Background
9/26/99, 1:30PM, I'm trolling over the inner and
outer Gorda bank while I write this report.
Some of you may recall that last year my brother and I
had become good friends with two local brothers. José
"Chacho" Bojorquez, one of them, was at the time,
captain of a privately owned 33-foot, tournament rigged
Blackfin, the Curandero III. We fished this boat twice last
year, including the Goldcup tournament. On my last trip
to Cabo this past July, I ran into Chacho and he told me
the boat had been sold and that the new owners were going
to keep him on as captain. Over the past month or two, I
have been in contact with one of the new owners, and we
too have become sort of cyber-fishing buddies. James Lee
really enjoys reading my fishing reports and thought it
would helpful for his new charter business, Ocean Lure Sportfishing,
if I would go fishing on their boat, as a guest, and do
a report of the trip. The following is that report:
9/24/99 We get to the Eagle I the day before
to get our gear stowed and to discuss the next two days
of fishing with Chacho and meet his mate, Tony. The first
thing that I noticed was the new name was on, and "Capt.
Chacho" was added, in large black letters, to both
sides of the flying bridge. Chacho is very proud of his
boat and the new owners are lucky to have such a talented
and well-known captain on the team Ocean Lure. "Everything
is ready", Chacho tells us. "All the fishing equipment
is new", he adds, as he shows us all the new "heavy
stuff". The boat is equipped with all new two-speed
Penn's and Tiagra's, with bent butts on everything over
80-pound class. Chacho also pointed to the new tuna tubes
that he recently installed (the former owner took the old
ones with him). I guess Chacho's wife has been helping out
with the renovation also, as there's quite a bit of lace-stuff
in the bathroom, sort of a Women's touch. I gave Chacho
a bad time for that! Chacho brought out his lure collection
and showed us the new ones. All totaled, I guess Chacho
had around 50 of his favorites, including the new ones.
It was decided that we would meet at 6:00 AM so that we
could get to the Gorda Banks just before sunrise. Chacho
said that there had been reports of widespread green and
colder water, but the banks were reported as having warmer
blue water. As part of the deal, we were going to supply
are own lunches, drinks and ice, although on a regular charter
this is all supplied. We told Chacho that we would pick
up burritos at Rubens in the morning, and he said he would
have his wife make up some of our favorite fish tacos to
share with us.
9/25/99, weather conditions: Temperatures mid 70's
at daybreak, middle to upper 90's afternoon, water 82.5
degrees, winds calm, light breeze in afternoon.
We arrive on time to find the Eagle I all ready
to go. The cockpit looked like Melton International's tackle
store! Chacho's killer spread consisted of 2 Penn 130's
on the flat lines, 4 Tiagra's 80 wides on the short and
long riggers, and a Penn 50STW on the stinger, all matched
to custom rods. Finally we had two Penn 20's ready for pitch
bait with several Penn 30STW's in the rocket launchers.
Almost every rod holder had a rod in it. The lures were
laid out, terminal tackle readily available in the cockpit
compartments, and the bait tank was full of bait. In no
time we were underway. After clearing with the Port Captain,
the Eagle I cruised comfortably at 19 knots, reaching
the edge of the outer Gorda bank, as planned, a few minutes
before sunrise and under a full moon. Chacho likes to put
the lures out at the 900-ft spot, which is just west of
the high point, then troll towards the bank. We trolled
easterly for about an hour before we reached the high spot.
No more than 10 minutes of getting there, the left long-rigger
popped and the new 80-wide Tiagra sounded off. This rod
had one of the new lures, a Zuker 5.5 ZM Tiger. 
The
giant blue came from the north, hit the lure, then greyhounds
right through the rest of the pattern. We had 6 lines in
the pattern so we were all busy bringing in lines. Fighting
the fish from the rod holder, I started to wind in the rod
next to me. As soon as all the lines were cleared, I moved
the rod from the holder to the chair, while Chacho backed
down on the fish. Tony positioned the gimbal while I carefully
put the butt into it, stepped over the rod and sat down
and started the fight. The fish looked big when it greyhounded,
but nowhere near as big as the grander I had tangled with
last month in Madeira. The fish had pulled off about 250
yards during its first run. The 80 wide had 100-lb test
line, along with the 300-lb test leader on the lure. We
got the leader in 16 minutes, but not before a few quick
jumps at the boat. Tony did a great job leadering this very
hot fish. We tagged the estimated 360-pound blue and released
her unharmed. We were underway again by 10:35 AM. There
were few boats at the banks. We saw some of them occasionally
hooked up on small tunas, but we were after blues and didn't
change our lures. Chacho tried real hard to put us into
another marlin but the fish just weren't around. We changed
lures several times and covered nearly 75 miles before calling
it quits. It was a long day, but it beats any day at the
office.
9/26/99, weather conditions: Same as yesterday except
the wind was blowing moderately at 10-12 knots out of the
northwest at daybreak.
Today, Chacho told us he wanted to target the Santa Maria
Canyon in an area that has a high spot of 1200 feet and
a steep drop-off to 4500 feet on the northeast side. Chacho
showed me on the chart the area he was talking about. Chacho
knows the structure in Cabo well and when to fish it. We
headed out on a course of 110 degrees for 11 miles before
putting the lures out. The water was very dirty and cold
all the way from the marina, but had cleared up quite a
bit when we arrived. The water temperature was still a bit
cool at 79 degrees. We zigzagged the canyon, passing back
and forth over the steep drop-off. After about an hour of
trolling, Chacho suggested that we head back to the 900-foot
spot and troll to the outer Gorda bank just as we did yesterday.
So at 8:15 we brought in the lures and headed northeast.
We arrived at 9:40AM and put the lures out. The water was
much clearer and warmer here as it was yesterday. In no
time we had the stinger pop and Louis battled a huge wahoo
for 5 minutes before it cut through the 300-pound test leader.
We reached the outer Gorda bank by 11:00AM and 15 minutes
later Louis boats a small dorado weighing about 12 pounds.
I asked Chacho if we could troll the dorado for a marlin.
Both Chacho and Tony were a little puzzled, but agreed.
We brought in all the rods and rigged the dorado on a 12/0
circle hook tied to one of the 130's. After we got the dorado
positioned, Chacho put a live bait on the 30SW and dropped
it back. 
It
was immediately hit. Louis was still up, so he took the
rod from Chacho. Line was peeling off while we brought in
the dorado and put it in the tuna tube. I started to run
the video waiting for a jump. Nothing happens. 20 minutes
goes by, and still no clue. Chacho then suggests we have
a shark. He was right, as the brown shark (species unknown
to me) appears. Chacho and Tony wrestle the hook out of
the shark and release it. By 11:35 AM we continue slow trolling
the dorado and live bait. Just short of an hour later, we
get another bite on the live bait. Louis again takes the
rod from Chacho (sharks don't count towards a turn) and
we pull the dorado in again. As before, the fish didn't
jump and it turned out to be another shark. But this time,
as we got the shark in close to the boat, we could see at
least 4 other sharks around the boat. We continued to troll
between the two high spots until 3:00 PM when we told Chacho
to call it a day. That's quite a switch! Normally the captain
tells the customer when it's time to bring in the lines
and head back. Chacho and Tony worked hard for us and really
wanted my brother to share in a marlin bite. Next time will
be Louis's turn, Chacho promised us.
It was a pleasure to fish with Chacho again and on the
new Eagle I. 
Tony
is young, but he is one of the best mates that I have come
across while fishing Cabo for the past 5 years. He speaks
excellent English, has a great sense of humor, has the eyes
of an Eagle, and will do whatever you ask, even if it is
wrong. The new owners have gone through a lot to bring the
fishing equipment up to tournament standards. When my brother
and I fished the Goldcup last year, we had to bring our
own array of Penn 2-speeds and custom rods. This will clearly
be no longer necessary. We didn't even have to use our own
billfish tags, Chacho had his own and gave us the card to
fill out and mail in to the billfish foundation. I can't
say enough about Chacho. If he really is 66 years old, as
he says he is, he is in a lot better shape than I was when
I was in my 40's. The next time you are in Cabo, stop by
slip C12 and look at the Eagle I and chat with Chacho,
then you decide.
