There are many reasons to come to Puerto Peñasco. For me, it is the beach and fly fishing in this spectacularly beautiful place. Rocky Point seems to recharge and energize me. I can come down with a large group of family and friends or arrive alone, and still have a good time. I start to breathe easier after exiting the Phoenix freeways, and I am thinking this desert drive is really neat by the time I get to the Organ Pipe National Monument.

As soon as I pull into the Playa de Oro Trailer Park on Mirador Beach, I am usually scrambling to get out of the SUV, (potty stop). I have to have another look at the Sea of Cortez and the sand on the beach. I consider this beach my own personal paradise, with all sorts of possibilities. I am likely to see dolphins, sea lions, possibly a whale, and more birds than I can name. This place seems to have enough scenic outdoor opportunities and enough civilized amenities to keep me coming back.

During my latest trip to Rocky Point I visited the Second Estuary by myself and fly fished in solitude. It was a calm morning with no wind. The water was smooth and any surface fish activity was getting my attention. If you see fish jumping out of the water, relax, it is just mullet and they don’t bite flies or lures. If you have figured a way to get them to bite, clue me in, I am sure they would be a good fighting fish. Other disturbances on the water surface you can see the water boil, with fish lips, tails, and backs moving the water. This type of activity is usually Pompano, and I generally catch some of them if I can land my fly close to the boil. The water and the fish are moving so you need to be alert, you only get a limited number of casts before they move out of range. Other times you can find a large pod of fish that stays in place, so you can catch fish after fish, this can be quite addictive, and you are looking to repeat this experience on your next fish outing.

The tide was coming in, so I did not launch my pontoon boat. I was fishing from shore about knee deep, the water was clear and had a lot of crab and stingray activity. To avoid the stingrays I was shuffling my feet, they will give you some space if you make some noise. I noticed some minnows that had gathered close to me and noted how my Clouser Minnow fly copied their coloring. I managed to catch enough Pompano for a grilled fish dinner in the trailer park that evening. It’s amazing how easy it is to make friends when you offer to cook dinner on the beach. Vince Deadmond The Fly Fishing Hardware Guy can be reached at Best True Value Hardware 237 N Apache Trail, Apache Junction, AZ vince@ajbest.com and at 480 982 7461.