Into The Pacific

The 26-foot Glacier Bay Catamaran rocked back in forth in the rough seas of the Pacific. I fully understand what a toy boat feels like in a bathtub while a kid splashes violently. With my knee lodged in the corner of the vessel, with my other leg propped back like a kickstand, the sea laughed as it put my unworthy sea legs to the test. It was colder than one would have expected the weather to be in Mexico in June. With the winds howling, I now thoroughly regretted not packing a decent jacket but did not regret the Dramamine I took before we left. With one hand on the gunnel, the other on the Diawa rod and reel, bail open, and my finger holding the line, I could feel the large mullet attached to the end of my line nervously pulling at the line.

One quick tug ripping the loose line from my grip replaced the once nervous thrashing. As instructed by the guides, I began the countdown from seven. As I approached my final count of one, my other hand left the gunnel and moved towards the reel to ready myself. With a flip of the bail, I began to reel quickly to lodge the circle hook in the mouth of our prey. The once loose line immediately tightened as the fish felt the pressure and took off, easily peeling the drag. Like any war, it started with my battle cry (FISH ON!), and the fight began.

This adventure took us all along the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California Penisula to the resort town of Cabo San Lucas. After four and half hours of flying, with a quick layover in Austin, Texas. I finally stepped off the plane in Cabo. Meeting my dad at the baggage claim, we snatched up our bags and headed to our transportation; grabbing a couple of beers for the ride, we headed to the hotel.

After a quick thirty-minute ride, we arrived at the Club Regina Los Cabos hotel. We spent the afternoon and the next day enjoying the pool and the bars on the resort and getting a good taste of the power of the pacific ocean down on the beach. We spent the evening eating a room service meal, washing it down with some cold beer, and getting our GoPros and gear ready for the next day.

We got to the hotel lobby around 5 am to call for a taxi to take us the thirty minutes to the marina to meet our two guides and buy our fishing licenses. Judging the temperature at the hotel was the wrong move, and the extra shirt I had did little to take the chill off. I was a little closer to warming up after accepting the highway robbery in the souvenir shop for another shirt.

After loading our gear, Captain Alex of Baja Anglers backed out of the slip, and we were headed out of the marina, making a quick stop at the bait boat before heading around the El Arco point and into the Pacific. Immediately we saw that this would be anything but a comfortable ride to the fishing spot. The waves seemed to rock the boat in all directions when we slowed to trolling speed, and we were about to put our sea legs to the test.

Captain Alex (Top) and Captain Jacobo (Bottom)

Captain Jacobo rigged up one pole with a mullet, and the other with a green jack, tossing them over the side and letting the line out about thirty yards behind the boat. After some instruction on what to do when a fish hits the bait, we took our places at the back of the boat, waiting for a strike. Thirty minutes later, our first fish finally decided to eat.

The line ripped out of dads hand, and I began counting down in my head. Dad flipped the bail and started reeling; the drag instantly started singing as the line took off, and the fight was on. At about the same time the fight started, the boat took a couple of waves that made us fly up above the deck. I caught myself on the bench seat of the captain's chair to keep myself from going over the side; my dad, however, was about to be pulled over the stern when Jacobo grabbed him by the shirt. Rushing to help Jacobo, we grabbed both arms and helped Dad to the lid of the baitwell to sit down and continue the fight. Ten minutes later, Dad was able to wear out the fish and bring him close enough to the boat for Jacobo to net the Pacific jack crevalle. We snapped some quick photos before throwing the fish back into the sea and resuming our hunt for our prized roosterfish.

Around 8:30 am, we got another bite on a top water popper Jacobo was throwing off the bow, he handed me the rod, and I fought the fish for about ten minutes before it broke off. Around 10 am, I felt my bait begin to get nervous and tug at the line before ripping it out of my fingers. Waiting till my count was over, I flipped the bail and began to reel, and setting the hook in the fish's mouth, the fight was now on. The battle lasted about ten minutes, with the fish making a couple of long runs when it would get within fifty feet of the boat.

Finally, the fish started to wear out, and we could see him through the water; it was the roosterfish we were after, and now the pressure to not make an error was high. Pulling the rod up to the side and reeling back down, I brought him close to the surface as Jacobo was ready with the net. Alex instructed me to pull up, walk backward, and pull the fish into the net, which I didn't hear until he repeated a little louder. Finally hearing the instructions, I moved toward the other side of the boat, and the fish hit its mark right into the net. Success! We had accomplished our goal of catching a big roosterfish.

After taking photos of my catch, we weighed and measured the fish. The fish measured 59 inches and weighed 40 lbs; one hell of a roosterfish for my first one. I released the fish back into the water, rinsed off my hands, and grabbed a cold beer to celebrate the occasion. Now I have caught a lot of fish in my time on this earth, but for most of the ones I have caught, I can hardly remember the first of that species, this fish; however, I will never forget it.

We continued to fish until 11:30 am, never so much as getting a nibble, before heading back to the marina. As the boat pulled to the docks, we thanked our guides for such a memorable day on the water. It was just the first day with these guides, as we had another trip booked for the afternoon the following day, and we were already jonesing to get back on the water.

We arrived about an hour early the next afternoon, planning on getting a quick lunch in before heading out on the water for round two. We could see Alex and Jacobo pulling back up to the dock with their morning trip as we walked down the dock. After a quick chat with the morning group, we loaded our gear and headed out of the marina.

After our rough ride yesterday, we asked if we could try the calmer side of the peninsula, to which Alex obliged. The trip took almost forty-five minutes to the fishing spot, and we would later realize that we were fishing in front of our hotel. With much calmer seas in this area, we could comfortably sit on the boat's gunnels as we began to troll our baits, waiting for a bite, which would not take nearly as long to get as the day before.

There was no question that it was a roosterfish that had just stripped the line from my hand as I waited to flip the bail, as we could see it skipping across the top of the water. Bail flipped and hook set, the fighting had commenced, and I was dialed in, knowing that this could very well be the only roosterfish we would get an opportunity to catch. I could already tell this one was bigger than the one yesterday, and this fish had no intention of making the task of catching it easy.

Making multiple runs, after getting close to the boat, my arm started to burn, holding onto the rod. I caught my second wind when I could finally see him about forty feet below the boat, but this fish had one more trick up its sleeve and instantly shot down and under the boat. I had to put almost the whole rod in the water to keep the line from getting cut off by the prop, but he finally came back up and got behind the boat. No instructions were given by Alex this time as I pulled the fish into the net, and Jacobo lifted it into the boat.

Alex estimated that the fish weighed about sixty pounds as I hoisted it off the deck to pose with it for a picture before throwing it back in the water. After we released the fish, Dad mentioned we should have gotten a picture together with the fish since we didn't know if it would be the only one of the day; luckily, it would not be the last rooster of the day.

The fishing was uneventful for about another hour and a half, but the calm would quickly turn to chaos when both of our baits got hit simultaneously. The two fish made it pretty enjoyable as Jacobo and I were passing rods back and forth to keep the two fish from getting tangled up and breaking off. As my fish got close to the boat for Jacobo to scoop it up in the net, my dad's fish broke off after almost a fifteen-minute fight. Now while his fish that broke off was probably a jack as well, there is always the chance it was a roosterfish hanging out in the school, so it was definitely a heartbreaker either way.

We had about thirty minutes to fish when my line again took off. I flipped the bail and started reeling; the fish was hooked for about twenty seconds when I felt the line slack. Shit! I was about to start reeling in the bait when Jacobo took the pole out of my hands, flipped the bail back open, and felt the line in his hand. The fish was still there! We let it have some more line before I again flipped the bail; this time, the hook set itself in the corner of the fish's mouth, and it was game on.

I could see the fish slowly emerging from the deep as what would be the shortest fight of the entire trip was quickly ending. I couldn't believe my eyes, as I could see the distinct fin of a roosterfish coming off the back. I sighed in relief as the fish hit the boat deck, partly because I didn't break off the fifty-pound fish and partly because I was exhausted from the battle. I had to take deep breaths before hoisting the fish off the deck for a picture. This time Dad made sure to get in on the picture, and it became the picture of the trip. How often does someone get to take a trip down to Mexico with their father and spend two days catching roosterfish?

As we headed back to the marina, Dad and I shared a couple of celebratory beers and talked about how incredible this trip was. The only downside was that Dad didn't catch a roosterfish himself; although he was just as excited to watch me catch them, I wish he could have pulled one into the boat. That would have just made the trip all the more memorable.

We said our goodbyes to the guides as we stepped onto the dock and collected our gear. Alex and Jacobo were fantastic guides and told us to ask for them specifically if we ever came back, which we most certainly plan to do. We hailed a taxi and headed back to our hotel to enjoy the rest of our stay in Mexico, which would come to a close the following day; we spent most of already planning how to come back and do it all again.

This trip had been years in the making ever since Dad watched Carter Andrews fishing for roosterfish in Panama on TV almost seven years ago, and right then, Dad decided that he would make a trip to try and catch one at some point. Fish stories have been part of the history of man since the first Neanderthal figured out how to spear one with a stick, and we left with one that we will tell for the rest of our lives. Even now, as I put this story down on paper, I am reliving the excitement of the trip and the memories made with my old man, and I can not thank him enough for taking me on one of the most incredible fishing trips I have ever taken.

If you ever find yourself in Cabo San Lucas and want a great experience, check out Baja Anglers, founded by Grant Hartman, one of the world's premier saltwater guides. Grant founded Baja Anglers after a calling brought him to Mexico to chase giant rooster fish. With over 90 world records achieved by Grant, his team, and their clients, you can be sure to have a trip you will never forget; whether you are chasing fish on the ocean or fly fishing from the beach, you can be sure it will be a trip you will never forget.

If you want to book a trip with Grant and his team, check out his website below.

Websites:

Baja Anglers: https://www.baja-anglers.com/home27/welcome

Club Regina Los Cabos: https://www.raintreevacationclub.com/vacation-resorts/mexico/los-cabos/club-regina-los-cabos/

Video Credit

After the Man: Trident Fly Fishing