FISHING FOR SIERRA SOUTH OF ROCKY POINT AT ISLA SAN JORGE

Sept. 28, 2006, Jim Davis, Hammertime, Rocky Point (Puerto Peñasco), Mexico:

I just got back from four days fishing out of Puerto Peñasco on my 235 Sea Pro, Hammertime.

Diane and I experienced what was just about the best fishing and conditions ever out of that area.

Water temperatures off Rocky Point were at a steady 85 degrees, midday air temperatures at 95 degrees, water conditions were flat as a lake in the mornings, and the sea was a thick green pea soup of plankton, fish eggs and fish fry.

We had a fast smooth cruise 30 miles south of Rocky Point to an area near Isla San Jorge where there is an underwater canyon and parallel reefs that produce some great upwelling with each tide change.

Within seconds of getting our Jointed Rebel Fast Tracks in the water we had a double hook up with the biggest Sierra's I have ever caught. The largest sierra tipped out at just a hair shy of 10 pounds and 34 inches in length. Most were in the 8 pound class and 30 inches or so.

Every fish we kept was a female that had just spawned, as their sunken bellies indicated.

The fish, dolphins and sea lions were working vast black schools of Flatiron Herring from below while the Boobies, Shearwaters, Petrels, Frigate Birds and Pelicans worked them from above.

The preferred Jointed Rebel lures were the gold-and-black that closely mimicked the herring. A word of warning though, Jointed Rebels were never designed to hold a ten pound Sierra and they proved it over and over by bending the treble hooks straight and dislodging the plastic spoonbills.

Several times we drifted over the bait schools and it was a blast hooking big Sierra's with a ten pound spinning outfit and a small spoon.

We caught and released several Needle Fish up to four feet.

A word of warning: the fall afternoon winds from the northwest whip up a nasty chop that limited our homebound speed to a rough soaking wet eight or ten knots.

We brought back 16 big Sierra's as well as a hielera full of Finescale Triggerfish and Mexican Barracudas.

At the border at the Lukeville, Arizona, crossing we were informed by a customs officer that they are enforcing a 50 pound limit on fresh fish entering the USA and that some crossings were now limiting your catch to 5 pounds.

Funny thing though, since saltwater game fish are not regulated in landlocked Arizona. Just who came up with this silly rule?

The officer let us pass but warned us to advise our fishing friends.

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