Hi Group,
I am going fishing in the East Cape area of the Baja (Sea side). I have never
been fishing in the Baja before. My first question, what will I fish for and
what flies.. Answer: offshore Durago brought up to surface when my brother
in-law (hopefully) hooks up (bait) and reels fish to boat. The Durago will
follow the hooked fish to the boat. Now I could fish on the surface with poppers
or just below with streamers size 2/0. This means two reels. The fish could
weigh over 20 lbs so I am thinking a 10 wht. Now do I use a standard WF or
shooting head? Sinking/floating? If I use an intermediate sink, what sink rate?
My other fishing option is from shore. My fish, Sierra or Cabrilla. I believe a
9wht will work for these fish. My flies will be streamers 2/0. Now do I use an
intermediate sink here as well? Do I want an intermediate shooting head? Too
many choices, I need some assistance. I may have a guide for shore fishing, but
not for offshore.
Other fishing conditions to consider, I imagine I will have a good wind and chop
on the water.
Lastly, I am planning on fishing for stripers in the fall (which I have never
done). Can I duplicate any of this rigging?
Maybe I should just stay home and fish for trout, NO WAY!
Thanks,
Molly
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Molly...
I have fished East Cape on the Baja penninsula twice .... also, Cabo San Lucas.
On one trip I did well on Rooster fish. On the other, conditions were great but the sardinas which are the bait fish they feed upon didn't show, consequently, we only hooked up with a few small ones. One of our group (Laurence Baggett) did make a great catch when he landed a really large tripletail after making a beautiful cast with an anchovy like fly from the beach. On that trip we had found disappointment with the deep water fishing mainly because the captain of our boat was afraid to turn off his motor for fear it wouldn't start if he did. That meant that we couldn't get near the schools of fish for fly casting. We cancelled the remaining off shore days, and went with Gary Graham (great East Cape guide) who had a couple of ATV's. It was great fun running the dunes with our fly outfits .... spotting fish from them, then running down from the dunes to cast.
On a different trip, I did well with dorado (dolphin fish), pacific black skipjack, short fin yellowfin tuna, very large jacks and roosters from an offshore boat. Ironically, we weren't after those species, but were trying for striped marlin on a fly.... but the marlin were all over at Mazatlan (on the other side of the Sea of Cortez) so we never even saw one.
My choice for all of that fishing (except marlin) would be 9 or 10 wt. outfits with intermediate WF lines; sink rate not critical, quality SW reels with good drags, and lots of Spectra backing. For off shore fishing, poppers work well. They actually work better with the intermediate than floating lines. (On the retrieve, the intermediate line makes the popper pop, then dive carrying a trail of bubbles.) Many species will take these including Sierra (a kind of mackerel), Chiro (ladyfish), rooster fish, dolphin, and small tuna as well as skipjack and jack cravelle. On some days (as in Florida Keys waters) the dorado won't take anything. Most days they aren't choosy at all.
For shore fishing, you will want a range of flies including Clousers, anchovie-like flies, and poppers. Cabrilla and Cabezones are bottom feeders, so the Clouser flies work well for them.
Good idea to get hold of Nick Curcione's book on fishing Baja. As you may know, Nick is a great salt water fly fisherman with many years experience. He has spent a lot more time on those waters than I .
Let's hear from some of you who have had experience in those waters.
Before I answer your questions about striped bass, I'll need to know where you are going to try for them....and when. It makes a big difference. I grew up on Long Island catching them, and I go back and fish for them each October.
BETTER, YET: I'll ask Peter Minnick to answer your striper questions. He lives on Long Island. I've had many a great day fishing with him !
Jim Valle is a veteran striper fly fisherman in New Jersey. He can help, too.
Gordy
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From Robert Shigley...