Catch of the Day in Cabo

Landon had been taken on a work fishing trip to Louisiana in October (Big Fish), and then in November, he and a couple co-workers were treated to Cabo! More fishing!  Again, Landon sent some photos and a little write-up of his experience ...

(Thursday, November 14, 2024)

We ended up having the trip moved forward one day due to poor weather expected on Sunday. The vendor changed our flights and everything to make it happen, which we were very thankful for. Not that we’re going to be here an extra day, but simply moved forward a day.

Juan (coworker) and I left from SLC at about 7 am. Our flight was to Denver and then to Los Cabos. While in Denver, we met up with Johnathon and Kyle (the vendor that invited us on this trip). It was a quick layover in Denver with just enough time to get a quick breakfast sandwich to go. We boarded and then arrived in Cabo around noon.

Kyle got us a shuttle and we were off to check in to the hotel we were to stay. It was about a 45 min drive, so I bought one of my favorite snacks for the ride: Japanese peanuts. Not sure why they’re referred as “Japanese” as they’re entirely Mexican. The only thing that matters is that I can enjoy them once again.

We settled in very briefly to our room and left to go meet the crew at the boat. “Bull Rider” is a 60’ boat and has more square footage than my apartment lol. It is so big that the mileage for it is reversed.. Not how many miles you go with one gallon of gas, but it is actually four gallons to go one mile. Yikes.

No fishing today, but simply a quick trip around the bay to sight see. It was a beautiful day and perfect weather to do so. This was the first time I met Rick, the owner of the company sponsoring this trip and owner of the boat as well. He’s a great guy with many stories.

For dinner, we went to one of the restaurants near the dock, where Rick gave them some of the white fish they had caught last week to prepare for us. Some of it grilled and some battered and deep fried. It was all delicious.

We finished up dinner, made a plan for tomorrow, and then Johnathon, Juan, and I left to see a bit of the town. Probably stayed out a bit later than we should’ve, but it was a fun time.

(Friday, November 15, 2024)

 Up and on the boat early setting out by 6 am. Johnathon, Juan, and I were exhausted and not feeling well from our drinks last night. Whoops. This was also my first real test with motion sickness, so I was a bit nervous how it’d go.

The guys brought us some breakfast, but none of us were ready to risk eating yet. We all opted to take a nap while we set out for a 50-60 mile ride off the coast.

Once the sun was up, I woke up, but was feeling awfully woozy. At this point, I couldn’t tell if it was the hangover or sea sickness. I went to the upper deck to go get some fresh air that helped a lot. I had taken Dramamine and put on some motion sickness patches too to hopefully prevent getting sea sick.

Luckily, it ended up just being a little hang over for me. A couple hours in I was feeling much better. And then it was time to chum up the waters and set the lines.

Right away, we had something on one of the lines. And it was big. It was a blue marlin. Juan went to work it first, because they told us the blue marlins fight hard. Juan lasted about five solid minutes before he tapped Johnathon to take over. For a fish this big, you have to use the boat controls to help you bring it in. They got the marlin in right beside the boat before it came loose. It was a bummer, but you can’t keep the marlins anyway.

It took some time to get the next fish on the line, but sure enough we did. And then I was up. Mine was a striped marlin. Not as big as the blue, but at least we got mine up for a nice pic. Because of you didn’t get a pic, it didn’t happen lol. The striped ones don’t fight as hard as the blues, so I got it in by myself within five minutes. But my arms still had a nice pump.

We were struggling to find tuna for a while. Then on the radio someone called out where they were biting, so we headed that way. Then it got crazy.

To increase your odds, you put out more lines. Most of the day we had five lines out at one time. Once we found these schools of tuna, we would have them on the lines every few minutes. It was awesome. We sit for a minute, then there’s a bite and everyone jumps into action. Then another bite, and another! We had three fish on at the same time and it was chaos, but so fun at the same time.

I honestly got to the point where I started to dread the sound of the reels of another fish on the line. My hands and arms were so tired and needed every second of rest they can get.

Our haul was mostly small yellow finned tunas. Roughly 18” and weighed 15-20 lbs. I ended up bringing in the biggest tuna of the day. Just over 24”.

When we finally called it a day, we headed back to shore with our haul. We went back to the hotel room, cleaned up, and left again for dinner. Rick took us to this Italian restaurant that was delicious. I ordered a shrimp scampi, but when I saw the lasagna that Johnathon order, I’ll admit I was jealous. It was a solid brick of lasagna. He shared a bit with me, but kept the rest and I don’t blame him. Luckily, Rick ordered a few to go to take as our lunch on the boat tomorrow.

To end the day, we went back to the boat just to watch the Paul v. Tyson fight. It was quite underwhelming in my opinion. Rick and Johnathon fell asleep during it. Nor was it the outcome we hoped to see Tyson win.

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I didn't get a write-up from Saturday/Sunday, but heard from Landon that they went back out Saturday, didn't catch anything. There was a LOT of tuna from Friday though ... and they sent it home with the guys. Packed it up with dry ice and had them take on the plane (seems like maybe it would have been easier to have it shipped?) So back at home, Landon has been giving out some tuna steaks, and looking up recipes!

10k x 3

 

Grayson has completed several half-marathons in 2024, and Landon did his half, a milestone after his ACL surgery earlier in the year. While Coop is uber active, often hitting 30k in steps in a day (between work and treadmill or other activities), 13.1 miles in a single go might be out of his comfort zone. Even a 10k is slightly more than his regular run ... but doable. When Grayson brought it up, both Landon and Coop were willing to give a 10k a go. There was a local race that Saturday. Gray got them signed up and picked up the packets on Friday.  Gray and Coop headed out Saturday morning,  a little before 9:00, picked up Landon along the way, and headed up to the University of Utah. The 10k started at 10:00.

Of the Blackham boys, Coop finished first at just under 45minutes. 15th overall, 3rd in the Male/20-29 division.  Landon was next at 49 minutes, with Grayson at 54 minutes.  They didn't stay for the awards.

I asked Coop how it felt (as the distance and outside weren't his usual, plus the challenge of the crowd) and he replied "the crowd cleared up within the first mile, so that part wasn't bad. Running outside is definitely different. Bobbing up and down while moving vs doing it in place felt really weird, but I got used to it."  Gray, having done a majority of half-marathons starting up a canyon, mentioned that there were some uphill portions of this race that were places he had to push through. 

There was a photographer on hand at the race, so here are a few more photos!

Callahan had stopped by a couple nights before the race, and we jokingly commented that Grayson hadn't included Cal and Keaton in the original group text. So Gray DID invited them, but they weren't up to a last minute 10k (Keaton said maybe a 5k ...). We've had a few family 5k races in the past (2018, 2017, L&C2017, 2016GKC&Maga, 2015).

While the boys were gone, I walked two miles on the treadmill in 40 minutes. 

Gotta do what you can!