Pete Thomas Outdoors

809-pound mako shark is a bowfishing world record

Jeff Thomason takes aim; photos are courtesy of Thomason

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

For the second time this summer, the host of a hunting television show has traveled to California and used a bowfishing outfit to capture a world-record mako shark.

Also for the second time this summer, the bow angler is being assailed via social media by shark fans and conservationists.

Jeff Thomason is the latest record-setter. The 809-pound mako shark he shot and reeled in recently off Huntington Beach, has been approved by the Bowfishing Association of America as the new world record.

Thomason, who is from Texas and hosts the show, “Predator Pursuit,” shattered the previous mark: a 544-pound mako shark landed in mid-June by Patrick Eger, the host Big E TV in Wisconsin.

Large mako sharks roam pelagic waters off Southern California, making the area popular among local and visiting anglers.

Most local anglers and shark-fishing outfitters, however, maintain a low profile because of an increasingly vociferous anti-shark-fishing element.

Fishing for mako sharks is legal, but all species of sharks are believed to have been over-fished to some degree over the years, and news of the capture of a large shark for record consideration, or as a trophy, invariably draws sharp criticism.

When word of Thomason’s catch began to spread on the Internet this past week, it was met with the same type of disapproval that accompanied Eger’s catch.

“Why all this stupid macho thing?” reads one of dozens of Facebook comments on the White Shark Interest Group page, which has more than 18,000 members.

“Why didn’t he get in the water and shoot it with that bow?” reads another.” There was at least one comment in defense of Thomason: “Makos aren’t threatened and [they’re ] widely eaten… This WAS NOT finning and the meat [was] not wasted.”

The global shark-finning trade is the reason many shark species are in peril. Estimates place the number of sharks killed for their fins, to be used in soup in Asian markets, at nearly 100 million per year.

Thomason told Lone Star Outdoors that his group, which like Eger’s group was fishing with guide “Mako” Matt Potter, encountered a few great white sharks during its expedition, but could not shoot them because white sharks, unlike makos, are protected.

The mako was lured to the boat by chumming fish parts and blood, a common method among conventional anglers, too.

It wasn’t long before Potter spotted a large mako approaching the boat.

“They’ve got to be about three feet from the boat to get the arrow to stick, so we threw a fish on the line and teased him to the boat,” Thomason recalled. “I try and shoot for the top of the back. As soon as the arrow hit, all hell broke loose.”

With the aid of Potter maneuvering the boat during the fight, the mako was reeled in and subdued in about 15 minutes. (Arrows are attached to a line, fixed to a big-game reel.)

“There was a certified weigh station in Los Angeles, so we had someone bring a boat trailer and we loaded him just like a boat,” Thomason said. “We threw a tarp over him because he was already attracting a crowd. It was pandemonium at the dock.”

The episode was recorded for an upcoming show, and Thomason said the meat was donated to a shelter for the homeless in Los Angeles.

For the sake of comparison, the world record for a mako shark caught on rod and reel stands at 1,221 pounds. It was caught by Luke Sweeney in 2001 off Chatham, Massachusetts.

Los Cabos back in business; airlines booking flights for Oct. 8

Major airlines have begun accepting reservations for commercial flights to and from Los Cabos International Airport (SJD), beginning October 8.

Unofficially, flights could resume even sooner (some are saying so, perhaps hopefully, in private).

The airport, on the outskirts of San Jose del Cabo, sustained significant damage when Hurricane Odile came ashore in the state of Baja California Sur on September 14-15.

The storm hit Cabo San Lucas, at Baja’s tip, the hardest.

Alaska Airlines on Friday at 7 p.m. updated its website to reflect that it would resume flying one daily roundtrip flight from Los Angeles to Los Cabos beginning October 8.

I  looked into this and was provided the option of booking a 10:10 a.m. flight into SJD for $179 (one-way).

The United Airlines website also is accepting flights beginning October 8. Presumably, other airlines have followed or will follow suit.

Major airlines had implied that they would not resume flights until the end of October. Some insiders, however, have suggested that this was a ploy to negotiate cheaper landing fees at SJD.

Regardless, this is a major step toward recovery. Many hotels are still closed, but reopenings are expected to occur between mid-October and the end of November. October and November are peak months for tourism throughout BCS.

Cabo Living Magazine reported Friday on its Facebook page that of the 59 Baja California Sur hotels overseen by the tourism agency Fonatur, 55 sustained hurricane damage, with 5,474 rooms affected.

Tourism Secretary Claudia Ruiz Massieu said power has been restored to nearly 100% of the northern part of the state, 80% in Los Cabos, 98% in La Paz, 70% in Mulegé, 75% in Comondú and 95% in Loreto.

More than 70% of gas stations in BCS are back in operation.

–Image is courtesy of Solmar Resorts

Rare catch: 101-pound yellowfin tuna landed in SoCal waters

U.S.-caught yellowfin tuna weighed 101.8 pounds, and had its tail bitten off by a shark; photo courtesy of Coral Sea Sportfishing

By Pete Thomas

 

A 101-pound yellowfin tuna was caught this week aboard the Coral Sea in U.S. waters, somewhere between Catalina and San Clemente islands.

This is yet another oddity during the oddest summer of local sportfishing in recent history. Not because it’s a yellowfin tuna–thousands have been caught since June, during the best local yellowfin bite in recent history–but because of its size.

Most yellowfin caught in U.S. waters, during years when the subtropical species migrates this far north, weigh between 10 and 40 pounds. A 40-pound yellowfin is considered huge.

The 101-pound yellowfin was caught Monday by David Adamson aboard the San Diego-based Coral Sea. It would have been several pounds heavier had a hammerhead shark not bitten off its tail section while it was hooked.

“I caught him on a kelp with three other boats there,” Adamson told SDfish.com. “About 15 other yellowfin were caught [on the same floating kelp paddy], all under 20 pounds.”

The tuna bit a flylined sardine, hooked to 30-pound-test fluorocarbon line.

Yellowfin tuna can get much larger. The San Diego long-range boats travel to southern Baja and points south, and target yellowfin weighing 100 to 400-plus pounds.

The all-tackle world record is a 427-pound specimen caught by Guy Yocom south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in 2012.

The phenomenal fishing off Southern California this summer is attributed to unusually warm water that essentially has transformed the region into a subtropical environment. Tuna, dorado, pufferfish, and needlefish are among the subtropical species to have been landed.

Sea lion enters shark-diving cage; needs help with exit (video)

Perhaps the sea lion was merely trying to locate a safe haven, but more likely it swam into the shark-diving cage by mistake.

The accompanying video, uploaded last week to YouTube, shows a sea lion (not a seal, as described) swimming into a metal cage through a wide viewing portal. The mammal then became stuck while trying to exit through the metal bars.

 
Fortunately, one of the divers inside the cage used his foot to help the pinniped escape.

Unfortunately, at least one large great white shark (seen at the beginning of the footage) was lurking nearby.

The YouTube user, Craig Paisley, did not mention the location of this shark dive.

Cabo San Lucas recovery update: Airport to reopen soon; hotels to reopen beginning Oct. 1

*Sept. 26 update: Alaska Airlines and United Airlines have begun booking flights to Los Cabos, beginning Oct. 8. Click here for details.

*Sept. 23 update: This post has been updated to reflect that commercial flights to and from Los Cabos International Airport might NOT resume before the end of the month, or even well into October. The government had hoped for a September 27 reopening.

Cabo San Lucas has made remarkable strides toward recovery from the overwhelming devastation caused by Hurricane Odile on September 14-15.

But prospective tourists still have many questions regarding opening dates for hotels, the reopening of Los Cabos International Airport, and the restoration of power and water services.

Today we received some official government estimates, emailed by Pisces Group, that will answer many of these questions:

–Los Cabos International Airport, which received damage to both main terminals, is scheduled to reopen on a limited basis September 27.

(Note: Prospective travelers should consult with airlines. Alaska Airlines, for example, has not yet begun to take reservations for flights to the airport (SJD). Alaska Airlines stated Monday: "We are prepared to resume daily flights between Los Angeles and Los Cabos as soon as the airport and infrastructure are repaired and can accomodate commercial air service.")

–Cabo San Lucas Airport will reopen October 10*


–Power restored:  45%


–Water Restored:  Already mostly restored, full restoration is close

–Phone service: Restored


–Internet service: Restored

–Garbage Pick-up:  Resumed


–Most hotels are scheduled to reopen from October 1 through October 15


–Bisbee's Black & Blue Marlin Jackpot Fishing Tournament:  On as scheduled beginning October 17



* The CSL Airport reports on its Facebook page that it has been operating normally (days only) since September 17

Persistent paddlers show whale no respect (video)

Paddlers violate NOAA guidelines and possibly break law off Dana Point, Ca.

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

While it might seem like fun to paddle a kayak or SUP board near a blue whale, or to pursue the giant mammal in an attempt to stay as close as possible, it’s ill-advised and in many cases, illegal.

The accompanying footage shows a kayaker and paddleboarder exhibiting what might be perceived as harassment of a small blue whale off Dana Point, California.

NOAA whale-watching guidelines suggest that people aboard any type of vessel stay 100 yards away whenever possible (sometimes whales approach idle or stationary boats, at which times it’s OK and even advisable to stay put).

 

NOAA more recently issued guidelines specifically for SUP paddlers. Included: No intentional approach within 100 yards; don’t give chase; do not move into the path of a whale, and respect the animal’s behavior.

The kayaker and paddler in the Captain Dave’s Dolphin & Whale Safari video (and later the private boater) violate at least three of these guidelines, despite please by the whale-watching crew to back off.

But NOAA’s guidelineds only guidelines.

The law is broken when human behavior is determined to be harassment, which basically involves changing a whale’s behavior, or altering its course.

Monica DeAngelis, a marine mammal specialist with NOAA, stated Wednesday via email:

“My biggest message is this: Whale watching can be a positive, enriching, and educational experience when conducted safely and responsibly. Admiring whales from a distance is the safest and most responsible way people can view them in their natural habitats. Do not endanger them or yourselves. Don’t give chase, give the whales space!”

Blue whales are the largest creatures on the planet. They can can grow to 100 feet and weigh up to 150 tons.

They typically show off Southern California in early summer and stay through early fall, fattening up in shrimp-like krill before migrating out of the area.

A common complaint among responsible whale-watching outfits is that paddlers and kayakers are getting too close, putting themselves and possibly the mammals in danger.

In the video, the SUPpaddler appears to be positioning a GoPro camera beneath the surface, to capture underwater footage. NOAA enforcement personnel might be on the lookout for that, too.

Rare whale shark sighting documented near Catalina

Whale shark swims alongside Triton sportfisher

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

The number of bizarre catches or sightings off Southern California continues to rise and on Sunday perhaps the rarest visitor to date was documented: a whale shark.

Whale sharks are the world’s largest fish, reaching lengths of 30-plus feet. And while these docile plankton-eaters are often seen by divers at destinations such as Hawaii, southern Mexico and the Sea of Cortez, they’re almost never encountered off Southern California.

The whale shark spotted Sunday, east of Santa Catalina Island, was estimated to measure 20 to 25 feet. It approached and even bumped the Triton, which runs from Long Beach Sportfishing, as anglers fished for yellowfin tuna.

 

“He was curious, almost playful,” Triton Capt. Ryan Gengler told Phil Friedman Outdoors Radio, which broke the story. “When he bumped into us, you could feel the boat shake. I could not believe my eyes.”

Like the tuna, and other exotic visitors this summer, the whale shark ventured far north of its typical range because of a wide swath of unusually warm water, stretching from southern Baja California into California.

Chris Lowe, who runs the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach, was asked via email how rare this event might be. The scientist replied:

“I’d say that is very rare for our neck of the woods. I have heard accounts of occasional manta, scalloped hammerhead sharks, and wayward tiger sharks, but whale sharks are pretty rare this far north.”

 

Whale shark swims into shadow of the Triton

Also on Sunday, an angler lost a four-hour battle with a blue marlin, another rare visitor to Southern California waters. Earlier this month, a wahoo was caught off Orange County.

That was another visitor from tropical or sub-tropical waters, and an extremely rare catch.

For nearly two months anglers have been catching yellowfin tuna and dorado at the offshore fishing grounds west of Orange County.

Whale shark bumps Triton

These fish sometimes venture into Southern California waters during late summer, but this invasion is the most prolific in several decades.

Sea surface temperatures off Southern California range from 70 to about 76 degrees, about five degrees above normal in many locations.

Many are crediting a developing El Niño, a warming in the equatorial Pacific, which alters weather patterns. The latest forecast from NOAA states that there’s a 60-65% chance of El Niño becoming fully developed during the Northern Hemisphere fall and winter.

In any case, the sea surface warming stems from a lack of coastal upwelling that is typical in late spring and early summer, and caused by strong winds.

When upwelling occurs, cool waters from deep in the water column are brought to the surface and chilling occurs.Without upwelling, the water warms and gates open for species that typically are found off Mexico and elsewhere in warmer climates.

Among other rare visitors to Southern California this summer have been Bryde’s whales, also called tropical whales, and pilot whales.

Hurricane Odile begins assault on Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur

As Hurricane Odile was bearing down on Cabo San Lucas and elsewhere in Baja California Sur on Sunday evening, local business owners took to Facebook to post their concerns.

“This will give you an idea of what our seas are like,” reads a post from Pisces Sportfishing in Cabo San Lucas, referring to the image atop this post, which shows the famous arch at Land’s End being slammed by powerful waves. The image was captured by Nathalia Calvo.

Odile boasted maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (Category 3) as it spun on a course that could lead directly over Baja California’s tip late Sunday night or early Monday morning.

Pisces Sportfishing general manager Tracy Ehrenberg later added, via email: “A couple of docks in the marina have broken off. We are safe at home and it’s dark now, so we can only hear what’s going on but don’t really see anything."



Ehrenberg added: “It surprised us as on Friday it looked like it would pass parallel to us, but offshore. It changed track late yesterday afternoon.”

Odile could score a direct hit on Cabo San Lucas, or skirt the resort city on the Pacific side of the peninsula. But it's so powerful that a hurricane warning was issued throughout much of Baja California Sur, including on the Sea of Cortez side to an area north of La Paz.

At some hotels in Cabo San Lucas, guests were instructed to stay in their rooms and to stay away from glass windows. More than 150 shelters have been established for Baja residents.

A post from George Landrum II in Cabo San Lucas: “All the laundry done, cash machine done yesterday and today, medicines filled for a month, cat and dog food done, water and other assorted drinks done, ice, candles, batteries, thank goodness the stove and grill are on gas! Fingers crossed folks, suerte!”

However, Landrum added:  “Gas station lines were very short. It doesn’t look as if many locals are taking this as a real threat.”

In La Paz, Jonathan Roldan of Tailhunter International Sportfishing (and restaurant) wrote:  “We're now directly in the crosshairs with a CAT 4 hurricane predicted with rain starting sometime tonite! 120-140 mph winds. We're sandbagging the restaurant.”

Hurricane Odile is expected to remain a major hurricane at least until midday Monday, and to remain at hurricane strength (74-mph winds or greater) well into Tuesday.

–Images courtesy of Pisces Sportfishing and NOAA

Tropical storm Norbert gains strength off Baja California Sur

Tropical storm Norbert is poised to become a hurricane by Wednesday afternoon, and is expected to skirt the Pacific coast of the Baja California peninsula.

This is a vast departure from its predecessor, the powerful Hurricane Marie, and other Eastern Pacific storms this season that have tracked far to the west, away from land.

Tropical storm watches or warnings have been issued for areas throughout Baja California Sur, and a hurricane watch might be issued later on Wednesday.

As of 11 a.m. Norbert’s center was located 241 miles south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas on Baja’s tip. The storm boasted maximum sustained winds of 70 mph.

It was expected to reach hurricane strength (74 mph) Wednesday afternoon, and remain at hurricane strength until at least Saturday morning.

Heavy rainfall is expected throughout most of Baja California Sur, and the hope is that Norbert doesn’t surprise forecasters and take a sudden right turn toward land.

Rare catch: 50-pound wahoo landed off Orange County

Eric Kim poses with 50-pound wahoo; photo by Amy Elliott

By Pete Thomas

This will go down as the best summer of fishing in recent times off Southern California, thanks to an abundance of yellowfin tuna and dorado over a vast swath of ocean west and southwest of Orange County.

But on Saturday a 50-pound wahoo (ono) was caught by a private boater about 12 miles west of Dana Point, adding a dash more Mexican flavor to a phenomenal bite on exotics that has lasted since mid-July.

Yellowfin and dorado occasionally venture into U.S. waters, during warm-water summers, but wahoo catches are extremely rare. (Surface water temperatures are as high as 77 degrees in some areas offshore. That’s 6-7 degrees above normal.)

Wahoo, which are the world’s fastest game fish, are often caught in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez and in the Pacific off southern Baja California. But in the eastern Pacific, they do not typically very far north.

(A wahoo was gaffed inside Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor in 2010, but that was during the winter, in very cold water, and probably involved a fish that was brought into the harbor via boat or ship.)

The wahoo caught at the 267 Bank had been breezing close to the surface amid tuna and dorado. It was hooked on a Rapala being trolled by Eric Kim. Kim was with Capt. George Garrett, Ted Royal, and Zach Murtaugh.

The fish, which measured 60 inches and had a girth of 22 inches, was weighed and photographed by Amy Elliott at the Balboa Angling Club scale in Newport Beach.

“They were amazed,” Elliott said Tuesday. “It was Zach’s birthday and they were all having a ball catching dorado and tuna. They could not catch enough fish; it was one after another.”

Elliott was still researching club records to see if there have been previous listings of wahoo catches.

The Balboa Angling Club has a rich history that dates to 1926. Many of its members fish for marlin and Elliott said that 41 striped marlin have been weighed since early August.

Yet another dash of Mexican flavor, and it could easily be argued that fishing off Southern California is more productive than fishing off Cabo San Lucas or other Mexican ports popular among anglers.

That’s certainly the case regarding yellowfin tuna, as many Southland anglers are returning with U.S. limits of 10 fish per day.

–Side note: In late July, Philip Friedman of PFORadio.com predicted that a wahoo would be caught this summer. He’s also predicting that a blue marlin will be caught soon. Click here to listen to Friedman's interview with Eric Kim, about his wahoo catch.