Day two in Baja began with 5 am coffee at Sammy’s condo down here in Baja. Soon we were driving north for a few days of fishing on Magdalena Bay. But the Mag Bay fishing starts tomorrow so instead of pressing the five hour drive all the way there, instead we took the backroads in order to hit one of Grant Hartman’s Pacific snook haunts. Normally these roads are brutally dusty but today they were treacherously wet from last week’s hurricane. This crossing here probably wasn’t the smartest one to attempt but we made it!
Being in any desert after a rare rain is invigorating with all the fresh greenery. Down here in Baja a week after a deluge from a hurricane is unbelievable. I’ve been fishing Baja since 1996 but never seen a cactus bloom like this. If anyone knows what type this is I would love to know.
I wish there was a snook story to tell but for the second year in a row at this amazingly remote Pacific beach location the snook won the battle. Today I can honestly say we had an excuse however. Just like the dirt roads remain muddy from the hurricane, the Pacific Ocean continues hammer its beaches with monstrous rolling waves. Plain and simple, though Sammy and I gave it a good try, we got skunked for the second day in a row.
We arrived at one of the small towns along Magdalena Bay before sunset tonight. It was around 80° before that sun dropped. Ten minutes after and it was in the mid 60°s. You can’t beat Baja in the fall. Grant has us in a killer house rental and heading out in a panga tomorrow with a local fisherman/guide. Hopefully we can get this trip rolling!
In the meantime, please visit my webstore for “Christmas Gifts for the Angler that has Everything” and stuff those stockings with my fish decals from “Pescador on the Fly”.
Looking good – just saw your Instagram post of the tuna – beautiful. I’m bringing 8 anglers (6 of us fly anglers) down from San Diego in a couple days – we’ll be at the camp on Isla Magdalena on Bahia Santa Maria… looking forward to any condition reports, tips or advice you feel like sharing. Thanks for the great posts! PS: We’ll see you at Pleasanton and Denver shows!
Yeah I’m way behind on blogs and work and life in general. I guess that means we had good fishing! Good luck on your trip and I hope the group does well. Watch for floating debris. Unfortunately we saw quite a few dead turtles but the fish were with them