CALL JIM GOERG AT (425) 344-6288
DOIN’ THE BAJA SHUFFLE
“Fish on!” I yelled. On my very first cast with the gleaming silver, wiggling, live sardina to the spot where our captain pointed near the buoy, I set the hook hard. The fishing rod was almost yanked from my clenched hand. The dorado ripped the braided line from my Shimano in long runs that I was unable to stop for a hundred yards until the drag on the reel did its job. I burned my steelhead-educated thumb on the spinning braid of the level wind reel – and it hurt – but the pain did not keep me from enjoying this exciting fish. A few seconds after my hook up I heard my wife, Susan, yell “Fish on!” We had both hooked dorado on our very first cast.
The next few minutes brought an exciting chaos of fish-playing near catastrophes as the bullet fast dorado each changed course as Susan and I passed our fishing rods over, under, and around. I chased my fish totally around the panga, at one time thrusting the rod fully under water to avoid the line chafing on the side of the boat. Dorado are unquestionably one of the most exciting fish to catch on light tackle in Mexico and the one on my line was proving it.
I brought my fish to the side of the boat and our skipper released it! “Huh?” “We will get you a better one,” Israel explained. The eight-pounder looked good to me. Susan continued her battle with a larger fish. With a slight groan and a wide grin she continued to work the stubborn critter closer to the boat, and then watched it rip off more line, and change direction again with her scrambling for a better position in the boat … a “Dorado/Panga Shuffle” if you will.
More pumping of the rod and winding of the reel eventually, but not quickly, worked Susan’s fish to submission. Captain Israel grabbed the gaff, leaned over the side of the panga, and with a powerful sweep of his arm impaled the dorado just behind the head. Using both hands on the gaff he then swung it over the gunwale and into our boat in one swift, smooth motion like he’s done a thousand times over the years. The gleaming golden quarry flopped on the deck, splashing slight amounts of blood from the new gash on its side. Israel quickly smacked the dorado firmly on the head with the back of the gaff, and then inserted the hook end of the tool into its gaping mouth and deposited mister dorado into the fish box. “Nice fish. About twelve pounds,” Israel assessed with a grin. “I guess we’re keeping that one,” I laughed. Right then all three of us – Susan, Israel and I – were in Fish Paradise. (Is this heaven? No, it’s the Sea of Cortez.) Fishing doesn’t get any better than this, I thought. Moments later, I think I changed my mind. It got better!
Israel quickly re-baited our hooks and we cast them back into the same area where we had the instant success. Deja Vu all over again! Two fish on within mere seconds and we were off to the dorado races again. Laughter and loud whoops from both my wife and me as we again enjoyed our almost unbelievable success in hooking these powerful, fabulous fish. After we landed those two, the fishing carnival didn’t slow down until Israel looked at me as a dorado took off on the longest run of the day. I tightened the drag on my reel, not a lot, but just a little more, in hopes of slowing down the dorado’s long run. That helped, but only a little. “That’s a really big fish,” a grinning Israel made eye contact with me to emphasize the statement. “We need to chase him.”
Israel slipped the outboard into gear and turned the panga around to back down on the fish. It wouldn’t stop taking line, and I didn’t stop applying all the pressure that I dared. The arc of my fishing rod was bent into a “U” shape as I pumped and reeled and then paused when the big dorado decided it wanted nothing to do with me and made another long, aggressive run. Now I just held the rod to provide an even resistance as the line on my reel continued to shrink. “Just let him run,” Israel advised. “We’ll catch up to him. Take your time. Enjoy yourself.” I shook out my forearm to relieve some of the near cramping.
Is it elation or worry when you are playing a really big fish? Obviously the elation comes from the excitement of the moment, but the worry comes from the realization that you’ve been playing this fish a long time, and you might lose it. You think about the hook in the fish’s mouth enlarging the place where the hook has been continuously pulled at different angles – for how long now? Do dorado have a relatively hard mouth like a tuna, or a soft mouth more like a salmon? How long have I had this fish on? How big is it really? Oh, good, I’m finally gaining on it. Damn, it’s taking more line again! I REALLY want to land this fish!
The excitement of playing a big fish changes time for an angler, but that time certainly does not stand still. It rushes by in a blur of excitement. After the long minutes of my battle with this dorado, I lightened the drag on my reel a little in order to lessen the chance of the fish breaking the leader, or coming unhooked as it came near the panga.
Israel repeated his expertise with the gaff and flipped the golden treasure aboard the panga with a heavy “splat” on the deck amidst my yelling and laughing. It appeared to be more than thirty pounds to me. The heft of the fish on Israel’s scale showed the bull dorado registered thirty three pounds. The largest dorado that I’ve ever caught in more than twenty years of fishing in Mexico. I grabbed Israel’s hand and shook it, patted him on the back, and then continued to thank him for this moment. I think Susan was as happy for me as I was for myself. Two fish now in the fish box, and half a dozen released and we were just getting started.
Some years ago Palmas de Cortez adopted a policy of limiting guests to taking no more than two dorado apiece per day. This is a wise policy and it helps insure a population of this important specie for the future. So, Susan and I continued to fish this dorado hot spot for another hour, perhaps longer, landing and carefully releasing fish after fish until eventually keeping two more of the larger ones to complete our limits. Tomorrow night we would host several friends to dine with us on this Mexican gourmet delight.
As Israel cruised slowly away from the area, we gathered our composure and semi collapsed into our chairs after having THE MOST EXCITING FISHING DAY OF MY LIFE! … and our day wasn’t done yet.
The morning boat ride northward from the hotel to the dorado grounds had been a long one, including our stopping to buy live bait from one of the bait fishermen near Ceralvo Island, but was worth every sun-warmed, early-morning minute. As I quietly reveled in our morning’s success I gave my wife a big hug and a kiss to help celebrate this incredible day. We both recognized that we had experienced a rare and unique fishing moment. I knew that I was supremely lucky to have a fishing wife that made my life’s dreams come true. We haven’t traveled to Paris or Rome, but we have been to Los Barriles and Hotel Palmas de Cortez. And that’s just fine with me.
Israel slowed the panga as we passed just south of The Bay of the Dead, and rebaited our fishing rods. Susan and I have trolled this sandy, crescent-shaped beach together many times for roosterfish and had good success here and along the rocky coastline immediately to the south. But it wasn’t our day to catch a rooster, at least there. After an hour or so of fishing, Israel cranked up the outboard once again and followed the rocky shoreline south a couple miles.
We approached two boats with anglers using fly rods to try to lure roosterfish, but kept a friendly distance from those who were fly casting. Israel grabbed a handful of sardinas from the live-bait well and side armed the bait toward the rocky beach. Roosterfish swarmed the bait, leaving a tell-tale swirl in the cobalt blue water. Wow! Then another rooster swirled. The roosterfish were here! We let out our lines and began trolling with Israel continuing to throw out our remaining sardinas.
Our addition to the bait being thrown by the nearby fly fishing panga enhanced the attraction to the roosterfish. The aggressive feeding patterns of the roosters were becoming more and more evident as distinguished by the surface wakes in the water from their charging and engulfing the panicking baitfish. Pesky bait-stealing gulls and pelicans swooped to take some of the sardinas that failed to submerge quickly. It’s a rough life in the Sea of Cortez for a sardine: Death by bird or by fish?
Fish on! The rooster hit the sardina on Susan’s line so aggressively she didn’t have time to set the hook. I left my line in the water, but paid specific attention to Susan’s playing of her fish in order to stay out of her way. Israel continued to troll in a wide arc to stay clear of any long distance line tangle with the fly anglers, while keeping an eye on the rooster on my wife’s line, and at the same time giving me a chance to hookup.
I studied and watched my wife expertly play this roosterfish, one of many we’ve enjoyed catching while fishing out of Hotel Palmas de Cortez throughout the years. Roosterfish are also among the hardest fighting fish, and are difficult to catch on most days. Los Barriles claims to be the Roosterfish Capital of the World, and it will get no argument from me. Besides that, roosterfish are just plain magnificent, with shining silver sides and dark gray/black broad stripes running from their head diagonally to their tale. Their jet black floppy dorsal fin gives them their name.
A few minutes later, Susan had played her fish to the side of the panga and Israel put on a glove, leaned over to the water’s edge and then grasped the fish’s jaw. With his free hand he removed the size three 3/0 salmon hook, and gently released the still lively fish to swim back into the shallow depths of the eastern Baja Peninsula.
We always release roosterfish to fight again when we fish the East Cape region out of Hotel Palmas de Cortez. I’m told that they are not very good to eat, but who really knows about that? What I do know is that there is an abundance of other fish here that are right at the top of my list for being the best I’ve ever eaten. It seems to be an unwritten commandment here that all roosters are to be released, so we willingly obey the commandment.
On the cruise back to the hotel I offered Israel some of our catch and he accepted it willingly. It has been our practice to always offer some of our catch, beyond our immediate needs for dinner, to the captain. Extra catch, like we have today will also be offered to the crew at the hotel’s restaurant. Today’s exception will be the big dorado that I caught that will be served for dinner tomorrow night for our group of ten fish-hungry friends at the Bayview Restaurant, just a short stroll down the walkway from our hotel room. Considering the size of the big dorado, we’ll probably have leftovers, but they will make a great lunch for the following day. Our dinner tonight will be at a Los Barriles institution of sorts, The Smokehouse, or just “Smokeys” as most of us call it.
Situated on a somewhat busy, slightly dusty downtown street, it seems that everyone fishing out of Hotel Palmas de Cortez eats dinner at least one night at Smokeys. Their shrimp tacos are famous among my friends, as is all their fresh seafood. My friend, Darrel Hanberg, turned us on to ordering tuna “cooked five ways,” so naturally we tried that with some of our tuna last year. Frankly, it was just too much to eat. We had heaping platters of fresh tuna deep fried in a beer batter, tuna Vera Cruz, grilled tuna, tuna in a garlic/cilantro sauce, and sashimi.
Eating dinner at Smokeys is entertaining in itself. Many nights there are local musicians stopping by to sing and play guitars and to drink beer. Cocktails at Smokeys are served by the dozens each night also, but there are large quantities of “cervesa” served too, to be chugged by us gringos along with the locals. A very friendly, homey place situated right on the street with only a small railing separating the bar from the street. Dusty cars and worn out Toyota trucks rumble by, interrupted by noisy four wheelers and the occasional cow or obviously pregnant mongrel dog in the street.
Two years ago, Jim Goerg caught a trophy size pargo, and we took it to Smokeys to have them fix it in deep fried beer batter. It was beyond delicious. Jim, Terry Sheely and I devoured it until we clearly couldn’t eat another bite. Jim declared that “This is the best fish I’ve ever eaten in my life!” I won’t disagree. So, selfishly, I never offer a good sized pargo to our captain or the restaurant staff anymore. But, all the fresh fish prepared at any local restaurant in Los Barriles are deliciously prepared in the unique Mexican style. I’ve never had fish prepared in an American restaurant that matches the quality of the fish I’ve enjoyed here.
The next morning, I got up early, which is my usual habit here at Palmas, and visited Tico’s Restaurant, the hotel’s breakfast and banquet host, just as the staff were getting started. Fresh coffee is essential to me in the morning, and Tico’s has lots of it for the guests as well as an abundant choice of breakfast offerings.
Carrying two large cups of coffee back to our poolside room, I deliver one to Susan and then settle outside onto one of the pool’s lounge chairs to sip mine and to watch the captains and deckhands arriving, and walking across the sandy beach to the hotel’s pier. Large coolers containing the day’s lunches for respective boats are delivered to the pier by a pickup and stacked onto it to be individually loaded onto the various boats as the guests arrive to climb aboard for the day’s fishing. The pier is now crowded in the semi darkness with hustling hotel staff, captains and deckhands.
I watch as the boat crews climb aboard an outboard skiff and are shuttled to the cruisers. I see the lights come on in the dim light of early morning, and watch the crews ready the vessels for their day. All this activity is set against a promise of a spectacular sunrise as a background for the fleet. What I see beyond the boats is a mix of pastel colors on the eastern sky dotted here and there with sea birds. The eastern horizon is endless as a blazing orange sun peeks over the edge of the sea.
Today Israel will take us tuna fishing. Landings of dozens of the yellow fins have been reported and then have become obvious when I see them hanging on a large hook at the near end of the pier. Grinning anglers, both men and women, gather alongside the tuna for photos. Obviously tuna fishing is awesome.
Susan and I settle into a comfortable spot in the panga as Israel begins to check our fishing gear. We have also purchased several ballyhoo, the preferred bait for marlin. These strange little fish have a bill, similar to a sailfish or marlin, but after a closer look you can see that it protrudes from the lower jaw, not the top. (Very strange little fish, but marlin and other fish love to eat them.) Israel breaks off the bill of the ballyhoo and begins an intricate process of tying a chunk of Power-Pro-like line to create a harness for the ballyhoo rather than just impaling the baitfish on a hook like we do to herring. He wants it to swim but not spin.
We know our boat ride to the east will probably be a long one, perhaps twenty five miles, maybe more. Once again my eyes and mind plays the annual trick on me: “What bird is that flying low and diving into a wave?” Before I complete my thought about the bird, I once again realize it’s a flying fish. It fools me every year, at least for two seconds.
The boat’s radio squawks, and Israel picks up the microphone and then changes course further to the south. The Palmas fleet has located huge schools of dolphins, and that’s where the tuna are – under the highly intelligent, playful and acrobatic dolphins – eating the same baitfish as the sea-going mammals.
When we arrive at the “Dolphin Show” we are not alone. Pangas, cruisers and big yachts out of Cabo are doing the same as us: trolling lures of various sizes and shapes waiting for action. Israel selects small purple and black jigs, much like a salmon size hoochie for Susan and me. “These have been the best,” he says.
Susan and I have switched to slightly heavier reels today because we know we won’t be casting, and these reels are filled with monofilament line. The jigs are trolled in the wake a surprisingly short distance behind the panga at a much faster rate than we trolled for roosterfish yesterday, perhaps eight knots.
The sea is calm with long ocean swells, but not rough at all. The dolphin show would make the day incredible for anyone even if they didn’t catch a fish. It doesn’t take long for Susan and me to hookup a small yellowfin of around ten or twelve pounds, maybe less. But the tuna fight like hell, including their finale – pinwheeling at the boat. Now we have our dinner fish for the next night!
After we land our third tuna, we signal Israel that we are good for the day and tell him that we can go in early. Marlin can wait for another day. I look forward to a dip in the pool, a long shower and changing out of my sea-splashed shirt. An ice cold Negra Modelo is high on my list, too. Israel will take the third tuna for his family, and we will divide the second one between the three restaurant staffers that greet us every morning. There’s no need for us to kill any more fish today. End on a high note is one of my fishing guidelines.
You can book as many days as you want at Hotel Palmas de Cortez, one of the Van Wormer resorts. We now choose to take a day or two off when we visit here, and combine our fishing and relaxing at a more leisurely pace than when we were younger and more energetic. As I get older, that works perfectly for me. Scheduling your fishing and relaxation days is easy here at this sunny paradise. There’s a lot more here to enjoy than just the fishing.
What will this fishing season be like at East Cape? Who can predict? Last year was one of the best ever, and so was the year prior to that. (Author’s note: The Weather Service has predicted an El Nino this next year – 2024. While that is likely bad news for us in the Northwest, an El Nino is beneficial to the fishing in Mexico due to the warmer waters.)
Be adventurous. In May ‘24 you can join THE REEL NEWS Amigos and Heroes for this fantastic fishing adventure. We’ve done it 18+ years in a row.
The first group event starts on Monday, May 13th (the day after Mother’s Day) and ends on Saturday, May 18th. The second group event starts on Saturday, May 18th and ends on Thursday, May 23rd. You can arrive before those dates if you choose, or stay past those dates which many of our guests have done. Quite a few guests hang around with us for both groups.
For more information call Jim Goerg at TRN. 425-344-6288