Shawn's Chronicles with Shawn Arnold

Shawn Arnold is publisher of the off beat outdoor quarterly magazine Fish Taco Chronicles. Shawn share's his fishing and traveling experiences that range from local Southern California spots to exotic locations such as Costa Rica and Mexico. Shawn's attitude is: "You might catch more fish than him - but you won't have more fun!"

About Shawn Arnold

I grew up in Lakewood, California honing my fishing skills on bluegill at Heartwell Park and bonito off the Seal Beach Jetty. Though I loved to fish as a youngster, I was a baseball junkie and did not have the time to fish as much as I would have liked to.

In high school between games or leagues, I still found a way to get to Catalina about 10 times a year on an overnighter from one of our local landings. My hard work in baseball did pay off, as I received a baseball scholarship to Long Beach State. My two years there taught me a few things. Number one — me and school did not mix. Number two — I had taken my baseball future as far as possible and had no chance to live my dream as a major leaguer. Number three — it was time to figure out what I was going to do with my life.

My father ran a machine tool trade publication and wanted me to join him. Soon after I went to work for him, we started a second machine tool publication called CNC-West. Having a steady income provided me the chance to pursue my passion — fishing. The publications sent me travelling a lot which gave me the chance to do some fishing in areas I would not have tried otherwise.

My work travels enabled me to catch gar in Florida, pike in Michigan, walleye in Wisconsin, salmon in Oregon and Washington and brown trout in Argentina. This is in addition to all the local fresh and saltwater species that so. Cal. has to offer.

In 1995, I took the publishing skills that I had learned and partnered up with a friend to start Fish Taco Chronicles. That gave me a chance to put my working knowledge into the activity I crave — fishing.

Fish Taco Chronicles is a quarterly magazine. The magazine has enabled me to fish and write about locations such as Costa Rica, East Cape Mexico, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas, Canada and Alaska. I look forward to bringing you my experiences and hope that you enjoy reading about them as much as I did writing about them.