Ryan's 6-pack charter to mag bay!!!

[alantani]

many of you should remember ryan.  i just spoke to him and he is trying to put together a trip to mag bay.  i already have a schedule conflict so i can't make it, but i have all the info here in case any of you are.  it looks like a really interesting trip. 

Ryan Wood
 
From:
ryan.e.wood.1@gmail.com
To:
Alan Tani

Mon, Jan 22 at 8:34 PM

I am putting together a charter on the 60' success out of San Carlos, BCS. Trip will be fishing the range of the ridge and the lower banks as time permits for wahoo, schoolie and large yellowfin tuna. We will be flying into Loreto (Direct flights from LAX on Alaska with options for connections, or from DFW/PHX on American) on Sunday November 17th and flying home on either the 21st, 22nd, or 23rd. Van transport from Loreto to San Carlos is included (2.5 hour van ride). The boat will depart the evening of the 17th from San Carlos and fish the entirety of the following days, returning to the dock on the morning of the 21st/22nd/23rd (depending on trip duration) and flying home the same day.

The plan will be to fish both the "trophy" lower banks as well as the wahoo/schoolie yellowfins on the ridge. We will be fishing the same grounds as an 8 or 10 day trip out of San diego on a smaller boat at a fraction of the travel time. Capt. Cary will provide the majority of the rods/reels/tackle but has asked us to bring a token amount of jigs/wahoo bombs/trolling lures. Food and bedding will be provided and included in the price. 50 lbs of vacuum-sealed fillets are included, additional fillets at $1 per lb.

Cost will be $3060+tip/airfare for the 3.5 day, $3775+ tip/airfare for the 4.5 day, limited to 6 passengers. If there is interest and availability, a 5.5 day would be $4490+tip/airfare. The boat is set up to accommodate 12 people, so 6 passengers should be plenty of room. I will be collecting a 50% deposit to secure your spot. I will be paying the same fare as everyone else.

Depending on flight schedules there may be an option to extend an additional day for panga-based bottom fishing, ect. This would not be included in the above-quoted cost.

Here is a link for those interested:

https://successsportfishing.com/boat-specs/

[Ryan W]

Thanks Alan! Anyone interested pls feel free to reach out here with any questions, you can also email me at ryan.e.wood.1 (at) gmail (dot) com and  I can send more details and we can chat

[Ryan W]

Plans have finalized and we are looking at Nov 17th thru the 21st for a 3.5 day trip at $3060 per person. Still have 3 spots left, please reach out if you are interested!

[Ryan W]

Still got 3 spots, will be $3090 per person including all fuel surcharges. Only additional costs will be token amount of tackle, tip and airfare. Pls reach out if you are interested!

[Ryan W]

We made it back from San Carlos last week and had a nice trip despite a few bumps in the road. We were getting more than a little worried in the week leading up to the trip after seeing lots of yellow and green on the wind forecast maps. Cary warned us that this year had been unseasonably cool and windy weather-wise but we elected to make the best of what the weather had to offer. After landing in Loreto on Sunday we made the drive across baja in about 3 hours. After an extended panga ride to the boat (mag bay is quite shallow and we were arriving right at the bottom of the tide so Cary wasn't able to come to the wharf) we arrived and knocked out early after a long day of traveling.

The first day we had a short window of halfway decent weather between 7am and 1pm. We opted to knock the rust off fishing for marlin right outside the entrada. What a way to start the trip! We repeatedly "loaded the bases" with all 6 of us hooked up to marlin at once. We got some boatside releases, a whole bunch of far-from-the-boat releases, and one exhausted marlin that wouldn't quite swim off. He made his way onto the boat and into the RSW. Around 1 the wind kicked up substantially to 20+ knots as forecasted. We headed south to punta tosca lighthouse for some yellowtail and sierra fishing. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a bit of a bust. Despite a whole lot of searching and two different spots anchored, we ended up with just one rat yellowtail and a bite-off from what was likely a sierra. I did get a nice snapper and ron got a bonita. The snapper became Tuesday's dinner and the bonita turned into chunk bait. We got into a decent triggerfish bite with the bonita. Most of those were released but a few made it into the galley for some future ceviche! We jogged back up slowly after dinner to hide in the bay the next day with more 20 knot sustained winds forecasted.

The next day we opted for a backup plan of heading into the mangroves on 28 foot super pangas. Not exactly the fishing that we had envisioned when we booked the trip, but it made for a great backup option in the face of another slooooow day down at punta tosca or getting tossed around offshore. Made a bunch of bait in the morning that we would put to good use on Wednesday! Had some breakfast post bait-making and then took an hour ride up into the start of the mangroves. Two pangueros picked us up, three to a panga, and we were off! Unfortunately, I was feeling substantially under the weather. I love Mexico but she does not always love me back! I ate something that didn't agree with me and spent a long day on the panga howling over the gunwales while seated on a 5 gallon bucket. I ended up losing a notch and a half on my belt size from Monday to wednesday – usually the opposite of what happens on a long range trip!

The name of the game on the panga was a real variety pack- we alternated between trolling, fishing with live bait, dead bait, you name it! We trolled up a few corbina and a big pomfret in the morning, but live and dead bait fishing didn't produce. The topwater snapper bite turned on in the afternoon through sundown- We had one on live bait, but Ron was cranking them in pretty quick on a diawa stickbait with the lexa knockoff I brought down. I landed one and lost another before I had to take a break due to exhaustion. My dad tried a swimbait and the live bait but didn't seem to have much luck until he switched to an Amazon knockoff stickbait from Cary on a spinner from the panguero. It all added up to the high teens on toothy cuberas from 2-5 pounds or so. Cary indicated that normally live bait is very successful in the mangroves, but our day it seemed like the real winner was the casting. Definitely worth the trouble to bring down some casting-friendly tackle if it looks like we are headed for another day like this in the future.

Unfortunately Rich, Eric and Mike on the other panga had less luck with the topwater snapper fishing. Mike also seemed to be under the weather, allowing us to narrow down the list of suspect foods. The local oysters were quite tasty but lets just say I won't partake again! Both of us knocked out hard for 10+ hours after getting off the panga. By the time we woke up, we had worked our way up the line about 100 miles or so to 13 on the ridge.

Wednesday's weather was downright gorgeous! 5 knot winds and calm seas were a nice change. Everyone was excited to catch some tuna and yellowtail after hiding from the weather the first two days. We started off the day trolling- Mike drew first blood with a 30 lb yellowfin on the troll and then we dropped the anchor and started racking them up! I could write a whole page on the fun catches of the day, but I'll just focus on some highlights! Mike showed us all how it was done on the dropper loop adding a few nice yellowtail to the hold. Eric stuck with the flyline mackerel and persistently added to the tuna count- I think he had the big fish at 80 lbs or so. Rich lost a heartbreaker ~35 lb yellowtail on the 30lb flyline. Fish got to the all-too-common "few feet from the gaff" and took one final run and then popped the hook. Ron! Ron decided to shake things up with Cary's 10 foot rod and pink surface iron. On his first cast he hooked a 50 lb tuna and bravely battled it to gaff over the course of an hour. I think he circumnavigated the boat at least 5 times!

In the afternoon we mixed it up with some yoyo and more dropper looping. Unfortunately, it seemed that we mostly landed yellows on the smaller side. We were able to add to our collection a bit in that department and also returned many to sender. We finally called it a trip around 6 with a long ride back to san carlos.
Final day is always a blur! Lots of moving parts to getting fish taken care of, getting to the dock (no more pangas this time!) and then another van trip back to Loreto. We dropped off the American airlines group and then headed into town for a nice lunch before our flight to LA. I ended up back home around 930, put the fish in the freezer, and was back to the real world.

The boat is quite spacious- 60 feet for 6 guys is a dream! Cary and the crew are awesome, helpful, and real fish killers. Bunks are big (I love not having to sleep diagonally like Abraham Lincoln), bunkroom temp is comfortable, and the food was tasty. Yeah, the shower leaves something to be desired, but I took two showers and it was fine.

Rods, reels and tackle! I know people here love to hear about that stuff. The boat provided 30 lb, 50 lb, and 80/100 lb setups for everyone. The 30 lb setups were nearly brand new (avet MXL two-speeds with nice rods), though we only used them infrequently for the nicer grade of fish. Same deal with the 80/100 setups (avet 30s)- we used them for some minor trolling and dropper looping. They were nice, but spend most of the trip in the rack. The 50 lb (avet HX raptor 2 speeds) were the workhorses- dropper looping, yo-yo, flylining. They sure did catch a lot of fish! Is the drag curve perfectly linear? No. Does it have a power handle? No. Does it have immaculate freespool? Also no. Has it caught more tuna than I probably will ever get in my lifetime? Yep! Cary also had lots of great terminal tackle for use. We used some of ours and a whole lot of Cary's. Fish processing is also super easy and arrived home in excellent shape despite being caught the last day.

We will (hopefully!) be making a return next year. Should have a slightly better plan, and hopefully some better weather and less illness. Hopefully we will have dates figured out at some point in the winter after the new year. Some spots inevitably will open up- there are always some people for whom life gets in the way! If you'd like to be added to the info list, just let me know.

Attached some pictures from our voyage, most are courtesy of Rich, Eric and my dad. I am not much of a picture taker, apologies in advance! Hopefully others have a few to share

[alantani]

great report.  hopefully you will have better fishing next year!!!

[Ryan W]

We had great fishing when we were able to make it outside! Mike's forecast for fishing on the ridge was rather prophetic- even with just one day out there I brought home 150 lbs of yellowfin fillets!

[scrinch]

It was a fun trip. After the first two days we had very little to show for the coolers and were concerned that the trip wouldn't pan out, but by early afternoon on the third day we had all the tuna we could handle and went in search of yellowtails. I ended up with about 80lbs of filets, which is all I wanted. The marlin fishing was incredible...hooked a half dozen and landed two in just a couple of hours. Lots of speed runs and tail walking! The mangrove fishing went more poorly in our panga because the panguero only had heavy gear...not ideal for accurate tossing small baits up against a tangle of roots. Mike did catch a nice pompano on the troll, though.

[Hardy Boy]

Nice trip. Don't eat raw oysters in mexico ever ...... it's a crap shoot in Canada and the US but really risky in Mexico.

Todd

[Keta]

No ####......

[Ryan W]

Mike and I dove in after seeing Capt. Cary go for one with lime and hot sauce. Deckhand Nate was an expert at opening them but stated he didn't personally eat any oysters at all. They sure were good on the way down, but after my experience, I'm with Nate over Cary on this one!

Thinking this setup would make an awesome mangrove killer on the cheap! $80 for the reel and $50 for the rod. Throw on some 40lb braid sitting around the garage, an AliExpress stickbait and you are killing red snapper for under $150. .....Here come the tackle police! hahahahaha

https://www.piscifun.com/products/piscifun-alijos-size-300-low-profile-baitcasting-reel-aluminum-frame-casting-reels?variant=29491487571991

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-graphite-series-muskie-casting-rod-101048324

[Ron Jones]

It was a great trip of PBs for me. On day one I caught a Sargo that was bigger than I thought they got, that was AFTER my first marlin. The evening of day two I was like a kid in a candy store, sight fishing for surface busting snapper from the bow of a panga is just about heaven for me. I dropped the bait right in front of a pompano and he went for it after a quick twitch on the surface just like I was on the flats in the Caribbean. My PB YFT on day three took about an hour and a half, the Boss would not approve. I was somewhere beyond Nirvana and looking down on Heaven. The skipper said 75 pounds, it took me a couple minutes to realize how big the fish was, quite a ride with a 10 pound piece of wet pasta and a Saltiga that sounded like a dry Newel! (I told the skipper that I was bringing a tool kit with me next time, Avet does maintenance on all their reels, the others could use some help.) Carey is really solid with yoyoing, and he helped me refine what I started learning on the SOA. Ended up nailing 3-4 yellowtail on the evening of day 3 on a Salas 6x Jr (blue and white of course.)

I really did prefer the 3 hour drive over the 3 day boat trip as much as I love riding the SOA. Next time I'm bringing an inshore rig of my own and my cs501 for yoyo work, and enough soft coolers for 150#s of fish.

The Man