Updated* Eye of The Storm - Campo La Poma, Baja MX - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Denis_Ruso · 09-11-2017, 10:55 AM

The next morning the weather appeared to have a break and the ocean was calm. We figured we had an hour or so window to get out and fish. Waves were down to 1 ft. Wind was a steady 1 mph and the rain had stopped at night.

We decided to give the water a quick try. The weather kept improving, and the hour window turned into a whole day of glassy calm conditions. We got caught off-guard and got a little sunburnt. We fished out front of bobs place and landed a few spotted bay bass, then paddled over to Punta Bufeo and picked off at the triggerfish and caught some Cabrilla for dinner.

Denis_Ruso · 09-11-2017, 10:56 AM

The following days were absolutely spectacular. The wind never rose above 5mph for the next 4 days until Friday where we had about 3 hours of 10-20 mph in the afternoon with glassy conditions in the morning and the evening. The mornings would always consist of fishing and the afternoons would consist of cooking or eating at the restaurant with the land owner Luis.

Getting off the water on Sunday, we had a fire drill of grabbing our rods and running towards jumping mullet with a 30 lb roosterfish comb following them in 2 ft of water.

On Monday we fished and dove Punta Bufeo. We did both an early morning session followed by a sunset session. My buddy lost a hook to a 10 lb Cabrilla. I landed my first hogfish followed by a 2nd hogfish. A friend of mine who is a newbie fisherman had the best luck of us all on this day. He landed a 17 inch golden grouper. The fish was photographed and returned promptly to the water. It took some explaining to him on how special this fish actually was. We ended the day with some Cabrilla and a hogfish for dinner. The days total was around 30-40 fish with the majority of them being pesky trigger fish. I also caught my first Jack Crevalle, although very small.

The days after that kind of all blend in together but I will do my best to recap chronologically.

On Tuesday, we fished Alfonsinas and Punta Willard. My friends stayed inside the bay and I went for a lap around the island to the inside of the bay. My friend on his SUP landed a 2 lb Cabrilla and I landed one the same size on a reef I marked on my paddle out. The paddle around the island produced small cabrilla. I did however land a few decent 2 lb cabrilla on the surface iron which was very fun around the other side of the island on the inside of the bay. I met a couple of BWE members on my paddle back through the bay Steve (DoD) and I forget his friends name. They had also seen roosterfish in the area. I made my way back and had lunch and some beers at Alfonsinas. My friends excavated some large whale bones on the shore and were in awe of the skeletal structure of the huge mammals.

Wednesday we intended to rent a Panga from Alfonsinas however we were unfortunate to find out that it had to be arranged in advance and we returned back to camp. We took the kayaks back to Punta Bufeo and fished and dove the coves. We found the cove just past the point had a large number of whale bones which we later found out from Luis that him and his family had to move dead whales from their land one year and they moved 27 whale carcasses to that cove. The storm must have uncovered much of what was buried by the sand over time.

We dove the cove but the visibility was not great.

On Thursday we had arranged Luis's brother Rodrigo to drive down from San Felipe and take us out fishing on a Panga. IF YOU DO ONE THING ON THIS TRIP, ARRANGE SOME FISHING TIME WITH RODRIGO. JUST WOW! Rodrigo is a wealth of fishing knowledge and really knows what he is doing in those waters. The truck drove right past our tents and we loaded up into the panga with our fishing and freediving gear. We launched the panga right in front of camp and were on our way to the islands.

We fished many reefs and all seemed barren of life. Unfortunately, we weren't having much luck and asked Rodrigo to take us to a diving spot near the island. During our move we saw a spectacular sight of 150 lb marlin jumping clean out of the water! This was just what we needed on a hot day. The water was 88 degrees. The visibility was spotty from 5 ft to a whopping 25 ft in spots. This was my favorite part of the trip. We saw triggerfish, hogfish, parrotfish, angelfish, cabrilla, damselfish, and many more. The island was full of life. We even got to shoot a nice 5 lb cabrilla.

Getting out of the water and moving farther we spotted a large area of baitfish. The baitfish were jumping out of the water but nothing was chasing them. We fished a football field long baitschool but the bite was very slow.... until it wasn't. A friend of mine landed a nice 8 lb Pargo, and that's when the sierra rolled in. We kept working the bait school and started hooking a few sierra. I got bit clean off on 50 lb fluorocarbon leader. Those sierra teeth are no joke. I couldn't believe it. We landed a few sierra and the bite slowed. We moved a little shallower as it seemed the bait moved and picked through small cabrilla and triggerfish. That's when Rodrigo hooked and handed off a 30 lb Roosterfish. The Rooster headed right for the prop but with a quick hand off and move of the panga we were able to land the rooster and take some quick photos. The fish was put back in the water and swam off on its own.

We fished a while longer and headed back to shore. Rodrigo fillet our catch of cabrilla, pargo and sierra right on the shore and we took out Sierra to the restaurant for dinner.

Friday we were exhausted from going non-stop since we got there and took our time in the morning. We got our scuba gear ready and dove Punta Bufeo from out kayaks. The diving was really amazing. We saw a few big Hogfish and Pargo hiding out in the rocks along with a lot of other life. It was so easy to dive without a wetsuit and it made for long and comfortable dive. I dove my longest dive at 84 minutes that's almost an hour and half exploring boulders and the micro life. Followed by another dive at about an hour.

Friday night was for packing and Saturday morning was for leaving.

Friday night we slept outside and enjoyed the view of a lightning storm over a glassy Sea of Cortez with nearly a full moon to illuminate the landscape and a silhouette of the island.

Heres a short video my buddy edited. https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=...&v=hy10huNEU20

SDROB · 09-11-2017, 11:39 AM

Nice, I like extreme weather in Baja. I was bummed I had to cancel out but couldn't risk the vados getting flooded and not being able to return on time for work.... I can't wait to hear the rest!

Denis_Ruso · 09-11-2017, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDROB

Nice, I like extreme weather in Baja. I was bummed I had to cancel out but couldn't risk the vados getting flooded and not being able to return on time for work.... I can't wait to hear the rest!

Hit me up next time you go. I'm dying to get back.

goldenglory18 · 09-11-2017, 02:20 PM

That video just sold me on it. Damn, totally regret passing this up!

How far out is that island? From the report you sound totally stoked but it seemed like pretty slow fishing.

How "4WD required" is that trip? Is it the sand/beach launches or is there high clearance required areas? I've never been to Baja so I really have no clue....

Denis_Ruso · 09-11-2017, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goldenglory18

That video just sold me on it. Damn, totally regret passing this up!

How far out is that island? From the report you sound totally stoked but it seemed like pretty slow fishing.

How "4WD required" is that trip? Is it the sand/beach launches or is there high clearance required areas? I've never been to Baja so I really have no clue....

The island is 4.5-4.8 miles from camp. I'm also certain that you can arrange a Panga to drop you and your kayak at the island if you wanted to avoid the 10-15 mile paddle. There are actually several islands out there. Some of the footage is from Isla Willard which is actually connected to land during low tide.

I am stoked on the trip, and I do feel that fishing was a bit slow in the sense of the size of the fish not quantity. We were catching 40 fish a day. The storm stirred things up and its also the tail end of the season down there.

4WD is really nice down there and really opens up your launch spots. But it's really not necessary. There is a hardpacked road most everywhere that gets to within 100-150 ft of the water. So all you need is kayak cart. 4wd just gets you up and down the beach and within 5 ft of the water.

SDROB goes down there in his Honda Accord with no issue.

Baja_Traveler · 09-12-2017, 06:00 AM

From the looks of the video, you had a great time despite the rough weather start. Awesome to get to tangle with a rooster.
Did you see Bob down there? He was supposed to be down first part of last week to check on the house after the storm.

Baja_Traveler · 09-11-2017, 11:44 AM

Wondering why you paid for an FMM when you could have got a 1 week one for free. You can even go online and fill out the form, print it out and just hand it to the guy to stamp when you get to the border (along with your passport or card) - goes a lot faster. HERE'S the Link. I'd also recommend getting the fishing license before crossing for the reasons you already encountered.

goldenglory18 · 09-11-2017, 12:06 PM

Awesome dude, I was actually thinking about you guys last week thinking you got hammered by the weather.

Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip....

- KT

Denis_Ruso · 09-11-2017, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baja_Traveler

Wondering why you paid for an FMM when you could have got a 1 week one for free. You can even go online and fill out the form, print it out and just hand it to the guy to stamp when you get to the border (along with your passport or card) - goes a lot faster. HERE'S the Link. I'd also recommend getting the fishing license before crossing for the reasons you already encountered.

I agree with the fishing license comment however the Mexican tourism fishing license website seems to have gone down and only the one for Baja Sur seems to be operational. I was able to purchase one prior to that however my friends waited till last minute and were not able to purchase online.

As far as the FMM there is conflicting information online. Our trip was a little open ended to extend it to 8 days and did not want to risk not having the FMM. In addition some online sources indicate that recently rules have changed that travel to Mexico for any amount of time requires an FMM.

goldenglory18 · 09-11-2017, 01:39 PM

Well done dude, I'm glad you guys enjoyed the b-day trip.

Let me know when you have recovered and we can go chase some socal yellows....

Denis_Ruso · 09-11-2017, 02:01 PM

Added my buddies video link to 3rd post.

Dannowar · 09-12-2017, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baja_Traveler

Wondering why you paid for an FMM when you could have got a 1 week one for free. You can even go online and fill out the form, print it out and just hand it to the guy to stamp when you get to the border (along with your passport or card) - goes a lot faster. HERE'S the Link. I'd also recommend getting the fishing license before crossing for the reasons you already encountered.

they all got gringo taxed. i don't even get one anymore

Dannowar · 09-12-2017, 10:01 AM

next time hit up miguel over at bufeo. he speaks very fluent english and knows some reallllly good dive spots. looks like you got a nice little weather window. too bad about the storm, vis could have been a lot better if the water could settle a few more days. very nice report and glad you guys had a fun time!

SDROB · 09-12-2017, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dannowar

they all got gringo taxed. i don't even get one anymore

x2 Ive never got one before. But I do my best to match the hatch. Rumor has it (even thou they have been saying this for years) they are going to be enforcing this in the near future. If this happens ill probably just get my dual citizenship.

Druko · 09-12-2017, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dannowar

they all got gringo taxed. i don't even get one anymore

I've been driving to Baja since the 80's and I've never gotten one or have been asked to show one.

Baja_Traveler · 09-12-2017, 11:23 AM

I've never been asked for one also, and I'm about 50/50 getting one - and I've never once returned it.
I have read reports on Vagabundos that people have been asked to show one down at the GN checkpoint. When they couldnt, they were instructed to head back home, because they were not going any further south without it.
I've always in the past got the free one, no matter how long I was going - I figured that worst case if I was checked on the way home what could they do - send me home?
This new turn in policy is going to backfire on them unless they make it so the form can be turned over while in the return side of the crossing. If they make it too much of a hassle, either nobody will get one or tourists will simply stop going.
Maybe Trump will get the idea to charge every Mexican National crossing north the same FMM fee - then Mexico really will pay for the wall...

Dannowar · 09-12-2017, 12:05 PM

Yup. Got checked and charged twenty pesos agriculture fee at guerro negro Jan 2

Glenlivinit · 09-12-2017, 04:53 PM

Very nice report, and enjoyed the video.
Looking forward to my first trip on the 25th, I will try and give half as good a story

chris138 · 09-12-2017, 06:15 PM

Great post Denis. Loved the video edit as well. Sometimes it pays to just go!

09-11-2017, 10:55 AM	#1
Denis_Ruso Senior Member Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 571	The next morning the weather appeared to have a break and the ocean was calm. We figured we had an hour or so window to get out and fish. Waves were down to 1 ft. Wind was a steady 1 mph and the rain had stopped at night. We decided to give the water a quick try. The weather kept improving, and the hour window turned into a whole day of glassy calm conditions. We got caught off-guard and got a little sunburnt. We fished out front of bobs place and landed a few spotted bay bass, then paddled over to Punta Bufeo and picked off at the triggerfish and caught some Cabrilla for dinner. Attached Images __________________ 2018 Hobie Outback 13 I do not fear the storm as it will teach me how to sail my ship. Last edited by Denis_Ruso; 09-11-2017 at 11:16 AM.

09-11-2017, 10:56 AM	#2
Denis_Ruso Senior Member Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 571	The following days were absolutely spectacular. The wind never rose above 5mph for the next 4 days until Friday where we had about 3 hours of 10-20 mph in the afternoon with glassy conditions in the morning and the evening. The mornings would always consist of fishing and the afternoons would consist of cooking or eating at the restaurant with the land owner Luis. Getting off the water on Sunday, we had a fire drill of grabbing our rods and running towards jumping mullet with a 30 lb roosterfish comb following them in 2 ft of water. On Monday we fished and dove Punta Bufeo. We did both an early morning session followed by a sunset session. My buddy lost a hook to a 10 lb Cabrilla. I landed my first hogfish followed by a 2nd hogfish. A friend of mine who is a newbie fisherman had the best luck of us all on this day. He landed a 17 inch golden grouper. The fish was photographed and returned promptly to the water. It took some explaining to him on how special this fish actually was. We ended the day with some Cabrilla and a hogfish for dinner. The days total was around 30-40 fish with the majority of them being pesky trigger fish. I also caught my first Jack Crevalle, although very small. The days after that kind of all blend in together but I will do my best to recap chronologically. On Tuesday, we fished Alfonsinas and Punta Willard. My friends stayed inside the bay and I went for a lap around the island to the inside of the bay. My friend on his SUP landed a 2 lb Cabrilla and I landed one the same size on a reef I marked on my paddle out. The paddle around the island produced small cabrilla. I did however land a few decent 2 lb cabrilla on the surface iron which was very fun around the other side of the island on the inside of the bay. I met a couple of BWE members on my paddle back through the bay Steve (DoD) and I forget his friends name. They had also seen roosterfish in the area. I made my way back and had lunch and some beers at Alfonsinas. My friends excavated some large whale bones on the shore and were in awe of the skeletal structure of the huge mammals. Wednesday we intended to rent a Panga from Alfonsinas however we were unfortunate to find out that it had to be arranged in advance and we returned back to camp. We took the kayaks back to Punta Bufeo and fished and dove the coves. We found the cove just past the point had a large number of whale bones which we later found out from Luis that him and his family had to move dead whales from their land one year and they moved 27 whale carcasses to that cove. The storm must have uncovered much of what was buried by the sand over time. We dove the cove but the visibility was not great. On Thursday we had arranged Luis's brother Rodrigo to drive down from San Felipe and take us out fishing on a Panga. IF YOU DO ONE THING ON THIS TRIP, ARRANGE SOME FISHING TIME WITH RODRIGO. JUST WOW! Rodrigo is a wealth of fishing knowledge and really knows what he is doing in those waters. The truck drove right past our tents and we loaded up into the panga with our fishing and freediving gear. We launched the panga right in front of camp and were on our way to the islands. We fished many reefs and all seemed barren of life. Unfortunately, we weren't having much luck and asked Rodrigo to take us to a diving spot near the island. During our move we saw a spectacular sight of 150 lb marlin jumping clean out of the water! This was just what we needed on a hot day. The water was 88 degrees. The visibility was spotty from 5 ft to a whopping 25 ft in spots. This was my favorite part of the trip. We saw triggerfish, hogfish, parrotfish, angelfish, cabrilla, damselfish, and many more. The island was full of life. We even got to shoot a nice 5 lb cabrilla. Getting out of the water and moving farther we spotted a large area of baitfish. The baitfish were jumping out of the water but nothing was chasing them. We fished a football field long baitschool but the bite was very slow.... until it wasn't. A friend of mine landed a nice 8 lb Pargo, and that's when the sierra rolled in. We kept working the bait school and started hooking a few sierra. I got bit clean off on 50 lb fluorocarbon leader. Those sierra teeth are no joke. I couldn't believe it. We landed a few sierra and the bite slowed. We moved a little shallower as it seemed the bait moved and picked through small cabrilla and triggerfish. That's when Rodrigo hooked and handed off a 30 lb Roosterfish. The Rooster headed right for the prop but with a quick hand off and move of the panga we were able to land the rooster and take some quick photos. The fish was put back in the water and swam off on its own. We fished a while longer and headed back to shore. Rodrigo fillet our catch of cabrilla, pargo and sierra right on the shore and we took out Sierra to the restaurant for dinner. Friday we were exhausted from going non-stop since we got there and took our time in the morning. We got our scuba gear ready and dove Punta Bufeo from out kayaks. The diving was really amazing. We saw a few big Hogfish and Pargo hiding out in the rocks along with a lot of other life. It was so easy to dive without a wetsuit and it made for long and comfortable dive. I dove my longest dive at 84 minutes that's almost an hour and half exploring boulders and the micro life. Followed by another dive at about an hour. Friday night was for packing and Saturday morning was for leaving. Friday night we slept outside and enjoyed the view of a lightning storm over a glassy Sea of Cortez with nearly a full moon to illuminate the landscape and a silhouette of the island. Heres a short video my buddy edited. https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=...&v=hy10huNEU20 Attached Images __________________ 2018 Hobie Outback 13 I do not fear the storm as it will teach me how to sail my ship. Last edited by Denis_Ruso; 09-11-2017 at 02:07 PM.

09-11-2017, 11:39 AM	#3
SDROB Malibu Stealth 12 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Hollywood, San Diego, Gonzaga Bay Posts: 512	Nice, I like extreme weather in Baja. I was bummed I had to cancel out but couldn't risk the vados getting flooded and not being able to return on time for work.... I can't wait to hear the rest! __________________ She will keep you warm in the winter and give you shade in the summer (Rossman) I'm telling ya, you have to keep these suckers on a game clip until just before you drop them in the frying pan.(Rossman)

09-12-2017, 06:00 AM	#7
Baja_Traveler Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Table 17, Bay Park Fish Co. Posts: 943	From the looks of the video, you had a great time despite the rough weather start. Awesome to get to tangle with a rooster. Did you see Bob down there? He was supposed to be down first part of last week to check on the house after the storm. Last edited by Baja_Traveler; 09-12-2017 at 11:29 AM.

09-11-2017, 02:01 PM	#12
Denis_Ruso Senior Member Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 571	Added my buddies video link to 3rd post. __________________ 2018 Hobie Outback 13 I do not fear the storm as it will teach me how to sail my ship.

09-11-2017, 02:20 PM	#5
goldenglory18 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Seattle Area Posts: 861	That video just sold me on it. Damn, totally regret passing this up! How far out is that island? From the report you sound totally stoked but it seemed like pretty slow fishing. How "4WD required" is that trip? Is it the sand/beach launches or is there high clearance required areas? I've never been to Baja so I really have no clue....

09-11-2017, 11:44 AM	#8
Baja_Traveler Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Table 17, Bay Park Fish Co. Posts: 943	Wondering why you paid for an FMM when you could have got a 1 week one for free. You can even go online and fill out the form, print it out and just hand it to the guy to stamp when you get to the border (along with your passport or card) - goes a lot faster. HERE'S the Link. I'd also recommend getting the fishing license before crossing for the reasons you already encountered.

09-11-2017, 12:06 PM	#9
goldenglory18 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Seattle Area Posts: 861	Awesome dude, I was actually thinking about you guys last week thinking you got hammered by the weather. Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip.... - KT

09-11-2017, 01:39 PM	#11
goldenglory18 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Seattle Area Posts: 861	Well done dude, I'm glad you guys enjoyed the b-day trip. Let me know when you have recovered and we can go chase some socal yellows....

09-12-2017, 10:01 AM	#14
Dannowar Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 1,823	next time hit up miguel over at bufeo. he speaks very fluent english and knows some reallllly good dive spots. looks like you got a nice little weather window. too bad about the storm, vis could have been a lot better if the water could settle a few more days. very nice report and glad you guys had a fun time! __________________ "Beware the lollipop of mediocrity; lick it once and you’ll suck forever." — Brian Wilson

09-12-2017, 11:23 AM	#17
Baja_Traveler Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Table 17, Bay Park Fish Co. Posts: 943	I've never been asked for one also, and I'm about 50/50 getting one - and I've never once returned it. I have read reports on Vagabundos that people have been asked to show one down at the GN checkpoint. When they couldnt, they were instructed to head back home, because they were not going any further south without it. I've always in the past got the free one, no matter how long I was going - I figured that worst case if I was checked on the way home what could they do - send me home? This new turn in policy is going to backfire on them unless they make it so the form can be turned over while in the return side of the crossing. If they make it too much of a hassle, either nobody will get one or tourists will simply stop going. Maybe Trump will get the idea to charge every Mexican National crossing north the same FMM fee - then Mexico really will pay for the wall...

09-12-2017, 12:05 PM	#18
Dannowar Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 1,823	Yup. Got checked and charged twenty pesos agriculture fee at guerro negro Jan 2 __________________ "Beware the lollipop of mediocrity; lick it once and you’ll suck forever." — Brian Wilson

09-12-2017, 04:53 PM	#19
Glenlivinit Junior Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Lake Elsinore Posts: 2	Very nice report, and enjoyed the video. Looking forward to my first trip on the 25th, I will try and give half as good a story

09-12-2017, 06:15 PM	#20
chris138 donkey roper Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Pacific Beach Posts: 968	Great post Denis. Loved the video edit as well. Sometimes it pays to just go!