Catch and Release at Ranch Leonero

I see too many Internet pictures of bill fish hanging by their tails looking sad and half rotten in the hot sun. While checking out Rancho Leonero's webpage I was glad to see the following statement on their fish report page:

"In order to discourage our guests from killing bill fish just for the sake of a photo, we only display photos of marlin or sailfish that have been released after the photo was taken. We highly encourage our guests to preserve the future of this great fishery by releasing all healthy marlin and sails. Thanks."

I have never been to this East Cape resort but look forward to visiting one day. There are so many great tasting fish in Baja California there really is no need to kill bill fish, rooster fish, or sharks.

So as we say here at El Moscero - Por favor ¡Suelta lo!

Captain Eulogio Davis

One of my goals with this blog is to promote guides who are willing to release fish. Captain Eulogio Davis in Loreto is a fun, easy going guy, who really knows how to catch fish. I was happy to see the following review of his services on the Baja Nomad Forums today:

"...my wife had NEVER been fishing before and requested a patient captain.

...I was not really expecting a whole lot in the way of catching fish as the moon had been full the night prior. We headed out on Eulogio's panga. After making bait we drove to the fishing grounds. He explained to us what we were going to be doing.

After an hour or so, we caught our first fish, a smallish dolphinfish. I did not want to retain any fish and requested that the captain release it if he did not want it. No problem. He let it go. During the next two hours or so we continually hooking into, landed and released dolphinfish. We ended up keeping two that had been gut-hooked. After catching around (and releasing) another 3 fish I was pretty happy with the venture. My wife had caught and released a similar number. But Eulogio kept looking and did not seem at all to be in a hurry to get back into port. I had explained to him that I was more of a species fisher than one interested in size or prestige. He looked for billfish and other species but was unable to get any to bite. But he tried. Patiently.

Finally at around 1 pm I told him that I was happy and wanted to head back. He told me he did not mind staying out. When I assured him we had had our fill of fishing and were quiet happy, he drove to port. It was very obvious to me that this man loved his job, enjoyed helping clients and was out to give his clients a quality, fun-filled experience. I was impressed with his demeanor and willingness to honor what I wanted to do. I have had significant problems in the past with captains that practically refuse to release anything but he was not at all like that.

... As a person who has fished all over the world, I was very impressed... I plan to return to Loreto next year."

Note that dolphin fish is the english name for Dorado.

You can find out more about Eulogio on the Baja Big Fish Company's Web Page.

If you would like to recommend a conservation oriented captain who is willing to release fish send me an email at bajaflyfishers@yahoo.com or leave a comment here on the blog and I'll add him to my list.

More on Tropical Storm Julio

Although this is a fly fishing blog I am posting information on the damage caused by Tropical Storm Julio to keep Baja lovers informed what is happening to the great people who live here and to let anglers know that they should be prepared for tropical weather from late August to the middle of October.

The good news is that Loreto appears to be bouncing back quickly with little more than a few sunk pangas at the marina. The kids returned to school today and clean up has begun on the beaches. During storms like this one, every piece of trash in the arroyos gets washed out to sea. Much of it ends up on the beach. The muddy trash strewn water tends to shut down fishing for a few days until the water clears. After that the remaining trees and other debris floating around can hold a lot of dorado and the fishing can really turn on.

The bad news is Mulege, Ciudad Constitution, and Ciudad Insurgentes were hit hard. The river in Mulege flooded badly with water levels approaching the flood following Hurricane John in 2006. El Sud Californiano reports that 120 Mexican and 200 foreigners homes were damaged by the flooding.

This picture of the river in Mulege was on the front page of today's El Sud Californiano.

Ciudad Insurgentes was flooded badly and according to the paper over 500 families lost their homes with widespread damage as you can see in the photo from the Sud Californiano below.

Puerto Lopez Mateos and San Juanico are inaccessible by road and I assume that many other of the more remote areas may be inaccessible for a while.

Tropical Storm Julio's Aftermath

This photo from El Sud Californiano shows fishermen from Lopez Mateos using their boat to rescue flood victims in Ciudad Insugentes.

It looks like TS Julio followed the path predicted by the National Weather Service. Early reports from El Sud Californiano indicate that there was no major wind damage and most of the heavy rains and flooding was in the municipio of Comondú. From the photos in the paper it appears that there is serious flooding in Ciudad Insurgentes and Ciudad Constitución.

The arroyo in Mulege flooded badly again damaging many houses along the "river" and a soldier was killed there when his Hummer was swept away while crossing an arroyo. The Sud Californiano reports that there are 39 interuptions to the highway between Cuidad Consitution and Santa Rosalia - I'm not sure what that means but the road is likely impassable at least until the arroyos stop running.

Tropical Storm Julio

This map from the US National Hurricane Center's web page for Tropical Storm Julio just about says it all. The Mexican government has issued a tropical storm warning from Cabo San Lucas north to Abreojos and Mulege. If you are down south expect lots of rain and wind. Stay out of the arroyos - flash flooding will be a problem.

Here's a link to El Sud Californiano's coverage of Tormenta Tropical Julio for you Spanish readers.

More Information on Loreto Bust

There is more information on the bust of an illegal fishing boat near Loreto posted on the:

Baja Big Fish Company Flyfishing Report

"According to the story in the newspaper, this commercial vessel from Mazatlan, was caught North of Loreto and found with 1,300 Kilos of dorado onboard in their storage holds. Along with the Dorado were two small sharks. Under Mexican fisheries law, Dorado is reserved for sport fishing and can only be taken commercially if an incidental catch. Sharks can be caught commercially but only under a shark permit. This boat did not have a shark permit and they were totally illegally fishing the resulting catch. According to the local PROFEPA agents, they responded to repeated calls by local sportfishing pangueros and service providers as this boat was seen longlining for Dorado and filleting Dorado meat at sea.

PROFEPA was unable to investigate due to lack of funding (no gas for patrol boat), so the Loreto Marine Park accompanied them to make the bust. I saw this boat being brought to port at 16:00 on Wednesday before being moved to La Paz. On further interviewing PROFEPA agents on the matter we (Laura Escobasa of Eco Alianza Loreto and myself) were told that their funding ran out two months ago and they no longer have gas for their boats or can maintain their equipment. We are investigating ways in which resources from the purchase of Mexican Sport Fshing Permits and Loreto Marine Park Tickets can be collected and stay in the Loreto area for the purposes of research and enforcement of the laws. We will be posting a survey on tourists awareness about Mexican fishing licenses soon which will help us build the following case: it is a fact that revenue collected in Loreto for the purpose of Mexican fishing licenses is disproportionately higher than the revenue collected from the rest of Baja California Sur and the rest of Mexico, thus those funds should rightly stay in this area in the future."

It looks like a tremendous Dorado season in Loreto this year. Check out the Baja Big Fish Company's conventional report for a cool picture of my buddy, 5 year old Enzl Munoz, with a nice dorado. His parents tell me that he hooked a SAILFISH last year when he was only 4 years old.

Everardo Martínez's First Week

Yesterday's Sud Californiano announced that Everardo Martínez had been named the new director of Loreto Bay National Marine Park. Señor Martínez, became director on tuesday August 12th, wasted little time getting to work.

Today's Sud Californiano reported that on his second day at work in his new position the Park, Park staff working with the Mexican Navy, and governmental fisheries and environmental agencies busted the Laura Antoniana II, shown above, with 1,300 kilos (almost 3,000 pounds) of dorado, a species reserved by law for sportfishing, in its hold inside the National Park.

¡Gracias Señor Martínez! Keep up the good work.

Detienen a embarcación foránea con más de una tonelada de dorado

El Sudcaliforniano
15 de agosto de 2008
Raúl Villalobos Davis

Loreto, Baja California Sur.- Duro golpe asestan autoridades en operativo conjunto en contra del guaterismo y la depredación de nuestros mares en la bahía de Loreto. Autoridades de CONAPESCA, PROFEPA, Armada de México, Parque Marino Nacional Bahía de Loreto, SAGARPA, en operativo sorpresa realizado en las costas de la bahía de Loreto, sorprendieron a una embarcación de pesca comercial con más de una tonelada de dorado en sus bodegas.

Ante las denuncias interpuestas por prestadores de servicios turísticos del puerto de Loreto, pescadores locales sobre probables ilícitos cometidos por embarcaciones pesqueras de otros estados del país en zona de la bahía de Loreto, se estableció un operativo conjunto entre las diferentes autoridades, indicó el director del Parque Marino Nacional Bahía de Loreto, Everardo Mariano Meléndez, en pasados días.

Siendo este miércoles 13 de los corrientes por la mañana cuando se logró la ubicación y detención de la embarcación denominada Laura Antoniana II, con matrícula 2503126223-5, del puerto de Mazatlán, Sinaloa, con sus bodegas repletas de dorado, y un par de tiburones pequeños.

Ante esta situación dicha embarcación fue trasladada hasta el puerto de Loreto, posterior a levantar las actas correspondientes donde se establece la irregularidad en la que ha incurrido dicha embarcación que es la captura de especies reservadas exclusivamente a la pesca deportiva, contando con un permiso para la captura de especies de escama.

Al realizar el pesaje del producto que se encontraba en dicha embarcación arrojó que la misma traía en sus bodegas una tonelada trescientos kilogramos de dorado y treinta y ocho kilos de tiburón. Por lo cual dicha embarcación quedó retenida precautoriamente bajo resguardo de las autoridades competentes, para que se siga el proceso correspondiente y se apliquen las sanciones a las cuales se haya hecho acreedor el mismo.

Propeninsula

Here's a link to Propeninsula's latest news letter.

Newsletter

This is a great group doing important conservation work in Baja California.

Lopez Mateos Sea Turtle Festival

The annual Sea Turtle Festival in Puerto Lopez Mateos starts Friday, August 15th. Hosted by ProCaguama the Sea Turtle Festival features many traditional and non-traditional fiesta activities and is always a good time. The queen is selected based on the success of her clean up campaign - the winner typically collects over a ton of trash from local beaches! The festival mixes music, food, and fun while spreading a conservation message to thousands. This is an event worth supporting.

In many cases efforts to protect turtles will also result in improved fisheries. In the Magedelena Bay region and other parts of Baja California, Conservation Tourism is a growing industry with gray whales in the bay from January to March and great opportunties to observe loggerhead and other species of turtles.

For information on turtle trips check out See Turtles.

VI Festival de la Caguama en Puerto Adolfo López Mateos

El Sudcaliforniano
12 de agosto de 2008
Arturo R. Corona

Ciudad Constitución, Baja California Sur.- Será el próximo viernes 15 de agosto cuando inicie el VI Festival Internacional de la Caguama en Puerto Adolfo López Mateos. Lo anterior lo dieron a conocer integrantes del grupo ecologista de Conservación Pro Caguama de origen extranjero que opera en esa región del pacífico.

Cabe mencionar que desde el año del 2003 el Grupo de Conservación de Procaguama, junto con las autoridades de la Delegación Municipal de Puerto Adolfo López Mateos, comenzaron a celebrar la existencia de este lugar único en el planeta donde se concentra la tortuga amarilla, antes de iniciar su migración a las aguas de Japón, donde anida.

Esta especie de tortuga marina se encuentra altamente amenazada de extinción, por lo que la comunidad de López Mateos, junto con otras comunidades de la costa de la península de Baja California trabajan coordinando esfuerzos desde el 2003 para revertir esta situación.

Por su rol ecológico y su valor cultural, la tortuga amarilla constituye un tesoro que debemos conservar. El viernes 15 de agosto se iniciará el festival con un desfile o gallo, donde se presentarán la reina de la Caguama Gisselle I y la princesa Cristel. Además, las Borargas de tortugas amarilla, golfina y laud también estarán presentes.

El desfile terminará en el muelle del Carapacho, donde se presentará un grupo de música local y se realizará un baile de inauguración. Las actividades deportivas comenzarán temprano en la mañana del sábado 16 y el templete abrirá a las 7 de la tarde con la banda Los Intensos de Sinaloa, en el Muelle del Faro.

Habrá diversos números artísticos, entregas de premios y reconocimientos y el cierre estará a cargo de "Los Grandes del Pardito". El delegado de López Mateos, Diego Ivan De La Toba, participará en el evento y también se espera la llegada del presidente municipal y del gobernador para el cierre del evento.

Sardina

Sardina, or flat iron herring, are the most common bait fish throughout much of the Sea of Cortez. The pliers in the picture are standard sized to give you a little scale. This picture was taken at the end of the day so the colors aren't quite so strong on the sardina and the distinctive black dot behind the eye is not very clear. Numerous patterns imitate this species, be sure to have some when heading south. In Loreto, netters are available at the marina to fill your panga's live bait tank. The guide uses these fish to lure predatory fish into fly range. Putting just a couple in the water and watching what happens provides the guide with a lot of information about the type and behavior of any fish that might be in the area.

Running Down The Man

I have not seen this movie yet. The trailer looks good and captures the feel of beach fishing on the Eastcape between La Paz and San Jose Del Cabo. I look forward to checking it out.

Outbound

Here's a sunrise view of Carmen Island as you head out from the Loreto Marina for a long hard day of fighting fish.

Mangroves and Bahia Magdelena Conservation

Here is a link to an article that provides a good summary of the scientific paper that I linked to in my July 22 post about Mangroves.

Making that Deep Sea Connection to Mangroves

The article provides a good link to a story about the Magdalena Baykeeper group.

Magdalena Bay stretches for roughly 130 miles along the Pacific Coast between Loreto and La Paz and its mangrove lined channels are the biggest fish nursery on the Pacific Coast. This area is critically important for many species of sport fish, sea turtles, and is one of the three main gray whale calving lagoons.

Loreto Article

Here's a link to a Loreto article that I wrote for Flyfisherman Magazine a couple of years ago.

Loreto's Other Season

Panama Graysby

I didn't know what this fish was when I caught it. The photos here fail to fully show the orange and turquoise colors on the head. This is truly a spectacular fish.


The Panama Graysby is a feisty little reef dweller that doesn't get much bigger than this foot long individual. They range from the Sea of Cortez to Ecuador. This individual took a clouser minnow in brown/yellow/white with gold flash in my favorite 1/0 size. I've mentioned clousers so many times that I've included a picture of one with this post. Note that I no longer bother painting the eyes. I always have a few of these in this pattern plus brown/white, chartreuse/white, gray/white, and all white in my box when I head south. They are easy to tie which is good because I tend to loose a lot of them fishing around rocks.

I caught this fish near Loreto in January.