Roosterfish and more on tap at Baja California Sur's Rancho Leonero Resort

It's the windy season in Baja California Sur's East Cape region, which means few guests and more free time for hotel employees.

Pictured is Gary Barnes-Webb, an executive at Rancho Leonero Resort, with a 52-pound roosterfish he caught and released last week while fishing with live bait from the beach.

"He has been catching them daily for the last week right in front of the hotel," said John Ireland, owner of the sleepy resort, which sits on a bluff overlooking the Sea of Cortez and a long reef that often teems with large roosters and other marauding game fish.

Ireland has been sending out an average of three boats per day, and guests have been catching lots of dorado, some wahoo and an occasional marlin or sailfish.

Closer to shore is much better fishing for sierra and roosterfish, which are mixed with schools of large jack crevalle.

As for the dreaded north wind, it tends to blow only when there's a high-pressure, Santa Ana condition in Southern California. On days when the wind doesn't blow, the Sea of Cortez is flat and daytime air temperatures are in the 80s.

To be sure, traveling to the East Cape in the winter is a gamble, but it's one that often pays off.

--Pete Thomas

Photo: Gary Barnes-Webb displays a 52-pound roosterfish he caught and released from the beach in Baja California's East Cape region. Credit: Rancho Leonero Resort

Comments

[Jon K.]

You guys talk a lot about what's going on in Baja California/Mexico, but I (and many readers) could care less. I don't go to this blog to read about Mexico. I come here to read about what's going on in California (and to a lesser extent the American Southwest). Since when is Mexico California? 163 years ago, if I'm not mistaken. Please post more about what's going on in California and less in what's going on in that corrupt, backwards, crime-infested country that no one wants to go to unless they've made peace with paying off corrupt cops and constantly having to be aware of the potential to be a victim of crime.