I have degrees in Chemistry from Earlham College, Middlebury College, and the University of California, Davis. I worked for a company with a complicated history known originally as Calbiochem Corp., La Jolla, California, from December 1975 until December 2003 and was its Managing Director for the last 15 years until I was abruptly and unexpectedly forced into early retirement. My fishing hobby and my reading of King of the Moon authored by Gene Kira saved my life! Note: King of the Moon is currently available as an Amazon Kindle book for just $2.99. It is an absolute must read! I started this “hobby” in 1998 when I made my first three-day trip to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico, found way too many interesting things to do and returned for a second visit within four weeks. I became interested in fish, fish identification and related marine life. I reached out for scientific support and fairly quickly was given the responsibility to manage the scientific aspects of Gene’s WWW site – MexFish.com. In 2017 Gene encouraged me to spin-off and go it alone and I created Mexican-fish.com. Over the years I have slowly increased my time in residence in Mexico to a current level of 40 percent of the year. I have now made more than 400 round trips from the greater San Diego area to Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, via San José del Cabo International Airport, one round trip into the exceptional La Paz airport, which was Hurricane Odile related as SJD was closed for over a month, and three round trips from Tijuana International to Loreto International.

I initially started fishing with Captain Salvador Pino B (“Pata”) in his small skiff (a Mexican panga, 6.7 meter (22-foot), equipped with a government subsidized 90-hp Honda outboard) launched off the beach at La Playita; we eventually moved into the confines of the newly constructed Puerto Los Cabos marina. Pata, a lifelong local resident and career fisherman in local waters, introduced me to the concept of “small boats, ginormous fish”. I started fishing with him at a rate of four trips per month, year-round. A typical day would consist of a departure well before first light, a 15 to 20-mile run north, fishing various known glory holes, including Cardonal, Canyon, Destiladeras, Gordo I, Gordo II, Gordo Point, San José Canyon, Santa Maria Canyon, Zero, the 25 Spot, and the 1150 Bank, for five to six hours, and returning in the early afternoon. We fished the 40-mile coastal strip from Vinorama to the Old Lighthouse (around the corner and into the Pacific) and up to seven miles at sea. During the period September 1998 to June 2009, I made 503 trips with Pata.

Longnose Puffer, Sphoeroides lobatus. Length: 25 cm (10 inches). Voted #1 by its high school classmates for having the greatest personality of any fish in the sea.

For a variety of reasons, in July 2009 I changed captains and moved closer to home to Palmilla Beach, returning to the more traditional beach launch, and took up fishing with Captain Javier (“Barco”) Zumaya A, in his similar 6.7 meter (22-foot) panga, also equipped with a government subsidized 90-hp Honda outboard, increasing my fishing rate to five trips per month. Barco, also a lifelong local fisherman, follows in the footsteps of his father and grandfather who initially fished local waters via wind-driven handmade canoes starting in the late 1880’s and made their livelihoods off the ocean as commercial fishermen. The Zumaya A family has launched off Palmilla Beach every day, weather allowing, for the last 100 plus years.

With Barco, we depart later, just at sunup, and fish almost exclusively on the five-mile coastal strip from the mouth of the San José River to the Westin Hotel (destroyed by Odile in 2009 and subsequently sold), up to three miles out at sea, normally returning just after noon. Having fished that area at a rate of 200 days per year for the last 50 years, Barco knows the turf, but even so, because fishing conditions change daily, (water temperatures, wind, day length, light intensity, strong currents, etc.), one never knows what fish to expect. Remember, the next stop due south of here is Antarctica, southwest is Australia, and west is Asia! You really never know who might decide to come to Los Cabos on holiday! One will often hear the statement “every day of fishing around here is different” which is 100 percent spot-on. During the period July 2009 to November 2023, I made 801 trips with “Barco.”

In 2016, I tried some new locations that included La Bocana, Loreto, and Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, all within Baja California Sur. In April 2016, I spent three days in La Bocana (interesting as it might be one of THE most remote places on earth) fishing with two different captains, again in a standard Mexican panga. I went back to Loreto a total of six times and fished a total of twelve days in Loreto with Captain Servando Davis (who is exceptional) in a standard Mexican panga. I believe that Loreto just might be the greatest sportfishing location on earth. I have also returned to Lopez Mateos ten times and have fished a total of twenty-nine days with Captain Jimmy Camachio (who is also exceptional) in his jumbo panga designed for Gringo whale watching tours. I believe that the greater Magdalena Bay area might be the best location on earth for marine life diversity. I hope to return to both Loreto and Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos with some frequency in the years ahead.

Late in 2021 I also started fishing with Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas out of Puerto Los Cabos simply to obtain access to new locations to the north. Since starting with Eric I have averaged two trips per month and also continue with Javier. Eric provides exceptional service and his Captains are all life-long local fishermen.  Toward the Eric sent me out almost exclusively with Benito in his similar 6.7 meter (22-foot) panga, also equipped with a government subsidized 90-hp Honda outboard.

In late November 2023 I formally relocated from San José del Cabo to the much smaller less congested old Mexico-esk Loreto and have now taken up panga fishing exclusively with Servando, also in his similar 6.7 meter (22-foot) panga, also equipped with a government subsidized 150-hp Honda outboard.  In 2023 I made 6 trips with Servando.

As of December 31, 2023 my Panga Fishing trips in Baja California Sur have now totaled 1,358. My Surf Fishing trips in Baja California Sur have totaled 924. And, yes I have document each and every one of the over 40,000 fish I have caught from January 2003 to date.