The Right Stuff

Well I had the post below all done and then....I went fishing this morning. On my 3rd cast I caught a smaller Corvina and on the next cast this jumbo unit. I got him on a silver plastic swim jig and I have to say he fought nobly . Now he's not that 7 or 8 Kilo Robalo I want but we're getting way closer. So thanks my teammates for teaching me the info I share below and boy howdy, another great day with Shark Team X,

My friend Chris Fejes is headed to Cabo San Lucas for surf fishing in a few months and here at LaMarina I've been answering questions from my friend Jim Mullin about the surf so I thought maybe I'd do a quick primer on the gear that is unique to surf fishing. I know a lot of you might get bored with all this fish stuff but please bear with me and I'll get back to Jeff" s interpretation of the meaning of life and our place amongst the stars in the next entry....But I will start with the end results, me and my pard at Loco's happily awaiting a Robalo cooked entero.  As you can see he was a bit big for the pan and Javier had to behead him to fit, usually when they're served you get it all, eyeballs just a staring ya down. The fish is so crispy, served with garlic butter instead of tartar sauce....oh baby.....we ate half and Javier's family got the other.

Because we're land locked without the aid of a boat I think surf fishermen are more dependant on having quality gear, you really need the right stuff as distance and reliability are EVERYTHING. Here's my two main set up's, big and small. The big is a 11' Lamiglass Surf King rated for 2 to 4 ounce lures, it has 30 pound power pro on which in my opinion is the best....and most expensive at 30 bucks for 300 yards. The reel is Daiwa Saltiga that the guys at Trusty hardware almost gave away. It's made for the surf with an enclosed spool and a manual bail so as to avoid mid flight closures that result in really long cast but with no line attached to the lure.... I hate that.

The little is a Cabela's rod that my friend Don Simone gave me. I don't think it was real expensive but it is the perfect size and has proven it's durability over the last 5 seasons. It's 11' rated for 1/2 to 3 ounce lures, two is just perfect on it. The reel has 20 pound Power Pro and is a new Shimano Stradic that I start every season with and they are just great, but even as good a product it is it still starts to grind a bit and loose some smoothness by the time the season is over. after all that reels been cast and retrieved thousands and thousands of time. Both of these rods I can easily get 100 yards with and when I hit the swing just right I suppose we're getting 150 yards and maybe just a skoosh more. Unfortunately not all the gear stands up to this kind of use. For the second time in two years I have a broken Okuma 12' Cedros rod that I bought at trusty. I had thought about getting it warrantied again but whats the point really. They just break again in the same place and only after the first month on the surf.

The pictures below are the lures, what I call the three major food groups. The first are the plastic swim fish on the lead jig heads. I brought down 1500 of the plastics and we build our own jigs. These guys are by far the most popular in Mexico and will catch it all....robalo, corvina, pargo, toro, sierra...For distance and fishing the rocks we go heavy with 2 ouncers and on the sandy beach we go small with 1 ouncers or less....There's a bit of strategy involved with deciding which rod and lure combo to throw under which conditions. The light you can throw longer but the heavier sinks better and more distance of course....just depends on how you're feeling and how long you think it's going to take to either catch or cry uncle.

The metals cost some lettuce so we use these guys verrrrrry carefully. That 3 ounce castmaster Ernie gave me is a 12 dollar lure. The fish love them and for max distance you gotta go medal and heavier the better, We have Hopkins, Castmaster, Lazer Minnows, Krocodile and the cutest little home made deal I've ever seen....casts like a bullet. In Alaska if they only let you have one lure (which is probably just a regulation over sight from ADF+G) it would be a Pixie, in Mazatlan it would be the Krocodile.

The plugs are my favorite. It's just magic to watch a 3 ounce Ranger freely flying with an eventual splash down 125 yards out. and never mind the take when a you see the Toro or Rooster crash the lure and miss it but throwing it a foot in the sir only to get it good a second later....now that's fishing. I also have steady performer in the red and white Mirro Lure that is a shallow diver that's good in the rocks. In this line up we have the Roberts in a Ranger and Whistler, Line Stretcher, Mirro Lures (two kinds) a Spook and a Bomber popper as well as Cabo Killer.

On Sunday we have a tradition where we walk the beach together 3 miles north to a restraunt to have Menudo. This last Sunday there were fish everywhere. I had the big rod and big tackle selection as I was thinking Rooster fish ( like I always am) but it was still fun to get into the toros and such a school of loco fish I've never seen. They have ultra soft mouths and spit the hook routinely. Several times I'd have 2 or 3 on during just one cast.....

It seems like the eatables, the Robalo and the Corvina the only way to find them is to fish for them. But this is what every surf fisherman loves to see and signals a great Toro bite....game on.

So it naturally takes me a while and MP is hungry and well it's not as much a fishing trip as it is a hand holder so we get on up to have breakfeast. Menudo for me and Majaca for MP watching the surfers and listening to this family play, what's better than kids singing early morning romantica with there dad ? And when we leave for a minute there I thought my old friend Roger Nelson was in town....man I love this place.

Just as I'm wrapping up this blog post I got a call from /Shark Team X command post. Looks like tomorrow we're going to THE place again and maybe, just maybe I'll catch that walter Robalo I kinda need. I know one thing, my odds are 50 / 50....I either will or I won't. In either case I'll enjoy a gorgeous sun rise like this one and a day with friends fishing hard....