The Fish Fry

There was a time in the 1950s that this area of Mexico was considered the most fertile fishing ground in the world.

That was before Mex 1 was paved and it used to take five days just to drive here from the border.

By 1963 the road was completed and foreign interests realized the value of the fish. They paid the Mexican government for rights to fish off the Mexican coast and the Japanese came in with long liners hauling thousands of tons of prime fish out of this area.

It took years, but what was once the major source of food for local people started to dry up. This is a community that averaged one boat for every two families so the importance of the fishing industry was very apparent.

Even today, they say that if a Mexican has any money over the need for survival, he will buy a fishing boat. Unfortunately most of the fish are gone.

There are a few fishermen who have refined fish catching to an art form. And these men still manage to catch fish when there doesn’t seem to be any fish left in the ocean.

Now, Kathy and John Adams, from Hilmar, who have been reading these columns about fishing in Mexico for years, decided they wanted to see what it was all about. They bought a little beach palapa so they could experience it first hand.

John is a avid fisherman, but still when Kathy’s relatives came down, he wanted to make sure that they caught fish, so he hired one of the local Mexican experts to show him how it was done.

The Mexican had a big boat with a powerful motor allowing him to move fast over the Sea of Cortez. This year because the temperature had been colder than usual, the yellowtail had still not made it fully to the northern part of the Sea of Cortez but they were on their way.

Adams and his group were on the water before 7 a.m. and had caught live bait by 7:15. Now they powered out of Mulege Bay and headed south toward San Sabastian. The weather was glorious and water calm, so the big power boat could make good time.

Still it was between and hour and two to get to the good fishing grounds.
Quickly as possible, the heavy ocean poles were baited and dropped to depths of one hundred and two hundred feet.

The fishermen did not have to wait long. There was a hookup within the first five minutes.

There was the zing of the line as it ran out and John reached over and set the hook. Bam! Fish on!

Followed by a 30 to 45 minute tug of war.

Until one has hooked a yellowtail it is hard to image the strength of a fish that size and at that depth. They will rest and run and rest and run. At times the fisherman wonders if he has caught the fish or the fish has caught him.

On one occasion when we hooked into a 50 pound yellowtail, we were so exhausted that we asked to give the pole to the Mexican guide. No, that was not possible. If you hook, you have to bring it in or cut it loose. There is unwritten code among fishermen.

The Adams group brought in their fish and others, Cabrillo, spotted bass, enough to feed the neighborhood. Which is what they did.

When they arrived back at their palapa, the word got out and ran like wild fire along the beach. Fish caught! It weighed in at 35 pounds which is a very nice catch. All totalled they had over 50 pounds of fish and announced there would be a fish fry the following night with everyone invited.

About 30 people showed with extra dishes of rice, pasta, salads and bread. There was no shortage of food. And the fish, fried in a gas power fry pot was out of this world.