The "New" Las Arenas

In fishing, like fashion, everything old is new again. That certainly won't bother in-the-know West Coast fishermen, who are celebrating the return of one of this coast's best fishing grounds, Las Arenas, in the Sea of Cortez.
Built in the early 1980s, Las Arenas hosted fishermen for more than a decade as one of Baja's premier fishing establishments until it closed in 1991. Anglers used the resort to access the bountiful waters surrounding Cerralvo Island, a 16-by-4-mile stretch of cactus-strewn rock that represents the southernmost island in the Sea of Cortez.
The property sat idle until the late 1990s when it was taken over by new management. A complete renovation of the resort, including all 40 rooms, followed with the final phase of the project finished in early 1998. The crowning touch to the overhaul was the addition a new sport-fishing fleet that includes five cruisers and 20 pangas. Many of the "old Las Arenas" skippers, armed with years of local fishing knowledge, returned to operate the new boats, and the "new" Las Arenas opened in April 1998.
The nearest point of land to Cerralvo Island is Punta Arena de la Ventana, where stands an old lighthouse that has guided many a vessel through the channel between Punta Arena and Cerralvo Island. About 40 miles east of La Paz, Las Arenas Resort sits on a secluded beach near the lighthouse, only five miles from the southern tip of Cerralvo Island. The channel and the waters surrounding Cerralvo, with their offshore sea mounts and reefs, are the major fishing grounds of the Las Arenas fleet.

Everything's Here
If you were to take a poll of knowledgeable Baja fishermen to determine the best locale for both the quality and variety of fishing, the waters surrounding Cerralvo Island would surely rank at the top. Anglers have the opportunity to land more than a dozen species in a single day here, and the waters remain productive throughout the year. Depending on the season, the catch might include striped marlin, blue marlin, sailfish, yellowfin tuna, jack crevalle, wahoo, grouper, amberjack, roosterfish and several other species.
A typical fishing day starts at dawn with the sun just cracking the horizon during the 20-minute run to Cerralvo or the hour-long run to the offshore fishing grounds. Prime blue-water habitat is literally no more than a mile or two from the beach. While it takes longer to reach the offshore sea mounts where marlin congregate, sailfish stay in close and are regularly caught within sight of the resort. Yellowfin tuna are commonly seen chasing bait within 100 yards of the island.
The 88 Spot and Montana Rock, both high spots northeast of Las Arenas, are among the more consistent locations in Baja for striped marlin. In late summer, blue marlin join the stripers and make for an interesting fall fishery. There was a time when trolling artificial lures was the primary method used to catch blue, black and striped marlin in Baja. Today, in Los Arenas the situation is almost reversed, with a high percentage of billfish being caught on live baits. This is particularly true during the summer and fall when a plentiful supply of bait concentrates the marlin around sea mounts just 20 or so miles from the resort. Slow-trolling live mackerel takes the most fish, but trolled lures still take plenty of marlin.
Marlin fishing in southern Baja California relies heavily on the abundant striped marlin fishery. These scrappy fish average around 120 pounds but top out over 200 on occasion. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, it only takes an angler an average of 1.4 days to catch a marlin in southern Baja, but there are many times when anglers can catch three or four stripeys a day.
Even though good fishing can be had all year, the most consistent action takes place from May to November. If you go during the hurricane (chubasco) months of August and early September, there's a chance of being shore-bound. While full-blown tropical storms are infrequent, strong winds can come up sporadically at this time of year. Winter months are pleasant with little wind, and while fishing is productive, fewer species are available

Live Bait Is Key
While the waters offshore of Las Arenas are known for billfish, it is the variety that makes the area unique, and the skippers in this area rely heavily on live bait to take advantage of this variety. Captains go to great lengths to have live bait on board, with mackerel and big-eyed scad (cocineros) being the premier choice for marlin, sailfish, amberjack and wahoo. Once schools are located, the baits are jigged up from deep water with bait-catching rigs commonly know as "Lucky Joe's." Sardines also make excellent bait for most game fish that prowl the waters off Cerralvo. Several commercial panga fishermen go out early each morning to supply sardines for the sport-fishing boats, but if you can't buy any sardines, a few throws of a cast net should fill your live well for a day's fishing.
The importance of live bait was clearly evident on a recent trip to Cerralvo. On that particular outing, a baitwell full of lively sardines was about the only way the roving schools of jack crevalle, yellowfin tuna and dorado could be coaxed into biting. The reward for the time spent netting sardines was some of the best live-bait action I have ever experienced. By the end of the day my fishing partner and I had landed a dozen fish including tuna to 50 pounds, jack crevalle to 20 pounds, dorado to 25 pounds and a 50-pound wahoo.
The offshore waters surrounding Cerralvo Island are among the best locations in Baja for dorado and yellowfin tuna. Dorado congregate near the buoys used to mark the shark longlines and around floating debris, particularly the large floating mats of sargasso that Atlantic fishermen are so used to seeing. A couple of live sardines chummed in these areas often bring the dorado racing from cover toward the boat, and a sardine or mackerel slow-trolled or cast around these floating FADs generally result in a hookup.
Yellowfin tuna tend to stay in the deep water off the east side of the island and near the south end of Cerralvo over several high spots. They will also associate with the numerous pods of porpoise that frequent the area and will feed along with the mammals. The skippers keep track of the schools of yellowfin and most days can chum the tuna to the surface with sardines. Once the feeding frenzy starts, live sardines are the ticket for these fish, which generally run between 20 and 40 pounds but sometimes top the century mark. In fact, there's nothing quite like tossing a sardine into a boiling mass of birds and bait and hooking a hard-fighting fish the moment your bait hits the water, particularly if it's an 80-pound tuna.
The next time you contemplate a trip to Baja, try a few days fishing the "new Las Arenas" and the waters surrounding Cerralvo Island, where every cast can produce a different species and a new experience.