Rocky shorelines, towering mountains, and tranquil bays make the 775-mile-long Baja Peninsula like paradise. With the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez as its borders, the whole area offers countless fishing opportunities. I love traveling as much as I can to make the most of the mangrove-lined estuaries, surf-swept headlands, and deep canyons where pelagic fish migrate each season. This is a visually stunning place to travel, and fly fishing in Baja is one of the best ways to discover it.
Many of these remote areas have come a long way. When John Steinbeck visited Cabo San Lucas in the 1940s, he noted that there was only one electric light at the end of a dilapidated pier. Now, Cabo offers luxury tourism and a well-established charter fishing fleet.
But, for the more adventurous angler, Baja offers plenty of lesser-known locations where fly fishing is just starting to take hold. Local panga captains will view your 9′ rods with a bit of curiosity. When you tell them you want to cast your flies at these wild, powerful fish, they’ll shrug, smile a bit, and steer the panga closer to the mangroves. “Vamonos!” you’ll say, exhausting most of your Spanish in one go.
For the past 10 years, I’ve been trekking to Baja quite regularly. Some of these trips have been true DIY adventures where I drove my truck and my black Labrador all the way from Wyoming so I could stay for weeks! I’ve camped, grabbed hotel rooms, and drank plenty of gas station coffee.
In Mexico, it’s possible to take your catch and have it prepared at one of the local restaurants, and the catch-and-release ethos I live by in the Lower 48 fades once I hit the border. And pretty soon, nearly everything I reel in seems eligible for the grill.
What makes this place so special for me? I’ll try to explain through the following list.
Loreto
Situated on the Sea of Cortez, Loreto is surrounded by a national marine reserve where commercial fishing is prohibited. It’s a wonderful place for a traveling fly angler to explore in Baja.
Once the capital of California, the town features a beautiful mission, an airport served by reputable airlines, a downtown area ringed with restaurants and cantinas, and a lively marina where clients meet their captains every morning before heading out for the day. Pair up with an experienced Baja fly fishing outfitter like Rubio Sportfishing, and you could be in for a treat.
Most boats make a beeline for the San Bruno Banks, where Yellowtail are the target species. Not to be confused with Yellowfin Tuna, Yellowtail Amberjack are more closely related to the Greater Amberjack we know in the Gulf. Unless your fly rod is under warranty, you might want to find something else to fish for!
If you hire the right captain, you can request that he take you up north along the coast, or along the rocky coves of Isla Carmen or Isla Coronado, where there are Roosterfish, Snappers, Triggerfish, Groupers, and Bonito that will readily take a sardine fly. The general method in Mexico – and an effective one at that – is to buy a tank of live sardines at the marina and use them as chum to bring feeding fish to the surface. Captain Cuervo, of Loreto Fly Fishing Guide, specializes in fly fishing. He knows all the secret spots where these prized species feed on the surface.
The captain will broadcast the wriggling bait fish over a reef. First, you see a flash. Then, a boil. And soon, all types of species are cutting through the bait! You simply cast your fly into the melee and strip, strip, strip.
At the end of the day, you can bring your fish to one of the idyllic restaurants that line the town square and have it prepared for dinner. Last year, I brought a whole Grouper to Mi Loreto, where they cooked it two different ways. My buddy and I watched the tourists stroll past as we ate a fish that had been caught on a sardine fly not 6 hours earlier.
Bahia Asuncion and Punta Eugenia
One summer, with the aching need to get back to the US, I took one last side trip out to the Pacific Coast. I had heard that the Bahia Asuncion offered some of the best Calico Bass fishing in the world. I told myself that I had at least 10 days before I needed to be back on campus where I teach.
The Pacific side of Baja is usually 20–25 degrees cooler in the summer. Though these two communities are difficult to get to, they offer unexplored opportunities in Baja for the roving fly fishing aficionado. These fishing villages are dominated by Lobster and Abalone operations. Kelp beds create an ideal habitat for Calico Bass and other nearshore species. There are Corvina, Pacific Halibut, Bonito, and California Sheephead, but I prefer the Calico. These chunky fish take weighted clousers and all sorts of colorful flies as long as you use a sinking line and get them down into the kelp forests. I recommend chartreuse in a size #2.
I caught my fill of Calicos off Isla San Roque. Building winds and choppy seas chased us back to port by midday. But that evening, after supper, I walked down to the beach in Asuncion and crept out on a decrepit pier. Casting white clousers into the green swells, I caught a half dozen Pacific Halibut – the biggest around 5 pounds. I couldn’t keep any of these, as I was heading out, so I gave them to an older man who was handlining the same pier. I stayed in the unique La Bufadora Inn, where the sunsets were too beautiful to accurately describe. Shari Bondi, the hotel owner, helped me connect with local guides and eateries.
Up the coast another 15 miles or so, I stopped at Punta Eugenia. Here, I fished with Thomas Arce and his father, a retired Lobster fisherman. Isla Natividad is a Calico Bass paradise, with the occasional Sheephead and Grouper mixed in to test your 20 lb leaders.
Puerto San Carlos
Magdalena Bay is becoming popular in Baja’s fly fishing scene. A 2-hour drive from Loreto, this hardscrabble Pacific town has seen the collapse of the shellfishing and shrimping industries. Locals will tell you that if you think the fishing is good now, you should have seen it 10 years ago! But what remains seems pretty good, especially if you want to cast flies.
Estuary fishing with Mag Bay Whales puts the fly caster in remote saltwater channels when more than 30 species of fish can be targeted, including black Snook and Golden Trevally. A 20 lb leader is recommended because once these fish are hooked, they run for the mangroves. I’ve hooked some powerful fish, only to lose them to the sharp shells and roots of the mangroves! Captain Marco of Mag Bay can help you find accommodations where they’ll cook your catch in a traditional Mexican kitchen. These meals include homemade tortillas. They’ve even allowed me to loiter by the grill as they cook!
If you come in the fall, you can book a few days with retired science teacher John Ashley, who has been exploring Baja his whole life. He first stumbled into these desolate areas when he was a surfer looking for new breaks. Now, John hosts fly fishermen from all over the world. His Mag Bay camp on the remote Isla Margarita is probably your best chance to catch a Striped Marlin on a fly. It’s also surprisingly economical and includes a cultural deep dive into Baja life.
Why would you go to all the trouble to sleep in a casita on the wind-swept Pacific Coast? Well, Marlin gather just outside the boca in the fall. These fish key in on bait balls. You’ll need a heavy 12 wt fly rod to try any of this. By approaching feeding fish, John positions the caster in the bow and has them drop their streamers right in the middle of the feeding frenzy. “Drink a protein shake before you try to catch one of these things,” John advises. After an epic battle and a few photos, the Marlin is released back into the wild. In addition to Marlin, there are Mahi Mahi in the mix, too. These, more often than not, end up as your sashimi appetizer.
El Sargento and La Ventana
The twin towns of El Sargento and La Ventana, located about 45 minutes south of La Paz, are idyllic seaside villages that look directly out at Isla Cerralvo. These towns are known for two things: windsurfing and Jacques Cousteau. Cousteau, who dived and filmed in this area, famously called the crystal-clear reef environments in the Sea of Cortez the “aquarium of the world.” And the town is aptly resplendent with fruit stands, taquerias, and seafood restaurants.
In summer, the waters between the mainland and Cerralvo teem with pelagic fish, especially large migrating Mahi Mahi. July through September are the best months to find them. Again, the technique is to motor out to the sea buoys and toss live bait fish into the water. Often, there’s nobody home. But there are lots of buoys and floating debris. Sooner or later, the Dorado crash the bait.
Using a 10 wt rod and a sardine fly, a fisherman can test his resolve under cloudless Baja skies. The panicking sardines cause the Mahi to slash at anything. Sometimes, this bite is so frenetic that you can hardly get your fly in the water before it’s seized by a fish! The smaller Dorado (8–15 pounds) are the best table fare. Once you’ve worn out your arm, you can ask the captain to take you to a tranquil cove where you can snorkel and cool down.
Last summer, after I iced down two smaller, fly-caught Dorados, I did exactly that. After I splashed over the gunnels and cleared my mask, I was rewarded with shoals of Triggerfish, Parrotfish, and an enormous Moray Eel. I saw what Cousteau saw: an aquarium full of brightly colored fish! To get in on the action, pair up with Palapas Ventana, which features a seaside resort, restaurant, and fishing outfitter.
Freelancing from Shore: Baja Fly Fishing Like a Local
In the summer of 2022, I rented a casita in El Sargento for me and my black Lab. By getting up hours before sunrise and driving south, we arrived at Bahia de los Sueños before first light. I could see Roosterfish crashing schools of mullet just beyond the reef but I couldn’t make the throw. The fish were just too far out.
Guides and their clients launched their pangas and powered out into the sea. Once, a Roosterfish of epic size came into the cove to chase mullet. But I blew the cast. You only get one shot at a fish like that. I sat down on the surf-wetted rocks and gathered myself.
As I found out, casting from shore in Baha is tricky, as most fish dive straight for the reef. Some places to try are the marina at Loreto, Playa Juncalito, and Bufeo to the north.
But often your rewards are unexpected. Mooring at Bahai de los Sueños, I caught tiny Cabrilla, small Jacks, Pufferfish, Trumpetfish, and the occasional Needlefish, which savaged my store-bought leaders! I spent the mornings casting and stripping. By 9 a.m., the sun was up and the heat came on.
The restaurant, 1535, is dog-friendly, so Henderson and I took a table by the water and ate our breakfast in the shade. Already, the guides were returning with their American clients. By the grins on their faces, it was clear that they had achieved something out there in the glare. The tourists tipped lavishly in dollars, not pesos. When they spotted me and my dog sitting in the shade, they always asked if we did any good.
Of course, huge Roosterfish and trophy Dorado were what they had in mind. They probably wouldn’t think much of my DIY Pufferfish and Jacks. I made up my mind, just this once, to tell the truth…
“Well, we didn’t get skunked,” I said.
Have you ever been fly fishing in Baja? Maybe you’re planning a trip and need help? We’d love to hear your stories and questions in the comments below!
