Yakfishing - 9-13-2007 at 03:44 PM
I’m headed to BOLA on Friday next week with my girlfriend and two kids. I plan on hiring a panga to take the whole crew to see the whale sharks. I’ll
be bringing the kayaks for inshore fishing, but I may also want to also head out with a panga to chase YT and dorado out on the reefs without the girl
and kids.
I thought about splitting the day with fishing solo early morning and then dumping the gear (and hopefully fish) and picking up the rest of the crew
to see the whale sharks. The concern based on previous posts is wind chop can limit shark visibility, plus it would also cut into my fishing time!!
Questions:
1) Any recommendations regarding who to hire (or who to not hire) for the whale sharks?
2) Any recommendations regarding who to hire (or who to not hire) for fishing?
3) Anyone want to split a panga to fish one day during the week of 9/23?
Joe O.
Ken Bondy - 9-13-2007 at 03:50 PM
Joel Prieto is an outstanding panguero.
joel_prieto@hotmail.com
You should see the whale sharks in the morning.
++Ken++
[Edited on 9-13-2007 by Ken Bondy]
Paulina - 9-13-2007 at 06:28 PM
Go to Mia's website and check out the link on the upper right hand side. There she lists all the panguero/fishing guides in the bay.
http://www.bahiadelosangeles.info/
Joel is great for both fishing and whale sharks, as Ken says. He lives across from the museum.
Memo Smith is good for whale sharks. You can find him at Costa del Sol or at his house which is directly across from the hotel, on the water's edge.
The Diaz guys are great fishermen. I like them all; Chato, Gilbert, Jose and Pepe. They are all great guys. If you fish with them, you'll experience
the fish cleaning station behind Casa Diaz in the afternoon when you get back. If you take a six pack of Tecate for the group, you'll fit right in.
Rafa is good too as well as Roberto Ocana.
If you stay at Dagget's then you'll most likely have Ruben or his son take you out.
It pretty much depends on where you stay - who you'll get to take you out. They all are good fishermen and usually end up in the same 'parking lot' so
to speak, meaning they all know where the fish are and more than likely you'll be fishing with the group.
You cannot fish and see whale sharks all in the same day. You have to get bait in the morning and then fish. As Ken said, you should see the whale
sharks in the morning too. Sometimes you can see them after 4 pm, but you will have a very, very hard time trying to find someone who will take you
out at that time of the day.
No matter who you choose, you'll get fish and you'll see the sharks, if they're there.
Photo of the parking lot last summer, Smith Island on the yellowtail bite.
P<*)))><
bigjohn - 9-13-2007 at 08:26 PM
We have always used Reuben Daggett. Usually Enrique (his son) comes as well unless it is incredibly busy and they need to use more than one panga. The
Heidi II is a huge improvement over the original Heidi. Now that has only been for fishing and not to view the whale sharks. We have never been
disappointed in the fishing. 
4baja - 9-14-2007 at 06:21 AM
yakfishing, we will be there at the same time fishing all week through the weekend. look for my boat and come by and have a beer. we will be fishing
mostly outside looking for dorado and bigger yellows but allways a stop in at guerrmos on the way home.
shari - 9-14-2007 at 09:55 AM
Hi, this is Baja Gypsy, we just got back from BOLA, and we highly recommend Ricardo's Diving Tours. Ricardo is Juan's cousin and he took Mr Gypsy and
myself out and we saw three whale sharks within minutes. We also got to see sea lions and fin whales.
Ricardo's email is ricardoarcen@hotmail.com, and his web site is www.scubabaja.com.
Wonderful family, and they will take you on a trip of a lifetime.
Yakfishing - 9-14-2007 at 10:43 AM
Thanks all for the info. I fished with Joel last year, nice guy.
I was exploring my options and there's lots of them...
Steve,
If I don't see you on the water or at ramp, I'll try to stop by Doc's. I'm camping at Archelon.
This time next week, I'll be on my way down - can't wait!
Joe O.
Roberto - 9-14-2007 at 11:41 AM
For fishing, Rafa is unquestionably a good panguero, especially if the bite around at Smith.
I would highly recommend either Igor Galvan or Ruben Daggett.
4baja - 9-15-2007 at 05:28 PM
see you down there.