Baja Tour report

[C-level]

My wife, Sunshine, and I started our Baja tour early Monday (12/19) morning with the 13 hour drive to Abreojos, a great place to start. It is always nice to have such a comfortable place to stay like Chelo’s in town where we always feel at home. After some great tacos, a few cerveza and a great nights sleep, we awoke to an unusually calm morning. We launched down the beach from the pangas through tiny surf with a slight offshore breeze. Just past the surf line we were lucky enough to catch four perfect pacific mackerel. I pinned on a candy bait and threw out a cd-14 Rapala and we trolled out to the reefs. Though the weather was exceptional, the fishing was slow with only two calicos and a barracuda for 2 hours of cruzing the reefs.

After another relaxing night at Chelo’s we split the next morning to the Sea of Cortez side for a stop in Loreto for the evening.

It was a night we will never forget, at lease what we remember of it. We met some very cool Americans that bought us more drinks than we needed…then I found myself bartering with the cops to keep my wife out of jail (20 bucks was reasonable, but not the 50 they tried to get ), then we went back to our hotel to find a full blown piñata party complete with blaring speakers, bad karaoke, screaming kids and wailing on piñatas till 2 am. Stay away from The “El Dorado Hotel” in Loreto

From Loreto it was strait to Bahia Magdalena for a few days of camping. We tried to get way off the beaten path and find our own piece of the 65 miles of the upper panhandle of Mag Bay. Most of the roads were in fine condition.

After an afternoon of driving the mangrove lined shores we found a great camp spot with easy access to what looked like great fishing ground.

The nights were beyond moist which caused water to bead and puddle on everything that was left uncovered, but it was cool and comfortable outside. The nigh sky was perfectly clear for outstanding star gazing. Each morning at first light the sky was blue and clear and the ground was drenched. As soon as the sun came over the mountains all the moister was instantly turned to dense fog that thickly covered the bay.

When the fog finally burned off between 9 and 11am we headed out to the mangroves for a day of exploring and fishing. I knew that it was going to be good fishing when my first cast to the mangroves produces this broomtail grouper.

Not long after that came the first of three snook.

The fishing was outstanding anywhere the mangroves hung over 10 to 20 feet of water. It didn’t matter whether it was dead trees

or new trees

they all had fish if they had a channel next to them. Though we did not catch anything over 10 pounds, it was non stop action on tons of grouper (60+ to 10#), big spotted bay bass (to 3+#), three snook (to 10#), four snapper (to 4#), one corvina, one pompano, and one bonefish. It was a ton of fun for both myself and Sunshine!

We did lose several bigger fish to the mangroves that could not be stopped as well as several lures. The hot lure especially for the snook was a little known lure called the Berkley Frenzy, particularly the silver and black minnow. When we got tired of catching fish we toured through the beautiful mangroves.

Each night at camp we enjoyed the camp fire and our evening visits from kangaroo rats, mice and the howls of the many local coyotes.

After five days camping we packed up and headed to San Carlos on Mag Bay proper for a shower, bed and some of the best seafood anywhere, even the sea snail were delectable.
From there we decided to work our way back toward home. After a stop in Mulege to restock our supplies we headed out to camp at Punta Chivato for a few of nights on the Sea of Cortez.

Though the wind blew all night, we awoke to a beautiful sunrise over the Sea.

It didn’t look very nice on the water, but we had to try. We paddled around the point into 1 to 1.5 foot wind chop and hoped for the best. I spent the morning looking for some macs for bait as Sunshine yo-yoed around, but there was no bait to be found. So we tied on a couple of Rapalas and trolled around looking for some structure to fish. Having never fished the area before it took a while before we found some good reefs. We did end up finding some great structure in 90-120 feet of water ~1.8 miles offshore and had the whole area to ourselves. We stopped and yo-yo megabaits for instant hookups on 4# yellowtail snapper and one mystery fish.

Soon after stopping, a spot of birds came up just outside of us, so we trolling out to them. As we got to the birds I was ecstatic see a school of BIG yellows slowly swimming under them. I was a bit bummed that I didn’t have a surface iron on to cast at them, but we trolled the Rapala around them. Soon they sunk out without a bite. We sat in the area to see if they would come up again as I tied on a Tady C surface iron. After a ten minute wait they came up again about a half mile away, this time violently splashing and thrashing on the surface. We paddle as hard as we could to get to them, but they were gone by the time we reached them. That was the story of the day. We ended up seeing around 4 or 5 different schools a total of about a dozen times. We paddled full speed to get to them as they boiled, but most of the time they were gone by the time we got there…but when we did get there in time?!

That was the first cast of the day to boiling yellows, and it ended like this… 34 lbs

That fish thoroughly kicked my butt, I could not believe how strong it was. I pulled very hard with fresh 40# line, but the fish headed strait for the bottom and rocked me in the reef. Luckily it didn’t break off and after 20+ minutes it was aboard. A half hour later we again made it to a school before it sunk out
Cast number two on boiling yellows…

Unfortunately this fight only lasted about 5 minutes before the fish found the reef and broke off. We went back to chasing fish, but never got back on them. After seeing them through out the day I got a good idea of the ridge that they were moving along, so we stopped and yo-yoed before we headed in. After catching a couple more snapper I hooked another YT on the yo-yo. It’s initial run screamed all 120 yards of mono off my reel and well into my spectra backing before breaking me off in the reef…these were big and tough fish! Throughout the day we also enjoyed seeing several blue whales cruising the area.

The next morning we awoke to a nicer day with less wind, but more boats in the area. We were lucky enough to be very near the first school of fish that came up in the morning, but before I could get a good cast to them a panga trolled right through them scaring them down. We did not see them again all day, so we spent some time catching and releasing some more snapper. I hooked one mystery fish that steadily pulled 40# line with tight drag into the reef to break me off, it wasn’t a YT, but it was strong! Finally at the end of the day, after all the boats had left, a spot of birds began working outside of us. There was no splashing under them, but when we got close enough we could see a huge school of YT just lazily swimming under the surface. I got a good cast on them and after 5 cranks the line was screaming off my jig reel. Again this one put up a hell of a fight, but could not rock me in the 140 feet of water we were in. After ~15 minutes this one came to the kayak.

This picture cost me a nice chunk out of my knuckle and the fish a hole in its mouth, but we released it to see another day. That 30+ pound yellow was the biggest one I have ever released, and it was awesome to see it swim away. Very content we paddled back to the beach after the release. Back at camp I talked to the American boaters camping down the beach to see if they had any luck. They said that no one had caught a YT all week. They had seen them, but they were very boat shy and would spook before they could get close… I love kayak fishing!!!

Back at the beach we walked out to the tide pools on the point to watch the sun set. As we reached the very tip of the point we looked out on the water to see a mother and calf blue whales swimming down the coast. They kept getting closer and closer until they swam right past us, not 50 yards from the end of the point. That was UNBELEVABLE to see!!!

The next morning we decided to pack up and head home a day early as were totally content with the adventure we had share over the last two weeks. For one of the few times in my life I had had my fill of fishing and looked forward to relaxing on my couch at home. After a 15 hour drive up the peninsula we were happy to be home, safe and sound.

What a trip it was, I wish I could convey all the little thing that we experienced through out the last two weeks… it was a trip we will never forget. I don’t know if we will ever top this one, but we sure will try! Baja is truly a kayak fishing paradise.

Happy New Year everyone!
Todd

[aguachico]

Todd;

Just talked to Chelo, I was asking about you guys. Great trip report. That camp ground at Punta Chivato is a great spot.

Art

[Arne]

Simply outstanding - and great pics! That's gotta be a trip of a lifetime. Thanks for letting us in on it.
Arne

[kurt]

Awesome report. Looks like a phenomenal time, especially catching all those beautiful grouper. Are you sure Sunshine didn't catch those YT's? :P

[fishinhb]

Thanks for the inspiration Todd. I'm hoping to make a Baja kayak trip for '06. Wonderful write up.

[tattuna]

Awesome report! Sounds like one helluva trip. It's amazing how much stronger the yellows pull in the Sea of Cortez compared to the ones out here! Your mystery fish looks alot like a the barberpole rockfish we catch out here..

[Iceman]

What a way to spend the holidays, making great memories. Thanks for sharing!

[steveooo]

Awesome pics and beautiful write-up. Thanks for the story

[Piranha]

Great report! I'm jealous. It's also cool to hear advice about what to avoid!(Stay away from The “El Dorado Hotel”) You mentioned the Frenzy. I donno how popular it is in San Diego, but in the L.A. and Orange County area, it's a very hot lure! My faves are the perch, the black gold(Excellent!), the fire tiger, and the chovy colored one! Just about anything can be caught on it, from halis to calicos! Piranha 8)

[Grego]

Wonderful Todd, like I was there, thanks for sharing.....those snook look neat...never caught one of those before.

Grego

[T-Rex]

Great report and pics! Really got me motivated to plan a Baja trip with the family this year. Thanks!

[gabe]

Todd, that is an awesome trip. I look foward to having the opportunity to do a trip like yours in the near future. Thanks for sharing and welcome back home

gabe

[Hook 1]

Now that's a great report. Love Baja.
Todd did you say Frenzy? :shock: 8)

[Lit-up1]

Thanks for the great report-
I have been looking forward to it and you did not dissapoint.
I have a need to get to those mangroves

Dave

[Dean Machine]

Great report. Those yellows seemed to be just an added bonus to an already great trip! Hopefully one of these days I will get a chance to go down there and try out the fishing for myself. I have just heard alot of bad things about the federalies and some of the locals down there and I'm not sure how much of it is true. Maybe someone could enlighten me.

[PEMEX]

The best thing about a trip like that is the next one will be as good, if not better. There are MILLIONS of beaches to camp, and all kinds of fish to target. Every body needs to do this once before it's gone! Killer trip!

[cabojohn]

That is really neat you and your wife travel & fish baja together.
Great story & pics. Happy wife=happy life. Looks like you had some good times and fishing. Congrats.

John

[Sebastian]

Great Report and pictures!! Thanks for sharing your adventure!

[lamb]

Simply awesome!