BEACH BOYS

Long before I first visited Baja, I was dazzled by Ray Cannon. His stories of a sparkling blue sea teeming with fish convinced me that I had to go there someday. And when I finally made it, I discovered a desert surrounded by salt water and the most remarkable beaches.

By the early 1980s, my fascination with fishing Baja beaches had become an obsession. Settling in East Cape, the heart of the best beaches Baja has to offer, I brought one of the first ATVs to the area, equipping it with rod holders, and storage cartons so I could go farther and faster, exploring the 30-plus miles of beach.

Fishing for roosterfish from the beach was and is my personal favorite, without a boat, captain or guide to rely on — just angler and rooster — toe-to-comb. Roosterfish are often so intent on feeding that they literally chase their quarry onto the damp sand and then, after catching the fleeing baitfish, flop back into the safety of the water.

The East Cape beach alternates from sand to rock under a searing sun. It has more mood swings than any mother-to-be and demands to be taken seriously, alternating from flat calm to windy conditions, coarse to powdery sand, steep berm to no berm to slippery rocks. Physical fitness is a must and so is protection from the intense sun.

During the next decade, our fleet of ATVs grew. Many, many fish later, we decided to offer guided beach trips through our company, Baja on the Fly (bajaonthefly.com). The trips became an instant hit.

In 2007, East Cape beaches experienced a "River Runs Through It" moment when Frank Smethurst released his award-winning film "Running Down the Man." The film featured determined anglers clothed in technical duds with faces hidden by buffs and sunglasses as they sped down a dusty desert road in a dune buggy with fly rods strapped firmly in place. Droves of fly-rodders swarmed East Cape beaches in search of the enormous roosterfish featured in the film. Once deserted beaches became more crowded than the rivers, streams and lakes the freshwater anglers left behind.

Last July, longtime guide Lance Peterson and I hosted a group of four experienced anglers at Buena Vista Beach Resort. After viewing Smethurst's film, the anglers had set their sights on roosterfish from an East Cape beach to add to their bucket list.

The first night, the group gathered on the resort's terrace overlooking the shimmering Sea of Cortez. We opened bags and checked and rigged tackle as we discussed the plans and strategy for the upcoming days.

We used 9-foot, 10-weight fly rods with direct-drive reels loaded with 30-pound braid for backing. A Scientific Angler's intermediate tarpon taper was the fly line of choice, except on the windiest days when we needed a shooting head to cut through the blow.

While roosters don't have teeth, their abrasive mouths can wear through a leader quickly. A minimum of a 6-foot, 20-pound test leader is a must and a bite tippet for larger fish is a good idea. I prefer a 9-foot tapered 20-pound tippet reversed with the loop at the tippet end instead of the butt section to create a knotless leader. Monofilament leaders are okay but fluorocarbon, which is less visible and more abrasion resistant will improve the odds.

It's not uncommon to fish with a steep berm and coarse sand behind the caster, making it difficult to avoid on the back cast, and this constant contact weakens the leader. Takes don't come easy, and breaking off a fish because of leader failure is devastating. Loop knots fail frequently on the beach so we use a palomar or San Diego knot.

Since none of the group had ever caught a roosterfish, the primary goal was for every person in the group to land their first rooster on the fly — regardless of size.

Over a dinner of fresh-caught fish that evening, the guys could barely contain their excitement as we discussed techniques. Each morning for the next three days the panga would depart before sunup with two anglers, load up with sardina for chum and fish for a few hours before catching up with the rest of the group on the beach.