My buddy Ric Felder invited me to join him for two days of hardcore fishing on his 23’ Trophy boat called “End of the Line” last weekend in the Sea of Cortez. Ric hadn’t been fishing in nearly 5 months and was eager to clear all the cobwebs from his fishing gear. The weather forecast was mixed, with some sites reporting decent seas and others showing strong winds, so we weren’t sure what to expect.
We left the condo at 5:30 am on Saturday morning, fueled the boat and launched out of Cholla Bay at 7 am. It was a beautiful morning with a modest NW wind and 1-foot seas, better than we could have guessed. We caught a bunch of lively bonefish and several sierra mackerel in 15 feet of water not far off the beach. We then moved to 30 feet of water and quickly filled the bait well with lots of nice mid-sized sand bass. By 8 am we had plenty of baits, but we really still needed to find some greenback mackerel and sardines to boost our arsenal. We stopped at the 12-mile reef without a nibble, and then headed out to the 22-mile reef. We spent a long time there looking for bait and managed to catch a few greenbacks and sardines, but far less than needed. We fished the 22, 23, and 25 mile reefs that day and found the action was slow at best. There were a lot of other boats out fishing, but none of them were catching more than a fish or two. Finally, about 1:30 pm Ric broke the ice and pulled in a 20 pound gulf grouper on a live sierra mackerel. Soon after I caught a nice 20 pound leopard grouper on a live greenback mackerel. That was it for the day until about 4 pm in the afternoon when I caught a nice 20 pound white sea bass on a whole sardine. Then the bite got very hot and we were getting hit left and right on sardines and mackerel. I caught a 15 pound gulf grouper and then Ric and I both caught 20 pound leopard grouper. I then proceeded to hook five fish in a row that either rocked up or broke my line, most likely groupers, until we ran out of bait. We fished until dark, headed back to shore, trailered the boat, had the fish filleted, talked with fishermen from California, had tacos for dinner, and returned to the condo by 11 pm. Whew, what a long day!
Sunday was very much the same as Saturday, only a bit windier and cooler with a hazy cloud cover. We managed to catch a dozen or so mackerel and two dozen sardines at the 22-mile reef. We fished there for most of the day. Ric caught a flounder on a white jig and I caught a 5 pound pinto bass on a mackerel. We stopped by the 25-mile reef and then fished three areas at the Sand Dunes reef. Ric hooked a nice fish at the Sand Dunes and fought it for a while before it broke his line.
At 5 pm we returned to the 22-mile reef with hopes that the bite would turn hot again before dark. Before long, Ric was hooked up with a good fish and fought a beautiful 30+ pound white seabass to the boat on a live mackerel. Then I was hooked up with what seemed to be a very big fish. My rod was doubled over in the rod holder with line stripping from my Penn 6/0 reel for quite a while before the fish broke my 200 pound leader. Ric thinks it was a big white seabass. Ric and I then hooked up at nearly the same time and lost them both after they somehow got tangled up in a rope or abandoned fishing net stuck below us on the reef.
After that, a big bull sea lion showed up and started stealing the baits off hour hooks, so we knew it was time to leave. At shore, one of the wheels fell off Ric’s trailer. They managed to have a Mexican repair done so that the boat and trailer could at least be hauled up the hill to the boathouse. Unfortunately, Ric will now need to go shopping for a newer trailer. I drove back last night and made it home about 2 am. I’m tired and sore today, but it was a great weekend. I was glad to fish five reefs for the first time, and, as always, learned a lot about the sea from my friend Ric.
We left the condo at 5:30 am on Saturday morning, fueled the boat and launched out of Cholla Bay at 7 am. It was a beautiful morning with a modest NW wind and 1-foot seas, better than we could have guessed. We caught a bunch of lively bonefish and several sierra mackerel in 15 feet of water not far off the beach. We then moved to 30 feet of water and quickly filled the bait well with lots of nice mid-sized sand bass. By 8 am we had plenty of baits, but we really still needed to find some greenback mackerel and sardines to boost our arsenal. We stopped at the 12-mile reef without a nibble, and then headed out to the 22-mile reef. We spent a long time there looking for bait and managed to catch a few greenbacks and sardines, but far less than needed. We fished the 22, 23, and 25 mile reefs that day and found the action was slow at best. There were a lot of other boats out fishing, but none of them were catching more than a fish or two. Finally, about 1:30 pm Ric broke the ice and pulled in a 20 pound gulf grouper on a live sierra mackerel. Soon after I caught a nice 20 pound leopard grouper on a live greenback mackerel. That was it for the day until about 4 pm in the afternoon when I caught a nice 20 pound white sea bass on a whole sardine. Then the bite got very hot and we were getting hit left and right on sardines and mackerel. I caught a 15 pound gulf grouper and then Ric and I both caught 20 pound leopard grouper. I then proceeded to hook five fish in a row that either rocked up or broke my line, most likely groupers, until we ran out of bait. We fished until dark, headed back to shore, trailered the boat, had the fish filleted, talked with fishermen from California, had tacos for dinner, and returned to the condo by 11 pm. Whew, what a long day!
Sunday was very much the same as Saturday, only a bit windier and cooler with a hazy cloud cover. We managed to catch a dozen or so mackerel and two dozen sardines at the 22-mile reef. We fished there for most of the day. Ric caught a flounder on a white jig and I caught a 5 pound pinto bass on a mackerel. We stopped by the 25-mile reef and then fished three areas at the Sand Dunes reef. Ric hooked a nice fish at the Sand Dunes and fought it for a while before it broke his line.
At 5 pm we returned to the 22-mile reef with hopes that the bite would turn hot again before dark. Before long, Ric was hooked up with a good fish and fought a beautiful 30+ pound white seabass to the boat on a live mackerel. Then I was hooked up with what seemed to be a very big fish. My rod was doubled over in the rod holder with line stripping from my Penn 6/0 reel for quite a while before the fish broke my 200 pound leader. Ric thinks it was a big white seabass. Ric and I then hooked up at nearly the same time and lost them both after they somehow got tangled up in a rope or abandoned fishing net stuck below us on the reef.
After that, a big bull sea lion showed up and started stealing the baits off hour hooks, so we knew it was time to leave. At shore, one of the wheels fell off Ric’s trailer. They managed to have a Mexican repair done so that the boat and trailer could at least be hauled up the hill to the boathouse. Unfortunately, Ric will now need to go shopping for a newer trailer. I drove back last night and made it home about 2 am. I’m tired and sore today, but it was a great weekend. I was glad to fish five reefs for the first time, and, as always, learned a lot about the sea from my friend Ric.
