Darrell "Smitty" Smith reports on a recent caravan down the coast of Baja ...
Bahia de Los Angeles was hot, literally. The road was not
too bad with most pot holes easily negotiable. The Pemex
station at Catavina was closed and the only fuel there were
from venders out of the back of their pickups. Be aware
the containers they use are full of contaminates (rust,
paint chips and dirt) and the price was $2.54 a gallon.
The station at Bahia de Los Angeles never opened and I believe
has been out of fuel for a long time. Alfredo sells it at
the bay and will deliver it to your boat for 2 bucks a gallon,
plus a $US10 delivery fee. I think you have to buy 55 gal
at a time from him. He is a good guy dependable and has
clean fuel. Better to load up your own in El Rosario for
a much better price.
We were very lucky this year, arriving June 23rd, and the
weather held pretty well. Leading the caravan I exclaim,"There
it is" and my son Alex repeats it in the hand held
VHF for the rest to hear. The view from the top of the 2000
foot pass is awesome. The horizon is littered with islands
just outside the bay, and Isla Angel de la Guardia is stretched
out protecting all of them. We stop to take in the beauty
and shoot a couple photos and contemplate the following
days pursuit of big yellowtail. We hurried down the hill
to Casa Diaz, where the rooms were ready but same old rough
shape, and put the boats in the water.
Fishing was slim pickings, nothing like in years past.
The gill netters were there in force. I wish I knew the
right people to complain to. They need regulations and a
means to enforce the rules. We fished hard and went far
and wide. Gil Irwin landed the biggest yellowtail, weighing
about 25-lbs, at a pinnacle several miles south west of
the big island and pretty little Kelly Simpkins managed
a 20-pounder at the cut, north end of Smith Island. Tom
Shaffer tossed a fresh mackerel to a 100-lb sail fish and
the fight was on. Ride 'em cowboy! On the way to La Guardia
we spotted it breezing the surface. The battle lasted about
10 minutes on 30-lb line then we released it after we shot
some photos. The rest of us caught small school sized yellows
at Eagles Nest, a little island about 8 miles north of Smith
close to shore.
The trip home was fine, and we stopped at Cielito Lindo
in San Quintin to try our luck on the tuna. They are great
there. Deb was very attentive to our needs and Ron and Judy
that run the boats are the greatest. We launched in questionable
weather but wanted to give it a try anyway. The sea beat
our brains out with only one yellowtail landed. Ron said,
"you should have been here yesterday! It was flat as a pancake
and the guys picked up a bunch of yellowfin tuna." According
to Ron, the weather seems to last for 3 days then flattens
again. We are all sorry we couldn't stay to wait out the
3 days.
