One phrase I often say is “fish are weird”. I use this phrase to describe fish when the bite is tough, when people display strange lures they get bit on, and just the sheer volume of different fish species and designs that exist on this planet. I truly believe fish are some of the weirdest creatures on Earth, but humans have them beat – by far. Take a look at social media and you might gain a glimpse as to why.

Last week I had the pleasure of fishing with my friends Afran Abutin of Warbaits, Skyler and Jeff Khachadoorian, and Ryan McGaffick on Cedros Island, Mexico. The trip was planned with Jeff Mariani from Cedros Kayak Fishing as always. The crew all met up at a small airport around 6:15AM in Temecula, California and the plane was wheels up by 6:40AM with an arrival on the island around 10AM and fishing by 11AM. Our day of fishing started by catching eight rather large yellowtail before we moved into shallower water in search of the beloved calico bass. We found biters.

On our second day, we explored thick kelp forests hoping for mad weedless bites like some of us had experienced back in June. The bite and the fish had definitely changed, but we still managed to convince some large weedless-eating bass to drop their guard and that was a blast.

We witnessed the most insane day of yellowtail fishing we had ever experienced on our third day on the island. Yellowtail were frantically chasing our baits and we watched them hunt down and eat our lures on numerous occasions, which was incredible. The visuals fused into my brain are indescribable, and I love that. In total 37 yellowtail and countless bonito were caught on our artificial lures in about 5 hours, some of which were released and some of which we kept. Needless to say, our aching muscles felt the effects as we woke the next morning.

The backside of Cedros Island is probably the most rugged and scenic of the entire island. It seems to be relatively unexplored by the local panga operators, and thus very inviting for us as fishermen to investigate. It’s the kind of place where you swear you might see a dinosaur ravaging a seal’s carcass on the beach at any given moment. As a group we wanted to spend our last day fishing there hoping for a glimpse of giant sheephead, white sea bass, calicos, and hopefully even something completely unexpected.

At some point in the final hours of our last day of fishing, I looked up to see Jeff’s rod fully bent over and heard line screaming through the guides of his rod as it was peeled from the reel. We were fishing in sparse kelp and it did not take more than a few seconds for whatever beast he had hooked to find a stringer of kelp to get wrapped up in. Captain Paul maneuvered the boat to give Jeff a better angle to pull and free the fish from the kelp, just for it to get tangled again and again. After what seemed like 10-15 minutes, and a prayer or two, Jeff finally was making headway and the fish was being forced to make its way to the surface free from any kelp. As the fish approached the panga Skyler and I both placed a hand in each side of the fish’s massive gills and hoisted it over the port-side gunnel. We were stoked for Jeff and his black sea bass capture. After a few photographs were created the fish was released, as per Jeff’s respectable decision.

I often see pictures on social media that people post such as pictures of their gourmet meals, gym selfies, any and every fish they catch, new purchases, and more, and I often wonder why. Why do people feel the need to share absolutely everything in their daily lives? Why do humans share photos of seemingly ordinary objects and events? Are 439 selfies necessary, or do people get a general understanding of your appearance after the first? I even feel slightly contradictory myself for publishing this post with photographs from our trip, but in my mind and my friends’ minds these are standout moments worth capturing.

During the course of this trip the group as a whole took very few photographs. We caught large calicos and yellows that were released or put on ice without photos, partially to maximize fishing time and partially because “who cares”. I wanted to just exist and not focus on capturing the moment digitally, but rather fish hard and realize these experiences are locked into my brain regardless of whether or not I have recorded media for documentation. After all, not every fish, purchase, or experience requires capturing and sharing, nor should anyone really care. When you share on social media, consider the purpose and whether or not it really matters. I think you may find that very little of social media has any real value, other than maybe a temporary injection of dopamine straight into your brain.

Regardless of whether or not social media exists I will be fishing, and so will all of my fishing friends. We don’t fish for attention or because it’s cool, we fish because we think fish are the coolest creatures on the planet and the challenge of catching them is something we accept with a smile. I think if you’re fishing for attention you are fishing for the wrong reasons, and probably not having much fun anyways.

Thank you Ryan, Skyler, Jeff, and Afran for sharing yet another Cedros Island adventure with me, for existing in the present, for “fishing for the love, not the likes”, and for being my friends. I love you guys!

This is Jeff Rodgers,

OVER & OUT