Cypress
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Pacific vrs Sea of Cortez?
Think I made a mistake on my last trip to Baja. Bought into all the "Sea of Cortez fishing is great" info. Next time, if there is a next time, I'm
heading to the Pacific side. Everything in between was super.
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24baja
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One of the best things in life is our ability to chose the locations and activities that best suit our tastes. For us, it is the Sea of Cortes and
fishing it. So, I thank you for making the decision to go to the Pacific side and leave fish for me to enjoy catching in the Sea of Cortes!!
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mcfez
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Cypress
Think I made a mistake on my last trip to Baja. Bought into all the "Sea of Cortez fishing is great" info. Next time, if there is a next time, I'm
heading to the Pacific side. Everything in between was super.
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Sea of Cortez side is indeed good fishing!
Were you fishing in the vicinity of San Felipe? 
My personal luck is at Pueritcitos and beyond southward in thjs order:
Black Mountain area = Trigger -Corvina-Pargo-Bass
El Huerfanito = Trigger -Corvina-Pargo-Bass-Grouper
Okie landing = Trigger -Corvina-Pargo-Bass
Gonzaga Bay = Trigger -Corvina-Pargo-Bass- Yellow Tails
Ever had Trigger fish? Cook it right, and it tastes like lobster. Seriously.
Order this fisherman's Bible:
The Baja Catch isbn 0-929637-05-4
Pacific side is great too...but the Cortez is super to me.
If you want some real fishing......from San Felipe...for trips of 3 to 6 days, catching till you drop dead:
http://tonyreyes.com/
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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Skeet/Loreto
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Both sides of Baja are Great Fishing.
It all depends on the Location, time of year, and movement of the Fish.
I like the Sea of Cortez as I like warm Weather instead of the Costal Fog and Costal Winds. Lobster is different as well as the Shrimp.
Let us know how you do,
Skeet
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Skeet/Loreto
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Very true about Trigger Fish or El Coache.
Take the Trigger fish after cleaning, Broil for about 3 minutes, put in the Refer overnight then have it as Lobster bits on a Salad,
I have been eating it for years.
Skeet
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Cypress
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Trigger fish are OK if that's all you can catch, fried, broiled, grilled etc.. Have eaten pleny of 'em. When I was fishing for Snapper there was no
market for Trigger fish, would sell the Snapper and eat the Trigger fish. Considered 'em bait-stealing trash fish.
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monoloco
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Trigger fish makes the best ceviche of any fish.
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comitan
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X2
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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Russ
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"Very true about Trigger Fish or El Coache."
named a little different here "cochito". I think coache and coche is a pig pen and/or car. If you're gonna have a trash fish eat your bait and destroy
your soft plastics it's nice they're so tasty. I don't know what happened to the fish in the SOC this year but I hope it's just been an off year and
not a sign of things to come.
[Edited on 9-19-2010 by Russ]
Bahia Concepcion where life starts...given a chance!
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Cypress
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monoloco, You might well be right. Ceviche is highly over-rated no matter what kind of fish you use. Would rather have my fish cooked with the
exception of sushi or poke' now and then.
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Skeet/Loreto
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russ; I have checked out some of my Old records that Virginia and I kept and the fish are following a Cycle.
Of course the huge run of Sardines early then the boats coming in helped, but those guys going pour a distance are reporting a lot of small Dorado..
Remember what that tell about next Season.
I will bet that Mercanerious Reef is Loaded and on top right Now.
Skeet
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Skeet/Loreto
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Cerviche is actually "Cooked" in Lime Jucie if done the old Hotel Oasis way.
Many, many years ago when I would stay at the Oasis for $9 Dollars with 3 meals, we would always have Ceviche when we came in after a day of Fishing.
Sierra was alsways used and it was always good.
I still prefer the Trigger Fish for Lobster type eating. and the Cabrilla switched in Soy Sauce is the only Raw Fish i will eat.
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Cypress
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From my own experience I'd give the nod to the Pacific side as far as fishing is concerned. Way too many gill nets and purse seines on the Cortez
side. When they fill the back of a truck with Sierra and no ice on 'em that's a total waste. What are they gonna do, feed 'em to the hogs?
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DavidE
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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Try stuffing a yellow rectangular can of OLD BAY SEASONING in the next time you're loading to go south...
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mcfez
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When u going....here
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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Pescador
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That is too broad to get any kind of clear answer. The Pacific side has great fishing for certain species at a very narrow time of the year. The Sea
of Cortez has great fishing for certain species at a narrow time of the year. It would be better to try to figure out what you like to catch and what
kind of experience you like to have and then it would be much easier to narrow in on where you might have the best time. I fish both sides a lot and
have learned to target species according to their movements, tides, and water temperatures.
One of the dumbest things I have ever seen is someone who comes down here and says they are only going to target Dorado with a fly rod and the
yellowtail, or snapper, or whatever are going off like gangbusters on a deep reef. Frustrated him and probably peeed off all the fish.
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Cypress
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Pescador, Yep! There's a season for each, although some of the "resident" reef fish should be there year 'round.
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Skipjack Joe
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Pescador
One of the dumbest things I have ever seen is someone who comes down here and says they are only going to target Dorado with a fly rod and the
yellowtail, or snapper, or whatever are going off like gangbusters on a deep reef. |
Most fly clubs do just that. Members are forced to book their rooms, pangas, and guides by February for a week of dorado fishing without being certain
the fish will be there. Laying the fly rod aside to fish the reefs is disappointing to most of them. Hitting a dorado run right on is pretty rare
these days but was much more common years ago. Loreto in mid July was a time when the Oasis was booked solid with flyfishers.
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Pescador
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Cypress
Pescador, Yep! There's a season for each, although some of the "resident" reef fish should be there year 'round. |
Ok, lets talk resident fish. On the Pacific side good populations of groupers exist in the estuaries around Mag Bay and can be caught by knowledgable
anglers almost year around. La Bocana has a good population of groupers that are usually catchable in the fall and early winter. Of course they are
there at other times, but they move in their main locations and the catch goes way down except for the few who know where they move to. Same thing
for Calicos which can be found most of the year in La Bocana. I am only becoming aware of the fishery at Asuncion so Shari is more of an expert on
that fishery than I will ever be. Because of the protections offered by the Cooperatives in Asuncion, La Bocana, and Abreojos, the resident fishery
is much healthier than it is on the Sea of Cortez side. I know of a lot of places to find Grouper and Cabrilla in the Santa Rosalia area but they
have been seriously overfished and the same holds true on the entire Sea of Cortez side.
Migratory fish like yellowtail, tuna, dorado, and billfish are an entirely different story and depend on water currents, baitfish, temperatures, and
the like which govern their movements.
If it came to the yellowtail fishery, I would never choose to fish the Pacific side. They use mostly trolling and the fish are not reef structure
oriented and the fight is almost non-comparable. The Sea of Cortez fish pull much harder and for a longer period of time because they live so close
to the reef and know that safety is within reach by diving into the rocks and crannies of the reef. I have people coming over from the other side
frequently and they think they can land a 30 pound Sea of Cortez Yellowtail with 30 lb line or even 40 and it simply is not going to happen because
that is what they typically use on the other side. But then some like the fact that you can use smaller lines to catch the same weight fish and
consider the heavy pulling of the Cortez yellowtail as a negative.
So your question is a good one, it just needs definition. For example, if I wanted to catch Pacific Halibut from shore, I would not waste my time
in the Sea of Cortez, even though I have caught them here from a boat, but I would head to La Bocana or Asuncion where they catch nice batches of
fish.
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Cypress
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When fishing wrecks or reefs I use 120 lb. test Dacron. Otherwise you're gonna spend your time re-rigging after being cut-off. You'll leave a lot of
fishing with hooks in their mouths trailing leaders and line. Light line has it's place, but not on wrecks or reefs.
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