Outdoors, action and adventure

Southland radio show host trying to boost Baja tourism

I tuned to AM 830 Thursday night and heard something I hadn't heard in years: positive talk about Baja California.

Not Cabo San Lucas and other sun-baked and idyllic Baja California Sur destinations, but northern Baja and once-popular tourism spots such as Rosarito Beach, Ensenada and Tijuana.

The weekly Fish Talk Radio show is hosted by Philip Friedman, a friend and longtime acquaintance. He had organized, through the show and the Philip Friedman Outdoors Facebook page, a Thanksgiving weekend trip that headquartered at the Rosarito Beach Hotel, and included fishing out of Ensenada and day trips elsewhere in the region.

Eighteen people had signed up, including a mother with two young children, who was sharply criticized by her neighbors for taking her kids to what they perceive to be a dangerous environment.

Surely, everyone who pays attention to the news has heard about the warring drug gangs and the many killings between drug henchmen and police during the past few years. Those headlines and reports, many of them unfairly sensational, were responsible for killing tourism in northern Baja.

What wasn't always reported, however, was that tourists were not targeted in the killings, or that about 14,000 ex-patriots from the U.S. reside in the Rosarito Beach area and that they feel safe at their homes and walking city streets.

They watched sadly as several businesses closed and others became deserted. I made a few trips across the border during the past couple of years and saw very few U.S. tourists. But the few I did encounter seemed to be enjoying themselves.

More recently, the killings between drug gangs appear to have subsided, or they simply no longer warrant screaming headlines. Tourists are trickling back, thanks to Baja travel clubs and people like Friedman, who has a soft spot for Baja and its people.

But it's a very slow trickle. Friedman is trying to get northern Baja tourism folks and/or businesses, mainly the bigger hotels, to help sponsor a weekly spot on his radio show devoted to Baja.

He's under the belief, like many Baja travel veterans, that tourist destinations are safe as long as tourists exercise the same common sense they use during travels to other countries and even to other U.S. cities, some of which have alarmingly high murder and crime rates.

If Friedman gets the sponsorship for at least 15- or 30-minute radio spot, he'll call it Baja Now and organize sporadic trips not just to Rosarito Beach, but destinations such as San Quintin, historic Meling Ranch, the wine country above Ensenada, San Felipe and Tijuana.

The most recent trip included a van ride from the border to and from the Rosarito Beach Hotel, eliminating concerns among those who were afraid to drive in Baja.

His group rode horses on the beach, visited taco stands, went fishing and caught an array of colorful rockfish. Some merely stayed at the hotel, which has security and is a resort complete with bar, restaurant, surfing beach and fishing pier.

The Baja California tourism agency, which apparently is considering spending money on a campaign to place ads on taxicabs in San Diego and L.A., would be smart to give this a try. It seems a far wiser use of funds to have people chatting up Baja on the radio each week, and sharing stories about their trips on Facebook and other social media platforms.

It's probably a complicated process, given the bureaucracy in Baja government and among business leaders, and it may not happen.

But Friedman deserves credit for trying, and a big vote of thanks from the tourism folks for doing what he has done already, and what they've had trouble accomplishing: getting people talking positively about Baja again.

I've already told him to sign me up for the next trip, as I suddenly have a craving for authentic Mexican street tacos.

-- Top Image shows Luna Kayamori riding a horse south of the Rosarito Beach pier on a recent trip to northern Baja California, organized by Philip Friedman. Bottom image shows view from Rosarito Beach Hotel

Fan risks life and becomes nuisance at Baja 1000 (video)

Congratulations are in order for the son-and-father team of Andy and Scott McMillin, who won the overall 4-wheel title during the recently-concluded Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race.  Cheers also go out to the drivers and motorcycle riders who displayed incredible skills and conducted themselves in a professional manner.

As for the many fans who lined strategic points along the grueling course in the northern Baja California desert, not all of them acted supportively or wisely. One fan in particular was singled out by Off-Road.com for foolishly positioning himself on the course, in front of a rut, hoping to photograph buggy drivers as they jumped the rut (see video).

The fan, being cheered by other fans, was jumped by one buggy. But Zac Langley, the driver  of another buggy, had to stop to avoid hitting the fan. He then was given what looks like a one-finger salute by the fan as he drove off.

This is a dangerous race to begin with. Dimwitted fans should not be among the obstacles drivers must contend with. Hopefully next year this particular fan will have other plans during the race weekend.

Gordo Banks near Cabo San Lucas yield 378-pound tuna

A monstrous yellowfin tuna was caught Wednesday in the Sea of Cortez north of Cabo San Lucas, and to nobody's surprise, Capt. Hugo Pino was involved.

Pino, a legendary captain from the La Playita fleet near San Jose del Cabo, was with longtime client Apostolo Poulos, a Greek angler who hauled up the 378-pound tuna after a 90-minute battle at the Gordo Banks.

It's believed to be the second-largest yellowfin ever caught on rod and reel in the Los Cabos area, and one of the largest yellowfin tuna ever landed.

The area record, according to Eric Brictson of Gordo Banks Pangas, is a 383-pound yellowfin caught by Pino & Co. three years ago aboard the boat "Fisherman."

 The all-tackle world record is a 405.2-pound yellowfin caught last December on a San Diego-based long-range trip in Mexican waters. That struck from the book a 388-pound, 12-ounce specimen that had held the record for more than 30 years.

The 378-pounder caught Wednesday aboard the 22-foot panga Alicia hit on a trolled live bait fish called a chuhuil, rigged to 100-pound-test line.

Said Brictson: "Hugo Pino is perhaps the most legendary of all local La Playita pangeros, at least from this generation. He seems to consistently catch more and larger fish than others do. Hugo guided panga sportfishing charters for close to 25 years, now he and his sons are mainly commercial fishermen, though they still do fish all of the big tournament, as members of the famed "Fisherman" team."
 
-- Image shows angler Apostolo Poulos (red shirt) and legendary Los Cabos captain Hugo Pino (back right) posing with 378-pound yellowfin tuna caught Wednesday at the Gordo Banks. Credit: Gordo Banks Pangas

Mobile cage lets divers cruise alongside great white sharks

Lawrence Groth of Shark Diving International has posted a video showing intimately close encounters with great white sharks aboard the company's self-propelled shark cage, which has a pilot  in the back and a photographer up front.

The contraption was designed and built by Groth to help film crews obtain footage f the apex predators in the pristine waters of Guadalupe Island, 165 miles west of Baja California, Mexico.

Though the video is promotional, it also contains amazing white shark footage from arguably the world's top white shark-diving destination. The mobile cage is appropriately named Pelagic Explorer, and as you can see, it puts shooters close enough to capture every detail, and in what seems relative safety.

Now if the cage should break down in the company of great whites? Presumably, Groth has contingency plans.

Cabo San Lucas tournament marlin nets team $1.1 million

A 395-pound blue marlin caught on the first day of the Bisbee's Black & Blue marlin tournament off Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, was not the heaviest of the event, but it was worth more than $1.1 million.

Local angler Luis Liera was credited with the catch aboard Tiger Spirit, owned by Ned Wallace of Newport Beach, Calif. It was second in weight to a 409-pound blue caught the same day aboard Bad Medicine, but Tiger Spirit had entered more daily jackpots and claimed more than half of a total purse worth $2,173,955.

"We've been fishing the Black & Blue since 1993," Wallace said Sunday. "We've placed in the money three of the last four years, but this is our biggest fish yet. I keep the boat here in Cabo and all of our success is due to my crew. They're local boys and they really know what they're doing out there."

The Black & Blue, which is the world's richest sportfishing tournament, began last Wednesday and winners were announced during a banquet on Saturday night. Tiger Spirit earned $1,162,842.50; it was the event's first $1-million payout since Hang 'em High won $2-plus million in 2008.

Tiger Spirit was skippered by a local captain, Sergio Cota, who earned a 10% share of the team's winnings.

Team Bad Medicine won $394,090 and Pegasus was third with a 329-pound blue marlin worth $283,752.50.

The competition featured 100 teams and 529 anglers from around the world. Only marlin weighing 300 pounds or more were allowed to be killed. Teams bringing in underweight marlin were penalized.

In all, 122 billfish were caught and only seven were brought in and weighed.  Of the seven three weighed less than 300 pounds. The billfish breakdown: 56 blue marlin, 52 striped marlin, 12 sailfish and two black marlin.

-- Image shows team Tiger Spirit, and some local eye candy, posing with its million-dollar marlin

Cabo San Lucas waters yield 746-pound marlin a day before start of big-money tournament

A 746-pound blue marlin was pulled from the waters off Cabo San Lucas on Tuesday, a day before the annual big-money Bisbee's Black & Blue marlin tournament was set to begin.

The massive billfish, which died less than an hour into the fight, was caught aboard the Tracy Ann out of Pisces Sportfishing.

Had the same fish been caught during the Bisbee's event, which is billed as the world's richest billfish tournament, it could have been worth a few million dollars.

According to the Pisces blog, the marlin was hooked less than two miles offshore on the Pacific side of the Baja California peninsula. A more specific location was withheld, presumably, because of the impending three-day tournament and a desire to keep top fishing locations secret.

Florida anglers Patrick Neville, his wife Jean, and Thomas Heinz and his wife Penny were credited with the catch. The 31-foot Tracy Ann is captained by popular skipper Julio Castro. 

It took nearly two hours to raise the marlin after it had sounded and perished. Oddly, the marlin lacked a bill.

Late last month, a significantly larger marlin was caught off Cabo San Lucas after a 28-hour fight.

The Black & Blue runs through Friday.

-- Image showing Florida anglers posing with 746-pound blue marlin caught Tuesday off Cabo San Lucas is courtest of Pisces Sportfishing

Giant marlin landed off Cabo San Lucas after 28-hour battle

Some reports stated that a blue marlin landed Sunday is the largest billfish ever caught off Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, weighing an eye-popping 1,213 pounds. Others claimed the behemoth fell short of "grander" status, weighing only 972 pounds on a marina scale.

Whatever the weight of the billfish, it was an extraordinary catch, especially considering that the struggle played out for nearly 28 hours, giving this yarn a Hemingway quality that seems more like fiction than fact.

The angler credited with the catch is Richard Biehl of Traverse City, Michigan, but he had help from the crew aboard the 31-foot yacht, Go Deep, which was plying the Pacific Ocean north of the resort destination on Baja California's tip.

After an offshore marathon that began Saturday morning at 8:20 and ended close to noon Sunday, those aboard the yacht either resembled or felt like very old men of the sea.

"That was the hardest thing I ever did in my life by far," Biehl told Pisces Sportfishing general manager Tracy Ehrenberg, who on Monday evening published the first detailed account of the remarkable episode. "I’ve shot bull moose and trekked out with 200 pounds on my back and it doesn’t even compare."

Nobody knew what was in store when the marlin attacked a trolled lure at what is known as the 95 Spot, and sped toward the horizon. They were targeting much smaller striped marlin and using only 60-pound-test line -- far too light for giant blue marlin.

When the great billfish first jumped, about 400 feet from the boat, the crew guessed its weight to be about 700 pounds.

Word of the catch didn't spread until Monday, when many in town and in the billfishing community considered the catch to be a rumor. Then photos and sparse details began to appear on Facebook. One photo showed the weight at 972 pounds, but that did not tell the story.

Ehrenberg on Monday afternoon interviewed Capt. Luis Abaroa and his crew, and briefly spoke with Biehl. (Efforts to reach Biehl for this story, via cellphone, were unsuccessful.)

Abaroa told Ehrenberg that the marlin registered only 972 pounds because the hook of the electronic scale used to weigh the fish was not high enough for all of the fish to clear the ground, so a time-tested measurement formula -- using length and girth -- was used to determine the 1,213 pounds. The marlin measured 137 inches long, or 11.4 feet, not counting its bill or tail. It was 75 inches, or 6.25 feet around.

Weight records for marlin caught off Cabo San Lucas are not kept officially, but an 1,111-pounder caught in the 1980s is believed to be the heaviest.

More recently, in this era of high-speed reels and other technological advancements, overnight struggles with giant billfish have become increasingly rare.

Biehl, bemoaning the use of light line, fought the giant blue marlin by himself until about sunset, then  relinquished the rod to a deckhand. By then food and water had been exhausted and another vessel captained by Abaroa's brother, Frankie, was summoned via radio to deliver supplies.

The marlin leaped again, closer to the boat, as darkness fell. The weight estimate was revised upward to between 800-1,000 pounds.

A long night was fitful because to keep the line from breaking the captain and crew had to keep just enough pressure on the marlin, and constant maneuvering of the boat was necessary.

At sunrise a rejuvenated Biehl reclaimed the rod and resumed the fight. With the line and leader weakening, the crew aboard the other boat had devised a snag rig and managed to setting more hooks into the cheek of the wearying marlin.

Finally, the billfish tired and was brought alonside the boat, and according to Ehrenberg, Biehl chose to have it gaffed and brought to port. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime fish. I want to take him," he said.

Surprisingly, Biehl went fishing again Monday and caught and released a striped marlin, before himself succumbing to all he had been through by coming down with a bout of seasickness.

-- Images of giant marlin are courtesy of Go Deep Sportfishing. Top image shows angler Richard Biehl (holding rod) next to his prize catch. Click here to visit Go Deep's Facebook page

Hurricane Hilary could affect parts of Baja California

It's looking increasingly like Hurricane Hilary, which on Friday was a powerful Category 4 storm, will bring more than just large waves to Baja California Sur.

The major hurricane, which on Friday boasted sustained winds of 145 mph, is off the Pacific coast of Mexico tracking toward the west-northwest, away from land. But Hilary is expected to gradually veer more to the north beginning late Monday.

It's not clear yet what areas might be most affected by rain and swells, but if it stays on its projected path significant rainfall is likely along parts of Baja California's southwestern coast.

As for waves, Surfline is reporting that large swells generated by Hilary should begin to arrive in the Cabo San Lucas area as early as Saturday, with areas farther north along the Pacific side of the peninsula receiving an increase in surf Monday and Tuesday.

The National Hurricane Center predicts that Hilary will remain a major hurricane at least until Monday morning. On Friday there were no warnings in place, but that could change over the next few days.

-- Image shows a satellite view of Hilary early Friday morning. Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project

Great white shark surface breach videotaped from dive cage

 

This is peak viewing season for great white sharks in the pristine waters around Guadalupe Island west of Baja California, which allow for intimately close encounters with the world's most notorious predators, from within steel cages designed to keep divers safe.

They witness first-hand how stealthy and cautious white sharks are, contrary to a once-popular belief that they're the seaborne version of vicious attack dogs.

However, white sharks do show aggression toward one another to gain or express dominance, and the speedy dash to the surface, captured on video from below the surface, is a show of dominance (pay attention at the 1:00 mark).

Said Mike Lever, who runs the Nautilus Explorer, from which the video was captured: "That is the first time in all our years of shark diving that we have caught a breaching shark on video. It's something that our divers see perhaps two or three times per year. Average that out over 17 trips and it's pretty darn rare."

And pretty darn spectacular.

Cabo San Lucas anglers set hooks into large tuna, marlin

Cabo San Lucas anglers are gearing up for the fall marlin tournament season, but for some big yellowfin tuna remain the draw, and there have been a few impressive catches off Land's End.

Colorado angler John David (pictured) caught a 160-pound yellowfin after a battle that lasted nearly two hours, while aboard Andrea out of Pisces Sportfishing. The tuna was hooked on a live caballito on the Pacific side of the Baja California peninsula, 25 miles off the Old Lighthouse.

Large tuna also are being targeted in the Sea of Cortez, with the Gordo Banks featuring fish in the 100- and 200-pound class, according to Eric Brictson, owner of Gordo Banks Pangas. Live bait or chunks of skipjack tuna are enticing some fish onto hooks.

As for marlin, there has been a noticeable spike in the presence of blue and black marlin. No huge marlin have been landed yet but three women aboard La Brisa, also of the Pisces fleet, fought an estimated 360-pound blue marlin for four hours last Thursday.

It's probably only a matter of time before the bigger marlin arrive. The tournament season begins next month.

-- Photo showing John David with 160-pound yellowfin tuna is courtesy of Pisces Sportfishing