11-21-2000, 07:06 PM
I love fishing. I live to fish. It's just that I don't have enough time in my life to do it that often. So I make it a point to go on one long range trip every year to get the monkey off my back. In the Spring of 1995, I made the decision to do something a little more exotic. I was persuaded by a good friend to get in on a charter that left out of San Felipe for six days (4 days fishing). This would turn out to be the most fun I would have on a fishing boat.<br>We made the long drive to San Felipe in the early morning so we could party a little in town before the boat left the next morning. After losing $20 to the dog races, I decided to call it a night. <br>The next morning, we got on this boat that looked to be 300 years old: The Captain Villegas. It was 105' long and had nine 22' pangas on the back(smaller outboard fishing boats). We were to fish 3 to a panga with a Mexican guide. I had my doubts.<br>After traveling due south for 24 hours, we woke up to a beautiful dawn among islands with 15' cacti on them, frigate birds with 8 foot wing spans, and fin back whales feeding all around us. I felt like I was on a wildlife program. It was wonderful. Now if we could only put some fish on the boat. We got in to our panga and buzzed over to the closest island. We threw jigs all day and caught this bass-like grouper-like fish called a cabrilla. I would later find out that this would be one of the best tasting fish I have ever eaten. About 1:00 it was time for siesta. We returned to the mother ship, ate lunch, and took a short nap. We woke up and fished for pinto bass until dark. Loaded the boat with them, too. When we returned to the Captain Villegas, we watched the deckahnds clean fish, ate dinner, took a shower and hit the sack. This boat gives you the option of sleeping in an air conditioned stateroom, or sleeping on an outside bunk. Being a very hard sleeper and knowing what the group was capable of, I chose the stateroom.<br>Most of the rest of the trip was to be focusing on yellowtail. We had live mackerel for bait that were 16 to 20 inches long. I had never used a bait that big and wondered how you could tell if a yellow took the bait. Trust me, you CAN tell. In the next 2 days we caught fish after fish after fish, nothing under 18 lbs all the way up to 30. This would be the first time that I would be so sore from pulling on fish, that I has to use Ben Gay. I brought home 20 big yellows.<br>On the last day of fishing we wanted to take it easy so we decided to fish the pinto bass again. We were using heavy iron jigs fishing about 100' of water catching bass up to 10lbs. when something large took my jig. I set the hook hard only to have it rip out of the critter. But it came right back and I set it again. It ripped out again. After this happened five or six times, our guide announced that I was playing with a giant squid, and to just pull it up. Well, you just can't pull them up, as they were large enough to take 30lb line. When it got close enough to see, it was a little intimidating: 40 inches long and all of 30lbs. For those of you who are unfamilliar with squid, the way they get around is to "inhale" water into their bodies, and "exhale" to propell themselves. As I pulled it up, I knew exactly what would happen when I pulled it out of the water. So I made sure the business end pointed to the back of the boat. The next thing my buddies knew they were showered with 1 1/2 gallons of sea water and ink. I have never laughed so hard in my life! For the next 2 hours until it was time to call it a night and a trip, we caught giant squid and used them as giant squirt guns against each other. The perfect end to a perfect trip.<br>I ended up taking home a 96 quart ice chest full of fillets. More than my family & I could ever eat, so I gave a lot away (not the cabrilla!). I highly recomend this trip for anyone willing to take the drive. By the way, I'm doing it again next summer!<br><br>by Topher : Wednesday 20 September, 2000 <br><br>Submit your Fishing Adventure Stories to win great prizes at ReMemory.Com