It was the calmest and the hottest day of the trip thus far and all I want to do today is
catch a sailfish on a fly. That morning getting dressed, I held up my blue-green shirt and
asked my roomie, "does this go with sailfish"? A splendid choice, she agreed. We left
the beach at the Hotel Oasis at 5:45 AM and made a quick run down to the marina to
fill our live bait well with sardines and then headed out toward the point off Isla Carmen,
where we know the sailfish "hang out".
There was not a breath of wind and the Sea of Cortez looked like a sheet of blue glass.
Our only saving grace was the movement of our 22' panga driving around looking for
sailfish fins protruding from the glassy sea. It took a few hours to even spot our first
contestants in the 'Mary wants a Sailfish Contest,' but when our panga got close enough
to check them out, they were gone. This was going to be the drill for the next 3 hours
or so. Every once in awhile, we would sneak up on a small pod of sails and throw in a
few live sardines to see if anyone was hungry and wanted to play, but for the most part,
they were just lounging around in the warm sun and not hungry.
After 5-1/2 hours of hot beating sun and no air movement, I was ready to pass out and
just fall apart. It was so hot my body felt as if it was melting and my face was beet red.
My fishing partner Annette and I decided we'd had enough and were in desperate need
of our air-conditioned room, when our guide Enrique spotted another sailfish on the horizon.
"Uno mas", he pointed at the sailfish, Pez vela. Uno mas, that was all I needed to hear.
It's funny, no matter how damn hot I was, I had another shot at a sail. I jumped to
attention in position and Enrique cut the motor and coasted the panga into position.
He threw in a couple live sardines and instantly the water erupted and we had a player!
As Enrique kept the attention of the sailfish close to the boat, he pointed to one of my fly
rods set up with a yellow and green fly, which he wanted me to try first. The next time
he threw some sardines into the water, I cast my fly into the brew. The sailfish came
up and brushed my fly with the side of his face and didn't take it. I handed that rod
off to Annette to tie on another fly and proceeded to try the next rod that had a deceiver
type bait-fish pattern on it. The same thing happened. The fish would come up, get a
look at it, brush his face with it and look for sardines…the real ones! Ok, now back
to the first rod; I still have another chance, he's right close to the boat and looking for
something to eat.
I cast my silver colored popper that I tied for the trip, into the firing line and he instantly
attacked it but the hook came loose. He took it again and again it came loose . . .the third
time is the charm, right? You bet; he took it so hard it nearly pulled the rod out of my hands.
I put a serious bend in the rod and really set the hook and we were off and running; only
problem is that once the fish was hooked, I realized it was hooked on my 10 weight, not
the 12 weight rod. The 10 wt was considered super light tackle for a fish of this size and
weight and the reel was designed for an 8 wt outfit. Yikes, how was I ever going to land
this fish on such light equipment? All I could think of for the next 45 minutes was I hope
I didn't break the Winston Rod I had borrowed from the Winston Rod Co. and please
oh please let Annette's knot hold, not to mention I hope I don't melt into a puddle on the
bow of this little boat. Well, nothing could have been more perfect. The rod did a stunning
job, Annette's knot held up great, and the reel, an Islander with the drag tightened to the
max, performed superbly. The fish was finally landed, photos taken and the fish released
to swim away to play with another lucky angler at a future engagement.
It is nice to see the Mexican guides concerned for the welfare of the fish in their local waters.
Enrique was very concerned about my getting the fish landed as quickly as possible and get
him revived and released in a timely fashion. Thank you Enrique for your help getting me my
first beautiful sailfish on the fly. The fish was estimated to have been around 130 pounds or more.
The dorado fishing in Loreto right now has never been better and there is still space available
for July and August. The dorado are numerous and there are huge numbers of big bull dorado
in excess of 35 - 40 pounds. There are good numbers of sailfish and some striped marlin as
well. If you are interested in getting in on the best action Baja has seen in several decades,
contact me at Angler's Passport at
800-440-2699. ~ Mary Smiley
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