Fun & misfortune surf fishing . . .

I loved fishing growing up. Even though we lived in the suburbs of NYC, I would fish in Twin Lakes, the Bronx River and the Hutchinson River. Occasionally my family would go to Glen Island Sound for a Sunday picnic, and to cool off in the ocean. At these times I would do some bottom fishing for flounders. I should mention we never ate any fish I caught, it was strictly catch and release. We knew of pollution way back then.

Now that we are living a rocks throw from the Pacific Ocean, I want to pickup my old sport. I also want to bring home fish for us to eat (It's a male thing to want to bring home the meat). So on our last trip, I brought along some salt water fishing gear to try surf fishing. I knew nothing about surf fishing other than what I read in a few books, but I was also spurred by a fish story told by our friend Joe. He tells of catching a 40 lb fish in front of our house. Every time I see him he giggles and begins the story about the 40 lb fish. He never says what type of fish, but it was "40 lbs", he states.

My first attempt at surf fishing was when Rowan visited for a week. I was not really prepared for fishing in the ocean, nor was Rowan. However, he caught fish and I didn't. I had a 10 ft. rod, which is good for surf fishing, but my reel was set up with 12lb/test line that is not strong enough for surf fishing here in Tenacatita. I also had several very large lures (large spoons) that scared fish away, instead of luring them. Rowan had a three piece travel rod that was better suited to trout fishing small lakes and streams rather than the Pacific Ocean. Rowan had small lures that were impossible to cast very far, especially with the stiff NW wind. We had fun and we must have been fun to watch battling the ocean. During the entire week I didn't catch a single fish, but Rowan was lucky and caught a couple of fish, which we ate for dinner.

After Rowan left I bought 20lb/test line and several Kastmaster lures and wham my luck changed. I was catching Jacks ranging from 1 to 20 lbs; a bunch of 1 lb sierra mackerel, and one nice 4 lb snook. The Jacks were great fun with their amazing strength and great runs. However, their red flesh is not that desirable, except by local Mexicans. I ate it with the builders one day and enjoyed it; Sharon did not. it was like eating steak. The snook and mackerel were delicious consisting of thick white meat.

Tenacatita is a fishing village . . .

Tenacatita is a real Mexican fishing village, but it is also a tourist destination. Summer is peak tourist season when Mexicans take their vacation. Families and young adults from surrounding cities and from Guadalajara come to Tenacatita for vacation. Tourists from British Columbia dominate the scene during the winter months. Tenacatita itself consists mostly of beach front restaurants, which cater to tourists, and the local fishermen supply the restaurants with fish which is the main fare in Tenacatita. The fishermen follow a fishing schedule based on the peak and flow of tourists. Monday through most of Thursday they lay low. At sunset on Thursday they set their nets in anticipation of the arrival of tourists and they fish hard Friday through Saturday to feed the tourists. If it is a holiday, which are common in Mexico, the fisherman work everyday as long as there are tourist around. In the summer they work every day.

I've seen the catch of the local fishermen, so I know there are a diversity of fish in the waters in front of our house. They catch red snapper and other snapper species, Jack Crevalle, snook, and sierra mackerel. Sometimes they catch some strange unidentifiable fish that look like they are straight from a horror film. In Tenacatita there are a number of local fishermen that provide fish to the beach restaurants, and they fish using nets set from small motorized boats called pangas. The nets are about 300 ft. long and are set close to shore or along the rock outcrops that separate Tenacatita Bay from the Pacific Ocean. From our house we see the fishing boats on the water at sunset and sunrise with the fishermen setting their nets at sunset and pulling them in at sunrise.