by Captain David Jones
This seasonally fluctuating surface temperature brings an ever rotating population of fish species, both pelagic and local. The geologically recent relief of pressures along the southern end of the San Andreas Fault, which formed the Sea of Cortez, left very steep dropoffs along its western shores.
Water that’s within two miles of shore is as deep as 6,000 feet, and some trenches deeper than 10,000 feet are within easy panga range. This topography limits bottom-fishing to areas very close to shore and helps to concentrate the fish populations to those rocks and high spots where sufficient sunlight can penetrate to start the food chain going. Whether it’s the late winter yellowtail invasion, the swarms of mullet snapper that signal spring, or the wahoo that stalk the sheer underwater cliffs and missile like pinnacles throughout the summer, this topography makes for a very fishy place. This affords anglers opportunities to strut their stuff with tackle ranging from flyrods to 50-pound gear as they go in search of yellowtail, various snapper (pargo on the Baja), small grouper, amberjack, wahoo and four kinds of billfish during the summer.
There is one inshore resident of the Baja who scoffs at this lightweight hardware. He makes both gringos and Mexican pangeros nervous about whether their tackle and physiques are up to the task. He is a Sumo in a world of normal fishes, wielding raw power beyond description, armed with cunning, lightning-quick reflexes, and the eyesight of a raptor. He is the Pacific cubera snapper, Lutjanus novemfasciatus, most often called dog snappers by the gringos, or pargon by the locals. Their rottweiler teeth, huge water-pushing tails, John Deere pulling power, and top of the food chain attitude endear them to the masochistic streak in all fishermen. This a fish that may not merely escape your best efforts to catch it, but may well beat you and leave you defeated in the ring.
Beginning in May the cuberas will start to move inshore, searching out house-sized rock structure to set up their summer residences. All they need are caves in which to seek cover and schools of large baitfish nearby. The bait of choice in the Baja is sabalo, or ladyfish. These fish begin to wander the shorelines in schools of many hundreds by mid-May. They are voracious feeders in their own right and once you identify a school either by seeing the dark outline below or by the surface feeding activities of some of its members, hook ups are not difficult. Local Baja fishermen use a **** ounce egg sinker and a 5/O bait hook. Shine up the sinker by scraping it with the back of your knife and you’re ready. Allow it to sink after casting and retrieve it with a jerky motion. If they’re present the ladyfish will attack. Ladyfish jump like miniature tarpon and can be fun on trout-grade tackle. Sabalo are generally 14 to 20 inches long, weigh 1 to 3 pounds, have a yellowish face, elongated body, and a forked tail. A large bait tank will fit a dozen or so ladyfish. When you fill it, it’s off to the rockpiles.
While 6/0 reels and 80-pound line with a 9/0 Mustad 94151 was the basic toolset for years and will still get the job done, refinements and improvements have been made, and can help to shift the odds slightly more in your favor. You will be slow trolling the baits at least 30 yards behind the boat. The water is between 60 and 100 feet deep and is crystal clear during the summer, necessitating the extreme drop-back. The strike can be either a series of violent tugs, as cubera will kill the bait before inhaling it, or more often it will be a boil the size of a bathtub with a foot wide fiery orange tail pounding the water in the middle of it.
Water that’s within two miles of shore is as deep as 6,000 feet, and some trenches deeper than 10,000 feet are within easy panga range. This topography limits bottom-fishing to areas very close to shore and helps to concentrate the fish populations to those rocks and high spots where sufficient sunlight can penetrate to start the food chain going. Whether it’s the late winter yellowtail invasion, the swarms of mullet snapper that signal spring, or the wahoo that stalk the sheer underwater cliffs and missile like pinnacles throughout the summer, this topography makes for a very fishy place. This affords anglers opportunities to strut their stuff with tackle ranging from flyrods to 50-pound gear as they go in search of yellowtail, various snapper (pargo on the Baja), small grouper, amberjack, wahoo and four kinds of billfish during the summer.
There is one inshore resident of the Baja who scoffs at this lightweight hardware. He makes both gringos and Mexican pangeros nervous about whether their tackle and physiques are up to the task. He is a Sumo in a world of normal fishes, wielding raw power beyond description, armed with cunning, lightning-quick reflexes, and the eyesight of a raptor. He is the Pacific cubera snapper, Lutjanus novemfasciatus, most often called dog snappers by the gringos, or pargon by the locals. Their rottweiler teeth, huge water-pushing tails, John Deere pulling power, and top of the food chain attitude endear them to the masochistic streak in all fishermen. This a fish that may not merely escape your best efforts to catch it, but may well beat you and leave you defeated in the ring.
Beginning in May the cuberas will start to move inshore, searching out house-sized rock structure to set up their summer residences. All they need are caves in which to seek cover and schools of large baitfish nearby. The bait of choice in the Baja is sabalo, or ladyfish. These fish begin to wander the shorelines in schools of many hundreds by mid-May. They are voracious feeders in their own right and once you identify a school either by seeing the dark outline below or by the surface feeding activities of some of its members, hook ups are not difficult. Local Baja fishermen use a **** ounce egg sinker and a 5/O bait hook. Shine up the sinker by scraping it with the back of your knife and you’re ready. Allow it to sink after casting and retrieve it with a jerky motion. If they’re present the ladyfish will attack. Ladyfish jump like miniature tarpon and can be fun on trout-grade tackle. Sabalo are generally 14 to 20 inches long, weigh 1 to 3 pounds, have a yellowish face, elongated body, and a forked tail. A large bait tank will fit a dozen or so ladyfish. When you fill it, it’s off to the rockpiles.
While 6/0 reels and 80-pound line with a 9/0 Mustad 94151 was the basic toolset for years and will still get the job done, refinements and improvements have been made, and can help to shift the odds slightly more in your favor. You will be slow trolling the baits at least 30 yards behind the boat. The water is between 60 and 100 feet deep and is crystal clear during the summer, necessitating the extreme drop-back. The strike can be either a series of violent tugs, as cubera will kill the bait before inhaling it, or more often it will be a boil the size of a bathtub with a foot wide fiery orange tail pounding the water in the middle of it.
