Four More Mexican Dream Fishing Trips
Other than the United States, Mexico is the country that I’ve fished in the most. Over the past decade I’ve spent at least 100 days angling South of the Border, but all of it has been in just a handful of places, and for a single species – largemouth bass. Based on that sample, you might think that fishing in Mexico is remarkably homogenous, but in reality it’s a vast country with many different options. It’s as if a visitor came to the US and spent all of his or her time on Okeechobee or Guntersville or Lake Mead.
In all of that time, my Spanish hasn’t gotten much better, but my appreciation for the natural resources of Mexico and the diverse cultures within the country has grown exponentially. I’d like to see more of it. I’d like to eat more of their food. I’d most definitely like to catch more of their fish. Here are a few places that I need to check out.
Magdalena Bay Striped Marlin
It’s not easy to get to “Mag Bay,” but if you hit it right the marlin action is more than worth it. In consecutive November trips totaling six and a half days in 2017, a group of six anglers caught 606 striped marlin, five blue marlin and seven sailfish. They had 125 striped in a single day. It happens every fall (well, maybe not quite in those numbers) – sardines run up into the bay and the marlin gang up on the bait balls for easy pickings. Because of its remote location, the recreational fleet is relatively small, and the area remains undeveloped when compared to other Mexican beach towns. I want to get there while it’s still that way, and I want someday to be too tired to catch another marlin.
Baja Beach Roosterfish
When Hanna and I floated the Bitterroot River in Montana twice with super-guide Steve Grant, he not only dodged our dry flies, but while doing so also managed to regale us with tales of winters spent in Baja, chasing Pez Gallo up and down the beach with a fly rod. I’m concede him the long rod, but I’d like to get out there and do it with a bunch of big poppers. The idea of being a winter beach bum for a month or three per year in retirement sounds awfully good right now.
Cedros Island Calico Bass
All of the Southern California bass heads seem to be into Calicos, too. It makes sense because they eat swimbaits and are even shaped a little bit like largemouths. I first heard about them from my friend Matt Paino, owner of Optimum Baits, whose products do double duty down there in fresh and salt. When I inquired, he said that one of his favorite places to chase them is at Cedros, about halfway down the Pacific side of the Baja Peninsula. It doesn’t hurt that there are yellowtails there, too. Hop in a panga with your freshwater swimbait rod and get to ripping lips. That sounds fantastic.
Yucatan Tarpon
The first three dream trips are all on the opposite side of the continent from where Hanna and I currently live, so while travel isn’t impossible, it’s still something of a pain in the ass. Fortunately, there’s plenty of angling due south of here on the Yucatan Peninsula, especially for tarpon in the mangroves. That’s particularly appealing because we can leave in the morning, take a direct or one-stop flight to Cancun, Cozumel or Merida, and be fishing, drinking Mexican beer, or taking a nap on the beach that afternoon. We’re scheduled to take our first tarpon trip to Islamorada this May, and somehow I think that one trip won’t be enough to wet that appetite. I’ll keep my passport handy and try to work on my Spanish.
