4th and 5th day of Fly Fishing – March 10th & 12th, 2026 – La Ventana, BCS
Yes! The rooster! It was great for me to have a taste four years ago when my wife and I were in Costa Rica. She landed a rooster on spinning gear on that trip. For me, landing a rooster fish has been on my bucket list for awhile, but it was not to happen on that day in Costa Rica. A couple of fish chased my fly but they did not commit to the eat.
When my friend Reid contacted me a few months back about a trip to La Paz, I was intrigued and even better it was proposed as a couples trip. You see, Reid’s wife and my wife had already become friends several years back during a trip to our cabin in Victor, ID. Reid also suggested that we schedule a couple of fishing days in La Ventana, which is a destination for saltwater fishermen boasting many different species of gamefish. La Ventana is only an hour’s drive from La Paz, so fishing there was a no brainer.
Our guide’s name is Lalo and he had some experience guiding fly anglers too which is always a plus. Further, his panga was set-up for two anglers to be able to cast at the same time, with a leaning bar fore and aft and no poling platform to get in the way. And, based upon his chart that showed the best seasons to catch fish, yellowtail was in high season with a few other possibilities.
Lalo understood that the fly that is cast, rarely sinks below a depth of 10 feet. Also, our casts are typically 60′ or shorter unless the condiditions are ideal, which means the gamefish must be coaxed toward the surface and the boat utilizing baitfish as chum. So it made sense when he told us to arive a bit later so that he would have time to secure the bait. So on Tuesday the tenth, we arrived in La Ventana around 6:30am and Lalo joined us at 6:45 at the boat ramp. In the meantime, Reid and I rigged up. I had my 9wt Scott Meridian with a Galvan Torque reel. Reid rigged his brand new G Loomis 10wt with a Sage reeal. We were planning to fish the sardina flies that we tied over the previous two months.
Leaving the ramp at 7, the wind was calm as you can see in the photo below. As we were heading out, Lalo informed us that the water temps were above normal this year at this time and that fish we would normally pursue like the yelllowtail were still out in deeper water. Further, Lalo knew that the wind would be coming up in the afternoon and it was not prudent to venture too far from shore.
“La Ventana” means “The Window” in english. It is also mecca for kite boarders and wind surfers, so we honored Lalo’s judgement. What surprised us was that we were running the shoreline and Lalo was looking for ROOSTERS!!! And we found a few right away!
To start, we had Reid up on the bow and I took the aft post. Two things to note from the photo below: first, you can see how flat the water is, meaning very little wind present; second, note how close we are to the beach.
Reid scored first
The photo above shows Reid holding his first ever Rooster fish! It wouldn’t be long before Reid would be holding his second rooster fish as well. In the meantime, I was freaking out. There were fish attacking bait and lots of pelicans moving in on that bait as well. It turns out that the pelicans will also attack your fly and Lalo spent considerable time that day unhooking pelicans! In the meantime, I was not only hooking pelicans, but also getting lots of refusals. I could see roosters following my fly and then veering off rather than eating the fly.
Reid was using a two handed retrieve, which I had attempted at first, but quick went back to the single handed retrieve as it did not seem st all stable and I just was able to get comfortable with it. However, after Reid landed his second fish, I realized the two handed retrieve was a difference maker in two ways. First, it was clearly a faster retrieve. Second, it eliminates the pause you get with a single handed retrieve. I think the roosters a) like the fast retrieve and b) find the pause unnatural. Think about it, a rooster is moving in on a fleeting baitfish. Is it going to pause while it is being chased?
So, I just buckled down and started using it. First you make the cast, then you tuck the rod/reel under your right armpit, which frees up the right arm to strip line as well. It took a few casts for it to feel comfortable. When you get the rhythm, it’s stripping left-right-left-right as fast as you can! Perhaps 5 minutes and 10 casts later, I felt my first tug! Yippee! Thank you Reid for capturing the video below that covers the last minute of the fight.
It ended up being a fantastic day! Reid finished the day with 8 roosters and I landed 4. At one point my sinking tip broke off my rig and I struggled keeping my fly away from the pelicans. The sink tip makes a big difference in that regard, keeping the fly just far enough below the surface that the pelicans couldn’t reach it.
Below are two of the biggest fish of the day:
Day 5 – March 12th
This day was a rough one, all the way around. I think if we knew in advance how it was going to play out, we never would have scheduled the trip.
So here is how it started. Reid and I were both up at 4am as we had plans to meet Lalo at the ramp in La Ventana at 6am. We were on the road at 5am and were really excited about the day. It had been windy Wednesday, but the Thursday forecast was for a lot less and with the bigger winds coming later.
Reid and I were at the ramp at 6am, but in route, Reid got a text from Lalo saying we should meet him at 6:45am, as he was looking for bait. It was barely light at 6am and you have to be able to see the bait in order to net it. So then, Lalo showed up around 7am with no bait and said we would have to go find it. Reid was able to man the boat while Lalo pitched his net. It took almost an hour but we were able to get the bait.
From there we went to the first rooster spot which wasn’t far from the launch ramp and worked it for 20 minutes or so. The wind was still relatively calm and we were still rpotected from the seas for the most part. From there, we went to the second spot. It was about 3 miles further down the beach. The problem was, the spot proved to be brutally hazardous. The winds had picked up dramatically and the swells, particularly heading in toward the beach were treacherous! It took everything I had to be able to brace myself against the lean bar and spread my feet wide to counteract the pitching of the boat. We were able to attract the rooster fish as we drifted closer to shiore, thanks to the push from the big winds. However, I was able to cast into a swirl and after a few strips, my line came tight and my first and only fish of the day was on!
Reid’s rod broke. Well, not exactly, but with the wind and the waves creating havoc, Reid’s brand new fly line got stuck in the prop and broke! He had to switch to his back-up rod which was a 12wt. Anyway, Reid was flustered and we both began to panic. At one point a wave crashed over the stern of the boat, which freaked out Lalo and he spun the boat around and decided we were done in this spot. Another big wave came in as we were parallel to it, but thankfully, Lalo was able to gun the motor and get us out of there, before the wave could flip us.
Here’s that fish!
Lalo headed in toward the ramp to escape both the winds and the giant swells. The winds had increased to the point where the kite surfers were already coming out! It was at this spot where Lalo saw dorado breeching. We made several loops around looking for the dorado and hoping to tie into one. With each pass, the winds got bigger and bigger and the swells once again were huge. At that point, Lalo got tired of fishtng it and he called it. Within minutes we were back at the ramp, putting the boat back on the trailer.
As the old saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained, but the weather turned out to be a huge disappointment. We were hoping to recreate the day we had on Tuesday, but that was not meant to be. Still, we really did enjoy fishing La Ventana and will likely make plans to return.
