By Tom Dietz
The Baja Peninsula, a sublime mix of deserts, xeric scrub and forests. Beautiful ruggedness. A yearly trek for almost 20 years, we were fishing the Bahia de la Ventana area highlighted by Isla Cerralvo (Jacques Cousteau Island), where its steep cliffs meet the Gulf’s blue waters. Day one put sizable Pacific Crevalle Jack, Dorado, Sea Bass and a blue marlin into the boat.
Day two began before sunrise with Cerralvo looking foreboding with its dark mass rising out of the sea. We got right into the Toro, working our way to the island’s southeastern flanks. As the action slowed, I sat down for a westerly trawl toward the beach. It wasn’t a “bam” but rather a long tug that didn’t let up, and then the line went taught, the rod went parabolic, and the line sang out while the reel clicker chattered.
With one hand above and one below the reel I pulled up hard setting the hook, turned the clicker off, and placed the rod butt in my belt. My drag was set tight, and the Rooster took the line, pulling like a freight train. I tried to reel but to no avail. The brute strained the 40-pound test at full drag with me feeling it was on the verge of breaking. I considered easing the drag but paused that decision, and after a few minutes I was at a stand-off with the fish who was wandering about.
Finally reeling down and pulling up with some advantage, I made progress. My captain was excited, “Big fish, big fish,” Several strong and long runs had the captain and me worried I’d run out of line. We drove toward the fish so I could gain additional line back, as there was maybe a meter left on the reel. I caught a lot of shit for that part of story around the fire pit that night.
The Highly-Prized Roosterfish
Roosterfish are distinguished by their comb—seven long spines on the dorsal fin and two black strips running down their sides. They are a fantastic sport fish and big draw to places like the Baja, Panama, and Costa Rica. Roosterfish can grow to over five-feet long and over 100 pounds, with the world record currently at 114 pounds, landed in 1960.
Half an hour later I finally had him to the boat. I was never sure I would land this fish until I did. After the photo op, I released what was by best estimate a 70 pounder. A few smaller ones ended a perfect day.
Our third day goal was for more roosters. Our captain, Calamiri, put us first on Pacific Bonito, and we tired of those wanting to head to the beach to hunt roosters. Needlefish marred our first beach runs and dug too deep into our bait supply. Calamari went to work jigging for Ladyfish, a favorite of big Roosters.
Trawling the beach with two Ladyfish at 50 yards back, my mate got the first hit when a Pargo (Northern red snapper) bit his bait in half. Distracted by his sawed-off fish, my line hit hard. I refocused back to the job and got oriented for a fight. Just like the day before, the fish took multiple hard runs, but this time close to the surface where we could see it was another big Rooster.
Burning in Baja
This fish was strong and heavy. I didn’t think my 40-pound test would be enough this time, so I loosened the drag to ease my fears. It was a hot day, and with hat and face covered for protection, even hotter. My eyes burned from the mix of dripping sweat and sunscreen. I had that worried feeling that I might lose this fish, and I didn’t want my final story on this trip to be losing a big one, despite landing the previous one.
The fight was on and then it seemed it wasn’t. The line went slack, and I briefly thought to stand down and be disappointed, but my body overpowered my mind, and I started reeling fast and, with half as much line as was out reeled in, I caught back up with him. He had charged directly at the boat from a considerable distance. Back in the fight, I was gaining ground while the fish tired out. While this beast lacked some of the flashier highlights of most, it was a beauty nonetheless. This one we had at about 60 pounds, but much stronger than the larger one.
The Sea of Cortez and its barren landscapes delivered another spectacular adventure. Good friends sharing a remote fishing experience, good food, whiskey and cigars, and, of course, great stories.
