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A monthly Baja fishing report by Gary Graham -That Baja Guy
As the sportfishing community of Baja Sur ventures into the fall fishing season, stories of family outings framed by the great outdoors caught my attention. Local families who had been here for generations, along with those who migrated here to earn their living sportfishing, were eager to share their love of the sport of fishing with their young offspring. When Stephen Jansen, a 6-foot, 3-inch tall, gangling Hollander traveled to Los Angeles in 1994, he succumbed to the siren’s call of a brand of fishing that he had read about but that could not be experienced in his homeland, and when he experienced fishing in Cabo, he was hooked.
“My initial goal was to catch a marlin,” he confessed recently with a boyish grin. “The captain hooked three and let me reel them in,” he added with a chuckle. By his own account, he wasn’t disappointed. “I fell in love with Baja,” Jansen confessed, “the ability to fish in shorts for giant fish – something I could never do back home.” Jansen, local fishing guide and owner of Jansen’s Tackle, posted a video of a recent outing of his wife Monica, and 4-year-old Cody in their outboard skiff just outside of Lands’ End where Cody hooked and caught his first dorado with his proud father coaching him and Monica capturing the moment on her cell phone. Jansen proudly commented, “Cody is our only kid. We have been taking him to the beach since he was 6-months-old. It’s been so much fun to teach him the basics of fishing and watch as he has learned to enjoy the sport.” He continued, “Kids these days are obsessed with tablets, phones, and video games. Technology is good for them, but by taking him outdoors at a young age, my goal has been to show him that life on the water is way better than on the couch.” The recent dorado run has been a boon for local families seeking “fishing firsts.” Local businessman Marco Ehrenberg had a similar story several weeks ago while fishing with his daughter Rebecca and his grandson, four-year-old Mischa.
Twenty-seven years ago, his daughter, Rebecca, and her brother Glenn, along with Godfather, Carlos Narro and their grandfather Peter Ehrenberg, founder of the 42-year-old Pisces Sportfishing, took a similar trip aboard the “La Brisa,” a Pisces Fleet boat where Mischa’s mother Rebecca caught her first dorado at the same age as Mischa. Lightning struck a second time when Mischa caught his first dorado, although Mischa added a few touches of his own to the “Family Tradition.” He was suited up in his Spiderman outfit, plus he caught a much larger fish than his mother had way back when. “Sportfishing is a tradition that we proudly have passed on over the years – learning and creating memories that have been shared within the family and friends,” Marco mused. In keeping with the kids’ theme, Fonmar is planning to resume the popular youth clinics of 2019 later this year or at the latest in early 2021. Before the Pandemic in 2020, 578 kids attended the clinics in 11 communities throughout Baja Sur. These clinics were conducted by Fonmar in conjunction with fishing tournaments in each area in partnership with the Stars and Stripes Charity, International Gamefish Association, and Sportfishing Association of California. *
