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Author: That Baja Guy-Gary Graham
That Baja Guy-Gary Graham
That Baja Guy-Gary Graham, the BD Outdoors Baja Editor, has more than five decades fishing experience off of Southern California and the Baja Peninsula. From light tackle and fly up to offshore marlin fishing, Gary has experienced all facets of this fishery. He's set several fly-fishing world records and in his first year as a member of the Tuna Club of Avalon, he received more angling awards than any other first-year member in the club's 109-year history. He's been involved with many California angling clubs and is the Baja California Representative for the International Game Fish Association. Gary's a conservationist as well as a writer and photographer. In addition to two books on saltwater fly-fishing, hundreds of his articles and photographs have appeared in publications around the world. Graham has devoted his life to finding new fisheries and developing new techniques — all of which he shares through his guiding, speaking, photography and writing.
The Baja Peninsula, with its hundreds of miles of rugged coastline, stretches down the Pacific Coast from Tijuana to the tip at Cabo San Lucas. Then, it meanders back up the Sea of Cortez to San Felipe on the East Coast. In spite of the conventional opinions of many locals, visitors and tourists who either live in or simply visit the over-populated cities and tourists zones, so far, Baja has stubbornly clung to maintain much of the remote, undeveloped areas, in spite of the constant attempts of developers to – paraphrasing Joni Mitchell’s first line in her popular 1970s song,…
The last half of July found me hanging out at East Cape doing a little fishing plus visiting with old friends. In our many discussions, I was surprised how popular circle hooks have become. When I asked about using circle hooks, a few of my friends who were fishing in the Dorado Shootout, simply responded, “We just catch more fish with them.” Fair enough. Then I bumped into Axel Valdez, manager of Buena Vista Beach Resort Hotel who had switched over to circles exclusively last year for all of their bait fishing. And asked if they were still using them?…
“Tuna Club of Santa Catalina Island” had two of their annual tournaments recently – the “Linen One” and the “Avalon Benefit Tournament.” B.G. Williams, past president and founder of his “80+ Club” team, invited me to fish on his boat, Sub Chaser, in both events. Before I go any further, please understand that I’m not qualified to be a team member . . . yet; I’m just an apprentice/guest. The “Linen One” was held on Thursday — sort of a pre-fish day for the “Avalon Benefit,” using pre-1940 tackle and linen line only. This tournament is usually filled with many…
Teams slowly trickled in most of the afternoon to register for the Bisbee East Cape Offshore Tournament. Some looked perplexed as they gazed out in front of the host Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort beach and beyond — Where were all the boats? How many were signed up? What was the number of teams last year? — Clearly their faces were reflecting anxiety about the attendance this year as they nervously shifted in line. As more and more anglers arrived, concerns about participation seem to fade and the perplexed looks and nervous faces changed to smiles and laughter and a…
The Shelter Island Pier swarmed with laughter and enthusiastic chatter as over 125 young anglers and their families from many diverse backgrounds gathered on August 14, 2016 for the Annual Young Anglers Fishing Tournament. They shared at least one single interest — “fishing!” After a group photo, and long before Hashem Nahid, a member of United Pier & Shore Anglers of California, the Tournament Director, announced “Start Fishing!” at precisely 8:30 a.m., the young anglers from 6- to 15-years-old, in many cases with their entire families joining them, had eagerly looked forward to the warm sunny day fishing on the…
A few years ago, when I first met Richard “Dicko” Gebhard, he impressed me with his drive and untamed energy. And when I volunteered to help at the Stars & Stripes Tournament, I was astonished at how tirelessly he worked … long after those half his age, had dropped. Then I learned a bit of background. In the 1990s, while serving as a board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County, Gebhard dreamed up the concept of a small fishing tournament to be held in Cabo San Lucas – a not-for-profit 501(C) 3 organization – as an appealing,…
Recently, I sat across from Chucky Van Wormer, the youngest of the three sons of Bobby Van Wormer, Sr. and his wife, Cha Cha. I was impressed with this generation of Van Wormers. Since their father’s death in 2010, sons, Bobby, Jr., Eddie and Chucky have flawlessly taken over the operation of the East Cape empire their parents had built and have continued to run the successful operation with the blessing of their mother, “Cha Cha.” Robert (Bobby) Van Wormer, Sr., one of the true 1950s-era pioneers of Baja, first visited East Cape in 1956 with a group of inquisitive…
We support and partner with some of the most deserving and worthwhile nonprofit organizations, all dedicated to improving the lives of young people and their families. As a Stars & Stripes beneficiary, charities not only receive much-needed financial assistance – which they can use to expand their programs – but they are also able to increase public awareness about their causes and missions through the S&S network. Learn more about this year’s beneficiaries below. Big Brothers – Big Sisters The Big Brothers Big Sisters mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally-supported one-to-one relationships that change…
Mutual cooperation works. Just ask any of the 40 anglers – or an untold number of fish – that participated in the three-day Roy Clark’s 15th Annual Billfish Tournament at Palmas De Cortez, June 15th – June 19th, 2016. The event, consisting of two-angler teams, pounded billfish, wahoo, dorado and tuna in the tourney that featured prize reels, lures and the always-welcome hard cash. The top three teams, along with the winning boat crews, took home the cash and prizes including Accurate Reels, Eat Me Lures and an array of sparking trophies. The Roy Clark began on Thursday morning with…