CABO SAN LUCAS FLY FISHING PRODUCES A STRIPED MARLIN
RELEASE ABOARD THE CHARTER BOAT SOLMAR III

Feb. 25, 2005, Boots Fawcett, Cabo San Lucas, Baja Sur, Mexico:

It was a very special week of fishing for me in Cabo San Lucas. First, I was guiding my youngest son, Grant Fawcett of Laguna Niguel, on his original effort to catch a striped marlin on a fly rod. Secondly, the fishing was unbelievably good. And throughout the five days at Cabo San Lucas we were continually entertained by the blowing, fluking and breaching of the pods of gray and humpback whales.

We fished five consecutive days, beginning Friday, February 18th and finishing on Tuesday, February 22nd.

There were a few big tuna and a few dorado (mahi-mahi). But there were many, many striped marlin and they were feeding on diminutive two inch mackerel minnows much in the manner of trout supping on nymphs in the surface film.

It was quite a sight for an old offshore fisherman to take in. It all started on the Cabo San Lucas 95 Spot and finally ended on my favorite fishing hole, the Gorda Bank.

Small or medium size lures in green or blue worked well, but the star performer was a small swimming head in orange and root beer. Perhaps its erratic motion best imitated the tiny mackerel, but for whatever reason the marlin fired very hard on this particular lure.

It was a fly fisherman's dream come true. We were only able to fire one fish on live bait, but we were able to fire many fish on the lures.

If we had fished with trolling rods, we would have taken twenty striped marlin. With the fly rod, Grant had eight hookups, and he fought two fish for over one hour. But broken 20-pound tippets or disengaged flies prevented him from landing any fish. It was just bad luck.

I had better luck and hooked two fish on the blue and gold mylar fly. The first fish doubled back on me on its fifth jump and I was unable to pick the slack up in time and it threw the fly in my face. The second fish was a strong and energetic 150 pound striped marlin which I whipped in twenty-five minutes. Of course, we released the fish.

Once again I was fishing with my friend Captain Pepe on the Solmar III. Unlike California the weather in Cabo was delightful, although we had some strong seas on Sunday and Monday, which puts the fly rod at a distinct disadvantage. But fishing for marlin with a fly rod is not a numbers game nor will it ever be. This is about quality of sport.