DAY ONE: The morning sunrise brought calm winds and calm seas - what one could call ideal fishing conditions for the Sea of Cortez. Sea temperature was 84º and blue water within 3 miles of the shore. Three of our boats headed north to the tuna hole off Punta Pescadero; one headed straight out to fish for sailfish; the other three ran south in search of tuna and dorado. Those fishing north found large numbers of "football" tuna 10 to 25 pounds. The boat in search of sailfish caught and released 2 sails, 1 striped marlin and 1 bull dorado. The boats headed south landed tuna in the 25-40 pound class.

SUMMARY: 2 sailfish, 1 striped marlin, 60 tuna, 7 dorado and bunches of skipjack and bonita.

DAY TWO: The morning was a repeat of the day before: absolutely perfect weather for fishing! One boat headed straight out in search of marlin and sailfish; the others ran south in search of larger tuna and dorado. The boat I was on (Petunia) became overheated 30 minutes after picking up our bait as we proceeded south. The captain shut off the motor to prevent any further damage and called on the VHF for a tow job. The captain, Hector, said: "well, we have $30 of bait, we might as well fish." Making the best of a bad situation, we began drifting live sardinas. Not more than 10 minutes had passed when a school of tuna in the 30-40 pound class stopped by for a snack. We gave them their snack. Four tuna in the boat. 30 minutes of boredom. Next, a school of dorado came by: 3 dorado in the boat to 20 pounds. Hour of boredom. Then came the attack of the needlefish! We had a contest to see who could catch the largest needlefish, in order to make the situation more fun. Another hour of boredom passed then came the surprise of all surprises!!!! Drifting a live sardina at least 100 feet behind the boat a striped marlin took the bait. The fight was on!!!! After 20 minutes, the marlin became unbuttoned. No sooner had we put the bait back out when the next surprise erupted!!!!! SAILFISH ON!!!!! Perry Wong of Gilroy, CA was given the pleasure of fighting his first sailfish. With no engine to help in the maneuvering of the boat, it took more than an hour to land the sailfish. We brought the sailfish on board for quick photos and to measure, then the beauty was released. Estimated weight was 155 pounds.

I guess the moral to this story is: NEVER GIVE UP!!!!! This had to be one of the most pleasurable and memorable fishing days I ever had on the Sea of Cortez!

SUMMARY: 4 sailfish, 3 blue marlin, 43 tuna, 26 dorado and lots and lots of skipjack, bonita and needlefish.

DAY THREE: Sky and sea conditions a mirror of the first two days. Three boats headed out for marlin and sailfish; the rest headed south in search of tuna and dorado. Those seeking sailfish were not disappointed. Those seeking blue and striped marlin were taught the valuable lesson of the elusive marlin.

SUMMARY: 9 sailfish, 1 striped marlin, 24 tuna, 30 dorado.

OVERALL SYNOPSIS: While the weather and sea conditions were very normal for mid-October, the blue marlin remained very elusive; dorado were about normal; tuna were plentiful as usual, but not in the larger weight class.

To quote one of my clients: "If you come down to Mexico and you catch fish, eat good and your boat doesn't break down and you go home feeling as well as when you arrived, then you've had a perfect trip to Mexico!" - Dan Gracia, Redwood City, CA

FISH TOTALS FOR THE TRIP: 15 sailfish to 155 lbs., 3 blue marlin to 325 lbs., 2 striped marlin to 125 lbs., 123 tuna to 70 lbs., 63 dorado to 35 lbs.

One must always keep in mind when fishing slows down that this is why the sport is called "fishing" and not "catching!"

Previous articles in the series:
Baja Fishing, July 2000
Hotel Los Barriles, Jan 2000
Verdugo Beach Resort, Dec 1999
Hotel Playa Del Sol, Nov 1999
Hotel Palmas De Cortez, Oct 1999