Recipe for a good time: Start with a warm sunny destination like Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. Add some nuts, (your fishing buddies), blend in some food, drink, fly fishing, music, stories, and some really bad jokes, this combination is likely to produce a memorable weekend. The fly fishing is good enough in Rocky Point to persuade three friends from San Diego to join us for a second time.

Some of our group started the drive from Phoenix early Thursday morning so they could arrive in time to fish the afternoon tide at the Second Estuary. It’s always a good start to be able to fish on a travel day. Just getting your gear set up so you can fish the next day is a good thing. I caught a nice Orange Mouth Corvina and my friend Gary caught a large, 15 inch, Bone Fish. Not a bad start. We got back to our camp at the Playa de Oro RV Park and got ready to fish the following morning.

For the fly fisher trying to use his inflatable pontoon boat, the fishing day is planned around the tide chart and the wind. From the RV Park, an incoming tide will take you into town. An outgoing tide will bring you back again, unless the wind is strong enough to change your direction. Friday morning conditions were good for a float and fishing trip into town. We left the RV Park around sunrise and fished to the Viña del Mar Hotel where we would stop for breakfast at the Maria Bonita Restaurant. The high tide was at 8:00 AM, we fished until 10:00 AM before we took a break and got off the water. We had a large group, 18 pontoon boats on the water. Some of our group continued fishing and some were glad to take a break. If the wind becomes a problem one can take a taxi back to the RV Park and pick up your truck or SUV so you don’t need to row back against the wind. Friday was a mild wind day and many folks fished back to the camp.

I’ll admit to being frugal, friends and family call me C.B. (Cheap Bastard), but some of my friends are even tighter than I am. (My wife Debi has a hard time with this concept.) So, for Friday nights’ festivities I encouraged the attendees to bring the top shelf appetizers, and they came through big time. There were grilled shrimp, boiled and seasoned shrimp, wonderful salads, smoked meats, cheese and veggie trays, rum cake, brownies, some really good eats to savor before the aroma of the Dutch Oven cooking took us over the edge. Gary Bedsworth our chef had crafted a cioppino soup, rice, beans, and bread menu that got rave reviews.

Saturday fishing was a repeat of Friday, but it was more windy, so more people took a shuttle back to the RV Park on their return trip. We again caught some good fish, Cabrilla, Grouper, Trigger, Orange Mouth Corvina, and Sierra Mackerel. Our evening entertainment was at El Capitan where we had dinner, drinks, mariachi music, balloons, and a raffle that added to the festivities. Our large group was well taken care of, and the atmosphere was enjoyable. I was looking forward to Sunday where everyone was on their own schedule. My plan was to watch some football. Several of the guys had not got enough fishing in yet so they went out to the Second Estuary. It was too windy to launch the boats, but one could still fish from shore. The wind was so bad several of the guys decided not to fish. Dave Weaver started making some casts and immediately found some large (18-22 inch fish) Orange Mouth Corvina close to shore. After about the third fish that Dave caught the other guys were scrambling to assemble their fishing gear and get in on the action. The guys caught so many fish; they even gave some to Dewy, one of the residents in the Playa de Oro RV Park.

It was Sunday afternoon and I was watching a football game, I had caught a ride down to Jillz South Side on Calle 13 to view the game. Before I left I handed my keys to Dick Brooks and asked my friends if they knew how to find the place. They assured me they would be along soon. I thought they were slow to arrive, and when they did, one of the guys walked into the bar and said, “You need to come outside and talk to the Police.” Dick had made an illegal left turn at Calle 13, and the new plates for my vehicle had not arrived yet. So Dick and I followed the officer to the police station where our lame excuses fell on deaf ears, and we needed to come up with $140 for our fine. We paid up and got back to Jillz Place for the end of the football game. All in all, the police were very professional and it would probably been a bigger fine if it had occurred in Phoenix. A nun, a priest, a hardware guy, a Scotsman, a fly fisher, a rabbi, and a blond walk into a bar in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. Jill the bartender looks at them and asks, “Is this some kind of a joke?”

Vince Deadmond The Fly Fishing Hardware Guy can be reached at Best Hardware 237 N Apache Trail, Apache Junction, AZ vince@ajbest.com and at 480 982 7461.