Baja Spring and Summer- Cabrilla, snappers, yellowtail and a jumbo rooster

[jurelometer]

Not that I needed an excuse to go fishing, but I brought a set of new lure and fly designs down to Baja to try out this year.

Spring in Loreto was pretty good.  Lots of snappers, jumbo cabrilla and a decent yellowtail bite with the occasional very large fish.  The school yellowtail were around in the shallows frequently, which is great fun on a fly rod,  but very tough to avoid getting  sawed off on a rock by any fish over 10 lbs.

During the transition to summer, some nice roosters could be found if you spent the time looking for them.   Getting a big rooster to eat a fly is another story.   They just follow your fly, sniff a bit, and leave you pulling your hair out.

The summer water temps were a bit colder than normal, so it took awhile for the dorado to show in numbers.  By mid July, they were pretty plentiful.  First year dorado under 8 lbs were easy to find,  but the larger dorado were very scarce.    Plenty of striped marlin around, but the surface temps were not to hot enough for much sailfish action by time I left town at the end of July.   But overall, a pretty good spring and summer.   Tons of black skipjack ( Euthynnus lineatus) around,  which I think is an excellent light tackle gamefish, but most everybody else seems to think of as just a very non-tasty tuna, and not worth pursuing.   Not a ton of sargasso, but sardinas were plentiful, and even a slow day would yield an interesting fish or two -   check out this Clown Hawkfish (Cirrhitus rivulatus):



Moved further south for a week to try out  a new flatfall jig on the yellowfin, but it turned out that the yellowfin were behind schedule too.   However, the big roosterfish were still around.  I am never optimistic when casting flies to roosters, but for once I got one to eat and it turned out to be a jumbo, estimated by the captain at something north of 70 lbs.



I am really happy with a new style weighted fly eye that I designed.  It looks like a clouser eye, but  with feet that are wrapped onto  the hook shank.  This allows for a slimmer head with larger eyes for the same weight,  has a lower center a gravity, and is easier to tie a larger profile baitfish pattern with.   I have been adjusting the design for a couple years now, and think it is almost done.  I caught all the target species with it, including my jumbo rooster.  Also caught two huichanango (pacific red snapper - Lutjanus peru), which according to locals that should know is probably a first on the fly for Loreto.




Also have a new popper fly that is working pretty well on the dorado, jacks and small to mid sized roosters.



I am still batting under .500 on designing lures that swim and fish well on the first try.   If you want to catch less fish,  design your own lures   One challenge that I made for myself was to design and 3D print a conventional gear popper (print the actual lure, not a mold master).  One popper design worked great as a teaser, and so-so after I added hooks, but it still managed to catch a dorado without falling apart.

A fun summer, but it sure went by fast...

-J

[Tiddlerbasher]

Love that rooster J. The 3d printing thing is becoming quite affordable these days - I may have to have a dabble

[Smols]

Nice job on your fly, that looks like a winner. That rooster fish had to be an absolute blast on the fly rod! I assume the fish are taking that fly on the sink and that you don't see them blow up on the surface when bit. Did the yellowtail eat that same fly you caught the rooster on?

Smols

[El Pescador]

David-O!!!!

Nice Roosterfish!!!!   What weight fly rod were you using for the Roosterfish???  10, 12 or 14 wt???

Red Snapper on the fly - man, you've got something going on here!!!!

If  you think using your custom designed popper flies reduce your catchablity to less than 50%, you don't want to try my fly fishing techniques!!!!

Great post!  And BTW, Gary THE BUTT MAN says hello!!!!

Wayne

[Alto Mare]

Excellent report Dave, you're a true master. Being the first to catch that red snapper on your fly must give you a great feeling.
You are doing a great job and we will eventually get to appreciate your hard work. Just don't make them for your personal use only .

Sal

[Crow]

That "Clown Hawkfish" is really a neat looking critter !  How " strong " is the plastic used in those 3-d printers ? Must be pretty tough, as I've seen hand guns that were 3-d printed.

[jurelometer]

Thanks for the kind comments!

Here are a couple shots of the conventional popper.

Love that rooster J. The 3d printing thing is becoming quite affordable these days - I may have to have a dabble

The thing that turns the printer from a toy to a tool is learning to use 3D CAD software.  For folks like you and I that make a lot of mechanical stuff, the best choice is Autodesk Fusion 360  -  subscription is currently free for students, hobbyists and startups.   No cost other than a ton of time if you want to get your feet wet.   

Nice job on your fly, that looks like a winner. That rooster fish had to be an absolute blast on the fly rod! I assume the fish are taking that fly on the sink and that you don't see them blow up on the surface when bit. Did the yellowtail eat that same fly you caught the rooster on

Boat based fly fishing for roosters usually starts with spotting cruising or feeding roosters in the shallows.   If you have live bait, you can toss a few to get the roosters worked up and in range.    The best chance is that first medium to long distance cast.  If you are stripping the fly when it lands close to an actively crashing rooster, you have a shot at  an immediate hookup (and a great visual memory!)  The odds go down fast from there.  Roosters seem to get more nervous as they get bigger.   I fished with a guy who made an outstanding neutral weight sardina fly-  I think the roosters were more willing to eat his fly when they were feeding on the surface.

I didn't get the big rooster on the surface shot, but it dropped down and hung around.   We could see it swimming around.   I bombed a couple long casts and let it sink a bit. Didn't see the take, but am 99% sure it was the same fish.

Cabrilla, snapper, dorado, yellowtail, rooster -  everything will eat a clouser-ish baitfish imitation that is sized and profiled to match the sardinas around.  The trick is usually not too much color, and not too much flash.  All were caught on variations of the same fly.

And here is a respectable sized rooster modeling my new  popper fly:

David-O!!!!

Nice Roosterfish!!!!   What weight fly rod were you using for the Roosterfish???  10, 12 or 14 wt???

Red Snapper on the fly - man, you've got something going on here!!!!

If  you think using your custom designed popper flies reduce your catchablity to less than 50%, you don't want to try my fly fishing techniques!!!!

Great post!  And BTW, Gary THE BUTT MAN says hello!!!!

Wayne

10 wt.   

I tried the next two days to get another huichanango on the fly - no dice.   Lots of follows, but nada!   I  tried everything that I could think of.   

The first two iterations of that popper fly were pretty miserable.   Saltwater popper flies are one of the hardest designs to get right.   But I think I am onto something now.

And Gary is the man,  no Butts about it

Excellent report Dave, you're a true master. Being the first to catch that red snapper on your fly must give you a great feeling.
You are doing a great job and we will eventually get to appreciate your hard work. Just don't make them for your personal use only .

Sal

"Master of Disaster" is my full title

-J

[Benni3]

Fabulous job and on a fly rod,,,,, and fantastic looking fish,,,, it just doesn't get any better than that,,,,,,,,,

[Gfish]

Fabulous job and on a fly rod,,,,, and fantastic looking fish,,,, it just doesn't get any better than that,,,,,,,,,

Yup!

[steelfish]

wow, great report and pictures Dave

loreto, a destiny in my  bucket list