38 June 8 - 22 , 2018

VOL . 37 • ISS . 13

80 ’ s , there was much talk about the “ universal outfit ”, the one rod and reel combo that could do it all . Much of this had to do with the fact that many of us didn ’ t have all that much moolah and so the search went on for the most versatile outfit we could get for the money .

After much debate and research , our conclusion came down to this ; a Calstar 500 or 870 rod , a Penn Jigmaster 500 reel , and 30 lb . test monofilament line . Such an outfit could handle sturgeon fishing , drifting bait for striped bass and halibut , trolling for salmon , jigging for rockfish , and even live bait fishing for albacore . It was certainly versatile enough for bay area fishing back then , and it will still perform workmanlike duties now .

I still have that same outfit sitting in the corner of my garage / man cave , and perhaps someday I ’ ll put it back into service . But times have changed and so has the tackle .

This was recently brought out when I was able to hitch a ride aboard my FB ’ s ( Fishing Buddy ) boat in the south bay . As you devoted FishSniffer fans may have read in the other parts of the publication , halibut fishing has been doing well , with larger butts being caught as of late .

I was encouraged when he told me to bring “ something light ” and I had a feeling that meant my A-rig outfit of which I have been writing . In this case I brought my Wright & McGill Skeet Reese Alabama Rig rod coupled with the matching Skeet Reese bait casting reel loaded with 30 lb . braid .

Many years ago , I taught FB how to tie a sliding three way rig and that was what we were using that day . To tie this rig , thread the main line through a Slydo and tie on a good ball bearing snap swivel . I usually modify the Slydo by removing the snap and tying on

a 15 ” piece of 15 lb . mono that ends with a common snap swivel for the torpedo sinker .

The leader to the hook consists of a four or five foot section of 20 lb . fluorocarbon with a loop on one end and a very special hook on the other . Instead of hard tying the leader to a swivel , I use a loop so I can quickly replace it after landing a fish . For halibut fishing , my rule is one fish , one leader .

The hook ; now that is a very important part of this rig . In the old days , the universal hook for this job was a 94150 live bait hook , a heavy wire short shank hook from Mustad in size # 2 / 0 . No doubt this was the # 1 hook in use back then , and it ’ s still in use , but times have changed !

The hook I have been using as of late ( thanks to my black bass fishing buddies ) is the wide gap wacky hook . This hook ( very similar ones are put out by Gamakatsu , Trokar , Eagle Claw , and VMC ) is made from very thin but strong wire , is dangerously sharp , and has a very small barb . Hooking up live bait ( in this case , small jack smelt and anchovies ) is ridiculously easy , and when a halibut takes the bait , slips into their tough jaws with very little effort .

The Skeet Reese rod had more than enough oomph for the halibuts ( which don ’ t run very fast nor far ) and the little reel held more than enough line for the relatively shallow 15 ’ to 25 ’ deep water we were fishing . The five or six pounds of drag we used were well within the strength of the wacky hooks , so there was no fear of the hooks bending out .

I ’ m pretty sure such an outfit may not be welcome on a party boat , but if you have access to a private boat or a six pack charter , it is big fun fishing with a rod / reel / line combo that weighs less than that Penn 500 weighs by itself !

Dorado ( or mahi-mahi as they are called some places or dolphin fish as they are called in other places ) are one of the world ’ s most popular gamefish , and it ’ s no mystery why that is .

They are spectacularly colored , fight hard and jump when hooked , and taste delicious . They are abundant in Baja and because they are a fast-growing , short-lived fish , they are hungry more often than not . They die of old age around 5-6 years and attain a maximum weight of around 90 lbs .

In terms of offerings , most dorado are caught on trolling lures such as rubber skirts meant for marlin or sailfish or feathers meant for tuna . They also hit trolled plugs such as Rapalas .

If dorado are concentrated in an area , either through chumming or because there is a piece of floating debris , a wide variety of lures may be cast to them . A favorite is a popper , which they will readily eat . If they are fired up they will pretty much eat anything .

Dorado mostly eat fish so traditional baitfish such as sardines and Pacific mackerel work well . Larger fish will eat larger baits . Dorado have relatively small mouths , but it always amazing how they can somehow still engulf relatively large baits .

“ he wind is finally dying down

as I write this report and right now the weather is pretty good with

sunny days and breezy evenings ,” reported Capt . Jerry Chapman of JC Sportfishing . “ Today the weather is great , but with some afternoon winds on the pacific side and at night it ’ s been pretty cool at night . Day time highs in the low 90 ’ s and lows in the 60 ’ s .”

“ Some nice size striped marlin tipping the scales at close to 200 lbs and that is a good size striper . Our sport fisher the Bob Marlin landed 6 marlin this past week with plenty of great angling action ,” Chapman reported .

“ Conditions and marlin fishing has gotten much better this past week and you will probably hook into one if you

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E mail : martinverdugo @ prodigy . net . mx ( 949 ) 226-7169 Or 01152 624 141 0054 are here or coming down this coming week . We have had great luck all week with striped marlin and the guys have been landing them from Grey Rock all the way out to the 1150 . Pitching live bait has been really effective this week , also guys have been landing the striped marlin with lures and ballyhoo ,” said Chapman .

“ Dorado are starting to show up in the area and we should start seeing large numbers of them soon . It hasn ’ t quite kicked in but it is getting better and you can tell with a little more time it is going to get red hot ! There are a few being caught , but it isn ’ t like it ’ s off the hook , but we are optimistic over this next week for things to pick up ,” said Chapman .

The Patterson family took a trip to the Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort this May and rounded up some quality tuna .

Photo courtesy of THE HOTEL BUENA VISTA BEACH RESORT , East Cape , Baja .

A beautiful Beach Resort located half way between La Paz and Cabo San Lucas , right on the Sea of Cortez