Saltwater Fly Fishing - Catalina and Ensenada

My wife booked us a cruise to Ensenada with Carnival through AAA and her work.  Having never been on a cruise before, and not knowing what to expect, I was reluctantly enthusiastic.

When she told me that we get off the ship and get to roam Catalina and Ensenada on our own schedule if we want – then, and only then – did I get excited.  I can smell an opportunity to fish like Hank (my Golden Retriever) can smell the cookie jar being opened.

The Internet is an ok place to get some saltwater fly-fishing advice, but it’s pretty sketchy.  I guess one of the problems is that the Pacific shoreline is a tad bit more expansive than your average river or lake.  Finding information about the exact area I would be in, and how to fish it, was fruitless.

So, I tied about 6 Deceivers and 8 Clouser Minnows in all different colors, packed my 7-weight rod, my biggest reel and heaviest line then set out to experiment.

My wife and I arrived in Avalon at around 8am.  I quickly found my spot to fish from the shore, but know this: there isn’t much shore fishing right around the town.  I tied on a Deceiver, and played around casting under the pier.  My biggest issue was that I didn’t add weight to them, didn’t bring weight putty or split-shots and left the sinking line.  I could see them – and I imagine they could see me – but they were much deeper than my fly, and they weren’t tempted enough to rise for it.

I switched to a Clouser Minnow that I had tied, out of habit, to look more like a baby brownie than anything else.  The water was clear enough to watch them chase, but they would pull up at the last moment.

Changing out again, I tied on my Clouser/Deciever hybrid.  It is tied like a Clouser and dressed like a Deceiver – with one difference – I used half a Peacock eye for the wing to give a dark and naturally reflective shimmer.  This fly yielded my first saltwater catch.

I’m told it was a Calico Bass, but it also looks like some Rockfish pictures I have seen.  Dunno… don’t really care.  It was fun.

Catalina Summary:  Awesome place to fish.  The water is amazingly clear!  Bring something that sinks, or a way to sink it, and make sure there is some (or a lot) of blue in the wing (top) section.  The big boys were all chasing small silver fish with a blue back (minnows?).  Rent your boat from Joe’s on the pier.  Great guys – a little pricey.

Ensenada was pretty good.  The harbor area, where they park the ships, has what looks like terrific fishing.  I got off the ship, went straight to the water and was surprised how clear it was.  Now let me back up a bit; it wasn’t “Catalina clear”, but for Baja it surprised me.  As I pondered whether or not the harbor was a good spot for fishing, a small boat with two anglers cuts across the water right towards me.  That was all the reinforcement needed.

The bummer is that just before I pull out my rod tube a policeman begins to yell in my direction.  I don’t know what he said, but he was pointing toward the shuttle buses and saying something that sounded like “private."

So on my way out of the (private?) area, I asked for a photo… he was a good sport.

My next stop was the “Open Market”.  My wife wanted to shop and I still hadn’t gotten a fly wet in a foreign country.  The Open Market is about 45 minutes by shuttle and goes around the inlet.  Ohhh there was some beautiful looking shoreline on the way!  Where we stopped wasn’t great for shore fishing.  I had to do some intermediate rock climbing to get down to the water, but once I did, I lit up my Monte Cristo and tied on a fly.

Meanwhile, my wife is walking around the market and notices another policeman taking great interest in my fishing.  She walks up and asks him if I am allowed down there on the rocks.  He answered, “Yes he is allowed – there just aren’t any fish”.  My wife realizing that I was having a good time, knowing that I don’t always need to catch something to have fun, just kept this little bit of information to herself until we were back on the bus.  I sure do love that woman.

Well, I tried one more spot.  The owner of a local fishing shop told me to try the breakwater just outside of town.  He was also kind enough to add that once the sun goes down it’s not safe to be there.  My wife went back to the ship, and I walked about 2 miles out of town and back… just to be skunked in two languages.

It was fun, though.  I enjoyed trying a new method of fly fishing in a new place.

Overall Cruise Summary: If you like to eat and consume lots of alcohol – go go go!  If you are like me, and prefer staying sober… well there’s still food.  It was alright.