Yawner

 Yup, that first day I caught a snapper and released it seemed to be the entire highlight reel for Team X 2022....Now I've heard my Minnesota fishing friends tell me they call the Muskie the fish of 10,000 casts, well I don't know if that's true or not but if it is this nice Robalo I finally caught is the fish of 25,000 casts. I got him a week ago and I kept delaying my urge to post a Mile 14 update because I just knew there would be more.....nope , just a yawner . 

My friend Raphael who did a wonderful job remodeling our condo was on the beach and I had just told him that the first nice Snook I caught would be a thank you gift for him. As he was exercising I got bit and we both thought Toro until it jumped and then the coaching started. But he entirely swallowed a home made Pluma that Alejandro gave me last year it wasn't getting off. Here's a pic of Raphael and me with his families supper.

As the days drug onto this edition of Mile 14 I caught a Toro about every third day....so, Team X is disappointed and one of our stalwarts and well connected members decides we should try fishing bait on the bottom with live shrimp that are exceptionally hard to get . But Willie gets it done for us and 2 mornings ago at daylight we are all fishing on the bottom with the bait no fish can resist mmmm....well....the can't but they did and we found out that what Alejandro calls the Devil Fish can't resist them either . We caught not one, not two but four of these Skates.....did anyone ever tell you that's what Scallops are made of ? That's another story.

The photo of the week had to be this one...Ol Dan Stewart is a busy guy. As he's gently and respectively releasing a Toro he's scanning the surf for bait or any signals of pescado. He builds lures , ties teasers , fishes for hours and even has his own tech at the Shimano repair center in California....never ceases to amaze me. This guy is in 78 and the rest of the fishing world is in 33 and 1/3 .

Where else in the world can you roll out of bed and go straight to saving the planet ? Through the years I've seen many a Sea Turtle here and their nests. The Mexicans treat them as endangered and we always help them along when ever we can, but rare they ain't ! This nest here was only one of four that we've found in the last three weeks. It was up against the seawall and Kurt and Raphael excavated it so we could save the future a dangerous hike to the H20 .

So with all this excitement going on how's about the timeline for my typical day....

4:30....outa bed , read two papers, Helena and the Anchorage daily news.

6:00 ...sun up, on the beach fishing and of course talking.

8:00 ....meet MP after her walk with the girls for breakfast.

9:00 ...first nap, we call this one the yoga nap as the girls do yoga on the ocean terrace while I sleep to the sounds of the downward dog

10.00 to 2:00...read on the Terrace , two tostados for lunch and a Pacifico followed by the 2nd nap

2:00 to 3:30....get my 10,000 steps. I like to bus it into the gold zone then walk the 4 miles back . I 'm finally making progress and have my weight down to a steady 190 and a respectable body mass index of only 33 %.....headed for the fabled 185 and boy do I feel good.

3:30 to 4:30....hot tub the aches and pains....

4:30 : ..wait for legal cocktail time....

5:00....have a tall orange and practice 6 or 7 seven songs on the guitar

5:30...on the terrace for sunset and fellowship

6:30 .....start the barbecue and overcook what ever todays menu item is

7:00 until 3rd nap in the recliner.....Oak Island mystery , Gold Rush , Yellowstone ( still looking to see myself in that one )....

REPEAT

Normally different

 That title doesn't make sense to you ? Well....Ya know one of the unfair things in life is that anything can become routine if you let it. So that's my mission to approach things I've done over and over in a new light, a new day and a new outlook, things here in Mexico are normal.....but different.

Like one of our first sunsets...look how close I got to getting  the always allusive avian assist.  He wasn't lined up perfect like the a shot I got back on January 17th 2004 but it's a pretty darn cool assist.

We hit Maz at 5:00 p.m. and I had my fishing gear out at 5:04....it took me a couple dozen casts and I had my first consumable which I released to bank some karma . There was nobody on the beach to help with a photo so I had to settle for a sand scene. The last few mornings I've really enjoyed being alone on the playa, we are a few of the first snowbirds to arrive....you know me , like a bad house guest I'm always the first to arrive and the last to leave.

I hadn't seen my friend Alejandro so I wasn't to surprised when I walked out in the twilight of sun up and knew it was him in the surf feeling around for sand crabs to use for his set line bait. 

They call them Conchita's and the snapper just love them. Years ago at the Mayan Palace my first Mexican friend Daniel showed me how to feel for them with your in feet and then grab then when the wave recedes. I've gotten pretty good at it through the years. At first I would use the easy method and watch for a sandpiper or an Oyster Catcher hunting for them and then shooo the bird off and get his crab.

I guess I'm kind of an expert on this stuff in Mazatlan, of course whenever I used the word expert my friend Ralph ImHolte would remind me that an ex is a has been and a spirt is a drip under pressure. So many people have generously showed me the way and it's my mission to do the same...so many people....Carlos Laggette, Slah Salhi , Kiki Isquiredo , Antonio Lopez, Ramon Lizzaraga, Gabriel  . Mario , Sergio Tirado , Ernie Mills and Tim Lockwood, Dan Stewart and this man....Alejandro who I've known for 20 years . Thanks to all of you and I know there are so many I can't print them all....Jason .

As Alejandro and I chat I cast and cast and a toro jumps on the line . Another release and we have a good laugh at the suggestion that we set a up Toro only tournament with a handicap system for gringo's.

On the world famous I used to tell people that the river is always changing, everyday is different as it's a living thing just like us and the salmon it provides for. Well the same is true for the beach and with this seasons 3 near misses by Hurricanes it has changed so much that it's making my everyday life difficult because there is literally 12 to 15 feet of sand  missing and now even a small tide comes up to the seawalls. It's semi dangerous to wade in front of the seawall because when the bigger wave comes you can get smeared against the cement. I learned as a set net commercial fisherman that every 7 th wave is larger so you watch and count...and then run to the other end of the seawall. Here's a pic of a wall that me and Dan normally set our surf satchels on or sit on and have a protein bar breakfast. 

So the other night I ordered our new Limo over to take us out to F.I.S.H. for an oyster Po Boy and an extra Large Pacifico. 

We finished out the week with a Sunday morning bike ride with a stop at our favorite Menudoteria. I always have regular Menudo and MP went with the Barria....life is good and we are soooo happy to be back in Mazatlan. and from a creative perspective the Staff is really happy that I have more to write about than Zuchini's and other normally different things in Montana. I just loaded a new SD card in my camera so I'll be in the watch AND be playing some music real soon. Tonight we are going to old town for the Day of the Dead celebration and will over night at the La Siesta like we do,  should get some great costume photo's and the always unusual free beer truck....so come on back ya'all.