EAST CAPE-
Every year the Fred Hall crew takes a trip to Rancho Leonero.
We Love it there; it is our favorite Mexican destination.
Usually we go in the Spring, but in 2008 we took a Fall trip.
The fishing is exceptional in the Fall but it was nice to get
back there in the Spring because the weather is so nice. This
year the temperature was in the low 90s with low humidity and
a late afternoon breeze.
It is also nice to come
back in the Spring because it is the prime Roosterfish
season. The feisty Roosterfish are my target fish of choice
in the Sea of Cortez, and this area is the Roosterfish
capital of the world. Over the years the largest Roosterfish
I have ever caught weighed about 25 pounds and the largest
one I ever saw in person weighed about 40 pounds.
Erick with proudly showing off a
big Roosterfish
The size of the fish usually
doesn't matter to any of us because we come prepared with a
variety of fishing tackle, and at any time we can choose light
tackle as well as heavier tackle. Small Roosterfish on your
Bass tackle is an absolute blast. Roosterfish, also known as
Pez Gallo, are "devil" fish and they fight like crazy. The
problem is that sometimes you will hook that 25 pounder on
12-pound test and it takes a long time to get them to the
boat. This is usually while dozens of other fish of the same
size are all around you.
This year the Rooster
fishing was phenomenal. I can't even do it justice by saying
that. I have never seen anything like it in the seven years
Fred Hall & Associates have been going there. Our group caught
8 fish over 50 pounds with three of them (caught by Tim Baker
and Mike Lum) pushing 70 pounds and one over 70 pounds. All
this while we caught several other 35 pounders and many
smaller fish in the 6-15 pound range. There were another dozen
fish in a similar size category caught by other "Ranch"
anglers in the previous weeks.
These large fish fight
something like a cross between an Amberjack and a Tuna. We all
experienced several very long runs by these magnificent
fish. Every time you'd get the fish to the boat there was
another run. What an absolute ball! The only problem is that
they are so large it is hard to handle them to get a picture.
We don't want to put our hands in their gills because everyone
is very serious about getting these fish back in the water and
keeping them alive, especially the Mexican skippers.
They kept yelling at us to
hurry up because we had to get those fish back in the water.
They are also very slimy, so getting a good picture, and
getting them back in the water quickly, is challenging.
I wanted to share the
incredible Rooster fishing experience that was going on at
Rancho Leonero. If you get a chance... Fly on down. It's just
two hours away, airfare and hotel rates are great, and this is
the Roosterfish experience of a lifetime. It was fantastic for
us!
Bart Hall is the
producer of the Fred Hall Shows in Long Beach and Del Mar,
California.
