East Cape -"The fever"
It has been
another spectacular weather week on the Sea of Cortez. May on the East Cape is always about as
beautiful as any place on our planet and this year has been no exception. Seas have been flat and the 75 to 77 degree
water has been blue and clear.
The last few
weeks the bite was inconsistent but when looking back through last weeks camera
roll there is no doubt we had our moments.
Our fishing fleet has had fewer departures than normal. It is most likely because of reports of slow
fishing. One thing guaranteed is if you
don't have a line in the water you won't get bit.
A few years
ago we hooked two swordfish on my birthday.
The first came unbuttoned after a short battle but we were fortunate
enough to get a second chance and land the second. In my book a broadbill is the ultimate catch
for an angler, the grand prize. Many
anglers never even get the opportunity to see one much less land one. To give you an idea, on an average my guess
is that we see one out of about one hundred days of fishing.
So,
yesterday was my birthday. I have
"the fever" and swordies are always on my mind. More yesterday than normal because it would
be incredible to pull the hat trick and land another on this day. We had billfish and wahoo action most of the
day. It started to get late and time to
turn toward home when we found two turtles tangled in an onion sack. Watching them struggle we pulled in our
lines, approached them and were able to cut them free.
Call
it karma, not 15 minutes after freeing the turtles a broadbill swordfish popped
up in front of us. My heart started to
pump and we scrambled for the gear to bait the fish. Bait out I watched the swordie turn its
purple glow and sink out. It never took
our bait or surfaced again but the experience made it a birthday to remember.