HPC report , part 3 , photos !!

[David Lee]

(Note - I didn't bother to carry a camera with me , nearly all shots are by Candida . There are no 'big fish' photos because there was no one around to take them .)

A nice Green Jack Candida caught -
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae132/sculpin65/big-greenjack2.jpg

Unidentified Croaker , also caught by Candida -
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae132/sculpin65/cortez-croaker.jpg

Honkin'-big Snot Stick -
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae132/sculpin65/cornet-gordo-112709-1.jpg

A beautiful Graybarred Grunt -
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae132/sculpin65/graybarred-grunt-111909-b.jpg

6 wt. Rooster -
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae132/sculpin65/rooster-112109.jpg

Lunch -
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae132/sculpin65/sierra-n-yellowtail-snapper-2-11270.jpg

A rare Slender Yellowtailed Leatherjacket Candida caught -
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae132/sculpin65/yellowtail-leatherback-112109.jpg

Yellowfin Croaker , camp reef -
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae132/sculpin65/yellow-tail-crocker-112109.jpg

Cerviche-sized Sierra , Candida and Loreto -
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae132/sculpin65/sierra-cr-loreto-112609.jpg

[David Lee]

Hefty Bullseye Puffer -
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae132/sculpin65/bullseye_puffer_111909.jpg

J.C. on the Talon double , Punta Arena -
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae132/sculpin65/jc-12wt1.jpg

A Ladyfish from the camp reef -
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae132/sculpin65/ladyfish-n-david-112209.jpg

A Damselfish from the camp reef -
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae132/sculpin65/pacific-beaubrummel-2-112209.jpg

Mojarra , pest fish that Jacks love to kill -
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae132/sculpin65/surf-perch-112109-unk.jpg

Best to use TWO pairs of pliers -
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae132/sculpin65/scorpianfish-no1-4-112209.jpg

Mexican Lookdown , a common catch -
http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae132/sculpin65/mexican-lookdown-112109.jpg

[Matt Frey]

Looks awesome David. I am glad you had a great trip.

[David Lee]

Final stats (ignore if counting bothers you) -

Number of different species collected - 26

Fish killed -12 Sierra , I Yellowtail Snapper , 1 Dog Snapper , all eaten fresh .

Fish landed- 208 (this # is likely low , we are very conservative w/ counts)

Days fishing - 13 , mostly two , 2-3 hour sessons per day .

Fun - yes !

Injuries - 2 jelly stings for Candida , 1 near-broken back for me (don't run backwards while coming tight to fish) , countless hand cuts/bites .

Problems - none .

Most common species encountered - Ladyfish , Mexican Lookdowns , Sierra .

Some thoughts on the future of the East Cape of Baja -

There is a new Marina being built in La Ribera as I write this , and plans to start work on another Marina at Punta Arena in the coming Spring . The Mexicans are keen to see both built , I am not . I have no issue w/ the one in La Ribera , but a large Marina a few hundred yards South of the Lighthouse will destroy the inshore and beach fishing in this world-famous area forever . Between Shrimp trawlers , longlining , and human greed/overfishing (limit is TWO Dorado , no more than that is legal) , I fear that this place will be reduced to just another 'used-to-be' spot . I would love to see the local Mexicans prosper .... but at what cost ?

Go visit in Winter and see it all before it is gone .

David

[FISHEYE]

David, GREAT REPORTS! I sure hate to see any development at the lighthouse. I think that ranks high in my personal 25 best spots on planet earth.

[Jgoding]

Cool pics... I love the colors on that damsel. Glad you had a great time down there too bad development usually sucks for the wildlife.

[Hairstacker]

Absolutely phenomenal reporting David!! Totally enjoyed the pictures and videos. Amazing how quickly you can go through flies down there. Was Candida okay after those jellyfish? And what is that fish you suggested needs two sets of pliers -- is that some kind of stonefish?

[David Lee]

FISHEYE (Phil B. ??) -

Bad enough the Lighthouse estates are expanding ..... the beach fishing will be gone forever if the Marina goes in . We are going back this coming August for a week or so , I'll keep you posted .

Jeff -

Thanks ! Candida does love shooting stuff .....

Mike -

Scorpionfish of some kind . Candida landed two of them , and they were disturbing to unhook (She was fine after the jelly encounters , but the Maloagua hurt like mad ....). My 'big' fish were all J.C.'s , 4 of them between 10 and 12 Lbs. . I was bitten by a dink Dog Snapper when I stupidly poked my finger in his mouth (lil' SOB bites HARD) , and had a Sierra nick the back of my left index finger . Still waiting for that one to close ....

We had pretty much every kind of weather condition you can imagine - rain while fishing the surf , mid- 80 temps , hard wind , no wind , gnarly surf , flat water , etc. . Never a dull moment , you know ??

FISH TALES .......

- had a Pelican try to grab a 4 Lb. Rooster out of my hands . That bastard wouldn't leave for anything - I chucked rocks at it , and finally dropped the rod and CHARGED it . He moved off a ways and watched me closely after that .....

- Fished the lee of the North point one uber-windy evening . It was blowing sustained 25+ , w/ gusts to nearly 40 . Backcast was a bit difficult . Landed a stunningly beautiful Yellowtail Snapper , a Lookdown , and three Ladyfish/Sabalo , one of them in the 4-lb. range (couldn't get my damn hand around that fatty ....) . Well worth the work ....

- Was BSing in the bar after sunset one evening , went out for some air ..... and couldn't believe the Moon on the water . Went back in and told everyone to come have a peek - Pretty cool seeing 15 guys standing there w/ jaws dropped , looking at a scene out of a Boris Vallejo calender !

- Standing mid-thigh deep in the wash before sunrise - kept feeling bumps against my legs ? Hear a splash in the surf BEHIND me (skinny water) and seeing a mess of Mojarras spray onto the sand . A pod of JC's were killing them , and I was standing IN THE MIDDLE of it !! I flicked my fly 10 feet of to the side , and landed three over 10 Lbs. , one after another . Also had one of those evil Jacks run BETWEEN my legs , chasin' bait . Fearsome stuff ....

- Hooked a small fish , which ran right at me . Made the near-fatal mistake of puttin' myself in reverse and tripped over a rock (now known as BACKBREAKER) . I crushed my case for my glasses , and almost ended the trip . Hardest fall I've ever taken in the bush ....

- Watched one of the most bloody , violent fights I have ever witnessed . Candida hooked a large (Yellowtailed ????) Pargo in the wash , and spent 5 minutes battling it out in close quarters in the middle of a rock garden in hard surf . The Pargo got loose and Candida was beyond pissed . It was probablly the roughest fight I have yet seen .....

- Saw the MOTHER of all Sea Lions twice @ Punta Arena . This thing was bobbing 4-feet out of the water watching me , it was OVER 9 feet long . Seeing it look at me actually made my testicles rise in my shorts . I like Marine Mammals even less now .......

-While diving , Candida saw a large Moray Eel . She moved closer to get some photos , it charged right at her . That ended water play for the rest of the day ....

- Had a crowd of gear guys watch from the stone porch early one morning , while I landed 3 Sierra , a YF Croaker , and over 18 Lookdowns while the surf/surge tried its best to drown me . Awesome to hear folks scream "G'Damn , he's got ANOTHER ONE !!"

-Seeing Jim Selle catch his first surf fish on a fly of mine . Another surf-nut is born ....

- Sitting around in the afternoon , playing Yhatzee w/ Johnny and Candida at the bar , and spewing Pacifico out my nose while laughing .......

- Choking back tears while I spoke to Ramons Son , Raoul . A very difficult moment for both of us .

- Watching Candida with the Sun in her hair , trying to sort-out unhooking a Corenet without getting slimed .

- Making it back to Johnny's truck after the epic Sabalo bite - I have a great shot of both of us .... grinning like idiots .

Intense , fantastic moments .... all of them .

D.~

[Hairstacker]

David, reading your list of "fish tales," it occurred to me you and Candida were living life to its very fullest -- good for you! 8)8)8)

I must have missed your note about Raoul . . . what happened?

[David Lee]

David, reading your list of "fish tales," it occurred to me you and Candida were living life to its very fullest -- good for you! 8)8)8)

I must have missed your note about Raoul . . . what happened?


It would have been better with YOU guys with us .

I mentioned on trip report last year ..... the old fellow who did the Groundskepping @ HPC , Ramon - Great guy who didn't speak a lick of English , and never HAD to help me w/ stuff but always did anyways .....

Ramon was in his 80's , he took a spill while working at home . Went into a coma and died a few weeks later , mid-October , 2009 .

Here's something a bit strange .....

I'm Friends w/ a girl down there , Claudia . We talk on Facebook every few days , right ?? So one day , around the 20th or October .... I wake and find myself thinking of Ramon , like ..... more than I usually do . In fact , I cannot seem to get old Ramon out of my head . I mention it to Wife , she thinks it is a bit strange , also .

A few days later ......

I'm chatting w/ Clau . I ask "How's Johnny" ?? She says good , working a lot , etc. .

I then type-in "How's my Friend Ramon" ?

I watch the screen on the 'puter for a response ....... and as the minutes drag by ...... I KNOW how Ramon is doing without being told .

Clau tells me Ramon has died three days earlier . The same day I couldn't stop thinking about him . Makes you wonder more than a little , doesn't it ?

Raoul is Ramon's Son - I knew he would be working at HPC (He is a dishwasher there) , and knew we would have to talk . It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do . I gave him an 8x10 photo of Ramon , myself , and my 15 Lb. Rooster because I wanted him to understand how much his Father meant to me . Both of us were gagging back sobs , and made it thru without losing it . Heavy moment .

D.~

[SHigSpeed]

Cool you caught a honkin' big snot stick! I got one in Hawaii earlier this year. Did the thing fight in reverse like the one I caught? Not much pull for the size of the fish...

Cornetfish BTW.

Great shots, jealous...

_SHig

[David Lee]

Goofy , I know what it is !! LOLOLOLOL

Actually ......

The Coreneta fought great ! I thought I had a <real> fish for a few moments . I only had to handle one this trip (landed a bunch , though) - learn to shake 'em off the hook WITHOUT touching them , they ain't too bad . That one is the biggest I have yet seen , fat like mad .

The slime on those critters has to be felt to be believed ..... it will NOT wash off in the surf .

I like 'pest' fish !

D.~

[PaulC]

Hey David,
Looks like you had a great time down there.
Some cool pictures and video for sure:)
See any corbina down there milling around with the yellow fin croaker?
-Paul

[Ed Wahl]

Holy Crap that looks like a blast.

Ed

[jbird]

David

Your in depth report on this trip has been one of my favorite reports ever. I think a flyfishing magazine editor needs to catch wind of your story telling.

Thank you for sharing this with us...its more than a fishing report ;-)

[David Lee]

Sorry I missed your call , Paul ..... busy like mad cleaning gear for the past two days .

No 'Beans , nowhere . Only stuff I saw in the wash were JC's killing things . No Roos' in close , little bait , etc. . I did see some nasty blowups beyond range - likely grande' Roosters thumping Mullet . Candida got some GREAT footage of Mullet trying to aviod everything (they were in pretty thick , but were the large size ....) .

You will enjoy this story .....

I'm on the Arroyo beach , to the North . I walk several hundred yards down it , lookin' for some sight fishing (same beach at Tim P. was fishing ??) . I look out and see what looks like a BIG silver fish , moving upwind !!

I'm thinkin' a big school of Pompano , for sure !! OH , BOY !!!!

I whack a Surf Candy out there for 10 minutes , nada - switch to a SurfMerk (shit , yeaaaah .... gonna be ON now !!) , same hooey - cast at those ^%$%#&&!! for 20 more minutes , switch flies again ....

Nothing . Still moving slowly against the wind , down on the bottom .

Hmmmmmmmmm ........

Another 20 or so minutes of casting at these tough guys , here comes Candida w/ the mask and snorkel - right , get out there and tell me if they actually have mouthes .





Wait for it .........
















Sure enough , Wife swims out to the 'big school of Pompano' . She watches them for a few moments , then dives directly into the school .

It was a freakin' big White Sea Bag !!?!!

45+ minutes of my life wasted . I knew you , of all the people I know ..... would DIE when you heard that one . I should have gotten the photo .... but I was <slightly> bent .

Good luck @ One fly tomorrow !! Miss ya !!

D.~

[David Lee]

Ed -

You have GOT to go sometime .

J -

I promised myself that I would start writing in the new year . I will send you the first draft of whatever pops out , you have my word on it .

I struggled a bit when it came to how much of this adventure I wanted to spill on y'all . I figure , I NEVER see flyguys down there in Winter , so I'm probably not screwing anything up for anyone . I also thought that , if the report drifted a bit long into techno-babble , whoever didn't care for it would just stop reading and not bitch . I can only hope that I've made you guys FEEL like I felt , and see what I saw down there .

I honestly would LOVE to share that beach with everyone here ..... it would be wild .

D.~

[PaulC]

Definitely got a chuckle out of that one. The elusive "other WSB".
I've caught some of those in the past and they put up quite a fight:)
Released into the trashcan of course.

Some of those videos were pretty cool of the diversity of fish in good numbers.

That other croaker is interesting as it looks like a YFC without the yellow.
Did it have a really high fin? Highfin King Croaker look like they still have the barbell like a YFC, white croaker don't.
It looked like your fish had the barbell.
Eyes are too big and round for a corbina.

I've also seen YFC in the past that were not very yellow, but you could still see a subtle shade of yellow on their fins.
Other times their super vibrant like the guy you caught.
Gotta love surf fishing. Sometimes you pull in stuff wondering what is this thing?
-Paul

[Bjorn]

That is fantastic stuff... after my couple weeks in Vallarta it was fun to see not only a few of the species I caught but a BUNCH more... fantastic stuff. That just looks like pure fun.

Bjorn