That's My Story

Some years ago, I got a phone call from a prospective older client on the East Coast that wanted to do some fishing with us in Baja. Often times, you can just tell when the caller hasn’t done a lot of research before the call. The phone call went something like this:

“I wanna come down there and do some fishing with you and I hear you’re a good guide and got some good fishing there in BA-Jah, Mexico.” (He pronounced Baja “BAH-Jah).
“Yessir, we do. How can I help you?”
“Well, I wanna do some bass fishing in some of those rivers and lakes there around someplace they call the East Cape. Can you help me out? “
(Moment of silence on my end)
“Uh, Sir, we don’t have any rivers and lakes. We’re a desert. Lots of cactus. We got a big ocean, but not a lot of water above ground like rivers and lakes.”
(Silence on his end)
“You sure about that?”
“Yessir. Last time I checked, no rivers or lakes around here at all.”
“Well, I wanna come fishing with my bass rod, got any suggestions?”

As a matter of fact I did. I convinced him to come to Baja anyway. I told him that most folks come to Baja to fish for dorado and tuna and marlin. “I’m too old for that!” he said. “I like fishing quiet waters for smaller stuff.”

I told him I had just the thing. I told him to basically bring his bass gear…some flipping sticks; a level-wind reel or two; and a spinning outfit. I asked him to give me 2 days on the water and that all he needed was pretty much the same lures he would use for fishing bass, e.g., some larger crank baits; some grub tail plastics; and some surface poppers. He was skeptical, but he ended up spending not 2, but 4 days on the water with us and leaving with a big smile; some great stories and a new way to say “Baja.”

Obviously, I didn’t take him to any local lakes or rivers. But, what I did was turn him onto Baja’s own version of bass fishing. So many times during the cooler months, folks think there’s no fishing or keep their sights set on the glamour species like marlin, wahoo, and yellowtail, but forget there’s some excellent inshore fishing. In many cases, it’s probably only walking distance from their hotels or campsites. What I did was turn this eastern gent onto cabrilla fishing which can be some of the most fun and challenging inshore and light tackle fishing to be had in Baja. Cabrilla are essentially seabass. There are several versions, but all essentially look and act like bass and can be fished in many of the same ways that you’d fish a bass in fresh water. In fact, in my experience, most locals will call just about any bass-looking fish a cabrilla, but for the purpose of explanation, I’m referring to any of the bass-like fish of inshore Baja.

As mentioned, they often get overlooked. But look at it this way, if you’d travel dozens of miles to battle a 5 pound bass in your favorite fresh water spot, cabrilla offer that same thrill ranging from 1-5 pounds and larger. Like their freshwater counterparts, they love structure, i.e, reefs, rocks, overhangs, dropoffs, channels and submerged cover. In those same areas, don’t be surprised if the cabrilla get larger or you tangle with even bigger species like pargo, grouper or many of the dozens of other Baja species that like to hang out in those same areas.

Strong fighters that will often dash back to their ragged cover-areas, the fact that they like structure means they can be fished with relative ease, either directly from shore or trolling along slowly with a panga, kayak or other shallow draft watercraft. While live bait is effective, most folks, like my eastern client had a kick using artificials. Slow trolling a large crank bait in and out of the rocks close inshore can result in jarring hits that will yank the rods clear out of your hands. Casting a popper or shallow-diving crank bait close to shore or making it hop off a rock into a drop-off can produce an explosion not unlike a largemouth hitting any topwater jig. You’d better hold on! These fish have teeth and there’s no lily pads in the Baja, only sharp jagged underwater rocks that are the hunting and home grounds to these tough battlers. Plastics are also deadly effective, but the softness inherent to the lure, means they don’t last long out there when pitted against these same underwater hazards not to mention about a dozen other toothy fish that will also jump on these lures.

When you find one, cabrilla, you’ll probably find others and it can result in hours of rod-bending fun in the winter and early spring months in Baja. Catching dozens of the fish is not uncommon. They make great light flavorful fillets which is why they are also very popular to the commercial Baja fishermen for sale to the markets and restaurants. Therefore, in some areas, they can be overfished. Like other members of the bass family, they grow slowly so keep only what you can reasonably eat and release the undersized and extra fish. Be careful of the sharp needle-like teeth, sharp spines and gillplates when releasing. A good pair of needle-nosed pliers is a must to keep from touching the fish anyway, especially if you’re releasing them with as little harm as possible.

This winter and spring, instead of lamenting the lack of marlin offshore, consider keeping it simple and working inshore for some great fun.

That’s my story.