07-11-2007, 03:06 PM
Mrs D and I went back down to Mexico for the holiday week. As previously reported, I was ill-equipped to handle the fishing down there last month. This time I had better stuff and did much better.
I went back out with the same panga captain. This time I was able to convey to him exactly what I wanted to do. We cruised the reef edges trolling large swimming plugs. Did ok doing this, catching several sabados--I have no idea what they are except they look like a cross between bonefish and mackeral and jump like hell. When the water was shallow enough to see the bottom, I was sight casting a 1 ounce squid jig to various reef fish. I could only identify the trigger fish, grouper, cabrilla and snapper. Some of these were in the 15lb + range. On 10 lb test with a light saltwater spinning combo, you would have thought I had a tarpon on. It was a blast. The captain had never had anybody using artificials bounced off the bottom and wanted to try. He had more fun than I did.
It was literally catch as much as you wanted. There were times when I would target a big cabrilla, only to have several other species run in before my jig got anywhere near him. The variety of fish and the spectacular desert Mexican backdrop on the islands made this truly incredible. Water was very clear near the reefs and you could watch all the small reef fish as you were fighting the bigger boys. Very colorful. Did not get a chance to use the sea kayak as it was way too windy on the bay.
On the way back in, we saw what looked like a small pod of dolphins. The captain motored over for a photo op. Not dolphins! It was a whale shark about 18 ft long. It was cruising along the top very slowly. We killed the motor to watch. He saw us and came right over. I grabbed my gear and went over the side to swim with him. Words cannot describe how cool this animal was. He hung around the boat about 5 minutes just watching us and then swam off. I have to admit to a high degree of nervousness initially, and never really overcame it. The mouth was the entire width of the body. I will post pictures when we develop them.
That evening we did a cocktail cruise with another couple. It was the four of us, several bottles of chardonnay and about 200 common dolphins for about an hour. We followed the pod as they jumped and played for about 10 miles. Many of them splashing right next to the boat. Simply mind blowing. Again, will have pictures of these also.
If you all get a chance, visit Loreto before everybody else discovers it. Incredibly cheap, charming, tons of wildlife, and the fishing is beyond world class.
Denver
I went back out with the same panga captain. This time I was able to convey to him exactly what I wanted to do. We cruised the reef edges trolling large swimming plugs. Did ok doing this, catching several sabados--I have no idea what they are except they look like a cross between bonefish and mackeral and jump like hell. When the water was shallow enough to see the bottom, I was sight casting a 1 ounce squid jig to various reef fish. I could only identify the trigger fish, grouper, cabrilla and snapper. Some of these were in the 15lb + range. On 10 lb test with a light saltwater spinning combo, you would have thought I had a tarpon on. It was a blast. The captain had never had anybody using artificials bounced off the bottom and wanted to try. He had more fun than I did.
It was literally catch as much as you wanted. There were times when I would target a big cabrilla, only to have several other species run in before my jig got anywhere near him. The variety of fish and the spectacular desert Mexican backdrop on the islands made this truly incredible. Water was very clear near the reefs and you could watch all the small reef fish as you were fighting the bigger boys. Very colorful. Did not get a chance to use the sea kayak as it was way too windy on the bay.
On the way back in, we saw what looked like a small pod of dolphins. The captain motored over for a photo op. Not dolphins! It was a whale shark about 18 ft long. It was cruising along the top very slowly. We killed the motor to watch. He saw us and came right over. I grabbed my gear and went over the side to swim with him. Words cannot describe how cool this animal was. He hung around the boat about 5 minutes just watching us and then swam off. I have to admit to a high degree of nervousness initially, and never really overcame it. The mouth was the entire width of the body. I will post pictures when we develop them.
That evening we did a cocktail cruise with another couple. It was the four of us, several bottles of chardonnay and about 200 common dolphins for about an hour. We followed the pod as they jumped and played for about 10 miles. Many of them splashing right next to the boat. Simply mind blowing. Again, will have pictures of these also.
If you all get a chance, visit Loreto before everybody else discovers it. Incredibly cheap, charming, tons of wildlife, and the fishing is beyond world class.
Denver
