bill erhardt

Tom....I'm putting a Garmin 740s on a new Bluewater that should be completed in a couple of weeks. Does the GXM 51 smart antenna serve as an antenna for both XM radio and the GPS?

Right at 4,300 hours on the water over the past five years translates to about 45 oil changes on Suzuki four strokes. Castrol GTX at every change and no oil related problems. I buy the GTX at Walmart for $2 to $2.50 per quart in 4 or 5 quart containers.

A lot of sets even come with an on/off switch.

Rick........Sounds like a great day! Those guys would have probably just got in the way anyway.........

Yesterday I fished solo on Thetis Bank which is outside Mag Bay on the Baja Peninsula of Mexico about 500 miles south of San Diego. For the past six weeks or so, except for a two week lull after Hurricane Jimena blew through, there has been a terrific wahoo bite at Thetis with hardly anybody fishing it. I arrived at first light and by 10:30 a.m. had 9 hoos to about 45# in the box along with 2 yellowfin about 25# and 30# that bit on wahoo lures. I tried some wire rigged cedar plugs, but only caught some smaller yellowfin. Here are pics of some of the hoos at the boat, and the fishbox with assorted wahoo and yellowfin.

Welder........Thanks for running this past Bill Thompson, and give him my thanks, as well. I ran these questions up the flag pole at THT, and the responses were pretty much consistent with what Bill said. http://www.thehulltruth.com/marine-electro...ter-radios.html The consensus was that I should focus on antennae to improve range on vhf communication. I've decided to live what what I presently have on my boat, which is an ICOM 422 and an 8' Digital 6 db antenna, and have ordered an 18' 9 db antenna to replace the 6 db 8' whip I presently have on my base unit. As luck would have it, a friend recently bought a new boat in the States with a flush deck that he is bringing to Mexico, and the new 9 db two piece 18' antenna will be delivered to him in Phoenix today for the trip down. I should have it next week.

Rick......This Seasmart service is apparently available in the continental US. I'm about 700 miles south of the border. "As a Sea Smart subscriber you can use your boat's VHF to direct dial our marine operators, who will then patch your call through to anyone in the continental U.S., with no call limits or overage charges. Ship-to-shore phone calls are now available. With the key of your VHF's mic, you're connected." Also, it apparently relies on DSC technology. In my experience the range on DSC communication is, if anything, a little less than regular vhf communicaton. "As a Sea Smart subscriber, you will receive your own, unique MMSI number that contains all your boat's pertinent information. And because your DSC-enabled VHF is connected to your GPS, Sea Smart can send that information directly to your home or office computer. Vessel location, trip tracking and poll positioning are now available. With a click of the mouse, you're connected."

I live on the Sea of Cortez in a sparsely populated area of the Baja peninsula in Mexico. It is not unusual to fish for one, or two, or three days offshore and not see another boat. A handful of fishermen maintain base vhf stations in their homes. With a regular 25 watt vhf unit one can usually maintain contact with somebody in another boat or ashore within 25 to 30 miles. I would like to increase that range, if it is practical. I think, but am not sure, that with a 2 meter radio comes an increase in power from 25 watts to 50 + or -, and a commensurate increase in range. My questions are: 1. Is it true that increased range in communicating with a regular marine band vhf radio can be achieved with a 2 meter radio? 2. Does a 2 meter radio require a different antennae than a regular 25 watt vhf marine band radio? 3. Is it possible/practical to mount a 2 meter radio on a center console fishing boat? 4. What unit would be recommended for either a base unit or a boat mounted 2 meter radio that would be used not for any other ham radio purpose but only to increase the range on marine band communication, and not also break the bank?

Tim.......Loreto was without electricity and water for about four days, and I just got telephone/Internet service restored sometime today. Jimena was a lot more potent than anyone expected. It stayed west and missed Cabo, but came ashore at Mag Bay as a catagory 2 hurricane. We had winds of 60 knots, or so, and maybe 6 inches of rain 80 miles or so from the eye of the storm in Loreto, but minimal damage compared to Lopez Mateos, San Carlos, Insurgentes, and Constitucion around Mag Bay, and Mulege and Santa Rosalia to the north which it nailed when it came across the peninsula. With telephone service, things are pretty much back to normal in Loreto, but it will be awhile for the other towns that had a closer encounter with the surly lady.

Tim.......Thanks for your concern. It looks like Jimena is going to stay in the Pacific on the west side of the Baja peninsula. We should get wind and rain here in Loreto, but it looks like the west coast will suffer the brunt of it. Yesterday in the calm before the storm I trailered my boat across to Mag Bay and fished Thetis Bank where there has been a terrific wahoo bite for the past couple of weeks, and which is directly in the path of Jimena. I arrived at Thetis around 8:00 a.m. and by 9:45 had my limit of 5 wahoo in the boat. I was back in Loreto by late afternoon to batten down for what we get of the storm.

"Bring The Sand Bar back to ReelBoating.com as a category with 4-5 sub categories. These categories are somewhat off-topic categories and not necessarily promoting any type of adult oriented discussions. No adult oriented photos: Bikini pictures maximum - and only those related to the outdoors. No political discussion of any kind Funny videos area - non lewd! Sports area for brackets, discussion, bets during season etc." Sounds like a slippery slope to me. Why not add the sports betting and miscellaneous non boating/fishing topics the your present Sand Bar and leave this forum as it is? It is nice now not to have to sort through so much extraneous stuff.

That is a great and informative report! It sounds like you have snook fishing down. I caught a snook once in Cuba, and another in Mag Bay on the Baja Pacific, for a grand total of two, but reports like this will encourage me to attempt to up the count sooner rather than later.

Tim, I've known Kenny for years and usually stop in to see him when in Cabo, if he's around. If he is, I usually come away with a couple of new Hi5's. Fishing is generally pretty good out of Loreto, which is why I settled here as a home base after spending a year and a half fishing up and down the peninsula. Loreto is known for the world's best dorado fishing in July, and sometimes lives up to its billing, but there are also marlin and sailfish throughout the summer and pretty consistent yellowtail action in the winter/spring. There are also about 10 islands offshore in the Sea of Cortez within easy reach in a day. And it is an easy 2 1/2 hour trip across to Mag Bay with the tuna banks outside in the Pacific. September through December I usually tow my boat across and fish the Pacific Banks for wahoo/marlin/yellowfin, although good fishing for pelagics continues in the SOC through October. On the downside, it is often windy enough to make fishing out of Loreto uncomfortable December through March. There are fishable days, but there are more days that you just hunker down and wait for the wind to stop. It is a lot like the Florida Keys in that regard. And, it gets hot in the summer. Most of the gringos who have houses here go north for August and September, although if you can deal with the heat some of the best fishing is when it is hottest. Occasionally hurricanes make their way up the Sea of Cortez, but most veer out into the Pacific as they approach Cabo, and the ones that do come north up the gulf are usually reduced to tropical storms or less when they get to Loreto. August through early October it is not only hot, but also humid. Alaska Air flies into Loreto from the States. Loreto Bay is the most recent multi-million dollar devolopment near Loreto to go belly up. Not many here are mourning its demise. There are two more start-ups of similar size in the works that will almost certainly meet a similar fate. Loreto Bay took over an existing golf course when they were flying high and raking in deposits. It is now closed along with the hotels and other LB projects. It is not clear at this time whether the Mexican government will step into the breach and maintain the course, but the clock is ticking and if they, or somebody, do not it will soon revert to desert. That, in a nutshell, is my take on Loreto. It's not perfect by any means, but fishing is my primary pastime and I've been here for six years now with no regrets.

Tim...... Loreto has a population of around 15,000. The closest town of similar size on the Sea of Cortez is about 90 miles to the north. It is not unusual to launch early, log over 100 miles, and not see another boat all day until I approach the marina on the way back in. There is a lot of talk of development, and start-ups that fizzle out after a short time, but things are really not changing very fast down here, in particular over the past couple of years.