Along with my father Paul Myer, Uncle Rich Myer and his seventeen-year-old son Todd Myer, we were greeted by Martin's daughter, Marisol upon our arrival the afternoon of July 18. The resort is actually a combination hotel, R.V. park and campground that is impeccably clean and well cared for. There are two separate buildings, each three stories tall with a total of 20 modern, fully air conditioned rooms. The northern building features a roof garden restaurant and cocktail lounge overlooking the sparkling swimming pool, palapa bar and deep blue waters of the Sea of Cortez.

Our plan was to break up into pairs and fish on pangas or super pangas the first two days, then fish together on a super cruiser the final day. Fishing reports had been mixed the week prior to our arrival. Due to abnormally cool weather for the month of July, dorado and tuna fishing had been hit and miss, but marlin action was consistent on most days.

My first day would be spent with my father Paul on a 23 foot super panga skippered by Roberto. The boat was extremely clean and powered by a newer model 125 hp Mercury outboard. Roberto's gear was well used, but also very well cared for and his large Penn reels were all spooled with fresh line. After picking up a load of live sardinas and mullet, we made a run straight out of the resort on a north east heading.

It was only ten minutes into the run when Roberto's keen eye spotted a big marlin working the surface about 100 yards off the port side. He quickly rigged up a large mullet and instructed me to take the wheel and head towards the fish. As we closed within 25 yards, I kicked it into neutral and Roberto heaved the large bait into the direction of the fish. Suddenly, line began to peel off the spool and I couldn't believe we were about to be hooked into a marlin within the first hour of our vacation. Unfortunately, the big blue dropped the bait and never returned. Needless to say, we were disappointed, but also extremely excited about the day to come.

At that point, Roberto figured we were in a good area to put out the gear, so we rigged up two large Zukers for marlin and a smaller lure for dorado and began to troll. For the first few hours, it was relatively quiet with the exception of a pair of marlin that showed no interest in our offerings.

At around 11:00 am, we had finished lunch and were both beginning to nod off under the power of the hot sun when Roberto suddenly whistled in excitement. A marlin was streaking across the surface and heading straight for the set of lures. In the blink of an eye, there was a large crash on one of the big Zukers and line was screaming off the reel at an unbelievable pace. Roberto hammered the throttle for four or five seconds to assure a solid hook set.

I quickly pulled the rod out of the holder and reared back into the first marlin of my fishing career. The battle was surprisingly short, maybe 20 minutes, but the big blue put on several spectacular aerial displays along with a few deep runs that peeled at least 50 yards of line off the reel. When it finally came along side the boat, Roberto grabbed the fish by the bill and I removed the large hook. A few quick photos were taken and the fish was sent on its way to fight another day.

We spent the rest of the day searching for marlin and working live sardinas on the many shark buoys anchored throughout the area. We managed to catch three dorado, two in the 10 to 15 pound class and the other was a big bull in the upper 30's.

Day two was spent fishing with my cousin Todd in a 22 foot panga with skipper Alfredo. I knew we had our work cut out for us early on as we were greeted by a stiff breeze compared to the glassy calm conditions of the previous day. Todd was still waiting to tie into his first marlin, so we decided to head north and troll the area where I had scored on my blue.

Fishing was quite slow this day as it was for most of the boats. In fact, a hook-up on a small dorado around 1:00 pm was the first sign of fish. It was about 1:30 when Alfredo spotted a marlin cruising near the surface. He had a live bait rod at the ready and quickly gunned the small outboard in the direction of the fish. He heaved the large mullet while the boat was still near full throttle and the big marlin pounced on the bait immediately. Alfredo reared back on the rod and kept the boat wide open for another five or six seconds. A quick hand off and Todd was into his first marlin. The next hour was filled with a number of amazing leaps and runs. Finally, the big fish tired and Todd landed a gorgeous striped marlin estimated at 150 pounds.

Our final day of action was spent with all four of us fishing on the 28 foot super cruiser Ricky with captain Martin and mate Jose. The weather had settled down significantly and we made a long run north in search of dorado and marlin. Our first stop was quite exciting when we ran into a big school of bonita while in search of yellowfin tuna. The tuna never materialized, but we had a blast fighting 5 to 10 pound bonita for a half hour or so.

Next, it was out to the deep water where we trolled a large Zuker for marlin and a couple smaller lures for dorado or tuna. Paul was up first and luck was with him when a big blue marlin smashed one of the baits. Much like the blue I had landed, this one put up a surprisingly short battle, twenty minutes at best. Needless to say, my dad was elated with his first marlin in over 10 years. The fish was estimated at 220 pounds and released to fight again.

The day rounded out perfectly with three quality dorado hooked and landed by myself, Todd and Rich. Todd's dorado was a monster topping the 50 pound mark and took nearly twice as long to land as the marlin.

All in all, this was an absolutely ideal vacation. The accommodations and staff at Martin Verdugo's Beach Resort were first rate. The captains and deckhands were extremely professional and courteous and the boats, from the pangas to super cruisers, were in tip top shape and very well cared for. The Martin Verdugo family has lived in the tiny town of Los Barriles for five generations and they take an incredible amount of pride in their work. I whole heartedly recommend this resort for your next East Cape adventure.

For more information or reservations, call the resort direct at 01152-114-10054. Check out their website at www.martinverdugos.com. They also have an E Mail address: martinv@lapaz.cromwell.com.mx.

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