Baja fishing expedition nets marlin and dorado, but no swine flu

Baja California Sur is famous for its big-game fishing, but also for brilliant sunrises, commonly enjoyed through bloodshot eyes of anglers as they sip coffee and ponder a new day's prospects.

I'd forgotten about this pre-fishing ritual while preparing for last week's vacation to Baja's remote East Cape region. I'd been busy thinking about swine flu and travel warnings, even though there had been no reported cases in the Mexican state.

My brother Scott and I journeyed on a nearly empty Alaska Airlines jet and spent five nights at Hotel Palmas de Cortez in Los Barriles, about 80 miles north of Cabo San Lucas on the Sea of Cortez. We saw no sign of sickness in the Los Cabos international airport, at the hotel or in town. But the Los Barriles populace was ailing: The area hotels were mostly vacant, the town seemingly deserted.

The swine flu scare, drug-related violence elsewhere in Mexico and the global recession have stifled tourism throughout the state. A fleet owner in Cabo San Lucas told me the slowdown is far worse than in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist strikes. Many blame sensational news reporting.

We found, however, that aside from a lack of tourists little has changed. The East Cape is as tranquil as ever and game fish abound. We battled a powerful striped marlin and boated several dorado (more on the fishing in a later post). We relaxed poolside and caught reef fish from the beach. The unhurried pace was therapeutic.

But the swine flu issue kept resurfacing. One day we fished aboard the Whiskey with Philip Friedman, the founder of 976-TUNA who had organized a casual tournament. His field had dwindled from 24 to 12 because of late cancellations related to the flu scare. Also on board was Andy Whaley, a fisherman from Missouri who said neighbors told him they would not not let their kids play with his kids when he returned because they feared he'd become infected and contagious.

 

Whaley was afflicted only by the fishing bug. All of us were as we embarked toward the rising sun and a shore-bound bank of rolling fog. The sun cleared the top of the fog and colored the sea golden. The fog then washed over us and when we emerged on the other side, into radiant sunshine, we discovered a buoy, beneath which were dozens of dorado, also golden.

We caught a few and then moved on. In the distance, a marlin leaped several times in succession, as if daring us to try to capture it. Marlin were jumping in every direction. Unfortunately they had also become afflicted, with something frustrated fishermen refer to as lockjaw. They just weren't hungry.

--Pete Thomas

Photos, from top: The sun rises over a fog bank sweeping across the Sea of  Cortez; Missouri angler Andy Whaley hoists a bull dorado caught by a group aboard the Whiskey. Credit: Pete Thomas / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[robert connelly]

thanks for the encouraging article, pete! we're starting to see a slow return of northerners to our paradise of los cabos, and we can pretty much guarantee that the fish are hungry now! there's been so much fear generated about the flu and drug violence (which is mostly a mainland issue), neither of which do we see in cabo san lucas. i encourage any thinking person to come down and enjoy what the awesome place has to offer, particularly now that there are no crowds, and spectacular bargaining deals to be had on fishing charters, hotels, etc.

[enri]

yes there is swine flu in baja

[robert]

this place is very cool: for a real east cape experience sans a gringo town (which los barriles to some degree is - but nowhere near as bad as cabo san lucas), with a lot of undeveloped beach on either side of you, and with great fishing from shore or a panga boat, this is the place:

cabopulmoecopalapa dot com/fly_fishing dot html

recently caught large marlin and rooster fish. accommodations are pretty adequate, location and experience spectacular. on the beach just off of the dirt road just north of cabo pulmo. check it out.

[DarthDarren]

Man, the guy holding that fish looks awesome! That must be some life ... no women, no worries, no swine. I bet he's on to something: travel anywhere others are not and you're bound to find contentment. As long as it has fish, friends, cerveza and the Bacon Explosion. (OK, a little U2 is always bonus.)

Any recommendations for other fishing hotspots in Mexico?