April/May 2002 

Report from Isla Espiritu Santo
And Isla San Jose

Steve Hollowell caught this barred pargo.

Magic hour was about to arrive, and I could feel the anticipation rise up inside me as steadily as the sun lowered itself into the Sea of Cortez. The cliffs of basalt and compressed ash were turning pink with the sunlight that was bouncing off the water; and I had to decide whether to use my camera or my fly rod near the spine of rock that tapered into the depths off Punta Tintoterra. Then I saw a half dozen magnificent frigates swinging ever lower in lazy circles several hundred yards off shore. When they began their swinging drops close to the sea surface it was a sign of bait being chased to the top. I put the camera away and paddled hard towards them. The mind churns too. Would my tendril of graphite survive if one of the fish driving the bait was much larger than I expected?

A twinkle-eyed old man I used to visit at Bahia del Muertos came to mind as I slid toward the frenzy. He would row four miles out to a seamount every day in his little dinghy and fish for his own dinner. His tool was a hand line. When he returned he would swim for a mile. He obviously relished his time on the water. Because he used the simplest most direct methods, he became intimate with his surroundings. I thought he was the real old man and the sea.

I've always admired those who take an experience to its simplest form rather than its most complex. Kayak flyfishing in the salt may at first seem cumbersome and labor intensive, especially to those used to the convenience of a motor powered boat. The joy of self-powering must be experienced. It takes the sport of flyfishing into a more daring realm. And it’s more fun. To some of us the exercise feels good and purposeful, often it is just cruising, casting and taking in the sights. I admit I paddle to fish -not the reverse.

There are numerous benefits to fishing this way. On Isla Espiritu Santo and San Jose Island one can cruise up shallow lagoon mouths and across flats as stingrays undulate their wings beneath you. Bait fish and their predators don't spook until your shadow crosses them. Birds, turtles and marine mammals often allow very close approaches. One can fish over structure very close to shore that keeps a larger boat away. The relationship you feel with your quarry and the environment in which it lives becomes quite tangible. It may compare to walking instead of car touring. You have stealth that no boat can ever approach. I have seen large pelagic fish very tight to the shoreline. On a panga a skipjack tuna is a nice catch and really can double a rod over. But on a kayak you may get a sleigh ride for a hundred yards, then have to do some fancy three hundred and sixty-degree rod swings over the bow and around again. For anyone who will make the effort to explore by way of a sea kayak the waters off Baja are teeming with freedom and challenge.

Here is a pretty one by Steven Hollowell.

April trip to Isla Espiritu Santo.

We had cool weather and even a few showers. Two-foot long squid beached themselves the first morning –so our cook Alvaro whipped up a tasty calamari ceviche salad. Wonderful! A few Mexican barracuda were caught that morning, and four or five kinds of snapper. One afternoon we found several fish the locals call “telefono del Diablo”. The fish were all mouth with a serpentine body and frog like eyes. Very strange. Even stranger name. The Skipjack tuna were still scarce; we only got a couple during the three-day trip. We got burned five times in one short frenzied session by big yellowtail. The cloud cover seemed to give the leopard grouper and cabrilla more confidence to feed all day long. Ladyfish, or sabalo, often beat the sierra to our flies. They are always a pleasant surprise with their swim-right-at-you antics, followed by hard runs and acrobatics. The sierra stole many flies from us, but we managed to land enough for a fantastic plate of ceviche. The last evening we spent casting from shore and kayaks inside and outside a lagoon for tough pargo lisa or mangrove snapper. The trip was a Quick Escape-only three and a half days- and it ended too soon for all of us.

Guy's golden pompano inside the lagoon at San Jose Island.

May Espiritu Santo and San Jose Island

May 11 it’s off to San Jose Island for the first half of the week, and Espiritu Santo afterwards. All of us are very jacked up for this one. San Jose is a remote island two hours north of La Paz and it has a huge lagoon. We have drooled over it from the airliner several times. There are rumored grouper and snook inside. The area is not fished often and I am hoping for a chance to meet some new species.

Guy's rooster.

The lagoon is so big that when we break up into two groups, we lose sight of one another. A few of us paddle the mile or so to the far end from the mouth and let the wind sail us back as we cast towards the mangroves. It’s the perfect set up. Guy Wright decided to fish the drop off at the shelf inside the entrance and landed a rooster fish or pez gallo. We hoot and holler and take the pictures. It is the first good-sized rooster I know of to be landed casting a fly from a kayak. Motorized boats have the advantage of live chum- we are on our own. Then Steve Hollowell landed a very nice jack crevalle in the middle of the lagoon. Several of us are finding some great fishing along the mangroves for barred pargo. Guy hooks another big fish and I can hear him yelling. I wait a few minutes and then paddle down to witness the landing. Casting to the edge of the mangrove roots he found a twelve pound golden pampano! It is a new species to me, but I recognize it from one of my books. We stop for lunch at an oyster bed on the bar that separates the lagoon from the open sea. Paradise found.

The next day we enter the lagoon at another beautiful spot. There is mangrove lined tidal river that winds for half a mile before opening into the lagoon. We found a sand bar where we could stand and cast poppers to small jacks and mangrove snappers. Great fun with six weight rods. We discover huge pin scallops in the sand. Dinner will be incredible again. And so it went. When we reached the main body of the lagoon we caught another big rooster, more jack crevalle, and pargo.

Then it was time to head back to Espiritu Santo. Back on our “home “ island we find some yellowtail and skipjack to tow us around. The Mexican barracuda are still around in schools and steal a few of our flies.
The fun never stopped. We hated to leave and all swore to return in October to see what other fish are around then.

Hope you can join us.