San Carlos Mexico MLK weekend - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

fearnofish · 01-20-2017, 02:29 PM

It's been awhile since I posted but had to give a report on my recent trip. One day on the kayak and another on the boat.

Wow!!! That is the only way to start this fishing report! What an amazing weekend in San Carlos Mexico! I headed down Sat Jan 14th with my Nephew on a last minute trip. We threw the kayaks on top of the FJ and headed south.

It’s about an 8 hour run from Phoenix. No problems at the border or anywhere else along the route in Mexico as always. It was raining the whole way and the weather reports were not that great but we didn’t care, we were going fishing no matter what!! We arrived and checked into our beer budget 70 bucks a night accommodations with an awesome view! The place wasn’t that great, I have certainly had nicer places for the same price but it was good enough for us to crash in for sure.

The next morning we were on the beach setting up the kayaks in the dark ready to launch at sunrise and man what a sunrise! We paddled out to our first spot where I have caught a ton of smaller yellowtail before and dropped our jigs. We were marking bait and fish but couldn’t get a bite. Next stop was a half mile paddle or less to San Antonio point. We started marking bait and fish right away and dropped the jigs on them. We spent an hour or so paddling around dropping jigs on marks in deeper and shallow water with no luck. There were a few boats around us trolling with no luck until about 10am and then we saw them hook up. Right then my nephew hooks up on a jig and it was on! He got towed around a little and finally got it to the boat and I assisted with the gaff. We had Fernando with Catch 22 charters cheering us on from his boat and snapping a few pics (we were scheduled to fish with him the next day). After pics I ended up hooking up 2 more times but couldn’t get them stopped in the shallow water (80’) and got broke off in the rocks. It was an awesome day of kayak fishin!

Next day we met Fernando with Catch 22 charters at 7am. We headed out to San Pedro Island where they usually catch the bigger fish. Reports were not good recently from that area but we headed out anyway with a back up plan if we couldn’t get on the fish… Needless to say no back up plan was needed! Once at the island we were marking TONs of bait and fish too but they were constantly moving. We dropped jigs on them and ended up catching a couple 20# class fish. Soon after the birds started showing us where the fish were… We headed out and started throwing poppers at the and bam fish on!! We had that top water bite all day long with most fish coming on Poppers, Waxwings, and a few on Salas. Totals for the day were 13 to the boat ranging 20-25lbs and about half that many either breaking off of coming unbuttoned. Not giants but damn nice fish!

I have to give a shout out to Fernando. He went above and beyond that day, we stayed out at the island till sunset and got back to the dock after dark and we still had fish to clean… I have fished with him before and I have to say it’s more like fishing with a buddy than a charter captain which I love. He is eager to share his knowledge and I always learn something from him. As an added bonus he is a fantastic photographer and got some of the great shots above! He is definitely the sought after captain in San Carlos. His favorite way to catch them is either speed jigging or on poppers. I highly recommend looking him up. Catch22 charters. Next time I may have him haul my kayak out to the island…

Andrew

01-20-2017, 02:29 PM	#1
fearnofish Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Phoenix Posts: 40	San Carlos Mexico MLK weekend It's been awhile since I posted but had to give a report on my recent trip. One day on the kayak and another on the boat. Wow!!! That is the only way to start this fishing report! What an amazing weekend in San Carlos Mexico! I headed down Sat Jan 14th with my Nephew on a last minute trip. We threw the kayaks on top of the FJ and headed south. It’s about an 8 hour run from Phoenix. No problems at the border or anywhere else along the route in Mexico as always. It was raining the whole way and the weather reports were not that great but we didn’t care, we were going fishing no matter what!! We arrived and checked into our beer budget 70 bucks a night accommodations with an awesome view! The place wasn’t that great, I have certainly had nicer places for the same price but it was good enough for us to crash in for sure. The next morning we were on the beach setting up the kayaks in the dark ready to launch at sunrise and man what a sunrise! We paddled out to our first spot where I have caught a ton of smaller yellowtail before and dropped our jigs. We were marking bait and fish but couldn’t get a bite. Next stop was a half mile paddle or less to San Antonio point. We started marking bait and fish right away and dropped the jigs on them. We spent an hour or so paddling around dropping jigs on marks in deeper and shallow water with no luck. There were a few boats around us trolling with no luck until about 10am and then we saw them hook up. Right then my nephew hooks up on a jig and it was on! He got towed around a little and finally got it to the boat and I assisted with the gaff. We had Fernando with Catch 22 charters cheering us on from his boat and snapping a few pics (we were scheduled to fish with him the next day). After pics I ended up hooking up 2 more times but couldn’t get them stopped in the shallow water (80’) and got broke off in the rocks. It was an awesome day of kayak fishin! Next day we met Fernando with Catch 22 charters at 7am. We headed out to San Pedro Island where they usually catch the bigger fish. Reports were not good recently from that area but we headed out anyway with a back up plan if we couldn’t get on the fish… Needless to say no back up plan was needed! Once at the island we were marking TONs of bait and fish too but they were constantly moving. We dropped jigs on them and ended up catching a couple 20# class fish. Soon after the birds started showing us where the fish were… We headed out and started throwing poppers at the and bam fish on!! We had that top water bite all day long with most fish coming on Poppers, Waxwings, and a few on Salas. Totals for the day were 13 to the boat ranging 20-25lbs and about half that many either breaking off of coming unbuttoned. Not giants but damn nice fish! I have to give a shout out to Fernando. He went above and beyond that day, we stayed out at the island till sunset and got back to the dock after dark and we still had fish to clean… I have fished with him before and I have to say it’s more like fishing with a buddy than a charter captain which I love. He is eager to share his knowledge and I always learn something from him. As an added bonus he is a fantastic photographer and got some of the great shots above! He is definitely the sought after captain in San Carlos. His favorite way to catch them is either speed jigging or on poppers. I highly recommend looking him up. Catch22 charters. Next time I may have him haul my kayak out to the island… Andrew Attached Images Last edited by fearnofish; 01-20-2017 at 02:45 PM.