A longtime light-tackle angler says few things compare with taking a blue marlin on the fly. Contact Jimmy Camacho from Jimmys Sportfishing. Are Wahoo in the bay too? There were several boats using this technique and most were hooking up regularly. But there really is no spot in the area for a base for a sport fishing operation. The ridges, peaks, banks, and underwater structure outside of Magdalena Bay offer some of the richest fishing grounds in the world. With four passengers, kayaks and lots of gear, our boat was heavier than the norm, but with mucho creaking, the truck pulled us out and only once required a stop to add air to a sagging tire with an old bicycle pump. package offer, etc.). What I found very interesting was that as I was swimming after the now-disappeared commotion, several striped marlin would come up to the surface and swim next to me. 27' SPORT PANGA . e invite you to reach out and give us a call or checkout more on the website. Runs a panga from Mag Bay. E: booking@magbaytours.com. Thank you again for everything. If you want to have a great time by the sea, Tag Cabo Sportfishing is your best bet. https://magbaylodge.com/ . Seattle Times travel & outdoors editor. Best time to visit. A lively circle-hooked tinker mackerel is the perfect snack for a hungry striped marlin. There were marlin everywhere, not just on the bait balls. If you are approaching from the north, the drive . 10:30-12:30 PM Tour. Everything worked out really well, and I wanted to let everyone know how much we appreciated it. The frenzy attracts frigate birds that swoop in from above. FishingBooker.com. Its a place for the most curious and adventurous people to be at. Soon, Nick calls out every anglers favorite two words. One time the marlin had moved on and we floated with six sea lions and what was left of the bait ball for probably 15 minuteswhen a new batch of marlin suddenly appeared and everything started anew. The inshore waters that lay just beyond the barrier islands team with sierras, roosterfish, corvina, cortez halibut, pargo, grouper, yellow tail, skip jack, dorado, yellowfin tuna and wahoo. The best boats in the area equipped with 4 . Magdalena Bay, or Baha Magdalena in Spanish, is a 50 km long bay, and about 200 km of lagoons and channels on the Pacific side of the Baja California Sur, in the municipality of Comond. Its not a place to learn flycasting; its a place where knowing how to manipulate 500-grain sink-tips is just as important as knowing how to move big poppers on floating lines. My friend Nick and I shout with joy, accompanied by excited words in Spanish from our new friends. On one dive, there were five snorkelers in a semi-circle and a family of sea lions swimming opposite from us. Ive caught many good fish in many places from kayaks over the decades, but none offered the level of satisfaction of my first Magdalena Bay marlin. The shoreline is home to hundreds of mangrove-lined channels and is a sight to behold. And yes, the snook is too big to fit between the roots.. Deluxe Cruiser , fly fishing guide, all fishing gear, lunch, water and bait. his Lodge was built nearly 30 years ago by some well respected Americans with a vision for fishing in Mag Bay that was far ahead of the time. The best out of 7 charter fishing deals in Magdalena Bay - enter dates to check availability . Magdalena Bay is a gorgeous place to visit just for the pristine beauty, mangroves and giant sand dunes of the outer islands. Published August 28, 2017. On kayaks smaller than the big Pro Angler such as the Hobie Passport models from which two anglers fished you can straddle the vessel with your feet in the water to increase resistance. Flyfishing is not remotely new to Mag Bay, but the current state of the sport absolutely is. We're hoping to fish for Wahoo. We have extreme fishing for Wahoo, Tuna, Marlin, Dorado and more coupled with an amazing atmosphere in a relaxing lodge environment. The inside protected mangrove channels provide critical nursery habitat for a wide variety of species including: snook, corvine, bonefish, spotted bass, pargo, snappers, golden trevalle, broomtail grouper, sierra, Cortez halibut, leather jacks, as well as roosterfish. I can deal with anything at all to get to the great fishing, but here the trip is simple, the place is fantastic, and the fishing is utterly ridiculous. The fish at Mag Bay are also well-fed, but the lack of boat harassment and sheer numbers of marlin make it an exceptional destination, especially for fly fishing. The other deal is bookable online and is still available when we check. Part of the issue with Mag Bay and cheap Pangas is that the Wahoo are about 40 miles offshore generally and in the pacific. 1). It feels like the curiosity is mutual. Its just not that common like the sea of cortez cities and up north. Guided Beach, includes fly fishing guide, UTV rental, all fly fishing equipment and lunch: $575. Dorado, Tuna, Sailfish, Marlin, and even Wahoo likely on the Fly Our guests stay at the Mangrove Inn, a new facility located just outside the port town of Lopez Mateos. Copyright 2023 Marlin Magazine. In 2018, Eli Martinez of SDMdiving.com set up a trip to Mag Bay for photographers. Round trip transfers from Loreto, the closest airport, are in our listed package prices. Its one of Bajas last frontiers, but there are few other places on Earth where so many billfish congregate so predictably. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. In the smaller boat, we could run ahead of the bait/bird/marlin frenzy and hop into the water. The marlin will corral baitfish into tightly packed balls before feeding at will. As you get closer, you can spot the marlins fins slicing the surface. We have in-shore mangrove fishing and off-shore, deep-sea pelagic fishing in the Pacific. The in-water viewpoint was very interesting. From dawn til dusk. But it is also the common name of the greater environment that surrounds it, including a series of massive barrier islands with their own bays and an active offshore ecosystem. LOCATED IN SMALL FISHING VILLAGE OF LOPEZ MATEOS AND LORETO 760-908-BAJA Bob's cell . 8:15-10:15 AM Travel to Magdalena Bay. Magdalena Bay. Required fields are marked *. Grey whales (gray for you Americans) show up in Magdalena Bay religiously each year, their migration route is roughly 12,000 miles from Alaska to the Baja and return, feeding along . A wider area we can now explore ! You are using an out of date browser. We werent fishing, but were chasing birds and bait instead. Find frigate birds low on the water and the stripeys are sure to be there. The whales might even let you pat their backs if you seem friendly. Magdalena Bay is the name for a 30-mile-long harbor with a collection of mangrove rivers and swamps near the bottom of Bajas Pacific Coast. The Lodge at Mag Bay offers a truly extraordinary experience. Magdalena Sport Fishing. If you spot a collection of frigates in Mag Bay between late September through early December, they are most likely on striped marlin actively balling bait. Seen here is Marc Mills with a nice yellowtail. A chain of islands that serve as a barrier protect the bay from the . Wed been researching and prepping for this trip for months, bringing enough gear to fish for whatever we encountered. Today, BD has grown into the leading digital media platform for all things saltwater fishing, bringing our large and passionate community the best and most authentic fishing information in the form of fishing reports, fishing gear reviews, fishing recipes, saltwater fishing articles, tackle tips and more from coast to coast. Striped marlin gather in great numbers off Magdalena Bay during the fall and early winter, but its remote location, cutting deep into the mostly uninhabited Pacific side of the central Baja coast, keeps fishing pressure minimal. Nick gets pulled slowly down the beach before putting the screws to whatever hes hooked, stopping it just before the sandy shore merges into a mangrove wall. When I see the first sailfish approach the baitball, I swim back to the boat. Its easy to keep pace with fins. Dinners are not included as there are now more options to eat in town. 10%. And in the case of Mag Bay, the bigger that sense of adventure the better. There was a small queue ahead of us, so we waited 20 or so minutes for each boat to be served. If you prefer to Fly Fish from Our ProKat or CapeHorn please just refer to standard offshore packages for pricing. Smith has released more than 5,000 billfish on fly in his career. These are but a few samples available. Top to bottom everything was amazing. You can leave out of Lopez Mateos or San Carlos depending who you fish with. The fear is gone in an instant. What to target, and where, within the greater Mag Bay system, are decisions that might leave anglers second-guessing over a vast expanse of quiet water. There are so few boats in Mag Bay that there is never any fighting over bait ballsbut Shafer doesnt chase them at all because he feels that it puts the fish down. He can probably set up anything. . I put a foot in the middle of the kayak and in one quick motion swiveled to plop my butt down on the seat as Larocque leaned over the side to click a Mirage pedal-drive unit into its slots. Answer 1 of 4: Hi all, I'm going to try and keep up with an on-the-go TR for our 9 night journey through Baja Sur; helps to keep the details fresh and gives me something useful to do when I wake up before the crack of dawn. Marco and a few locals have begun taking experienced free-divers to the marlin grounds, where they pay to swim near the baitballs found offshore here in the fall. Drake Magazine Back Issue Content: 2020 Summer Stranded on Socotra, Stranded on Socotra, The Quarantine and John Prine, Tarpon, A Mexican Introduction Fall Winter . But it is also the common name of the greater environment that surrounds it, including a series of massive barrier islands with their own bays and an active offshore ecosystem. For more details on trip rules, cancellation and travel insurance visit our, Roundtrip professional ground transfers from and to the Loreto airport. BD Outdoors began as a forum-based fishing community to connect saltwater anglers and provide a home to share the latest fishing reports and news. Ricardo Villegas shows us the rocky point on the north side of the boca (Spanish for mouth of the bay). Frozen in the blue quiet. ENSENADA YELLOWTAIL GURU--Panga fishing at Ensenada with Vonny's Fleet includes a traditional Baja beach launch at the southeast corner of the bay for quick access to the prime fishing grounds at the tip of Punta Banda . I found spinners with 20- and 30-pound braid perfect for throwing poppers or Sebile Stick Shadds worked back fast and hard. Captain Aldo pulls me up easily, while Captain Ricardo nods and smiles knowingly. Its relative inaccessibility has allowed it to remain one of those rare places that time has virtually forgotten. We anchored in Man Of War Cove. The plan was to run up beyond the feeding marlin and cast a live bait into the fray. Discover the amazing variety of fish Mag Bay has to offer! For many years the only sport fishermen that dropped a hook in these waters arrived by long range charters out of San Diego California. He knows fishing and is always ready. The area erupts with outstanding action in 2019. Engines start at USD 8500.00 for a two stroke E Tec, or USD 9500.00 for a four stroke Yamaha. Please ask at office about pick up possibilities. Aldo may be the best captain I have ever fished with. You may be in the surf one day, taking waves to the chest, and the next morning you could be pulling hard on a 14-weight. Some offshore destinations also require a boat ride across a sandy peninsula. I take a deep breath, pull my mask down over my face, and slip over the side of the panga. Throughout the years, many offered insights, stories and shared details about some of their favorite Magdalena Bay fishing holes: Gene . Once at the grounds, the kayaks slide easily off the pangas low sides. This would mean a five-hour run, and we would have to leave the dock by 4:30 a.m. Ledbetter and I jumped at the chance and we found that the long run was not a problem at allwe simply hopped in the bunks and went back to sleep. These static bait balls provided the best photo opportunities. Within a couple of minutes of hopping into the kayak, a savage strike had ripped line from the spool. 11 min read. There must be 50 to 100 marlin all around me! Daiwas Marc Mills was unable to follow that advice, as he was also hooked up. Promnitz said later he might have been close enough to cast a jig to them. Any info would be greatly appreciated . Many regions of Baja waters still remain untouched by the tourists so you can land upon a lot of rare catch. This spectacle varies from year-to-year but can often reach truly amazing proportions in October and November when the volume of baitfish appears, attracting large schools of billfish - mostly striped marlin - but additional .