Author: That Baja Guy-Gary Graham

The Marlin Club San Diego … gateway to San Diego’s Sportfishing heritage Frank G. Belcher is best remembered as President of the California Pacific International Exposition from 1934 to 1936, essentially the event that gave birth to Balboa Park.   But he was also one of thirteen young community leaders who, in the waning flapper era of the 1920s, began discussing an angling club for the growing sportfishing community in San Diego – those who fished for marlin and other big game off California’s coast. Many were members of the San Diego Rowing Club, drawn by rowing and swimming as well…

Marlin Club Juniors Tournament The Michael L. Farrior 6th Annual Marlin Club Juniors Tournament offers two different components to accommodate both the junior anglers of the Marlin Club and the IGFA Junior anglers an opportunity to enjoy a day of fishing the waters off San Diego. Junior anglers may fish either on Marlin Club member boats or aboard a half-day charter boat provided by IGFA Trustee and Historian, Michael L. Farrior. The 6th annual event attracted 32 juniors who fished the kelp beds aboard the spacious Premier out of H&M Landing, and the Marlin Club fielded ten member boats with ten junior…

Check out Gary Graham’s Baja Bytes report in the forum each week as he rounds up the action south of the border in Mexico’s Baja peninsula.

Ray Cannon, the original Baja editor for Western Outdoor News, helped make dorado Loreto’s summer-time poster child.  His articles literally attracted anglers from around the world. But its fishing reputation was originally built on dorado … stretching back to the glory days of Ed Tabor and his Flying Sportsman Lodge. Of course there were other popular species — yellowtail, billfish and somewhere down a ways on the list, there was roosterfish, particularly trophy-sized ones. Rick Hill, pinchysportfishing.com, sent me the following:  This is his story about a camping/kayaking trip on Carmen Island when Loreto Sea and Land’s owner Captain Juve Orozco,…

Coming from throughout the United States and Mexico, 43 teams competed in Stars and Stripes’ 2015 “It’s All About the Kids” event — a two-day, action-packed, very competitive sport fishing tournament. Wrapped in the camaraderie and satisfaction of pursuing big fish, they raised some big bucks for the many children’s charities that Stars and Stripes supports. The shuttles began arriving at Chileno Bay beach at 6:15 a.m. from the host hotel, Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort, where they were greeted by staff and volunteers who quickly dispatched each team to their respective boat. After all 43 teams were…

In January, “Circuito Cultural Cabo Marina” began appearing on social media sites and in a few press releases. As months passed, more and more intriguing images of crowds strolling along a stretch of the malecón fronting the IGY Marina on Saturday afternoons appeared, and a closer look showed canopies sheltering local Mexican artists displaying their unique creations. Brian Solomon of Solomon’s Landing Restaurant was one of the names mentioned in the press and media as a supporter of the “Circuito Cultural Cabo Marina,” but peeling down through a few layers of rhetoric, I discovered Solomon was more of a ringleader.…

Part 1 The Wonderful Wacky World of Del Marsh – Part 2 This is Part 2 to the story of Del Marsh’s life. He was too large a man in life to contain in one article. Nothing quite describes him like this tribute from Gary Shiebler. It was difficult to portray Del Marsh with mere words. Del was a chameleon … his fun-filled personality changed to meet the personalities of those around him. He loved people, and his love was reciprocated. “Del Marsh was the wealthiest man you could ever meet who didn’t have a large bank account.” Still riding…

It was the end of the Roaring Twenties – the nation’s wealth had more than doubled and the Wall Street Stock Market Crash of 1929 bought an abrupt end to the strength of the American economy – ushering in a Great Depression, which plunged the world into years of unprecedented turmoil. This was the year that in a small suburb of Los Angeles, Delbert Francis Marsh was born into the still-growing Marsh family. Not understood then was the impact this tiny baby would have on those close to him – his family and friends – throughout his lifetime and especially…

It’s been more than four decades since I first began fishing offshore in Southern California in our own boat. Yvonne and I, along with our crew, roamed the Pacific Ocean from our homeport in San Diego to as far south as Guadalupe Island and as far north to the waters surrounding the Channel Islands where a number of banks jut up from the ocean floor creating steep drop-offs which in turn produce current breaks. The baits that gather in these areas attract pelagic: marlin, tuna, dorado and, of course, a variety of sharks including mako and thresher, that have achieved…

Mexico Dorado Conservation The Mexican Congress has been conducting forums throughout Mexico and Baja for the past two years, seeking input from the sportfishing and commercial industry on the feasibility of removing dorado from the list of species “reserved exclusively for sportfishing” as is outlined in the current Mexican Fisheries law. The passing of this initiative would allow the commercialization of dorado. The sixth Forum was convened unexpectedly last week in Tapachula, Chiapas. Minerva Saenz, the IGFA Representative in Los Cabos, along with many others, responded to the last-minute call for testimony. They traveled more than 2,000 miles at great…

MAGDALENA BAY – BAJA’S LAST FRONTIER PART 1 MAGDALENA BAY – BAJA’S LAST FRONTIER PART 2 “Huge bird school two miles dead ahead,” a voice boomed from the tower. “Sleeper at two o’clock from the bridge!” as the cockpit erupted with the deafening sound of ZZZZTTTT and two rods bowed toward the wake while two striped marlin greyhounded in opposite directions. Welcome to Magdalena Bay offshore on a typical day in the late fall of most years. If you were to poll seasoned captains from around the world, their consensus would be there are few spots on earth where so…

Attendees lining up to purchase tickets for The Fred Hall Shows -The Ultimate Outdoor Experience – at Long Beach, couldn’t miss the eye-catching bright red CCA-CA booth on the walkway outside the show this year. The booth was filled with volunteers brimming with enthusiasm who were offering an annual $50 membership to CCA-CA that included entry to the Fred Hall show (thanks to show management) plus a voucher booklet worth more than $150 in free products, raffle entries and discounts. The lines at the counters of the booth grew as the volunteers signed up new members throughout the 5-day show.…

Near the end of a perfect, patented warm San Diego afternoon beneath an eggshell blue sky, a large crowd joined the sport fishing elite, dignitaries and political leaders who made their way down an H & M Landing pier to the 105-foot Red Rooster 3 on Good Friday evening. The slips on both sides of the dock and up and down the landing were filled with majestic sport fishers of every description. It was a poignant reminder of how far San Diego’s fishing fleet has come since the San Diego Sport Fishing industry was born on that eventful day –…

Palmas de Cortez Fall The summer of 2014 – the anticipation of another exciting Baja Spectacular increased. It would be the twentieth such event and veterans shared their memorable fish stories of past tournaments. As is usual in these cases, their enthusiasm was contagious! “Remember the time …” mused one or another as they launched into an entertaining tale of a big fish, a WFO dorado or a tuna bite that seemed to go on for hours before concluding in a warm, fuzzy feel of exhaustion, cloaked in the satisfaction of having “been there, done that.” The growing group of…

MAGDALENA BAY – BAJA’S LAST FRONTIER PART 1 MAGDALENA OFFSHORE PART 3 When I began this report on Magdalena Bay, it became apparent that one article would not be enough to cover the esteros and all their secrets. Many anglers have experienced the almost unbelievable offshore fishery, specifically for billfish, but only a few have taken the time to explore the bay and its esteros. This will give you some insight into the mysterious esteros. Years ago, only a few of the yachts and sport fishers traveling south to Cabo San Lucas, or on their return trip home, carried enough…

MAGDALENA BAY – BAJA’S LAST FRONTIER PART 2 MAGDALENA OFFSHORE PART 3 With its stunning, rugged desert landscape shaping a unique backdrop for hundreds of miles of mangrove-lined channels, Magdalena Bay attracts an overwhelming collection of wildlife unduplicated anywhere else in Baja. As large as San Francisco Bay, this 131-mile bay is protected by five barrier islands along the west coast of Baja, has remained an enigma, tantalizing and bewildering even the most seasoned Baja traveler. The bay’s location and inaccessibility has allowed it to remain one of those places in Baja that time has virtually left behind. Most visitors…

Saltwater Fly Fishing Baja Way During the 16th century Spanish Explorers depicted Baja as an island. Of course that concept has long since been dispelled, but in many ways Baja still seems more like an island than a peninsula. Surrounded on three sides by saltwater, it offers over 2,000 miles of coastline for the adventurous flyfisher. From jagged rocky coast to white sandy beaches, lagoons and estuaries thrown in, Baja has it all. There is even a trout stream hiding in the hills of Baja Norte that was stocked over ninety-three years ago, and a hidden freshwater reservoir on the…

Scammons Lagoon Whale Watching In December 1857, Charles Scammon, aboard his schooner/tender Marin, immortalized his trip into the lagoons and bays of Laguna Ojo de Liebre (Scammons Lagoon Whale Watching), Baja Sur, Mexico (formerly known as Scammons Lagoon) crying thar she blows when he found the whales he searched for. It was the phrase used by Herman Melville in his classic novel Moby Dick. This was the prelude to the slaughter of these majestic, gentle giants that nearly led to their extinction. Now, echoing across 164 years, that same phrase is uttered in excitement and awe. Thar she blows can…