SURF FISHING TRIP WITH SERGIO ESCUTIA

Jan. 15, 2004, Steve Hubchen, Mazatlan, Mexico Surf Fishing Report:

I went down to Mazatlan for an extra long weekend with family on Jan. 6-11, 2005. We stayed at the Pueblo Bonito Mazatlan, a very nice hotel, clean rooms nice beach and pool, and the Mexican restaurant was excellent.

I planned only surf fishing at Mazatlan, so I got in touch with Sergio Escutia, well known to anyone who hopes to take a roosterfish from the beach. Sergio was gracious enough to take me to a few places off the beaten path, literally, you need a 4x4 to reach some of these Mazatlan fishing places, to try for some corvina and snook.

January is normally too early to fish at Mazatlan for roosterfish from the surf. You need the water to warm up a bit more. We were hopeful that the conditions would be favorable for the corvina and some signs made Sergio optimistic.

A front had just passed through and the water was churned up a bit. Mazatlan water temperature was a little warm for corvina, but Sergio still thought we would have a decent chance at something.

Alas, it was not to be. We fished at some of Sergio’s “secret spots” north of Mazatlan on Saturday and Sunday with only a few small strikes and no fish. We met with a few other fishermen whom Sergio knew who noted this has been one of the worst seasons in recent memory for corvina. We saw plenty of small sierras and jacks. I changed my 5-inch jig to a small Krocodile to catch a sierra simply to avoid being completely blanked. Between us and the people we met on our two days of surf fishing at Mazatlan, only one corvina was brought in, a ten pounder which is small to average by Sergio’s standards.

Nonetheless, I had a great time and learned quite a lot about corvina and roosterfishing.

Additionally, Sergio made it obvious that my skills as a surf caster with respect to distance can use a lot of improvement. I thought my casting distance was fairly decent until I saw what a true expert is capable of. Hopefully, next time we will get on some fish. Sergio is a great guy, with a lot of stories and excellent advice. As I was with family, I could not devote 100% of my Mazatlan trip on fishing, so the rest of my time was devoted to staying close to the hotel.

This was a bonus since there was a fair amount of bird action discovered right at the hotel beach which turned out to be small jack crevalle chasing bait fish. Luckily, in addition to my big surf fishing rig, I brought a small bait caster to Mazatlan. Using some small plastic grubs just like you would for surf perch in California, I had a blast chasing the schools up and down the beach. The jacks only weighed about a pound but put up a serious fight for their size. Anyone going down there should bring a small ultra light outfit for a good time.

All in all a fun trip, despite not getting any trophies. I can definitely recommend the Pueblo Bonito at Mazatlan. Thanks again to Sergio for showing me the ropes.

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