Yep, I have done it again, I invited some newbies to my fly fishing party in Rocky Point, Mexico. They nominated me as the fly fishing fun cruise director, I hope they are ready. No Kenny G on this trip, Rodger Clyne is cranked up, and I am eager to show my friends the simple pleasures of RP. We have a tight schedule, but we should see a spectacular beach sunset when we arrive. The next order of business will be some authentic street tacos, or a plate of chili rellenos rice and beans. We make a precision pit stop at the Shell station in Ajo, and I endeavor not to become that old guy with the yellow sox and the rusty zipper. Spring in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico is a great place to start your fly fishing season. Usually by now you have put away the polar fleece warm clothing and opted for swim trunks and sun block. Just remember to remove sunblock and insect repellant from your hands before you handle your expensive fly lines, those chemicals can eat your fly line. As the fly fishing fun cruise director I have a few suggestions for your fly fishing Rocky Point trip.

Appropriate Gear: a nine foot, six to eight weight fly rod will get you started. I like a mid to large arbor reel rated for saltwater. I would recommend that you have two fly lines to fish here. One floating line for casting poppers, and a one heavy sink tip line for fishing deeper water. A 200 grain line for your six weight, a 300 grain line for your seven weight, and a 400 grain line for your eight weight would be good for probing deeper waters. These fish are not leader or tippet shy I usually use 6 feet of leader (easier to cast tandem flies) and 16-20 pound fluorocarbon tippet to tie on my fly. If I find Pompano in a rock pile I can spend hours casting to them with a Bass popper, with a shrimp or bait fish dropper about 18 inches below the popper. When I can’t find Pompano I’ll fish deep with my sinking lines and usually use two Clouser Minnow patterns. Usually one light colored and one dark, if one color turns out to be the better producer I’ll fish two of the same color. Keep changing your retrieve until you find what the fish want today. I’ll start with a slow strip and then speed things up, if that does not work I’ll bounce flies off the bottom. Then I’ll change sizes of flies to get a strike. I often fish by the Malecon and if the fishing is not holding my interest I can go in for a nice breakfast or lunch, and come back later.

Water Craft: I prefer to use my inflatable pontoon boat. It’s a stable craft and allows me to cover a good amount of water while taking enough gear for a variety of fishing opportunities. I look at the wind and tide chart and try to go with the flow rather than fight it. If I am fishing from shore, I like the first and second estuary. If you are fishing from shore shuffle your feet as you walk to avoid being stung by a sting ray. Many of you already have a kayak I think it would be suited to doing a little fishing as well.

Useful Patterns: My three favorite fly patterns are the Clouser Minnow, Gotch’a, and the Popper. I keep them tied in a variety of colors and sizes. If you are just getting started I would concentrate on acquiring numbers of a size four. Then move to a size six, then on to a size two. Colors that are usually good: white, red, yellow, chartreuse, tan, pink, and combinations of these colors, like red over white, and tan over white. Most of my flies are tied with flashabou and give off some sparkle. If you are fly fisher and have gear bring it, the closest place to Rocky Point to buy fly fishing gear is Phoenix or Tucson.

You can find some mono and fluorocarbon lines at the local bait and tackle shops. Your bright colored Alaska flies will catch fish here, just make sure they are tied on a hook that won’t rust.

Catch Of The Day: I have caught over 30 different species of fish here in Rocky Point, and I still have some of those, “What the heck is that!” moments. The most common fly rod fish are Rock Bass, Pompano, Orange Mouth Corvina, Trigger, Bone Fish, and Grouper. Many times I will catch, photograph, and release the fish that I catch. Practice good catch and release procedure. Don’t handle the fish any more or any longer than necessary. Keep them in the water, don’t drag them through the sand, this removes their protective slime. The more time out of the water the more stress you put on the fish lessening his chance for survival.

A Small Problem: There never seems to be enough time to eat and drink at all of the good places in Puerto Peñasco when you visit for a short weekend. Here are a few of my favorites in no particular order: La Curva, El Capitan, Latitude 31, South Side Jillz, Skullyz, Wrecked at the Reef, Pollo Lucas, The Satisfied Frog, Chef Mickey’s Place, Kaffee Haus, Al Capone’s Seafood and Pizzaria, and the next ten or eleven places that I could mention are just as good. If you are the fun cruise director for your party you should try my list and develop your own list as well.

I hope this short story has brought a smile to your lips, and a desire to get out and fish

Puerto Peñasco. Vince Deadmond The Fly Fishing Guy can be reached at Best

Hardware 237 N Apache Trail Apache Junction, AZ vince@ajbest.com and at (480) 982-

7461. Hope to see you on the water soon!