By Pete Gray
We just completed our 25th year at Palmas de Cortez, and though we had some challenging weather, there were good times and good fishing. The trip started on 10/10 and we had a casual meeting at the Palmas pool bar to get everyone signed in for our free tournament. We had 60 anglers on 19 boats, and all received a tournament t-shirt. We had some fantastic prizes this year, including $500 cash for the largest tuna and $500 cash for the largest dorado or wahoo provided by Dave at Statewide Stripes. We also had gift cards to Fishermans Landing Tackle and some fantastic custom lures by Justin at Makaira Pulling Lures.
Friday was a “option day”. Many chose to go fishing to “warm up” for the big tournament. Several of us decided to rent quads and ride the beaches and arroyos to the waterfalls. My tournament helpers Mark and John and I rented a “side by side” and a quad from Jimmy at Can Doo rentals. Jimmy gives our Let’s Talk Hookup people a nice discount, so if you go to the east cape, be sure to ask for the deal when you rent. We had a great day snorkeling at Punta Pescadero and driving up the canyons to the waterfalls, which were flowing hard due to the abundance of rain this year. October is such a beautiful month, the rain turns the desert into a green paradise, and the water stays warm and the fishing is generally great. When we returned to the hotel, those that went fishing found tuna, wahoo and marlin and had a nice day on the water. 
Saturday was our first tournament da
y and turned out the be the best weather day. Flat calm and lots of good fishing. Several teams caught wahoo to 30 pounds, tuna to 53 pounds and plenty of marlin released. Lots of happy faces and fun at the pool bar that afternoon, sharing fishing stories and “secret spots”
Sunday turned out to be an interesting day. A tropical storm made a turn right to the southern tip of baja and dumped 5 inches of rain. The wind was up but it was still “fishable”. A few boats decided to cancel, but those who braved the conditions were rewarded with another day of good fishing. Mark, John and I went out on Vaquera , a beautiful 35 Cabo from Jen Wren Sportfishing. We headed south about 30 miles in the pouring rain. When we arrived at the “spot” the rain stopped, and we were rewarded with good yellowfin tuna fishing. Most fish were 15 to 20 pounds, but John hooked a “big one” and pulled on it for 1.5 hours only to pull the hook at the boat on an estimated 70-pound fish. Light line and small hooks make it tough on big fish! We headed back to Palmas and heard stories of big rain all day there, and we were still dry! Fishing for those who ventured out was good again for wahoo, tuna, dorado and marlin.
Tournament winners were “Team No Bananas” with Drew, Deb, Scott and Nick. They won the return trip to Palmas de Cortez for our 26th annual tournament October 8-12, 2020 as well as a pair of Makaira Pulling Lures. The also took both cash prizes! In their two tournament days, they caught 6 wahoo and several tunas including the winning wahoo 30.2 pounds and winning tuna 53.6 pound and too home $1000 cash from Statewide Stripes. 2nd place was “Team Slow Targets” with Jerry and Boyd who caught and released 4 marlin, 1 sailfish and 133 total pounds of tuna. They won 2- $75 gift cards to Fishermans Landing Tackle and a pair of Makaira Pulling Lures. They also took most billfish released and won a pair of Maui Jim Sunglasses and a Makaira Pulling Lure. 3rd place was “Team Two Dicks and a Chick” with Jack, Scott and Pat. The released 2 marlin and 43 pounds of tuna and won 2- $50 gift cards to Fishermans Landing Tackle and a pair of Makaira Pulling Lures.
After the tournament ended, we decided to spend an extra day scuba diving at Cabo Pulmo National Park. We dove with Cabo Pulmo Divers (cabopulmodiving.com) and this was a great choice. The drive in was very tough after the huge rain, but we made it and were rewarded with two fantastic dives with great visibility, a big surprise after all the rain! Cabo Pulmo is very popular, and October to November are prime months, so be sure to make a reservation before you go. The cost of the 2-tank dive was $130 and included equipment, boat trip and dive master.
Thanks to Eddie Dalmal for making all the arrangement and organization. Thank to boat master Anabal Miranda for weighing in all the fish and organizing the results. Palmas de Cortes is a wonderful destination, and you are invited to join our free “fun” tournament next year October 8-12, 2020. Reserve your boat and room early, it is prime time and fills fast! Call Eddie at 800-77-WAHOO and be sure to check www.vanwormerresorts.com
