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Astonished paddlers suddenly amid orca ‘feeding frenzy’

A group of paddlers off La Paz, Mexico, recently found themselves surrounded by orcas as the mammals feasted on schooling mobula rays.

“The whole thing was absolutely powerful, magical, and oh so lucky,” Sergio Garcia, owner of Baja SUP, told For The Win Outdoors. “We felt grateful to have been there at exactly the right moment and place to share that experience.”

Garcia, 39, on Thursday provided a summary of the late January encounter involving at least five Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales, or orcas.

He was on SUP board and two others, Terri Lynn and Rene Potvin, were on kayaks. Lynn and Potvin had been freediving and spearfishing from their kayaks before the orca sighting off Playa El Coyote in the Sea of Cortez, just north of La Paz.

The encounter began after Garcia saw a large splash behind Lynn as the group prepared to paddle back to the beach.

“Assuming that this encounter was going to last only a few moments as the orcas cruised by, Sergio and Terri Lynn paddled quickly to follow behind the orcas and soak up every glimpse,” the summary reads. “Then, to their surprise, they realised that the pod wasn’t actually leaving! They were corralling a group of mobula rays – it was a feeding frenzy!”

Garcia said the paddlers tried to keep a responsible distance but that became impossible as the mobula rays rushed toward the paddlers while trying to escape the orcas, bringing the orcas to the paddlers.

“The orcas used bubble curtains and swam tight circles to keep the rays together and at the surface, and picked one off every once in a while,” the summary reads. “Rene saw a half-bitten ray floating by shortly after the feeding ended.

“The whales fed for about 10 minutes, then, apparently satiated, let the remaining rays go and turned their full attention to us.”

The orcas made repeated passes in what seemed expressions of curiosity, and remained with the paddlers for another 10 minutes before disappearing to the south.

One of the females in the pod, identifiable by a deep notch at the base of her dorsal fin, has been spotted elsewhere in Mexico and was once documented preying on a sunfish off the Mexican state of Michoacan.

Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales are encountered sporadically and have been spotted as far north as Southern California.

Rare synchronized blue whale ‘breach’ leaves boaters stunned

The mere sight of blue whales swimming near the surface can take a person’s breath away. But to watch the massive leviathans swim at high speed and breach like dolphins?

The mere sight of blue whales swimming near the surface can take a person’s breath away. But to watch the massive cetaceans race alongside the boat and break the surface like dolphins?

“We were all stunned and excited, and knew what we were seeing was exceptionally rare,” Charlie Harmer, owner of Silver Shark Adventures, told For The Win Outdoors. “I still can’t believe it.”

Harmer’s crew captured the accompanying footage last Monday in Bahia de los Angeles in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. It shows two blue whales racing side by side at 20 mph and porpoising as three passengers, Harmer, and his captain watched in awe.

“I still can’t believe it,” Harmer said.

Blue whales are the largest animals ever to have inhabited the planet. They can measure 100 feet and weigh more than 150 tons. They’re rarely observed engaging in racing behavior, which could involve courtship or merely competition.

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Silver Shark Adventures posted the clip to Facebook, inspiring dozens of comments, including this from California-based whale researcher, Alisa Schulman-Janiger:

“We saw this same rare behavior off of Santa Cruz Island in Southern California a few months ago; I have seen this less than a dozen times over 40 years.”

Harmer told For The Win Outdoors that the whales measured about 80 feet and the encounter lasted 20 minutes.

His company moors a boat in Bahia de los Angeles year-round and most clients drive from Southern California, 400 miles down the Baja California peninsula, for seven-day adventures.

The vast bay and its many islands are protected as a biosphere reserve. Its nutrient-rich waters teem with life.

States Harmer on the Silver Shark Adventures website: “My dream is to give our guests the feeling they have experienced something that is truly ‘once in a lifetime.’ Something to check off their ‘bucket list.’

–Images courtesy of Silver Shark Adventures

Anglers on skiff land rare ‘super cow’ tuna

A 367-pound yellowfin tuna was caught last Friday in the Los Cabos region of Baja California Sur, Mexico, after the massive fish devoured a smaller tuna used as bait.

The rare “super cow,” a reference to yellowfin tuna weighing 300 pounds or more, was caught aboard a 23-foot panga, or skiff, by brothers Jesus and Gerardo Banaga out of La Playita near San Jose del Cabo.

According to Eric Brictson of Gordo Banks Pangas, the fish was hooked on a medium-size skipjack tuna that was trolled near Inner Gordo Banks in the Sea of Cortez. The fight lasted 2.5 hours.

A Pisces Sportfishing Facebook post provides more detail:

“They looped around the area only once when this Super Cow Yellowfin torpedoed out of the water after their bait. The fish ran for an hour straight, with the guys in hot pursuit, trying to avoid getting spooled.

“After the run it headed down deep and the hard work began. Two-and-a-half hours after the hookup they had the fish at the gaff.”

Brictson said Jesus Banaga is a longtime captain in his panga fleet, and that the tuna was weighed by another local, who purchased the fish afterward.

Tracy Ehrenberg, who runs Pisces Sportfishing in Cabo San Lucas, told For The Win Outdoors that only a handful of “super cow” tuna are caught in area waters each year.

“With more sophisticated boats, new techniques such as kites, balloons, 360-degree radar, and boats being able to travel further, I do believe catches of these big fish has gone up,” Ehrenberg said.

“On the other hand, nothing can beat good old-fashioned skill. A lot of the panga guys out of La Playita are commercial tuna fishermen that also like to sportfish, so they know where they are and how to catch them – hence monster fish on tiny boats.”

Brictson said that on Saturday, Inner Gordo Banks was crowded with anglers hoping to latch onto a giant tuna, but there were no significant hookups.

“Still hit or miss,” he said.

While catches of super cow yellowfin tuna are rare, catches topping 400 pounds are exceedingly rare.

According to the International Game Fish Assn., the all-tackle world record stands at 427 pounds. The fish was caught south of Cabo San Lucas by Guy Yocom in September 2012.

–Images are courtesy of Gordo Banks Pangas and Pisces Sportfishing

Rare tuna catch from shore attracts ‘pack of giant roosters’

Theo Anest accomplished a rare feat recently by landing a yellowfin tuna from shore, while using spinning gear, on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.

But as Anest reeled the 37-pound tuna toward the beach, another remarkable event occurred: Several massive roosterfish, seemingly attracted by the commotion, accompanied the hooked tuna into the surf zone.

This placed them within fly-casting range and before long, local guide Lance Peterson was battling an estimated 80-pound roosterfish on a fly rod.

Images show Theo Anest (left) and Lance Peterson with their tuna and roosterfish. Credit: Theo Anest

“The tuna was spotted and specifically cast to,” Peterson, owner of Lance Peterson Fishing, told For The Win Outdoors. “I was hoping a few of its buddies would swim in for a look as it neared the beach, and sure enough there were some curious onlookers; mostly giant roosters.”

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The catches were made early last month in Baja California Sur’s East Cape region. But photos were not shared until last week, with Peterson describing the event on Facebook as “a truly rare double hookup from shore.”

Catching yellowfin tuna from shore is not unheard of, but it’s rare considering that the pelagic fish are generally found in schools several miles offshore.

Roosterfish, however, are a coastal species prized by East Cape anglers because of their exotic appearance, size and power. Anglers typically release their catches to preserve the vulnerable fishery.

Peterson was searching for roosterfish when he spotted the yellowfin tuna feeding on forage fish. He texted Anest and told him to bring spinning gear.

Anest, a sales representative for Scott Fly Rods, arrived with a long spinning rod and cast a silver metal lure toward the tuna.

“They never quite came into fly range but we could see waves of them passing through an area 40 to 100 yards off the beach,” Anest recalled. “As soon as I hooked the tuna, 100 curious grande roosters that were lurking in the vicinity followed that tuna in.

“However, when Lance made that cast we were still certain they were all tuna until about 20 giant combs [roosterfish dorsal fins] came out of the water.”

Added Peterson: “We had sighted several tuna that day, but they were lock-jawed. Eventually Theo stuck one. The commotion brought in several fish to investigate, among them a pack of giant roosters.

“I was convinced I had managed to hook the smallest specimen in the group, which makes me wonder how big the others were!”

Anest kept the tuna, while Peterson released the roosterfish after posing for a quick series of images.

Any roosterfish over 50 pounds is considered a prize catch, especially on a fly rod. The all-tackle world record – a 114-pound roosterfish caught off La Paz, north of the East Cape – has stood since 1960.

–Follow Pete Thomas and the Outdoors on Facebook and Instagram

Giant white seabass could break 67-year-old world record

An angler fishing recently in Baja California Sur, Mexico, caught an 88-pound white seabass that could break a 67-year-old world record.

Ricardo Reyes Martinez landed the giant seabass on April 30, but the International Game Fish Assn. announced the catch this week as a potential record breaker in two categories.

“This just in! Ricardo Reyes Martinez recently caught this incredible 39.9-kilogram (88-pound) white seabass to potentially set the new IGFA All-Tackle and Men’s 30-lb Line Class World Records,” the IGFA wrote on Facebook.

The current all-tackle world record stands at 83 pounds, 12 ounces. That fish was caught by Lyal Baumgardner off San Felipe, Mexico, in 1953. Baumgardner also set the record for 30-pound-test line.

Reyes, 36, was surf casting for snapper on the Pacific side of the Baja California peninsula, southwest of La Paz, when the seabass struck.

Gary Graham, author of the Baja Bytes column, quoted Reyes as saying, “I did not expect to win a world record. I did not even plan to send the information, but when I saw the fish was a good size, I decided to send in the official documentation.”

The IGFA, which requires a certified weight, line sample, a photo and witness statement, typically takes weeks or months before making a record determination.

White seabass, members of the croaker family, are found from Magdalena Bay in Baja California Sur to Juneau, Alaska. They’re highly prized by anglers and considered delectable as table fare.

–Image showing Ricardo Reyes Martinez with his potential-record white seabass is courtesy of the IGFA