That's one of my sayings for when things get tough. And I've had some tough fishing trips, from freezing my kahonies off with Nate Morton on what everybody agrees was the Kenai's coldest day to jigging halibut in 8 foot seas at the Barren Islands. But yesterday, we set a new standard for tough. One of the things I like about surf fishing is the athleticism of it, I even train for it. and its a good thing because yesterday I cast and retrieved for 9 hours straight.
That was the scene at 6 am in the surf at Poterillos, 70 miles north of Mazatlan. When Slah picked me up at 4:30 it was 44 degrees out and with the wind blowing it was brutally cold, the sun couldn't come up fast enough. Our usual spot out north just hasn't been working so this place the 'in the know guys' consider worth the effort, its produced days with 40 to 60 Corvina and usually at least 10 to 15...so, its what ya gotta do if you're serious. When I first saw it I new it was a natural, the river runs in and we fish the sweet water mix. We all start out with the short rods and our new Team X recruit Ron catches a small Corvina but then nothing. After and hour I'm the first to change to the big rod, I'm hoping just a little more distance will be the key. For an hour I chuck a 2 1/2 ounce Kroc, I'm getting an easy 150 yards and ....notta.
So after another hour we head a mile down the beach to another spot. I was the first to spot them, turtles everywhere making their way to the surf. These guys are supposed to be endangered but we keep running into them everywhere, They had just hatched out and they were way behind schedule, they're supposed to be in the water before light so the frigate birds don't get them. So we did what they could for the little buggers but the birds were dining pretty good, I hope at least a few made it. The way I understand it, Ma comes in at night and lays the eggs making a getaway before 1st light, then the eggs also hatch at night and the little guys do the same, the odds of survival they say is 100 to 1.
This next pic you can see the nest and where they finally shook completely lose of their shells. There were lots of them and the sun was beginning to takes it toll so we got them in the water as quick as we could. The eggs are perfectly round and could be mistaken for ping pong balls.
So with the turtle situation resolved the best we could we began to 'grind' as we say on the Kenai River. Cast, retrieve, step, cast, retrieve...until 2 in the afternoon. Here's a pic of me with a corvina I caught and one that Ern caught, not only were they hard earned but they're also not the size we'd like.
Then its back to the river, its low tide and as we've come this far theirs nothing to do but wait for the incoming and see if it pushes some fish ashore. In for a dollar, in for a dime. I take a short nap and when I awake my back is so stiff I can hardly get off the sand. Here's a pic of the spot, its absolutely gorgeous and totally isolated.
The tide finally pushes but as luck would have it theres a pretty good onshore breeze so we need all the distance you can get. We wade deep and far and throw just as hard as we can....notta.
So finally at 4:00 or so its time to throw the towel in, we'll be in Mazatlan by cocktail:30, a 13 hour day. We've made thousands of casts and have a total of 5 corvina, that's 5 more than none eh?....and as you can see, the most physically demanding fishing I've ever done just makes the guys smile at days end. Spirits in tack, ready for another one, Team X...my buddies. Thanks guys, I had a great day.
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