Los Cabos is exotic and it’s exciting. It’s warm and sunny. The tequila and beer flow freely. The people are friendly and welcoming. The beaches are beautiful and the seas are full of fish. That’s what you anticipate, and certainly our hope while you are here. Maybe the Marlin don’t actually jump into the boat, but there are a lot of them out there. Anglers also come to Cabo to fish Dorado, Yellowfin tuna, Sailfish and Wahoo. You can also find an occasional Blue or Black Marlin, now and then a springtime Swordfish, and the inshore Roosterfish, Sierra, Snapper, and Grouper. Catch as catch can seems all so true in our waters. You know what they say: A bad day fishing is better than the best day at work, and you can be in for quite a special day.
New techniques and practices are enabling fishers to opt for equipment and procedures that are less harmful to our waters and game fish supply. Making your reservations and arrangements may be as important as your day’s catch. You may have pre-booked from one of the many companies on the Internet; you may have waited to check in with a boat or company on a friend’s recommendation. Perhaps you met someone at your hotel or resort who suggested you share a trip, or you received a discounted trip for taking a tour with a timeshare salesperson. However it was arranged, there are a few things you can do that will help keep our fishery great.
The first, and I think the most important, is to talk with your captain the day before your scheduled trip. You have to know the name of the boat you hired and where it is located. So many times I have seen people wandering around the marina in the morning with a little slip of paper in their hands, asking anyone if they know where “Carlos” or “Juan” can be found. That little slip of paper is confirmation of your fishing trip received from the person with whom you booked your boat. It’s important to meet the captain the day before and confirm where he and the boat will be when you come in the morning. Know the boat name and directions to it before you finish making arrangements for the outing. It’s also important to meet with your captain to discuss how and what you want to fish on your trip. If you are unable to communicate in Spanish, and neither the captain nor the crew speaks English, hopefully, someone nearby will be able to translate for you.
Ask the captain what kinds of hooks are used for fishing Marlin with live bait. I hope that he shows you a rod that has a circle shaped hook tied onto the leader. Chances are he won’t but more and more of the local captains are beginning to use them. This is probably the most important, the most effective and inexpensive way you can assist in helping us maintain our abundant fishing grounds. In the past, and on a lot of boats today, the standard hook for live baiting Marlin is a “J” shaped hook. The mate will hook live bait through the nose or back and throw the bait in front of a swimming Marlin.
Using a circle hook instead of a “J” hook will help our fishery by having fewer fish get deeply hooked. I have seen anglers sitting in the chairs, the rods in the holders with baits out at 50 or 100 feet deep, sometimes more. They never feel the Marlin take the bait, so often the first indication a fish is on the line is when it jumps on the surface. It has picked up the bait and swum directly up. It may have been swimming around for minutes, swallowing the bait deep, before you feel pressure on the line. The “J” hook is set using a sharp jerk on the line to force the point of the hook into the fish, causing bleeding, and then chances are high that, even after the fish is released back into the water, it will be mortally wounded. The circle hook, on the other hand, uses a cam-like action to wedge itself into the corner of the fish’s mouth. This happens if the fish is swimming away from you. If the fish is swimming toward you, the bait will just come out without catching the jaw corner. After the bait is eaten you can wait as long as you want before slowly increasing the drag pressure. The cam action of the circle hook needs steady increase in pressure, not sudden power, in order to make it secure. The rod needs to be pointed toward the fish and the clutch on the reel engaged. When the line comes tight, and the stretch of the monofilament line is taken up, steady pressure will cause the circle hook to become secure. The rod must continue to point toward the fish and the drag lever slowly increased to the “strike” setting. Once the fish is hooked, normal fighting techniques are used. Since the fish is not bleeding, it will not die as a result of the fight and an unharmed fish will be released back into the sea. It’s really not all that complicated, and it will reduce the mortality of our signature fish, the Striped Marlin.
Circle hooks are most often used with live and dead bait fishing, only occasionally used with lures in special situations. A few anglers and captains will use them when fishing for Dorado and tuna when they will be releasing most of the fish. Commercial fishermen use them when fishing on the bottom in extremely deep water, or in situations such as long-line fishing when the baits will be unattended for long periods of time.
Of course some fish will die; that’s just the nature of the sport. It will happen, but if you will try to book boats that use circle hooks for live baiting Marlin, or that are willing to let you bring some circle hooks to use, you will be increasing both your chances to release a healthy Marlin that will survive, and assist preserving our fishery. Every tackle store in town carries circle hooks. They are not expensive and the sales people will help you select the right size for the time of year you are here.
Also, remember that you do not have to kill the fish in order to get a mount made. In fact, the fish does not even need to come out of the water. Trophies nowadays are replicas; no part of the real fish is used. Measurement while the fish is still in the water will give you the length, and a picture or two will document any abnormalities that need to be reproduced on your mounting. The crew can pull the fish alongside the boat until the tip of the tail is at the transom (back of the boat) and make a quick check of where the bill or head is toward the front. Take a piece of fishing line or leader after the Marlin or fish is released and cut the line to that distance. Immediately, you have the length of your fish. You can have any fish ever caught mounted. The cost for a replica is an average of $10 per inch plus $30 shipping and crating. Your captain will be happy to help you make arrangements for a mount. He receives a commission that is more than he would get if he traded the fish for services. No sport fish is allowed to be sold.
Keep in mind that even though we are in Mexico, laws are set for catch limits. I still see a lot of anglers who believe there are no limits when it comes to good eating fish such as Dorado and tuna. The law allows only two Dorado per day per angler and five Yellowfin tuna per day per angler, with an aggregate limit of ten fish per day per angler. Please respect the limits. Fewer fish in the sea are fewer fish to catch. Don’t be a fish hog.
The law also states that the fish are not allowed to be filleted at sea. This has caused more than one angling party to take it out on the crew. In the old days, everyone filleted the fish at sea and considered it part of the sport’s reward. Now that the law has started to be enforced, boats that are caught with filleted fish on board can have all their fishing equipment confiscated and taken to La Paz. The time and cost of traveling there and paying a big fine is enough reason for most of the boats to obey the law. Please respect the crews that follow the law. If your crew is willing to take the chance and fillets your fish for you, take that into consideration when you tip at the end of the day.
Speaking of tipping, I am asked all the time what the proper tip should be. Just as in any other service environment, 10% to 20% of the cost of the service provided is standard. If your charter cost you $500, a tip of $50 to $100 to the captain, depending on how hard he and the crew worked for you, is expected. The captain then will split it with the deckhands. Remember earlier when I said you should arrange to meet the captain the day before? That is also the time to mention to him that all Marlin will be released and that his tip will depend on it!
Dreams and adventures can come true for you here in Los Cabos, and we would like you to help us keep it that way. Help us conserve our fishery; we want to continue our reputation as a great fishing vacation destination. We live to fish and fish to live!
Note: Some of the fishing charter boats that use the circle hooks include Checkmate Charters, Minerva Charters, and Pisces Charters. Again, confirm with your captain.
