Yup! We were in Mexico for Cinco de Mayo, and we celebrated! Although, maybe not in the traditional way... We booked a fishing trip with Captain Julio and First Mate Arnesto on their boat, the Tracy Ann.
Word on the street was the marlin had arrived for the season, so we opted to try for those. We met at the dock at dawn, and motored out of the bay as the sun was rising. What a beautiful morning!
We stopped by a small fishing boat to pick up some live bait.
Then, we settled in for the long ride, past the famous Land's End rocks and out to marlin-occupied waters.
On the way, we had the breakfast we'd packed, which included bananas. This is where we learned that bananas are bad luck for fishing! Arnesto confiscated the empty peels and quickly dumped them overboard, shaking his finger at us. Well, we'd made it quite obvious how inexperienced we were! Arnesto didn't let that dampen his energetic optimism, and he pointed right at Andy and said "You. You are lucky." And, he taught us how to say "para suerte" while crossing our fingers.
Well, we barely had time to start nodding off, when there was yelling from the captain's perch and Arnesto was leaping down to adjust the lines and throw out the real bait (they troll with just brightly colored lures until a fish gets close). Then, it was time for one of us to jump in the chair and start to reeling in the catch! We quickly voted that Andyman go first, and he jumped in and got right to work moving that feisty fish toward the boat.
It soon gave into his reeling skills and was hauled aboard for a few quick photos before he returned it to the ocean. We laugh that Andy caught the most fish - look at all the little fish hanging onto his marlin!
The excitement of a catch woke us all up, and we were on the lookout for more leaping marlin in the distance.
It seemed that no time at all had passed before Arnesto was scurrying about to lure into another one! We had already decided that Don was next in line - He had been on multiple fishing trips but hadn't had the chance to reel in a marlin yet.
His fish really put on a show, powering itself completely out of the water a dozen times, diving deep to run from the boat and then leaping around again when Don had worked it back to the surface. It was incredible, albeit a lot of work for Don!
But, you'll see that his persistence paid off and the ~180lb marlin was hefted aboard to admire.
You think this fisherman was excited? You betcha!
It was about lunchtime, but I was next in line and wanted to wait to eat until I'd tried my hand at reeling in a marlin! Somehow, it didn't cross my mind that maybe I wouldn't get that chance today...
Perhaps because there was no time for doubt to rise up! This beauty had gone for our bait and was putting on a show while I was getting my reeling tutorial from our friend Arnesto.
Reel! down, two, three, Pull! up, two, three..."Wait, it's scuba diving! Let it go............ Reel, mama, reel!..."
Over and over, my fish came slowly in and then ran far and fast. This was hard work! My left arm muscles were about to give out and Andy gave Arnesto a break and stepped in to help me out. Whew!
Finally, about 45 minutes after I took my seat in the chair, my marlin was at the side of the boat and Arnesto was reaching down to pull it aboard. I could just see the tip of its fin, and it looked so brilliantly blue!
Well, that was the last we saw of it. The hook slipped out before they got it in the boat, and it was the quickest release of the day! Probably best, because my arms were shaking so bad, I don't think I could have held onto it for the picture! What a workout...
Things quieted down for awhile, and we enjoyed the box lunches prepared for us. Then, we went between watching the ocean and watching the clock - wondering if we'd get another catch in before the captain called it a day.
Well, less than a half hour before the scheduled stop time, there was more yelling overhead and then Arnesto was hard at work coaxing yet another marlin to take our bait! This one was a little harder to convince, and Andy jumped in to help reel in the extra lines while Arnesto and Julio worked to put the real bait ahead of the marlin. Soon enough, all the "para suerte" paid off, and marlin #4 was on the line!
Not only did this one not want the bait, it most certainly did not want to come near the boat!
All the reeling and waiting while they do the "scuba diving" thing is exhausting, but Arnesto was as happy as ever as he worked with Faith to convince hers to approach the boat. He had us all laughing!
Again, our excitement and all the teamwork and coaching paid off, and Faith's marlin was brought aboard the very lucky Tracy Ann!
Could a sport fishing trip be more perfect?
With spirits high, we cruised back to shore. On the way, Arnesto strung up the coded flags, telling everyone else what a great day we'd had.
I think the creatures of land and sea must know what those flags mean too! As we motored into the bay, a pelican suddenly landed on the back of the boat and stared us down until the photo-shooting spooked it.
Next thing we knew, we were startled by another visitor! This sea lion had hitched a ride, and it was obvious what he was after.
What can I say? We had a most fabulous day. Even typing about it makes me smile.
1 comment:
What a fun day! Makes us smile reading about it too! Can't wait to see all your pics!
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