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Brazil Checkout Trips–The Early Days
Posted on October 28th, 2009 No comments
[Editor: this article first appeared on www.ronsfishingblog and may only be used by permission of Ron Speed ] This week we are going to talk about peacock bass in Brazil. This past week our group had a great trip with 60 fish over 10lbs; last week the group had 110 fish over 10lbs; this week they had 23 fish over 10 lbs and they had 10 fish over 20lbs with a 26lb monster as the biggest. It was a very good week.
We started taking groups to South America almost 20 years ago and it has been a great adventure for our clients. We started on Guri Lake in Venezuela and I found out right away that the peacock was one of the toughest, meanest, most aerobatic fish I had ever caught. I fell in love with the peacock fishing and began to look around for places where we could catch bigger fish. On Guri, you could catch pretty good numbers but the 15 to 20lb fish were hard to find. My biggest in 3 years was an 18lb fish that I caught on a 3/4 oz jig fished 20 ft deep.
The operation at Puepa Fishing Club left a lot to be desired so I made contact with Scotties’ sport fishing over in Brazil. The organizer was an older guy with tons of experience named Morgan McDonald and his son Ian McDonald. Morgan leased an old houseboat that had no rooms. We had to sleep on the floor or in a hammock. I chose to sleep on an old cot outside the covered top, which was a mistake as the next morning I would be soaking wet from the heavy dew.
We flew to Belem, where the Amazon empties into the ocean. We spent the night and flew out the next day to Santarem, which is half way from Belem to Manaus. Morgan met us and we boarded the worst houseboat in South America. Our destination was to fish a little-known river called the Trombetus. This was truly a checkout trip as Morgan had only heard stories about big peacock. We fished 2 days without a bite and heard all kinds of excuses as to why the fish were not biting.
The second night we stopped at a government check station about 11 pm and everyone was asleep. I woke up but didn’t get up, just listened to a lot of Portuguese and some loud talking. Next thing I know 2-55 gallon drums of gasoline were unloaded from our houseboat. After the gasoline was unloaded, the houseboat began to move on up river. I found out later that Morgan had bribed the government guys to let us fish in a sanctuary but we were not to get out of the boat and set foot on the sandy beaches. It seems that the ridley turtles were laying eggs in the sand. As they were on the endangered list, there was no walking on the beaches.
About midmorning we found a stream of water pouring into the main river. Three boats chose to follow the stream and yes, they had to get out and push the small boats into a big lagoon. I chose to go on the other side of the river and pull the boat into another big lagoon. It wasn’t long before I realized that this lagoon had been hit hard by poachers as drying racks were all over the banks. No peacocks but I did foul hook a huge Pirarcu that pulled our small boat all over the lagoon for about 10 minutes before it broke my mono line.
We finally pulled our boat back out to the main river just before dark and met our buddies coming back from the secret lagoon. They had hit the MOTHER LOAD as they had caught scores of big peacock. They said it was a fish every cast for almost 2 hours and they were exhausted. Since this was our last day, we had to turn the houseboat around and head back to the Amazon River.
Other than those two great hours of peacock fishing, the 7-day trip was a total failure, which is what happens on most of the checkout trips all over the world. It’s gold mine or famine and mostly famine.
Next time we will talk about two more checkout trips to different rivers in another part of Brazil.
Good luck with your fishing and remember to wear that lifejacket!
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El Salto and Comedero News
Posted on October 23rd, 2009 No comments
[Editor: this article first appeared on www.ronsfishingblog and may only be used by permission of Ron Speed ] El Salto
This week I want to give you an update on what is happening at the lakes in Mexico. We have some exciting plans for the future that will be great for our clients. El Salto fishing was very good last season and lots of trophy bass (over 9 lbs) were caught. In fact it just seems that the fishing continues to get better and better year after year.
When the camp was built, I figured the lake would last the same as all the other commercially fished lakes, which would be from 1 to 3 years. Well, the fishing department and the local co-ops have cooperated with our recommendations and have not killed the bass in this unusual lake. Of course, all the operators on Salto pay for the stocking of tilapia each year and pay for an inspection boat and game warden to make sure everyone protects both the bass and tilapia. Based upon the past year’s good fishing we are adding some new things at our camp. Our plans are sometime during this season we will add a new tackle store stocked with all the red-hot lures. In addition, we plan to add a Jacuzzi in the garden outside the restaurant overlooking the lake. We also plan to have a room for clients who want a massage by a professional from Mazatlan upon request. We also plan to build a huge bar with TV out under the huge Capulin tree at water’s edge. We have had a small bar there for several years but it has been so popular that it’s not big enough now.
The lake level at Salto is 65% at this writing but we are in an El Niño year, which usuall means we will have more rain as the season goes on. El Niño comes about every 5 to 6 years. We have checked the bass fishing all summer long and it has been great so we are very excited to get the camp open next week. Lake Comedero
The lake level is almost full and this remote mountain lake stays great year after year. We never seem to have an OFF YEAR like many other lakes. Our clients always catch lots of bass and many are of trophy size. Comedero is a huge lake in size and it is never crowded with fishermen. The only reason it doesn’t have as many clients and camps as Salto is that it is a longer ride from the Mazatlan airport.
The only time we ever closed this lake was 15 years ago due to all small fish. After I stocked it with Florida bass, we have been blessed with the best trophy fishing anywhere. Our competitors tell everyone that it is not safe to fish Comedero and my answer to them is HOG WASH! The truth is Comedero has the best safety record in all of Western Mexico and that includes over 15 other lakes. We have great relations with all the local people and they depend on our business for making money. You can depend on that lake to be GREAT EVERY YEAR. So you have to decide if you want to pass by Salto and ride an additional 1 hour and 15 minutes farther. About 2 years ago, the government started paving the dirt road from Cosala to our camp. Currently it is about 85% completed so this makes the trip even faster.
The conditions and atmosphere in Mexico are very calm and safe except in some of the border areas, but those areas above quieted down a lot since last March. This year will be an outstanding year with great fishing and lots of good times for those visiting our camps.
Don’t miss out on these great trips as you can’t recall the great years in your past.
HAVE FUN WITH YOUR FISHING & WEAR THAT LIFE JACKET!
Fishing Tips bass, bass fishing, boat, business, camp, capulin, fish, fishermen, fishin, fishing, government, lake, lakes, life, local, lure, lures, mexico, recommendations, salto, tackle, the fishing, to fishing, trip -
El Salto and Comedero News
Posted on October 23rd, 2009 No comments [Editor: this article first appeared on www.ronsfishingblog and may only be used by permission of Ron Speed ] El Salto
This week I want to give you an update on what is happening at the lakes in Mexico. We have some exciting plans for the future that will be great for our clients. El Salto fishing was very good last season and lots of trophy bass (over 9 lbs) were caught. In fact it just seems that the fishing continues to get better and better year after year. When the camp was built, I figured the lake would last the same as all the other commercially fished lakes, which would be from 1 to 3 years. Well, the fishing department and the local co-ops have cooperated with our recommendations and have not killed the bass in this unusual lake. Of course, all the operators on Salto pay for the stocking of tilapia each year and pay for an inspection boat and game warden to make sure everyone protects both the bass and tilapia. Based upon the past year’s good fishing we are adding some new things at our camp. Our plans are sometime during this season we will add a new tackle store stocked with all the red-hot lures. In addition, we plan to add a Jacuzzi in the garden outside the restaurant overlooking the lake. We also plan to have a room for clients who want a massage by a professional from Mazatlan upon request. We also plan to build a huge bar with TV out under the huge Capulin tree at water’s edge. We have had a small bar there for several years but it has been so popular that it’s not big enough now.
The lake level at Salto is 65% at this writing but we are in an El Niño year, which usuall means we will have more rain as the season goes on. El Niño comes about every 5 to 6 years. We have checked the bass fishing all summer long and it has been great so we are very excited to get the camp open next week. Lake Comedero
The lake level is almost full and this remote mountain lake stays great year after year. We never seem to have an OFF YEAR like many other lakes. Our clients always catch lots of bass and many are of trophy size. Comedero is a huge lake in size and it is never crowded with fishermen. The only reason it doesn’t have as many clients and camps as Salto is that it is a longer ride from the Mazatlan airport. The only time we ever closed this lake was 15 years ago due to all small fish. After I stocked it with Florida bass, we have been blessed with the best trophy fishing anywhere. Our competitors tell everyone that it is not safe to fish Comedero and my answer to them is HOG WASH! The truth is Comedero has the best safety record in all of Western Mexico and that includes over 15 other lakes. We have great relations with all the local people and they depend on our business for making money. You can depend on that lake to be GREAT EVERY YEAR. So you have to decide if you want to pass by Salto and ride an additional 1 hour and 15 minutes farther. About 2 years ago, the government started paving the dirt road from Cosala to our camp. Currently it is about 85% completed so this makes the trip even faster.
The conditions and atmosphere in Mexico are very calm and safe except in some of the border areas, but those areas above quieted down a lot since last March. This year will be an outstanding year with great fishing and lots of good times for those visiting our camps.
Don’t miss out on these great trips as you can’t recall the great years in your past.
HAVE FUN WITH YOUR FISHING & WEAR THAT LIFE JACKET!
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Spring and Fall Fishing and Mexico Update
Posted on October 16th, 2009 No comments
[Editor: this article first appeared on www.ronsfishingblog and may only be used by permission of Ron Speed ] Two Great Times of Year For USA Fishing
There are two great times of the year to bass fish here in the USA. One time is the spring of the year when the bass move into shallow water to spawn. During this time, the bass will hit most any kind of lure either to feed or to protect the nest and eggs or fry. The one negative for fishermen this time of the year is the weather, mainly the wind that comes in the spring. It can be somewhat dangerous if you venture into open water with waves too big for your boat. Also since this is a drastic change in seasons, most states still have cold fronts that seem to come every weekend like clock work. The bass will yo-yo from shallow to deep water until the water maintains a constant temperature above 60 degrees.The other time of the year that is great to bass fish is late fall. You don’t have the high wind to contend with and the temperatures are usually great. Also there are not too many boats on the lakes this time of the year as most fishermen are dove hunting, taking kids to school, or getting ready for deer season. Most rods and reels have been stored and won’t be used again until next spring.
But the bass are moving from deep summer patterns into the creeks to feed up for the long cold winter. These bass also will bite almost anything that moves. Just find some clear water creeks, go to the mouth of these creeks, and fish a spinner bait on the major point or just inside the creek on the first secondary point. If you don’t hit gold on these points then get into the creek bed itself and start fishing the sides of the creek also using a locator bait like the spinner. Once you locate the bass then you can switch baits to better suit the situation. It’s a great time to bass fish!
Mexico Update
WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD LATELY ABOUT PROBLEMS IN MEXICO?
I can tell you that you haven’t heard anything about violence or swine flu or anything negative. The reason is that nothing is going on now just like nothing was going on last March as I reported to all of you. The USA state department did the country of Mexico a great injustice when they issued a travel advisory for the whole country of Mexico. Then three weeks later they amended the advisory to say WE DIDN’T MEAN THE WHOLE COUNTRY OF MEXICO. That’s not what they said in the beginning and it absolutely crushed the economy of Mexico. The only violence in March was in the city of Juarez across from El Paso, Texas. The drug gangs were killing off each other in a turf war and 99.999 % of all those killed were drug guys and police fighting these drug guys. No Americans were killed and my info says no innocent people were killed. The soldiers moved in and in a short time the war was over. However, our media did not report a follow up saying everything was calm. That just doesn’t make good headlines.I sent my oldest son, Johnny, to Lake Salto last March knowing 100% that it was safe but it was hard to convince others as we have become used to the idea that our media and our government always tell us the truth. I do say that most of the time I too believe them but this time they all got it wrong.
What about the swine flu outbreak in Mexico? I visited Mazatlan in August and I asked Carlos how many cases of swine flu were reported in Mazatlan. To my surprise, he said “None.” Okay, how many cases of swine flu have been reported in the state of Sinaloa? He replied, “One (1) case and no deaths.” I told him we had had hundreds of cases of swine flu in Dallas alone and joked that he should not come to Dallas any time soon.
Last week my two grandsons who attend Corsicana schools both were hit with swine flu. Mark, the youngest (10 yrs) got sick on Sunday. He got a shot of Tamiflu on Monday and was feeling great by Thursday but couldn’t go back to school until today due to school rules. My oldest grandson, Matt (17) got sick with the swine flu on Monday but never told anyone so he could keep playing football. He is the starting middle linebacker on defense and was captain of the team and he didn’t want to miss practice or the game. The team had already lost several players the week before due to swine flu and Matt just refused to miss so he just kept quiet.
Now with all this info to set the record straight what do you think about all the hoopla we were fed last March and April by the media and the State Department? Time sure has a way of letting us see things much more clearly as the truth will finally come out given enough time.
Next up will be some pretty exciting stuff about our camp on El Salto. Would you believe a jacuzzi, massage room, tackle store, a huge new outdoor bar, TV in every room, and a new fleet of boats?! Stay tuned for these exciting news flashes.
HAVE FUN WITH YOUR FISHING & WEAR THAT LIFE JACKET!
-
Spring and Fall Fishing and Mexico Update
Posted on October 16th, 2009 No comments [Editor: this article first appeared on www.ronsfishingblog and may only be used by permission of Ron Speed ] Two Great Times of Year For USA Fishing
There are two great times of the year to bass fish here in the USA. One time is the spring of the year when the bass move into shallow water to spawn. During this time, the bass will hit most any kind of lure either to feed or to protect the nest and eggs or fry. The one negative for fishermen this time of the year is the weather, mainly the wind that comes in the spring. It can be somewhat dangerous if you venture into open water with waves too big for your boat. Also since this is a drastic change in seasons, most states still have cold fronts that seem to come every weekend like clock work. The bass will yo-yo from shallow to deep water until the water maintains a constant temperature above 60 degrees.The other time of the year that is great to bass fish is late fall. You don’t have the high wind to contend with and the temperatures are usually great. Also there are not too many boats on the lakes this time of the year as most fishermen are dove hunting, taking kids to school, or getting ready for deer season. Most rods and reels have been stored and won’t be used again until next spring.
But the bass are moving from deep summer patterns into the creeks to feed up for the long cold winter. These bass also will bite almost anything that moves. Just find some clear water creeks, go to the mouth of these creeks, and fish a spinner bait on the major point or just inside the creek on the first secondary point. If you don’t hit gold on these points then get into the creek bed itself and start fishing the sides of the creek also using a locator bait like the spinner. Once you locate the bass then you can switch baits to better suit the situation. It’s a great time to bass fish!
Mexico Update
WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD LATELY ABOUT PROBLEMS IN MEXICO?
I can tell you that you haven’t heard anything about violence or swine flu or anything negative. The reason is that nothing is going on now just like nothing was going on last March as I reported to all of you. The USA state department did the country of Mexico a great injustice when they issued a travel advisory for the whole country of Mexico. Then three weeks later they amended the advisory to say WE DIDN’T MEAN THE WHOLE COUNTRY OF MEXICO. That’s not what they said in the beginning and it absolutely crushed the economy of Mexico. The only violence in March was in the city of Juarez across from El Paso, Texas. The drug gangs were killing off each other in a turf war and 99.999 % of all those killed were drug guys and police fighting these drug guys. No Americans were killed and my info says no innocent people were killed. The soldiers moved in and in a short time the war was over. However, our media did not report a follow up saying everything was calm. That just doesn’t make good headlines.I sent my oldest son, Johnny, to Lake Salto last March knowing 100% that it was safe but it was hard to convince others as we have become used to the idea that our media and our government always tell us the truth. I do say that most of the time I too believe them but this time they all got it wrong.
What about the swine flu outbreak in Mexico? I visited Mazatlan in August and I asked Carlos how many cases of swine flu were reported in Mazatlan. To my surprise, he said “None.” Okay, how many cases of swine flu have been reported in the state of Sinaloa? He replied, “One (1) case and no deaths.” I told him we had had hundreds of cases of swine flu in Dallas alone and joked that he should not come to Dallas any time soon.
Last week my two grandsons who attend Corsicana schools both were hit with swine flu. Mark, the youngest (10 yrs) got sick on Sunday. He got a shot of Tamiflu on Monday and was feeling great by Thursday but couldn’t go back to school until today due to school rules. My oldest grandson, Matt (17) got sick with the swine flu on Monday but never told anyone so he could keep playing football. He is the starting middle linebacker on defense and was captain of the team and he didn’t want to miss practice or the game. The team had already lost several players the week before due to swine flu and Matt just refused to miss so he just kept quiet.
Now with all this info to set the record straight what do you think about all the hoopla we were fed last March and April by the media and the State Department? Time sure has a way of letting us see things much more clearly as the truth will finally come out given enough time.
Next up will be some pretty exciting stuff about our camp on El Salto. Would you believe a jacuzzi, massage room, tackle store, a huge new outdoor bar, TV in every room, and a new fleet of boats?! Stay tuned for these exciting news flashes.
HAVE FUN WITH YOUR FISHING & WEAR THAT LIFE JACKET!
-
A Secret Bass Fishing Lake in Mexico (Part 3)
Posted on October 14th, 2009 No comments
[Editor: this article first appeared on www.ronsfishingblog and may only be used by permission of Ron Speed ] I apologize again for the delay but a death in the family and a lot of unexpected travel made me late again. Maybe now I can get back to writing this blog every week. If you missed Parts 1 and 2, click here to start at the beginning of this series .
The Short Life of Palmito
At the end of the last blog Jose, my partner on Lake Guerrero, and I returned to Ciudad Victoria and began to get everything set up for opening up Lake Palmito. Our first two groups did exceptionally well and then came the summer rains, which brought the lake level up 40 feet and the lake turned muddy.I had booked the camp totally full for 6 months with no beds left. Then the bass quit biting with the high and muddy water. I had to cancel all of those groups and return all the deposits. That left us short on money but that’s the only way I know to operate: Honest and Truthful. When the fishing gets bad you have to cancel even if the clients get upset. This all happened in July so we waited until November to see if the bass would bite when the level stabilized.
The bass would bite a little in the winter but they were in 40 feet of water and hard to catch for fishermen not accustomed to fishing deep. I tried to open up in March but the high winds would muddy the lake and the fish stopped biting.
Finally in May we had good shallow water fishing and we were off and running again with a ton of clients booked. At this point, I will describe some things that happened over the next 2 years until we finally closed our operation on Palmito.
An Army of One
I had hired Jim Ruth from Corsicana, Texas to help manage the camp. Jim had lots of hair on his head and it was snow white. When Rio airways chartered our clients in the pilots would stay at the camp. One of the pilots was Herb Cunningham and he liked to bass fish. One morning I sent a guide with Herb and the other pilot up to the mouth of the North river where we had been catching lots of good size bass. Herb and that boat were trolling the bank close to the river when Herb felt a small thump on his ear lobe. He felt his ear and it was bleeding a small amount of blood. At the same time, they all heard a distinct PING of a 22 rifle from on top of a high nearby hill and at the same time a splash in the water beside the boat. The guide started up the motor and began to take off. Herb and his friend were down in the bottom of the boat trying to bite their lines in two with their teeth.They made it to the camp and rode the burros up to the top. They ran up to me and told me what had happened. At that very same moment, Jim Ruth, my manager, staggered over the wall next to the switchback. Jim’s snow-white hair was solid red with blood and he was holding his head in his hands. His solid white shirt was also red with blood. Can you imagine what went through my mind at that very moment? It occurred to me that we were at war with someone but we had no guns. I immediately sent Paco our bookkeeper to the nearest phone to call the Governor of Durango State and report what had happened. Within a few hours, we had maybe 50 soldiers in the camp. We sent all our boats and guides out with them to the North river where they caught this guy that had been shooting at Herb’s boat with a 22 rifle.
Now listen to this: Jim Ruth had not been shot in the head after all. He was riding one of the burros up the switchback and fell off, hitting his head on a rock. It was just a minor scratch that bled a lot. The shooter turned out to be a mental patient who had escaped from a nearby hospital. He was from a nearby village so he just went home and got his 22 and went to the mountains to hide out. He thought our boats were from the hospital coming to get him.
The Almost Well-Dressed Pilot
One of the Rio Pilots, a captain, was Richard Green and he took his job very serious. He always wore his neatly tailored uniform and his tie perfectly straight and his spit-shined black shoes were like a mirror. Richard flew the Beech 99 strictly by the book almost to a fault. The other Rio Pilots used to say they were afraid to fly with Richard because of his unwillingness to risk the weight of extra fuel in case the got into bad weather and couldn’t alternate to another airport out of the bad weather.My dad and brother Jere were at the camp and dad was coming out with Richard for a break. Dad told a joke at Christmas that year that Jere was running down the runway as the plane was taking off hollering, “Dad come back! Don’t leave me here in this God-forsaken place!” Not true but it got a big laugh from the family. The funny part of this story is that my dad had taken Richard’s shoes and put them in his carryon luggage. Richard was in his well-pressed uniform and barefooted. He had to fly the plane back to Dallas without any shoes but the most embarrassing time was when he stopped in Laredo, Texas to clear US customs. There was Richard, dressed fit to kill but totally barefooted
Fish On(?) The Coals
I had invited Virgil Ward down to make a couple TV shows. Later Virgil told me that the Palmito show was his very best in 30 years of doing TV shows. He got plenty of fish shots then started on scenery and extras. He loved the switchback and filmed all our clients riding the burros. I told him about how the locals would paddle out on the lake and fish all day with their tin can reels to catch enough fish for the family to eat. How they would build a fire and then lay the bass on the coals with the scale side on the coals. In other words they would open up the fish belly, take all the intestines, stomach etc. out then wash the body cavity clean then butterfly the fish with head still on, lay the fish on the coals until it was done, then take it off with a stick, salt it good and it was chow time. Oh my, Virgil had to get that on film so our guide built a fire and cooked our bass and then the camera guy started filming Virgil taking his first bite. All was going great until Virgil put the first bite in his mouth. All hell broke loose with Virgil spitting out the fish and hollering and running around like a chicken with his head cut off. I could not imagine what in the devil was going on. Well it turns out that Virgil had put a red-hot coal in his mouth that had stuck to the fish. Oh my, I wanted to laugh so bad, but of course I didn’t or at least I didn’t where Virgil could see me.I could tell you many more stories about Palmito but I think it’s time to close this blog on Palmito and next week go on to more exciting stories.
Good luck with your fishing and remember to wear that lifejacket. -
A Secret Bass Fishing Lake in Mexico (Part 3)
Posted on October 14th, 2009 No comments [Editor: this article first appeared on www.ronsfishingblog and may only be used by permission of Ron Speed ] I apologize again for the delay but a death in the family and a lot of unexpected travel made me late again. Maybe now I can get back to writing this blog every week. If you missed Parts 1 and 2, click here to start at the beginning of this series .
The Short Life of Palmito
At the end of the last blog Jose, my partner on Lake Guerrero, and I returned to Ciudad Victoria and began to get everything set up for opening up Lake Palmito. Our first two groups did exceptionally well and then came the summer rains, which brought the lake level up 40 feet and the lake turned muddy.I had booked the camp totally full for 6 months with no beds left. Then the bass quit biting with the high and muddy water. I had to cancel all of those groups and return all the deposits. That left us short on money but that’s the only way I know to operate: Honest and Truthful. When the fishing gets bad you have to cancel even if the clients get upset. This all happened in July so we waited until November to see if the bass would bite when the level stabilized.
The bass would bite a little in the winter but they were in 40 feet of water and hard to catch for fishermen not accustomed to fishing deep. I tried to open up in March but the high winds would muddy the lake and the fish stopped biting.
Finally in May we had good shallow water fishing and we were off and running again with a ton of clients booked. At this point, I will describe some things that happened over the next 2 years until we finally closed our operation on Palmito.
An Army of One
I had hired Jim Ruth from Corsicana, Texas to help manage the camp. Jim had lots of hair on his head and it was snow white. When Rio airways chartered our clients in the pilots would stay at the camp. One of the pilots was Herb Cunningham and he liked to bass fish. One morning I sent a guide with Herb and the other pilot up to the mouth of the North river where we had been catching lots of good size bass. Herb and that boat were trolling the bank close to the river when Herb felt a small thump on his ear lobe. He felt his ear and it was bleeding a small amount of blood. At the same time, they all heard a distinct PING of a 22 rifle from on top of a high nearby hill and at the same time a splash in the water beside the boat. The guide started up the motor and began to take off. Herb and his friend were down in the bottom of the boat trying to bite their lines in two with their teeth.They made it to the camp and rode the burros up to the top. They ran up to me and told me what had happened. At that very same moment, Jim Ruth, my manager, staggered over the wall next to the switchback. Jim’s snow-white hair was solid red with blood and he was holding his head in his hands. His solid white shirt was also red with blood. Can you imagine what went through my mind at that very moment? It occurred to me that we were at war with someone but we had no guns. I immediately sent Paco our bookkeeper to the nearest phone to call the Governor of Durango State and report what had happened. Within a few hours, we had maybe 50 soldiers in the camp. We sent all our boats and guides out with them to the North river where they caught this guy that had been shooting at Herb’s boat with a 22 rifle.
Now listen to this: Jim Ruth had not been shot in the head after all. He was riding one of the burros up the switchback and fell off, hitting his head on a rock. It was just a minor scratch that bled a lot. The shooter turned out to be a mental patient who had escaped from a nearby hospital. He was from a nearby village so he just went home and got his 22 and went to the mountains to hide out. He thought our boats were from the hospital coming to get him.
The Almost Well-Dressed Pilot
One of the Rio Pilots, a captain, was Richard Green and he took his job very serious. He always wore his neatly tailored uniform and his tie perfectly straight and his spit-shined black shoes were like a mirror. Richard flew the Beech 99 strictly by the book almost to a fault. The other Rio Pilots used to say they were afraid to fly with Richard because of his unwillingness to risk the weight of extra fuel in case the got into bad weather and couldn’t alternate to another airport out of the bad weather.My dad and brother Jere were at the camp and dad was coming out with Richard for a break. Dad told a joke at Christmas that year that Jere was running down the runway as the plane was taking off hollering, “Dad come back! Don’t leave me here in this God-forsaken place!” Not true but it got a big laugh from the family. The funny part of this story is that my dad had taken Richard’s shoes and put them in his carryon luggage. Richard was in his well-pressed uniform and barefooted. He had to fly the plane back to Dallas without any shoes but the most embarrassing time was when he stopped in Laredo, Texas to clear US customs. There was Richard, dressed fit to kill but totally barefooted
Fish On(?) The Coals
I had invited Virgil Ward down to make a couple TV shows. Later Virgil told me that the Palmito show was his very best in 30 years of doing TV shows. He got plenty of fish shots then started on scenery and extras. He loved the switchback and filmed all our clients riding the burros. I told him about how the locals would paddle out on the lake and fish all day with their tin can reels to catch enough fish for the family to eat. How they would build a fire and then lay the bass on the coals with the scale side on the coals. In other words they would open up the fish belly, take all the intestines, stomach etc. out then wash the body cavity clean then butterfly the fish with head still on, lay the fish on the coals until it was done, then take it off with a stick, salt it good and it was chow time. Oh my, Virgil had to get that on film so our guide built a fire and cooked our bass and then the camera guy started filming Virgil taking his first bite. All was going great until Virgil put the first bite in his mouth. All hell broke loose with Virgil spitting out the fish and hollering and running around like a chicken with his head cut off. I could not imagine what in the devil was going on. Well it turns out that Virgil had put a red-hot coal in his mouth that had stuck to the fish. Oh my, I wanted to laugh so bad, but of course I didn’t or at least I didn’t where Virgil could see me.I could tell you many more stories about Palmito but I think it’s time to close this blog on Palmito and next week go on to more exciting stories.
Good luck with your fishing and remember to wear that lifejacket.