At the end of a day’s fly fishing, fishermen and residents of Playa de Oro Trailer Park gather for appetizers, a glass of wine, and fish tales. One of the guys talks about hearing a noisy sea lion barking, I talk about seeing an old sea lion and a young pup close to where I was fishing. One of the residents of the park, MJ had a story about a charter trip to Isla San Jorge (Bird Island) for swimming with the sea lions.
Typically, when a charter arrives the big mature sea lions come out to check out the tourists. Usually, the mature sea lions go back to sunning and snoozing and allow the juvenile sea lions a chance to explore and interact with the snorkelers. There is no shortage of sea lion activity – about 3,000 of them live on Isla San Jorge (Bird Island). It’s a good idea not to get too close to the sea lion. If they seem stressed, back off and give them space if you can. Pups can be overly curious and invade your space. If they swim at you, back off and give them space. They are wild, don’t feed them, try not to attract them.
MJ said she had one juvenile get within a foot of her goggles and they were looking eye to eye. Juveniles are playful and may chew on your flippers – typical fun stuff for a pup. MJ’s pup had a wicked sense of humor and did a quick dive after the eye to eye stare off. Then the pup discharged a huge breath of air, it was like uncorking a magnum bottle of champagne, then having millions of bubbles tickle you. The pup was like most juveniles and something else caught its attention and he was gone off on his next adventure. You may want to charter a day of sun, sightseeing, and adventure the next time you visit Puerto Peñasco.
The water temperature is warming up and the fishing is just going to get better. Hope to see you on the water soon.
Vince Deadmond vincehasgonefishing@outlook.com 480 818 1796.
