It didn't stop there! As we all fixated on the aerial display taking place before us, a big bull dorado slammed my feather and began cartwheeling 30 yards behind the boat. I settled into my own battle and Charro grabbed a third rod, rigged up a live mackerel and tossed it into the fray.

In a surreal moment, another striped marlin appeared out of nowhere gracefully passing under our stern on a direct line for the frantic mackerel. A sudden flash of silver and blue and line was screaming off Charro's reel. He kicked it into gear, reared back and we were into a triple hook-up. "Not a bad way to start a trip," I shouted in utter amazement.

It was the first of five memorable days spent at the luxurious El Camino Real on a trip arranged by Ozzie Castro of Neptune Adventures. The Camino Real is Loreto's newest luxury resort nestled between the Sea of Cortez and the Sierra la Gigante mountain range. This is a five star resort featuring 155 rooms, two sparkling swimming pools and several restaurants and cocktail lounges.

We arrived the evening of Tuesday July 29, two days ahead of our luggage (thank you very much Aero Mexico). I was joined by good friend and fellow fishing fanatic Jody Jordan of Vacaville. This was my first trip back to Loreto since Fish Sniffer Publisher Allen Bonslett and I enjoyed three days of red hot dorado action in the summer of 1997.

The Camino Real sits on what has to be considered one of the prime locations in the Loreto area. With several hundred yards of naturally protected beach, the crystal clear waters are absolute paradise for snorkeling, swimming and sunbathing. In fact, the large point at the south end of the beach is regarded as the finest snorkeling destination in all of Loreto. The resort is actually in the tiny town of Nopolo, some three miles south of the airport and seven miles south of downtown Loreto.

Established on October 25, 1697, Loreto was the first permanent settlement in Baja California's history. Juan Maria Salvatierra founded the mission of Our Lady of Loreto on that date and this was the Capitol of the territory until an earthquake destroyed the city in 1829. At that time, the Capitol was changed to La Paz. The Loreto mission still stands today and is one of the top tourist attractions in the city.

So what was the result of our triple hook-up? Well, Charro stuffed his rod into a rod holder after hooking up his marlin, and it was a race between Jody and I to land our fish, then take over on the second marlin.

Unfortunately, I had a 30 pound bull dorado hooked on a 7 foot Lamiglas bass rod and Jody was fighting his marlin on a fairly light 30 pound outfit, so it was even money on who would land their fish first.

Man that was one stubborn dorado! By the time Jody had brought the first striper to leader, then landed the second, I was still in a tug of war with a dorado on steroids. Some 40 minutes later, we were both exhausted and Charro gaffed the big bull and hoisted it into the boat. Did I mention that Jody had landed another dorado in the mean time. "Time to put away the light stuff and get serious," I said. "I'm going to play with my next fish after it's in the boat."

Another flurry of activity thirty minutes later resulted in three more quality bull dorado, both taken on the live mackerel. We were fishing within a group of 8 to 10 other pangas and for at least an hour half the pangas were hooked up either on dorado, striped marlin or sailfish. Just two hours after reaching the fishing grounds, we had landed two striped marlin and 7 dorado, 5 big bulls in the 20 to 35 pound class and a couple smaller fish that were released.

The hour and a half ride back to the hotel was better than any day at Marine World. Schools of porpoise were everywhere with one or two bodysurfing off our bow wake at any given time. Manta Rays could be seen in the distance skyrocketing out of the water, performing a perfect flip than crashing back to the surface. We even spotted several sea turtles basking lazily under the warm tropical sun.

Charro dropped us off on the beach in front of the hotel, then headed back to town to care for our catch. After a brief siesta, Jody and I headed down to the pool for some lunch. It was surprisingly cool compared to the scorching temperatures we had left in the Sacramento Valley. Day time highs barely cracked the 90 degree mark and humidity wasn't much of a problem, especially when the afternoon breeze would kick into gear.

The Camino Real offers an all-inclusive package that I would highly recommend since food and drinks can get a little spendy. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is served buffet style in the main restaurant and the snack bar serves up a decent variety of meals as well. One complaint... those of you who enjoy a hearty breakfast before heading out on the water will be disappointed since breakfast isn't served until 7:00 am and the pangas arrive at 6:00 am.

All of the amenities are present you would expect in a five star resort. The hotel itself is quite impressive. It is a combination of Mexican and Mediterranean design and no expense was spared judging from the magnificent wood and stone work found throughout the resort. Most impressive of all was the service. Staff outnumbered guests by at least three to one and every employee we came in contact with was eager to meet any and all of our needs.

Day two the wind decided to blow and things were much slower with a total of two dorado and another striped marlin for our efforts. Day three was a repeat of day one with flat calm seas and numerous opportunities on both dorado and marlin. While the fish seemed a bit finicky, we still managed our four fish limit on big bull dorado and hooked two more striped marlin, one caught and released and the other released long distance.

Sunday morning our fish was delivered as promised, frozen solid and cleanly packaged by Arturo's Sportfishing. Arturo's Pangas are clean and well maintained with late model outboards. most in the 50 to 70 horsepower class. While tackle is provided when needed, I would strongly suggest bringing a pair of quality 30 pound outfits since most of the boats are equipped with old, but well cared for 50 pound set-ups.

For more information on a Loreto fishing adventure, give Neptune Fishing Adventures a call at (888) 875-4700.