DK, Jose, and I went to Los Barriles to catch big fish including Roosterfish, Marlins, Tunas, Wahoos, Dorados (Mahi Mahis), etc.
Day 5: We wanted to finish our expedition with a bang, but it didn't turn out as well as we had hoped. We caught one fish each - Roosterfish. We tried jigging for a bit until one of the two motors went out and we had to slow troll back to the hotel. There was miscommunication and the captain apparently thought that we didn't want to troll, which doesn't make much sense since we were on the boat to fish. Regardless, it took forever to get back and there was no fishing involved on the way back. I thought that it was close to a half-day trip and reached out to Baja Fishing Adventures to try to get a partial refund (not about the money, but the principle of it at this point). However, they declined our request and that was that.
Overall, I still thought that the trip was epic, but I don't have a strong desire to come back in the future.
Setup #1 (Heavy Conventional): Okuma Voyager Signature Boat Rod (VSB-C-703M-MH) + Okuma Alijos (AJ-12SII) - The travel boat rod broke on Day 2.
Setup #2 (Light Conventional): Jigging World Nexus Travel (JW-NX703C-MH) + Shimano Trinidad (TN16NA)
Setup #3 (Heavy Spinning): Tsunami Travel Kayak Boat (TSTBS-703H) + Okuma Tesoro (TSR-8000HA)
Setup #4 (Surf Spinning): Okuma Voyager Travel (VSS-S-1004MH) + Okuma Tesoro (TSR-8000HA/Used in Setup #3)
Spare Conventional Reel for Jigging: Shimano Ocea Jigger (OCEAJG2000NRHG)
Daily bet: Biggest/Heaviest/Prettiest fish wins free dinner.
Fish Caught:
Day 1: I caught 1 x Roosterfish and 2 x Crevalle Jack. Jose and DK caught Bluer runners, Roosterfish, false albacore, needlefish, Crevalle Jack, and a snapper. I won the bet with 60 lb Roosterfish.
Day 2: I caught 2 x Blue runner, 1 x Roosterfish, 1 x Striped Marlin. Jose and DK caught Striped Marlin and Roosterfish. I won the bet with 110 lb Striped Marlin.
Day 3: I skunked. DK won the bet with a small tilefish on a jig. DK had a shot at Striped Marlin, but it came off by the boat.
Day 4: I caught 5 x Yellowfin tuna. Jose and DK caught Yellowfin tunas as well and collectively we caught 16-17. I won the bet with 21.5 lb Yellowfin tuna that was caught on a popper.
Day 5: I caught 1 x Roosterfish. Jose and DK caught one Roosterfish each. We tried to switch to jigging, but there was a motor failure and we had to stop fishing. I won the bet with 55 lb Roosterfish.
Overall experience:
I give Baja Fishing Adventures 3/5 stars. If I were to do it over again as a newcomer, I would choose BFA again as the broker for Hotel/Charter boat/Airport shuttle for the convenience. I knock off one star because of poor first fishing day coordination and another star for poor last fishing day resolution.
I give Scorpion Sportfishing Charters 3/5 stars. I am personally fond of jigging and bottom fishing with live bait and cut bait. I am knocking off one star because in the five days, I don't think I got a proper chance to bottom fish. According to the captain, it was a bad season/weather conditions to bottom fish. I am knocking off another star because there was no compensation for lost fishing time, especially on the last day. One of the two motors went out early and we lost a lot of fishing time on the last day. There was also miscommunication and the captain thought that we didn't want to troll, whereas we were waiting for the captain to tell us when to drop bait and troll. The boat was going really slow back to the dock because of wind/water conditions with only one motor and I took a nap while waiting for the captain to give us direction. In the five days, we don't think we ever had a full day of fishing because we started later than everyone else due to logistics (apparently, the boat was a small vessel that was last to be put in the water at the marina). We had to catch our own bait (blue runners) because we were late to bait boats/pangas and they didn't have everything we were looking for. If you are fond of trolling, I think Scorpion Sportfishing is it. If you are like me and if you are more fond of bottom fishing, it isn't it. I had a blast catching the first Roosterfish on blue runner, the Striped Marlin on (dead) ballyhoo, and Yellowfin tunas on poppers. I just think we could have done more in the 5 days on the boat.
Daily tips for the captain: $2,000 pesos to $3,000 pesos ($111 to $166 USD) plus fish that we weren't taking for dinner.
Other note #1: I had $50 worth of sinkers in my carry-on bag to save weight for checked bags on the way back and had them confiscated.
Other note #2: I used Gonex Rolling Duffle Bag (33 inch) to carry the travel rods and was limited to travel rods that broke down to 32".