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Part 3
At breakfast we
there was an atmosphere of expectancy. The previous days rest was over. The
mood and pace were now faster, hurry up, we’re in a rush to go slowly and
take it easy. The sun was already high, the sky clear with no wind. The flat
seas awaited us.
Let’s go. Paco
played with the last few lures that hadn’t been packed. Jo was ready though
thought a few more weeks in the hammock would have been just fine.
Some of the gear
was already stowed on the Sandy-ita, the rest on its way by car as we putted
out on the Zodiac.
Jo had already
hinted that we should have a boat like the Sandy-ita when she saw it riding
at anchor. Once she was on board the comfort and layout was exactly what she
wanted in a boat, big and comfortable, lots of places to lounge on deck and
a big luxurious air conditioned cabin with proper beds and bathroom. It was
also set-up really well as a game fishing boat, lot's of room for
everything, including Paco's lure collection!. Great tower, electronics etc.
This was a boat that was just right for family and fishermen. No wonder Paco
is very proud of her.
The motors gurgled
into life and we were off on our way to the resort ‘Bahia Del Sol’ the venue
for the ‘PFT El Salvador’.
The route took us
on a large arc, out to the fishing grounds, though we’d miss the main spots
and back to the inlet and resort.
As we cruised out
at a comfortable 27 knots baitfish schools showered, flying fish launched
off the bow and out of the wash. From time to time dolphins came to play off
the bow. We passed many working schools of fish with birds diving and
frigates swooping, Turtles lazed on the surface sometimes acknowledging our
presence, but more often just kept snoozing. There was a lot of life
everywhere. In the still waters current lines were easy to make out as they
snaked their way to the horizon.
I have no idea how
far we had gone before the boat slowed, riggers were set and lures deployed.
Nikko and Tonio, the Sandy-ita crew had done this many times before. Every
setup is different, so I pretty much left it to them.
We had two 80’s set
for blues on the short lures and 30’s set on the riggers and shotgun for
anything that came along. I thought it would be interesting to see how long
Paco could last without changing lures. A man that passionate about his
collection usually changes lures at about the same rate as they smoke
cigarettes. Some are 20 a day up to 60. Paco did manage to not change any
all day, though I’m pretty sure he was going through withdrawals.
We hadn’t gone far
at all when the Lumo on the long rigger nailed a reasonable Dorado (Mahi
Mahi). Jo was on strike and did a fine job of getting the fish in on
stand-up 30 using a long heavy trolling rod. This was a significant event as
it had was the first time Jo had fished since she won the BFGS just before
her major surgery. It was really good to see Jo back in action. She enjoyed
the fight, smiling and laughing all the way as the Dorado surged and jumped
as she fought it to the boat. Paco was obviously happy to have some action
as he directed the choreography from the tower as he drove on the fish.
Nikko and Tonio
handled the fish easily. Their experience showed, these guys were a no fuss
team just doing it as they had obviously done many times before. Before long
the Dorado was in the fish box. Our menu would now include Cevice, which is
fish pickled in lime juice and herbs, variations of which are common in most
many other gamefishing areas and called Namis, in the South Pacific Islands.
The lures were set
again as we continued on our route to the resort. Not too much further down
the track a Sail nailed the Lumo again and I was on the rod. I like sails,
which they call Vela. It was powerful for its size, putting up a great fight
and display before we released it to go on its way. Paco doesn’t really like
sails. I guess because they are like fleas, everywhere in these waters. I’m
certainly not used to seeing great numbers of sails in the same waters you
hunt Blue Marlin. And certainly the numbers of sails increase in the waters
inside the drop off.
In most areas the
fish that are most common are rarely sought as game fish targets ie Mack
Tuna on the Gold Coast, Striped Tuna in NSW, Dorado in Fiji. That is I
guess, in areas that still have great numbers of several species still
available. The species that are most sought after are the rare ones such as
in Paco’s case, Big Blue Marlin.
They day was
getting away from us. Lures in and off to Bahia Del Sol. One again the
amount of life in these waters was apparent. Birds, bait, busting fish and
other oceanic life showed as we cruised over the seas.
We
had been a long way off-shore. The day was still and hazy cutting down the
visibility. The shoreline was quite close when we could make
out a rather flat palm lined shore
with more volcanos off in the distance.
As
Sandy-ita neared the inlet the numbers of local longboats and shrimp
trawlers increased as did the amount of surface bait and birds. The
shoreline was dotted with villages under the palms and a couple of huge
modern estates with manicured gardens.
The boat slowed to
cross the river inlet, which we call ‘bar’, and although not rough it was
very shallow with shifting sand bars. The inlet opened up into a wide river
with mangroves lining one side while the other was lined with massive thatch
roofed sun shelters and small houses. There were also many large estates
with boats moored to large concrete wharfs that also had large sun shelters
and of course hammocks in which to relax and catch the breeze.
We slowed as we
came to the largest which was big enough to house the resort restau rant. As
we tied up along side we were welcomed by yet another smiling face belonging
to Marco ‘Tontono’ Antonio, the owner of the Bahia del Sol which was to be
the base for the PFT El Salvador weekend. Several other boats including El
Capitain owned by Lalo who met us at the airport were already there.
New faces were
being put to names already known and many who were not. The atmosphere was
relaxed as we checked in to the room and then back to the waterside
restaurant which was the central meeting place.
Included in the new
faces were Marko (with a K) who had just flown in from Mexico for the event
and Juan Carlos (JC) one of the locals, both of whom were to join ‘Team
Willpower’ on the Sandy-ita for the PFT. Javier, Paco’s youngest son was
also there and ready to fish.
The
interaction of Javier and Paco was great to see. They were more than
just father and son, and more than best friends, they were a team, at
complete ease in each others company. This was also the case with the teams
on the other boats. They were mainly made up of family members who liked to
be in each others company. There were no condescending remarks, no smirks,
and no backchat in any
of these groups. Even the interaction of group to group was refreshing, the
sharing of information and the keen competitive nature was there,
 but
no backstabbing. These guys not only liked their sport but obviously liked
each other as well.
Two of the new
faces were Don Fito and Marco Guirola, another father and son team, Don Fito
in his 70’s and Marco in his 40’s. They had both spent time in the US and
understood the differences between Central
American and US / western and even Australian culture. It was interesting
to note that Don Fito
and Marco didn’t carry
guns. They left that to the body guards.
The afternoon and
evening were spent eating and drinking enjoying the conversations with the
many new faces. Jo enjoyed chatting with Don Fito most of the afternoon. Jo
thrives on hearing about new places and people and she hung on every word of
the Don.
After dinner we
went to a small conference room to hold the PFT briefing. I was surprised to
see the room set up with Fishing banners and projectors showing the CD and
some of the DVD footage I had available.
The room filled
with Captains and teams. I think around 15 in all. A great show for the 1st
PFT in El Salvador. I explained in English and Paco in Spanish what the PFT
was all about and the idea behind it. We were happy to see that everyone was
glad to be there and help the PFT grow in future years.
The PFT packs were
distributed and found that 25 was not enough!
It had been quite
some effort for the guys to get there boats there. Many went to
bed to be ready for an early start the next day.
The rest of use
went back to the bar to chat and drink into the small hours.
It is very hard to
convey in words the relaxed positive vibes that this event had. It was a
good thing that was on a roll. These guys really get on well with each other
and really like their sport. More than that they are generous in nature so
the PFT and what it is about was just what they do anyway.
End Part 3
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Part 3 Part
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