Baja Mexico Fly Fishing Encounters

My very good friend Steve and another awesome Jack!

Tom Read from Colorado showing off a great Jack while fly fishing from the beach.

Me enjoying the “little guys” on my day off!!

A school of larger Rooster fish swimming inshore.  We currently have many schools like this in the area!

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

Water temp.
72 - 74  Inshore
72 - 75  Offshore

Air temp.
Low - 66
High - 88

Baja Mexico fly fishing update and report for April 25th 2011.

Hi Folks,

This week was very busy here in Baja!  We had a lot of campers on the local beaches enjoying fantastic weather, good food, and time with family and friends over the Easter(or known here in Mexico as Semana Santa) week.  It didn’t feel like a typical Semana Santa this year, as we did not experience the strong winds from the North that we have seen over the past few years.  Instead, we had perfect weather with blue skies, flat calm seas and a light wind out of the Southeast keeping the temperatures that were in the high 80’s feeling just right!!

As far as the North winds, I think we are just about finished with them.  It is forecasted to be flat and beautiful the entire upcoming week.  With that we should start seeing the water warm up.  Warmer water will also give us great fly fishing.

This week we saw some excellent inshore fly fishing for Rooster fish and Jacks.  Everyone is asking if the Rooster fish are here?? They are indeed!!  We continue to see more and more Rooster fish each and every day.  The fish that have been in the area for awhile are beginning to show more interest in our offerings as their spawning cycle winds down.  We are encountering new groups of Rooster fish each day that are just arriving in the area and have not completed their spawn cycle.  We’ve seen groups of fish that are traveling in large packs.  Some of these packs are holding as many as two hundred fish.  Most of the bigger groups of fish have been Jacks, where the smaller groups of 15-30 fish seem to be Rooster fish.

Offshore the fishing just keeps getting better.  This week we saw some very good fishing for Dorado, Marlin, Sail fish.  The epic bite for large Bonita continued as well.  If it’s Dorado and Bill fish you’re looking for they have been scattered from areas of cardinal and the 10/10 all the way up to the 88.  With the full moon behind us, we are seeing the fish starting to feed during daylight hours.  A lot of these fish are still full of squid as our waters are inundated with them currently.  The fish have been responding well to the jigs in the color scheme of squid.  This is giving us a chance to bring them up on the lures and then throw a squid colored fly at them.

I will be on the water each day this coming week. I will be sure to let you all know how we do and if all goes as planned, I will have some new photos for you next week. 

Until then…..Keep fly fishing!!  

Here is Richard Ries showing off a great Jack we caught off the beach this week!

Here is Tim Harshbarger with another powerful Jack.  Tim has already re-booked and will be back in June to chase more of these guys!

Jacks crashing bait at sunrise.

Jacks coralling bait right on the beach.

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

Water temp.
73 - 74  Inshore
70 - 73  Offshore

Air temp.
Low - 64
High - 86

Baja Mexico fly fishing update and report for April 12th 2011.

Hi Folks,

The weather here in Baja is starting to get hot and the fly fishing is heating up just as fast as the weather.  This past week we had wonderful weather with clear skies, a lot of sunshine and virtually no wind.  We are at the tail end of the windy season and although we are not out of the woods yet, we are seeing better conditions daily.  I believe we will see another few days of wind before it finally stops for the season but we are very close to the end of the ”EL Nortes” for this year.

On the fishing front, we see some very good fishing in all areas.  Fly fishing from the beach for Rooster fish and Jacks is just a few weeks away from being in full swing.   Currently we have very good bait population along the beaches as well as inshore and the fish are taking advantage of it.  Each morning you can find the fish chasing the bait along the shore providing us with great fly fishing action.  We are still seeing a lot of fish that are spawning and not interested in what we have to offer but if you can find the right fish or school of fish they have been very aggressive.  If you find the right school of Jacks they are on the attack. 

Offshore we’ve had excellent fly fishing for Bonita and Skip Jack.  Currently, we have some of the best fly fishing for these guys that I have ever seen.  They are everywhere!!  Most of them have been in the 5 - 7 pound range with larger fish up to 15lbs. being taken on the fly.  We also have seen a pretty good number of Marlin a little further offshore about fifteen miles.  Most of the Marlin have not wanted our offerings but they seem to be getting more aggressive toward the lures as a very big population of small squid has moved in offshore.  In the same area of the Marlin, we have had a few Dorodo as well.  The Dorado have been perfect for the fly fishing angler as they have been in the 10 - 20 pound class.

Spring is here and the fishing is starting to heat up.  We should continue to see good fishing as the water warms and the wind dies.  We have great populations of bait and that only helps our cause this early in the season.  If you are looking for a spring fishing trip it is hard to beat Baja.

Until next time…Keep fly fishing!!!       

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

Water temp.
71 - 74  Inshore
75 - 77  Offshore

Air temp.
Low - 61
High 83

Baja Fly Fishing Report for March 22nd 2011.

Well, I am finally back from my time in the States and done with the show circuit.  I would like to say Thank You to all the wonderful people who stopped by the booth and swapped fishing stories with me.  I will admit, I am glad to be back in Baja as the weather and the fishing are heating up.

Along the beaches here in the East Cape, we’ve had good populations of bait for over a month.  This bait consists of Sardina, small mullet, and Ballyhoo.  Having all this bait along our beaches this early in the season has not gone unnoticed by the fish.  We have had good fly fishing along the beaches for Rooster fish, Jacks, Lady fish, a few Pargo in the rocks, and even some small Black Skip Jack within casting distance if you are in the right place at the right time.  I have been on the beach the past few days and have encountered fairly good fishing over all.  By no means is it “wide open” but spring is here and the fish are starting to show.  I have seen quite a few schools of larger Jacks that are in the area.  Most of them have not had any interest in the fly as they are starting their spring spawn.  I got a few fish to chase the fly on the initial cast into them but no takers out of the three schools I threw into.  As I made more casts into the schools, the interest of the fish dropped off quickly showing me they have their minds elsewhere. We should continue to see more schools of Jacks, along with bigger Rooster fish over the next few weeks.  This spawnig behavior will continue the next few weeks.  As some of these fish near the end of their spawn, you will notice a change in their pattern and become more aggressive toward the fly.  This will change from school to school so if you find the school that is just coming out of their spawn or has not quite started, look out as they should attack the fly. 

Offshore the action is improving as well.  We continue to see the Yellow Tail that have been in the area the last few weeks.  These fish have been in about 200ft. of water so getting them on the fly has not really been an option.  What we’ve seen for the fly fishing angler is the increase of Stripe Marlin as well as a few Dorado.  The Marlin can be seen tailing on top but unfortunately most of them have had lock jaw and not interested in our offerings.  However, a few of them have given us some action.  The Dorado have been located further offshore in a pocket of warmer water.  This pocket of warmer water is due East and is out about fifteen to twenty miles.  The water in this pocket is currently 78 degrees.  The warmer water has held some very nice Doroado averaging 20 pounds, with some bigger fish up to 40 pounds.

We have not seen the porpoise in our area yet but I spent a couple of days in Cabo San Lucas at the beginning of last week and some of the boats there did find schools of porpoise that were holding Tuna.  The Tuna were not big, mostly football size, but it provided action.  With those schools showing up out of Cabo San Lucas it should not be long before we start to see them over here in the East Cape as long as the water continues to warm.

I will be fly fishing the beaches here in the East Cape as well as guiding out of boats starting tomorrow.  I have guests that are arriving to enjoy some of the great spring fly fishing that Baja has to offer.  If you have cabin fever and want to get out and play with us in the warm sunshine and catch a few fish let us know!  We would be glad to show you the wonderful fly fishing that Baja has to offer.

Until next time….Keep fly fishing!         

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

Water temp.
64 - 67  Inshore
61 - 68  Offshore

Air temp.
Low - 48
High - 79

Baja Mexico fly fishing update and report for March 8th 2011.

Hi Folks,

Well it has been a whirlwind for me the past couple of weeks.  I was in the states doing several presentations and then came home and went straight to Cabo to guide my clients for a few days. Now I am headed back to the states to do one more show this upcoming weekend.  I will be back here in Baja on Monday to fish another set of clients in Cabo on Tuesday. 

On the fishing front, things here in the East Cape are decent depending on the wind.  On the non-windy days the Yellowtail bite has been fairly good.  Most of the action has taken place in front of La Ribera or on the hump in front of La Capilla.  The fish have been of decent size with a few in the 35 -40# class. 

A little further off shore we have had a good number of Stripe Marlin in the area but they do not seem to want to bite.  This should change over the next few weeks as the water temperatures start to climb.

As I mentioned earlier,  I’ve been doing most of my guiding out of Cabo San Lucas and the inshore fly fishing has not disappointed.  We have had very good fly fishing inshore for Sierra, Jacks, small Rooster fish and a few Snapper in the rocks.  The tough part over in Cabo right now is the bait situation.  We have had to run all the way to the North  near Cabo Real or even as far as Palmilla to find sardina.  Normally this is not such a big deal but all the fish we have encountered have been on the Pacific side.  This means we’ve had to spend the first hour or so of our fishing day running North to get bait and then back to the South and around the corner to where the fish have been.  Over the past few days this has been well worth the ride as the sardina have made all the difference. 

Further off shore in Cabo there has been very few Marlin and even less Dorado.  Over all, the fly fishing off shore out of Cabo remains pretty tough and most of the boats are spending their time closer to shore looking for the inshore species.

As I mentioned above I will be headed back over to Cabo tomorrow to guide more clients and then I’m headed to the states on Thursday to help the hotel at the Fred Hall Show in Long Beach, CA.  If you are in the area, please stop by our booth as I always love to talk fly fishing in Baja.

Until next time…..Keep fly fishing!!    

Ladd Nolan (above) and his best friend Matt showing off two of the many sierra they caught whie fly fishing in Baja Mexico with The Reel Baja

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

Water temp.
64 - 67  Inshore
61 - 68  Offshore

Air temp.
Low - 48
High - 79

Baja Mexico fly fishing update and report for February 7th  - February 14th 2011.

Hi folks,

It seems the cold snap we experienced here in Baja last week has passed.  Our temperatures have returned to normal for us living South of the border.  The over night lows here in the East Cape have been in high 40’s to low 50’s with our day time high’s around 78 degrees.  Over in Cabo San Lucas these temperatures have been slightly warmer.

Over here on the East Cape side we continued to see wind from the North but it was not as strong or consistent as we have seen in weeks past.  We experienced wind for most of the week but starting last Friday the wind backed off giving us a wonderful calm and warm weekend.  The nice weather continues today but it is forecast to become windy once again over the next couple of days.

Fly fishing here in the East Cape remains average for this time of year.  Although the fly fishing is not “wide open” we continue to see early morning action for sierra, lady fish, and a few small jacks.  We also continue to see good action off shore for yellow tail, white bonita, and a few snapper.

Along the beaches here in the East Cape, when the wind allows, we have a lot of small bait that include, half beaks and ballyhoo, as well as a few scattered sardina.  The bait is getting harassed very early by the sierra and lady fish that are patrolling the beaches.  I was out over the weekend and did not see any rooster fish but I did encounter a few schools of larger jacks that were not interested in what I had to offer.  I believe that was due to the fact they were schooled up and showing signs of spawning.  We should continue to see more jacks and eventually rooster fish in the area as the water warms and the spring spawn begins.

I spent two days last week fishing out of Cabo San Lucas with my client Ladd Nolin.  Ladd lives in Alaska and needed a small break from the harsh Alaska winter.  Ladd and I had a great couple of days.  We experienced good fishing inshore for sierra and small rooster fish.  Just like over here in the East Cape we located a few large schools of jacks out of Cabo San Lucas on the Pacific side but they were also spawning and not interested in our offerings.

I will be leaving on Wednesday for California to attend The Fly Fishing Show.  We will be on location at the show in Pasadena on Feb. 19th and 20th.  The next week we will be further North at the show in Pleasanton Feb. 25th, 26th, and 27th.  If you are attending either of these shows please stop by our booth and say hello as we would love to swap fly fishing stories.

Until next time…Keep fly fishing!!