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[clarki]

Although a beach fishing trip to Baja East Cape is in my hopeful future, in my immediate future my wife are getting away in early to mid April to the Sayulita area, north of Puerto Vallarta and I want to try my hand at DIY beach spincasting.

I've done reading and Youtubing on the subject but I'd really be interested in talking to someone who has done it themselves. If you have, and want to PM, or live in the LM and we can have a chat over a coffee or a pint, let me know. 

Cheers. 

[Old Blue]

Look for any structure and fish the tides.

A bunch of years ago we stayed not that far away at Grand Palladium and I was hooking into Sierra's with my 8wt fly rod using clousers, squamish poacher and flash flies.  I only had action at high tide as it pushed the bait into a nice bay.

There's the fishing coop right in Sayulita that has cheap trips too.

[Easywater]

A buddy of mine had decent success near Manzanillo - roosters and toros (jack Crevalle).

He has a 10 foot rod and a large spinning real but where he was fishing, he didn't need a monster cast - maybe 30 ft.
I had a 6.5 ft rod with my pink reel loaded with 20lb braid that should have worked - didn't get out much, though.

The ticket seemed to be his lure - a 1.5 oz Croc with silver prismatic tape on the front size.
Seems to attract fish from a good distance.

Look for birds diving or fish boiling on the surface - probably something big down there driving them up.

There were large waves there and he could see fish in the waves.
He caught a 25 lb rooster last year that took 15 minutes to land.

You don't need a license to fish from shore but you do need one on a boat.

[typhoon]

Puerto Vallarta is tough. The city is attached to a large bay that doesn't seem to hold a lot of fish.
The fishing trips I took ran out to the banks.
I didn't try shore fishing but heard that you need to be out in the mornings. Not sure if you can reach fish with a spinning rod or if you need a big surf rod.

[blueback]

I was heading there with friends and family in just over a week, however now, given the pandemic and the recent travel advisories/restrictions, it looks like we may not be able to go. Sigh

[Old Blue]

I was heading there with friends and family in just over a week, however now, given the pandemic and the recent travel advisories/restrictions, it looks like we may not be able to go. Sigh

My mother was supposed to go to Playa Del Carmen with my sister and her family tomorrow morning and they cancelled on thursday, they figured they might not be let back in or run into chaos down there during an outbreak.  Being in her mid 70's and my nephews with asthma, why take the chance.

[clarki]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Of course, our trip is cancelled.

I'm still debating if my 2 piece Clarus rod is up to the task and worth the hassle of transporting, or if I should be investing in a longer 4 piece surf rod. I do hope to visit the Baja East Cape in the future so I'm leaning toward investing in the 4 piece.

At least I will have more time to think it over.

Cheers

[chief]

I have fished the East Cape area for many years based in the  Los Barriles & Buena Vista with some good success both off the beach, inshore and blue water. To get you in the mood I can recommend the following books which pointed me in the right direction . Fly Fishing Southern Baja by Gary Graham who lives in Buena Vista  : Baja on the Fly by Nick Curcione : Blue Water Fly Fishing by Trey Combs

[clarki]

I have fished the East Cape area for many years based in the  Los Barriles & Buena Vista with some good success both off the beach, inshore and blue water. To get you in the mood I can recommend the following books which pointed me in the right direction . Fly Fishing Southern Baja by Gary Graham who lives in Buena Vista  : Baja on the Fly by Nick Curcione : Blue Water Fly Fishing by Trey Combs

Good recommendation, chief. Thanks. My interest would be spinfishing off the beach but those books would be helpful. Catching a rooster off the beach is high on my list.

I found a previous comment of yours from several years ago when you mentioned transporting rods. What type of spinning rod were you using?

[chief]

I use an old Berkley 9 foot fast action spin rod with a Daiwa 4000C spinning reel . Both are pretty old  !! I had good luck with large buzz bombs for roosters + jacks but I think the best lure to use is the Ranger top water lure made by Roberts Co in the USA . Not cheap but will cast a great distance . I used my spin rod up to search areas if fish were not showing and used it as back up to my fly rod if the fish were beyond fly rod distance . Often ladyfish will be showing closer to shore and roosters would be in deeper water behind them out of fly rod range. Roosters love to eat ladyfish which are typically 2 to 3 lbs in Baja . Fun to cruise the beaches on a ATV with both rods looking for activity or blind casting in likely spots. Long surf rods are also popular matched up with a spinning reel and are what you need if you hook up with a big rooster in the 50 to 60 lb range which is not as far fetched as it seems !
Also there is a tackle shop in Los Barilles run by a lady from Alberta which rents spinning rods and reels for beach casting.
The books I mentioned earlier are focussed on fly fishing but also are useful regarding areas to fish and species you will catch .

[clarki]

I use an old Berkley 9 foot fast action spin rod with a Daiwa 4000C spinning reel . Both are pretty old  !! I had good luck with large buzz bombs for roosters + jacks but I think the best lure to use is the Ranger top water lure made by Roberts Co in the USA . Not cheap but will cast a great distance . I used my spin rod up to search areas if fish were not showing and used it as back up to my fly rod if the fish were beyond fly rod distance . Often ladyfish will be showing closer to shore and roosters would be in deeper water behind them out of fly rod range. Roosters love to eat ladyfish which are typically 2 to 3 lbs in Baja . Fun to cruise the beaches on a ATV with both rods looking for activity or blind casting in likely spots. Long surf rods are also popular matched up with a spinning reel and are what you need if you hook up with a big rooster in the 50 to 60 lb range which is not as far fetched as it seems !
Also there is a tackle shop in Los Barilles run by a lady from Alberta which rents spinning rods and reels for beach casting.
The books I mentioned earlier are focussed on fly fishing but also are useful regarding areas to fish and species you will catch .

Thanks, chief. Very helpful intel.

If your initials are BH, then we chatted on email a number of years ago when I first became interested in the Baja East Cape fishery. You recommended ATV scouting back then too, and it really interests me. I prefer self guided fishing so a good way to cover ground and scout for blitzing fish.

Curious, how much your is spent blind casting at likely spots vs casting to blitzing fish?

[chief]

Hi Clarki
Yes, I am the same BH just a bit older and your memory is pretty good!
Blitzing fish are not that common in my experience but spectacular when you come across them and the action will be fast and furious!
90 % of the time you are slowly riding the beach on at ATV (or walking) looking for bait running for their lives or fish like ladyfish jumping which usually means that there are a lot more out there with maybe roosters in the deeper water behind them. Also look for roosters cruising the beaches close inshore say 20 feet . You will see dark shadows on the sandy bottom  often moving fast so you want to get ahead of them wait and cast in front of them . A Ladyfish school will often stay in an area for 1 or 2 days and move up and down the beach with the tide in and out of casting range before moving on  . Another factor is the sardinha availability . Some years such as el ninho they can be very scarce. A good site to visit to stay current on what is happening in East Cape  is www.rancholeonero.com  who publish a weekly fishing report . IMO the best time to go down is September/October after hurricane season and the hot humid summer weather are both done !

[clarki]

Thanks BH and good to connect with you again.

You have whetted my appetite to do more than just think about it.