DAY TWO: After the group was served a tremendous breakfast by Patrick, owner of the Otra Vez restaurant, all boats departed right on time - 7 a.m.! It was a sunny, warm morning with calm seas. Most boats picked up sardinas and caballitos and some headed north; some like us headed straight out. After 11/2 hr. of running, our captain put out four Zukers of different colors. It was not long before we spotted our first sailfish, threw him a caballito which he immediately ate - the fight was on! The sailfish was brought to the boat and immediately released. Trolled another half hour, picked up another sail that was released. Boredom for the next two hours. Spotted a "tailing" marlin, threw him the bait and the marlin was not interested. Went back to trolling. Hooked up a large bull dorado, brought him to the boat. By mutual agreement, of all on board, we decided we would take the dorado to Otra Vez for our evening's repast. Trolled the rest of the day to no avail.

After the boats returned this evening, it appeared all encountered the same: early morning bite then nada.

SUMMARY: 6 dorado 25-40 lbs.; 4 marlin to 140 lbs., all released; 7 sailfish, all released; 4 pompano.

DAY THREE: After another fine breakfast from Otra Vez, the boats departed once again on time. One boat decided to fish the shark buoys; one headed south, the rest headed straight out. The conditions were the same as yesterday, clear skies, no wind, flat seas. By mid afternoon the sky clouded over and we had a light southerly breeze and light seas developed (I found out later this was due to a hurricane located 400 miles south). Fishing on our boat was a repeat of yesterday, with us landing 2 marlin, 2 sailfish and 2 dorado. As for the other boats, the one that fished the shark buoys did well. Several of our boats spotted large schools of porpoises; tried for tuna, found none underneath.

SUMMARY: 10 dorado 25 - 55 lbs.; 4 marlin, 2 released; 6 sailfish, all released.

DAY FOUR: After an evening with a great lightning show, awoke to cloudy skies and a light southerly breeze. After a great breakfast, went to the dock to find a light sea which did not hinder the boat boarding whatsoever. Day three of fishing brought the fishing unchanged: morning bite then nada. As the day progressed, the winds picked up along with the sea. During the day we spotted lots of tailing marlin but they would not accept bait that was offered. This proved to be our slowest day of fishing. Although the fishing was slow, as usual in the Sea of Cortez one always has something spectacular to see. We saw a pod of 5 whales that were jumping completely out of the water, entertaining us with a show that lasted almost 30 minutes. We saw a large school of porpoises frolicking (unfortunately no tuna under them), manta rays, a sea turtle and hundreds of flying fish. Although we came to fish, one is always awed by the marine life in the Sea of Cortez!

SUMMARY: 11 dorado; 3 marlin, 1 released; 4 sailfish, all released; 3 triggerfish; 1 amberjack.

OVERALL SYNOPSIS: While the moon phase, sea and wind conditions, water temperature and clarity were all in our favor, the Sea of Cortez yielded quality rather than quantity for this group. Some of the largest bull dorado I have seen in a long time (up to 55 lbs.) resulted from this trip. The striped marlin were average to above average in size, the largest being 190 lbs.

The hotel staff was most gracious and went out of their way to accommodate our clients. We will be returning to this hotel September 17-21.

The restaurants serve excellent meals and we recommend the following: To have your fresh catch prepared, you can't beat Otra Vez! The big hit among the hearty eaters was the 28 oz. T-bone steak for $12.00 at Tio Pablo's. Many enjoyed the Mexican cuisine at Maņana's.

One must always keep in mind when fishing slows down that this is why the sport is called "fishing" and not "catching!"

Previous articles in the series:
Hotel Los Barriles, Jan 2000
Verdugo Beach Resort, Dec 1999
Hotel Playa Del Sol, Nov 1999
Hotel Palmas De Cortez, Oct 1999