LAUNCHING AND FISHING FROM A SMALL BOAT AND LA PAZ

Nov. 23, 2004, Torrance Eddy, La Paz, Mexico Boat Launch Report:

At last I found an easy to get to La Paz fishing spot where both the fishing and catching are truly outstanding. Since I live well outside La Paz, it takes about 15 minutes to drive the six miles to the free launch ramp. It is located very within less than a mile of our "downtown". Add 10 minutes to launch the boat and I'm off in 25 minutes.

My Honda with "dos caballos" drives my little boat up to ten mph but I smell the flowers at about five trolling for Pompano all the way to my destination two miles into La Paz Harbor. I use a trout weight spinning rig for my bottom fishing here. The catch is an occasional Pompano, lots of little perch things, and up to four or five triggerfish for four hours of La Paz fishing.

Triggerfish are my favorite of all ultralight tackle fish. They weigh up to five pounds but I have never caught one larger than three pounds. I have caught many over two pounds. Everybody has their own "Pound for pound, this fish fights harder than-bla, bla, bla". Well, triggerfish is mine. A two pounder is nearly impossible to boat on anything less than ten pound line. I use twenty because they are such good eating and I hate losing one. They are a very popular fish for Ceviche.

There are actually three launch spots, two of which are free and all right in the City of La Paz. In my opinion, the first two which are free require boats with a low draft because the bottom is muddy and bottom stays rather shallow well out. It would be quite unwise to have your driving wheels in the muck. So, the higher the tide at launch the better.

The best one is near the end of La Paz' Cinco de Febrero. It is fully paved from the street down to mid tide. Below that it's a bit muddy. The GPS location is 24.09.138 110.19.708.

The second one is about 0.6 miles upstream. It's at the end of a gravel road a couple of hundred yards from the really big, deserted Hotel. In fact it is simply a shore of fairly solid ground that is big enough to turn a vehicle with a boat not in excess of 16 feet (my guess). It would be wise to scout this one out without the boat and trailer before heading for your launch. The GPS coordinates are: 24.09.028 110.20.149. And people fish here. I saw a 4-5 pound Palometa landed from shore.

The third one that should also be mentioned. This is at the La Paz Marina and while it is pricey, $10 US each way, I don't believe there is a size limit. I have seen colossal trailers in the immediate area. I never took a GPS reading for the marina but it looks on my map that it located at the end of Legaspi street.

(See "Mexico Fishing News" online for current fishing reports, photos, weather, and water temperatures from La Paz and other major Mexican sportfishing areas. Vacation travel articles, fishing maps and seasonal calendars, and fishing related information for La Paz may be found at Mexfish.com's main La Paz page.