Loreto final report 2020

This year fishing in Loreto was a mixed bag with nothing really having gone as predicted for the month starting in late June to late July. We were told by numerous contacts before we left home that there was plenty of Sargasso, along with billfish and Roosterfish just waiting to jump into the boats due to the ideal conditions of warm water and flat seas. Unfortunately, the weather turned the second day of the trip and pretty much stayed that way, with wind and rough seas prevailing much of the time. The water temperatures were too cold for an abundance of Dorado, but we still managed to catch around 70 small to medium-size fish. That, however, was a small amount compared to much larger hauls most of the last twenty years. We saw very few billfish, maybe three or four, and hooked, then lost, only one small Marlin. On a positive note we were pleasantly surprised by the number of Roosterfish that we found in just about every cove around all of the islands, and there were plenty of Sardines as well.

Most days we went straight out to sea in the morning to hunt for Dorado and billfish, and when there were none to be had we pivoted to go catch Roosters for an hour or so, then went back out to sea again. The trouble was we got so beat up from bouncing up and down on the rough seas that it soured us on the Dorado hunt. Also, we couldn't find any Sargasso patches which are the places where the Dorado like to hang out. We were rewarded for doing most of our fishing next to the islands with more Roosters than ever before in prior years (and those fish can usually be found around 100 feet from shore). The cold water and mild air temperatures that kept the Dorado and billfish at bay turned out to be ideal conditions for Rooster fishing.

This year the Roosters were smaller than in times past, but we were in Rooster "heaven" much of the time, nailing 3-21 pounders like there was no tomorrow, with double hook-ups being the order of the day. One day we landed 65 and another day 98, and we even beat those numbers a few times, without exaggeration. If the guide took the fly out of the fish's mouth, then it went into our tally. If the fish came off at the boat or even ten feet away, that fish didn't count. The final tally was probably in the hundreds, but I can't say for sure. Last year we had decent luck with the Roosters and I made a mental note to bring a lighter rod this year just for them, and I'm glad I did (more on that later).

I also learned a lot last year about Rooster fishing specifically and I decided to tie airhead flies in various colors and sizes. I settled on 3, 4 and 5-inch sizes and tied some with "flash" and some without. Simply stated, Dorado seem to like "flash" and Roosters don't. It turned out that the color didn't really matter, whether gray, olive or tan, but they didn't like little red gill plates or much flash. The favorite seemed to be the smaller flies but perhaps that was because they cast easier. The trick was to have your fly hit the right spot at the right time as a live Sardine was tossed out. We caught fish on all sizes and colors. We did have a problem with our leaders getting chewed up from numerous Needlefish but other than that the flies were almost indestructible. We went from 20-pound up to 40-pound to keep from losing flies.

Due to the virus health orders the town of Loreto was mostly deserted when we were there, with most of the hotels closed and only a few restaurants open. We were fortunate that they opened for sport fishing just a couple of days before our arrival. Our flights in both directions were only a third full. I was told that between 2-4 pangas went out fishing per day for sport fishing. We pretty much had the place to ourselves most of the time. If anyone would like more information about any aspect of the trip please feel free to send me an email. I don't sell trips; I just like talking about Loreto.

Equipment:

Everyone has their own preferences regarding fishing equipment in general, but this is a list of what I used this year.

Reels: I only use Tibor Signature.

Flies:

Chicken Fly - used to locate billfish and Dorado
Crease Flies or Airheads for top water action
Sardine Flies - weighted, for deeper water

Rods:

Sage xi3 16-wt. for trolling to locate billfish and Dorado. The idea is to cast flies to any fish located.
Loomis NRX 12-wt. (two) for casting flies to billfish and Dorado. I rig one with an SA floating line for top water flies such as crease flies and airheads. The second rod is fitted with a 26-foot sink tip for sardine-type flies when the fish are hanging out down deep.
Sage salt HD 9-wt. with an SA jungle line (clear tip) for "everything Roosterfish." This setup on my Tibor 9/10 reel was the smoothest, easiest casting combination I have ever used. I never got tired of hearing that reel sing!

Carl Blackledge

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