San Carlos Mexico late Thanksgiving weekend report Kayak and boat

[fearnofish]

Late report for San Carlos Mexico. Drove down for Thanksgiving weekend to target my first yellowtail.

No problems on the way down except for the torrential downpour once I got to Hermasillo. Some construction and flooded roads had me turned around for a few minutes but I got back on track. Arrived in San Carlos later than I had hoped so I didn’t get to launch the kayak as planned. Headed over to a spot where the corvina can be caught from shore. I have seen some big ones (10 lbs plus) caught here and I have caught them up to six or so. None this evening except a small snapper type fish and a couple lizard fish before it started raining and got dark.

Got the gear ready that night and launched from this cove in the morning.



I made a quick paddle out to the point where I had heard the yellowtail and sierra were on the bite.


My goal was my first yellowtail so I went straight to the point where they were supposed to be. There were some boats trolling and a few using iron. Not much live bait readily available in San Carlos so I was geared up with Rapalas to troll and speed jigs which was my bait of choice. Once I got to about 85’ of water I marked a good bait ball with arches underneath. I dropped the jig to the bottom and started my amateur speed jig technique. After only about four cranks I got bit. There was no question what I had on. I had heard these fish pull hard but you just don’t know until you have one on. WOW is all I can say what a blast these fish are to catch!! It immediately started peeling line and I was a little worried I wasn’t geared up enough. I like using lighter tackle if I can and being a fresh water convert I always under estimate the power of salt water fish. Down in San Carlos I don’t think they see too many kayak fisherman as I saw allot of boats staring and pointing and cheering once I was hooked up. I do know a few people have made the trip down. After a back and forth tug of war I brought my first yellowtail to the gaff!! I was absolutely stoked!! It was only about 10 or 11 lbs but to me it was a monster! I was by myself so it was tough to get good pics.



I quickly got set up again and dropped again a few more time and BAM fish on!! This one was bigger and schooled me and broke off midway through the fight. I tied up again and to make a long story short I hooked up four more times but didn’t get another fish to gaff before the bite shut down. By the time I paddled back to the beach I was 5 jigs lighter than I started with. Mostly due to my newness to the speed jigging and a couple to the fish.



Spent a little time exploring that afternoon and went to the marina. Over the last few years I had corresponded with a few folks from the San Carlos fishing forum one of them being Fernando from Catch 22 Fishing charters who had given me allot of info on the area as well as pointers on speed jigging techniques. I stopped in to see him as I wanted to fish a day with him to learn a few things if there was a possibility of sharing a boat with someone. We looked at the weather and it looked like Saturday was going to be a little bumpy with pretty good winds. Once I told him I was going out on the kayak if I didn’t go with him we were on! (I think he was afraid I would get sea sick). I bought a few turkey sliders from him to replace the jigs I lost earlier. (cheaper that I could have got them in the states!)

We met at the dock at 6:30 and readied the boat. The weather seemed a little better than predicted and turned out to be the case. We headed straight to the point and the bite was on again right away. I think Fernando and Duncan had three or four to the boat before the bite shut down. We fished hard after that chasing the bait balls around with not much more to show for it. We decided to head out to deeper water and try jigging for Grouper. Caught a few small fish but nothing worth cranking up from 375’ down! We headed back in shallow and decided to try another spot Fernando had had success in the past. Right away we had a triple on! Reels were singing everywhere. What a blast!



This bite lasted much longer and we ended up the day with 21 yellowtail caught. They were all on the smaller side, I think the largest would have only gone 15 lbs or so. We kept some and released some too. All I knew is we were going to eat good that night!! After cleaning the fish Fernando graiciously invited me to join him for dinner at his brothers resteraunt. We brought some fish and this guy made absolutely the best fish I ever ate!! I went back the nest night too and did the same thing. It was outstanding!!

Over dinner I decided to go out with Fernando again on Sunday as the weather report was not looking good. Winds were supposed to blow pretty hard and they did. Would not have been kayak friendly. Sunday thankfully was a repeat of Saturday with a quick bite in the morning and a longer one in the afternoon. We ended up with 14 fish caught Sunday. I broke out the Curado 300 and put it to the test and it did not fail me! I had it spooled with 20lb floro and had a blast with it.



By the end of the trip I had blisters on both hands and bruises on both sides from jigging so much. I used both spinning and conventional gear. I have to say catching that yellowtail from the kayak was the highlight of my trip but fishing with Fernando, owner of Catch 22 Sport fishing could not have been any better. Not just because we caught a bunch of fish but because it was truly like fishing with my buddies. We all made fun of each other when we screwed up and just had fun. If I needed help with something I got it, but if I wanted to do it my way that was cool too. Great outfit and I would highly recommend them if you ever go down. I am guessing he could haul some kayaks out to San Pedro Island too.

The whole trip was fairly reasonable cost wise. Fernando’s prices were fair and the casita I rented was clean, had two bedrooms, full kitchen and bath for only 65 bucks a night. If you get the opportunity go!!

Andrew

[f'nsabiki]

GREAT STORY!!!!!! The pics are beautiful. I have some of those jigs. I haven't been able convince myself to use them--maybe now.

[roby]

Awesome pictures and story. In every picture you have the biggest smile; I know I would have one too with that scenery and fishing.

I remember you talking about this trip when we went to San Clemente. I was waiting for this report from you. It looks like you had an epic time....

[fearnofish]

It was a great time for sure Roby!! This was my first long road trip after losing the yak off the top of my truck when I was headed back to AZ from your part of the country. I was a little nervous but all went well. I added a couple extra straps!! Here is a couple more pics.

[bellcon]

Awesome
sounds like a great adventure

[Amish Ed]

Great report and I love that you did it all on light tackle.

[The Kid]

Man that looks like an awesome trip! Low profile reels in Mexican seas that must have been interesting. Again awesome trip and nice job.

[Whizz Bang]

Its been almost 18 years since I last fished San Carlos. Thank you for sharing, those are some great pics. It is beautiful down there. Congrats on the YT.

[SquidJig]

Thanks for the great story and photos. Looks like a dream trip. And congrats on your first kayak YT.

[fearnofish]

Thanks all glad you enjoyed it. It was a great trip for sure. That not only was my first YT from a kayak it was my first ever! I'll remember it for sure. For those worried about the border I don't it as a problem. Travel in the daytime and all is good in my opinion.

Andrew