Shore_Fisher
Guest
Went down with my dad for a couple of tide's worth of fishing on 10/1 and 10/2. We normally head down around Thanksgiving and hit the Corvina really well, but he was over a little earlier this year to make a little use of the pool in Tucson, so this was the first time we have been down this early.
The far side of La Pinta (Not the Mayan side) was quite different this year from what we normally see. There are a whole bunch of commercial boats down there, and more than a few stinking piles of shellfish remains! Maybe this is the tail end of a summer fishery and they are gone by November?
Anyway, we set off as early as possible on the Thursday and got down mid-morning. We drove along the beach a ways (Towards the sea) and set up camp and started the fishing. I was on a light bait rig (~6lb line and other gear to match), with a circle hook and shrimp for bait. My dad was using a 1/2 oz Kastmaster on a similar weight rig.
Fishing was mediocre compared to other trips we have had. We caught a steady stream of leatherjackets, bass, triggers and a couple of corvina during the daylight, but the bite never really turned on. But it was really nice wading into the warmer water than we are used to in November, so we carried on fishing until about 11-ish, and it was after dark that the fishing got interesting.
I was using a head lamp type of thing, and I was first to notice the lights seeming to come from under the water. Who would have known that stingray eyes reflect the light that way? There must have been literally thousands of the things swarming over the estuary flats as the tide rose up. There were tens of them visible at any one time within the circle of light from my lamp. Black ones, light ones, sandy colored ones. I'm not sure if there were different species, or just different coloration, but there were a hell of a lot of them. I think my father will repeat the story of how high I jumped when that bit of seaweed brushed the back of my leg until the day he dies...
Anyway, we ended up with a couple of keepers for our trouble, but a lot of fish hooked, and a record number of tempted onto the line:
1 - Shortjaw Leatherjacket
2 - Shortfin Corvina
3 - Finescale Triggerfish
4 - Spotted Bay Bass
5 - Bonefish
6 - Some sort of pufferfish
7 - ??
Number 7 I caught two of at night, on shrimp bait, about 1.5 lbs each. They were a little like California Corbina, but with different mouths. They had large scales and were a meaty feeling fish. But the striking thing about them was large eyes that reflected pink in my head lamp. Anybody any idea what they were?
On the morning tide we had a lot of baitfish jumping close to shore, and we lost a couple of lures immediately they hit the surface of the water. I saw something jump that did not look like the normal mullet shape, and I think that there may have been a couple of Sierra running up there that tide. I should have switched to a wire leader and tried to catch one.
Anyway, a good trip that has just whetted my appetite for another trip later this year.
The far side of La Pinta (Not the Mayan side) was quite different this year from what we normally see. There are a whole bunch of commercial boats down there, and more than a few stinking piles of shellfish remains! Maybe this is the tail end of a summer fishery and they are gone by November?
Anyway, we set off as early as possible on the Thursday and got down mid-morning. We drove along the beach a ways (Towards the sea) and set up camp and started the fishing. I was on a light bait rig (~6lb line and other gear to match), with a circle hook and shrimp for bait. My dad was using a 1/2 oz Kastmaster on a similar weight rig.
Fishing was mediocre compared to other trips we have had. We caught a steady stream of leatherjackets, bass, triggers and a couple of corvina during the daylight, but the bite never really turned on. But it was really nice wading into the warmer water than we are used to in November, so we carried on fishing until about 11-ish, and it was after dark that the fishing got interesting.
I was using a head lamp type of thing, and I was first to notice the lights seeming to come from under the water. Who would have known that stingray eyes reflect the light that way? There must have been literally thousands of the things swarming over the estuary flats as the tide rose up. There were tens of them visible at any one time within the circle of light from my lamp. Black ones, light ones, sandy colored ones. I'm not sure if there were different species, or just different coloration, but there were a hell of a lot of them. I think my father will repeat the story of how high I jumped when that bit of seaweed brushed the back of my leg until the day he dies...
Anyway, we ended up with a couple of keepers for our trouble, but a lot of fish hooked, and a record number of tempted onto the line:
1 - Shortjaw Leatherjacket
2 - Shortfin Corvina
3 - Finescale Triggerfish
4 - Spotted Bay Bass
5 - Bonefish
6 - Some sort of pufferfish
7 - ??
Number 7 I caught two of at night, on shrimp bait, about 1.5 lbs each. They were a little like California Corbina, but with different mouths. They had large scales and were a meaty feeling fish. But the striking thing about them was large eyes that reflected pink in my head lamp. Anybody any idea what they were?
On the morning tide we had a lot of baitfish jumping close to shore, and we lost a couple of lures immediately they hit the surface of the water. I saw something jump that did not look like the normal mullet shape, and I think that there may have been a couple of Sierra running up there that tide. I should have switched to a wire leader and tried to catch one.
Anyway, a good trip that has just whetted my appetite for another trip later this year.
