Fishing at Ensenada

October 18, 2022  

The first time that we went out fishing from Ensenada we were so excited at the prospect of catching some new types of fish, and we were optimistic that we would come home with enough fish for dinner and some for the freezer. 

We headed out in Kiki and we planed the 9 nautical miles out over the rolling swells to the islands of Isla Todos Santos.  On the way out we saw a pod of dolphins, and many little pipers that were picking up bugs from the surface of the water.  It was a beautiful, calm morning with only the gentle, rolling swells disturbing the surface.   

We chose to start fishing around the rocks off of the southern tip of the two islands.  While we floated and fished we watched some locals in two different panga-style boats.  One of the boats was in behind the reefs, but right in among the rocks, seemingly fishing for small fish, perhaps for bait.  The other boat had traps, and there were buoys all around the rocks in the shallows.  On that particular boat, there were three men on board, one driving the outboard at the back, a second one mid-ship, and a third one at the front.  They would creep in towards the rocks and time the swells perfectly so that they could nose in until the front of the boat was almost touching the rocks. The guy at the front of the boat would hook the buoy, and before the next swell came crashing up on the shore they would back out into safety, pull up the trap, and then drop a new trap and head on toward the next buoy.  With foaming blue water all around the rocks, and swells smashing up on the shore every 15 seconds or so, it was unnerving just watching the little boat at work; if any mistake were to be made, or if the outboard were to falter for even a second, the boat would no doubt be wrecked up on shore by the next wave.   

Although we were seeing schools of little fish, we weren't catching anything.  We made our way around to the outside of the islands trying in different spots, close to shore, far from shore, shallow water, deep water, and yet in the five or more hours that we spent fishing, we only caught three fish, and we were very surprised by what we pulled up each time.  Two of the fish that we caught were Rockfish; the same as we have caught on the coast of BC.  We let these two go, as they were not very big.  The third fish that we caught also surprised us, it put up a pretty good fight so we were excited to see what tropical fighter we had caught, but when it came to the surface it was a Lingcod.  We kept it, and of course it gave us a delicious dinner, but it was definitely not what we had expected.   

The islands that we were fishing around were so different from anything in BC.  They were dry and barren, except for some cactus plants and small bushes.  The constant crashing waves had eroded the outer shore, creating pinnacles of rock and deep bays.  The area between the two islands was actually well known for its perfect surf break, and the waves would build and crest and run a long way in between the two islands before calming out just before the other side.   

On the backside of the islands, where not even the swells were disturbing the surface, the water clarity was perfect and we could watch our fishing gear from the surface, even in 30 feet of water.  While we were around the backside we came across a school of smaller fish, so we tried using a herring jig, and it was very neat to be able to watch the fish and their reactions to the hooks so clearly through the water.  It was like an aquarium. 

We made our way back home in the early afternoon, as the wind was starting to pick up a chop.  There was so much fetch out at the islands that even a light wind could pick up a nasty chop, and we did not want to have to make the trip home over rolling swells through a bad chop.   

The second time that we went out fishing we tried a completely different approach.  The day before going out we tried to catch some bait fish at the marina.  We had saved some tiny scraps of chicken from dinner the night before and we baited a line of tiny hooks and put it in the water. 

It did not take long for a school of little, maybe 4” long, fish to find it and start attacking it, and we caught two of them before all of the chicken fell off of the hooks. 

We then cut up one of these little fish and used it to bait the hooks again.  This time we attracted a school of Mackerel, and soon we had one, and then two.  We fished until we had six Mackerel, and then decided that that would be enough for using as bait for fishing the next day.  It was fun catching the Mackerel, as they were real fighters, and with four hooks on a line we sometimes had more than one fish hooked at a time. 

The following day we headed out in Kiki again.  This time we stayed along the shoreline just out from the beach in the area where we had seen dolphins and pelicans feeding.  We tried bottom fishing with bait, and whenever we moved to a new area we tried trolling.   

The first fish that we caught, Jason pulled up somewhat by accident.  It was a small Skate, and its mouth was too small to get hooked so it was just nibbling away at the bait. 

The only reason we caught it was because Jason happened to pull up just as the Skate must have been over top, and it got hooked in the wing.  We let it go because it was small, but Skate sure are neat fish.  The other two fish that we caught that day were Pacific Bonito.  They were not large, but they had a surprising amount of meat on them, and they made us a delicious dinner of fresh ceviche (one of my favourite meals here).  We caught the Bonito while trolling, and we actually got three other bites, but only managed to get the two fish to the boat.  Hopefully we will be able to catch some more Bonito some other time, because they sure were delicious.   

While fishing out from the surf off of the beach I never got tired of watching the pelicans.  They are such large, prehistoric-looking birds, and yet they glide over the water only inches above the swell with such ease, only flapping occasionally when they need an extra push before gliding again.  When they were hunting they flew higher and scanned the surface of the water, and then when they appeared to be looking down it was a good indication that they were probably about to dive.  They would come crashing down into the water and then so quickly pop back up to the surface with their large pockets beneath their beaks full of fish, if they had had a successful dive.  It was so much fun to watch them.