Anonymous - 9-13-2004 at 03:31 PM
Hi - our family will be going to San Felipe next week and my Dad wants to tajke my 4 sons fishing. We don't have time or $ for a multi-day fish trip,
so that leaves us with 1 - fish from shore, or 2 - hire a panga for 1/2 day. Any advice or opinions on one or the other? Is it do-able? How do you
find a panga? How much can we expect to pay? What's the fishing like from shore?
Any and all input appreciated! Thanks!!!
gonetobaja - 9-13-2004 at 04:10 PM
When you get to San Felipe go the the beach in front of the main strip where the clubs are. There will be about 40 or so pangas on the beach. There
are guys that will take you out. Try and make sure that they have at least a VHF radio in the boat. There is some good fishing, It will depend on
the panga guide you get. Fishing from shore is also possible if you walk out on the rocks north of town on the point. You can get squid in town for
bait.
As far as jellyfish and stingrays, yes they are there. have your kids practice the "stingray shuffle" where they drag their feet across the sand
instead of stepping up and down. The stingrays will flush out if you shuffle along and then leave the area where you are playing. As far as
Jellyfish, I have found that they are on the edge of the water more when the tide is comming in. The only way to protect against jellyfish is to wear
some type of thin clothing in the water. I cant say that they will be there for sure but sometimes they are. The ones down here dont do much damage
with the sting just a welt. Sometimes they are so small that you cant even see them.
For the most part I wouldnt worry about them. Just do the stingray shuffle and the kids should have a great time.
The Baja mar resturant has reverse osmosis cold water. It is great. and wont give you the revenge!
Have a great trip
GTB
4baja - 9-14-2004 at 06:22 AM
overall beach fishing in san felipe sucks, i would either get a panga or go further south below puertocitos and fish the rocks. i fish that area and
theres good fishing for triggers, corvina, and pargo. allso have caught white sea bass and tortuva(banned) and various grouper. good luck and explore
as this is a great area.
Panga Fishing in San Felipe
bajapablo - 9-14-2004 at 06:34 AM
Me and a friend rented a panga for 50 bucks (total). We met the captain (is a guy who manuevers a panga called a captain or is he called the steering
guy) for breakfast at 6 and then motored about 20 minutes off shore and by 10am we were hot (this was July) and tired (of catching fish, because it
was so dang hot) We caught a lot of corvina, I think some croaker, and a trigger fish. At times pulling up 2 fish at a time. We tipped the steering
guy
10 dollars and felt like we had an enjoyable time for 30 bucks each.
We found our boat by talking to the guys who hang out on the malecon down near the public restrooms. We talked to the oldest guy there (he seemed to
be da man!)
4baja
OLDFEZZYWIG - 9-14-2004 at 09:49 AM
Great to hear your catch and release of
a totuava . There is a picture in Gene Kira's book " The Unforgettable Sea of Cortez " that was taken in 1942 . It shows thousands of these fish
crashing the beach chasing sardines . There is a guy picking them out of the water and throwing them onto the beach . This fish now faces extinction .
Hopefully if poachers leave this fish alone they can make a comeback .
Anonymous - 9-14-2004 at 12:49 PM
Hey, thanks for the replies!
To follow up - is a "panga" the size of a regular row boat? Like, would it seat how many? Also, when you mentioned you left early in the morning, was
it high tide? When we will be there, high tide isn't until noon.
As for shore fishing: my Dad is pretty stubborn. I think he'll give it a try no matter how bad it's supposed to be!
Thanx again, I really appreciate any input. My husband and our kids went to San Felipe only ONCE and now we're supposed to be the "Mexico experts" for
our whole family! I'd hate to get all 6 families down there and screw it up big time 
Natalie
Bob H - 9-14-2004 at 01:28 PM
Here are a couple of pangas in the background on the beach in San Felipe... blue and white colors in the background.
Bob H
Bob H - 9-14-2004 at 01:30 PM
And, this is what you eat when you get back! Pescado frito!.... and some Pacificos, ofcourse.
Bob H
Panga Fishing
bajapablo - 9-14-2004 at 02:01 PM
When we went I wasn't worried about the tides affecting the launching of the panga as they launch them from the beach. They hook a rope from the
panga to a custom rollbar on a pickup and drag you to the waters edge and when you come in, they tie the same rope to the rollbar and drag you up the
beach (unless your truck doesn't show up and the panguero full throttles the boat straight into the shore, where we hit a small swell and after a back
cracking jar and a 10 yard slide up the beach we had landed). As far as tides affecting the fishing near San Felipe, I have no idea. The San Felipe
pangas I think are about 19 feet long and use around a 75 horspower outboard. Every panga there looks like it was poured from the same mold other
than the paint jobs and all the engines seem to be yamahas. They are uncomfortable as heck on your hiney and a foam pad helps a little, but the price
is right and catching fish makes your backside troubles go away. There are other sportfishing options and nicer boats to be had but the panga shown
in the pictures above is the cheapest. When we went, the captain baited our hooks, and took the fish off our hooks and we spent the whole time
reeling fish in or working on our spanish. The captain or panguero did seem to be someone other than the owner of the boat, so be sure to tip the
driver. THere were 2 of us on our panga but you should be soemwhat comfortable with 5-6 of you. When you get to San Felipe, walk the Malecon and
look for the old-timers near the public restrooms. The prices do seem to be negotiable (especially in July when it was hotter than hell and not alot
of fishing rentals going on). Good luck, have a blast, and post a report. The pangas I'm talking about are the economy style and for me were perfect
for my budget and my baja experience. Ours came with all the tackle and bait (be sure to ask). We did give our panguero a bunch of our fish and some
other locals we had met the rest. We probably caught 40 fish and 20 were keepers, but I can't remember for sure as we gave them all away. THis trip
was in 2003. This year we went to San Felipe but decided to go to Gonzaga Bay and fish instead. We ended up not fishing at all as the price was way
out of our league at gonzaga. But I'm not sure the price we were quoted was for a panga or a nicer sportfisher boat. Anyway, I'm envious of your
trip. Next time I am taking my kids (all 4) and the wife.
[Edited on 9-14-2004 by bajapablo]
San Felipe Pic
Anonymous - 9-14-2004 at 03:13 PM
Great pics! I'm getting really excited to go!!! Now, here's one of ours from our trip there last April (I think it has 4 of our 7 kids, at Pete's
Paradisio):
Oops!
Anonymous - 9-14-2004 at 03:24 PM
OK, no, that wasn't in Baja! After we left San Felipe, we went overland across the penninsula and same out in Dan Diego - this is a beach somewhere
near there 
Let's try again:
Anonymous - 9-14-2004 at 03:25 PM
And...
synch - 9-30-2004 at 11:06 AM
bajapablo wrote:
(...snip!...)
We did give our panguero a bunch of our fish and some other locals we had met the rest. We probably caught 40 fish and 20 were keepers, but I
can't remember for sure as we gave them all away. THis trip was in 2003.
Where is mrchuck when you need him?
synch, let me clarify,
bajapablo - 9-30-2004 at 12:36 PM
we caught 40, of the 40, 20 were keepers, so we threw back 20 and gave the 20 we kept away. Since it is a fish story the numbers are probably more
like 20 caught and 10 kept, but hey, what's a fish story without a little embellishment.
I'm guessing your post had something to do with me not being aware of/and or blatant disregard to fishing laws and limits. I am guilty as charged.
Who is mrchuck? Fish & game warden of the bajaboard?
An anonymous family foto album
jrbaja - 9-30-2004 at 12:47 PM
interesting ! I thought I would mention that around the hotsprings in Puertecitos, there is some really good snorkeling with colorful fish. To
take pictures of
#1 - 9-30-2004 at 09:03 PM
I've never fished San Felipe but I did learn a little secret for shore fishing. When I fish the shore at Camp Gecko I use a lure with the hooks cut
off. Keeps all the fish from interrupting my fishing. 