Author: That Baja Guy-Gary Graham

Incredible auctions and raffles for great causes, topped off with a concert by six original rock star legends whose 70’s and 80’s hit songs shaped our lives! Nearly 800 anglers and guests joined in a remarkable demonstration of support of the Bisbee’s Fish & Wildlife Conservation Fund’s first-ever charity event benefiting the projects that were at the heart of the organization when it was established nearly five years ago.  The event was open to the public. The Bisbee’s Fish & Wildlife Conservation Fund, partnered with the Green Scholarship Program and La Paz University, awards 4-year Marine Biology scholarships to selected…

Que Pasa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsalU8WIhf0&feature=youtu.be Cooktown, Australia – Incredible Drone footage shot by Justin Branner fishing on the Hellraiser II. Baja Norte Coronado Islands Bluefin continue to show down at the Rockpile, though they don’t necessarily bite all day long. Try to figure out which way the current is running and set up on the up-current side of the high spot, but out off the edge a little bit more in the 140- to 180-foot range of water. If the current is running inshore, the best sign is on the outer edge of the reef. You can either anchor up and set up a chum line…

On Thursday afternoon, even though the sun was blistering hot, eager teams had already begun to gather seeking the shade as they waited to sign in with the registration crew of the 19th Annual Los Cabos Offshore Tournament held October 19 – 22 at the Puerto Paraiso Mall in Cabo San Lucas. The line grew throughout the afternoon as each team filled out their paperwork and paid their entry fees. The slow-moving line allowed the teams plenty of time to visit with old friends and introduce themselves to new participants. Owner, Dan Lewis and his team, Sporty Game, named after…

Que Pasa The WON Tuna Tournament kicks off on Wednesday November 1 – 4 in Cabo San Lucas with registration followed by two action-packed days of searching for the largest yellowfin tuna plus a gamefish division for dorado and wahoo. In 1999, at its beginning, the event drew 112 teams. Now, 19 years later, the WON Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot is going stronger than ever, and is now the biggest, richest tuna tournament in the world. “One thing teams can count on when they come to Cabo for the Tuna Jackpot is winning prizes and having a great time,” Pat…

Team Chupacabra showed the rest of the sportfishing world a thing or two about big game fishing landing a 326-pound blue marlin plus a 356-pound black on day 2 scoring a total 682 points earning them top team and Captain honors in the 37th Annual Bisbee Black & Blue Tournament. However, Chicago-based Team Ten Brothers walked off with the largest winnings overall, $961,518.75, for their three-day angling effort. Total winnings for all teams in all categories including daily jackpots amounted to $3,255,750. During the event, conducted at the confluence of the Pacific Ocean and Sea of Cortez, 807 anglers on…

The sportfisher C-Bandit with owner Bill McWethy, flanked the C-Bandit team, brought a 569-pound black marlin to the scales on Day Three of the 37th Annual Bisbee Black & Blue tournament to top the leader board. The monster billfish inhaled a live baitfish and was brought to gaff after an approximate 45-minute battle by C-Bandit angler Frank D’Anna. The fish was potentially worth upwards of $1,000,000 in prize and jackpot money, according to tournament officials. Topping the Release Category, Bobby Patton, owner of Team Fastball, arrived to submit his team’s videos of their four releases: Chip Wagner had released a blue marlin…

Seven belly-buster marlin were weighed in on Day Two [10/26/17] of the 37th Annual Bisbee Black & Blue tournament(Bisbee tournament) in this, the acknowledged Sportfishing Capital of the World. Some 120 teams from around the globe are competing in the three-day piscatorial party in boats ranging from family-size cruisers to mega-yachts. Day Two in the competition included: ·       Mark Hinkle aboard Pocket Aces with a 421-pound black marlin; ·       Ben Vincent on Go Deeper 60 with a 367-pound black marlin; ·       Benito Liera with Team Liquid Assets and a 363-pound blue marlin; ·       Carmine Galati with Team Galati, fishing on an…

Day One Update Chicago-based Team Ten Brothers held the lead of the 37th Annual Bisbee Black & Blue tournament after Day One [10/25/17]. Fishing aboard the sportfisher Dream Weaver, they brought a 485-pound blue marlin to the scales. A Team Ten Brothers angler was fighting a fish when a second larger marlin came up behind the transom of the Dream Weaver. A crew member dropped back a large tuna they had bridled for bait and the huge marlin grabbed it.  The Team Ten Brothers’ monster blue marlin then “greyhounded” away, taking a handful of jumps before sounding. One hundred twenty…

Six hundred seventy-one anglers and crews consisting of 114 teams competed in the 19th Annual Los Cabos Offshore Tournament, Oct. 19-22, with winners carrying home $823,500 in cash. Said tournament director Wayne Bisbee, “The Los Cabos Offshore can’t be called the ‘Baby Bisbee’ any longer.  It’s all grown up.” After the spindrift had settled, the largest fish boated was a 574-pound blue marlin landed by angler Tom Powell, Charleston, SC, aboard the 80-foot Viking sportfisher Hooray.  The massive billfish took 3 hours, 30 minutes for Powell to land. He hooked the winner at 4:45 p.m. and struggled until well past…

Que Pasa For the first time, scientists have reported the capture of a live vaquita, a small sea mammal endemic to Mexico’s upper Gulf of California that is on the verge of extinction. However, as it was showing signs of stress, shortly after its capture on Wednesday morning, the female calf was released back into the wild according to a statement sent out late Thursday by scientists with the Vaquita CPR Conservation Project and Mexico’s Secretary of the Environment, Rafael Pacchiano. https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/first-vaquita-dolphin-ever-captured.669899/ http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/border-baja-california/sd-me-vaquita-catch-20171019-story.html Anthony Motshagen Baja Norte Coronado Islands Early reports say some big bonito are showing in the Middle…

If you are traveling by boat in Mexico, north of Ensenada, you are required by law to have a nautical FMM Tourist Permit each time you enter Mexican waters. The officials have been cracking down on boats and you will be required to show your fishing license, Nautical FMM, and TIP. There is a new online process where you can apply and pay online for the Nautical Sportfishing Tourist FMM. They cost $500 Mexican pesos per person and you can pay by credit card. Steps to Follow: Go to http://www.gob.mx/inm/documentos/ejemplo-del-formato-para-el-envio-de-las-listas-de-pasajeros-y-tripulantes-maritimos to find a form that you can download – the first link listed…

Que Pasa BCS Introducing New Tourism Tax Baja California Sur will be the first state in Mexico to introduce a tourist tax which will take effect starting in December. Before you get all riled up, the tax will come to approximately $20 USD, so it’s hardly going to affect your vacation. And that money will be put to good use. Around 95% of the revenue collected will go towards infrastructure projects. Los Cabos alone could bring in almost $40 million US dollars from the tax! Despite the potential revenue, the tax has been controversial since it was proposed. Those against…

Que Pasa “The bottlenose dolphins trained by the U.S. Navy to find the Vaquita and herd them to a safe, contained area where they will hopefully reproduce. Nobody knows if this will work but it seems to be the only option at this point. How they are trained? I have no idea. Do I agree with this? I have no idea. I do know that it is impossible to control a secure area in the gulf … there is just too much corruption and the cartels are involved in the totoaba poaching.”… Anthony Motshagen https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/dolphin-plane-arrives-san-filipe.668893/ Baja Norte Coronado Islands There…

“That Fish” goes by many different names: game changer, defining moment, extraordinary catch, bucket list, or perhaps even a local, state, federal or international record. For one lucky angler on the Ranger 85 recently, it was a giant bluefin tuna. Regardless, it happens when an angler and a fish share a moment in time that alters an angler’s life. It often occurs unexpectedly, at any time to any random angler, from rank amateur to seasoned veteran. The results of the catch may affect others — captain, crew, and even other boat passengers who share an experience that will be etched…

Que Pasa Important Mex 1 update Just wrapped up a trip to BoLA. Left on the 28th of September. The roads are being repaired from Cataviña to the Punta Prieta turnout to Bahia de las Angeles. A lot of the pot holes are being repaired so that’s a good thing…Austin Bernasconi Baja Norte Coronado Islands Bonito have still been all around Pukey Point and the lee of North Island recently with a few yellowtail scattered throughout the area down both sides of North Island. The problem is that there are still tons of sea lions around, and without any boat…

Que Pasa The 5th La Pesca Baja “Gran Final” was headquarter at the Old Mill in San Quintin last weekend. The final event of the summer series hosted anglers from both throughout the region as well as some from the United States including many of the winners of the preceding events at San Felipe, Gonzaga Bay, Bahia de los Angeles and Ensenada. Early Saturday morning a fleet of 50 sportfishing boats of various sizes engines roared to life as Tournament officials joined local dignitaries in the official “Flare Gun Start”. More than 200 anglers, each intent of catching a winning…

October is just around the corner which means only one thing in Los Cabos: “It’s TOURNAMENT TIME!” Baja will welcome “back-to-back-to-back” events with a rich history in big fish/big money tournaments which began in the early 1980s, pre-dating the inner harbor that ultimately became the IGY Marina and so many more developments in Baja Sur. The concept began on Balboa Island in Newport Beach, Calif.; Bob Bisbee and John “JD” Doughty operated Bisbee’s Sportfishing Center near the ferry landing, a shop that was equipped with one of the first land-based marine, single-side-band radios that established them as the central contact…

Que Pasa Whew! Tropical Storm Norma seems to have changed directions and will avoid Baja Sur; the weather remained normal. The La Pesca de Baja series Finale is scheduled to be held September 22 and 23. The winning teams from the preceding four events that were held throughout the summer will compete for the Grand Championship at this event. However, any other anglers are welcome to enter and compete in this event as well. This one-day event is a terrific opportunity to mingle with local anglers as well as regional anglers from around the state. https://www.bdoutdoors.com/baja-bytes-san-quintin/ For more event information…

Que Pasa Carmageddon at the border? A 57-hour closure is planned for southbound car lanes at San Ysidro. Attention border crossers: For 57 hours in September, all cars will be barred from entering Tijuana through San Ysidro beginning Sept. 23rd at 3 a.m. and lasting until noon on Sept. 25th. The closure is part of a plan by the U.S. General Services Administration to realign a portion of Interstate 5. The operation launches the third and final phase of the $741 million expansion of the San Ysidro Port of Entry. It will affect tens of thousands of drivers–students, commuters, shoppers…

“Dorado and Baja were as common as chips and salsa or margaritas and salt …” https://www.bdoutdoors.com/baha-gary-graham-dorado/ …May 14, 2013 That was then. Now, dorado have gone from being the poster child of Baja anglers to becoming a shining example of the results of unrestrained commercial overfishing in the Sea of Cortez. In 2015, a notice from Tracy Ehrenberg of Pisces Sportfishing gleefully announced the following, in part: “WASHINGTON – The Presidential task force on IUU announced on August 3, that dorado from Mexico is now officially an IUU ‘at risk’ species. As a result, illegal fishing operations in Mexico should…

Que Pasa Hurricanes, Tropical storms, Chubasco or as the local’s call them Tormentas go with the territory if you spend much time in Baja in the fall months. Over the years our family has experienced many, ranging from “Whew, that one missed us,” to “OMG!” Tropical Storm Lidia began as a distant threat that became much more as it made landfall at the tip of Baja and hurled up the center of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, barely grazing Los Barriles with more rain than wind, as the water flowed off of the mountainsides leaving arroyos flooded before washing out to…

Calm seas greeted the 44 teams of 147 anglers August 26 as they waited for the flare of the shotgun start for the first Wahoo Gold Cup. Most teams were counting on either their information gathered by pre-fishing or word of mouth from others on which way to go … up or down the Baja coast or in some cases straight out. The sun peeped from behind the glowing clouds as the flare soared toward the horizon and the teams sped off in different directions, hoping for a winning wahoo or at the least, the largest dorado or tuna for…

Que Pasa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y19xlrtR6eA This amazing vintage footage is of the first marlin taken on fly by Dr. Webster “Doc” Robinson from the IGFA archives. Doc, his wife Helen, and Captain Lefty Reagan secured a place in the angling record books by developing the innovative team technique which involved one angler teasing the billfish up with live bait while the other angler presented the artificial fly. For a couple who contributed so much to sport fishing, it is astonishing that the Robinsons’ serious angling careers did not begin until later in their lives. The Robinsons bought a home in Key West,…

Que Pasa These are the places around Baja & Mainland where you will need your daily wrist bands or your Biosphere Passport. (Green sections) DO NOT GET CAUGHT IN THESE AREAS WITHOUT THE PROPER PERMITS! Step 1 – REGISTER / Click here to register and apply for your passes if you plan on visiting these areas. http://www.semarnat.gob.mx/gobmx/pagosat5.html Step 2 – PAY AT A MEXICAN BANK, Step 3 – PICK UP IN ENSENADA at THE CONANP OFFICE. According to Orchid Martinez, Baja Fishing Convoys, there are annual passports that provide access in all of the areas which cost approximately $333 Mxn…