New Movie: Baja All-Exclusive

This looks interesting. A new film by Produced and Directed by Carmina Valiente: Baja All-Exclusive

The film will be showing in Loreto on November 26th:
10:00 at the conference room at the University
18:00 at the muesum of the Missiones

Happy 200th Birthday Mexico!

I'm sorry I missed the party! It looks like it was fun.
Here is President Calderon giving the traditional Grito de Dolores. The fireworks are spectacular.

Science Meeting in Loreto

This should be an interesting event. I hope to make it and maybe I'll see some of you there!

Applying Science to the Conservation and Management of Natural Resources throughout Northwest Mexico

May 25-27, 2011

Loreto, B.C.S.

The Ocean Foundation, in collaboration with a diverse collection of research institutions, government agencies and non-governmental organizations, cordially invites you to save the date for a conservation science symposium discussing the application of science to the conservation and management of natural resources throughout Northwest Mexico, to be held May 25 to 27, 2011 in Loreto, B.C.S., Mexico.

Through a series of oral and poster presentations, panel discussions, and workshops, we will explore marine and terrestrial issues, helping to define priorities for conservation throughout the region.

The topics of discussion will include some of today’s most pressing issues, such as:

• Climate change and its impacts on habitat and biodiversity,
• Freshwater quality, quantity, and alternative sources of water,
• Fisheries and coastal communities,
• Development, urbanization and the sustainable use of natural resources, and
• Natural protected areas, connectivity and biodiversity.

Participating Organizations and Institutions:
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Ayuntamiento de Loreto, California Academy of Sciences, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas de México, Comunidad y Biodiversidad, A.C., Eco-Alianza de Loreto, A.C., Grupo Tortuguero de las Californias, A.C., Instituto Nacional de la Pesca de México, Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Project, ProEsteros, A.C., Pro Peninsula and The Ocean Foundation, Sociedad de Historia Natural Niparaja, A.C., The Nature Conservancy, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur.

The Volaris Experiment Part 4: The Flight to La Paz

Continuing the story...

The flight to La Paz on Volaris was quite pleasant. The Airbus 319 was clean, modern and appeared new. Pink Martini played over the intercom as we taxied out. The aircraft was equipped with fold-down computer screens. The safety video was done in the form of a telenovela - you have to see it for yourself. On both my flights everyone paid attention.

Claudia Lizaldi does a great job reminding us of the safety features of the Airbus 319.

The La Paz airport is small and straight forward. A windy afternoon made for a choppy approach. There was a German Sheppard sniffing the checked luggage - it was the second drug/gun/cash dog of the day.

There is an ATM in the airport. I got some pesos and jumped into a cab and headed for the bus station. The cab was clean and efficient - $300 MN (Pesos) for the lift. Although I have used colectivo buses to get to the Los Cabos Airport I don't know if it would work in La Paz. The airport is on a fairly long side road from the highway. I would be very interested in hearing about potential alternatives to cabs.

The Volaris Experiment: Part 3 The Tijuana Airport

The ride from the boarder to the Tijuana Airport is relatively short and easy. After the line the bus heads south, crosses the river, spins around a traffic circle and then heads east along the boarder fence for about 3 miles.

While the bus ride was straight forward the navigating airport is not. Some Spanish language skills and calm determination is required. English only would work here but it would make things more challenging.

The airport is nice and modern with plenty of food and other basics and with a little lead lead time should present no major problems. But it helps to know the drill. In Mexico there are often more than one way to do things and they often change but for what it's worth here is what I did:

First I went inside the airport and got in line that led to check in area.

There is an x-ray machine for your bags here and they may check for a boarding pass - I can't remember .

Just before the x-ray check point there is a small INM window - it is fairly well marked - I asked about getting an FMT (tourist visa) and the uniformed officer said to pay inside and come back for the FMT.

I went in and got in the long slow check in line.

Note that each flight has its own check in line and each flight gets one check in window. Be sure to get in the correct one. At the front of each line just before the check-in window, a team of three people did a cursory search of our bags and then sealed them with zip-ties.

While in this line I talked to an American couple who I had met on the bus and had come through a different initial screening entrance where they had paid a different INM guy directly and had their FMTs already.

After a little asking around my Spanish paid off and I was directed to this window:

When you are in the Volaris check in lines this window is directly behind you.

I paid my $22 for the FMT here got a receipt and was directed back to the INM guy near at the x-ray line.

I was relieved to discover that he had a small window on the inside of the security check so I didn't have to go outside and return through security.

I gave him the receipt and he gave me an FMT good for 180 days.

Then I was back in the check in line, got my bags searched and sealed, got my boarding pass and headed to the final security check.

The final security check was the third bottle neck for the morning - there appeared to be only one lane for the check that was serving several flights. It was the standard x-ray your carry on and metal-detector deal.

After that it was a quick hustle through the terminal - very new and nice but with the trio of long lines I didn't have time to enjoy it.

At the gate they loaded us onto a pair of buses and then drove us a few hundred yards across the taxiways to a waiting plane and boarded using old-school stairs.

I was a little over whelmed by the process and may have gotten small details wrong but the general plan should work.

I snapped this picture of Adriana - all Volaris aircraft appear to have names - but not all have a Krispy Kreme logo.

The Volaris Experiment: Part 2 Crossing the Boarder

OK,

So Alaska/Horizon tickets were about $450 from LAX to Loreto and I was in San Diego with an itch to go fishing.

Determined Baja traveler that I am, I decided to give the Volaris route a try.

I walked down to the Greyhound station in San Diego at 1st and Broadway about three hours ahead of my flight - about 6:00am. It was very close to my hotel in San Diego and I found the walk quiet and pleasant in the calm coolness of the morning.

The ride on the Curcero-USA bus (http://www.crucero-usa.com/) from San Diego to the Tijuana Airport was $15 US but you can get tickets for a few dollars less on the web. Buses run every hour or two from 6:45am to 11:30 pm. It takes about an hour to get from downtown San Diego to the Tijuana airport but leave early boarder delays are always possible and unpredictable.

Here we are about to cross over to el otro lado. I haven't made the land crossing at San Ysidro in a while and while much is still the same a few things have changed. The south bound traffic backed up in the photo are cars being stopped for searches on the US side prior to entering Mexico.

All vehicles were being stopped and we had to wait while a crew of officers really looked over a nice SUV and pick up driven by two young latino guys. Afterwards a series of three very serious officers visited the bus covered by an officer with the most fearsome looking shotgun I have ever seen. I think these guys were ICE but it was serious enough that I forgot to write down who was doing the searches. They ran a dog through the bus and made some announcements about carrying more than $10,000. This isn't usually a worry for El Moscero. If I had $10,000 I wouldn't be on the bus.

After a significant but not fatal delay we were on the way.

Always build extra time into your travel plans. You will need it here.

A volunteer from the bus gets to push the Aduana (Mexican Customs) red/light green light button - we got lucky and dozen or so people on the bus cheered as our volunteer got the green light.

The Volaris Experiment

Here is the situation - I found myself on a work trip to San Diego in mid-July and really wanted to make a quick trip down to Loreto for a couple of days after I was finished with my San Diego meeting.

I previously reported on the fishing from this trip and want to continue with the story of my experiment taking the Volaris Tijuana to La Paz service.

The question before me was what was the best way to get from San Diego to Loreto and back with a minimum of hassle and expense and no car.

Horizon Air (Alaska Airlines regional partner) flies from LAX to Loreto 4 days per week but LAX is a long way from San Diego and the flights were expensive.

The bus from Tijuana to Loreto is about 18 hours and $80 US.

I went with Volaris Tijuana to La Paz and then bus to Loreto.

The next few posts will document my trip and provide an answer to the questions:

Is it worth all the trouble?

Did it save any money?

Do you need to speak Spanish?

Would I do it again?

Stay tuned for more!

Good Fishing in Loreto

OK,

Here's my run down from fishing Loreto the 18th and 19th of July. The fishing was good for 8-12 pound dorado and 3-10 pound roosters.

The cool spring and early summer felt along the west coast from Baja Sur to Oregon appears to have delayed the Loreto season - we found dorado close to shore and only a little farther out than the roosters. Several small dorado came from areas where rooster fish were active in schools - on one one occasion within 100 yards of the beach.

Bigger dorado are hard to come by but will likely show up as the water warms. Capitan Francisco reported a few sailfish to the north on Sunday (July 18).

The cool spring weather appears to have reduced growth rates in sardinias - they are here but very tiny - too small for the net. If sardinias were available this could be an epic light tackle season.

We saw a larger size class of rooster fish but manged to hook only one that came off the hook while making a couple of quick reverses.

Plenty of Pez Gallo schools were working over sand off rocky shores and we had several great chances at larger fish but couldn't keep them near the boat. Dragging flies behind the boat yielded many small roosters. Conditions were perfect for casting - smooth water and little to no wind made it hot - but fish very boat shy.

I fished both days with Victor Villalejo - a captain that I had not fished with previously. I booked both days through the Baja Big Fish Company. Victor is a good guide - he is fine with releasing fish, patient, speaks English, and most importantly can find fish. While most boats headed way off shore in search of dorado or to points north of Coronado to fish deep for yellowtail we stayed inshore and chased fish with light tackle. I was tired from a long week of traveling and didn't want to get pounded off shore - plus I really wanted to find the big toros (Jack Crevalle) that have been hanging around town.

The first day we saw many small to medium sized dorado chasing flying fish through the air but I never was fast enough to get a picture. The second day we found fewer doroado and did not see the big pod of dolphins that we say on the first day. However we found many more rooster fish and saw a school of big toro go under the boat but they were traveling and wouldn't stop to bite.

El Moscero Misses the Bus

Repeat after me:

BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR IS ON MOUNTAIN TIME!

Forgetting to change your watch when arriving in BCS is a common mistake and one that caused me to miss the bus and resulted in arriving in Loreto about 8 hours late at 2:30am!

I'm just got back from a fast run to Loreto. Fishing was unusual for this time of year but very good. Lack of Sadinias was the only thing preventing things from being epic.

I will post pictures soon.

Water Safety

This story is an important read:

Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning

In Baja lifeguards are non-existent. Be aware and be safe.

Strange Start for Loreto

It has been a strange start to the summer season in Loreto. Here in southern Oregon summer has been late and my tomatoes got wiped out by a mid-may frost. It appears that this cold weather has been affecting things all the way down.

Sadinas have been hard to get and the dorado are just starting to show up. Lee Baermann has posted a series of Loreto reports over the last week and a half on Dan Blanton's bulletin board. He had the good fortune of the first charter in Captain Francisco's new boat. Here's Francisco with the first fish in the new panga.

I'm jealous.

Nice fish Lee! - that is the biggest pargo I've seen in the Loreto area.

Rooster Release

This is where all rooster fish should go after you've had your fun with them. Terje Bendiksby of Norway fished for nine days out of La Paz and reports excellent fishing for roosters. This big boy was estimated at 25 kilos - that's over 50 pounds! It seems like a good year for pez gallo with reports of good action from Loreto to La Paz and the East Cape.

Cool Old Movie

Check this out. Views of Ensenada, Bahia Tortugas, Bahia Magdelena and Cabo San Lucas from 1949.

April Steel

OK,
I haven't been able to post in a while. It's been a great springer run here on the Rouge River and I've been busy. I'm itching to get back to Baja but for now I wanted to share this great photo of a Feather River Steelhead caught by Mike E. in April.

Pole Dancer

This is a good looking fly with interesting action. In this brown and white pattern it will likely be productive for fish feeding are sardinas. I look forward to giving one a try. You can see the action in this video:

Loreto Coastkeeper

Another great development from Loreto. There is now a Coastkeeper complete with a blog.

Everyone with an interest in the community and the fantastic sport fishing should support this effort.

Click http://www.ecoalianzaloreto.org/ and then hit the Make a Donation button. Its easy, fast, and is important.

If you need a little motivation go watch Rivers of a Lost Coast and see what we have already lost in Alta California.

La Pamela Reina de Pesca

Hey,

Here's something I have been waiting for. Pam from the Baja Big Fish Company is posting a blog about her fight to protect the fisheries of Baja California Sur.

El Moscero fully supports La Reina de Pesca's efforts. The only question is when does she sleep?

Those diputados better watch out - I hope they know what they are getting into.

Loreto Pride Campaign

The Loreto Bay National Park is seeking volunteers on Saturday, April 17th to help the park provide all Loretanos with the opportunity to know their park first-hand. As part of the park's Pride campaign promoting sustainable fisheries "Loretanos por un mar lleno de vida" the park will invite all Loretanos, many of whom have never had the opportunity to get out on the water, to enjoy a visit to Isla Coronado and/or kayaking and sailing from the malecon, FREE of charge.

In order to provide the service to the number of people we are expecting, we are reaching out to the community of park users seeking volunteers to help us provide boat service to the island, or to loan their kayaks, snorkel gear, life jackets or other essential equipment. We are also seeking a few more kayak guides who can help folks to paddle along the shore.

The free aquatic activities will take place from 8am – noon. We envision each boat trip to be approximately 90 minutes. Ideally, those donating their boats would make 2 or 3 of these tours mini Coronado trips during the 4-hour period. The more Loretanos enjoy their park, the more who will be interested in taking care of it.

Some basic information: the park will be responsible for organizing the people in small groups for each boat. A volunteer working with the park will be placed on each boat to share some basic information about the park with the passengers, and to help maintain order. Children under 13 will be required to be accompanied by an adult. All passengers will be required to wear life jackets for the duration of the tour. All passengers will be asked to sign a release form provided by the park prior to their tour. Passengers will be expected to carry their own water and snacks and to carry out garbage.

For more information, or to confirm your interest, please contact Cynthia Mayoral at cmayoral@rareconservation.org or 613-111-0510.

Reprinted from the Loreto Yahoo Group

New Blog

For those of you looking closely you will see a new blog added to the Conservation Blogs link. The Baja Blog by ProPeninsula is from a great group that is worthy of your support!

Unification of Loreto and Baja California Sur for the Protection of the DORADO

From the Baja Nomads Board posted by Pam in Loreto:

Several months ago a fellow nomad posted a link to an article in spanish regarding the initiative of removing the Dorado from its protected status as per Art. 68 of the Ley Federal de la Pesca where the following species are reserved for sport fishing permits within 50 NM of the Mexican coastline:

Dorado, Billfish, Roosterfish, Tarpon

We are responding to this and if you can read Spanish here is the start of our campaign to be heard.

http://www.bajabigfish.com/cartaconfirmas

later late tonight I will be posting my experiences from the last four weeks on this issue. we are collaborating with Los Cabos, La Paz and Guaymas on this as well as across the border to the USA via Robin Wade of Western Outdoor News.

also when the guy who owns loreto.com gets his stuff together it will also be accessable here loreto.com/cartaconfirmas

I will include ways in which non Mexicans can support us in my report. We will need your support and once united we'll will be unstoppable. This might be that 2010 revolution they refer to. But this time it will happen through peaceful communication with the law on our side, and science and with an educated and enlightened public.

Viva el Dorado
Viva Mexico

Sail Fish on the Hunt

These shots from National Geographic are not from Baja but they are so good I had to share them.

There is also a great video "Sailfish: In the Whirl" at the National Geographic site. Its useful to watch to see the scales and blood of the wounded bait fish that we often try to imitate with our flies.

Cool Dorado Video

Dorado on the Prowl from Jay Murakoshi on Vimeo.

This is a good video - the first 3 minutes shows good fighting technique. Notice how the rod tip stays relatively low - high sticking isn't just a hokey foul, it's a good way to break a fly rod.

At about 3 minutes the video switches to an underwater shot of good sized Dorado working chum. If you come to Baja California Sur in June, July, or August this is where you will be casting the fly. In the last few seconds you can really see the sardinas as they try to escape. Watch what happens and you can get a feel for what the strike feels like.

I think I'll go check flights - I'm getting the itch real bad!

Perfect Day

Ignore the sleepy hound and look for the very happy guy fishing from the rocks. Notice that there are no footprints on this beach. We spent most of the summer of 2002 living here. On Sundays a couple of families would come here and the dads would fish from the rocks while the kids played on the beach. On Fridays a big cruise ship would glide silently by at about 11:00am and disappear around the point headed north. The rest of the week it was just us and our lazy dog, nesting sea turtles at night, and fishing all day long.

Trouble in Paradise

Hey readers,

There is breaking news today that the Mexican Congress will consider allowing the commercial catch of Dorado in early February of this year.

Illegal catch of Dorado is already widespread:

http://bajaflyfishing.blogspot.com/2009/08/pez-de-oro.html

http://bajaflyfishing.blogspot.com/2009/08/oro-de-cortez-part-2.html

http://bajaflyfishing.blogspot.com/2009/08/oro-de-cortez-part-3.html

The legalization of commercial fishing for this species will destroy one of the remaining healthy fisheries in the Loreto region and have devastating impacts to the sport fishing-based economies of Baja California Sur.

I'll post more information as I get it.