The wind cranked all night.  I’m sharing a room with Sammy and our hut rattled like we were in a hurricane.  But the blow isn’t as terrible as it sounded. Nonetheless, Grant opted out to rest his bad back and get his vehicle ready for our long drive back to Cerrito’s tomorrow.

Due to a lifetime of being pounded by wind and waves I must say I dreaded the panga ride from our fishing village to the California yellowtail waters.  Riccardo rolled in around 7 to get Sammy and I and was quick to inform us that we were going to hug the shore as long as possible.  Then take the shortened crossing.  But though shortened, we were going to get wet.  Off we went.

It was indeed windy once we hit the open ocean, but Riccardo grew up in a village you can only get to by boat.  He handled his dad’s panga like a champ and we took on a barely a splash.  More importantly he never slammed us down on a wave once the whole ride.

When we arrived the normally diving birds were resting on the beach.  A sign the yellowtail weren’t feeding and sure enough, our fishing was the slowest yet.  We’ve seen it slow down each day as our week here in Baja has progressed.  No doubt the fish feel the growing pressure from fishermen.  But I think more than anything, it’s been getting cooler each day too and they feel that as well.  I never took off my fleece until nearly noon.

When fishing is as slow as it was, I start playing around.  I put on my heaviest chartreuse and white Clouser with a sinker and sent it down deep with my 500 Grain Titan.  Once down there I strip hard for five seconds then let it sit and hold tight.  If nothing, I send it back down and repeat.  By not brining my fly all the way in keeps me in the deep zone longer.  It paid off quick with our smallest yellowtail of the week.

In my mind I knew any species might show up.  Lo and behold, I hooked a weighty fish but it didn’t smoke me like a yellowtail.  Don’t get me wrong, this fish yanked back hard, but once I stopped him he came in relatively easy.  I caught the biggest yellow snapper of my life.  And then released him!

The snapper would be our best fish of the day.  What a difference a week makes on the yellowtail run here in Baja.  Sammy and I were able to roust out two more small yellowtails but honestly, even the locals weren’t catching much with their live sardines.  Our biggest excitement came when a school of baby roosterfish bolted through our zone.  Sammy landed four of the go-getting rascals.

We couldn’t catch anything after 1 PM.  We tried till almost 3 but then gave it up.  Once again, Riccardo’s boating skills got us across the open ocean to our village with ease.  The waves were big but you’d never know it.

We tidied up our stuff tonight and drank a few celebratory Pacifico’s.  It’s been an amazing week.  What’s most amazing is that it wasn’t planned.  We predicted a shore fishing snapper trip a month ago and the weather and fish gods turned into and EPIC California yellowtail trip.  You never know in fishing but if you stay flexible, patient and are wiling to take on some adventure, anything can happen.  The journey back to Idaho begins tomorrow.

Jeff Currier Global Fly Fishing