Derek's first trip to Baja was in May of 1987. He wasn't born yet, but he was definitely there in my very pregnant (as in seven months pregnant) belly. Both he and Gayle have been traveling in Mexico since before they were born. When Derek was one, we camped south of La Mision. While Gayle went horseback riding, he hung out in his play pen or went for beach walks in a backpack. Since then, we've done a few airplane trips, a few camping trips and a whole lot of weekend trips and vacations to La Bufadora where my sister, Nina has a house.

Derek's first really big, exciting trip to Baja took place in 1991, when he was almost four. This was the first time he was old enough to go fishing alone with his grandpa. We were at Buena Vista on the East Cape. If you know Baja, then you know that the East Cape is one of the premier sport fishing spots on the globe. Dorado---mahi mahi, huachinango---red snapper, cabrilla---sea bass, marlin and sailfish thrive in the warm, deep waters of the southern Sea of Cortez. In recent years, to preserve this aquatic paradise, the Mexican government instigated a conservation program called "Sueltame!" You may have seen the bumper stickers around especially at Fred Hall Fishing Shows. Translated into English, "Sueltame" means "Release me!" A tag and release program, Sueltame! allows fishermen to: a) have a photo taken with the big fish alongside the boat; and b) fly a flag on the boat indicating what kind of trophy fish was caught and released. Finally, c) he or she can brag about being an ecotourist and saving that fish to fight another day.

 Of course, dorado, sea bass and snapper are really good eating fish and aren't as threatened as the big game bill fish, so they're usually brought in, filleted and fried up for dinner. This photo depicts Derek's first dorado, caught on that trip when he was four. You can see that it was nearly as big as he was. Now, my dad has two daughters and no sons. He took me and Nina fishing off La Paz when we were seven and nine. As in every day for a week. We were over-fished before I turned ten! The poor guy was devastated that we failed to fall in love with his favorite sport. Dad never had a bonafide fishing buddy in the family until Derek. He was so proud of this picture that he used it on his Christmas card that year! And Derek is really and truly a fisherman. To this day, he suffers bouts of sea sickness. Does it bother him? Nope. He says he always feels fine as soon as he barfs!

Anyway, at lunch the day after Derek caught his big fish, my mom and I were quizzing him about the rest of the trip. "Well, it was kind of boring after we caught my dorado. All we caught were a couple of little bastards, that we had to throw back."

Silence around the table. Eyebrows reaching for the ceiling. My dad walked into the dining room and sat down. "Togo. Did you swear in front of your grandson?" my mother asked, her voice dripping icicles.

"What? Me? Of course not," he said.

"You didn't call fish 'little bastards' out on the boat?" she asked. My sister and I looked at each, grabbed our napkins, put them up to our faces and tried to use them to stifle our laughter. Derek looked from me to Nina in confusion.  "What did I say wrong?" he asked me. I leaned over and whispered in his ear. "Oh," he said, his eyes as big as saucers. "I thought little bastards were a type of fish. I didn't know Grandpa was saying bad words."
From that day on, whenever our family gets together, Derek and Nina vie for story-telling rights on the infamous fish story. No matter where we are, all one of them has to do is say, "Hey, Derek ... " (Or "Hey, Nina .... ") "Remember those L.B.s ?" and we all crack up.

© 1999 Ann Hazard. No part of this article may be reprinted without permission.
This story is featured in Ann's newest book, Agave Sunsets.
REPRINTED FROM THE COAST NEWS, NOVEMBER 18, 1999

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