The GPS says 5 hours 31 minutes.
Nope.
It’s more like 6-7 hours got to stop to pee, gas, stretch. Just a straight drive is too much for me besides, I’m not in that kind of hurry.
I also go to escape, emerse myself in a seascape dream. My life is fine, family and work, I have no wants but that seascape dream of cool, living in Phoenix, I gotta have it.
Im pecking this out on the 405 North, then the 91 East to the 60 East, to the 215 South then to the 10 East… hundreds of miles from home. We hustle on the road, listen to music and talk. I would write about the way Jim drives but he might read this so that’s out. I’ll just say I drive pretty fast but Jim drives aggressively fast, he talks to other drivers when he drives.
I don’t, I talk to you. You aren’t going to shoot me…
Typically I have a next trip planned, two weeks I’ll do a day trip to the Sea of Cortez. Everything is in place, passport, insurance and my car. I’ll take off at 3a to be at the border when it opens at 6a. The sea is one hour South of the border. We cross the Sonoran Desert, then skirt the Altair Desert, two very extreme hot and dry expanses.
But then you get to the sea. Cactus, rocks and sand, not like the California coast. So many different types of fish, diverse and dense. I love fishing there. It’s like the Forest Gump box of chocolates.
This trip the fishing was excellent! Could not have asked for a better trip, so much fun.
The catching?
I caught a small sting ray.
I never catch sting rays. I get stung by them.
Whatever.
I got to meet a couple of new friends, Mike Bell up on a Los Angeles beach. He was sitting by his surf casting gear, I threw him a nod as I was wound up walking past his spot. He got up and came over to me, asked me if I knew Al Quattrocchi.
“Yeah, nice guy.”
“You got his book?”
…and we chit chatted as fishermen do.
F-ck! Dude almost hit us! Ugh, driving through the mountains, road games.
Oh, we fished a little then drove to Canters and had lunch. I when to wash my hands and whoa, there is a dark small bar in back. So we had one drink after lunch. Got back in the car and drove the 35 miles back to Sunset Beach at Bolsa Chica.
I think I did well choosing Bolsa Chica as a base. There are three motels in a row. About the same price so I’ve got lodging. Kinda central to the beaches that have Corbina. I won’t name them as I’m not at liberty to do so. I can say the type of beach is more important than the name of the beach. I’m learning so much about this fish.
I’m getting to know a few great Corbina fisherman. I’ve fished with two now, I see a pattern in the type of beach, the fishing style. You don’t have to cast far however, you have to know how to cast and cast quickly.
Rick and I had a discussion on the beach as we took a break in between spots. There is a bit of a disconnect when describing where they are and what they are doing. Between the two of us we spoke of those terms and used them. I don’t see them being used and I’m not using them. If you look in social media for the guys that are posting the pics, one after the other, there is very little in the way of identifiable back grounds and no naming of those beaches.
And you won’t see that from me here.
I’m learning.
Even from Phoenix, as an inlander, I know the code. Better to know it.
Buzzing through Palm Springs now, short time to Chiriaco Summit, the engine whining as Jim has the accelerator mashed to the floor. 52+ mpg, Toyota Corolla hybrid. The engine is like a sewing machine.
My wife and I are headed to Puerto Vallarta in November. I need a ten weight. But my wallet needs a break. I want to cast flys to mahi from a panga yet that rod will only get bent a couple of times per year.
Decisions decisions…
No music on the stereo, that’s the reason I’m hearing the mashing of the pedal. Music is nearly always in the background. Not on the beach, it’s another reason why I love the sand. The sounds of the beach are soothing. The squawk of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, the shhh of the foam, the whomp of the shore pound.
Nature sounds.
Coachella valley, ready to climb up the East slope to the higher desert. On the GPS I can zoom out and see the Salton Sea. I understand there used to be quite a sea trout fishery there. That’s over now. I’m afraid I missed quite a bit of fishing even before I was born. Some of my favorites from a different era. I love getting the story.
Chiriaco Summit 26 miles.
I’m going to sign off now and work on the photos. My goal is to have this written today. I’ve got about as many minutes to finish.
