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!

Loreto Fishing Map

Here's a map I put together a while ago showing the northern fishing spots where many of Loreto's dorado are caught. The locations in red also produce jurel (yellow tail) and other species although pangas rarely venture to the outermost spots during the rough winter conditions.

August Dorado

Loreto is having a fantastic dorado season. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm going to make it down this summer. This picture is from an August evening trip a few years ago at the Bajo las Boyas northeast of town.

My good friend Francisco "Cuervo" Muñoz is helping me untangle a good sized bull dorado. I hooked the fish with a simple fly of blue/white synthetic hair and stick on Mylar eyes tied in a "spread fly" style with a little epoxy around the head to give it the tall thin profile of a bait fish. The fly was unweighted and tied on a 2/0 hook.

If you can I recommend getting down sometime in the next month. I like August better than June and July because there tend to be fewer people around. Its also hotter and there is a greater risk of tropical storms and hurricanes but its all part of the fun!

Under Gunned

When fishing for dorado don't mess around - bring a big rod. In this photo I'm well into a long fight with a medium sized dorado that I hooked on my 10-weight. Notice the sweat. The first 20 minutes were fun, the next hour was not. During dorado season in Loreto, espcially in August when the big bulls show up, bring a 12-weight, fight fish fast, and release them in good condition.