Fishing Reports and Water Conditions
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Fishing Reports and Water Conditions
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11/28/2005 Rocky Point Fishing Over the Thanksgiving holiday Ryan Jenkins with his wife Christine, brother Barry and nephew Jeffrey shore fished the Sandy Beach and Choya Bay areas. Fishing was good but not spectacular. Only a couple species were caught including Spotted Bay Bass, Cortez Halibut, Leather Jackets, and Needle Fish. The Halibut fishing was fun but the tides were a little off for access to the best spots. A total of eight were caught with the largest about 4 lbs. All fish were taken on 6 lb test line with a variety of lures. The smallest fish were released so we could catch them again next year. The Spotted Bay Bass fishing was wide open with at least 50 and probably way more caught between the group. All but six were released. The water was cool but not cold, very nice for this time of the year. The weather was beautiful but the wind came up on Sunday 11/27/2005 so we packed it up and came home early. This is the time of the year to catch lots halibut from shore in the Rocky Point and Choya Bay areas so get out and catch some.
4/18/2005 Rocky Point Fishing Tina and I have traveled far and wide to beachside vacation destinations, including Maui, Kauai, Bora Bora, Aruba, Cabo San Lucas, and throughout the Caribbean. We would rate this past weekend as one of the best experiences of them all. We drove down to Rocky Point on Friday evening with our buddy Mike Sexton and our two dogs. We checked in to the apartment unit at Safe Marina and found it very nice, with two queen size beds and a twin size bunk bed. We went to the local ATM to withdrew some Pesos and found out the exchange rate was very good at 11.09 pesos to $1.00. We then filled the boat with gas at $6.01 pesos/liter, or $2.05/gallon, which is about $0.30/gallon cheaper than Phoenix. We then had a late dinner at Black Dog. The southwest burger was very good! On Saturday morning we put in at Safe Marina at about 8:00 am and headed east to look for bait. The weather and sea conditions were fantastic, with almost no wind, water like glass, and water temperatures at about 76 degrees. We had never been on the ocean before with conditions like this. I had heard stories, and had dreamt of seas without a ripple, but on Saturday it was a dream come true. With perfect conditions, the boat topped out at just under 34 mph. It took us awhile to find bait. We started in 30 feet of water and eventually worked our way out to a depth of 50 feet, where we caught a variety of Sierra Mackerel, Bonefish, Sardines, Pacific Mackerel (only one), Grunts, Lizardfish, and Spotted Bay Bass for bait using Sabiki rigs. At about 9:30 am, we headed south towards the 51 mile reef. I had figured that we would get to the reef in about two hours, but didn't expect there to be so many distractions along the way. At about 20 miles from shore we saw a pod of Finback Whales and headed closer to them before cutting the motor. As we watched in awe, the group of four whales slowly swam around us, along both sides of the boat. They were curious and where around us for quite awhile as we took photos and videos. It was a great experience, but only the first of many that day. Later, as we again headed south towards our destination, we encountered three or four more pods of Finback Whales. Because the ocean was so flat, we could seen them breaching the surface from a mile away, and could see them spout water from their blowholes high into the air. We eventually made it to the 51 mile waypoint at 11:30 am and drift fished on the bottom with both cut and live bait in about 280 feet of water. However, since it was the first quarter moon and there was no tide movement at all on Saturday, we drifted very slowly and only covered a small area of the vast reef. We started catching small 2 to 6 pound Gold Spotted Bass, which were nice, but I was growing impatient with the thought of catching bigger fish. We saw some large predator fish working the surface about 100 yards from the boat and watched in amazement as they slowly cruised towards the boat. They were swimming just below the surface of the water and we could see the water rippling as they approached. When they got within 10 feet of the boat, we could see there were dozens of Yellowtail Jacks, probably 10 to 20 pounds each. They swam under and around the boat for awhile before moving away. We tied up some lures and later free-lined a live bait, but couldn’t get them interested in anything. Other than catching some small Yellowtails at Bird Island last December, it was the first time we had seen or heard of Yellowtails at Rocky Point. Another boat with two men pulled up near us and then anchored. I recognized the owner of the boat as Mike Auditore. We watched them pull up two nice 10+ pound Red Snappers as we continued to catch Gold Spotted Bass. I decided it was time to move, so we drove two miles to try the 53 mile reef. At the 53 mile reef we immediately started catching larger 8 pound Gold Spotted Bass and a 10 pound grouper called a Gulf Coney. We also caught a variety of other fish including a Rock Fish, Red Snapper, Ocean Whitefish, and a Cutlassfish. The Cutlassfish are long, skinny, chrome-plated eel-like fish, with big fangs. It was the first time we had caught one and it was very interesting. We then got a hook-up on our live bait rig and struggled to reel in a 20 pound Gulf Coney. At about 3:30 pm we decided we had had a full day and headed back to the marina. At about 40 miles from shore, we saw a large fin slowly cruising the surface. We knew it had to be a large shark and headed closer to get a look. As we cut the engine, the large shark turned and headed straight towards our boat, and swam right under us. Although we haven't seen many sharks, it was the biggest one we had ever seen at about 15 feet long. We think that it was most likely a Mako Shark. It was breathtaking as it slowly cruised along the surface and then in an instant and a burst of speed it would turn and disappear, only to show up again 50 yards away. We watched it for a long time, but it grew shy and we decided it was time to leave. Along the way we saw several more pods of whales and were thoroughly enjoying the trip back to the marina. At about 15 miles from shore we saw a large flock of birds circling over a big patch of "rough" water. As we headed over to see what it was, we discovered an enormous school of dolphins, too many to count, but possibly a thousand or more. They were swimming together to the west at about 6 mph, so we motored with them for a long time as they raced with us and surrounding us for a hundred yards or more in all directions. They were jumping and playing all around us, and we could tell they were enjoying our company as much as we were enjoying theirs. Tina reached down and touched the dolphins as they swam beside our boat. We snapped rolls of film and video, and were all lost in the moment. It was surreal and beautiful and incredible all at the same time. Tina said to me that, other than our wedding day, it was her favorite day of all time. Thinking about it now gives me the chills. When we pulled into the harbor, we saw Mike Auditore and pulled up to ask how they did at the 51 mile reef after we left. It turns out that they caught a bunch of those large Red Snappers, a White Sea Bass and a 100 pound Black Sea Bass. WOW, I guess we left too soon. Mike said that he will post the pictures and I am really looking forward to seeing them. We finally arrived at the marina and pulled into our slip. We had our fish filleted, showered, and went out for dinner at a very nice restaurant called Hacienda Las Fuentes. After dinner we went to the Pink Cadillac for a few beers and tequila before heading home to bed at around midnight. On Sunday morning we decided to fish closer in and headed to the 13 mile reef to try bottom fishing for awhile. The wind had picked up, but the sea conditions were still good and the weather was hot and sunny. We drifted the 13 mile reef several times and caught Spotted Bay Bass on every pass, but it got old pretty fast. We wanted to catch bigger fish again and decided to try trolling for awhile. We headed towards shore and trolled deep diver lures in 25 to 35 feet of water. After awhile, we got the first of what we thought were snags. We backed the boat up to retrieve the lure and it eventually came free, with one of the treble hooks straightened. We trolled some more and got another snag, so we backed up towards it to get it free. As we got closer, Mike felt that there was a big fish on the line. We had hooked it on a light rig with only 20 pound test line and couldn't get it off the bottom. Every now and then it would swim and strip line, and Mike said that it felt like a 50 pound fish. After about 10 minutes the lure came free. The lure was destroyed. It had huge teeth marks right through the plastic and the entire back end of the lure and treble hook were gone, with only the wire support sticking out of it. We never got to see the fish, but we were learning. We put out a heavier rig and a bigger lure and trolled around the area again to see if we could get another bite. It wasn't long before we got another snag, except this time Mike was able to get the fish off the bottom. The fish was hooked hard on both trebles and couldn't fight much. Mike reeled it in slowly and we could see it was big. When we got it near the boat, I gaffed it and dropped it into the boat where it flopped all over the place. It was a beautiful 20 pound Leopard Grouper. It was the perfect ending to a perfect weekend. We headed back to the marina not long afterwards, cleaned and stored the boat, and drove home to Chandler in record time at about 7 pm. Tonight we're having Gold Spotted Bass for dinner. We'll hopefully post the pictures and videos this week on our new website that our buddy Ryan Jenkins built for us www.murphygirl.com . Our next trip is only 9 days away on April 27th. We can't wait!
4/2/2005 Rocky Point Fishing Fishing in the area of Puerto Penasco provided good fishing for sierra in water of about 20 ft deep. Offshore, fishing on the deeper reefs produced fish up to 30lbs using chunks of mackerel and sierra for bait. Water temperatures were from 67-69 degrees F. and the water was calm. Whales and porpoise were sighted about 20 miles offshore. |
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