Author: That Baja Guy-Gary Graham

Hi-5 Custom Lures Baja After an 80-minute fight aboard Frantic Pace, angler Dave Sanchez landed a 465-pound blue marlin, which turned out to be the only qualifying fish in the 2012 Bisbee Black and Blue — the richest marlin tournament in the world. This catch netted the team the second-highest payout in the event’s 33-year history! Not only did Frantic Pace sweep all of the major cash awards, including the top tournament and top jackpot, but the crew also won all of the daily jackpots for a total payday of $2,396,800. But the backstory that cannot be overlooked belongs to…

The strange story about a Louvar, caught recently in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, just got even stranger. Joseph Estrada, a 45-year-old businessman from San Antonio, Texas, contacted BD over the weekend with quite a different louvar tale than the “Another Strange Catch in Cabo” article published on the website on November 2nd. It seems that Joe and two of his friends from San Antonio, including Wayne Tauer, who runs a boat repair shop and Greg Graham, a parole officer, had gone out fishing for dorado on the Dr. Pescado 11 on November 1, 2012. After clearing paper work at the…

On the heels of Halloween and just in time for the Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos, another mysterious denizen of the deep was landed aboard the Marina of the Pisces fleet. According to Tracy Ehrenberg, Capt. José Moreno, of the 28-foot cruiser Marina, thought he had just another routine half-day dorado trip on his hands and was on his way out to an area where the fleet was catching dorado six miles off the old lighthouse at Cabo Falso. Spotting something huge floating on the surface, he brought the boat closer, and decided it was either a red snapper…

On the 16th of October, Hurricane Paul skirted Cabo San Lucas dumping massive amounts of wind-driven rains, which resulted in the Port Captain closing the port, causing the first of the October marlin tournaments in Cabo to be shortened from three to two days. Although disappointed, it only fueled the eternal optimism that most anglers share that conditions would improve. Some said the chlorophyll charts indicated the water was clearing up from the storm. At the Bisbee’s Black and Blue Tournament’s captains’ meeting, enthusiasm ran high as Wayne Bisbee, the Tournament Director, called the meeting to order. Spectators and team…

As the second day of the Bisbee Black and Blue Marlin Tournament got underway in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the tension was thicker than a bowl of guacamole. Because no qualifying marlin were weighed on day one of the event, the unclaimed overall daily prize of $711,000 rolled over to the second day, putting some huge money up for grabs. “We’re known for giving away the big bucks,” said tournament director Wayne Bisbee after fishing came to an end on day one. “So with no qualifiers today, tomorrow just turned into a million-dollar-plus daily. Our teams are the best of…

“This was my introduction to small boating in the Sea of Cortez,” Ray Cannon wrote about the adventure of Bob Francis, Roy Francis, Martin Rothschild and Kenneth Anderson in their 16-foot boats, the Bloody Mary II and the San Francisco Babe, both powered by twin Johnson 35-hp outboards. “And the trip was a thing of joy from start to finish,” Cannon continued about the first-ever recorded cruise from San Felipe to La Paz, chronicled in his January 11, 1957 Western Outdoor News column. Ray declared that the trip was the dawning of a new era of cruising in the Sea…

Fishing Cabo San Lucas Mexico’s Cabo San Lucas, located at the very southern tip of the Baja Peninsula, enjoys the well-deserved title of Marlin Capital of the World. The Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean, two magnificent bodies of water, collide right in front of Cabo, producing some of the most productive fishing grounds found anywhere on the planet. From Cabo, local crews and visiting boats spend a good bit of their time targeting billfish, including swordfish, sailfish and striped, black, and blue marlin all year long — sometimes within sight of the shoreline. Cabo crews catch some big…

427 Pound Yellowfin Tuna It’s official — on Friday, September 28th, the International Game Fish Association received Guy Yocom’s record application for the 193.68 kg (427-pound) yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) he caught on September 18th, while fishing aboard his boat, El Suertudo, off the coast of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Yocom needed only 50 minutes to land this massive tuna after it ate the chunked tuna he was using for bait. Once the fish was boated, Capt. Greg DiStefano measured the fish and decided it was close enough to call it a day. Back at the docks in Cabo, Yocom’s…

Guy Yocom, a 55-year-old businessman from Dana Point, California, built a successful contracting business in Norco by applying a simple philosophy: “By paying attention to details, small ideas could result in huge accomplishments.” It’s an ideal he applies to everything, even fishing. When Mustad’s Hook A Million promotion was announced in October 2011, the possibilities swirled in Yocom’s head and a plan began to take shape. And if all things go his way, the giant yellowfin tuna he just caught in Cabo will sneak in before the Hook A Million promo comes to an end. When the crew on Tenacious…

For the past 81 years, the Marlin Club of San Diego with the support of the San Diego Unified Port District, has always thrived. Thanks to the efforts of officers, directors and members who have voluntarily provided an unprecedented level of service and support to the recreational sportfishing community and the community at large, the Marlin Club has become one of most respected Southern California fishing clubs. In keeping with the Marlin Club’s heritage of giving back to the local community, the club was once again proud to host the Michael Farrior Annual IGFA Juniors’ Tournament for local anglers as…

An international field of anglers composed of multiple teams from the USA, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, South Africa and Vanuatu as well as new Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT) entrants from Portugal and Russia, will compete in the iconic 53rd annual tournament which kicks off August 13th. Captains and crews of the 40 selected boats competing in one of the oldest tournaments on the planet gathered at the Courtyard King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel on Friday and were welcomed by Peter Fithian, HIBT Founder and his tournament staff, where rules and procedures were reviewed. “Each…

There are few places along Mexico’s Baja Peninsula that can compare to the prolific waters of Magdalena Bay. Known by most as just Mag Bay, this 132-mile-long stretch of water is home to the largest volume and variety of offshore game fish found in Mexico. My first introduction to the area was aboard the 85-foot Qualifier, with Capt. Bruce Barnes at the helm. As San Diego’s long-range fleet ventured farther and farther down the Baja coast in search of more and bigger fish, Mag Bay became more accessible. One of the most exhilarating and memorable fishing experiences of my young…

Located at the southern end of Las Palmas Bay, Punta Arena has long been one of the most popular and productive fishing beaches in all of Baja. Simply called “the Lighthouse” by locals, this six-mile stretch of steep sandy beach has earned a reputation for producing some of Baja’s most remarkable catches. It is one of the few places in Baja where the 100-fathom curve often sits within a quarter-mile offshore and pelagic game fish frequent the sandy beach in search of the seemingly endless supply of sardina, mullet, half-beaks, ladyfish and small jacks that can be found starting in…

About 45 minutes north of the Los Cabos airport, an old, dusty dirt road with its desert scrub, towering cactus and wandering livestock leads to the entryway of Rancho Leonero. Concealed from view on a secluded bluff, the only thing between Rancho Leonero and the legendary Sea of Cortez is a couple hundred yards of white sand. First-timers and seasoned veterans alike share that magical, almost mythical, tingling of excitement as they first survey the view. “Rancho” is a cherished, not-so-secret Baja setting where the line between inshore and offshore fishing is vague — both being well-within sight of land.…

If you believe everything you read, you probably think that Baja’s fishery is made up entirely of big, exotic fish. But if you actually fish in Baja, you know that the “exotics” will go sideways at some point for one reason or another and the bite will shut off. When that happens, anglers and crew go will do whatever they can to induce a bite. Occasionally the endless hours of trolling, hoping to conjure up some action, can pay off. But more often than not, that process ends up in frustration for a boatload of people who are ready to…

Spanish Fly Jose Wejebe Julio Meza Julio Meza, a well-known fisherman and successful farmer who fishes primarily out of San Quintin, Mexico, shares his passion for fishing the waters of the Baja peninsula with Jose Wejebe, host of the Spanish Fly television show. Follow them on their three-program journey in search of unique fishing opportunities along the remote west coast of Mexico’s Baja peninsula and the mysterious Bay of Los Angeles in the northern portion of the Sea of Cortez. On this week’s show, the two will head out from La Bocana into the Pacific, running and gunning offshore as…

Long before I first visited Baja, I was dazzled by Ray Cannon. His stories of a sparkling blue sea teeming with fish convinced me that I had to go there someday. And when I finally made it, I discovered a desert surrounded by salt water and the most remarkable beaches. By the early 1980s, my fascination with fishing Baja beaches had become an obsession. Settling in East Cape, the heart of the best beaches Baja has to offer, I brought one of the first ATVs to the area, equipping it with rod holders, and storage cartons so I could go…

Of all the fish that caught in Mexico’s Baja region, snook (or “robalo” in Spanish) are the least understood. With random sightings and more incidental than intended catches, Baja snook are an enigma wrapped in secrecy. It’s nearly impossible to predict when or where this incredible fish will appear, making the snook nearly impossible to target. I have read many accounts of snook runs in Florida, stating that they are reasonably predictable and can actually be targeted. That’s not the case in Baja. My fascination with snook began when I read Ray Cannon’s “Sea of Cortez,” first published in 1966.…

If you are one of my fellow travelers down the Baja Peninsula on the Mex 1 highway, sooner or later there is bound to be a Baja breakdown in your future. Shortly after Mex 1 became a reality in the early 1970s, drivers discovered that much of the 1,000-plus miles of two-lane road were sparsely populated. Books were written describing the journey kilometer by kilometer, listing pages of spare parts that might be needed and probably couldn’t be found if you were to break down. Some of the lists seemed to have enough items to build a vehicle from…

While attending the ICAST tackle show in Las Vegas this past July, Ali Hussainy, founder of www.BDOutdoors.com, introduced me to Julio and Alma Meza, who own and manage one of the larger produce operations in the coastal community of San Quintín, Mexico. The huge agricultural area on the shores of Bahía de San Quintín is located 187 miles south of the San Ysidro border crossing on the west coast of Baja Norte. It is very similar to the San Joaquin Valley in central California south of Sacramento with one exception — it’s on the coast. In addition to agriculture, San…

I met the Snyder brothers, Tommy and Kenny, last July at the Marina Coral when they pulled up in a Glasspar that they had restored in their backyard. Both the brothers and the boat that they rode in fascinated me. Their story spanned a lifetime of growing up in Southern California, fishing the West Coast from the Channel Islands to Punta Baja with each trip carefully documented by the older brother, Kenny. The four ledger books are a treasure trove of detailed fishing conditions and weather information. The more I visited with the two brothers and learned about their family…

When my mother passed away last year at the age of 89, she had accumulated dozens of trunks filled with items that held some significance to her — everything from the keys to every car she had ever owned to a bar of soap that held the imprints of my infant son’s teeth when he tried to eat it during a bath. The soap now resides in a place of honor on Greg’s mother’s shelf. Cherished items that form bridges are not always small enough to be conveniently placed on a shelf or in a cabinet. Recently, fellow Tuna Club…

On Saturday, August 13, Capt. Jim Kingsmill was at the helm of Chaser, owned by Greg Chase, heading up the California coast to Dana from San Diego, where they had participated in the Wounded Warrior Fishing Trip event. The weather and sea conditions were terrific, convincing Kingsmill to take a slight detour out to the Mackerel Bank to check out a rumor he’d heard of a few marlin showing up there. Prior to this trip, the boys on Chaser had been on a few white sea bass and tuna trips, but this impromptu run for billfish was the season’s first…

Two similar pot farms were discovered several weeks ago — one in Baja and the other in Ventura County, California. The news was dominated by the farm near El Rosario, Mexico, while the one in Los Padres National Forest in California barely received honorable mention. Once again, the national press-driven hysteria crept into my fishing world seemingly to mess with Baja Mexico travel. I saw a post on the Facebook page of Capt. Kelly Catain asking if it was safe in San Quintin, yet I didn’t see any questions asking if it was safe in Ventura County. It’s a shame…