The week started OK. We got some roosters. There were small to medium dorado around. There were some billfish, pargo and cabrilla. Not spectacular fishing, but it was OK. We even had bait. But, as the week went on, we had some of the worst fishing we've seen all season with our Las Arenas fleet.


On the surface, I could say it was the lack of baits. That includes ballyhoo, sardines and mackerel that we usually use for most of the gamefish. But, the sabalo...the big ladyfish...that we use for the bigger roosters also got hard to find. So, naturally, lack of bait had something to do with it.


Likewise, later in the week we had some tropical storm cells pass through. This made for some rougher and windier waters. It got choppy. The skies were gray. There were little flurries of rain here and there locally. We almost had another water spout form up one afternoon near Cerralvo Island prompting the panga fleets to head for the beach.


So, all that would have or could have affected fishing. I've seen similar situations where we had all those conditions and we still got fish.


But beyond that, there were some other variables as well which, contributed to the lack of scores on the fish.


Later in the week we had folks specifically going for "home run" fish. Those are fish that you either get 'em...or you don't. Instead of going for "action" they went for the top-shelf bad boys. They are trophy fish for a reason. For instance, going for wahoo. You either get-em..or you don't. You can be the king of, if nothing is there, then you have a good shot of not coming back with any fish at all because you have to concentrate on the wahoo.


Same for the rooster fish. First, you have to spend the time trying to catch the better live bait...mullet or ladyfish. That can take time. If the baits aren't there or are hard to come by...that's a whole lot of time spent. Then, actually chasing the roosters takes time as well. Again, there's alot of focus and energy on them. If they aren't there or not biting, then you stand a good chance of getting goose-egged. That's what happened quite often towards the end of the week.


Frustrated anglers who came back with nothing. But that's what happens when you swing for the fences! I applaud the effort. It's awesome. I like that kind of fishing myself. But, sometimes the big hitters strike out. Part of fishing. Part of the game. You have to be ready for disappointment. And there were some disappointed anglers this week. Who got no fish!


About the flyfishing...Frankly, it's been tough. I've been singing that tune all season.


No one in Baja seems to have bait for chum for the flyfishermen. This El Nino has not been good to the flyfishers. Normally, we have sardines to toss out and get the fish going. The sardines are non-existent.


We have larger baits...caballito and mackerel, but you can't chum with that.


The flyfishers who have been coming down and willing to be flexible and do some conventional fishing are all getting fish. Everyone is catching fish. The ones who are strictly flyfishing are not doing well. The operators here in La Paz that are strictly flyfishers have had a terrible year because they have no other avenues to catch fish. They are strictly flyfishing. I did have 4 guys who just left this morning that were strictly flyfishing.


I kept offering to switch them to fish with my La Paz fleet where we are catching fish, but they insisted on staying with my Las Arenas fleet where they has been no bait...they caught pretty much zero fish for 3 days and left pretty frustrated and angry with us. They could have switched to bait or at least fished with my La Paz fleet and done quite well...even had a shot on the flyrod, but they were stubborn. I wish I could have gotten them some fish. See below...we did find some roosters. The bonito were huge and would have been awesome on the flyrod. They could have gotten the dorado going on the bait then tossed a flyrod into the boils. These were all good guys and experienced fishermen, but I was as frustrated as them.They left for Loreto where I hear it's been tough as well, but I hope they do better.


I feel for all the flyfishers I've seen here this year...lots of them fishing with our competitors. I meet alot of them at our restaurant and hear the stories. That's fishing this year. As I said at the beginning...it depends on where you fish and how you fish.