Back to Magdalena Bay

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Back to Magdalena Bay

Every year around this time we pack up our camper and head out to Mag Bay to duck out of the East Cape north wind for a few days. Yes, I sound like a broken record reporting on wind week after week. It is just that time of year.

This week Lord of the Winds competitions for wind surfers and kite boarders will be held. I believe competitors will be pleased with the high winds predicted again for this coming week. This is a bench mark for me that calm weather will be on its way.

Back to Magdalena Bay. For the last 20 some years we had been taking the same turn off of highway 1 and bumped our camper down 20 miles of dirt road through the desert to the waters edge of the bay. The place has always been pretty much timeless. There is a small military base that has always looked the same and a small fish camp that has had little growth each year.

Our trip is always planned during extreme tides which has made it easy to find chocolate clams when the water is out. Twenty years ago I could fill a 5 gallon bucket with clams in about an hour. Now it takes me about 60 minutes to fill the same bucket. Like I said not much has changed.

We have always packed a small inflatable to fish the mangroves. Spotted bay bass, grouper, halibut, triggerfish, pacific barracuda, red mouth corvina and several other species have always kept our rods bent year after year. The place just seems timeless. Sightings of an incredible variety of aquatic bird life is another ingredient helping to make this a very special place.

So we fish all morning, clam a bit in the afternoon, gather some firewood, then buy fresh caught jumbo shrimp, lobster, and crab from the local fisherman. We drink our nectar all night long and feast on fresh seafood. It is a perfect vacation and even after being there 20 some times I plan on going back again next year.

Speaking of next year. Actually, November of this year we will be taking Jen Wren III back to Mag Bay. The location is remote and not easy to get to making it a little expensive but well worth it. Trips will be live aboard and we do have some dates available.

Mag Bay sunrise

Mangrove grouper

A good guide allows his passengers to catch the good ones. That is my story and I'm sticking to it.

Mangrove halibut

Frigate birds

The mangroves are very peaceful and the birds don't spook easily.

I did miss a spectacular shot of a bald eagle when my camera battery died. It was a heart break.

Chocolate clams my favorite way. Split the clam, garnish with a splash of green salsa and a slice of pepper jack cheese. Pop them on the barbi and when the cheese melts they are ready

Another Mag sunrise

Jen scores again

This morning Jen had her bag limit before I finally got in the game

Sunrises like this made it hard for us to pack up and head for home.

Mark Rayor

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