Shots Across My Bow (Pre-Easter Photo tour of Conception Bay)

The other day I heard vague rumors about ROOSTERFISH -




- PEZ GALLO! in Conception Bay near Roca Frijoles (Bean Rocks)...so away I went to talk with Mark at Playa Buenaventura...even though I had preomonitions about taking some shots across the bow!


The entrance to Playa Buenaventura Hotel..and the adjoining cafe/resort.




Kind of quiet at the hotel....



Went inside the cafe for a coffee and a chat with Mark's son, Nathan. We yakked about fishing, a certain nice Canadian lassie, and stuff.

Nathan showed me a photo of a big rooster taken a couple years ago at Bean Rocks..."Hope I can catch one this size!" He grinned.



"Hey, not a problem, Nathan. That's my fishing buddy, Two Dogs, and if he can catch one, you can, too."




Right off, there was not enough water to launch my Yarcraft at the casa's ramp...but not to worry...Buenaventura has a nice concrete ramp, right? Yeah, I'll launch there and be that much closer to Bean Rocks and those mighty roosters!

Well, almost...turned out there was not enough water there, either...low tide, duh!

Sooo....it was back on the trail to Coyote Bay and launch from the sand in a deeper end of the cove. Been there, done that..many times! (..SO?..then why didn't I think of that before..??)



Hang on, folks...we're on the ROOSTER-trail!

Warning: We might take some shots across the bow, though... TO BE CONTINUED ....










[Edited on 4-2-2012 by Pompano]

Quote:

Originally posted by Pompano Warning: We might take some shots across the bow, though... TO BE CONTINUED .... [/size]

Reminds me of my favorite fishing story: We were in my cousins 15ft Polar in a fog just outside the breakwater in Long Beach on a foggy morning fishing for bass when suddenly a foghorn and a the bow of a big trawler comes right on top of us. 'Do you know where we are?' shouted one of the asian crew. We gave them the GPS coordinates and he asks again 'do you know where we are?' Since we are close enough to see the rock wall of the breakwater we tell him that the entrance is about a mile that way (pointing of course). Once again, ''do you know where we are?' before we can respond he explains in very broken english that they are almost out of fuel and asks if we can lead him into the breakwater. He tells he will pay us fish for doing this. We lead them into the breakwater and the hoist us down a nice yellowfin and a swordfish with it's head cut off, both frozen solid. They go on thier way and with limited cooler space we decide to chop the tail of sword to make it fit, barely, in our 100 qt ice chest. We had to leave the tuna on deck to thaw. We went back and our decent bass bite was gone, should have figured.
That was the day we caught IDIOTS

"Roosters in the Bay" .......continued:


Well alrighty then, made it back to Coyote Bay to find a better place to launch the boat..which should be quite easy as it is a shallow draft boat..... but ...at 2400lbs it's far too heavy to drag across the sand.

Lindsay Law: "If your depth exceeds your draft, you are most assuredly aground."



I back the boat into the shelfing water a few hundred yards from my own ramp, where it was far too shallow to get the boat off the trailer.

Piece of cake along this faster shelving shore. We used to launch my neighbor's 32 Bertram diesel sportfisher here..and that was a bit more work compared to my 19 Yarcraft Storm.



There we go...a good easy launch and we're off and running.


So...as long as we're out here, we might as well take a look at the sights along the "Rooster Fish Route".

I motor past the Coyote Bay community of beachfront dwellings.

Hola Manuel y Umberto!







Coyote Bay Cove is also a well-known and safe anchorage for all types of vessels.

Here's an aerial photo I took while flying over the western mountains with my old buddy, Dusty. Clearly shows the sandy nature of Coyote Bay's bottom. Perfect hooking for any boat anchoring there.


A Nomad-owned vessel, "Uno Mas"..a 57ft motoryacht.

I LOVE boats..so I took lots of photos of this beauty. My old stinkpot "Pompano" would be an ugly duckling alongside this swan.

















Note: While slowly running thru the shallows I began to notice NUMEROUS small sting rays lurking near the bottom veggies...WATCH OUT FOR THESE GUYS!

Lots of small stingrays waiting for your feet and ankles...Cuidado! Shuffle when wading...keep alert.







I noticed swarms of lisas..sardines...so those so-far elusive ROOSTERFISH...cannot be too far away, right??

Well...don't bet too much on that. I've heard these kind of fish boil rumors for many years.

In other words:

The 'Coconut Telegraph' is a bit like the 'New York Times'....one has to take it with a grain of salt!




"ROOSTERS IN THE BAY!"......TO BE CONTINUED ANYWAY....



[Edited on 4-1-2012 by Pompano]

[Edited on 4-1-2012 by Pompano]

Aha...bet you thought I'd given up the search for those elusive roosterfish, right? Not on your life, no sireeee...I am hot on the trail...and remember this:

"Never, never.. get between a Norski and a fish."



So you know what we seek, here's the quarry....Roosterfish...Pez Gallo.

These great fighters are from Panama..


This one was right in front of mi casa in Coyote....a 'homey' that took a cast krocodile and then exploded into action. Finest kind!



WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE WE?

Ah..durrellroberts...you don't know where Coyote Bay is relative to San Felipe or BOLA? We be way, way south of those places. Here's a map for you.

All of Baja California (Norte y Sur)



Bay of Conception, Baja Sur


I just had a couple icy cold brews and a great sammy at Mark & Olivia's beach cafe. BUT...I had lots of trouble while there ....keeping to my diet! Go see for yourself....You will like this friendly place, I'm sure.


As we head out of Coyote Bay, I glance over at the camping beach and note that it is fairly uncrowded today. THAT will change dramatically in the next few days. EASTER MADNESS IS COMING!



Okay, okay..nuff screwing the pooch...let's get after them roosters!


....Ah..hmmm.. Okay, which way to Bean Rocks?

Anybody?




[Edited on 4-1-2012 by Pompano]

Thanks

bean rocks......are they next to rice beach?

Hard to Port!

And here we are....coming into Playa Burros:

Ever wonder why they call it Playa Burros?


Anybody recognize thier palapa?


See any sign of roosters? Let me know!



See the KAYAKS for rent palapa. I inquired there a few weeks back... kayak @$70 a day the man said. Hmm..





Bertha's Beach Cafe - bottom right corner...neat place.

Here's a better look of Bertha's:




I'm looking all around..checking things out...


Well....Looked all around for some Bean Rocks...nada aqui..


Just these rocks with an osprey nesting...


No roosters here today, but I do recall Burros Beach as having lots of sierra mackerel at one time a couple years back?



But today, nothing...no pescado, nada...


...we're moving on..vamos...Adios Playa Burro.





Now about those ROOSTERFISH.

-Common name: Pez gallo, papagallo

-Scientific name: Nematistius pectoralis
-Size: 10 to 30 lb. average, but can reach 100 lb.
-World Record: 114 lb., taken out of La Paz, Baja in 1960
-Range: Eastern Pacific, ranging from Gulf of California to Panama
-Distribution in Baja: North to Magdalena and throughout the Sea of Cortez.
-Found: Inshore-onshore, along sandy stretches of beaches with rock outcroppings mixed in.
-Description: Gray back, silver body with two pronounced diagonal stripes. Pectoral fin long and sickle shaped, dorsal fin very elongated and supposedly has a likeness to a rooster's comb, hence the common name. Tail fin is deeply forked as is typical of all members of the jack family.
-Commonly taken on: live bait, with mullet and sardinas their favorite. Rarely taken on lures, but when feeding will hit surface jigs. One of the top gamefish found in Baja, a furious fighter with unequaled stamina, unpredictable slashing moves, jumps and long screaming runs. Due to its distinctive first dorsal spines it can easily be identified. Sportfishermen typically release these fish after taking a few photos to remember them by, but local residents do enjoy eating them; the meat is very dark but is used in stews or machaca, which is a process of drying the flesh with salt to preserve it.

Okay...now you know all about them....SO...keep yer eyes OPEN!









[Edited on 4-1-2012 by Pompano]

Good morning, Bajacat...sorry our paths did not cross at Coyote..perhaps during your stay? Hasta pronto!

And now back to the pointless and seeming futile purpose of this photo essay...cruising Conception Bay in search of this elusive (so-far) prey....ROOSTERFISH...

and who knows, maybe I can score one as big as this record pez gallo taken in 2002 out of La Paz. Congratulations to 'Jamie' on a fine catch...a 110 pounder:



Okay..we're off and looking hard again...leaving Playa Burros, we motor down the shore and pass this familiar highway sight...

The Shrine of the Bay:





..and some local fish spotters...




Nope...nada...no roosters at the shrine...maybe around the corner at...

PLAYA COCOS...a long-famous camping beach for Canadian/American perennials.



PLAYA COCOS...FROM HIGHWAY YESTERDAY, APRIL 1, 2012


No pez gallo at Cocos..Note: .used to be lots of robalo (snook) here 'back in the day'

So around another corner and we find the 'Hidden Beach' Playa Escondido




Guess it's too well hidden, cuz there are NO campers here...deserted and... waiting for the Easter Crowds?

Right out in front of Playa Escondido is one of my favorite little BOC islands. This one has a good beach to boat, kayak, or snorkle to.....perfect for a picnic or ?



It is also the island where our regatta team members of yesteryear placed a memorial plaque for a dear departed friend, Trent McCaleb. A party of us motored out one fine afternoon many years ago and place a memorial shrine to Trent's memory on the top of this island. RIP old friend.


Trent was a whiz at lots of Baja house power details like solar/batteries, etc...that left most of us scratching our heads back in the day. He helped us all. Trent also had a interest in 'high-perfomance & speed' and often said he would like to pilot a jet plane...to feel that power. Before the cancer took him, he was granted his wish in this Russian Mig. His smile says it all.


Trent (white cap) aboard wounded Quetzal offshore Esoncido early 90's.


Some regatta contestants 'christianing' Trent's newly acquired catamaran, "Blew By You". Finest kind of times...you are sorely missed, old chum.


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Well...again, no roosters? Are you sure your're looking hard enough?


They look like this when they close to shore...bunching up a a school of baitfish with their sails erected...and then charging in for a slashing finale. (Hmm..reminds me of an early dating technique on a certain remote beach out by Pta. Teresa...right, Co-pilot?)






TO BE CONTINUED...AD NAUSEUM TO BE SURE.

gellesram,

No, those rocks are always above the high waterline...even though the time of those photos was a really low tide.

The bird rocks are located directly out from the Bay Shrine about 100 yards or so. Next time stop and you will see them..promise.

No doubt the entire bay scene in front of you captured your attention...and this is very small pile of rocks.

On the Rooster Trail in Conception Bay:


Hmm...no word on the radio, and I don't recall anybody' catching 'anything' yet..let alone a roosterfish? Oh, well, the
day is young.


Hey, just in case any of you are getting hookups, I sure hope somebody is keeping count on the number of Roosterfish you are catching...5 per person is the limit...and we should really be live-releasing all of them, as they are not especially prized as dinner fish.



Now and then, one or two are kept for making machaca..shredded & dried fish added to some horrible gruel or whatever...yukky poo.

Now lutefisk?..YES!..an entirely different experience.

Behold Pez Gallo!




We cruise over the shallow straits between Playa Escondido, Trent's Island...and enter the cloistered waters of...

POSADA CONCEPTION...and what a concept it is. You want cloister?..you got it, amigo. When living here:...You love it, or you hate it. Personally, I am an extrovert.. and really loved the years I owned a home directly overlooking Posada. We partied till the roosters crowed...and then partied more with them. Finest kind of social interactions and never once had to hire a lawyer.

The Posado homes...beach and Hill.






Our old stone home on the Hill...back in the day. 5-guy partnership.





What Posada beach community looked like from our balconey back then. Pre-fire... that almost wiped out the whole community.



SOME ‘ROOSTERS’…BACK IN THE DAY

Mi compadre: 32nd degree Rooster Randy...and me with..hey...some 'roosters'.





Roger Page..nomad aguaholic now passed...our best chef and amigo. This was one of his masterpieces...rooster shish kabob...just extremely delicious.

He was a culinary maestro. I once savored an old duck decoy he cooked up for me.




Dusty Larson.."airman extraordinaire".and fellow 'Rooster'.












We had some great times....and we tended to burn the candles from both ends...








Some readers may recall the annual Posado Beach Swap Meet? "For a few pesos more."






Well, we got off the Roosterfish Trail a bit there...going down Memory Lane, but then you knew I'd be going down that path anyway, right??

So...back to the Conception Bay Rooster Hunt as we hoist anchor at Posada and motor up the shore to.......

---TO BE CONTINUED--- purdy soon...as I have nothing to do for 3 hours until the poker game starts up again.

Quote:

Originally posted by Pompano Quote: Originally posted by gallesram Roger, did you have a really low tide the day you were crusing away from Burro? I don't remember seeing those rocks offshore in the picture you posted with the Shrine of the Bay and the "local fish spotters". Maybe I'm just confused (wouldn't be the first time)? gellesram, No, those rocks are always above the high waterline...even though the time of those photos was a really low tide. The bird rocks are located directly out from the Bay Shrine about 100 yards or so. Next time stop and you will see them..promise. No doubt the entire bay scene in front of you captured your attention...and this is very small pile of rocks.