PPS Destinations Report

Baja, Mexico

Date:         June, 2004

Reported by Dr. John Whitaker, CA USA

We left for the airport at 6am for an 8 am flight on Wed. morning.  Only spilled one cup of coffee on my clothes.  Got to Cabo and passed with a green light and then crammed 13 people into a van for the long hot ride to the East Cape.  Two beer and booze stops and we arrived at the Buena Vista hotel.  Check in was followed by a dip in the ocean and the pool for welcome cocktails.  By 5 pm was ready to hit the beach and fly fish.  The weather was very calm and I covered a mile of beach casting a white and grey clouser on my 8 weight.  The fishing got better and the sun went down as usual.  I think I ended up with a jack crevalle, a pompano and 5 lady fish.  The lady fish jump when hooked and are a blast.  They are hard to hook and I must have lost many more than I beached.  I got in and had missed dinner.

Day two I got up early and fished the beach before the boat trip.  I only got a couple of mystery fish but one was nice.  The boat ride was long but on a nice cruiser and at least I got a wahoo on conventional and my share of beers.  The fishing was real slow.  Back for a couple in the pool and then beach fishing again.  Much rougher and windy tonight so things got slower.  I did get a few lady fish and Then scored on a rooster.  That was my signal to go in.  The rooster was on a brown and orange clouser.  Dinner was good tonight.

Day two I didn't fish in the am but we took a long boat ride to find the tuna.  40 miles.  At least we found a school.  I messed up our group by taking 40 minutes on a tuna that weighed 65 pounds.  We got a marlin on the way in and a dorado while I was fighting my tuna.  This night the beach fishing was slow and the catch was a pompano, a lady fish and three trumpet fish.  My arm was tired from the tuna.

Day three was a glass off in the morning on the cruiser but the fishing was the slowest yet.  I got a sierra and a nice jack crevasse.  Jim got a small rooster.  That night, my last, I fished hard but it was slow.  I got only one lady fish and a few trumpet.  I was almost ready to quit when a rooster followed my fly in to the beach but missed it.  I cast again several times but no luck.  I was just about to change flies when he came in again and made a great take just at the waters edge.  A nice fight followed but I got him in and quit for the night.

The last morning I got up early again since we didn't have to ride a boat but didn't need to leave the hotel until 1:30.  The water was a glass off and it was like fishing in an aquarium.  Early I got a good hit and then hooked something real big that took me up and down the beach and then straight out to sea.  When he sped off the bait would shower out of the water.  Finally the hook pulled.  Maybe fortunate so I didn't miss my plane.  I got a nice jack and a grunt that morning but spent most of my time helping a friend with his casting.

Over all the beach fishing was very fun if not spectacular.  The boat fishing was slow and I got no chances with the fly rod.  The hotel is fine and the food was fair.  The swim-up bar is nice and the help great.  The best thing about it is its close proximity to the beach fly fishing.

The weather varied from hot to mild.  No shopping or much else to do but fish and eat and drink.  But what else matters.

John