BIG BAIT FISH SCHOOLS PRESENT IN THE GONZAGA BAY AREA

May 13, 2005, Doug Magee, Papa Fernandez, San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico Fishing Report:

Things here at Gonzaga Bay are good. The fishing water is in the 70's outside, 72 degrees in the bay. There are large schools of small bait fish from Punta Final to the islands. The dolphins have returned. We encountered a school feeding that was at least 5 acres in size. The fishing is still a little slow, but is picking up daily. The weather has changed to the typical summer scene with warm nights and warmer days.

On a recent trip to the islands With my son-in-law, Mike Bauer of June Lake, and his long time friend Billy LaPonza of Weschester, Calif., we caught limits of small yellowtail, firecrackers, with some sierra mixed in. We were trolling a mix of lures on 20# mono, but a blue-backed, white bellied plug with a red head, as yet unnamed, out fished every thing else 3-to-1.

As the fish came to the boat we cast 1 oz. Krocodiles with the barbs removed, on light spinning tackle. This evened the odds and made for great fun. We released about 30 fish. We keep a limit for smoking and fish tacos.

The Fernandez girls here at "Papa Fernandez Restaurant," Claudia and Chayo, made fish tacos for our dinner. Yellowtail (jurel) cooked within hours of being caught made all the difference. They were the best fish tacos any of us had ever eaten. As we carry soy sauce and wasabi on the boat, We had sashimi for a snack as we were cleaning our catch, the "cheeks" being the prize pieces.

During Mike and Bill's stay, they trolled the shore line areas for a period of 5 days, in the manner described in the book, "The Baja Catch," boating the following: Halibut, Corvina, Mexican Lookdown, Bronze Striped Grunt, Cortez Grunt, Sculpin, Sierra, Yellowtail, Ribera Bass, Spotted Bass, Triggerfish, Needlefish, 2 Pelicans, and a Blue Footed Booby. The birds were released unharmed. All the fish were sampled, less the needlefish. It seems that something called "Pacifico" played a large part in sustaining life during their hours of trolling.

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