castaway$
Senior Nomad
Posts: 742
Registered: 7-31-2007
Location: Gold Hill, Oregon
Member Is Offline
Mood: Fish on!
|
|
Mag bay camping spots
I have some friends that are getting ready to head south and they asked me for good and especiallly safe places to camp around Mag bay and it's one
place unfortunately I don't know much about. They are headed down with a camper and boat and need a place to launch the boat (beach won't work with
their boat). Any Nomads real familiar with Mag bay camp spots?
|
|
|
rob
Senior Nomad
Posts: 509
Registered: 10-19-2004
Location: Pacific Coast, BCS
Member Is Offline
|
|
At the north end of Puerto Lopez Mateos is a fish (canning?) factory, next to that is a slip we used when we took my boat whale watching. As a camp
site it's not the greatest (my mind is going, cannot remember if it was just hard beach or concrete, but my boat trailer also needs a hard surface and
it worked just fine).
The whole beauty of Mag Bay is that there are dozens of hidden beaches in the mangroves where you can pretend you are Bogey in "African Queen", the
towns of San Carlos and Lopez Mateos are, well, gritty - but the people are helpful and friendly.
|
|
|
Alan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1628
Registered: 4-6-2005
Location: Yucaipa, CA/La Paz
Member Is Offline
|
|
I'm afraid I don't know how to post pictures on this site but here is a post I placed a couple years ago on another site.
http://seastriper.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3615
We spent the night on anchor at Santa Maria Bay rather than trying to navigate the bay in the dark. Since this trip I understand they have built a
ramp in PLM which puts them much closer to the Thetis Bank.
In Memory of E-57
|
|
|
bill erhardt
Super Nomad
Posts: 1376
Registered: 4-2-2005
Location: Loreto, BCS
Member Is Offline
|
|
There is indeed a new launch ramp at Puerto Lopez Mateos and an adjoining dock where you can tie up your boat while you park your truck/trailer. This
time of year I trailer my boat from Loreto and fish the Pacific about three days/week when the conditions allow. (the day before yesterday after a
night at anchor in Bahia Santa Maria I was back at the dock in PLM by noon with limits of wahoo and yellowfin.) I have never camped on the estero
there, but many do. I do often leave my truck/trailer near the ramp for up to four days at a time while I anchor at night at Bahia Santa Maria or
Punta Belcher, and security has never been a problem. A couple of times I have even left a window on my truck open by mistake, and nothing in the
truck has been disturbed. Crime, as yet, is not a part of the culture in PLM. A gritty little town it is, but the people are friendly and the
essentials are available, including gasoline but not deisel, and this time of year it provides access to some of the best of all Baja fishing.
|
|
|
tehag
Super Nomad
Posts: 1248
Registered: 1-8-2005
Member Is Offline
|
|
camping Mag bay
DEET!!
|
|
|
Lindalou
Senior Nomad
Posts: 623
Registered: 1-12-2004
Location: Punta Banda Baja
Member Is Offline
|
|
| Quote: | Originally posted by Alan
I'm afraid I don't know how to post pictures on this site but here is a post I placed a couple years ago on another site.
http://seastriper.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3615
We spent the night on anchor at Santa Maria Bay rather than trying to navigate the bay in the dark. Since this trip I understand they have built a
ramp in PLM which puts them much closer to the Thetis Bank. |
Alan, can't seem to get to these pics without
signing in and having a pass word.
|
|
|
castaway$
Senior Nomad
Posts: 742
Registered: 7-31-2007
Location: Gold Hill, Oregon
Member Is Offline
Mood: Fish on!
|
|
How far is the Thetis bank from PLM?
|
|
|
bill erhardt
Super Nomad
Posts: 1376
Registered: 4-2-2005
Location: Loreto, BCS
Member Is Offline
|
|
Steve...... It is 9 miles north up the estero to Boca de Soledad and then 31 nautical miles SW to Thetis.
|
|
|
Alan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1628
Registered: 4-6-2005
Location: Yucaipa, CA/La Paz
Member Is Offline
|
|
I'll try to attach the report
San Carlos – Mag Bay
There is an adequate ramp that should handle anything you can tow down there at the proper tides. The ramp is concrete but has begun to deteriorate so
try to view it at low tide before you come back to launch on a mid to high tide. The start of the ramp is nearly level for 15-20’ and then becomes
steeper. On high tidal flows a mid-tide works best. With the slight angle at the beginning of the ramp you could end up getting your truck completely
in the water before your trailer gets deep enough to float your boat at a full high tide. On very high tides the approach to the ramp can be difficult
because the previous high tide could leave the area soft and muddy.
The launch area and the bay can be very shallow. Hopefully you will have 3-4’ in the launch area when the tide is right. I personally prefer to launch
on an incoming tide. As stated there are several shoals in the bay as well. If at all possible try to follow someone who has the course out of the bay
already charted. Following pangas can also work if you don’t draw too much more than they do. Deep Vee boats should plan on anchoring overnight in
Bahia Santa Maria rather than trying to navigate the bay in the dark. Ideally you should try to plan on a couple of nights on anchor because it is a
long run back to the ramp from the Entrada.
Notice the truck is nearly level on the upper part of the ramp but the trailer is at the proper angle.
The town of San Carlos has everything you need for provisioning and even an ice house where you can load up with block ice. There are several clean
motels where you can rest up after your drive there, such as Brennan's ($45/night, Nov 05). Bring sabikis and make your own bait in the bay and it is
about a 25-30 mile run from the Entrada to the Thetis Bank for the annual marlin pileup from Oct-Nov. Good shot at tuna, dorado and wahoo in this time
period as well.
In Memory of E-57
|
|
|
bill erhardt
Super Nomad
Posts: 1376
Registered: 4-2-2005
Location: Loreto, BCS
Member Is Offline
|
|
Alan....... I've recently been launching in PLM and running down the estero to the entrada and out to the south. (In fact I am heading across the hill
in a few minutes to do just that.) It takes about and hour and 45 minutes to Punta Belcher, you can launch at any tide in PLM, and there are no seas
to buck in the estero. It is a real good option considering that once you get in at San Carlos it is still about 21 miles to the entrada versus the
40 from PLM. Something to think about the next time your are down.
|
|
|
Alan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1628
Registered: 4-6-2005
Location: Yucaipa, CA/La Paz
Member Is Offline
|
|
If I were to do it again I would definitely go to PLM. This was 3 years ago and was my first trip to Mag Bay. We didn't know a thing about the area.
Fire season ended so my son and I just headed south for the marlin pile-up. Our plan was to just camp and fish. Once we arrived in SC and saw the
run out of the bay we realized we really needed to sleep on the hook in Santa Maria. Rented a hotel room just for our camping equipment. 
I've learned a great deal just following your posts on different boards so we will definitely be better prepared next time. Wished I would have had a
chance to meet you when we brought the boat home through Loreto last July. A Wahoo is still on my list of "still to catch" and following your posts
in recent years I'm convinced you are the man for that.
In Memory of E-57
|
|
|
Bernardo
Junior Nomad
Posts: 44
Registered: 12-3-2007
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
Mood: Bien
|
|
Alan and Bill
What size and make of boat are you using? I helped a La Paz whale watching outfitter last year set up his camp across the bay from San Carlos and we
launched from the spit just south of the Marine college site. You have to do it at high tide and you have to know the deep water to go across to the
sand dunes.
|
|
|
Alan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1628
Registered: 4-6-2005
Location: Yucaipa, CA/La Paz
Member Is Offline
|
|
I have a 23' Striper WA. All the pangas launch from that spit but the ramp is just around the corner from there. For fishing the Thetis I'd follow
Bill's advice and launch from PLM
In Memory of E-57
|
|
|
bill erhardt
Super Nomad
Posts: 1376
Registered: 4-2-2005
Location: Loreto, BCS
Member Is Offline
|
|
Alan.....I'm sure that our paths will cross some day down here. And if it is this time of year, and the weather is good it will probably be at Mag
Bay. I would be happy to give you a track out of of Boca de Soledad or down the esteo from PLM to Punta Belcher. I just got back from Lopez and a
three day trip outside. Friday I went down the estero and on down to Punta Tosca where I anchored for the night. Yesterday I went on south looking
for yellowfin and then back to Bahia Santa Maria last night. This morning I was at Thetis and daybreak and found nothing. Further north at the 23's
I caught three wahoo, to 41 pounds. Other than that the trip was not very eventful. One marlin and a few dorado and yellowfin. None of the big tuna
or hungry marlin I was hoping to find. Actually, there were marlin schooling off Punta Tosca and scarfing up live bait offered by the few other
fishermen there, but they had little interest in my feathers.
Bernardo..... I have a Bluewater 2150. I launched with a friend once on the spit. The nice thing about Lopez Mateos is that getting in and out is
easy regardless of the tide.
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xmbforum/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
