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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.
Swordfish Tips Seen by many and caught by a few, the gladiator of the sea, Xiphias gladius, or more commonly called swordfish, broadbill or simply two-finner, has become an obsession for some who like Captain Ahab travel the globe to add them to their bucket list. Recently, most of the talk about them has been coming from Texas and Florida, or internationally from New Zealand, where “deep-drop” has become the popular way to target them. Captain Brett Holden and his crew on the “Booby Trap” has dazzled the sportfishing world with his “deep-drop” techniques while catching broadbill off the Texas…
I answered a call in mid-May from Al Q’ my friend for many years. I assumed he was calling to talk about his recent projects — maybe the “One Surf Fly” that had been held a few weeks before, or perhaps the upcoming “Carp Throw Down” — the popular event he and Conway Bowman host every year at Lake Henshaw. Instead of his usual excited voice, his call began in quivering, hushed tones. “I had an epic morning on the fly this past Saturday. First, I landed the largest calico ever caught on 12-pound tippet– a 9.23-pounder; then I landed…
Live bait has become increasingly hard to come by in Baja over the past several years. Captains and crews aboard yachts, sport fishers and long rangers have all observed a severe lack of baitfish of any kind during their voyages along the West Coast of Baja this year, and sardine and mackerel, usually thick from the border to Magdalena Bay have simply not been there; the only bright spot is that the volume of red crab spotted is much higher than usual. Baja Sur and the Sea of Cortez are also suffering from a lack baitfish in general — specifically,…
Mexican regulations state that if a vessel with a valid Temporary Importation Permit (TIP) is being sold or is changing ownership, the boat owner or legal representative (whose name is on the permit) must return the document to any Banjercito office in order to cancel it or the next owner will be unable to apply for a TIP under his name for the boat in question. IF PREVIOUS OWNER IS AVAILABLE: In order to comply with regulations, the old TIP should be returned to Banjercito. However, if the old owner is not available, the new owner may go to any…
TIP Permit Required To get a required TIP permit for your car or truck to be on mainland Mexico, you have to pay the Mexican Treasury department (Hacienda) by credit card (VI, MC) or debit card with a VI or MC logo. You need the title or registration for your car or RV (title only for motorcycles) and are supposed to have a notarized letter of permission to take your vehicle into Mexico if it is financed (if you can’t get one, you’ll probably get your Mexican car permit — I have never been asked for one — but don’t blame me if you run into…
Laws and regulations for those tourists entering a foreign country change, and Baja is no exception; for our readers who frequently cross the border, BD Outdoors has provided the following updates and recent changes: INM(Mexico’s immigration department) requires that all U.S. and Canadian citizens have an FMM Tourist Permit any time they are in Mexico. Sample of a blank FMM is at the bottom of this page. Below are answers to frequently asked questions about the FMM Tourist Permit. FMM Tourist Permit: $533 Mexican pesos (appx U.S. $24) at the border Valid for up to 180 days FMMs for stays of seven days: Free What…
On May 12, 2015, headlines in the Sea Trade Cruise-News “San Diego officials see Mazatlán poised for cruise recovery” validated the visit of the Sportfishing Association of California’s efforts in conjunction with officials from the Port of San Diego and the San Diego Port Tenants Association, whose visit in April of that year had confirmed that both Mazatlán and the Port of Mazatlán was revitalized, safe and ready following a joint trade mission to that city. The purpose of the mission was to promote and restore maritime, commerce and tourism trade. The Pacific ports in Southern California and Mexico represent…
Day at the Docks, the traditional kick-off to the San Diego Sportfishing fleet’s season, hosted a record breaking crowd of anglers and their families – both tourists and locals – April 17. A near picture-perfect spring day greeted the throng to exhibits, boat tours, rides, food, games (dunking the captains), and, perhaps most important, kids’ fishing. One of the highlights of the afternoon was the presentation of the “Class of 2016” IGFA Honorees. IGFA Trustee Michael Farrior introduced the recipients of the highly-coveted Certificates of Appreciation by noting that the honorees were token representatives in their own right of the…