GOOD BONITO FISHING WITH CAPT. MARCOS IN TOUGH DECEMBER SEA CONDITIONS

Dec. 15, 2006, Ken Jones, Puerto Santo Tomas, Baja California, Mexico:

I'm back from Sam's Puerto Santo Tomas Resort last weekend. The winds were howling, swells horrific, the usual for me at Puerto Santo Tomas.

There are two truisms in life: Do not get behind the line I choose at the supermarket. 2) If I am going to Punta Santo Tomas, the fishing conditions will be gruesome.

With that said, we had a blast! I love that place.

I went down to Puerto Santo Tomas December 9-11, 2006, with my friend Todd Garber. Conditions were not good as storm fronts from the Pacific were finally making their way that far south.

Sam Saenz had contacted me to get there as soon as I can as the seas had been calm for weeks. If you are going to Puerto Santo Tomas, it is a great idea to have a day or so on each side of your trip extra to have a back up in case of rough seas. Listen to Sam if he tells you via email to come down early or wait a day!

The day before a couple of fishermen from Santa Barbara caught many Bonito and bottom fish as well.

Luckily, during our stay the Bonito were still biting, as the bottom fishing was a nonstarter.

What a difference a day makes. The Bonito bite continued and we hooked 9 and landed 6. I had no idea how strong they were as I had never really caught them before. Not that bad bringing them in, but one look at the boat and they said bye-bye and took off again. Fun!

Marcos as captain was patient and guided the panga through rough seas, howling winds, and kelp to catch the Bonito on blue Yozuris. Bottom fishing was nonexistent because of the swells.

I just do not understand the “junk fish” label for Bonito for so many fishermen. Maybe it's because they are going after Yellowtail when they catch bonito instead.

I even find bonito quite tasty if you cut out the dark red meat. A good trick is to take strips and dunk them in soy sauce marinade and then dry them out in a low oven for jerky. It's great stuff.

I had a good "wake up call" during the drive back. We were literally talking about how cool a trip it had been, driving back in those hills between the military check point and Maneadero, when an out-of-control cement truck comes around a blind turn, waaaaay into my lane and almost sent us to that big, calm, well stocked ocean in the sky. Just a reminder that every turn on Baja's Highway Mex 1 is a dangerous one.

Sam Saenz of Puerto Santo Tomas Resort, as always, was a fantastic host and Puerto Santo Tomas is still a great getaway under any conditions."

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