San Carlos Mothership Trip Pt.2: San Pedro Island - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

dgax65 · 03-04-2007, 11:58 PM

When we left our merry band of fishermen they were sleeping soundly aboard the El Duque in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico. They were enjoying the restful slumber know only to those who are rocked to sleep by the gentle hand of the ocean....oh yeah, drunks also sleep like this. Lots of snoring. I woke to a beautiful sky painted in subtle blues and oranges by the rising sun. Took a piss and crawled back in my sleeping bag. I was tired. The next time I woke up we were anchored up in the lee of San Pedro de Nolasco, a small island off the coast of Sonora.

Typical of the islands throughout the Sea of Cortez and Baja, San Pedro has a certain rugged beauty to it. Whitewashed with guano, it rises almost vertically out of the water. The water's edge is pocked with caves and blowholes. The only green to be found was at the top of the ridge that ran the length of the island. The upper reaches of the island are covered with a hearty grass and seemingly out of place saguaro-like cactus.

The sheer rock walls continued down below the surface, with depths of 40-50 feet found just yards away from the shore in some places.

Kayaks were already in the water and the rest of the guys were rigged up and getting ready to fish. Not being a morning person it took me a little longer to get all my gear sorted out By the time I got on my yak the early risers were already exploring the area's fishing possibilities. There were probably twenty private boats fishing our side of the island in about 150-230 feet of water. Our lack of live bait was going to make things difficult. Many of us took dead mullet to chunk.

As the morning progressed, the yak fleet dispersed to try various methods to get the fish to bite. Chunk bait, squid, trolled lures, yo-yos and butterfly jigs; all were tried. The bite was slow throughout the morning. The PBs were in deeper water jigging and trolling with about the same results. An occasional bendo rod was seen, but they were few and far between.

At the end of a less than productive morning, most were ready to head back to the El Duque for lunch. Since I got such a late start I chose to stay out and do a little exploring. I paddled around the island and ran into Kurt, who was having a little more luck than I. Actually, I think it was more about the large disparity in skill level. Kurt had already caught and released several cabrilla and gold spotted bass.

Every time I crossed paths with Kurt he seemed to be hooked up. He was a steady producer throughout the trip. It's always the quite ones. No bragging; just one fish after another.

Several guys got some diving in after lunch. Seamus had been free diving in the morning and got all of us hopeful with reports of big pargo in our cove.

Having the dive gear aboard added another dimension to the trip. The divers were able to verify that we were sitting on top of a lot of big fish. That kept the hope alive even with the slow bite. Knowing that there were some big ones down there kept me tossing the iron and doing that stupid butterfly jigging (its been a week and my arm is still sore) long after I would normally have quit. Seamus would come up and say that he had seen large pargo or yellow tail in a certain area and we would rush over there trying every technique imaginable to get their interest. The fish that Seamus had speared also got the adrenaline flowing. He brought aboard several good sized pargo and cabrilla. As the fishing continued to be slow, the divers were able to break up the long, slow day with forays below the surface. Chris, Mike, Todd and Brent all got some dive time in. Seamus spent what seemed to be the majority of the day in the water.

Later in the afternoon the bite picked up. Squid strips were the key. After the private boats took off, most of us headed out to fish a ridge line that they had been congregating on. Cabrilla, yellow snapper, trigger fish, sculpin and other bottom fish were all taking the squid.

Brent was hardly able to control his excitement when he got a nice Pacific creole fish

I was having no luck trolling so I decided to try the squid. I paddled around in vain for a half hour trying to find an 80' high spot that everybody else had successfully fished. I couldn't find it, but all that paddling put me several hundred yards north of the rest of the fleet. As the sun was getting low, I spotted some birds working the bait about a half mile away. I had chased the birds a number of time already, to no avail. They would either move away or disperse before I could catch up.The birds always seemed to be diving on very small bait that was a little below the surface. To that point, I hadn't seen any real boils on the surface. This time was different. In the flat calm water I could see the fish breaking the surface; the golden, late afternoon sun reflecting off the splashing water. This was make or break time for me. I hadn't caught a thing to this point and the skunk was really starting to smell up my little corner of the ocean. I made a frantic call on the radio and started paddling toward the birds. I soon got my massively overloaded X-Factor up to flank speed. I was in true Magnum P.I. paddling form; sprinting after the birds. I looked back to see the rest of the fleet pulling in lines and coming up to speed. It reminded me of a squadron of destroyers steaming into harm's way. This sprint was turning into a marathon. The fish were boiling along a front about fifty yards wide, moving rapidly away from me. By the time I got close my arms were burning. The fish were just out of casting range and I started to think that I wasn't going to be able to catch up. Just as I start feeling the first twinges of cramps in my arms, the bait ball takes a hard turn towards the island. I'm able to cut the corner and get within casting range as they turn away again. I can now see the green backs of yellow tail breaking the surface as they attack the bait. I grab the rod off my lap and toss a gold Spanyid Maniac spoon. ARRRHHHHH!!!! OK; I wasn't expecting the lure to take off at a ninety degree angle to the direction that I wanted it to go. I frantically retrieve the lure and make another cast toward the rapidly departing fish. This time I placed the lure just beyond the boil. Two cranks and I'm on. I was so amped up by the chase I didn't realize just how tight I had the drag. The YT went under the yak, heading south, and I almost followed it under. It circled back and as it came up on the port side I bounced it onto the yak. Not big, but fun for the first fish of the day. I put a leg over it to keep it from jumping back out. No chance of that happening; the treble had one hook in the fish, one in my dry pants and one in the back of my leg.

I got things straightened out and went after the birds again. No more luck. We had a line abreast that covered hundreds of yards and we trolled all around this side of the island until the sun started to set.

The boat started calling us back. We had a long trip over to Tortuga and they wanted to get the kayaks loaded before it got dark.

I got back aboard and hit the rack within a half hour. I guess they had a pretty good dinner with all of the fish that were caught. Three hours of sleep over two days finally caught up to me. I was knocked out until we got to Tortuga later that night. Our adventure was just getting started.....

Iceman · 03-05-2007, 01:19 AM

Great Reading!

fishin steve · 03-05-2007, 06:00 AM

Fishin must be slow if were going to drag this report out over a week or two. Damit!

Holy Mackerel · 03-05-2007, 07:34 AM

Nice write up!

Here are some of my pics...

Met up with everyone just off the HWY 8 around 6AM.... headed to

Tucson...

The next morning motored to San Pedro to fish, and dive...

Some pics...

San Pedro Dive pics:

El Duke Dive Team!!! :lol:

Chris

Todd

Smoker Mike

Brent

Isla Tortuga...

We made bait...

Isla Tortuga dives...

Mike and I doing a "safety stop"

Todd with a scallop...

nightfall...

Ran into some dolphins and a whale on the way home...

Chris

Handymansd · 03-05-2007, 08:47 AM

Wow, what great pictures and write-up! Thanks for sharing!

tylerdurden · 03-05-2007, 09:06 AM

Here is my quick report.

The only non windy 1/2 day:

We caught lots of white fish:

The biggest rod and reel fish of the trip

. 12# cabrilla:

Adi caught a baby puss

Lots of this:

As an adventure it was awesome. We had a great group together, and we knew how to have a good time

. We caught lots of fish, but nothing spectacular. I took way too few pics, I was saving my memory card for big fish

.

chefstefano · 03-05-2007, 10:34 AM

great report! It almost made I was there

rastrev · 03-05-2007, 10:48 AM

Cool pics and write up guys! Looks like some good times.

lamb · 03-05-2007, 11:05 AM

Doug,

sorry you got stranded on these couple of Sea of Cortez Islands with a bunch of fisherman drunks who can't catch fish but love to brag about it. lol

Wind just killed that trip. I for one had a great time.

Day 1 – San Pedro Island

Bitchen sunset at San Pedro island:

Tortuga… You can’t really see how windy it was. I ventured a lil’ further out after some birds… It took me a while to paddle in – didn’t try it again.

Day 2 sunset at Tortuga

Wind finally slowed down letting us leave…

dgax65 · 03-05-2007, 11:21 AM

Chris
Thanks for posting your pictures. I knew that you would have some fantastic shots from your dives. We still need to get everybody's pictures and video compiled on a DVD.

Adi
Thanks for the pics. Hey, we couldn't have been stranded with a better group of guys. Lots of fishing knowledge was shared - thanks for the halibut lessons, Todd. Its amazing what secrets you can pry out of a fisherman after 10 beers

Sorry about dragging out this report. If it took us 5 days to live it, it can take you three days to read about it

I've just been way behind with work and other things since I got back and haven't been able to get enough time to do the whole thing at once. I hope that people don't mind the Reader's Digest approach.

Slay Rider · 03-05-2007, 11:32 AM

Great report – thank you for putting it together.

steamroll · 03-05-2007, 01:12 PM

Thanks for the reports guys.

Aguayak · 03-05-2007, 09:38 PM

Doug, thanks for a great read and pictures! Totally awesome read, and to the rest of that group, thanks for your picts and reports too.

Looking forward to "The Rest of the Story"

03-04-2007, 11:58 PM	#1
dgax65 Guerro Grande Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 629	San Carlos Mothership Trip Pt.2: San Pedro Island When we left our merry band of fishermen they were sleeping soundly aboard the El Duque in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico. They were enjoying the restful slumber know only to those who are rocked to sleep by the gentle hand of the ocean....oh yeah, drunks also sleep like this. Lots of snoring. I woke to a beautiful sky painted in subtle blues and oranges by the rising sun. Took a piss and crawled back in my sleeping bag. I was tired. The next time I woke up we were anchored up in the lee of San Pedro de Nolasco, a small island off the coast of Sonora. Typical of the islands throughout the Sea of Cortez and Baja, San Pedro has a certain rugged beauty to it. Whitewashed with guano, it rises almost vertically out of the water. The water's edge is pocked with caves and blowholes. The only green to be found was at the top of the ridge that ran the length of the island. The upper reaches of the island are covered with a hearty grass and seemingly out of place saguaro-like cactus. The sheer rock walls continued down below the surface, with depths of 40-50 feet found just yards away from the shore in some places. Kayaks were already in the water and the rest of the guys were rigged up and getting ready to fish. Not being a morning person it took me a little longer to get all my gear sorted out By the time I got on my yak the early risers were already exploring the area's fishing possibilities. There were probably twenty private boats fishing our side of the island in about 150-230 feet of water. Our lack of live bait was going to make things difficult. Many of us took dead mullet to chunk. As the morning progressed, the yak fleet dispersed to try various methods to get the fish to bite. Chunk bait, squid, trolled lures, yo-yos and butterfly jigs; all were tried. The bite was slow throughout the morning. The PBs were in deeper water jigging and trolling with about the same results. An occasional bendo rod was seen, but they were few and far between. At the end of a less than productive morning, most were ready to head back to the El Duque for lunch. Since I got such a late start I chose to stay out and do a little exploring. I paddled around the island and ran into Kurt, who was having a little more luck than I. Actually, I think it was more about the large disparity in skill level. Kurt had already caught and released several cabrilla and gold spotted bass. Every time I crossed paths with Kurt he seemed to be hooked up. He was a steady producer throughout the trip. It's always the quite ones. No bragging; just one fish after another. Several guys got some diving in after lunch. Seamus had been free diving in the morning and got all of us hopeful with reports of big pargo in our cove. Having the dive gear aboard added another dimension to the trip. The divers were able to verify that we were sitting on top of a lot of big fish. That kept the hope alive even with the slow bite. Knowing that there were some big ones down there kept me tossing the iron and doing that stupid butterfly jigging (its been a week and my arm is still sore) long after I would normally have quit. Seamus would come up and say that he had seen large pargo or yellow tail in a certain area and we would rush over there trying every technique imaginable to get their interest. The fish that Seamus had speared also got the adrenaline flowing. He brought aboard several good sized pargo and cabrilla. As the fishing continued to be slow, the divers were able to break up the long, slow day with forays below the surface. Chris, Mike, Todd and Brent all got some dive time in. Seamus spent what seemed to be the majority of the day in the water. Later in the afternoon the bite picked up. Squid strips were the key. After the private boats took off, most of us headed out to fish a ridge line that they had been congregating on. Cabrilla, yellow snapper, trigger fish, sculpin and other bottom fish were all taking the squid. Brent was hardly able to control his excitement when he got a nice Pacific creole fish I was having no luck trolling so I decided to try the squid. I paddled around in vain for a half hour trying to find an 80' high spot that everybody else had successfully fished. I couldn't find it, but all that paddling put me several hundred yards north of the rest of the fleet. As the sun was getting low, I spotted some birds working the bait about a half mile away. I had chased the birds a number of time already, to no avail. They would either move away or disperse before I could catch up.The birds always seemed to be diving on very small bait that was a little below the surface. To that point, I hadn't seen any real boils on the surface. This time was different. In the flat calm water I could see the fish breaking the surface; the golden, late afternoon sun reflecting off the splashing water. This was make or break time for me. I hadn't caught a thing to this point and the skunk was really starting to smell up my little corner of the ocean. I made a frantic call on the radio and started paddling toward the birds. I soon got my massively overloaded X-Factor up to flank speed. I was in true Magnum P.I. paddling form; sprinting after the birds. I looked back to see the rest of the fleet pulling in lines and coming up to speed. It reminded me of a squadron of destroyers steaming into harm's way. This sprint was turning into a marathon. The fish were boiling along a front about fifty yards wide, moving rapidly away from me. By the time I got close my arms were burning. The fish were just out of casting range and I started to think that I wasn't going to be able to catch up. Just as I start feeling the first twinges of cramps in my arms, the bait ball takes a hard turn towards the island. I'm able to cut the corner and get within casting range as they turn away again. I can now see the green backs of yellow tail breaking the surface as they attack the bait. I grab the rod off my lap and toss a gold Spanyid Maniac spoon. ARRRHHHHH!!!! OK; I wasn't expecting the lure to take off at a ninety degree angle to the direction that I wanted it to go. I frantically retrieve the lure and make another cast toward the rapidly departing fish. This time I placed the lure just beyond the boil. Two cranks and I'm on. I was so amped up by the chase I didn't realize just how tight I had the drag. The YT went under the yak, heading south, and I almost followed it under. It circled back and as it came up on the port side I bounced it onto the yak. Not big, but fun for the first fish of the day. I put a leg over it to keep it from jumping back out. No chance of that happening; the treble had one hook in the fish, one in my dry pants and one in the back of my leg. I got things straightened out and went after the birds again. No more luck. We had a line abreast that covered hundreds of yards and we trolled all around this side of the island until the sun started to set. The boat started calling us back. We had a long trip over to Tortuga and they wanted to get the kayaks loaded before it got dark. I got back aboard and hit the rack within a half hour. I guess they had a pretty good dinner with all of the fish that were caught. Three hours of sleep over two days finally caught up to me. I was knocked out until we got to Tortuga later that night. Our adventure was just getting started..... __________________ Douglas Gaxiola Team No Fish- Amateur Staff

03-05-2007, 01:19 AM	#2
Iceman Administrator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: 1-2 miles off the point Posts: 6,943	Great Reading! __________________

03-05-2007, 08:47 AM	#5
Handymansd Ancient Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: On The Water Posts: 935	Wow, what great pictures and write-up! Thanks for sharing! __________________ All men are equal before fish. -Herbert Hoover

03-05-2007, 09:06 AM	#6
tylerdurden Bad Clone Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 874	Here is my quick report. The only non windy 1/2 day: We caught lots of white fish: The biggest rod and reel fish of the trip . 12# cabrilla: Adi caught a baby puss Lots of this: As an adventure it was awesome. We had a great group together, and we knew how to have a good time. We caught lots of fish, but nothing spectacular. I took way too few pics, I was saving my memory card for big fish . __________________ MLPA, if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem Let the Fish and Game Commission know what you think about the proposed maps. Be ready for December 9th and 10th.

03-05-2007, 10:34 AM	#7
chefstefano Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: CHULA VISTA Posts: 19	great report! It almost made I was there __________________ LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST

03-05-2007, 06:00 AM	#3
fishin steve Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: santee Posts: 44	Fishin must be slow if were going to drag this report out over a week or two. Damit!

03-05-2007, 07:34 AM	#4
Holy Mackerel Señor member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 1,627	Nice write up! Here are some of my pics... Met up with everyone just off the HWY 8 around 6AM.... headed to Tucson... The next morning motored to San Pedro to fish, and dive... Some pics... San Pedro Dive pics: El Duke Dive Team!!! :lol: Chris Todd Smoker Mike Brent Isla Tortuga... We made bait... Isla Tortuga dives... Mike and I doing a "safety stop" Todd with a scallop... nightfall... Ran into some dolphins and a whale on the way home... Chris

03-05-2007, 10:48 AM	#8
rastrev Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: SD, CA Posts: 173	Cool pics and write up guys! Looks like some good times.

03-05-2007, 11:05 AM	#9
lamb Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,563	Doug, sorry you got stranded on these couple of Sea of Cortez Islands with a bunch of fisherman drunks who can't catch fish but love to brag about it. lol Wind just killed that trip. I for one had a great time. Day 1 – San Pedro Island Bitchen sunset at San Pedro island: Tortuga… You can’t really see how windy it was. I ventured a lil’ further out after some birds… It took me a while to paddle in – didn’t try it again. Day 2 sunset at Tortuga Wind finally slowed down letting us leave… __________________ [------------------------ <)))< ....b-a-a-a-a

03-05-2007, 11:21 AM	#10
dgax65 Guerro Grande Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 629	Chris Thanks for posting your pictures. I knew that you would have some fantastic shots from your dives. We still need to get everybody's pictures and video compiled on a DVD. Adi Thanks for the pics. Hey, we couldn't have been stranded with a better group of guys. Lots of fishing knowledge was shared - thanks for the halibut lessons, Todd. Its amazing what secrets you can pry out of a fisherman after 10 beers Sorry about dragging out this report. If it took us 5 days to live it, it can take you three days to read about it I've just been way behind with work and other things since I got back and haven't been able to get enough time to do the whole thing at once. I hope that people don't mind the Reader's Digest approach. __________________ Douglas Gaxiola Team No Fish- Amateur Staff

03-05-2007, 11:32 AM	#11
Slay Rider Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: 1 Posts: 108	Great report – thank you for putting it together. __________________

03-05-2007, 01:12 PM	#12
steamroll Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 385	Thanks for the reports guys. __________________

03-05-2007, 09:38 PM	#13
Aguayak Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 16	Doug, thanks for a great read and pictures! Totally awesome read, and to the rest of that group, thanks for your picts and reports too. Looking forward to "The Rest of the Story"