Svens got a gun.......

Yum... Grouper!

Thanxs for a top report and photos... the served dinner photos are a nice touch

Good stuff! But who's that handsome Nordic chap?
peace,
Erik Y.

Just some guy we found along the road.

Thanks for putting up the trip info, Dale. I was going to do something nice for all the Mothers on their special day by doing a trip report, but now, I'm just kicking it poolside with them. :chatup


Yeah, it was an experience going to Baja. The Third World is a s close as your doorstep. Every time I go somewhere it makes me appreciate even more the things I have, and that ain't a lot.

Dale has a pretty good scam going. He's actually done what a lot of us would want to do- that being making a living from diving, but he's actually doing it. Being an entrepenuer and huckster all in one is prety usual, but when you can speak another language pretty fluent and gather the trust of the locals, then you have the makings for a idea. Dale originally was just going to run these trips as a way to fund his casa-under-construction/bale out plan, but it's been busy enough for him to do it virtually every other week, much to the delight of his knockout wife and the poolboy.

The area where we went, Puertocitos and the Enchanted Islands are quite a draw. The local terrain is relatively accessible by anyone with the gear and cojones to attempt the drive. And the Islands are just nuts. I've been to other places that promised fish but this place has all the signs of being loaded!! Trouble is getting there when the water and wind allow it. :crutch We made a valiant effort to jump that first day, but this old guy has been beat up too many times to need to prove that a 24' panga can make it with a 30 knot wind and 4-6 chop. And no bucket to bail with.

On the way out, I was thinking that a boulder strewn beach that carried into the water looked promising and when we called the beating to the Islands quits, we took a poll, I won and the rest is NO viz/shallow diving history. Just like home. I actually jumped the other side of the boat to go see the deeper area and was rewarded by zip, zero, nada. I was more than bit bummed, owing that I had seen the fishlife in Dale's latest video and was out not so much to prove anything, but hey, it never hurts to land the first one, right? :t Eric had called over saying he spooked a big one in shallow, a phrase oft heard, owing possibly to his questionable pre dive ritual, but I figured "What the heck?" and toodled on over to a much more promising area. Had I been able to see that area, I could have told you more, but the viz was a paltry 1-4 feet and the fins were mostly sticking up in the air, which pretty much explains my epic PB bottom times. rofl

I came over a jumble of rocks and saw the outline of a tail that looked legal, always a good thing in my book and backed off, went around and made out the outline of the fish. One Daryl Wong hybrid- launched [piece of stainless later, dinner. That was pretty much the end of the day as the wind on the way back was going to be a grind and I don't know where you got into that warmer water Dale, but my 3 mil wasn't making it.

The following day dawned much as the last with the wind making an early appearance, but with guns and Old Spice in hand we braved the crossing to a sweet little cove that was just plugged with life. Having only slightly better viz here, I was ready to really let the shafts fly, but some days you're the hero, and the others, you just gotta unload the bands and be content to swim with the fishes. No matter how I cranked up the smooth, I was spooking everything. EVERYTHING!! :head But when you get to see Golden Grouper, Parrots, Hogfish and Yellow and Barred Snapper, hey you count your blessings.

Almost getting skunked, cold again but blessed, I enjoyed another scenic wind swept ride back to one of those launch ramp excercises in why couples get divorced, and was the happiest guy in town to see the gravity feed shower back at the casa that drywall screws built.

Dale's trips aren't cheap, but with the opportunity to see some epic numbers of fish, see some alternatly pretty and some downright sad sights, eat well and remember what it's like to kick it on an air mattress, it may be worth it. Once the casa is done and all the rest of the players are on the same page, the boats reliable and the locals used to the deal, this may make Dale a pretty busy guy. His Humboldt Squid trips and other means of self pimp aside, shooting fish in Baja at the Enchanted Islands is a trip that have you the wherewithall, is a gotta do. Smooth points.

More photos too follow, but the MILF is calling for her tea. Mother's Day you know...

Damn, that's a nice grouper. And for those of you who have never tasted yellow snapper, it's worth the money all by itself. But like Sven says, the weather is all down there and it's unpredictable as Hell. I always try for the half moon tide conditions but even that is far from a guarantee. And, yeah, the Third World is on our doorstep. With all the resources that the Sea of Cortez has to offer there is no excuse for the grinding poverty of the area but what's a gringo to do?

Two very well crafted stories GTB is on my list - after BC sometime

Looks like another cracking trip, Dale and Sven!! see any pelagics while you were there?

Cheers

Justin

No pelagics

No pelagics. Hell, I couldn't even see the end of my gun while holding it short in front of me! :head I went waaaay too over gunned this trip- a 50" Wong Hybrid and a 60" Wong Magnum Hybrid. I could have brought my old Voit (JBL) Custom rock gun (27") and had an easier time.

For those that are heading down there, on the way out to the Islands and hugging the coast, you'll pass this rocky area with a white "knob", (and I'm sure I'll hear about that...), this is where we jumped. It's now known graciously known as Punta Sven.