Fly Fishing Insider Newsletter featuring The Fly Fishing Shop - East Cape Baja, Mexico

Topics
Baja in the fall
Fly Tying
The Local Scene
Sandy Watershed

East Cape Baja, Mexico - Dorado, tuna, Jacks & Rooster Fish
Late October & early November is the time when many of the great game fish in the Sea of Cortez migrate south past East Cape of the Baja Peninsula. Fishing for Dorado, Rooster Fish, Jacks, Sierra Mackerel and striped Marlin can be very good. Best part of this picture is that the crowds are gone & there are some fine resort hotels at Buena Vista that are nearly empty. Here blue water fishing is protected from adverse winds and is nearly on-shore. At Buena Vista the desert joins beach sand and surf. This dry climate doesn't provide good habitat for biting bugs. Weather is calm and temperatures are in the high seventies. After fishing for six hours,

you relax under a canopy of live flowers in a beautiful garden and snooze or sip next to the pool. Buena Vista offers a very civilized way to fish. We opted for a 23' Super Pangas which was captained out of our hotel. Both of our skippers were very competent guides for fly fishing. These small craft proved to be the perfect platform for two fly fishing anglers. The common approach was to chum with the local baitfish, live

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15 pound Skipjack Tuna.

Sardinas. We tipped our captains to arrive early and get an hour jump on the rest of the fleet. This paid off in many Skipjack tuna being landed. These hard fighting foot balls averaged about 7-9 pounds with some to 15 pounds. The action usually tapered off around 9:00 a.m. By then we had landed 3-5 tuna apiece. Sometimes Yellow Fin Tuna of 25-40 pound were encountered. That would use up another hour or two of the morning. Tuna

are unbelievably strong for their size. They are beautiful with many iridescent and pearlescent colors. When it comes to colorful display, nothing beats Dorado which actually light-up in tones of gold and neon blue. Dorado are magnificent fly rod mid-size game fish. They average 4-25 pounds, but reach 45 pounds. They target baitfish and squid that live in the surface layer of tropical Oceans. When hooked they are long runners and high jumpers. More importantly, they like to eat flies.

25 pound Dorado.
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Catch record summery for six days in November '99.

Day	Skipjack Tuna	Yellow Fin Tuna	Dorado	Jack Craval	Rooster Fish	Sierra Mackerel
Day - 1	15	1	0	0	0	0
Day - 2	0	0	1	8	1	7
Day - 3	17	0	0	0	0	0
Day - 4	21	1	0	12	0	6
Day - 5	12	0	1	1	0	5
Day - 6	0	0	2	0	0	0
Totals	65	2	4	21	1	18

This is no where near a record catch. The guides were constantly bemoaning the fact that the fishing was very slow due the effects of El Nineo. It was good enough for a

23' Super Panga.

couple of blue-water-beginners such as ourselves. Some species were easier to catch than others. Skipjack Tuna were easier than Yellow Fin Tuna. A 10 weight rod with a T-300 line was the best combo for Skipjacks. Fifteen pounders would go 150 yards into the backing against a heavy drag. The ten weight proved to be an ineffective weapon against Yellow Fins over 25 ponds. For Yellow Fin Tuna a 13 weight outfit would prove to be a betted choice. To whip a 40 pound Yellow Fin takes some serious muscle. We encountered several schools of 5-7 pound Jack Craval. They ate every baitfish pattern that we threw at them. They and sierra Mackerel are best fished with eight weight gear. The gray Minnow has been the fly on both our trips to Southern Mexico. The best size is 2/0 x 4 1/2 inches long. To Top

	Sten's Epoxy Head, Gray Minnow Hook: Mustad 34007, #2/0 - #2 Tail: White buck tail and rainbow Flashabou Body: none Sides: white buck tail & rainbow Flashabou Back: gray buck tail Topping: peacock herl Throat: red Krystal Flash Head: epoxy coated pearl mylar tubing Eyes: stick-on reflective gold eyes To Top
We dubbed this fly the Mexican assassin. BUY SOME or take a look.

Can't figure out what to buy your fly fishing buddy who seems to have everything?
How about a gift certificate from The Fly Fishing Shop?
They have everything for the fly fisher?
Gift certificates are available from $20 - $10,000

The Local Scene

The Deschutes River
The big news is still heavy glacial run-off from White River has slowed. The Lower forty miles of the Deschutes is clearing. Steelhead are distributed from the mouth to Warm Springs in good numbers. Catches have been good. Check out these pictures. Fall Chinooks are also in large numbers as far up the river as Warm Springs. Several Chinook Jacks have been taken on steelhead flies.

Steelhead are starting to take waking flies. Most popular wakers are Bill McMillan's Steelhead Caddis and John Hazel's Rusty Bomber.   (Both are in stock at The Fly Fishing Sop in Welches).

Need to know when jet boats are on the water?  No restrictions after October 1.
Here is the 2000 - 2003 schedule.

We still have some great spey rods on sale.
If you don't come see us today, we can't save you any money!

Trout fishing will continue to be good through October. The Redsides are fat and energetic.

If you would like to read a detailed Deschutes River Fishing Report, click here.
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Crooked River
Hatches can be prolific, the wading isn't challenging and access is easy. Crooked River is an especially good fishery through the fall and winter months. Dry fly action can occur any time of day. Afternoon has been best. A #16 Yellow Comparadun has been deadly. The water in Crooked River is usually silty brown color. Don't worry, this cover makes the fish more confident and covers many mistakes you might make in presentation.
Other Flies: Elk Hair Caddis; Blue Winged Olives; Scuds; Woolly Bugger,
B.H. Pheasant Tail, Serendipities and Soft Hackles. To Top

Sandy and Clackamas Rivers
This has also been an outstanding year for Coho in both watersheds. We heard of one angler who landed 40 Coho on flies in Eagle Creek in one day during the peak of the run. The Coho run in the Clackamas drainage has been estimated at 37, 000 fish. The Sandy River has also had some great fly fishing for Cohoes when the water has been clear enough to fish. As this is written the Sandy is thick enough to plow.

There are more steelhead than you might think in the lower Sandy & Clackamas rivers. These fish will take flies and the rivers are small right now and and easy to cover with a fly rod. There are big crowds in certain places. However there are a lot of areas that have no pressure at all. Rabbit strip and marabou flies in purple, black, orange and chartreuse have been the best producers. To Top

NEW LTX Rods from Winston.
The LTX will be the rod of choice for anglers who prefer faster action rods. You will be surprised with the way these new LTX rods combine very high line speed with a smooth feel. Using LT Technology and engineering from the popular BL5 and XTR Series, Winston has created a fast action rod series with soul. We got to cast them on the back parking lot and they are impressive. Very soon we will have several models in stock for you to try. You will be amazed at the performance.
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If you would like to read a detailed Deschutes River Fishing Report, click here.

Fly Fishers Winter Months Round Tables feature Alec Jackson & Steve Gobin.
Be sure to mark your calendar. Click here for dates.

* Sandy River Fishery Information Bank Daily Fishing Report Watershed Over-view Sandy River Book Biology Etc. Watershed Council Web Site
Be on the out look for Sandy River Natives. Very early return wild steelhead are mixed with a huge run of Coho. Please handle them with care.

If you would like to read past "Insiders", click Archives To Top

Your commentary is always welcome. Drop us a line: flyfish@teleport.com

The Fly Fishing Shop, Welches, OR

1(800) 266-3971

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www.flyfishUSA.com

Fish long & prosper,
Mark Bachmann & Patty Barnes

The Fly Fishing Shop Recommends these companies.