Cabo Tuna

[Baja Marty]

Back in Cabo for the New Year. Incredibly, it's 5 weeks later and they are still netting sardinas off of Palmilla Point and catching yellowfin and dorado just a mile offshore. The first day I went out tuna fishing was slow so I brought the live bait inshore and had a great time catching keeper Cabrilla and snapper. I fished New Years day but the bait boats took the day off.

Third time was the charm. I waited an hour to buy a scoop but It didn't take long after that. I hooked this 25-30# tuna soon after joining the fleet. There's nothing like being surrounded by jealous boaters. It took quite a while to land on 30# test. I rarely catch anything big enough to warrant bringing a gaff, so I had to net this fish belly-up.

Unfortunately I could have taken better care of my catch. The fish was bled, but then I didn't know where to stow it. I had purchased a large fish bag but forgot to bring down the hardware necessary to attach it to my Revo 13. I ended up putting the fish head first in my bait tank with the tail sticking out, and that left a lot to be desired. In hindsight I should have just kept it on my lap while peddling in..... Any suggestions about how to manage a large catch would be appreciated. The Hobie Mirage drive kayak is new to me and there's not much room.