Finally : push comes to shove

 MP and I arrived safely back in Helena Montana a few days back and I know I should write about that and the wonder of my life. It's early in the morning as I type and the lights of the valley twinkle in my window and....I just can't write of that as I'm bothered by the news from the Kenai , the unprecedented total closure of  ALL fishing for Kenai Kings, sport / guided / commercial . Now I know nobody likes an outsider with strong views, I know they don't for sure in Montana but in this case I think, no, I know that I've earned a seat at the table and maybe my views can finally get some traction. It's all hands on deck to save and what remains and then common sense at the same time we should plan for the future for our beloved River and Salmon....Craig Medred has a wonderful synopsis of where we are now with the commercial set net fishery . Funny how how it took the wheels to come off the cart before any innovative thinking was accepted....not funny, sad. https://craigmedred.news/2023/03/22/lifting-the-curtain/

I've been wanting to post this picture for years .  I never did it to until now as to be honest I didn't want to run into a commercial fisherman beaming with anger and entitlement at the Fred Meyer store.  Through my history in fish politics I realized that this sport / commercial thing could be violent, so much passion involved....but this pic is revealing. Do you see hard working business people with fish blood covering their Grunden's with a lack of sleep in their eyes from working the nets 100 %/////Nope what you see is a bunch of entitled ' hobbiest ' with a smirky carelessness about them that has become the face of the set net fishery. After all as I 've been reminded many a time, they were here first .

You know how  I like list's so here's some observations from me and then I'll shut up about this forever.

1. The river had it's first closures of Kings over ten years ago. IF recovery doesn't come in a reasonable time and I don't know what that is but if they ain't coming back it's time for the introduction of hatchery fish . 

2. IF we get numbers to allow a return to the hey day or regulations are imposed to allow for commercial and sport fishing I have these suggestions.

A.  Use historical fish tickets to identify the beaches that harvest the most Chinook and close them. I think it will be shown that those areas are Salamantof  south. Or just expand the closed waters area at the mouth of the river to include all those sites.

B. The winter King fishery in Homer has to be looked at seriously...it defies common sense that a good chunk of those fish aren't immature Cook Inlet , ie : Kenai Salmon. 

C. The sport fishery on the Kenai has never had a starting date and I've alway's felt that the first Kings to the river were caught at a way higher rate than later in the season when the river get's twice as much water and get's it's Kenai green turbidity that also helps cut down on harvest.  I remember days of excellent results with sonar counts that were in the handfuls...

D. For sportsman a yearly harvest limit on ALL salmon. It might work something like this....you have a punch card for one King, so many reds, so many silvers etc .  Structured so that Alaskans who live off of eating fish have all they need but not from the harvest of the smaller runs .

E. Just as we need a start to the season we need an end to all fisheries, especially fall Silvers . 

F. No derbies, tournaments , fund raisers until the fish come back.

G. Escapement goals are ridiculously low .

3. We need to re vamp the Board of Fisheries . The politics, the appointments the whole system basically stinks. It might be open and more fair than the North Pacific Fisheries Council but that ain't saying much. Maybe it's time for the long talked about paid professional Board .

4. by catch in any and all fisheries has gotta be looked at with the goal of  zero. Reward the people who figure it out and penalize the ones that don't want to, can't or don't care.. 

Well...I'll stop there. I've vented .  And yes , I feel a little responsible like I know all my peers do. Nobody either commercial or sport did anything they weren' t allowed to do. We just did what Americans do, see opportunity and take advantage. Now that I'm retired I look back and remember thinking that we were building this guide industry for the future and that we did. But a few things went off the rails and it's so sad that for at least the chase and harvest of those gorgeous , huge and sporty not to mention absolutely delectable fish turned into a one generation deal. I'm sorry for that . We should have done better. That boat , all of us .

Me and my friend Bill with a 70 pounder. I hope and pray they return and I still think they can....but the cost and sacrifice is sooo huge . This where I wish all my friends on the Kenai the best .  Hang in there.

Always learning

 Well, that month slipped right by. And how's about that New Years resolution I made to fire up Mile 14 with more posts and restore it to it's former glory....mmm....the first casualty of every battle is the battle plan, I could give you some ' the dog ate my homework ' kinda stuff but that fact is I've been kinda in doldrums and this new personal record of 5 months in Mazatlan has me counting flowers on the wall . It's like Bill Murray's Ground Hog Day , it's a big blend of " what day is it honey " ?  and " we gotta get out of this building , what do ya wanna do " ?  One of my wiser friends who retired from the worlds best job told me once that there's nothing you can't do to much of and this year we've done to much Mazatlan.

I mean we're still finding new and fun things like a 3 Kilo bag of Cheetos but it's different, we damn near bought it to officially end my long running plan to get down to 185 pounds. I almost gave up, almost.

Of course my neck is somewhat better so I'm back to fishing at about 2/3 speed.  Tim and the guys have some dandy fish surrounded over in town but I don't get there to much, right now I kinda need to seek my own counsel so I fish alone .

Now I'm not bored enough to start stacking rocks and making a beachside decoupage  to celebrate my mood and to communicate with my fellow wanderers like this person did..... but I gotta tell you that  I sat there and followed along for 15 minutes or so, I got lots of time here in Mazatlan.

So here's a few things I learned.

1.  you can read until you see double..

2. Some of our friends who do extended stays here sometimes go back and forth during the season....they're smarter than me.

3. People like songs they know better than songs they've never heard until I sing em. Now that one stunned me. A wonderful friend clued me in, she said it makes the listeners feel involved when they know the song....no wonder I got cut from the LaMarina music scene. I'm always working on new stuff and searching for just the right song to tell people how I am and ask how are they....I'll tell ya how they are, they don't like it.

4. Eating your big meal of the day in the afternoon will help relieve restlessness. And I think it helps you digestive track and for me my desire to lean down to 185. So...after cocktail hour it's " pass the salad please '.

5. Listening to 25 year old podcasts of Art Bell talking about the shadow people and the energy of the Roswell saucer crash really helps...that stuff will capture you !

6. I've turned into a sunset snob....unless it's cloudy I stay and practice songs nobody wants to listen to.

Yesterday was me and MP's 45th anniversario ( see there I'm actually learning Spanish ) and we went to a new Place and had a wonderful night, we talked about how we got here. We talked about all the good, no bad.....gawd I love that woman. It was new Italian place called Toto's and we had great brick oven pizza...but it was kinda weird. MP picked out the pizza with all the things she likes, artichoke hearts , dry salami, mushrooms etc....well the pizza came with segments, every two pieces had one fo the ingredients and not the rest.....mmm... So we get back to LaMarina and the guys who made the music team were playing so we sat down for a listen and this came with our order....Thank you friends. 

The good news we're on final approach and will be back in Montana on St. Paddy's day.  I've promised MP I'll spend much time in the garage and we'll have both vehicles fired up so she can ski daddle anytime she wants . She ain't said it but I know she's dying to go shopping at the thrift stores....and we got our annual Costco check to spend on some frivolous fun thing they might have in stock. AND I'll get to play all of my guitars that's had 5 months or rest, guess I'll polish up all the classics and learn Hotel California, maybe even take a shot at Stairway to Heaven....The Alaska / Mazatlan Refuges will see ya soon Montana.

My glimpse at the future

That's some good stuff right there . It get's hot, it's got a ' caine ' drug in it and when applied people will always know you're hurting....I mean why would you want to smell that way if you weren't ?

Me and all my friends have thought that I was always a pretty tough guy and I  might even be...but....even the Iron Man can rust. I've been really slowed down by a pinched nerve in my neck that is brought on by the repetitive motion of my thing, surf casting. As I researched it I found it's common as we age and is very common with older people that golf and I suppose the swing and retrieve of a 100 yarder is much like hitting a driver. The other day I only got about 15 casts in and had to quit, then a whole day on the heat pad and now I'm in my 7th day of not fishing , my 3rd or 4th relapse . I'm going to try it again tomorrow and hope I'm better. Just have to stop what's causing  electric spasm type pain .

For years I've carried an over the shoulder surf bag with all my gear and of course I'd carry it on my left shoulder which is exactly where the spasm's started about 8 weeks ago. So now I'm a fanny pack guy and instead of carrying 2 of everything and I mean everything now I'm down to one of way fewer things...did I ever tell ya that I tend to over do things ? I got rid of the camera tripod , my can of V8 breakfast, spare batteries and two pounds of Ranger Lures just in case I see some Roosterfish...my advisors at Team X agree it should help going forward.

One thing we learned going through 2 knee replacements with MP is that if you only have so many steps or casts in a day before you just can't do it anymore you need to have a strategy to put them to best use. So now rather than being the head of Personel and motivation officer I've assumed the new role of  Team X office of counsel and unwanted / unneeded advice . What I've found out about that is if you're not fishing you're just kinda in the way....here's the guys doing just fine without me .Nux has been carrying the freight and if I was hitting as well as Tim after cleaning my days catch I'd head for the Casino. 

Nux and Mrs Nux ( Becky ) are like me and MP , they do everything together with just surf fishing being the exception there, MP kinda like her quiet time while I'm chasing fish and wearing our my neck, back , arms and knee's . So Becky tells me she's never caught a Snook and sure would like to...well it's the magic of momentum that I've often spoke of when I told her the first is always the hardest. She started out with this one and then shortly followed up with it's twin sister. Very Cool !

So tomorrow I'm getting up early. I'll try a different rod in hopes that will help/. I'll do  the stretching exercises that Serge showed me and then butter up with Lumboxen...sure hope the driver lets me on the bus smelling that way. Then I'm taking some of the muscle out of the cast which I hope I can do, it's not in my nature. I'll cast more deliberately by waiting for just the right wave timing so every cast is as good as it can be.  And if I feel a bit of tingle in my neck I'm not going to make 10 more casts just to be sure it's going to hurt like hell again, I'll quit . Wish me luck and see you guys tomorrow . 

Es peligroso

 I get that question all the time. And yes it is dangerous .

We're calling it Black Thursday here, the day they arrested Chapo's son in Culican and the government was so scared of revenge that they shut the city of Mazatlan down....period....no buses no open stores no nothin . Granted there were a few cars set on fire and of course up the road where the shoot out was 29 people were killed but here in Maz it was just weirder that it was scary . Now ten days later life is normal but with just a few more of the military convoys and helicopter fly overs that are a show of force that we're all used....so if you want to know the number one danger here it's this, by far .

Now you're saying " what the hell is that " ?......it's concrete of course . I was taught that you mixed in a wheel barrel but here in Mexico any flat surface will do. It's mixed and the repairs are made and then this gets left so that unwary walkers can catch a toe, vault forward and walla....a trip to Marina hospital for a broken hip. You can't imagine how many people get hurt walking in Mexico , happens routinely.

So a veteran ( like myself who has tripped many a time but was blessed with 9 lives and only taken off layers of skin ) learns to scan ahead so you see whats coming, you know , keep your head down and don't Barney Google to much. Then there's the uniformity issue like this :

Then the there's the to narrow to get through on the busiest narrow street issue :

Years ago one of friends was scoping out the local personalities when he did a Carl Wallenda off of one these....They are every where , our poor buddy face planted and looked like a 82 year old UFC fighter.

So my advice is simple...if you see an elephant on a garage door don't keep walking as you take in the wonder of it ...STOP....check it out, take your pic and then scan ahead and continue , you'll be just fine in this peligroso environment .

The next big danger in Mazatlan , Sinaloa Mexico is the food...and I'm not talking about getting the tourista or the Imodium diner  because all you have to do with that is don't eat from anybody that doesn't have business . The busy places turn over the food so it's always fresh and soooo good, that's the problem.

There I am eating the red Jalisco style Menudo that is traditionally served on Sundays as  a hang over cure. It is just so clean and tasty, the tripe in it has a texture you will come to like and it hydrates in the most wonderfully flavorful way . So what's the problem ???? well the food is so good that without discipline you can gain the Mazatlan kilo's that I used to. I'd go in the gym 3 months before our winter in Mexico and work my butt off to lose 10 pounds just so I could put them back on starting with our first night in Mazatlan when we go to F.I.S.H. and have Clam Chowder with an Oyster Poo Boy and the largest drat beer ever sold to man....How's about these Coconut Shrimp at El Mimmen ?

And hows about authentic Sinaloa style potato taco's at El Tunnel . They're served with the veggies over and not in and then you have a wonderful consommé sauce to pour over....it'll make a Bull Dog break his chain.

And of course part of the eating to much problem is the part where it's so affordable. If you love good Mexican food like we do it's impossible to spend more than twenty bucks for the two of us....tonight we're going to Taco's Martin for the Lengua ( tongue ) tacos that I like and the Vampiro's El Pastor that MP likes .

FISHING REPORT

Well I've over done it which is something I'm good at and am just now getting over a pinched nerve in my neck that took me out of the game for a while....But we've had a shift change here at Team X and things are getting exciting, many Corvina and Robalo to be caught and then there's this.....my buddy Steve with a really noble Toro, the kinda fish that can jerk the guts right of your reel .

So I'll end this Mile 14 edition with a song . I wish you all could be here to hear it person cause I know I said I wanted to be out there more...So I'm on the hunt for a place to welcome me and my three chord country  sometimes in the key of C . This time of year I've always entertained here in our building but the vibe has changed and it bothers me...I'd never want to be responsible for any hurt feelings with other musicians and for me in this stage of my life if things bother me I ain't doing them. I've been an outsider my whole life and I guess I still am . Period .  So if any of you Mazatlan friends need a picker call me at BR 549.....Hope you like the song, I didn't think I could hit the highs like Charlie Starr does but.....

 

And in the Sunset of

 our lives we become to see.....hehe...just kiddin ya . But ya gotta admit that's a hell of a lead in . Every sunset we kinda joke through it like I've joked through most of my life and every now and then I'm effected by what I can't control and what I have trouble dealing with like everybody else. Well this New Years edition of Mile 14,398 south ain't gonna be that , although I've certainly had enough of that in 2022 that I could fill some serious columns , this is about going forward - there's only one direction and only one speed and you all know that .

New Years day furnished us with this perfect Naval Assist as I call it. We all watched the new owner of the Patricia Belle push towards the harbor and many of us said " do you suppose it and the sunset will collide "?  and it did.....we're off to a great start in 2023 . Do you suppose the skipper knows the power of the sunseta and times it for us ?  If he does, he's a brilliant wonderful guy that I gotta be friends with, if he doesn't, we all thank you anyway.

I got this sunseta just last night. Me and MPeasy like the new so we often go elsewhere for sunset and last night we were on the malecon 4 miles from home.  There's a certain energy that you just don't get on our beach, maybe it's the demographics, we have an aging community and downtown is about kids, families and romancers....like us. Then it's a short one more mile up to Taco's Martin which is by the far the best we've ever come across and we've become regulars , thank you Duane Curtis for helping us find the best tacoqueria  in Mazatlan....MP loves the El Pastor type and me, well I like the Lengua which is slow cooked tender and perfectly spiced tongue. The condiment are delivered to you table unlike some places that have a condiment bar....we're kinda health conscious . So a ballenon of couse Pacifico the official fuel of Mazatlan 2 vampiros el pastor , 2 tacos Lengua , 2 charro beans come to 250 pesos, 13 bucks of american lettuce. OH, I forgot about the wonderful roasted onions.

On the New Year we did what we call our ' up and over ' hike. We take the green bus to the end of the line and then walk up and over the big hill and enter downtown from the south....you that follow mile 14 have seen this many times....this time it was different, strangely. Usually I'm not a big fan of graffiti although I do find it interesting . I kinda consider graffiti to be like gossip, you really don't need it but it can also be good. In fact I wrote a song about gossip when I was told by a person I'd never met that they had heard I was crazy in love with MP so I guess this is the viewing message of that....it was everywhere.

Here's a pic of the type of terrain that this message was resounding from. I don't know if just one person did it all or if it is a movement....in any case thanks to who ever you are and if you did this all alone I gotta meet you and be friends...did I say that once before today ?,,,,mmm. 

I guess the theme of the day has turned to love so here's a pic of MP and Slah , two of the most interesting people I've been able to call friends. We're hoping to get Slah and his wife Maria to visit us in the USA where we can shower them with new experiences and the beauty of my new home State.

Back before my guide season I used to make a list of goals on a chalk board in my gear shed. Most of them were about making $$$$ and keeping me on a steady course . Well, we're past those standards so I hate to call them resolutions but here's  10 things that are my focus for 2023....

1. Health : finally I WILL make 185 pounds . I've been working hard and am now stable ( weight wise that is ) at 190 .  Once I hit my goal and stay there I 'll set a new one . I absolutely have to avoid the Knee problem's that everybody in my family has endured.

2. Walleyes : I gotta learn how the heck to catch these babies as predictably as I used to salmon. I wanna catch and have 20 pounds of fillets so I can have a party and deep fat fry for all my neighbors and all my new friends .

3. New friends : in order to feed em ya gotta make em .

4. Music : after a lifetime I like my sound and I know that it 'stands up ' as we musicians say. I enjoy entertaining, after all it's been my whole life one way or another so I hope to be out there more. 

5. Gin : I quit buying it about a month ago. I've always wanted to be good at things but being good at Gin ain't really something to hang your hat on . I realized that it was making me kinda sleepy sooooo as my friend Dan once said "  we need a life of balance " .

6. Fun and travel....I know it sounds selfish and maybe it is, I don't care . But happiness works this way , make yourself  happy first and then the world will come along . Happiness is a tree and I'm the trunk.

7: Cheap shot coming : gotta write more. when I'm dead and gone I want people to say " man that guy could say the same damn simple thing in 458 different ways .

8 : Happy new year to everybody, we love ya all.....

9 : gotta go fishing again with Ty Tobias....miss ya buddy.

10: 💜💛💚💙💗💜💛💚💙💗💜💛💚💙💗

wew, got all ten, I was a little worried for a while.

Lucky Man

I been that way my whole life . Now in the military they say luck is where preparation meets opportunity but for me it's just simply curiosity and just a 6th sense that  I listen to in myself that leads me to right place at the right time ...and so it goes in Mexico....How many people do you know who will get on a bus they've never been on just to find out where it goes ?  Me and MPeasy have done it quite a few times. Here in Mazatlan it goes like this - you end up in a Colonia that you've never seen and generally end up in that area's biggest shopping area where you get off and wander and wonder . You jump the same bus name going the other direction and walla, you've made your own luck.

That's my second nice Snook of the season. It's mid morning and well after I've had my yoga nap. I'm trying to read on the terrace and the sun is frustratingly shining onto my tablet making it hard to see the print. I notice the foamy water and tell MP I'm gonna go catch a robalo and get the stick with a green rubber swim fish with a chartreuse tail. I don't get my tackle satchel because I have a feeling that I'm not fishing long....walla.....4 cast later and I'm hooked up. I put ol slimey safely near the shower and hurry down for another cast. I feel the bite and he's gone immediately . I check out the hook and my rubber has been bit in half and I think the wiggling tail has much to do with the lures effectiveness so I'm done fishing . I gifted him to a friend as a Christmas present.....lucky, lucky , lucky is what Chick Kishbaugh used to say.

I remember an Indy 500 win by one of Roger Penske's guy when the race leader crashed on the last lap and Roger's driver won .  An interviewer observed that they got ' pretty lucky ' when Roger quipped "  people who work hard get pretty lucky ".  Here's a pic of our new friend Kurt with his first outstanding Robalo for which he invested hours and days  of casting always knowing that he was getting closer and closer to the catch....which he released giving him a karma bank account to fall back on....

We've all heard the euphemism " I'd rather be lucky than good ' ....well I don't see it that way , in my life I've always wanted to be good and lucky or really good at lucky . The other day I changed lures probably 7 or 8 times before I finally caught a snapper on a small Ernie endorsed rubber swim fish . I released the fish as we were in the middle of a red tide and I just had a feeling....how many people do you know who would take off the proven lure right after a catch....well I was feeling lucky so I gave the brightly colored swim fish the hook and put on a dull red bigger one  and a few casts later had this guy. 

Now if you wanna experience the magic that comes with luck or really is luck ya gotta go in search. You ain't gonna find the silver lining by only looking at the outside. Me and MPeasy love all things Mexico....Carnaval- gotta go...Day of Dead - we come early for that one...Feast  of  Our Lady of Guadalupe - we're in....what could be cuter than kids dressed up as Juan Diego who was lucky enough in 1531to be granted three times the vision of the Virgen Mary who's likeness was etched onto the shirt that he wore and then wrapped roses into to take back to town. What can be cuter than this ?  I 'll answer first.....nothin .

Two blocks surrounding the Cathedral are packed with food carts and picture booths. I throw some lettuce into the offerings bowl that a couple of priests were holding as people made their way into the church, I think of my mom and know she'd like that...So then it's time to quit lookin at all the wonderful fresh food and eat it, MP has a weakness for Churro's . How's about these hotcakes ? We kinda noticed a sweet theme with the food, after all it's all about kids .

So Christmas in coming with our annual Christmas concert . Then first Friday art walk and of course New Years eve when we lie in the sand and look at the stars to prepare for another trip around the sun. I'm even making a resolution and I'll do it right now. I promised at least two  Mile 14 episodes a month to match my new lifestyle and I know I've been just barely making that....I'll try harder in 2023 because....I love you all and really appreciate your interest in this quest that I'm on. Merry Christmas my friends !!!! 

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