nests the like I have never seen. Louie managed to coax a few mackerel into eating his bird's nest and we left with a few worms in the tank. There were Ensenada fishing boats waiting for bait as there was the Davis Tournament.

Bad Dog started with lines in at grey light at the 238. All the anchovies were dead. The wind was blowing at least 15 and the seas began at 6 foot with occasional twins at 8 foot and hardly any interval.

The fishing water was contrary to the SST charts, being somewhere in between green and blue darkened by total overcast. It was a warm 69.

In between the 238 and 295 I metered more bait than I have ever seen before in my life. It was thick from the top down to 250 feet. It never stopped and amazed me.

At 0800 the port shotgun went off. Louie had already told me that he had never gaffed a large fish before so when Gail reeled up a large mako that wanted to fight I left the wheel and grabbed the largest cane pole. When he came back and almost in gaff range he found new zest and took off again peeling off about another 25 yards.

To make a long story short, this mako wanted to eat us and spent most of his time jumping around, thrashing, and trying to bite the gaff which I sunk into his gills. Louie, decided that this would be a great time to continue barfing and Ralphed on Mr. Mako after I took his suggestion and dragged him onto the swim step.

Gail tried to tail rope him to no avail so I handed her the gaff and I lowered my hands into the water and slipped the cable around his tail and then cleated it down. That pissed him off and he took off at full speed but only for a foot or two as the cable cinched him down so he turned to bite whatever was behind him. That would be me.

All three of us were inspired to keep our limbs well into the cockpit and Louie decided to massage him with the bat the Kraus' gave us. I believe he liked that and I called for a knife. Gail brought out a nice little short knife and I then brought my hands to his head and cut his throat. He didn't like that so he raised his head, but Louie had then inserted his gaff somewhere around his teeth which held him down. I stabbed him a couple dozen times teaching Louie where a Mako's brain is housed and we had "How to Kill a Mako Without a Gun 101."

Back in the slip he weighed 80 pounds dressed as I had cut out his stomach while trolling around the 295 all day for nothing.

Where have all the fishies gone? I thought someone would be tailing in these swells and was terrified with the thought of hooking a marlin with this crew. No jig strikes all day.

Saturday, we stayed on the beach at Ensenada, as I didn't feel like being the only boat crazy enough to brave these conditions.