Fishing Tall Tales page 3

Mexico saltwater fishing photo

It was the day of the big Ice Fishing Extravaganza. My budy, Andy, and I have been planning on attending the event for close to 6 months and had been worried that htey were going to cancle it this year due to the ice not being thick enough, but a week before the tournament, we had a real nice cold spell that thickened the ice by 9 inches. We had spent many hours a day that week researching the lake that the event was being held on and getting all of our gear ready for the trip. At this time my wife was 8 months pregnant and had been having some minor complications and was worried that if something happened while I was up north, that she would not be able to let me know or that I would be able to get back in time. So on the morning of the tournament, she decided that she was going to go with us to the tournament. Andy came to pick us up at 4:00 am so that we could get there earlyand get the spot that we had planned on getting. As we left Minneapolis the temp was reading around 15 degrees and was heating up rather quickly, we figured it would be a warm day on the lake. To our surprise, when we got to the lake at 6:30, the temp there was 15 below. Since my wife had family in the town that the event was in, she almost decided that she was going to spend the rest of the day at their house, but at the last minute she decided that she wanted to fish in the tournament. By the time that we had picked our spot the sun was coming up, and with the sun, the wind also picked up. Needless to say that with at wind chill of -10 at noon, that everyone on the lake was freezing and like everyone else who thought that hte temp was gonna be in the thirties, we were just a little unprepared for the temps. Many people had quit fishing to hit up the heater tent for the remander of the day, and I had urged my wife to do the same but being the champ that she is she refused to quit. About fifteen minutes before the end of the tournament, my wife Andy and me still had not gotten a single bite and were starting to pack up with everyone else to try and get an early bus back to the truck. as we were completely packed and were realing in, my wife got the only bite of the group. It was a small perch that spit the hook as it hit the hole. although she was not able to regester the fish, I still hear about how she outfished me and Andy. That day I realized that I had married a great woman and she is one that I will hang on to. Now I just can't wait til my son is old enough to go ice fishing with dad.

I was 10, my brother was 5 and a half. We were fishing for minnows in the creek right by the house (the UP). An old road lead (sleding hill) the way down to the creek, some mine stamp sands were near by, we were fishing off an on old broken up mill site foundation. We had a chipmunk trap out to try to catch another pet. We were doing well, catching minnows, chubs, and small suckers, and putting them in the minnow bucket to take home for dad. We even had a chipmunk in the trap. We were having fun! I remember today, like it was yesterday, when the crashing noise started, we both stood up and looked down stream suprised, expecting someone to emerge from the thicket, then, not 30 feet away a big black bear emerged - running - right thru the tag elder and into the creek. I being quick in thought, and light on my feet headed for home. I knew why he was there, he wanted me for dinner! The only problem I had was the bear was going in approximately the same direction I had to go(he running from unknown to us, human harrassment). My brother apparently was a little shaken and not quite so fast as I, was crying, asking, pleading, for me to slow down. Fortunately for me, I was faster.The bear stopped, I suppose to look at the spectical going on in front of him. A young boy, crying, running into a cloud of dust.Once I reached the top of the hill I waited for my brother, like any responsible sibling should. When the slow poke got to the top of the hill we stopped briefly to see if "he" was still after us. Nope, we had both out run him! The bear had stuck around though, and later we found out that bear had feasted on all of our catch.

So, if you haven't heard before... when I wasn't rock'n and roll'n in my younger years, I was travellin' the Rockies sellin' consumer electronics... stereos in the day... zepplin' at night! Ain't no doubt... a great life! One of the best parts of my territory was Idaho... excellent sales, beautiful scenery, amazing fishing, great beer, and gorgeous women! Hmmm... not sure there's anything missing... One particular trip to Boise lives in my memory... actually several do... but we're talkin' fishing here! Remind me to tell you the story about this incredibly hot lady and me in this stand alone indoor spa/hot tub with the one way windows that were... reversed?!!??! damn, I love Boise! Anyway... The plan was to get into town about sundown, check in at the Red Lion... drop off the bags... have a couple of brews, and then meet one of my better accounts, and best friends... Dick Large... damn, wouldn't you kill your parents?!?!... for a few more pops and dinner. We met outside this hots..t bar that we'd been to a million times, that was known for great loud rock 'n roll bands from the West Coast... we were psyched! We saunter over to the bar... order a couple of mugs... start shootin' the breeze about life in general... and almost simultaneously get this eerie feeling... There was no music... just this loud roar of human voices! We turn our stools around and about lost it! As far as the eye could see were women... zero men... and damn near every one was leering at us, staring at our crotches, and licking their lips... Sounds great, right? Not a chance... I'll never do that kinda' thing to a woman again! Behind us the male bartenders were rolliin' on the floor laughin'.... At this point we had no sense of humor, and were about to kick some ass, until one of 'em decided to come clean, and told us that the Chippendales had just done a one night only show.... Now it made sense... We were outa there! Headed over to a restaurant that served the best steak fries in Boise... no, not potatoes... sirloin battered and deep fried, served with home made ranch dressing... oh, yeah! Few plates of fries, and several beers later we decided biz had been great, and we deserved a day off... let's go fishin'! Next morning I woke up, remembered our plans to go catch some fish... and then realized I'd forgotten I had a regional coming to town... Damnit! So I just assumed fishin' was off. We work the morning, and head over to Dick's store... walk in, and Dick waves, and says I'll meet you out back, the boat's all ready to go! I played stupid, of course, but surprise surprise... the regional was on board... no problem! Must be livin' right! We assumed the plan was to head up into the mountains for some trout, but Dick claimed he knew of a small lake full of big crappie... Oh yeah, right, big crappie in Idaho... Sure, Dick! So we head out to this little lake northwest of Boise... Took an hour, or so, to get there...and by that time it must have been 2:00pm... Launched his little boat, and rigged up the poles... I have never experienced crappie fishing like this before or since... Every cast... fish on... Bottom line was that we took home 60 very large crappie... and I cleaned every damn one of them... but that's another story... having nothing to do with the first stringer of sixty or so that I didn't attach properly to the boat... God, I love Boise!

As I said in my first story, my father is a blue collar, work like crazy and save everything type of guy. He was a kid during the depression and it taught him to be frugal and not waste anything. So it really surprised me one day when he called me up and announced that he was flying to Mexico to go Marlin fishing. I had always figured Marlin fishing to be for the rich and the elite, of which my father was neither, and I never would have guessed him to take the time and the money to go on that kind of an adventure.Well he did, and when he returned with great pictures and stories of chasing Marlin, Sailfish, Tuna, and Dorado, in a tropical paradise in Baja Mexico, I was impressed. So, the following year when he announced that he was going back for a second trip, he asked if I was interested in going... and well... uh...yes... absolutely!! Of course I couldn't afford it, and really shouldn't take the time off to do it... but I have learned that you just don't pass up opportunities like that. If you wait for circumstances to be just right before you decide to do something on a big scale like that...then it will never happen. Think about it...are you ever going to get up one day, look around and say to yourself, "Gee, I have a bunch of money that I have nothing to spend on, so I think I'm going to go to Mexico on a fishing trip!" "And look at that...I've got a week coming up that I have nothing to do!" Not gonna happen. I have to say, I have never regretted spending money and time going on a great adventure...but I have certainly regretted not taking advantage of opportunities to go. So I packed my bag and drove to the Portland International Airport and got on a plane headed for Cabos San Lucas. My Dad and Mom (yes, my Mom...she is one heck of an adventurer herself) were already down there, and I was to meet them at a little fishing village called Rancho Buena Vista. When my Dad was looking for a place to Marlin fish, he wanted to avoid the big touristy type places like Cabos San Lucas, so...about 60 miles up the coast of the Sea of Cortez from Cabos, he found a little resort called Rancho Buena Vista, which has about 12 fishing boats, a rustic but nice resort, with experienced Captains and crews that live with their families in the village.As I got off the plane, very late at night, I found the epitome of rural transportation, hanging around in in a group, waiting to take me in their taxis to the Rancho. I was a little shocked to find that the fare to Rancho was going to cost me $100. So much for everything being cheap in Mexico. As I was thinking this over, I noticed a young Mexican man standing in the shadows, off to the side of the group of taxi drivers. He was motioning me to come over to him, so I casually walked over to near where he was. He had very broken English, and I could barely understand him. He led me outside where he pointed out into the darkness and proclaimed, "75 dollars." I looked out into the darkness and saw a very attractive Mexican woman, wearing a very tight, red dress, standing there looking back at me. OK... this was beginning to get pretty wild. I was a very happily married man at the time, so I looked at the guy and said, "no thanks." He gave me a look back that said, why in the world would you pass up something like this! And he said again, a little louder this time, "no, no, no... 75 dollars!!. I looked again at the lady. She was beautiful. But she seemed unconcerned about what was going on, and as she began walking away, I saw that the car she was leaning on was a taxi... this guy's taxi! He was offering me a ride for $75, not the $100 that the other group was charging. But he had to do it on the sly...otherwise I'm sure these other guys would have been a little upset for him stealing their fare. OK. This story actually goes on for a lot more, explaining how this guy lost his glasses and had to press his nose to the windshield to see the road...and with cows appearing out of the darkness, standing in the middle of the road...it would take me about an hour or so to do it justice. But since this is a fishing forum, I will get on to the fishing part. I arrived at Rancho Buena Vista, a beautiful little place, far away from the crowded streets of Cabos, located right on the beach of the Sea of Cortez. It is authentic Mexican culture. We stayed in small stucco huts with thatch roofs... complete with geckos crawling on the walls, and iguanas inhabiting the court yard. The resort had a master cook that could make up a mess of the best Mexican cuisine that I have ever tasted. And again...food seems to be what I associate good times with, and the food that I had the privilege of consuming there in Rancho Buena Vista will forever be etched in my mind with fondness.

On the last day, it was my turn to fight the next fish. As I was looking out over the big teaser jigs skipping on the water, I saw a big fin come charging up from behind the jigs. I remember specifically seeing these big eyes coming up out of the water, and watching the huge fish take one of the jigs. I set the hook, and then hung on while the big fish yanked me around. I took my place in the harness seat, got strapped in, then proceeded to fight the fish for over an hour. My arms were wasted. My back was sore...I was beginning to feel the effects of heat exhaustion. My Mom poured water over my head...and my Dad poured water on the reel to keep it cool. This was one of the hardest, physical feats I have ever done...fighting a huge Blue Marlin in the intense heat of Baja Mexico. Finally, we brought the big fish up to the side of the boat. It was a big Blue that went about 250 pounds.In the excitement, no one thought to grab the camera for a picture. I was too busy hanging over the boat, my hands touching this beautiful monster. My Mom did take quite a bit of video of the fight with her video camera, but I have no still shots of the fish. The tape is in Oregon, where my folks live, or I would download a video bite for you all.We released every big game fish we caught. We would keep a few fresh Tuna, or Dorado for the cook to prepare for our dinner that night. One Sailfish, when it jumped, got tangled up in my line and ended up coming in tail first. This, of course caused it to drown. The Captain and the Deck Hand divided the fish up and took it home to their families. After a long, hot day of fighting fish, you could look forward to relaxing in the open air bar, right on the beach(cold XX's were always a hit).

As I said before, my Dad is the greatest outdoor adventurer I know. I owe him a lifetime of outdoor experiences that I will treasure forever.There are many, many, other details to this trip...hopefully I can share them around a campfire with you all some day.

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