BajaNomad

Baja fishing

Siesta Bert - 12-5-2014 at 12:13 AM

Heading to Bahia Conception, Loreto, and Los Barilles, Feb/Mar for the first time. Will be taking along an 11'-6" Zodiac with an 8 HP Yamaha. Plan on doing some fishing and exploring.
Would appreciate any ideas on what lures would be good to have in the tackle box. Also understand some of the fish have very sharp spines, any ideas on how to protect the inflatable would be greatly appreciated. :saint:

redhilltown - 12-5-2014 at 12:28 AM

Will be interested in hearing the replies! We took a friend's smaller Zodiac out in April near-ish BOLA and only caught some grouper, triggers, and bay bass before the winds did us in...but I wondered if a piece of a very strong tarp laid over the rail where you bring the fish in would help...and then a rubbermaid or whatever bin to fit the area where you keep fish...a bucket would also work well for smaller fish and could double as a bait holder if you go that route. It has been mentioned a zillion times on here but the Baja Catch by Gene Kira and Neil Kelly is a great book to have for this type of fishing!

Siesta Bert - 12-5-2014 at 12:36 AM

We will have a good plastic container in the boat for the catch. Thinking the type of rubber liner used behind ceramic tile in a shower base might be a good barrier to lay over the tube? Not sure what to use to catch the fish to begin with?

chavycha - 12-5-2014 at 03:23 AM

There are some hints on tackle over in the Tin Boats thread.

bajabuddha - 12-5-2014 at 04:21 AM

Bert, welcome to BN. Your boat/motor rig sounds well-balanced; Zodiacs are notorious for pinholes in the fabric from sharp spines. You can use carpet scraps/samples on the tubes; cut holes in the corners and tie 'em to whatever you can on your boat. Hint; hemostats and pliers are a handy must. Any heavy fabric material would work for a 'fish-flopping' spot.

Your boat is fine, but keep a sharp eye especially on the northern horizon for the 'black line' when out on the water; you don't want to get caught in a wind in that small of a boat. It's a spankin' to get back in.

For lures, bring silver spoons, diving rapalas, rebels, even 2" - 3" rubber wigglers on jigheads.... and bring LOTS. My all-time fave is a 5/8 oz. Krokodile by Luhr Jensen. Rip some lips, have fun.

monoloco - 12-5-2014 at 06:43 AM

At that time of year, white hootchies with wire leaders work well for sierra. Also, bring some Salas type lures for jigging.

Russ - 12-5-2014 at 07:40 AM

Anything with a treble hook be careful because, for some reason, Zodiacs work as a magnate on them.
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=76561#pid9501...

Howard - 12-5-2014 at 08:28 AM

If your coming to fish Loreto I suggest you bring your best good luck charm. :biggrin:

6X Salas this time of year.

Siesta Bert - 12-5-2014 at 10:22 AM

Thanks that will get me pointed in the right direction.
Will my salmon fishing rod and reel be adequate?

Ribbonslinger - 12-5-2014 at 12:13 PM

I did not see anybody using knuckle busters down there, but for trolling I am sure it would be fine.

chavycha - 12-5-2014 at 05:26 PM

Depends on what sort of salmon fishing setup you have.

A float drifting rod like you see a lot of here in Oregon for steelhead/salmon would be woefully undergunned for the bigger species. That said you can have a lot of fun on bass, triggers, etc with something like that.

A stouter, shorter boat rod like you might use for offshore trolling for chinook would be a decent match for sierra, etc.

The Salas lures that are being recommended here are big jigs - 6" or so and weighing several ounces.

Siesta Bert - 12-6-2014 at 12:57 AM

Great help, I have a trolling setup, a Penn type reel on a 9' firm rod which has brought in 20 lb plus salmon, a float drifting 10'-6" rod with an ambassador reel I use to fish the river for salmon and steelhead, it can also handle 15lb plus fish. I have several spin casting setups for trout fishing. Sounds like it's best to bring a variety. Will be challenging to tell the wife rods are a priority. (Could be fishing alone) LOL.

Russ - 12-6-2014 at 05:47 AM

Those are mighty long rods.

basautter - 12-6-2014 at 06:26 AM

I have always had the highest yield bottom fishing with cut bait. I use a bottom rig with two hooks and a 3 oz sinker. One about a foot off the bottom and another about a foot higher. This is good for triggers, corvina (my favorite), cabrilla (makes good bait) and an occasional grouper...... Rebels or rapalas work good for surface fishing. Best of luck!

Siesta Bert - 12-6-2014 at 09:16 AM

Thanks, Once I'm there I'll hook up with some other fisherman to get tips on cleaning and filleting these kinds of fish.
Looking to forward to some beach time to go along with the fishing.

redhilltown - 12-7-2014 at 12:03 AM

Quote: Originally posted by basautter  
I have always had the highest yield bottom fishing with cut bait. I use a bottom rig with two hooks and a 3 oz sinker. One about a foot off the bottom and another about a foot higher. This is good for triggers, corvina (my favorite), cabrilla (makes good bait) and an occasional grouper...... Rebels or rapalas work good for surface fishing. Best of luck!


Great thoughts...bring a chunk of squid...it's like fish candy!

bajabuddha - 12-7-2014 at 12:27 AM

Bert; your rig(s) are adequate. You'll pick up a lot of knowledge in a short time, don't expect to know and do everything right; that's the difference between 'fishing' and 'catching'. Bring 2 -3 different weight poles, and a few extra reels, and 8lb, 12lb, 15lb and 30lb line spools, and PLAY wid'em (windy afternoons). TALK to folk, that's Espiritu Baja. Be sure to rinse your reels daily with fresh water. Forget all this advice and remember all of it, that's the way of the fisherman, not the catcherman. Have fun, amigo........ the adventure awaits.

The reason to bring a few extra (cheap) reels is it's not easy to refit when 'chit happens'. Better to have and not need, than need and not have, unless you're a terminal cancer patient; in that case, i'd BRING THREE.

Happy trails. And don't forget the 5/8 oz Krok's (blue mackerel; but don't tell anyone, I buy 24 at a time from Cabella's....)
:bounce:

[Edited on 12-7-2014 by bajabuddha]

Siesta Bert - 12-7-2014 at 08:43 PM

Alright looks like a stop at Cabellas will be scheduled.

Siesta Bert - 12-9-2014 at 11:19 AM

In my search for information I found the following site and thought others following the post might find the information useful.

http://www.bahiadelosangeles.info/fishing.htm

hombre66 - 12-10-2014 at 07:25 PM

As a PNW resident and baja person, I would strongly suggest you leave your salmon reels at home. The Cortez is saltier than most, and I have had nothing but trouble having those reels seize up. Even with severe rinsings in FW. Try to take a couple of older Penn 500's... tried and true! Daiwa SLH is durable as well.

Siesta Bert - 12-10-2014 at 11:31 PM

Thanks for the heads up, the reel I have on my salmon rod is a Diawa sealine 50H. Not sure if this is equal to the SLH or not? It has held up fishing salmon in the ocean for many years although it is showing signs of aging, just like me.

redhilltown - 12-11-2014 at 12:47 AM

I am not a "techie" as to reels (it seems to me with a decent spinning rod, a penn jigmaster and a senator and you've covered 90% of the fish yer gonna catch this time of year) but for the basic shore fishing and in shore fishing your are going to do your rigs are probably fine...just have a few extras. Some plastics/krocs/fastracs/rapalas/squid and some small-ish hooks for Triggers and you is good to go!

[Edited on 12-11-2014 by redhilltown]

hombre66 - 12-11-2014 at 10:58 AM

Bert, I forgot to add, those Sealines are real good. Especially the older ones. The SLH was a little smaller.Most of the salmon fisherman around here on the southern Oregon coast are using ambassageurs....level winds etc, for salmon.

willardguy - 12-11-2014 at 11:25 AM

any of those winches will do,BUT, leave the s-l-o-w action salmon rods home. these fish have hard mouths and pull hard, grab something with some backbone for positive hooksets and keeping em out of the rocks! have fun!:D

AKgringo - 12-11-2014 at 11:44 AM

Are you able to get on step with that 8 hp motor? I never had my Zodiac down in Baja, but fished and hunted Alaskan waters for years with a Mark II Compact, which is a hypalon, inflatable keel model about the same size as yours.
My eighteen horse Evinrude was about as small as I would want to go with any kind of load on board. The flexible hull and floor has a lot of drag, and beach landings, fish landings and such I usually wound up taking on water. I don't think I could have gotten my skiff to plane enough to let the bilge water run out the scuppers with eight horsepower!
I recommend running your boat as tight as you can inflate it, but don't leave it on the beach in the sun without bleeding off some pressure.

Siesta Bert - 12-12-2014 at 05:27 PM

Yes good point about an inflatable sitting in the hot sun all day. With 2 people in the boat I can get planning quite quickly and cruise at a decent speed. I don't know that most guys ever have enough power but when you have to pack a motor the lightest one to get the job done wins.