Marlin Wide Open in Southern Baja
As the moon set over the cape region of Baja California Sur, nearly 30 anxious anglers, all set for the first day of competition in the Fiesta de 976-TUNA.com tournament at Hotel Punta Colorada, awoke to the distressing sound of wind howling through the palms. During the night, a steady northeast wind had arrived after a weekend of flat calm.
As the anglers gathered on the beach in the gray light of early morning, it was clear everyone was convinced the competition was over before it had begun. There was no way the anglers would have any success in the building seas and wind-driven chop.
But they were fishermen, the eternal optimists, so they shuttled out to their boats, each hoping against hope that they might be the one to land a qualifying fish on a day when few figured to land anything.
To say their faith was answered would be an understatement.
As the sun rose out of the Sea of Cortez, the winds began to die down and the seas began to flatten. After a week of light fishing pressure, the resort skippers roared away from the beach, fanning out in virtually every direction. Some boats chose to run south toward the distant Gordo Banks off San Jose del Cabo, while others chose a course due east. As fate would have it, each skipper made the right choice.
“I’ve been fishing Southern Baja for more than 40 years,” said Pete Hoffman of Hermosa Beach, “but I’m not sure I’ve ever begun a day on the water down here that was less promising. In the end, however, I’ve got to say this was the best day of marlin fishing I’ve ever experienced in Baja.”
How good was it? Well, the two anglers on board the Ginebra, skippered by Martin Castro, spotted more than 20 striped marlin during their half day of fishing, had five strikes, and ended up catching and releasing two enormous striped marlin.
Leon Campazzie of Torrance had a fish estimated by Capt. Castro at a solid 170 pounds, while Terrence Berg had the whopper of the day at an estimated 180 pounds.
The 976-TUNA.com film crew aboard the Ginebra, directed by Hoffman, spent the day burning through their film, trying to capture the frantic action. When they finally ran out and headed for the beach earlier than planned, they expected they might be the high boat in the competition.
But they were shocked when they rounded Light House Point on the way back to Punta Colorada and found the bay filled with boats flying marlin and tuna flags. It turns out that more than 15 marlin were caught and released by the group and everyone had stories confirming the enormous volume of fish moving into the area.
As the first day of fishing ended, Tracy Viloria of Newport Beach landed her first striped marlin and moved into the lead in the women’s competition. Viloria’s fish was estimated at 100 pounds.
Doesn’t sound all that remarkable? Consider this: Viloria landed her fish in a small open panga, early in the day while the seas were still churning. Most of the competitors fished out of larger cruisers with enclosed cabins.
Baja Highway update: Ruth Guzman of Torrance drove the length of the 1,000-mile peninsula to join the competition at Punta Colorada.
She reports the highway is in excellent condition with many sections recently repaved and bridge construction over many arroyos nearing construction in anticipation of the summer rainy season.
She cautions everyone considering the drive down to exercise caution, as the road remains a narrow stretch of asphalt with virtually no shoulders and limited opportunities to pass slower vehicles.
You can contact Phil Friedman via e-mail at p976tuna@aol.com. Please submit “Catch of the Week” photos by e-mailing them to sports@dailybreeze.com or by mailing them to Daily Breeze, Sports Department, 5215 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, CA, 90503-4077.
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