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#1 |
Baitless on Baja
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Vista California, Gonzaga, San Quintin, Asuncion, Mag Bay
Posts: 4,250
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Pargo heaven
by Makobob 25 Years ago while on a Baja exploratory trip to La Paz. A friend and I took a panga to Espritu Santo. Looking for pargo rojo. Rumors said they could be found there. We asked around and found a local La Paz fisherman willing to take us fishing. Early the next morning we headed out. There was no wind so the crossing was easy. We rounded up the right side of the island a couple of miles. Our panguero named Juan pulled us up to a rocky/sandy shore line. He took a wooden plug from the floor in front of the bow seats. Instantly water flooded the front compartment. With us behind him he jumped onto the front seat area. Juan grabbed a castnet from the seat compartment. Standing tall he stomped his feet on the seat deck. Then cast the net to the sandy area near the rocks. He quickly jumped down and backed the boat out about 10 feet. Back to the bow he went, the cast net was retrieved. must have been 60+ small bait fish in the net. He shook them out of the net into the front compartment which held about 10 inches of salt water. He did this 3 times, each time stomping before each throw of the net. Asking why he stomped he told us that the bait hides under the panga. Stomping sends them away from the panga in fright. Making them easier to catch. We would need them for pargo he promised. He told us his fishing reef was 30 minutes away. Pete and I settled into a stand up position and brought out our breakfast, made the night before at a street taco stand. We had 8 so offered a couple to Juan. You buy a burritos today and it weighs 1-2 POUNDS and is full of.......... These were Baja burritos. Spiced meat with a little onion, wrapped around a homemade flour tortilla. These were flat each wrapped in paper and only a few ounces each. Old school Baja burritos. I can still taste them. Arriving at Juan's secret spot we saw two other pangas. Both were just the panguero fishing, no help, no gringos. We saw one pull a nice pargo and knew we had hit the jackpot. We pulled out our tackle and got rigged as we drifted. Juan said we were not going to catch them on the gear we had set up. He cut off our tackle, pulled out a large hook for both of us to tie on. Just the hook, nothing else. Juan showed us how to hook the baits. He then squeezed a half-dozen minnows and threw then in. Up they came, brown red streaks flashing through the water. Juan told us not to put our baits in the water yet. He tells Pete to pull 20 feet or so of line from his reel and please do not stand on it. He picks up the scoop gets some bait, grabs Petes hook and bait and throws the whole mess in the water. Again the snapper flash towards the surface grabbing the minnows. Including Petes. Fish on, straight to the bottom and almost instant rock. Same thing happened to me, four turns in a row. Pete got the first one, about 20 pounds. A Penn 4/0 with a very tight drag and 50 pound braided dacron could only stop the smaller ones. The bigger models were unstoppable. We got 7 that day all between 15 to almost 30 pounds. One we kept, the others went to Juan's family. It was a day to remember, pargo were all over. I believe these were dog-tooth snapper. But they might have been cubera snapper. They were pargo rojo, and fantastic eating. A little cafe/kitchen cooked them up and we feasted on pargo grilled with garlic. memories make in paradise. They forever live in my aging mind.
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http://www.mako-ville.com Home 760-630-4470 Cell 760-520-2514 YES YOU CAN |
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#2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 221
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Thanks for sharing. it was like I was there watching you guys hook up! cheers
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk |
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#3 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: The I. E.
Posts: 353
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You’re making us all jealous Bob.
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#4 |
Baitless on Baja
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Vista California, Gonzaga, San Quintin, Asuncion, Mag Bay
Posts: 4,250
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So step outside of your box and just do it. It will be good for your mental healty.
__________________
http://www.mako-ville.com Home 760-630-4470 Cell 760-520-2514 YES YOU CAN |
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