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| TRAVEL DIARY |
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| 24.10.2007 |
| Baja, Mexico |
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Variation in the pre season skiing training is important and “The Verticals”
are certainly open to try new things. We went to La Paz (Baja, Mexico) for
some serious deep-sea fishing in the Sea of Cortez. Fighting a 330-550 pound
(approx. 150-250kg) marlin is on the agenda and a fight of 2-3 hours will
certainly make the muscles burn for a long time.
Janamari - a stunning 82 feet boat
The adventure started in Costa Baja Marina in La Paz, Mexico. Janamari is
the boat that gave us a memory to remember for a long time. She is a stunning
boat who belongs to our host and friend Brad Horwitz.
What a perfect day for fishing; clear blue sky, 32 degrees C and a nice breeze.
But was the approaching hurricane Kiko going to stop the entire adventure???
Kiko was coming with 5-6 knots from the south just outside of the Baja
peninsula tip, Cabo San Lucas. Frequent weather report checks in the early
morning and it seems like we most likely will not be hit by the hurricane.
Off we went to get the big marlins.
The entire team (Brad Horwitz, Jenna, Adam and his brother Brad,
Pete “Always get fish” Simpson and “The Verticals”) on the boat was certainly
ready to take on a challenge.
Adam, the captain, set the course for a secret hot spot for marlins. It’s about 3-4
hours away from the marina. Deep-see fishing is new to us; a quick crash course
from Brad and some on the job training would hopefully do it. The on the job
training happened quickly, the test was a couple of Dorado’s that gave us a
feeling for what’s going on. Of course, is a Marlin something totally different
but a Dorado can certainly put up a fight as well. The Dorado is a very beautiful
and tasty fish. It can also be called Mahi-Mahi on the menu and try it if you
have the chance.
Deep-sea fishing is 90% boredom (relaxing in the sun, having a cold beer,
catching up on fishing stories, etc.) and 10% pure panic when the fish hits.
We were ready for both.
Top notch fishing equipment on Janamari - the right for real big fish
Deep-sea fishing is about driving the boat and having (trolling) a number
of fishing rods/line/lures (5-8) in the water behind the boat. When the fish
hits and someone screams FISH; the panic starts. One guy takes the rod
where the fish hits and all the other quickly bring in the line/lure of all the
other rods. No rods or lines/lure in the way for the rod with the fish since
this person will need all the space he can get on and behind the boat.
Big fish move and certainly controls what you need to do and it’s a
teamwork between the fisher, the captain and the rest of the crew to
hopefully bring in the fish. It’s a power fight; the smartest and the one
who can hang on the longest will win.
Crazy marlin on the hook. Tried to get away, but caught at the end.
We reached the hot spot and it didn’t take long until FISH was in the air.
Janne was the guy to get the first fight and it was a marlin. You grab the road,
put on a belt, click the rod in the belt and it all starts. The marlin is just
rushing away and there is no way to stop it until the brake on the reel is
starting to slow down the marlin a little.Then it’s just a long power fight;
reeling in the fish a little, it rushes away, you reel it in again, it rushes, …….
It just goes on like this and this time the fish gave up and Janne managed to
get it to the boat. It was a nice Stripe Marlin on approx. 130-170 pound
(60-80kg). Marlin is though “Catch and Release”, which means that we need
to release it after catching it. Good fight with happy ending for both parties.
Marlin - caught and released
Quickly out with the lines/lures again and it didn’t take long until someone
was screaming FISH again. Jocke was on turn for this one and yes, it was
another marlin. This one was a jumper and it was jumping all over the water –
amazing, powerful and beautiful. It didn’t win though; Jocke brought it home
to the boat after a good long fight. Another nice Stripe Marlin. It was also
released for someone else to catch.
Jocke fighting a marlin - hard work
Things started to go crazy and five minutes after Jocke’s marlin, we got one
more. Richard took on the fight and he didn’t giver the marlin a chance.
It though moved a lot and the captain needed to swing the boat a couple of
times, but Richard handled the whole thing well and brought it in. One more
nice Stripe Marlin and seeing the fight is great, but seeing the marlin being
released is just as nice.
Three marlins in one day….., it’s very good. It didn’t stop there, we got
another marlin and now Pete “Always get fish” Simpson took the fight.
Some good muscle job did the work and a great Stripe Marlin was in our
hands and of course also out of them in to freedom.
Pete "Always get fish" Simpson fight a marlin and Brad Horwitz is
giving some advise to bring in this beast.
What a day, 4 Stripe Marlins and a couple of Dorado’s in the same day…
fantastic and an experience to remember for life.
A very happy team stops for the night in a nice bay. Spending the night out
on the ocean, watching the sunset and the stars is tremendous. A very good
day and we are ready for tomorrow and hopefully a big black or blue marlin...
The night changed everything, the wind picked up and the boat needed to
be moved 5 times during the night to find a reasonably calm place. Morning
arrived and the wind was still there and the decision was to head back to the
marina, a 5-6 hours drive. The wind picked up even more and now from the
north straight against us. This plus also swells (large round waves) coming
from the hurricane in the south put us right in the middle of this roaring sea.
It was everything from 10 feet (3m) waves up to huge 25 feet (8m) waves that
just washed water over the entire boat.This is as bad as the Sea of Cortez gets.
The boat, Janamari, was pounding through the waves. The sea was trying to
bring us down, but the boat and the captain, Adam, refused to give in.
It was like riding a huge roller coaster that also is rocking side wise
– very, very rough.
Things and people were smashed around the boat for hours until we finally
reached the marina. Great job by the boat and captain. Amazingly enough
were most things OK. Yes, some people got sea sick, but in weather like this
most people would.
The wind continued the third day and the marina/port were closed, so some
recovery and relaxation in the marina was the way to go. By noon, we took
off to Cabo San Lucas (Mexico) for some fun in the sun and check out
Bisbees fishing tournament.
Many Thanks to Brad Horwitz and the team for the great hospitality and a
tremendous adventure. 4 marlins in one day….. fantastic.
Did you know that the world richest fishing tournament, Bisbees Black &
Blue, is held in Cabo San Lucas every year since 27 years back. The price
money is in total approx. 4million US Dollar !!!!!!!
We have already done the pre-registration for next years tournament and
we feel confident that we'll qualify for the Janamari team. If no as fishers,
maybe as support crew taking care of the ice cold beer........
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