We had lots of doubles too.
As we trolled looking for more dorado we’d also spot marlin which seemed to be everywhere. Some seemed to be sleeping while others where cruising and after food.
I was lucky enough to have one take my fly. But after six grabs and takes I couldn’t get a good hook set and ended with this Marlin Bit & Spit. (even with a 6/0 Gamakatsu)
Several of the guys did take marlin on conventional gear. Jerry Shoemaker took three while Bill Siler and his son Kyle took their first. Here’s Bill with a nice dorado and a shark bit skippy, and Bill’s son Kyle with a big skipjack.
Besides lots of beautiful dorado and way too many black skipjack Steve Purpura landed the first ever Pargo rojo on a fly.
Pargo rojo also go by several other names such as Dogtooth snapper and Cubera. Steve took this beauty on one of Jim May’s brown / white Feather Duster flies.
Our last day we got word that tuna had been showing approximately twenty some miles east of Isla Cerralvo. Our captain (Jesus) asked if we’d like to give them a try saying it would be a long ride getting there. “You bet!” and off we went. Three and half hours later we see splashing yellowfin breaking the surface and dolphin (porpose?) everywhere. Tuna, for whatever reason, seem to follow under rolling dolphin and we had dolphin going out of sight in every direction.
Before I could make my first cast with the fly Jesus already had Kim’s sardina in the water and she’s hooked up. To our surprise, it’s a huge dorado and ended up weighing over forty pounds.
As quickly as I could get my fly in the water I was hooked up to my first yellowfin of the trip. And so it went for the next two hours, non-stop hook-ups of yellowfin tuna, a few skipjack, and even one huge dorado.
Here’s my wife and Jesus with her first yellowfin and me with one taken on the fly.
Back at the dock Leonard Phillips (owner of Baja Pirates) holds up Kim’s dorado.
On the ride from La Paz back to the Cabo airport we ended our trip by breaking down out in the middle of nowhere. Yes, even a new Mercedes van can break down in Mexico.
What a way to end a great trip
Tony
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