Punta Colorada report - Dec. 4th-15th

**David Lee** · 12-16-2008, 10:00 AM

Just got back last night .....

Epic trip , spotty fishing . Hotels are mostly empty , and the wind is down for the most part . Candida and I landed 18 different species !!!

Big fish were a 14 Lb. Sierra on the beach (likely a world record !!!!!!) , and a nice Rooster of 17-20 Lbs. . I'll post up photos as I finish getting them up online -

Great trip !!!!!!!

David

**Bill Kiene semi-retired** · 12-16-2008, 10:25 AM

That sounds like it was another wonderful get away for both of you.

**David Lee** · 12-16-2008, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by Bill Kiene

That sounds like it was another wonderful get away for both of you.

That it was , Bill !

For 5 days out of the 12 .... we were the ONLY guests down there - I cannot say enough good things about the Hotel , or especially the staff !! The Punta Colorada staff were warm , patent (our Spanish isn't too good ....) , and most had a wicked sense of humor . Beautiful , fun folks that went way out of the way to make sure we were taken care of well . The food was great (MUCH better than our 2005 visit) , and the re-modeled rooms were spotless clean .

The few gringos that came and went were pretty much the same - loud , rude , and treated the staff like they were slaves . I have never been more embarassed in my life to be an American than I was as I watched the other guests bitching about nothing . One dude even asked my Barman Johnny for drugs while I was in the bathroom - If I'd have been there to see/hear that , I would have run his arse up a pole .

Treat everyone exactly the way YOU want to be treated - you get warm , friendly staff . Pretty easy , huh ??

The 11 1/2 days I fished were always the same - up at 4:30 AM , gear up , and go out to hunt the beach (I don't do Pangas ....) . Some days were hard hunting , with lots of work for just a few bites . The amount of baitfish inshore was just unreal ...... Sardina from under an inch to 3 inches were in huge clouds , and the Mullet (5-12 inches) were thick , too ! I think the fish were just glutted-full - I doubt the full moon helped much , either .

Roosters were inshore , but few ran the beach untill the end of our trip . I had shots at Roos' to 25+ Lbs. . One BIG Jack was running right below the Hotel on Sunday - He had two Roos' w/ him , one of which ate my fly . It was something else to see that COMB rise-up and ROCKET in to nail my Clouser from 40 feet away !! SCREAMING , 100-yard runs for 12 minutes and he was mine !!

The Sierra .......
I had walked a mile north of the Hotel - had one Leopard Grouper , one tiny Flag Cabrilla , and a Corenet fish (Ugggggg - can you say SLIMEY ?!?) on the sand . Walking back for breakfast , I stopped at the rocks below the point . The wind had dropped from the past day , but there was a lot of suspended sand in the water ..... making it cloudy . I was a bit discouraged from the slow fishing , and made a short , 60 foot cast . Three strips and THUNK -

I had the great presence of mind to set the hook hard three or four times , and for whatever reason made a little 'O' w/ my left hand in case the line needed to be cleared - the following 10 seconds were a blur .......

The fish accelerated and ran 120 yards in perhaps 4 or 5 seconds . No shit .

I have never seen anything like that in my life , EVER .

I had 150 yards of 30 Lb. backing on the Teton 8-10 LA reel - the Sierra ate it up so fast that it was beyond comprehending . I palmed the spool (my middle right finger brushed the backing as it was going out ..... I'll have a sweet scar when it heals) and put the brakes on her as I saw black arbor where there had been "plenty" of backing seconds before .

I cranked her in about 50 yards , then another run so fast that it was beyond belief . 7 minutes later , the Sierra was in the wash .

Bobby Van Wormer , the owner of Punta , had been there since 1957 - He had NEVER seen a Sierra that size before , and couldn't quite believe it . The Mexicans were blown away - most thought it was a Wahoo from across the room . They all begged me to apply for a record certification but I have little time or interest for that kind of stuff . I killed the Sierra for two reasons - the first ? The fish was pretty much fried after the fight (Sierra don't release very well ....) , and we were low on Cervechi stock (we ate LOTS of Cervechi on this trip ) . I had no problem taking the Sierra and would likely do it again .

I switched to a Teton 9-11 the next day . It holds 250 yards of 30 Lb. .

Sometimes ..... it only takes ONE fish .

David

**Darian** · 12-16-2008, 11:54 AM

David,.... What a great trip!!! Congrats on that big Sierra. 14 POUNDS. That's a GRANDE.

Lotsa good ceviche' with cerveza.

Got a Rooooooooster, too. A grande Rooster is my wish for the trip this summer.

One question, did you use a short wire leader when fishing for Sierra

If not, that fish is an even greater accomplishment....

It must've been enjoyable to be the only guests in the hotel for a a while. That means the food/staff had only you to cater to. Livin' In the lap of luxury....

Betcha missed all of this cold weather up here....

**David Lee** · 12-16-2008, 12:45 PM

Hi D. !!!!

Nope - I've come to the conclusion that for flies ..... wire isn't needed (for ME , anyways ....) . We fished plugs for a while on spinning tackle when the wind was up , and because the plugs are longer than your average fly .... there's a better chance of another Sierra hitting the lure hangin' outta his friends mouth . I use 9-inch wire for plugs/spoons .

I'm no expert by ANY measure of the word ...... I've landed only three Sierra , and lost 4 in the wash - the ONLY losses I've suffered have been Sierra shakin' loose from the hook - I did have something bite-off a Sierra on the 2005 trip - it (Sierra or Needlefish) went thru the leader three feet up from the fly , so wire would NOT have helped .

It's ALWAYS better to be lucky , rather than good . I'll stick w/ what works for me .

R/E the staff .....

I became friends w/ most of them on the 2005 trip . They were great when I was a stranger , and they're even better now that we know each other . After talking with them ..... it's a huge suprise and dissapointment to discover that guests almost NEVER bother to talk to them , except to ask for stuff .

I know most folks are going to Baja (or where ever ...) to FISH , not make new friends . I've learned that we , as Americans , don't have the best image around the world . After watching the gringos in action ..... I understand why . All it takes is please , and thank you . If people would just learn it in Spanish and try just a little bit ...... we'd probably look better .

Oh - Loreto and Johnny made KILLER Ceviche (thanks for the correct spelling) - very different than mine (more Tomatos , fewer Chillis) .

David

**Scott V** · 12-16-2008, 02:17 PM

Welcome back David, I am glad the two of you had a great time. I can not wait for the pictures, I have no idea what a Sierra is.

**Hairstacker** · 12-16-2008, 02:36 PM

Wow, another awesome trip David! Totally enjoyed reading the details and congratulations on the sierra and rooster and the 16 other species you ran into! Don't suppose you fished with any Tap's Bugs? Ha!

Sounds pretty exciting to be casting into the surf and never knowing what you might hook into. . . .

Anyway, really glad to hear you and Candida had such a great time!!