If you have questions about this or any other Baja-related fishing question, please do not hesitate to contact us.

2023 has seen dorado numbers in the Sea of Cortez return to their former glory. 

Throughout the 80’s and 90’s, Dorado were the predominant species targeted by anglers in Baja. During summer and fall months, you could count on seeing 30-50lb dorado congregating around floating objects and structure. It would be difficult to find a more exciting and cooperative sport fish. 

The decline and eventual prohibition of commercial sharking during summer months lead to a drastic decrease in commercial buoys. These buoys were used for harvesting sharks but also provided shelter for baitfish and structure for dorado to hunt. Back in the day you could cruise a line of shark buoys and hit twenty of them over 10-20 miles and find dorado at every third buoy, often jumbo bull dorado.

After 2000, either dorado stocks declined or they journeyed elsewhere. Although we did have sporadic dorado action throughout the 2000’s, it paled in comparison to earlier decades. 

The last three or four years we have seen an uptick in dorado action. This year the dorado were back in force, both in numbers and size. Hopefully, the trend continues and our guests can enjoy this superb gamefish as in the glory days.

We love talking dorado. Please contact us with any questions about dorado or any other inquiries about the Baja experience.

Thank you to all of those adventurous anglers and guests who journeyed south to fish with the FFM team in Baja during our 2022 Summer Season. It was a great compliment to see so many familiar faces return to fish with us and an honor to host new ones. It was an incredible season and we were all thrilled to share our amazing part of the world with you. Check out our "best of 2022" compilation video on Youtube below.

They say variety is the spice of life. If that's true, our summer season in Baja was a spicy one. Each week felt like a new wave of species blew into town and the selection of fish species to target kept on coming. In the early season we saw a good amount of golden trevalle and rainbow blue runners along with the to be expected roosterfish and jacks. As the season progressed, a brief flurry of tuna, sierra and bonita appeared and provided us with lot of fun action. Several of these fish are cooler water species which signaled that the normal summer water temperatures could be cooler than expected.

Roosterfish were around all season but they were extra picky and catching them was sporadic. There were a handful of standout fish in the 60-70 pound range and plenty of fish in the 15-30 pound range.

By late June the water temps finally warmed up and we had some really good offshore action with grande dorado and marlin. It has been quite a few years since we have seen dorado in the 40-50 pound class with the consistency and numbers we had this year.

The sardine stocks were good all season which kept the big game trolling the shorelines and deep inshore ledges looking for easy meals. With so many sardines around we used less bait and used more teasers to draw fish within fly casting range.

Again, a huge thank you to all the guests who journeyed down to fish with us so this season! If you are interested in booking for 2023 dates, contact us or view 2023 season availability here. Stay tuned for more on our new Mag Bag Marlin program!

Fall can be the most beautiful time of year, regardless where you are. In Southern Baja, what is usually a brown arid desert transforms into a lush green oasis full of life when the late summer rain permeates the dry soil. Butterflies and desert dwellers suddenly appear to take advantage of the colorful blossoming landscape as the desert comes alive.

It's also a more relaxed time of year since the school year has already started and the main summer tourist season winds down. Fishing pressure is next to nothing and the threat of storms has already passed. This year, the fishing in September and October was best described as consistent. Roosterfish in the 20-60 pound class were in most of the usual spots and anchored the action for the Fall.

We had a surprise school of sierra and yellowtail that provided some good action, and tasty eats, for a couple weeks, then disappeared as quickly as the tuna started to appear.

The incredible marlin bite that we had all summer finally tapered off as well, with only a 2-3 being landed by guests in Sep-Oct. 

Dorado made a good showing, with several 30 pound+ fish landed. Tuna fishing was sporadic at best and never really schooled up as they usually do in October.

The sardine schools were plentiful throughout the fall season and continued to spread and reproduce along the Island. The thick schools of sardines we had this season bodes well for another productive and fun 2022 season.

Again, a huge thank you to all the guests who journeyed down to fish with us so this season! If you are interested in booking for 2022 dates, contact us or view 2022 season availability here.

So far, 2021 has been a year of growth and abundance for Fly Fish Mex and we are grateful to all of the guests who fished with us and our loyal team of guides who worked hard to provide incredible and safe experiences to our visitors. May through July was our first time back in operation since the global pandemic shutdown, and it was incredibly busy! Much due to guests cashing in on their cancelled 2020 trips due to Covid and a mad rush of last minute reservations from newly vaccinated anglers anxious to travel and fish, again. We anticipated fishing would be good after a year practically void of angling pressure, and it did not disappoint. Those fortunate enough to make the journey to fl fish in Baja were rewarded with great conditions, and stellar fishing, all season long. Just as we had hoped the fish were well rested, bountiful, and eager to eat.

The roosterfish bite was strong with some grande-sized (60+ pound) fish caught each week and consistent action on fish in the 20-30 pound class throughout the season. Several guests got what they asked for and found some massive fish that tested their will and making a few begging for mercy. Once those grandes find open blue water, get ready for a long heavy battle! Our guides commented that many anglers adopted a "one is enough" mantra regarding big roosters and quickly found that casting to 20-30 pound fish was a much lighter workout than exclusively targeting the big bruisers.

Needle fish were a challenge, but that's the case most of the time for these fish. Jacks were plentiful and added some great action to the melee, and in some cases saved the day when fishing was tough.

The true highlight, and much welcomed surprise, of the season was the crazy good marlin bite that started late May and continued on through July. The apex of the marlin action came in mid June and coincided perfectly with a Yellow Dog Family hosted trip who took full advantage of the prime conditions for fishing this awesome species to target on the fly. The group landed sailfish and marlin on a regular basis and at times the bite was so hot doubles were standard fare. The billfish were 60-80 pounds and perfect size for landing them on a fly rod quickly and safely. Most fish were teased in for a bait and switch with a fly, but several anglers managed to get marlin to eat sight casted sardine flies, on 20 pound leader! The majority of the action was all within close range of the lodge, sometimes inside of 200 meters from shore.

Dorado were another pleasant surprise and the supporting cast for hot fish of the season. Their were never quite enough of them around to target them exclusively but opportunities at fish were regular and frequent. Toward the end of July dorado fishing picked up at its normal pace as the fish congregated around buoys and other floating structure so that we could target them with more consistency.

Tuna were hit or miss throughout the season making an appearance for a few days every few weeks, and then disappear without notice. At times our best action was tuna in the 20-30 range. We expect a more solid showing of tuna in the fall season so the best fishing for this species is yet to come.

New for this season we added several lodge based activities for guests who want to take a day off from fishing or non-angling traveling companions wanting to get the most our of their experience off the water. Our guests enjoyed group yoga sessions, Mexican cooking classes, various active water-sports, and horseback riding on the beach.

Again, a huge thank you to all the guests who journeyed down to fish with us so this season! Our fall season (September-October) is just weeks away and there's still opportunity to get in on the action. If you are interested in booking for September or October 2021 dates, contact us or view availability here.

Twenty-twenty certainly had its challenges, fortunately finding good fishing was not one of them. Travel, risks, restrictions and protocols for Covid-19 made it difficult to get clients to Baja. However, those who braved the trip to Mexico experienced some amazing fishing without another soul in sight.

After initial beach and fishing closures due to the Covid pandemic set in place back in March, Mexico opened sport fishing on June 15 and we resumed operations carefully. Despite all of the travel challenges brought on by Covid, we found that the sea was well rested and the roosterfish were plentiful, large, and aggressive. On our first day fishing, it wasn’t a question of whether we would catch fish, it was much more a matter of, how many fish and how big? At one point, we had six roosterfish, all over 40 pounds, raging around the panga chasing our flies.

The fishing started off strong and never slowed down for the rest fo the season and many guests managed to set personal bests on roosterfish in terms of numbers hooked, as well as largest ever landed. We also saw some great action fishing for dorado, yellowfin tuna, and marlin for a good part of the season which continued deep into our fall season in October.

Fortunately, our Covid safety measures held strong and there were no infection incidents among guests or lodge employees. The remote and open nature of the lodge and the increased safety protocols to keep people healthy were greatly appreciated.

Thank you to all those who supported us through such a challenging season! We look forward to getting beyond the times of Covid and safely accept guests again for our 2021 season. If you have interest in securing dates please feel free to contact us, we'd love to hear from you.

2019 may be the best year I have seen for roosterfish in 30 plus years of fishing Baja. An abundance of bait fish helped attract a variety of species to the area. The sardines were large sized and plentiful as well. Some sardine schools had fish averaging 4-6” and were readily available at the Island and along the coast. Whether it was the abundance of baitfish, consistent water temperatures or sheer luck, the roosterfish were present and big this year.

Large and aggressive roosterfish were in several spots right from the start in May. The roosterfish were at times LARGE, with A couple roosterfish in the 70lb range landed, as well as, several in 40-60lb range.

Also landed were large jacks, a smattering of dorado and an occasional marlin, sierra, amberjack, pompano, pargo, cabrilla and other species. Most of the fishing took place within 5 miles of the lodge. Worth noting; Eric Pana had the first Baja Grand Slam on fly I have witnessed landing; 1 Marlin, 5 roosterfish (all over 40 lbs), 1 dorado, and 2 Jack crevalles all in one day on fly.

The addition of a jeep CJ-& has opened up land based trips for beach fishing for FFMEX. 2019 couldn’t have been a better year to fish the beach. Large roosterfish were prevalent along the beaches this year. On some beach days we had as many as 6-8 shots at roosterfish 30-60 lbs. Extreme skill and luck are necessary for landing a roosterfish from the beach, but the rewards are worth the effort. If your skills are above par, consider adding a day or 2 beach fishing for roosterfish and jacks.

We still have some space available for Spring and Fall 2020. Please call for availability and reserving space if you are interested in booking a trip.

October is an amazing month to be in Baja. You can usually count on a large variety of species, good weather, and light fishing pressure. The desert is green, in full bloom, and the fish just seem happy that time of year. This year did not disappoint. I am thrilled to report abundant stocks of sardines and mackerel, among other bait species, throughout the fall season.

As for game fish; tuna and dorado were the main course with a smattering of nice roosterfish inshore. A couple late season hurricanes passed south and north of the East Cape in October and made for a little weather, but not enough to keep us off the water. The few days that were a bit choppy provided some of the best, wide open tuna bites we saw all month.

Yellowfin tuna were schooled up in 3-4 spots and provided consistent action through October. These were perfect fly-sized tuna 15-30 lbs, and could be landed in 15-20 minutes. Larger fish were also taken on bait. The larger roosterfish, 30-50lb, came in the first couple weeks of the month.  Small to medium roosterfish tested fly fishing skills in the bahia all month long.

Those who went out looking for dorado were usually rewarded at the buoys or found them mixed in with tuna schools. We started to see some good size dorado in the second half of October with some fish 30-40lbs. It has been a few years since we have seen consistent dorado in the 40-50lb class so it was nice to see a few larger fish showing up this year.

A few anglers added to their species list by gear fishing with great results. The pargo fishing was incredible. We boated some amazing specimens.

The forecast is looking good for the spring season. Captains are reporting good size schools of sardines spread around the island. Looking forward to some good fishing May/June. See you all there!

The 2017/2018 Season in Baja showed Baja fishing in all its glory. Good stocks of bait including sardines up to 6 inches, mackerel, skip jack and ladyfish attracted a huge variety and large numbers of sport species to the East Cape region of Baja.

By late June 2017, sardines schools started to appear between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose. The schools continued to proliferate up the East Cape and into the Sea of Cortez. Bringing with them awesome fishing. By October the Isla Ceralvo area was wide open for roosterfish, tuna and a variety of other species. The sardine schools held up through the windy winter months and were there to greet us in early May. Some tuna had wintered over as well and kept guests busy all spring. Most tuna were in the 20-40lb range, with some jumbos mixed in.

The inshore fishing was on fire as well. Roosterfish, dorado and jacks were abundant for most of May. Some BIG roosterfish were landed this spring, including one estimated @90lbs (sorry no pics). The Dorado, at times, were coming right to the beach and one was even landed on fly from the sand. African pompano also added to the action inshore.

The fishing action slowed temporarily just prior to and during Hurricane Bud, but turned right back on afterward. The storm also dispersed the larger sized sardine schools and left behind clouds of smaller sardines which spread up and down the Island and along coastal beaches.

The outlook is excellent for the fall season; Sardines stocks are good and tuna have continued to grow and provide action through summer.

October always has the potential to be an explosive month for fly fishing on Baja’s East Cape. Septembers storm season has past, water temperatures are warm, but gradually cooling. It is a time of year when a mix of species frequent the area and anglers have the opportunity to to chase a variety of fish.

The big news this fall was the return of sardine schools to southern Baja. Sardines first started showing up in late spring around San Jose and by fall were scattered along the East Cape. This season water temperature and conditions were relatively stable compared to the last few years and definitely helped the fishing., let's keep our fingers crossed it continues!

This October was outstanding. The yellow fin tuna, dorado, and roosterfish bite was wide open. The return of sardine schools seemed to re-ignite the fishing, echoing shadows of the past and made for some stellar fly fishing. We enjoyed Calm seas and little or no wind through the month.

Tuna; yellowfin from 10-30 lbs were schooled up in several spots that held strong throughout the month. At times, they seemed to be anywhere and everywhere, popping up on the surface up and down the coast. Fishing sink lines with sardine patterns increased the catch rate, but intermediate tip lines worked well and some fish were even landed on the surface with popper flies. Some spots held larger tuna, up to 200 lbs, which were taken by bait and commercial fisherman. Fly fisherman wisely left them to it. Most tuna schools we fished held perfect fly sized fish which were manageable on a 10/11wt fly rod, and made for some tasty sashimi dinners.

Dorado; Schools of dorado were encountered daily and anglers often were tired out before the dorado relented. The dorado ranged from 10-25 lbs, and usually came in sizable schools. The clear flat conditions made it fun to sight cast and target specific fish using sardine patterns and popper flies for some great top water action. At times, we took a break from fishing, sat and watched these beautiful fish, sometimes tossing them sardines, like pigeons at a park bench. Commercial fisherman rumored of large bull dorado offshore 20-30 miles, but the action inshore was too hot to leave.

Roosterfish; The month just got better and better fly fishing for roosterfish. It started with sporadic encounters; a small school here solitary fish there, but each new day brought more roosterfish ranging 15-60lbs. By mid October we were finding fish consitently up and down the coast. Roosterfish were drawn into shallower water and flats by sardine schools close to the lodge. Lady fish already starting their migration could be found further south with big roosters chasing them on the beaches.