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Gone Fishin’ – Mexico

Posted by Alana on

Following my enthusiasm after my initial foray into ocean fishing, my friend Nelson invited me on a deep sea fishing excursion to Mexico. I was graduating to the big leagues! Ok, more like advancing from little league to the minors, but for me… super exciting! This time, he declared a high likelihood that we would catch some big, sashimi-quality fish.

Fishing

We were going to leave at 3am to drive down to San Diego, where we would get on a boat that would depart for Mexico at 6am and return to the San Diego harbor at 6pm.  We’d unload the tons of fish we’d (hopefully) caught, get back on the road and be home by 11pm. A long but awesome day! An added benefit of the early departure? You get to catch a nice sunrise at the harbor.

Gone Fishin Mexico harbor sunrise

I immediately got a bite with the first school of fish we came upon… and then lost it when it swam under the boat 🙁 The next fish I hooked… eaten by a seal before I could reel it in. I was starting to get discouraged. I really wanted to go home with at least one big fish. Thankfully, I got the hang of it and ended up going home with more fish than I knew what to do with. We got yellowtail, bonito, and calico – 10 fish all together!

Gone Fishin Mexico haul

The fish were 10-15 lbs, which were the biggest I’ve ever caught. I know that doesn’t compare to the more than hundred pound fish some people catch deep sea fishing, but I’m not gonna lie – pulling in those fish was hard and I was pretty pleased with myself!

Gone Fishin Mexico Alana

Feasting

With so much fish, we had to be strategic about how we consumed it. The yellowtail was fantastic for fresh eating, so we threw a series of sashimi parties and ate as much of it as possible. Good thing Nelson is going to sushi school and knows how to prep the fish.

Gone Fishin Mexico yellowtail jalapeno soy
Yellowtail – Jalapeno, Soy
Gone Fishin Mexico yellowtail serrano soy
Yellowtail – Serrano, Soy, Sesame
Gone Fishin Mexico yellowtail caper onion olive oil
Yellowtail – Caper, Red Onion, Olive Oil
Gone Fishin Mexico yellowtail togarashi sesame oil
Yellowtail – Togarashi, Sesame Oil
Gone Fishin Mexico yellowtail soy ginger
Yellowtail – Soy, Ginger
Gone Fishin Mexico yellowtail avocado togarashi olive oil
Yellowtail – Avocado, Togarashi, Olive Oil
Gone Fishin Mexico yellowtail lemon soy
Yellowtail – Lemon Slice, Soy
Gone Fishin Mexico yellowtail belly
Yellowtail – Belly

Even with all the parties, I ended up having to freeze some of the yellowtail. So we decided to can all of the bonito… and there was a giant pile.

Gone Fishin Mexico bonito

We seasoned with salt, pepper, jalapeno, bay leaf, olive oil, and some with curry as well. I went home with a flat of jars of the best home-canned tuna you’ll ever eat!

Gone Fishin Mexico bonito tuna canning

The calico I steamed Chinese-style. Check out my guessipe.

Gone Fishin Mexico calico steamed

A fun excursion followed by many great meals. I’d definitely do it again!

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