Santa Rosalia 3-25 to 3-30-08-Yellowtail & Grouper

Big Pancho · 04-01-2008, 07:04 PM

Santa Rosalia 3-25 to 3-30-08-Yellowtail & Grouper Report was written by Louie Prieto (Parker It's 4 Reels)
Short report-Fished Tortuga Island for 22 yellowtail, 8 to 25 lbs., 5 cabrilla 7 to 10 lbs, 1 barred pargo 8 lbs, 1 grouper that went 40lbs and all the humboldt squid you could want to catch.

We picked up the boat in San Lucas at the home of Francisco Meza (who also charters his own 17’ Boston Whaler) and we were on the water by 6pm. Ed launches his boat in the harbor at Santa Rosalia and keeps it in the small marina which was conveniently located across the street from our motel. We decided to head out that evening to try and make bait which proved to be lost cause. The mini macks and jack mackerel (called big eyes) would not school up for us so we decided to try our luck amongst the 60 or so pangas that were jigging for the big humboldt squid. The row of panga lights stretched for miles. This was the Kid’s first experience catching these giant monsters and he and Pancho caught 4 or 5 that we cut up for fillets to be eaten later as well as some to be used as bait:

Pancho & Ruben bringing in squid:

Fishing Day 1: We made enough bait just in front of the harbor entrance for the days fishing and we headed off to Isla Tortuga. We ran into a thick fog and had a little breeze on our way out with a very small chop that would eventually turn to very calm seas and clear skies. Crow’s nest view of Isla Tortuga:

We arrived at the island a little later than we would have liked and I was the first one to hook up. It wasn’t what we came here for but none the less it was a nice 8 lb barred pargo:

This would be my only fish of the day as “Captain” Ed, Pancho and the kid took 5 yellows and 2 cabrilla. Pancho caught both cabrilla after going through about $10 worth of plastics as he was reeling in chewed tails on almost every cast. Pancho with a nice cabrilla:

Ed and Kid Ruben:

Ruben, Pancho and the Captain with part of the days catch:

Final count for the day was Pancho 2 yellows and 2 cabrilla, Ruben 2 yellows, Ed 1 yellow and the lone pargo for me with the day’s jackpot going to the Kid. I was reminded by Pancho and Ruben on how many yellowtail I caught the rest of the day. A big fat zero.

Fishing Day 2: Redemption!
We tried to make mackerel the night before but again the macks did not want to cooperate. Ed knows local resident Jim Anderson who regularly posts Santa Rosalia fish reports online and in the Baja Section of WON, and we got the scoop from him on where to make bait so we headed to an area south of town called “Haystack” and made plenty of bait in less than 30 minutes. Thanks again Jim for the info, you saved our trip. We headed to Tortuga into a very thick fog that lasted for maybe 10 minutes. Very strange to see fog on the Sea of Cortez, but we had it every day. We hit the island and proceeded to have a steady pick on the yellows on the fly lined mackerel as well as Pancho getting another cabrilla and yours truly landing a 40lb jackpot winning grouper on a Newell reel with 30lb test maxima and short piece of 30lb fluorocarbon leader:

Pancho with a nice 20 lber:

Ruben & Pancho with 22 & 24lbers:

The day turned out to be absolutely beautiful with calm seas and hot weather. We had one minor mishap when Ed hooked onto a nice yellow and while it was taking his line the anti-reverse dog broke loose on his Shimano Torium 20. The resulting loss of drag caused the reel handle turn backwards and it cut up his thumb pretty bad. He continued to fight the fish with no drag and a bleeding thumb. Here is the end result of the fight a nice 25 lb fish:

We decided to head back to the bait grounds to clean fish and make bait for the next day’s fishing. With the bait tank now loaded with enough mini macks and big eyes we were now ready for an early start. Final numbers Pancho 3 yellowtail & 1 cabrilla, Ed 1 yellowtail, Ruben 3 yellows and for me it was a count of 3 yellowtail and the grouper.

Fishing Day 3: We left the marina for the 25 mile run to Tortuga and again there was a heavy fog bank. The wind was up and we could only fish the previous day’s hot spot for a couple of hours. We landed 4 yellows and a cabrilla and lost 3 or 4 others.
Here is Ruben and myself with more Tortuga Island cabrilla & yellowtail:

The wind was now up so we tried another part of the island and ran into diving birds. We chased them around for awhile and pulled in another 3 yellows between 21-25lbs including this nice 25lb jackpot winner that Pancho caught on a Shimano Curado 300 using 20 lb test:

Me with a couple of 20lb class fish:

Pancho the fillet master:

The Captain with a nice fish:

Final count for the day: I had 3 nice yellows, Pancho got 2, the Captain also with 2 and Ruben had ZERO yellows and 2 cabrilla. Hey, it happens to the best of ‘em. All of my fish (including the grouper) were caught on the flyline with a 2 foot piece of 30 lb fluorocarbon tied to a small barrel swivel. Fish did not really show on the surface until Day 3 and that was only for brief time. With island water temps between 65-67 degrees I would guess that this place is going to go off big time within the next couple of weeks.

Road was in the best shape I have ever seen it. Military check points were quick to get through and everyone was courteous and professional. Other than the beautiful scenery the trip to and from Santa Rosalia was uneventful. Thanks Ed for leading us to fish when it seemed that most boats were not finding them.