The Perfect Night Storm for Tropical Salt Water Fishing

We’re Going Where?

“It’s better if you wear some sneakers”, Orlando said.

“Wear sneakers to where?” I was puzzled looking out into a pitch-black December night while seasonal storm rains pounded the roof like an angry mob.

“We’re going fishing”, he matter-of-factly responded.

“In THIS!” I snapped back incredulously.

“It’s the best time to go”

Photo: Orlando demonstrates his cast net form

The Wettest Region in the World
Three seconds after I stepped off of the porch into the rain I was soaked through to the skin. The Pacific coast Choco region of Colombia is one of the wettest areas in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records. With more than 30 feet – that’s right feet – of rain accumulation per year. That’s enough to reach from the ground up to a building’s fourth floor. Probably only Noah has consistently seen rains like these.

It was so black out that I could just barely make out my locally-born-and-raised fishing buddy and guide just a few steps in front of me. A woven straw basket, called a “motete”, was slung over one shoulder. A six-foot diameter cast net, called an “atarraya” was draped over the other. My Baltimore Orioles baseball cap kept the chords of liquid from directly battering my eyes and face.

Forcing our way through sheets of water from the bamboo-walled house towards the crashing surf less than 200 yards away, we watched as bolts of lightning at sea lit our way. I felt the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean swell and surge around my calves. We had walked right into the ocean.

“Take this basket and wait here” Orlando yelled above the roar of the rain and pounding surf.

Cast Thy Net Upon the Waters
Steeling himself against the torrents from above and the salt water swells, he cast the net just in front of him. With effort, he now pulled the net’s tie line to close and draw the net back in. I moved in closer. A flash of lightning lit up the net as it seemingly “boiled” in the receding surf.

“Help me to get it up and dump it.” He hardly had to ask.

It took the both of us to lift the writhing mass and empty the dozens of fish into the basket. Less than a dozen casts later we had so many fish in the basket it took us both to half drag, half carry it back to the house. An hour passed as we sorted the more than 100 fish of eight or so different species.

It had been a perfect night storm for tropical salt water fishing.

p.s. Speaking of night fishing, check out this cool night fishing video at:http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=cDTKCZur1vM


Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. Want to know more about salt and fresh water fishing in the tropics? Visit: http://whittlewadeandhook.blogspot.com/ Need professional, original salt or fresh water fishing related content, articles or photos, images and graphics for your fishing / outdoor blog, newsletter, e-zine or website? Have a question, request, or want to receive more information or to be added to his articles and information mailing list? Contact the author at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com/

Salt Water Tropical Fishing in a Pristine Barrel

A Short Wait
Flipping a short cast of mo more than 20 feet or so, my cut bait tipped lead head jig sank smoothly for a few seconds before a fish grabbed it. On light tackle I laughed and “played” with the pan-sized denizen of the not-so-deep for a bit before finally flipping the multi-hued trigger fish over the boat’s gunnels.

“Man that was quick” my local guide quipped.

“Nothing here, huh?” I teased as this time my rod suddenly banged the gunnels, jerked sharply downwards by an obvious friend or relative of the first fish.

“What’s That?”
I was the one who had insisted on a brief stop at this site. We’d been motoring north along the Pacific coast of Colombia’s Choco region. The rustic fishing village of Jurubida, where we were based, lay some 45 minutes behind us when I’d spotted a pristine sight. There it was; a two-meter wide fresh water stream flowing over a five meter high rock face before plummeting into the azure blue sea. Surrounded by emerald-green tropical rain forest, the sparkling “chorro” was situated in a tiny cove just visible from the small boat traffic channel we ran northward in.

“What’s that?” I’d asked, pointing landwards the tiny-looking waterfall.

“Just some little stream of rain water, I think” my guide responded without luster.

“Pull over there and let me take a look.”

“Why?” His response came in a more curios tone as he swung the 16-foot hand-crafted wooden launch to starboard.

A Closer Look
Up close it was even prettier. The brackish pool into which the torrent plunged was a clear dark blue. This was a good sign that it was at least 20 to 25 feet or more in depth.

“This looks like a good spot for some panfish” I translated into the best Spanish I could.

“Here?” My guide was surprised. “I don’t think there’s anything here” he continued.

I asked to “try out” the spot for 15 minutes or so. If there was no action, we’d move on and I’d have at least some memories of a beautiful spot along the coastal rain forest.

My Trusty Guide Was Wrong
One after another they came into the boat. All pan-sized, but attractive and unique in their shapes and colorings; Clown fish, Parrot fish, Trigger fish, spots, stripes and brilliant red fish with bright baby-blue eyes.

Even my trusty guide tried his hand at hooking a few, laughing with delight almost the whole time. We shipped anchor and resumed our voyage northward after about an hour or so. But that spot was about the closest I’ve ever come to catching fish in a barrel. And man let me tell you, it sure was a lot of fun.


Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. Want to know more about salt and fresh water fishing in the tropics? Visit: http://whittlewadeandhook.blogspot.com/ Need professional, original salt or fresh water fishing related content, articles or photos, images and graphics for your fishing / outdoor blog, newsletter, e-zine or website? Have a question, request, or want to receive more information or to be added to his articles and information mailing list? Contact the author at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com/

What You Should Know About Living in the Rain Forest - Part 1

What's It Like?
What’s it like to live away from “civilization” in the arms of a beach front tropical rain forest? Here are some scenes from my time there.

Emerald-breasted hummingbirds flit in and out feeding from a tree of red and white tendriled flowers. Butterflies dart and dance among lush green foliage all around you. Their markings are a virtual explosion of colors; iridescent blues and greens, yellows with black designs, spotted oranges, yellows and purples on dark background wings.

Sunsets are spectacular panoramas of reds, pinks, purples, oranges and yellows tinged with patterns in grays, blues and purples. Jehovah God’s paintbrush creates a different scene each evening for your viewing pleasure.

photo: pulling fresh coconuts down from a tree in Jurubida, on Colombia's Pacific Coast

A Refreshing Drink
Would you like a refreshing drink? Along the beach are coconut groves with trees laden down with as many as 20 or more full, ripe coconuts each. Go ahead, take one or two. In a matter of minutes you can peel and open them. A full glass or two of “water” is inside each one. Drink it straight from the coconut. Then split the fruit open to scoop out and enjoy the soft, creamy white meat. It’s healthy, nutritious and all natural. It’s good for you too.

Rains are soft and warm. You can even collect and drink the water. There’s no pollution of any kind. Water from rain forest fed streams is used for drinking after filtration. No chemicals added. No boiling or sterilization required.

Go ahead, walk along the beach. For miles there’s only you, the flora and fauna of an unspoiled earth. The scurrying and antics of the sand crabs will amuse you. Chirping and croaking of brilliant blue-skinned frogs with their starkly contrasting yellow markings will startle and amaze you.

Cast your gaze across the multi-colored waters of the Pacific Ocean. You can see the dolphins playing in the water less than 50 yards from the beach. Go ahead, take a swim. In this part of the world where there are dolphins there are no sharks. The gentle surf is warm and clean. Your swim will refresh you. Fish are abundant in streams and rivers. Put on a mask and snorkel. Stick your face in the water and watch myriads of rainbow-hued fish dart around and between your legs.

Never Go Hungry
Few dangers pose a threat if you are aware of your surroundings and their significance in the eco-system of the tropical rain forest. Know the flora and fauna. Mesh into the flow of nature and wondrous, beautiful experiences will fill your existence. You will never go hungry. Care for your environment and it will sustain you. “Civilization” will gradually lose its luster and pull. Pleasures like these must have filled the Garden of Eden.

To view a video of a live Giant Rhinoceros Beetle as pictured above, go to:
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=iDw5P46VCe4

Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. For more information on the lucrative, fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign Language, get your copy of his no-cost, full multi-media, hypertext-linked pdf ebook, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know” by sending an e-mail with "free ELT Ebook" in the subject line.

Part 2 - Salt Water Fishing With All Your Five Senses

Why oh Why Didn’t I Wear Gloves?

We readied our gear and dropped lines, one line rigged with a white-feathered, lead-headed jig. My 40 pound test mono was rigged with my latest “secret weapon”, a home-made stainless steel, polished silver spoon and number 4 stainless single-barbed hook (pictured in photo). It hadn’t taken long for things to heat up. On a day off the coast of Colombia’s “La Ensenada” National Park, it almost never does.

I winced as the blue mono tightened around my naked palm. Something strong, wet and angry had grabbed ahold of my spoon. Now I was paying the price. Crimson dripped into the deep blue depths with each lunge. It’s illegal to fish with a rod and reel, long line, trotline or net in the park entrance waters, you see.

Fish On!

“Fish on!” I croaked still wincing, but Pepe was already ahead of me. He’d seen the strike as my whole arm jerked aft. It had to be a good-sized Tuna or Albacore, maybe a sizeable Sierra could strike and battle like that but my money was on an Albacore. These bullet-shaped fish have two speeds: over-the-speed-limit-fast and full-throttle-overdrive. These speedsters can topple an unsuspecting fisherman overboard in a flash. They hit your line like a runaway freight train. The sudden stress often just snaps the line. If your rod isn’t ready or heavy enough, they’ll snap that off too. On occasion small sharks would hit too, especially early morning, late afternoon and on darker, low-barometer days.

Dorado, Aguja, Tuna, Albacore, Sierra or Shark?

“What do you think, Dorado, Albacore or Aguja?” asked Pepe who was keenly watching the pattern of the fight.

That often told you what was on the other end of your line well before the fish ever came into view. If indeed it ever did come into view. Flexing my biceps against an unwilling guest, I thought about his words. A Dorado would take awhile to land if I didn’t want to risk a snapped line. These gold, blue and green, round-headed beauties were strong and could easily be heavier than my line strength. A steel-pipe-shaped Aguja (Needle Fish), would easily snip right through mono of up to 100-pound test if its rows razor-blades called teeth ever reached beyond the 18-inch stainless steel leader. Even the wire leader would shear if I took too long in landing “ole toothy”. Only sharks and Piranha have more fearsome jaws than an Aguja. The “swooshing” sound of the line through the soft swells told me that we were in deeper waters now. The change in color from greenish to deep blue only served to confirm this. Deeper water was darker as the sun’s rays didn’t reflect off the bottom. Minutes later, the nearly 15-pound Albacore was gaffed and swung aboard.

Your Senses Will Tell You

Your ears can tell you of splashing baitfish and the predators that are after them. Listen too for the sounds of other boats, waves crashing against hidden rocks and reefs far out from shore. Your eyes give you constant information on depth and bottom cover. The smell of the open ocean differs from near-shore grounds with their hints of rain forest vegetation and palm groves lining the sandy salt-water caressed shores. You can feel the movement of your quarry beneath the waves as it swirls, dives, circles, twists, thrashes and rises in efforts to free itself from an unknown enemy. Taste the salt spray, the cool freshwater rain and the refreshing chill of the well-deserved “cold one” you’ll have after a serious fight – no matter which of you wins it.

Try fishing using all five of your senses. You’ll be surprised at just how much the enjoyment of all your fishing experiences will improve.

Larry M. Lynch is an expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. Need professional quality, original Salt and Fresh water Fishing-related articles or content for your Blog, newsletter, e-zine or website? For more tropical fishing articles, information, or a no-obligation quote visit my tropical fishing and travel blog with photos at: http://whittlewadeandhook.blogspot.com/

Salt Water Fishing With All Your Five Senses - Part 1

Sensing My Way
Leaning back and tilting my head upwards slightly, I felt the warmth of the sun’s invisible infrared rays on my face in contrast to the coolness of the waters swirling around my hand as it dangled over the port gunnels of our wooden launch. My eyes were closed but I could sense nearly everything around me. Gently the hand-hewn launch lurched and rocked as waves passed beneath the weather-beaten worn green painted prow. I tried not to let the roar of the 15 hp outboard distract me from the rhythmic “slap, slap, slap” from passing swells of brine.

Photo: My fishing guide Pepe gaffs and hauls in a Pacific Ocean coastal Albacore

Licking the spray from my moistened lips with my eyes still closed, I let the sides of my tongue try to identify the salty elements. It was warmer than my hands said it would be. It tasted good. In this part of Colombia’s Pacific coast there was no industry for miles so I never gave pollution a thought. There, I could just make it out now. Dolphins splashed and chattered just off the port side.

They Just Want to Play
I opened with salt-glazed eyes to try to catch sight of them. It wasn’t difficult to spot them at all as they crested and dove mere meters away. It was no problem for them to exactly match the speed of our boat. They were keeping up with us – or were we keeping up with them? Sleek gray and black they toyed with us passing us first on one side, then the other in a “tag” game of sorts that we were definitely losing.

“What do you think they want?” I asked aloud to Pepe, my locally-based fishing guide.

“They just want to play for a bit”, he answered in the Spanish of the region, glancing over at the still racing black and gray shapes now streaming off to port.

“Will they affect the fishing?”

“No, actually they’ll help.” This broke me from my trance. I sat bolt upright.

“What do you mean, they’ll help?”

“When they dive, I’ll power down and we’ll set up our first trolling run or drift.”

“You mean they’ll let us know where the fish are?” I asked incredulously.

“Yep. They sure will.”

And true to Pepe’s words, they did.

Five Senses Needed
With the coconut-palm-tree-lined coast just within sight, you needed to use all five of your senses whenever you fished. Each sense provides you with key information. Important information that helps in catching fish – all kinds of fish – under all kinds of conditions.

Our four finny friends dove. We cut power to troll, swinging in a lazy “U” to mark the area where they went down.

“We’re here”, Pepe announced.


… to be continued in part 2 of “Salt Water Fishing With All Your Five Senses” …

Larry M. Lynch is an expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. Need professional quality, original Salt and Fresh water Fishing-related articles or content for your Blog, newsletter, e-zine or website? For more tropical fishing articles, information, or a no-obligation quote visit my tropical fishing and travel blog with photos at: http://whittlewadeandhook.blogspot.com/