I had not been fishing for quite a while. Mike really wanted to go out to fish for tuna and dorado and so did our neighbor Walt. So Walt arranged for us to go out on La Sancha from the marina in Puerto Los Cabos with Captain Ramon and his first mate and wife Maria. Leaving the marina, we stopped while a panga pulled up alongside the boat to sell us some live bait. We headed out to the East Cape and passed our house in Zacatitos and continued on to Gordo Banks out from La Fortuna. During the first two and half hours we didn’t see much activity from the trolling as we were going. However, as it was one of the first days of the Bisbee Black and Blue, what we did see was dozens of boats traveling full out to the same area that we were going to catch their large bait fish before moving to the eastern edge of Gordo Banks to try for the big black and blue marlin.
There were about 25 boats just passed us on the water when we got our first bite. The mate handed Mike the rod and the battle started. It was pretty clear early on that it was a big fish. After about 20 minutes, Mike’s arms were starting to vibrate, and he asked Walt to take over. Walt lasted about 15 minutes and Maria; the mate took the rod for a little while before handing back to Mike. This went on for about an hour and 20 minutes before we could see the fish, with every three or four feet gained resulting in the same amount being lost and the fish fought being brought to the surface. Captain Ramon had believed from early on that it was a tuna – and he was right. It turned out to be about a 50 pound Yellowfin Tuna that fought even once it was brought onto the boat.
The lines were baited and reset and both Mike and Walt hoped that another fish like this would not be caught as they were both exhausted. The lines were dropped near the bottom and immediately, we started getting hits. Fortunately, none were as hard to reel in as the tuna. There were several smaller skipjack tuna that were caught and released. A fair-sized snapper and a grouper.
Maria did an incredible job of filleting the tuna and grouper. The snapper was cleaned so that it could be cooked whole. Everything was put into zip lock bags and being cleaned and cut into manageable pieces. However, the real treat was Maria taking a large piece of tuna and making us a large bowl of sashimi, with onions, squeezed lime juice, soy sauce and a chopped small habanero chile. She presented us with the bowl along with a package of tostadas to enjoy this incredibly tasty treat.
The day on La Sancha with Ramon and Maria was an amazing experience. They were great in both educating us, preparing the lines, helping with getting the fish on board the boat and then preparing them for the great meals that were to come.
For more information about Captain Ramon Castillo. La Sancha and Salty Dog Fishing Adventures contact them at saltydogfishingadventures@gmail.com.
