Sunday, February 27, 2011

This is way too much fun!





Its been windy last few days, and a bit on the cool side... The weather forecast shows calm winds tomorrow, and back to normal 80 degree plus weather...


Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Montana Boys having fun!





Doug and Josh Mackaman wrote: Lots of sierra on the fly, also several opportunities for jacks. Could have caught more jacks and some roosters, but our casting was less than great.

Its been a long winter in Montana, so its been a while since we have cast a fly... A great day of fishing.. Thanks again to Alex and Louis for their hard work.. We couldn't have done it without you..

Jim Davidson fished with us and wrote:

Lots of sierra mackerel, snappers, jacks, and 2 sharks.

Very good fly fishing

Monday, February 21, 2011

La Paz day

I am in La Paz today checking up on a repaired outboard.

La Paz is one cool city. The best part is walking along the scenic malecon along the bay, or eating at Bufalos, which in my opinion best restaurant in Baja.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Last Cast

We had a ton of Sierra mackerel, but only one rooster on the last cast

Stunning sunrise in Cabo. It never gets old.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Baja Anglers fishing report Feb. 17th 2011

Hi Folks,

Is Cabo Safe?

That's the question most people ask when they contact me.. I just sigh. Cabo is one of the safest places on the planet... I believe it, I know it, and I live it. I can go anywhere in town and or for that matter anywhere in southern Baja at anytime, day or night and only meet wonderful people. If your car is broke down, there is always someone to help, if you lost your way, there is always someone to help. Everywhere you go, there are wonderful people smiling, laughing and just living the good life...

I thought we would have a ton of tourists down with all the bitter cold weather back home, but many folks just are not traveling to Mexico. Heck, even I wouldn't go anywhere near the border cities. You would have to be nuts to do that, but because Cabo's at the tip of a 1000 mile peninsula, Cabo is in a world of its own. Its an Oasis separated by the sea of Cortez, and 1000 miles of lonely two lane road... Cabo is cut off 100% from the violence that has sweeped parts of Northern and Western Mexico.

I am going to go one of my famous Grants Rants about the Media.. The medias only job is to sensationalize every little thing that happens in the world. They make everything into a headline story, so you stayed glued to the TV. Once everything is suspenseful and has you hanging, biting your nails, you will have a 24/7 audience...This is not for your benefit, although they want you to think that.. Its about making Money. Nothing else, just making money. Tons of funds... More viewers, more adds, more money. That simple...

The media has hurt Cabo's tourism with its sensationalizing everything that happens here into big stories to keep you glued to you boob tubes. Each time they have reported something has happened, its been nothing at all, leaving the people here scratching their heads and wondering what the heck they are talking about.. Stories about hurricanes destruction of Cabo, when all we got was a little street flooding, and that went away as soon as the rain stopped, and when the rain stopped, everything went back to normal.. Then we had the bird flu scare... What BS... Not one case of bird flu in Southern Baja, but if you heard the news anchors talk, we were dropping like flies and the world is near its end...Now the media is harping on Mexico again with the violence in border cities...Yes, there is a big problem there, and I hope they fix it soon, as its not good for Mexico, and I love this country... But the media conveniently forget to tell you that there are very safe places to visit, so the whole country suffers because the media wants to make a buck. People need to be entertained, so they watch the cable news shows like they are watching a scary movie. Yea right, say some, but when have you seen the news report a good wholesome story... Not often, if ever.. Why not, because violence sells baby, Violence sells, they don't give a rats ass about your mental health, they want you neurotic. Tune in to more murder and destruction right after this important message from our sponsor (money). Egypt has turned the medias eye away from us, and that ought to keep the medias attention for a long time to come. I now hope things get back to normal and folks come back to Cabo to enjoy our warm sunny days, beautiful sandy beaches, incredible fishery and wonderful people that live in this incredible paradise.

If I watch the news too much, I find myself predicting the end of mankind and feeling nervous about everything all the time. Thats why I take what they say with a grain of salt and enjoy each day with my family. What do we do for entertainment, well we go fishing, go to the beach, practice Aikido, and of course we surf more... I find myself shutting off the boob tube as much as possible, unless of course I am watching Chef Ramsey at work, now thats entertainment! I love that guy.. He rocks. Tough love, tells people how it is, no BS, and in the end only wants whats best for everyone...

Now to the fishing.

OFFSHORE

The offshore fishing is starting to pick up after a slow two month lull, and we are starting to catch striped marlin again. Thats really good news, as catching marlin is one of my personal favorite pastimes.. The marlin have been picky on lures, but have been taking bait well. Good news both fly and light tackle anglers... Expect to see 1-3 marlin in a days outing...

The yellowfin tuna have been hanging around Cabo for the last few months.. Long boat rides, up to 30 miles are the norm.. If you can find the porpoise, you can find the tuna..If you cant find the porpoise, it can be a very long day offshore... The tuna are small around 10-25 lbs...

Not many dorado around, but we are occasionally finding a few smaller fish close to shore... Expect the dorado to start showing up later in late spring when the water starts to warm up..

INSHORE:

Traditionally spring is an-awesome time to to Cabo as the inshore fishing is red hot... Lots of action, with fun aggressive visual takes...

The inshore fishing has been good, actually very good most days.

The roosterfish, sierra mackerel and big jacks have been up on the Pacific side..

The Roosterfish have been fun sized around 8-15 lbs and are taking flies readily.. My rat flies is one of the all time best flies to throw at them..White has been the best color... Roosterfish is everyones favorite.. There is a good reason why.. With its exotic looks, great fighting fish, and its reluctance to eat flies, its probably the most sought after inshore gamefish on the Pacific rim..

Lots of big sierra mackerel in town.. People underestimate what a great fish the sierra is and they confuse it with the mackerel they catch back home.. Nothing could be more from the truth.. Sierras are a fantastic fish on fly and spin.. The are aggressive eaters. Strong violent takes that make you grateful you weren't born a baitfish...They run as fast as a wahoo(cousin) and make a 10 lb bonefish run seem lame.. A big one can take out well over a hundred yards on the first run, and then fight like mad till the end... And also they taste great! Ceviche, can you say more, por favor! grill them, pan fry, and breaded, all great ways to cook this fish. All of that said, Sierras taste better than Dorado, anytime... What a wonderful fish...Just be careful of their teeth when you take the fly out of their mouths...

The big Jack Cravelle's are back in town. What another great gamefish... These big guys have huge hearts and lots of fight. You got sore arms? You must have caught a big jack. These guys will tear you up and test your mettle ... Pound for pound you will have a hard time finding a fish that will give you a tug on your line as well as the Sr. Cravelle will... I love catching jacks.. Right now, there are some very big fish well over 25 lbs. cruising the beaches and just waiting to eat your fly..

Not too many cubera snapper right now, but I expect the cuberas to start showing up soon.. You haven't fished until you cast your fly out and see that red cloud come up behind and underneath your fly.. You wonder what the heck is that, then you start seeing individual fish and you realize that a couple of hundred snapper just came to the surface to eat your fly... Its an amazing sight to see.. wonderful great fighting and eating fish..

I have been getting folks emailing me asking me if I am doing my beach camping trips again. Yes, I am... I will do 4 or 5 more trips this spring up the Pacific beaches for snook, snappers, corvina, and halibut off the beaches... These trips are great fun and great way for you to know the Baja I love.. We go to some of my favorite places in the world to catch some of the coolest fish on the fly and spin.. I also do Pacific exploratory beach trips where we stay in small clean hotels and hop around southern Baja and fish the beaches.. This is a super way for you to explore and fish each day, but come back to a warm shower, soft bed, and good food each night... If you like a little adventure and want to see Baja through my eyes, Please email me at baja-anglers.com for more information and booking these trips..











More photos of happy guests





A few of our guests who escaped the cold weather






lots of smiles, lots of fun to be had inshore fishing right now...Here is some photos of our happy guests this last week...


Sunday, February 13, 2011

Peter Bowers and Kevin Jurgens having some fun inshore

My very good friends Peter Bowers and Kevin Jurgens came down to escape the bitter cold back home and have some fun in the sun.. All smiles..



And even more great photos



More great photos...





Fishing has been good...




The inshore fishign for roosterfish, jacks and sierra mackerel has been very good. lots of fun with the fly and spin..

Some photos from the guys cameras...


Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Grants Baja Fishing Safaris





Here are a few photos of my last Safari trip... Check out the life jacket I am wearing.. Thats for warmth... It had to be 45 degrees that day and blowing like hell.

We got into a good halibut bite along the beach with Sammy, Jeff and even me hooking into some great tasting fish tacos...


Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Fishing

It was nice to have some marlin action today We had fish up, but didn't get a hook into them. It ended up being a wonderful day on the water lots of warm sunshine, whales, dolphins, and opportunities for marlin on the fly. What a great day

Sent from my iPhone

Live update Marlin time

Wow, we had the hottest marlin teased up to the boat. He was so lit up, crashing at the teaser. We cast the fly and he would swim under and around it, but he wouldn't eat it. That's marlin fishing. Were looking for another bill right now

Keeping you updated

Sent from my iPhone

Marlon fishing again

Kevin Jurgins marlin fishing

Even though marlin fishing is slow, we are giving it a go. We just came across a jumper and Arturo cast a live to it. VHere Arturo and Kevin are waiting patiently for the tease.

It didn't hapen this time, but nice to see marlin again

The weather is back to normal. Sunny warm and absolutely beautiful

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Share a Boat on May 10-15th.

Steve Ruzicka asked if someone wants to share a day on the water for May 10-15?

If someone is interested, please email me.

Thanks,
Grant

Way to cold last week..

Was I in Baja? As you know, I was up the coast fishing on one of my Baja fishing Safari's with Sam Vigneri and Jeff Courier... We had a lot of fun in adverse conditions... I mean windy as can be and COLD. Well cold for Baja... We had 34 degrees one morning... The last day at Mag Bay was nuts. We had a strong cold north wind all day long.. I have never in my life used a life preserver on the boat, but I put one on that day.. Not because I was scared, but because it made a wonderful wind breaker on top of my clothes..

It was a tough trip, but we had a good time... The cold front of the century could have ruined the trip for most guys, but Jeff and Sam are real troopers and fished everyday through difficult conditions... We caught fish everyday, and had plenty to talk about at days end.....

My iphone conked out on me again... Jeff is sending me pictures of the trip and as soon as i get them, I will post...

Grant

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

on a surf fishing expedition






Hi Folks,

I am sure you are wondering, where the heck is Grant? I havent seen any posts, whats that crazy Gringo up to? Well, I am up on one of my fishing Safari's with Sam Vigneri and Jeff Currier..

The trip started off kind of crazy. We were supposed to go after snook on the fly, but big waves came in and took out that option... So we packed our bags and headed north for one of my famous fishing safari's.

The frist day was nuts. We came to one of my favorite fishing holes and the wind was blowing at least 30 mph. Sam gave me one look and I could tell he was thinking, lets get the heck out of here and take the next flight home. Jeff is like me and said, Grant stop the truck, I want to fish.

The Pacific was like a washing machine.. Wind, waves, spray, all coming together over the reef.

Jeff and Sam went to fish in the lee of big sand hill, but I went right into the storm. Things looked good to me, we had an incoming tide, and it was washing over the rocks. First cast with the spin rod and wham I got hit hard. The fish broke my leader off instantly. Crap, what a big fish, wonder what it was. I tied on another lure and cast again, but this time brought it in quickly. The water turned red with fish... SNAPPERS!!!

Here I am, on a reef in a howling windstorm in the middle of Baja and the fishing is nuts. I brought the next fish in, maybe a 10 to 12# snapper and the whole school followed him up. I called Sam and he saw me catching fish and came over. First cast with his fly and Wham, broke one off. New fly next cast, wham another snapper on. Sam was all smiles and he forgot we were fishing under not so great conditions..

Did I mention there were rocks. Well we lost most of our fish to rocks... there must have been 50 snapper in a 200 square foot hole in the reef.

Crazy fun.

The next day the wind died down, and we traveled 2 hours down a desert trail to get to a new fishing spot and it was worth all the effort. It was non stop action on Corvina. Sam was all smiles. We even caught 8# halibut.

Internet is only available here at a small taco stand, so I will keep in touch when I can..

I do have to apologize. I had some photos from the guys I was supposed to out up on the blog before I left, but I got caught up in getting ready for the trip. I will post them when I get back on Monday.

In the meantime, I will keep you posted.

Tight Lines,
Grant