My past 5/12/21 column climaxed in a great marlin angling adventure in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Cabo lies on the southern tip of the Baha Peninsula. While I’d like to recommend a Cabo deep sea fishing adventure with Captain Nicholas aboard his 30’ twin-engine “Mahi Mahi,” it is only right to look at the alternatives. To make a fair comparison, I’ll limit myself to southern climes.

I’ve personally experienced fishing adventures in Hawaii, Costa Rica, The Virgin Islands, Florida, and Porto Vallarta, Mexico. While the overall beauty of Cabos doesn’t compare to Hawaii with its volcanoes and Pearl Harbor, Cabos is much closer and far less expensive. Cabos also offers better fishing than Hawaii for a greater variety of fish.

Costa Rica offers two very different fishing options. The east coast offers tarpon, sharks, and jungle river fishing. The west coast offers resorts, beaches, and billfish including sailfish and marlin. Costa Rica is beautiful, but the Baha offers more billfish than any place in the world including Australia.

I’ve not fished the Florida Keys or the gulf coast of Louisiana, but it is something I want to try. I had a good Virgin Islands fishing experience with my grandchildren, but there was little else to do except for lying on a beach, and for me, that’s good for about five minutes.

Getting back to Cabo, Sioux Falls offers direct flights to Dallas with connections to Cabo from Dallas. Unlike other parts of Mexico, Cabo is safe. It does not have a third world atmosphere, and we felt at ease all hours of the day and night. Go for it! Don’t wait until a next year that may never come.

If I didn’t already have a place to stay at my daughter’s, I’d book a resort hotel on the Pacific side with its fabulous beaches. When Lisa and I fished the Pacific side, we saw numerous anglers casting into the surf. They’d run down and cast as the sea receded, and then hustle back up the beach as the powerful surf advanced. I’d like to bring my own tackle along and try that. They were targeting snapper, groupers, mackerels, and jacks.

Golf courses were numerous, and prices, including fine restaurants, were reasonable. Consider July through October for great fishing. We were there in April when crowds were minimal. Give Captain Nicholas a call, and tell him that that old South Dakota guy sent you. Oh, you’ll need a passport.

Just in case you mistakenly thought that I was more or less well-balanced mentally, I’m not. For most of my life I’ve suffered from an obsessivecompulsive disorder. I’m cheap! “Tight” would be a better word, but it only applies to myself. Fortunately, I think I’m generous around friends and family. I believe the disorder goes back to my youth and my father. When dad came home from work at night, he’d yell “lights” as he stepped through the doorway. Of course every light in the house was on. I still roam around our house, or the homes of my daughters’, flipping off light switches.

When we went to Hawaii a few years ago, I waited in the car while the rest of the family bombed around the beautiful mountains on ATV’s. I really wanted to do it, but I didn’t want to spend the money on myself. When we go out to eat, I get the cheapest thing on the menu when I’d love to have shrimp or steak. I always drink water though I love iced-tea. Betsy cuts my hair as I don’t want to pay barbershop prices.

When we went hunting in Argentina fifteen years ago, I sat in the lodge at night while the rest of the guys bagged the over-populated mountain lions over bait. I wouldn’t spend the extra six-hundred dollars! I’ve passed numerous shots at African game for the same reason. When would I learn that the greatest expense was getting there – not the hunting?

Fortunately for me, I finally realized the error of my ways as a lay in bed at night before the above-mentioned Cabo trip. I vowed to myself that I would encourage and finance every possible diversion, and I did - ATV riding over desert and beaches, sunset cruises, picking up the restaurant tabs.

Well, confession is good for the soul, and I think I’ve got it whipped although Betsy will still cut my hair as I’ve no desire to look younger than I am. Hopefully I’ve helped someone in my reading audience conquer this parsimonious malady.

See you next week.