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View Full Version : La Ventana 6/6 thru 6/13....



Darian
06-14-2015, 10:47 PM
Well,.... The week of 6/6 thru 6/13 was a mixed bag, fish wise. Heavy winds (edge of hurricane Blanca) and overcast skies combined to make us lose the first two days fishing. Before Blanca, water temps were in the low 80's, afterward it dropped to the low 70's and became "green" water. Lots of conflicting wind waves and swells on tuesday. Relatively calm for the rest of the week. Water temps rose to only 74 degrees for the rest of the week. Bait was scarce, what was caught was smallish and do to the distance traveled to find it not available until around 8:30 am. Result, we trolled for Wahoo for the first two hours each day. The fish were scattered after the storm went thru. Sometimes fished for bottom fish while waiting. That was fun.

First days fishing (Tuesday) was a dud. One Black Skippy caught trolling was our total catch for 4 people. The second day was bit better as we landed several Skippys, a few White Bonito and 2 Wahoo for the group. Third day, my partner and I caught a 25 pound Wahoo nice White Bonito and more Skippys. Had some fun with small Roosters at La Playa and my partner caught a nice Jack (18-20 pound, est. by Cap't. Efren). Lots of small Roosters with an occasional grande passing thru. My partner caught one about 15-20 pounds.

On the last days fishing near the end of the day, a small Tiger Shark (5'-6') showed up in the blood trail of the Skippy tied to our transom. He stayed a polite distance away for a while and then decided to come in closer, circling around the stern. I decided to try a cast using a size 1, Charlies Airhead fly. I dropped a short cast near his middle and he turned back to inspect the fly, then moved away. I made a few more casts and found that the shark would follow the fly and then turn away. The captain decided to "juice" the fly with some of the Skippy blood and that got the Sharks attention but still didn't take it. Then, the Shark came within 15' of the stern and I cast again. This time the Shark moved (rather nonchalantly) over and ate the fly. I gently set the hook and the Shark moved away like he was trying to figure out what it was that was annoying him. I set the hook again, strongly this time and that really got things going. The first run was absolutely sizzling, nearly spooled me. Efren cranked up the engine and we chased the Shark. I recovered my backing and a short bit of the line when the Shark decided to make another sizzling run. Somewhere near another 100 yards, he bit the fly off. WOW!!! That was fun!! I was so excited that I didn't even realize that I was soaked with sweat. :D

My partner and I had a great trip in spite of the challenges. The locals set about cleaning/repairing any damages caused by the high winds (50 mph at times) of the edge of the hurricane. Hotel electrical service was only disrupted for a short period on Sunday. The seafood was really good. Poke/sashimi made from Wahoo/White Bonito. MMM.... Already reserved our spots for next year. :cool:

Lew Riffle
06-15-2015, 06:55 AM
Thanks for the "Blanca week" report . Where did you stay?

Tony Buzolich
06-15-2015, 07:15 AM
Darian,

That had to the best part of the trip,,, hooking a tiger and teasing him enough to get a bite.. Sort of like fly fishing for the mako's around San Diego with Dave Kimball or Bowman.

Seems like Efren often drags a bonito or skippy for a blood trail. Is that to attract other fish too besides shark?
Tony

Darian
06-15-2015, 08:41 AM
Lew,.... Jay's groups all stay at La Concha Hotel/Resort on Bahia de La Paz. Nice place. It and the area have been cleaned up/repaired after last years hurricane Odile.

Tony,.... Several of the captains hang a cut/bleeding Skippy off the transom when they're available. Last year they weren't available. It seems to attract open water fish (Dorado, Wahoo, other Skippies, etc.) more than fish like Jacks or Roosters. First time a Shark has come to the trail, tho. I recall drifting on the wind south of Bahia de Los Muertos one year while watching/catching Dorado that came to the panga in pairs up about 10' of the transom. It was really fun casting a RD Crease fly to each one and watch the take. Good times.... Dorado are still around but not as plentiful since they became a preferred target for commercial fisheries. Almost every market/restaurant has Mahi Mahi on the menu up here.

Several years ago, I fished for sharks with Paul C and Captain Dave Trimble out of Mission Bay. Caught a Blue and Paul hooked up on a Mako. Lotsa fun. Everyone in our group saw Sharks every day. Some large Hammerheads in the mix. We saw a couple of larger Tigers, as well. Either conditions, food supply or both were just right to attract all those sharks.

If you follow the fliflicker BB, there's a thread on it that shows the bite in SoCal waters inshore/offshore as some of the best in memory due to warm water. Maybe we should've diverted on the way home and stayed a couple of days to fish down there, too.

Tony Buzolich
06-15-2015, 08:46 AM
Oops! My error on the spelling, It was Dave Trimble not Kimbel.
Tony

Baja Fly Fisher
06-15-2015, 01:43 PM
Darian

I"m glad Hurricane Carlos decided not to pay a visit to the baja california area. Looks like I should have a smooth flight home.
As for fishing, Jacquie and john got into a few skippies. By the show of hand length they were probably around 6 to 8 lbs. They can't imagine what a big one would feel like going straight down. There have been a few large roosters showing at the lighthouse but still are shy. But eventually they will turn on and start eating. Here in La Paz, the bay is still green and a slight breeze was blowing this morning.
This just in…. My couple just got back in with some big smiles… I will be posting some photo's to my Facebook. And for those who don't have a face book account, I will send you the photo's in a email… Just let me know

Jay

David Lee
06-17-2015, 12:57 PM
Damn , D. !! A Tiger Shark ?!?

You better buy a Lotto ticket soon .... !

D.~

Darian
06-17-2015, 07:24 PM
That shark was a small/young model. I was using a 10 weight rod and a brakewater 9/10 reel, so I really was taking a chance. The Shark was toying with a 3", size 1, brown over white, Charlies Airhead fly. I didn't seriously think he'd ever take it but the Captain new what to do. Juice the fly!!! ;)

Actually, the Captain called it a "pilot shark" but I wasn't able to locate that name for sharks. The color/sillhouette of this shark fit the decsription of a Tiger and there were a couple of bigger Tigers in the area. Either way, I didn't think a Shark would move that fast. Next year I'm going to take some 10"-12" bright orange "Hootchies" to adapt for flies with evil intent.... :cool: