The fishing
When your fishing day starts, when the sun rises over the East horizon and the harbor is alive with anticipation; when you motor out past the arch rocks with a chorus of sea lions barking and frigate birds circling; all this before the first hurrah of "fish on". Then you will know the true joy of bluewater fly and light tackle angling with us.
The Sea of Cortez is a giant fish trap. Warm waters with shrimp, squid, sardines, herring, mackerel and other food flow to Pacific predators like blue marlin and Black marlin, striped marlin, yellowfin tuna, dorado (mahi mahi or dophinfish), and wahoo. Close to shore roosterfish, jack cravelle, Sierra mackerel, red & cubera snapper, 3 kinds of trevally, yellowtail, black skipjack, pompano, grouper, lady fish and others abound.
Species
Rooterfish
Roosterfish or pez gallo are unique to the tropical Pacific. These fish are found in-shore near the sandy beaches. They are the predators of the surf. Roosterfish are members of the jack family and can grow to over 100 pounds.
The ideal fishing situation is to find a school of roosterfish that has a school of bait herded against the shore. When this happens, the chance of a roosterfish eating your fly is greatest.
The most common and challenging method of fly-fishing for roosters is to slow troll a hookless live "cabillito," this is a small jack that is very strong and hearty.
Striped Marlin
Cabo San Lucas is the acknowledged striped marlin capital of the world. These super-charged rockets weigh from 50 to 300 pounds, averaging 125. Catching an IGFA-legal striped marlin on a fly is considered one of the world's greatest angling feats.
The most common way to "get a shot" at a striper is to use conventional rods and troll hookless teasers.
It may take 15 minutes or 6 hours to get this fish next to the boat. Wendy's 136-pound world record striped marlin on 20-pound tippet took 2-hours, 45-minutes to boat. They are all different.
Dorado
This may be the fish for which saltwater fly-fishing was invented. If everything is right, a dorado will eagerly chase and eat your fly. What follows will probably be the most acrobatic battles that you ever encounter.
There are several techniques for fly-fishing to dorado. These social fish will collect around any floating object. If there are dorado hanging around, we will stop and cast. Often, when a dorado is hooked, other fish in its group will stay around as long as it is hooked and kept in the water. At times everyone on the boat is hooked up to one of these flashing golden speedsters.
The dorado is a fast-growing fish, running from 5- to 70-pounds. Your average dorado will weigh 10- to 20-pounds.
Jack Crevalle
In Spanish, this fish is called Toro, "the bull" and that's a great description. Found in schools close to shore, the Pacific jack crevalle is quite possibly the most neglected of all the Pacific sportfish. They will readily eat a fly and the resulting battle can last a long time. Toros pull hard and long, often using their platter-shaped bodies as resistance against your efforts to turn the fish towards you. The toro will average 8- to 20-pounds and can grow to over 40-pounds.
Sierra Spanish Mackerel
The Sierra or Spanish mackerel is often the first fish an angler encounters on a fly. They are a school fish that makes their presence known to the angler by erratic splashes on the surface created by the bait trying to escape and the predator giving chase. A wire "bite" leader is necessary when fishing for this toothy predator. The flies that we use imitate the smaller bait-fish that the Sierra feed upon.
The Sierra mackerel is considered by many to be the finest table fare of all the Pacific species (particularly prized as the main ingredient of ceviche) and a great sportfish.
Black Marlin
A black marlin over 1,000 pounds is called "a grander" and is considered the ultimate marlin trophy. For fly-fishing, however, we look for the "rat," a black marlin under 200-pounds. During certain times of the year, there are concentrations of these "rats" around Cabo. I predict that we will see world record blacks caught here in the future.
