Pete Thomas Outdoors

Crafty sea lion swipes large dorado from angler's hands at Cabo San Lucas dock

Dorado, or mahi-mahi, are prized for the flesh as much as for their fight.

But as far as a Cabo San Lucas sea lion named Pancho is concerned, why bother with the fight if you can steal one that has already been caught?

The accompanying footage was captured earlier this month in Cabo San Lucas. To some degree it appears to be staged, meaning that the pair might have known about the bold sea lion's presence and expected this to happen.

 

But Mike "the Griz" Ritz (the angler pictured at left), assured via YouTube message that the great sea lion caper was not staged. Pancho is a regular in the marina and generally goes after leftover bait, not game fish.

"Maybe people think this is staged, but what really is happening is that we were taking pictures of our trophy fish after a long day of fishing," the Griz explains. "Pancho normally gets the bait that is left over from fishing, and lives in another part of the marina, so we never expected this to happen!"

This could be true. After all, the angler holding the bull dorado before it gets pilfered is gripping its tail very close to where the sea lion bites. Would he have risked severe injury just for the sake of this fun video clip?

Maybe. People do crazy things in Cabo.

In any event, it made Pancho's day, while the poor pelican watching closely from the dock got nothing.

–Pete Thomas

Hurricane Raymond, with 120-mph winds, lingers ominously off Mexico's Pacific coast

Hurricane Raymond has beleaguered residents on Mexico's south-central Pacific coast bracing for more heavy rain and flooding.

The storm, as of late Monday morning, boasted winds of 120 mph, and maximum gusts of 150 mph. It was a Category 3-level hurricane–the first in the Eastern Pacific this season–and expected to strengthen slightly before weakening slowly during the next few days as it churns to the west.

At 11 a.m. Raymond was located 105 miles southwest of the neighboring resort cities of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo in the state of Guerrero.

The storm was essentially stalled, inching northward at 2 mph. Areas that might feel the strongest effects over the next few days are in Guerrero. They include Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo and Acapulco, and the port city of Lazaro Cardenas, in the state of Michoacan.

Reached via email, longtime Zihuatanejo resident Ed Kunze stated that the hope is that the storm will be coaxed away from the region by geographical forces and cooler air coming from the south and east.

"It has stalled because it is pushing a huge amount of air in front of it, which gets blocked by the 7,000- to 9,000-foot Sierra Madre Mountains behind us," said Kunze, who is not a meteorologist but has been through several hurricane scares. "As the air gets packed against the mountains, it creates an artificial high pressure, which the hurricane bounces off of, and usually heads up the coast.
 
"But, this time we also have cold air coming down from the north, creating another 'wall.' To survive, it has to escape by changing directions… and probably out west. I am confident we won’t get hit, and the stalling action fairly well confirms it."

Kunze said that about three inches of rain had fallen by 1:30 p.m.

Corky Carroll, a former pro surfer who lives in Ixtapa, posted this observation on his Facebook page Monday morning: "Well.... HURRICANE RAYMOND which is reaching CAT 4 status is sitting rudely almost on top of us. So far just a lot of rain and the surf is not that bad either, but who knows what's next. One report says it is gonna cream us and the other says its not.... I am going with the NOT."

Last month, Hurricane Ingrid and on Mexico’s Gulf Coast and Tropical Storm Manuel in the Pacific teamed to cause flooding that killed at least 139 people and left thousands of residents homeless.

Hurricane Raymond is expected to maintain hurricane strength at least through Saturday, as it travels in a westerly direction.

–Pete Thomas

–Image is a NOAA satellite view of Hurricane Raymond, captured Monday morning

Baja angler's extraordinary catch: powder-blue dorado

Dorado, or mahi-mahi, are prized by sport anglers because of their acrobatics and the high quality of their flesh.

But they're also amazingly colorful; they typically flash brilliant hues of gold, green and yellow.

Occasionally, though infrequently, they'll turn blue, and Dave Maynard (pictured above) recently caught a handful of dorado that looked as though they were trying to blend with his powder-blue shirt and/or the bottom of his panga. (Normal-colored dorado pictured below.)

Maynard, host of "Fish the Baja," was fishing out of Rancho de Costa in Baja California Sur. He said his group landed 154 dorado in four days, and at least six were blue.

Trying to find out if this was rare, I asked a few resident Baja outfitters, and received these replies:

Mark Rayor of Jen Wren Sportfishing: "They are an odd fish and turn all sorts of colors.  I don't think blue is that uncommon.  Once in a while we get a silver one that looks really cool."

Eric Brictson of Gordo Banks Pangas: "We have seen dorado have the ability to change their color shade, particularly when aggressively in the feeding mode. Once they have been caught and placed in the fish box their color patterns normally return the darker green color. This photo, though, does appear to show a dorado that is much bluer than you would normally see, though not unprecedented."

Not unprecedented, but very unusual. It could be said, to borrow and old cliche, that blue dorado are only caught once in a blue moon.

Tropical storm Manuel gains strength, takes aim toward Baja California's eastern shore

**Wednesday night update (8:50 p.m.): Manuel achieved hurricane strength Wednesday afternoon but its projected path is now eastward onto mainland Mexico, where it will quickly lose strength. It is no longer expected to reach Baja. Sadly, it's now being reported that 58 people are missing in the Guerrero village of La Pintada, far to the south of Manuel's current position, due to mudslides caused by Manuel. The death toll from Manuel and tropical storm Ingrid, which earlier this week slammed Mexico's eastern and western coasts, has increased to at least 80.

Tropical storm Manuel, which is situated just off Mexico's mainland in the Sea of Cortez, has gained strength and will take aim toward Baja California's eastern shore.

Portions of the mainland are under either a hurricane watch–from La Cruz and Topolobampo–or tropical storm warning. A tropical storm watch has been issued from Cabo San Lucas, at Baja's tip, to an area just north of La Paz.

An area between La Paz and the East Cape region, immediately to the south, is dotted with small fishing resorts and fleet owners have been busy moving boats into harbors or towing them onto shore. 

However, several vessels remained moored and exposed at the time of this post.

We contacted Mark Rayor, owner of Jen Wren Sportfishing in the East Cape town of Buena Vista, and at 10 a.m. he reported sunshine, after periods of heavy rain, and large surf but very little wind.

Jonathan Roldan, who owns the Tailhunter International charter business in La Paz, said conditions were "sunny and flat-calm."

That appears to be the calm before the storm, however.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued an 11 a.m. update stating that between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., maximum gusts had nearly doubled to about 60 mph. Clearly, Manuel is feeding off warm gulf waters.

The storm is expected to plot a course toward La Paz Bay but won't arrive until at least Saturday. Folks in the Baja California capital of La Paz, and the East Cape, are hoping that Manuel will veer more to the sparsely-populated north before making landfall.

Once the storm makes landfall it'll quickly weaken, but lots of rain and wind is expected throughout the region.

Manuel will not soon be forgotten. It's the same deadly storm that slammed Acapulco on Sunday. 

–Pete Thomas

Tropical depression Manuel leaves Acapulco, but will regain storm strength as it approaches Baja California Sur

Tropical depression Manuel, which was part of a deadly storm duo that walloped Mexico from both coasts, has turned away from the Pacific coast and is headed toward Baja Californa Sur.

Manuel, which came ashore in Acapulco, teamed with tropical storm Ingrind on the east coast to cause flooding that killed more than 40 people and left tens of thousands of tourists stranded.

Residents are still digging out and tourists in Acapulco, many of them from Mexico City, are scrambling to find ways home as landslides blocked highways and roads in the region.

(Emergency flights had been evacuating tourists and Aero Mexico and Interjet resumed commercial flights to and from Acapulco on Tuesday.)

Ingrid, which was a hurricane before coming ashore on the Gulf Coast, has dissipated but Manuel isn't quite finished.

As of 2 p.m. Tuesday the depression boasted winds of 35 mph, but was gaining strength and expected to regain tropical storm strength later Tuesday. Its northwesterly course has compelled Mexico to issue a tropical storm watch from Mazatlan to Altata on the mainland and from Cabo San Lucas north to San Everisto in Baja California Sur.

This basically includes Baja's eastern shore from just north of La Paz to Cabo San Lucas at Baja's tip.

Southern Baja, which until this year had been enduring a prolonged drought, has received abundant rainfall this season, leaving the desert landscape a lush green.

Manuel is expected to retain tropical storm strength as it enters the Sea of Cortez and as it makes landfall somewhere near La Paz Bay on Thursday.

–Pete Thomas

–Image is courtesy of the National Hurricane Center

Wounded great white shark surprises divers with remarkable healing power

A savage bite to the head by an adult great white shark would almost always be fatal–unless another great white shark is at the receiving end of such an attack.

The top image, captured last week by Rachel Montero of SharkDiver.com, shows a Guadalupe Island great white affectionately known as Chuggy.

The Shark Diver crew was pleased to see the apex predator, but surprised that he was still alive and astonished by how quickly his wound seemed to be healing.

The images posted below, captured last year at Guadalupe, show how Chugey looked after another shark had bitten him on the head, removing a large chunk of the gill area.

Martin Graf, Shark Diver CEO, used before-and-after images of Chugey in a blog post to show viewers how swiftly Chugey was recovering from what seemed to be a fatal wound.

"I have to admit that I didn't think much of his chances to survive this bite and thought I'd never see him again," Graf wrote of a shark that has now been seen every season at Guadalupe since he was first spotted in 2004. (Chugey is named after Chugey Sepulveda, a San Diego scientist.)

Of the more recent images showing Chugey swimming around as though nothing had happened, with his gaping wound having all but closed, Graf wrote: "Look at the amazing difference! There are no veterinarians, no surgeries or stitches and yet he looks like he's healing just fine.

"I'm blown away by their ability to survive injuries that would kill just about any other animal and the weirdest thing is, these nasty injuries don't even seem to bother them all that much."

Guadalupe Island, which is located 165 miles west of Baja California, is a seasonal gathering place for adult white sharks. They often scuffle during mating rituals and for territorial supremacy, and many bear extensive scarring.

The bite to Chugey's head, however, was more severe than injuries Guadalupe shark divers have seen on other sharks.

As for the divers themselves, most of them, smartly, observe the apex predators from the safety of metal cages.

--A version of this post also appears at GrindTv Outdoor

Legal to bring fish and game back from Mexico?

In support of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: I fish in Mexico and have a question regarding bringing them back to the U.S. I saw a statement on Facebook where the poster said we cannot bring cowcod or fillets into U.S. waters even if we have a signed declaration to present with the fish. Despite the fact cowcod are not legal to possess in California, they are legal to catch in Mexico.

I would like to know if this is true as many things posted on the Internet are not always correct. If it is correct, is this also true for the other three protected rockfishes -- canary, yelloweye and bronzespotted rockfish? If I take a legal Mexican limit of five bocaccio, would I be limited to bringing only three back into California? Also, I hunt in Mexico where it is legal to take 60 doves. At the border, could I declare the 60 doves when I cross the border or would I only be able to have the California limit of 10 doves? What are the laws? Since I am hunting and fishing in another country and abiding by their laws, do I have to also abide by California laws when I import game from another country? (Randy H.)

Answer: It is unlawful to import or possess birds, mammals, fish, reptile or amphibian taken from outside of this state unless the following requirements are met (as per Fish and Game Code, section 2353):

    •    The animals were legally taken and legally possessed outside of this state.
    •    California and federal codes and regulations do not expressly prohibit their possession in this state.
    •    A declaration is submitted to the department or a designated state or federal agency at or immediately before the time of entry, in the form and manner prescribed by the department.
Therefore, even if the fish were legally taken in Mexico but are prohibited here in California, then they cannot be brought back here. This means while cowcod, canary, yelloweye and bronzespotted rockfishes may be legally caught and possessed in Mexico, they cannot be brought back to California. Filleting is also not allowed in Mexico, so no fish taken in Mexico can be brought back to California in a filleted condition.

Another two-headed shark photo surfaces, but one-eyed Cyclops shark may still reign supreme in realm of the bizarre

Another photo of a two-headed shark has surfaced. The first was that of a bull shark found recently by fishermen in the Florida Keys. The second, published Thursday by National Geographic, shows a baby blue shark with two heads (pictured at right).

Very bizarre, since only about a half-dozen cases of two-headed sharks have been documented.

But based purely on appearance, many will agree that when it comes to bizarre-looking specimens the one-eyed Cyclops shark captured in 2011 in Mexico's Sea of Cortez still reigns supreme.

The two-headed blue shark was found in 2008 by Christopher Johnston, during a longlining expedition in the Indian Ocean. He supplied the accompanying image to National Geographic.

"We pulled up a pregnant blue shark, cut it open, and there was the two-headed one," he said. "It was about two-thirds the size of the rest of the pups in length. I put it in the tank on the deck. It swam a little while, but it couldn’t swim properly, it just swam in one spot as if it were on a treadmill. I tried feeding it squid but it wasn’t interested."

It's believed that two-headed sharks would be vulnerable to predation and would not survive in the wild. This one eventually died.

After this website broke the story about the one-eyed cyclops shark, thanks to a tip from Pisces Sportfishing, the image went viral and lots of people didn't believe the shark was real.

 

The story became more believable, however, after Felipe Galván-Magaña, a prominent Mexican scientist, acknowledged that he had inspected the shark and had even written a paper on the discovery.

That albino shark fetus, with what appeared to be a single eye perfectly centered on its forehead, was one of 10 babies removed from a pregnant bull shark by fishermen near La Paz.

The shark, which was caught via a baited line beneath a buoy, was dead when it was pulled up by commercial fishermen.

To read more about the two-headed blue shark, click on the National Geographic link atop this post or see David Strege's story on the GrindTv Big Blue blog.

--Pete Thomas

--Blue shark image is courtesy of Christopher Johnston, via National Geographic

Orcas surprise Baja anglers, emerge just inches behind boat

For Bryan MacGowan and friends, a recent Sea of Cortez fishing trip will remain memorable not because of what they caught, but what they saw: several large killer whales that emerged off the stern of their 31-foot boat, two of them just inches away, at times seeming to inspect the anglers and crew.

"As the stern dipped in the waves, they would peer into the cockpit," MacGowan said. "It was intimidating--they are big!"

The encounter, involving at least 12 killer whales, or orcas, occurred off Baja California's East Cape region as the anglers were cruising offshore to hunt for marlin. There were no lines in the water during the encounter.

Two were immediately behind the boat when MacGowan captured the top image, revealing a killer whale practically within touching range. "There was another orca in the prop wash on the other side, but my camera could only capture the one," he said.

MacGowan captured a second image (posted below), showing a killer whale "playing in the stern wash, after the close ones dropped out."

It was startling because everyone had been looking forward until the captain spotted the mammals and shouted for everyone to turn and look.

The top image first appeared Saturday on the Pisces Sportfishing blog and Facebook page, with a post that reads: 


Look very carefully at this photo, sent to us by Brian MacGowan from Newport Beach, California, who is out today on the Tracy Ann. He was fishing at the East Cape recently, when the captain yelled for him to look back... he did, glad the lures were not in the water, he could have had the fight of a life time on his hands.

The captain told MacGowan that he sees what he thinks is the same pod two or three times a year.

Boaters farther north, off Loreto, enjoyed a similar encounter last fall. Perhaps those were from the same pod or family group.

--Pete Thomas

Killer whale's sudden appearance behind boat startles anglers

Imagine cruising along in a fishing boat and turning to gaze off the stern and spotting not a sunning marlin, leaping tuna or ray--which anglers might not be too surprised to see--but a large killer whale riding in the boat's wake only a few feet away.

This was Bryan MacGowan's experience recently in the Sea of Cortez, in Baja California's East Cape region.

MacGowan on Saturday was fishing farther south off Cabo San Lucas and showed the photo to Pisces Sportfishing general manager Tracy Ehrenberg.

She posted the photo to the Pisces Facebook page in late afternoon, and by about 7:30 p.m. it had been viewed by 30,000 people and shared more than 300 times.

Ehrenberg's post reads:

Look very carefully at this photo, sent to us by Brian MacGowan from Newport Beach, California, who is out today on the Tracy Ann. He was fishing at the East Cape recently, when the captain yelled for him to look back... he did, glad the lures were not in the water, he could have had the fight of a life time on his hands.

--Editor's note: Pete Thomas Outdoors tried reaching MacGowan by telephone, to obtain more details, but at the time of this post he had not returned the call.