BIG CUBERA OR DOG SNAPPER
CAUGHT WHILE FLY FISHING AT CABO

Jan. 23, 2005, Grant Hartman, Baja Anglers, Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico:

Sage representative Van Rollo was fishing with me last week out of Cabo San Lucas. He fished a few boat days and then we went out on a beach trip. We were fishing the Punta Gordo area without much luck, when Van spotted some dolphins in the distance. We were wondering what they were up to, when we saw a Momma Humpback whale and newborn calf in the middle of the pod of porpoise. The amazing thing was that the porpoise were going around in circles either celebrating new life or protecting the baby whale from the sharks, maybe both. We just sat down on the beach and watched the miracle, forgetting that we were supposed to be fishing. When we finally left, the porpoises were still surrounding the calf and circling and leaping. It was a sight Van and I will never forget.

A few days earlier Van and his beautiful wife Lisa were fishing with us on the boat. Their arms were sore from catching sierra on the fly and we went off to look for different species. They found a school of jacks and snappers. It wasn't long before Lisa hooked into a whale of a Snapper. She fought it for about 15 minutes and landed a 25 to 30 pounder Cubera snapper on a fly using 20-pound test tippet. Capt. Arturo said the cubera snapper was probably a world record, but Lisa wanted to release it. We release most of our fish, but Cubera snappers are a hard fish to put back into the water. Lisa gave the fish to the boys. When Van was in the shop we looked up the Cubera snapper IGFA record and sure enough she had caught it. The next day they all said that was the best fish they ever ate. Van also caught a 30-pound jack on the fly, that was surely a world record, but he released it, rather than kill it.

Inshore fishing has been hot! We are catching sierra mackerel on the fly. Most of the time, the action has been nonstop with both the fly and light tackle. The sierra's are running around 6 to 12 pounds and are great fun. With lightning strikes and screaming runs.