FISH-ON-THE-BRAIN: Grouper Fishing, Baja, Mexico

One of our stops on the way north was a small fishing village on the Pacific where an estuary feeds into the sea creating an incredibly rich environment for sea-life, especially Gulf and Broomtail Grouper.

Alan and I explored the estuary with my little aluminum boat and caught countless juvenile grouper and bass with our fishing rods. The first day, as we were trolling our grouper lures close to the mangroves, we had to constantly get into the water to disentangle the fish from the plants and surrounding debris. So on the second day we decided to bring the snorkelling equipment to better untangle the fish, but also brought the speargun just in case we found something interesting below the surface.

Sure enough, we found an abundance of large grouper and snapper in the deep channels and I was able to spear a few mid-size fish, which we brought back to camp.

We also booked an ocean fishing trip with the local grouper expert who took us to his secret spots and told us to Hang On!!! When these big grouper bite the lure, it feels like you have hooked onto a transport trailer going full speed down the highway. The key is to keep them from getting back into the rocks, because that is how they break the line and you don't only loose the fish, but also a $30 lure.

Alan and I had a very profitable day with over 12 grouper from small to large. Alan had a monster on the line, but he got away!!! We let all these grouper go back into the ocean where they will continue to grow.

The next day, we decided to hit the deep channel again at high tide, and were extra quiet anchoring, gearing up and entering the water. I loaded the speargun and descended silently. I moved slowly along the murky bottom listening for the sounds of the grouper (like underwater clapping), and suddenly I saw it, the biggest grouper I had ever seen. I shot him and felt the fish take off into the mangroves. It took me a while to turn him around and get him out of the weeds, but eventually I was able to get a hold of him and bring him to the boat.

The exact weight of the fish is not known, but our conservative estimates are between 90lbs and 100lbs. It took a while to filet the fish and we ended up giving away almost half of it to the local folks who were astounded that fish that size are swimming around the estuary.

That afternoon we celebrated with a feast of fresh, locally harvested oysters which we had purchased that morning for $6 for 3 dozen. After dinner, we went for a long walk on the beach and said goodbye to this sacred place. Alan even performed an ancient ritual offering to the sea, caught on camera!

Day 1

Small fish, good eating!