Las Arenas....
Got back from the annual Baja trip Saturday night. Had to get my thoughts together for this item. In some ways, this was the trip from Hell (for me) and in others a really great time.
On the flight down, I noticed the green water all the way down from the Mulege area. Not a good sign. Upon landing, I found that my checked luggage was missing and that someone (one of the other anglers) had picked up my Fish Pond rod container mistaking it for his own. No problem for me but, not knowing whose the other container was, I didn't pick it up. So, his rod carrier ended up in the Mexican Customs Office and my luggage was still missing. I placed a tracer on the luggage with Horizon Air and met with Jay M., and Wade, the owner of the other rod carrier. When we asked if we could go into the La Paz Airport Customs area, we were denied access (even tho I'd seen the carrier in that office). With the help of a horizon employee, a Customs Supervisor arrived and we the carrier was returned to Wade.... (Whew!!!) At least that one was solved.
Made a stop at WalMart (that's right) and bought some underwear and a pair of shorts, then went to the hotel and borrowed a reel (Galvan [a very good reel BTW], line, leaders, flies, etc.,) and fished on Sunday. Monday, Horizon called and said my luggage was being held hostage by the Customs Office in Cabo and that I had until 6:00 PM to pick it up (it was approximately 3:00 PM then) or Customs would return my luggage to LAX. Long story short, I talked them into letting me pick up the luggage next day, rented a car, drove to Cabo and retrieved my bag. Horizon covered the cost of the rental/gas. Driving in MX is an adventure but that's another story. Now, I had all of my own equipment/flies, clothing, etc. Whew!!!! Another save....
Here's an obligatory sunrise over Las Arenas:
Each day started with a period of trying to net bait. If bait was plentiful and nearby, this period lasted about an hour and involved a lot of effort on the part of the Panga Captains while we (clients) drove the boat. The bait was Ballyhoo and an occasional Mullet (The best available, BTW).
Then it was off to wherever we thought the fish were. The first day was the long ride north for bait and fishing. Saw some Dorado but little or no love from the fish. The rest of the week, bait was close and plentiful. We covered the area around Muertos Bay without much luck. Saw a bunch of Roosters. Lots of follows. My partner caught one:
The remainder of days available to us after the day we lost, were out to the Shark Bouys and wind/waves. Amazingly, there were some Dorado out there willing to play (not many but enough). I didn't land any of them, breaking a 10 weight rod at the boat while trying to land a green fish (shnookie mistake ). I had anticipated using a fly that might be a good ballyhoo imitation and brought a few. The Dorado liked them but the fly was too long and strikes were missed. Oh well.... My partner, on the other hand caught a large Dorado on bait:
So, the fish are there but you've got to be willing to work for them under some tough conditions. For example, I was attempting to initiate cast from the stern when a wave caused a lurch, my foot slipped on the wet deck and I landed flat on my back between the chairs. Sheepishly, I got back up and blasted out my best cast of the day....
One of the benefits of getting to know the captains and taking care of them is that they might provide some great stuff to eat like barbequed Mahi and salsa fresca with homemade tortillas for breakfast, mmm, mmm!!!:
In spite of all of the weird stuff that happened to me on this trip (I didn't mention all of them), I won't hesitate to go again. I really do love it down there.
Last edited by Darian; 06-11-2012 at 07:34 PM.
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