Baja Mexico Fly Fishing Encounters

Written by
Jeff deBrown
Owner/Guide
www.thereelbaja.com
1-888-287-4076

Water temp.
84 - 86 Inshore
86 - 88 Offshore

Air temp.
Low - 76
High - 96

Baja Mexico fly fishing update and report posted on October 13th, 2011.

Hi Folks,

While we started out this week hot and humid things have started cooling off for us.  We’ve had quite a bit of wind from the North the last three days giving us slightly cooler temperatures coupled with grumpy seas.  Our over night low’s have been averaging 73 degrees and our day time high’s have been around 90 degrees.

Our water temperature has started to fall slightly along the beach as well as offshore.  The winds we are experiencing currently from the North will continue to promote a slight cooling of the water.

On the fishing front things have slowed down from what we have experienced over the last few weeks.  We continue to see good fishing but it’s not the “red hot” action we had just a couple weeks ago.

Along the beach we continue to see some decent fishing for good sized Rooster fish as well as Jacks.  I have been out the last several days and I’ve had some very good success.  The fish are not in abundance but the fish we have in the area are quality fish.  Most of the Rooster fish have averaged around ten pounds with fish all the way up to 60- pounds being seen.  I had the biggest Rooster fish of my life race in and rub his belly on the sand trying to eat my fly.  He just plain missed!!  This fish was the biggest Rooster fish I’ve cast to all year.  Yes, we still have a few “grandes” in the area although it is pretty late in the season.

Inshore we have plenty of quality Bonita and Skip Jack to keep any fly fishing angler happy.  Most of these fish are located from Punta Pescadero to Punta Colorado.  They are averaging about ten to twelve pounds and giving us wonderful action.  Along with the Bonita we are starting to see a few more Dorado.  We have seen most of the action for the Dorado further to the North in the area of Punta Pescadero to Bahia de los Suenos.  They too, are averaging from eight to fifteen pounds with a few over thirty pounds being taken.

If you were to ask me a couple of weeks ago what the “hot action” was I would have said without a doubt Tuna.  Although we still have some Tuna in the area it’s not as good as it was a few weeks ago.  If you were to ask me what the “hot bite” is now, I would say bill fish.  Currently, the bill fishing is excellent!   We continue to see very good numbers of both Sail fish as well as Stripe Marlin.  Some of the best action for bill fish is taking place very close to home, just in front of La Ribera.  The fish have been very active between three and five miles offshore.  The best action we are experiencing is a little bit later in the day once the wind comes up and we have a good swell on the water.  Unfortunately, today was a day that you might have been better off staying close to shore as the wind caused some pretty rough seas.

Overall, the weather is starting to turn and the fishing is following.  We still have plenty of great fly fishing ahead of us as long as we do not continue to see the wind from the North.  It is forecast to return to normal in the next couple of days as it is quite early for the “El Nortes” to be here.  I will admit, the cooler temperatures we’ve been experiencing the past coupe of days have been pretty nice.

I will continue to be on the water here in the East Cape until the end of the month.  I will then head over to Mag Bay to run my live aboard trips.  My first trip is completely full but I still have a few openings on some of my other trips in Mag Bay.  If you’re interested, please let me know.  I am running a special in Mag Bay this year so if you’d like more information,  please contact us and we will be happy to give you all the details.

Until next time…Keep fly fishing

Eric, manager of Gig Harbor Fly Shop shows off his FIRST EVER Rooster Fish!

Blake from Gig Harbor Fly Shop and a nice football Tuna.

Eric and another great Tuna.

Eric and a very BIG Tuna on a fly rod!!!  Nice Catch!

Blake Merwin, owner of Gig Harbor Fly Shop and his FIRST Rooster on a fly.

Tuna destruction on Phil Wingo’s 11wt. rod–OUCH!!!

Phil Wingo and one of the Tuna who destroyed his rod.

Written by
Jeff deBrown
Owner/Guide
www.thereelbaja.com
1-888-287-4076

Water temp.
85 - 87 Inshore
87 - 89.5 Offshore

Air temp.
Low - 76
High - 96

Baja Mexico fly fishing update and report posted on September 19th, 2011.

Hi Folks,

As many of you to our North are starting to feel the affects of fall in the air with cooler days and in some cases nippy nights; those of us here in Baja are still enduring summer-like weather conditions.  We continue to see day time highs in the mid 90’s and over night lows in the mid to upper 70’s.  We have not been able to turn off the air conditioning at night yet but to be honest I am looking forward to cooling off.

The fishing is not cooling off one bit either.  We continue to see excellent fishing for Yellow Fin Tuna that we have experienced over the last several weeks.  Most of the Tuna are in the 15 - 50lb. range with a few coming in over 100lbs.

This past week I had the boys from Gig Harbor Fly Shop.  They came down to test out rods and catch a few fish.  We had a blast!!!  We pulled on Tuna in the 45lb. range and managed to blow up a few rods.  Blake and Eric said they didn’t know if they wanted to pull on a Tuna bigger than what we found.  Eric had one fish on for just over an hour.  It was a great time!

Besides Tuna we have some of the best Bill fish action I have seen yet this year.  Almost anywhere you want to go you will find Sail fish.  The Sail fish are abundant right now.  After catching Tuna; Blake, Eric, and I trolled for Bill fish.  It was not long before the first Sail was crashing the teaser.  We had four fish come up in just under an hour.  I know of a boat today that specifically went looking for Bill fish and found eight Sail fish and a Blue Marlin as well as a Stripe Marlin.  The Bill fish are here!!

If you are looking to fish closer to shore we have Rooster fish but once again getting through the needle fish is like solving a Rubik cube!!  We managed to get a few last week but it was tough.  If you are persistent and stick with it, they are here.

I will be on the water all week this week and I will be sure to report on how we do.  I am off to turn on the air conditioning.

Until next time…Keep fly fishing!!

Doug Hoff and a 45lb. yellow fin tuna.  Doug finally won the battle after pulling on this fish for just over two hours.  This is a great tuna!  Especially on a fly rod!  Great job Doug!

Javier Solis displaying one of the many nice Bonita he caught during his trip.

Javier, with his first ever rooster fish.

Written by
Jeff deBrown
Owner/Guide
www.thereelbaja.com
1-888-287-4076

Water temp.
85 - 87 Inshore
88 - 89.5 Offshore

Air temp.
Low - 76
High - 96

Baja Mexico fly fishing update and report posted on September 5th, 2011.

Hi Folks,

As we begin the fall fishing season. Things here in Baja are looking positive.  The first positive note for us who live here in Baja, or for those who are planning on visiting the area, is that we currently have no tropical activity in our region.  We still have a few more weeks to go, but as of today, the radar is clear.  We have seen some afternoon rain showers popping up around the region.  These showers have given us much needed moisture.  A few of these rain showers have been quite heavy at times.  We even came in early one day this week due to the intensity of the rain.

On the fishing front, most of the action continues to be dominated by the excellent fishing for tuna we are currently experiencing.   Most of the tuna have been associated with schools of porpoise.  The porpoise schools have been from very small, with just a few porpoise in them, to extremely large.  Almost all of the schools have been holding tuna.  Most of the tuna are in the 25 - 60lb. class.  We are also seeing good action for smaller tuna and bonita in the area of Ricon..  Most of the fish in this region have been on the smaller side averaging around ten pounds.

We experienced a few more dorado this week.  Most of the fish are in the 10-15lb. class with some fish as large as 35lbs. being taken.  We should start to see the dorado action pick up over the next few weeks.  We normally experience very good numbers of dorado during the months of September and October.  The rains we get this time of year, tend to wash debris out from the arroyo’s and into the Sea of Cortez.  We like this because something floating in the water tends to hold dorado.

If you are looking for bill fish we have plenty of them in the area.  We experienced a great sight this morning as we ran out to the tuna grounds.  We saw two sail fish swimming along the top of the water with their sail’s fully extended.  With the morning light glistening off their sail’s it was a beautiful sight.  Since the tuna bite has been so good most anglers are not targeting bill fish.  If you want to catch a bill fish on a fly now is the time!!

Along the beaches and inshore, we continue to find very good numbers of rooster fish.  Most of the fish are “schoolie” size but we continue to see fish between 30 - 60 lbs cruising the beaches.  The fish have been concentrated from the light house to the marina with a few fish in the area of Rancho Leonero.

In my opinion, the months of September and October hold some of the best fly fishing action Baja has to offer.  The temperatures are starting to cool off, the rains have turned the desert a beautiful green, the ocean temperatures are still warm, and all species of fish including, marlin, sail fish, rooster fish, dorado, bonita, and tuna just to name a few are in the area.  For the next two months Baja has some of the best salt water fly fishing anywhere.

Please remember we offering a fall special for the months of September and October 2011!!  If you are interested in the different packages we are offering please contact us and we will be happy to tell you about them.

I am on the water tomorrow as well as a few other days this up coming week.  I will be sure to keep you informed of the latest fly fishing news here in Baja.

Until next time….Keep fly fishing!

Above is Kevin “KO” O’Brien and his wife Tracey O’Brien showing off a few of the fish they caught while fishing with The Reel Baja!

Written by
Jeff deBrown
Owner/Guide
www.thereelbaja.com
1-888-287-4076

Water temp.
85 - 87 Inshore
88 - 89.5 Offshore

Air temp.
Low - 74
High - 93

Baja Mexico fly fishing update and report posted on August 8th, 2011.

Hi Folks,

The summer action continues to heat-up here in Baja!!  We are seeing hot weather and some pretty hot fly fishing over all.  We continue seeing very good fly fishing from all areas.  The beach is producing some very nice Rooster fish.  I know personally of a Rooster fish that was caught yesterday on conventional gear, from the beach, that weighed exactly 60 lbs..  My clients and I’ve had a lot of shots at Rooster fish in this range.  We’ve had some big Rooster fish that have rubbed their belly on the sand; chasing our flies….only to turn away at the very last moment and refuse.  We got a BIG Rooster fish a few days ago (see last report) and with all the nice fish around I’m hoping to get another one in the next few days.

Offshore the fly fishing continues to be very consistent.  We have wonderful action for some hefty Skip Jack in the 10 - 15lb. range.  If you haven’t caught one of these awesome fighters you’re missing out.  These fish are pound for pound one of the best fighters on a fly rod.

The big schools of small to medium sized Dorado that we’ve been experiencing over the last few weeks remain in the area.  We are not seeing quite as many fish as we did a couple of weeks ago, but we have enough in our waters currently to make every fly fishing angler looking to catch a Dorado on the fly very happy.

If you’re after Yellow Fin Tuna, we have a few in the area.  The old saying, “right time, right place” seems to be the call-to-action over the last several weeks.  I did hear of a few Tuna being mixed in with the Skip Jack as well as some good fish that were associated with a school of porpoise.  Over all, if you’re just trying to target Tuna it could be tough.  As we all know this could change over night so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Bill fish have been the star offshore this past week.  We continue to have excellent numbers of both Sail fish and Stripe Marlin along with the occasional Blue Marlin in our waters currently.  Each day most of the boats are getting multiple hook-ups and on average releasing between 2 - 4 Bill fish per day.  If you are looking to catch a Bill fish on the fly here in the East Cape of Baja– now is the time!!

I’m on the water every day this week fishing both offshore as well as the beach.  I will be sure to report the latest and I hope to have some great photos of my clients and their fly rod catches.  Stay tuned.

Until next time…keep fly fishing!!

Tim Lee and a BIG rooster fish from the beach. This is Tim’s second “grande” rooster fish while fishing with me. Tim got one slightly bigger last year.

Here is Jake Langer holding a quality rooster fish he caught while fishing with me.

A very happy Thayne Harrison and his first ever sail fish on a fly.

Bernie Balkely and just one of the many dorado around our boat that day.

Peter Widener and a Pez Gallo from the beach.

Written by
Jeff deBrown
Owner/Guide
www.thereelbaja.com
1-888-287-4076

Water temp.
85 - 87  Inshore
88 - 89.5  Offshore

Air temp.
Low - 74
High - 93

Baja Mexico fly fishing update and report posted on July 25th, 2011.

Hi folks,

We have had a lot happen here this week.  At the beginning of the week we were watching hurricane Dora.  Many of us were thinking we were in for a storm even though it is early in the hurricane season for our area to experience activity.  Dora stayed well off shore and was very weak as it passed our area.  The worst we saw from the storm was a little wind (not hard enough to keep anglers off the water) and some good sized swells the morning it was closest to our area.  Most of us were hoping Dora would provide us with a little rain but we did not see any moisture from the storm.

This week we have the East Cape Bisbee’s tournament.  The boats in the tournament will be looking for action off shore.  The boats should do well as we have plenty of action both offshore as well as inshore and along the beach.

Rooster fish - We currently have great fly fishing for rooster fish.  We are currently seeing very good numbers of big rooster fish in the 20 - 60lb. class cruising the beaches and feeding on bait that is holding tight to the shore line.  Some of the bait includes sardina, mullet, flying fish and small ballyhoo.  I spent the last couple of days chasing these wonderful fish from the beach and you can see our results above.

If you are fly fishing for rooster fish from a panga we currently have more small to medium sized rooster fish inshore that I have ever seen before.  Unfortunately we have so many pelicans in the area that it is almost impossible to fish for the rooster fish as the pelicans have learned that when a boat pulls up that the boat will be chumming with bait.  Every time you trow a sardine or make a cast with the fly the flock of pelicans is right off the back of the boat making it very, very difficult.  If you do get lucky and find an area that the pelicans are not concentrated be prepared to deal with needle fish.  This time of year they are abundant inshore.  So between the pelicans and the needle fish it makes for a frustrating day.  Especially when you see how many roosters are behind the boat when sardines are thrown.

Dorado - We have excellent fly fishing for dorado right now.  If you want to fly fish for doado Baja is the place to be.  We have clean, clear, blue water just a half a mile from shore and it is currently holding some very nice dorado.  Most of the fish have been in the 10 - 25lb. range with fish up to 45lbs. being caught.  Most of the action for dorado has been from in front of La Ribera to the light house.  The fish have been concentrated between one and five miles off shore.

Bill fish - We have some excellent fly fishing for bill fish currently.  If you want to catch a marlin or a sail fish on a fly now is the time to be here.  We have a very good concentration of sail fish as well as marlin between 2 - 10 miles off shore.  Some of the best action has been in front of the light house to Cabo Pulmo.  I was out with my client Thayne Harrison (pictured above) and we raised nine fish in one day.  Yesterday I was with a different client and we had three come into the spread at the same time.  The bill fish are here.

Tuna - We have some tuna in the area but they have been a log ride away.  The tuna have been associated with porpoise.  the school has been between 38 - 45 miles out.  If you are willing to take the ride the action has been very good for tuna between football size up to about 80lbs.

I will be on the water for the next several days.  I will be sure to let you all know the latest with the next report in a few days.  If you want to come down and fish I will be offering the same discount I offered last year during the months of August and September.  If you would like to hear about the discount please feel free to give us a call or drop us an e mail and I will let you know all about the special pricing we have for those months.

Until next time…..Keep fly fishing!