By Carlos from Team No Bananas

 

More than 20 years ago, Team No Bananas came down to the East Cape with Let’s Talk Hookup.  As soon as we stepped onto the Palmas de Cortez grounds the stresses of everyday life melted away.  The property and scenery were beautiful.  The people were so gracious and friendly.  We found out the local Mexican food was a heck of a lot better than Taco Bell!  We found out that the fishing was phenomenal.  We met some incredible friends.  We loved the vibe.  We were hooked on a peeling and were high on believing that we were in love with the East Cape.

From then on, we have been very fortunate to join the Let’s Talk Hookup gang on numerous trips back to the East Cape as well as Loreto and Alaska.  We were able to fish and explore some scenic places, but most importantly we’ve been able to make some great friends along the way.  This trip was special as it was the second year the tournament was dedicated to two of our dear friends Rich Topp and Deb Varos.  It was really nice that the Topp family and friends showed up in force.  Rich’s immediate family was comprised of Peggy, Donna, Gary, Gerry, Jeff, Audrey, Oscar, Nicole, Chad, Ottis and Iris.  They also had some friends come in from Georgia.  Of course it’s always great to hang out with Pete, John, and Mark.  It’s also enjoyable to be able to spend time with the other groups/teams and shoot the breeze about life, family, dogs, motorcycles, tackle, etc.  Some fun competitive banter sometimes surfaces during these tournaments as well.  Other teams have been known to try to sneak bananas into our coolers!  It all makes for a fun experience.

Besides fishing, there are lots of other fun activities that are available.  You can rent Quad ATV’s and explore the backroads.  I’ve heard there’s a cool waterfall that you can take the ATV’s to.  There is some great snorkeling at Punta Pescadero and the beach right in front of the old Rancho Leonero.  Pete raves about the scuba diving at Cabo Pulmo National Park which is a world-renowned marine reserve.  If you are a foodie there are numerous restaurants in Los Barilles.  Among our favorites are Smokey’s and Trini’s.  The fried red snapper at Trini’s is one of our favorite dishes in Baja!

For Team No Bananas our main focus is fishing and the variety down in the East Cape is second to none.   We prefer to go offshore and during this trip we caught and released 8 sailfish during the 2 days of the tournament.  Curtis, Nick and Dave were able to find some yellowfin tuna.  On their pre-tournament day they caught 2 nice size tuna around 70 pounds each. During the tournament they caught 3 more at 70, 54, and 15 pounds.  Peggy’s friends from Georgia decided to fish inshore and they caught a big 22 pound cabrilla, a nice size roosterfish, and they even caught a yellowtail!

Even though the tournament is a Fun tournament and is also free, Let’s Talk Hookup and it’s sponsors provided some very nice prizes.

Team Go Ugly Earlier with Curtis, Nick and David were able to finish first with some nice tuna.  Nick caught a 70 pounder which netted them the Rich Topp Big Fish Award of $1000 generously donated by the Topp Family.  They also won a nice Shimano Talica reel, 2 pairs of Costa sunglasses and a check for $200 from Statewide Stripes.

Team No Bananas with Drew, Cathe, Manny and Carlos came in a close second by catching and releasing a total of 8 Sailfish.  We were awarded two $75 gift certificates from Fishermans Landing and a check for $200 from Statewide Stripes.  We also won a pair of Costa Sunglasses for the Most Billfish released.

Team Cow, Bills, and Grills (Part of the Topp group) with Joe, Ernie, and Ryan came in third place with their inshore haul.  They won two $50 gift certificates from Fishermans Landing and a check for $200 from Statewide Stripes.  They also won another $200 from Statewide Stripes for their big cabrilla.

We are very thankful to Pete, Rick, John, and Mark for putting together these LTH trips.  Muchas gracias as well for the Palmas staff for their gracious hospitality.  And a muchas gracias especialmente to our Jukate crew Luis y Luis!  We’ve been fishing with Luis since our very first trip to Palmas and have gotten to know him really well over the years.   This year’s trip was again filled with many special moments.  We hope to keep this peeling going with future trips with Pete and the LTH gang.  Salud to great friends, good fishing, and no bananas!