SEA OF CORTEZ ROOSTERS

SEA OF CORTEZ ROOSTERFISH

WORDS & PHOTOS BY KATKA ŠVAGROVÁ & VEBJORN KIELLAND

Baja California is the second-longest peninsula on the planet and extends into the Pacific Ocean from the Southern end of California. It has the most stunning ocean views and landscapes that you’ll ever see in Mexico.

The Baja peninsula includes everything from kilometres of wilderness to uninhabited desert, white sandy beaches and rugged mountainous terrain. The endless expanse of crystal-clear water is home to a large biodiversity of marine animals. The peninsula is also dotted with small, vibrant, little towns with a great mix of culture and affordable, tasty Mexican food which you can find on every corner. It also has some of the most beautiful sunsets you’ll ever. It is a land of complete contrasts. The Pacific side of the Baja coast is the where most of the “Grande” Roosterfish and world records have been caught, that’s where we were headed!

On the way home from a fly fishing trip to Guatemala, Vebjorn (my dear friend) and I started planning our next fly fishing adventure. The long trip home allowed us plenty of time to discuss possible destinations and species we wanted to target. Once the words, “Baja” and “Roosterfish” were mentioned, there was no need to discuss our next destination. It was set, Vebjorn and I decided we now have a showdown with Mexico’s famous Roosterfish.

Roosterfish, locally known as Pez Gallo, is a member of the Jack family and is native to the waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, from Baja California to Costa Rica and Peru. They can reach more than 100 pounds, but fish around 15 pounds are the most common.

Chasing Roosters from the beach is one of the most rewarding ways a fly fisherman or woman can target

these wonderful fish. Roosterfish leave no room for mistakes, it takes patience, persistence and precision to battle with one of these majestic fish. Roosterfish have a unique dorsal fin and spectacular black stripes across their body. They were made famous by the cult short film “Running Down the Man” by Felt Soul media. During the months of May, June and July large Roosterfish cruise the shoreline pushing baitfish into the shallows, sometimes even resulting in bait being chased up onto the sandy beaches. One of the best methods in finding Roosterfish is to drive along the various beaches searching for fish on the move. Many anglers opt to use ATV’s when driving along the beaches as they make it easy to jump off and start running down the beach once you’ve seen a school of fish. Some anglers opt for a less adrenalin filled approach. Instead, they find a spot with good visibility on the edge of some deep water and patiently wait for the fish to come in and chase bait along the beach. Local folklore tells of anglers catching some of the largest Roosterfish known as Grande by sitting on a cooler drinking beer all day. If only it was that easy!

We arrived in San Jose del Cabo in early May, just before the Roosterfish season about to start. For Vebjorn and I it was a totally new experience, we’d never fished in Mexico before. After we landed, we picked up a rental car and drove for about 2 hours to a local village called La Ribera. We found some great accommodation at Hacienda de Palmas in the centre of town. Even though we had to rent an ATV in the small fishing village further up, La Ribera was a great location to base ourselves. It made it easy to explore the beaches on both sides and also to explore the white sandy beaches of the Sea of Cortez. La Ribera has some great restaurants to visit if you’re after delicious local cuisine.

On our first day of fishing, we decided to fish from a boat with one of the local guides. We jumped on the boat early in the morning with neither of us knowing what to expect. A real surprise to me was our first stop to pick up some live Sardines. First, I thought we would use the Sardines as a teaser to bring the Roosterfish close so that we could get a shot in with the fly. Well I was mistaken. Instead we used the Sardines to fish an edge between the shallows and the blue water. We used “live chum” to get the Roosters attention. Some people are against chumming and I can see why. It isn’t very sporting. I did however take this as an opportunity to try something new and it was a great experience.

Our guide threw some live Sardines in to get the feeding frenzy started. The water was already nervous and full of bait. After a few baits went in the madness began. You could see the dorsal fins of the Roosters slicing through the water as they started hitting the sardines. The first strike didn’t take very long. His line went tight and Vebjorn was fighting his first GRANDE! I´m sure he thought this would be the fish of the trip. It was intense and nerve wracking because it was our first fish for the trip. Our boat drifted slowly into the shallows while Vebjorn fought his fish. After a very intense fight he managed to safely land and release this beautiful trophy fish after a few quick photos. It wasn’t long until we ran

out of sardines, so we headed back to the shallows in search of Roosterfish to target on fly. Unfortunately, the only fish we saw were big Needlefish. I decided what the hell I’d give them a shot since there were no Roosters around. Casting large 3/0 flies with a #10WT rod usually makes my shoulder tired pretty quickly. Fortunately, Vebjorn was fishing his ultralight Guideline #9WT which I asked to borrow for couple of casts to give my shoulder a break. I tied on a small Gummy Minnow to match the hatch of the smaller bait fish they were feeding on. While I was “playing” with them, the school of Needles became bigger and bigger. Suddenly all chaos broke out and everything happened so quickly! All I remember was a dorsal fin slicing the surface and splash in the school of Needlefish. My cast had to be perfect because these fish only show up for a couple of seconds. The huge open mouth behind my little Gummy Minnow and raised dorsal fin will stay in my memory forever. At first, I did not know what was going on, the fly rod was pumping in my hands, my legs were shaking like crazy and the fly line was flying through the guides till… it got stuck! Imagine the feeling of fighting the fish of a lifetime and having your fly line completely tangled (I’m sure you all know what I was going through) Luckily for me and unluckily for Vebjorn, the rod tip broke and the fly line managed to get through the guides again.

A fight with a big Roosterfish like that can be tough. They don’t jump, they just run insainly hard and use their body weight to their advantage. Honestly, this was the toughest fight of my life. Vebjorn and our guide helped give me the phycological support that I needed to help get this, roughly 100lbs of magnificent Rooster fish in. We were all shocked when I finally did, even the guide said that this was one of the biggest Roosterfish he had ever seen!

If these fish are caught close to the beach, especially the big ones, they can be pretty tired after an exhaustive fight, so it is always good to jump into the water with them, hold them upright and be sure they are ready to go before releasing them. They have a unique swim bladder going all the way up into the inner ear, which helps them amplify sound when they are on the hunt. The best thing to do is to handle them with respect, don’t drag them up onto the sand, keep them wet all the time and take your time to make sure they stay balanced until they can handle themselves before you release them. After we released this beast, I was content with the trip and had achieved more than what I ever hoped for, this was an unforgettable catch for me, and I don’t think Vebjorn will ever forget the size of this fish either.

The rest of our trip was spent exploring the nearby beaches on ATV’s and walking the white sands stalking fish. This is where we got to experience the real thrill of chasing down Roosters on fly. The first day we went to explore Pluma National park. We woke up early and had breakfast which was bananas and banana chopsticks (we don’t believe in all the superstition surrounding this delicious fruit) and set out on the road. The road was great, and we were having an in-depth chat, when suddenly we felt the ground get softer under our wheels and all of a sudden, our car came to a shuddering halt. We were completely stuck in the sand! Vebjorn stayed positive and tried to dig the wheels out of the sand, without any success. Imagine, you are in the middle of nowhere, the only thing around are old, dilapidated houses in the distance and old tyres laying around, it was very scary. Time went by slowly. Yep, we were totally stranded! All of a sudden out of nowhere this really friendly guy appeared. He was exactly what you’d imagine, big moustache and sombrero, he kindly offered to help us out with his car and in no time, we were back on the road.

When we finally reached the white sandy beach, the sun was high and glistening off the almost flat calm turquoise blue water. Perfect conditions for Roosters! First, we tried following a school of Mullet along the beach, but nothing was happening. We decided to change up the usual Roosterfish tactic. We tried blind casting! Suddenly after couple of casts Vebjorn landed a little Roosterfish, it was the cutest fish I have ever seen. I followed him shortly after with another little fella. These little guys act really funny in the water when they get excited, trying to destroy your fly. We walked the beach for a few hours with nothing until we finally saw some dark shapes coming towards us. Roosters! Then the panic set in. These fish were moving quite quickly along the beach but still within casting distance. We both ran down the beach trying to get a good cast to these fish. We both reached the school of four fish at the same time and both got in good casts. They started to immediately follow our flies. The only difference between Vebjorn and I was we were using different flies. We mostly fished with flies on 3/0 hooks in light tan colours and I have to say, they are very picky about what flies they will take! Roosterfish hunt Sardines, Needlefish and Mullet in schools along the beaches which is why the most common flies are Mullet or Sardine

patterns in the three - eight inch range. The most productive colours were light tan and white and, light blue and white both with a little bit of flash. The flash helps to get the fishes attention in the bright sunlight. Vebjorn´s fly was moving a bit differently than mine and had less flash. The Roosters were chasing down his fly until they saw my mullet fly. Suddenly they all raised their fins and quickly slashed from side to side behind my fly. Vebjorn made few more decent casts but with no luck. They decided that my fly was what they wanted! I was very lucky when the biggest fish of the group split off and inhaled my fly, it showed us the meaning of the Roosterfish run! That afternoon we caught another four good sized fish and experienced the real Baja Roosterfish on fly!

The next three days were a lot more relaxed. Each day was started with a good breakfast at our hotel. Then we spent the whole day on our ATV’s exploring the local beaches looking for Roosters and we managed to catch a few good fish over the three days. I must admit that riding an ATV, admiring the pristine wilderness whilst also trying to spot fish is really special experience. Sometimes you just have to stop, have a drink and take it all in. The local Pacifico cold beer with fresh lime was a firm favourite of ours! Oh, did I mention how amazing it is to stop on the way back from fishing to watch the most beautiful sunsets you’ve ever seen!

If you have ever dreamt about fishing for one of the most remarkable fish in the world and want a real adventure, then make Baja California your next fly fishing destination!