Biographical sketch and Analogies of the Fishing Club 2005
By Ignacio Zaragoza Curiel - Founder Member
. Once again... old and new notes:
The evolution of our club is noticeable. Each year its tournaments, participation, and prizes are getting better. Fishing has been excellent in all tournaments, picking fish of a very good weight while qualifying sailfish, marlin, tuna, and dorado. Attending is a guarantee for fun and entertainment. All of us who live together in the midst of sport fishing are waiting for you and we take pleasure in your visit, certain that you will be lucky and will score a good position.
 Juan de Dios de la Torre [+], promoter of our tournaments was the motivator who inspired us to found our club in the fifties. Being the tuna champion in New Scotland at the beginning of those years, he participated in several of our tournaments and people say that he stopped to attend because of the big prizes that were started to be given, since he only did it for the sport. Nevertheless, the interest to win something better was growing and when the first VW car (beetle) was donated the average attendance of 30 contestants rose to 45.
The Fishing Club was formed by the members Alfonso Uribe García [+], José Baumgarten Joya [+], Angel Gutiérrez Muro [+], Ignacio Zaragoza Curiel, Leocadio Curiel Montes, Oscar Reynoso Landeros [+], Simón Rodríguez Navarro [+], Antonio Moll Gil [+], Gustavo Javier Ruelas [+], Alfredo Villarreal Landeros [+], Luis Gutiérrez Ramírez, Benjamín Baumgarten Joya [+], Salvador González Gutiérrez [+], Anselmo Hernández Velasco, Efrén Calderón Arias and Cristóbal Ruelas Lepe [+]. Some of the former non-founding members are Dr. Antonio Topete Palomera, Salvador Solórzano Fórbes [+], Federico H. Zaragoza Curiel, Roberto García Armenta [+], Miguel Angel Escontría [+] and Oscar Rosales Rodríguez [+].
In memory of the deceased companions, we remember them with respect and admiration, dedicating a moment of silence to them..
 Attending an International Sailfish Tournament for the first time was a great experience and it was much more interesting when during a rough sea with a bit of a breeze hitting your face, you were seeing how either a part of a trembling sailfish or its anxious beak while trying to carry off the bait was coming closer to it. In that instance you gave it more line until you felt that it was the appropiate moment and seized it and just as it had happened so many times. you lost it. At the beginning of the tournament, prizes were symbolic. Nevertheless, a sportive atmosphere prevailed and filled us with enthusiasm when we received a silver cup or a tray, fishing equipment or an allusive trophy as a first, second, third or other place. This same happiness was sadness when we did not catch anything just as it is today, with the difference that when you win now you get a brand-new car, a completely equipped boat, fishing equipment, trips with spending money and lots more.
At the beginning of the eighties membership in our Club decreased, therefore new members were invited, conditions improved and such happy times as the present ones followed. From the sixties to the seventies we were approximately 20 members in the Club.
. Tournaments outside of Puerto Vallarta:
 On one occasion Dr. Efrén Calderón Arias, Alfonso Uribe García, Gaby Nuño Díaz and Ignacio Zaragoza Curiel traveled from our Club to Barra de Navidad to participate in a Swordfish Championship by teams. The teams were made up of three members and in order to form two teams the North American Margo Mason and Arturo Carvajal (marlin champion in one of our tournaments in Puerto Vallarta) joined our team. We were very lucky and we won the first three places, receiving gold, silver and bronze medals as individuals as well as teams. Thanks to our triumph, we also obtained the seat of this championship so that it would take place in Puerto Vallarta the following year, which was won by the visitors, just as we had done during their tournament.
Leaving the topic of the tournaments behind a little, we will mention some of the crews that we are still in our memories. They always took us fishing in tournaments or outside of tournaments, they made us pass adventures, they procured a good catch, they prepared ceviche for us and they provided us with pleasant moments, something that of course each one of you remembers. We will also mention something more in relation to the marine topic and due to the lack of space; some of the ship owners and fishing boats are left out, even though they hold a certain interest for those who shared together. I offer my apologies in advance for mention some of the nicknames used in the marine environment, because we might not recognize the people by their names, but we do remember them with respect, too. We met "tres pelos" [three strands of hair], his name was Alfonso Casillas. With his jokes and anecdotes, he was making Don Salvador González either mad or laugh.
. Constructors:
Amongst some of them were José Chavarín [+] (the father of Chayo), Ambrosio [+] who made canoes in Quimixto, Gonzalo Hernández [+], his brothers Luis and José [+], and Chayo Chavarín. After 1960, there was Juan Ramírez and recently Alejandro Perales [childer] and his family etc. At the beginning, some boats were armed for shark fishing and other commercial fishing.
. Shark fishing:
One of the main occupations of Don Modesto Güereña (the father of Lalo) was shark fishing in order to obtain shark oil, which was in high demand during the Second World War. His boats were La Lupita, el Tiburón, Santa Lucía, Normandía, Ixtapita, Nacho (who later belonged to Captain Antonio Moll Gil). They had camps in Boca de Tomates, the Marietas Islands and el Corral. They cut the meat open, they salted it, they first spread it out in the shade, afterwards they dried it in the sun and from there they commercialized it.
Don Rodolfo Gómez (the father of Popo) had ''El Macho Flojo" (the lazy macho man)' a motorized canoe that he was used for shark fishing and he did it in a way very similar to Don Modesto. They were using simbras on the Marietas islands and they had their shark camps, too. One of the places where they put the salted meat to dry in the sun was the boardwalk and it was sold in Guadalajara and Mazatlan. "El Choncha" was in charge of the crew. Jose Tovar [el bule] and "tres pelos" carried coconut oil, shark oil and homemade root brandy. In Boca de Tomates they also entered the river by boat in order to pick up bananas coming from Ixtapa.
Starting with fishing small fish was the awakening of the desire to catch bigger fish and one day even a sailfish. The marlin was almost an exclusive of the novel "The Old Man and the Sea." Once in a while our parents, just as it was done by other parents with their children, took us fishing by canoes with a stationary motor, hand rudder and paddle, slow but safe boats. Some of them were the Trinidad brothers (who in 1942 went hunting the shark that snatched a boy when he was going for a swim close to the seashore of what is today's boardwalk, and Serafin Chavarin (the grandfather of Trini), Elpidio Joya, Hilarión Gómez, Cayetano Curiel etc. Catching small fish was done by hand and with light equipment, property of the same boats. It was usually done driving along the coast starting at the pier in front of the Rosita Hotel up to los Tules or if very far up to Boca de Tomates. Sometimes you caught sierras, gallos, corvinas, garlopas, toros, pargos or agujones. You could do it with sardines, feathers, cucharas and some currican. During the season of sierras, they bit abundantly in such a way that they left the mere feather fishhook and with that one you continued catching them. Sometimes when opening them you even found fishhooks in their stomach.
When shoals of sardines came close to the seashore, sierras, toros, gallos and sometimes sharks came behind them. While you had or sardines you pulled caught all the sierras you wanted with a simple line or a fishing. People got sardines out by the buckets or they collected those fish that stranded on the beach, some as baits others for frying.
A more formal fishing was practiced by Don Salvador González G. (owner of the Hotel Rosita), amongst other people. He used to go out by boats and motorized canoes of the airline company Mexicana. He used heavy equipment. He pulled out medregales, pargos, swordfishs etc. In those days very few fishing tourists came and through his hotel Don Salvador promoted sports fishing. He was visited by friends such as the Maldonado family from Monterrey that participated in the tournament for a long time.
Serafin took some North Americans fishing in his canoe to the Bajo del Malinal and the Marietas Islands (which then were far away). Amongst them was a doctor Robinson who was a fan of catching medregales by hand with a thick cotton. Before that time there was another great American fan that came, Memo Puffer, whose characteristics were to be short, to be blind and to smoke cigars.
 Later in the sixties and seventies several sport fishing boats with diesel engines arrived and were assembled, a bit more comfortable. On this occasion we will leave out mentioning some of their names. However we will remember some of their captains such as: Alberto Gómez [+] [el mangos], Toño Pérez Briones [+], Chayo García [cantador], Chano Castillón, Salvador Joya [gorra verde], Manuel Medrano [el sierrra], Alfonso Ocaranza [tapate], Amado [el viejo], Sr. Solís [el mirla], Ramón Hernández [sácaro], Eulalio Delgado [el sordo, José María Delgado [chupimpi] and "el tripas", amongst others.
. Happenings:
During one tournament the fisherman "el trueno" while taking a French countryman along in his small boat, suffered a heart attack close by Chimo during the sunrise and fell into the sea, lamentably he died. "el trueno" did not have any legal problems because his family was aware that what happened to him could have happened to him any moment.
The captain Sebastian Michel [tan tan] taught Dr. Efren Calderon how to fish. When during a tournament the doctor had a huge swordfish escape him, Sebastian say: "Look doctor... I will teach you how to fish". The doctor calmly without getting angry and throwing the rod down on one side, answered him: you might teach me how to give shots... but the &%#$#&$#$%%"! you will teach me how to fish!
. Embarkation helpers:
Cayetano Curiel [+], Miguelito, Blas Joya [+] [papachas] and Florentino Biorato [gumaro] were very good in rowing. Carlos Acosta [+] [el quinto] who in more than one occasion, besides helping us to embarking, also reminded us to %$"#"/%$..
 Now that we have talked a little bit about the past, I share with you about the present that with new blood today we keep the same course in our club. Great illusions that evolve our tournaments, comfortable crafts, new crews and fishing techniques. However the most important thing is that even within the same sport our goal always has to be to preserve the specie.
I give thanks to Marcos Joya, Popo Gómez, Toño Güereña, Pepe Michel, Güello Chavarín, Dr. Calderón and Chayo García for contributing to compose out the present article. I apologize in advance for things forgotten or for mistakes [mind sometimes changes the history] but honesty makes the best out of our intention.
Lots of luck, good fishing and a warm greeting to all our anglers' friends.
Ignacio Zaragoza Curiel
E-mail: almacen_zaragoza@prodigy.net.mx
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