More than three years ago was the first time Justin Reynolds told me of a species living in Baja named cabrilla. My reaction to his words was one of complete horror due to the aggression and strength of these fish as he told it. Every time we spoke about these fish my desire to catch them grew.

On November 27^th I received a text from Justin asking if I would like to join him and the crew to fish cabrilla, aka leopard grouper, in the Sea of Cortez. Some four and a half hours later I replied, “I’m in”.

After a slight reschedule and some rollercoaster emotions I was on a flight to Long Beach to meet up with Justin for what we all knew would be an adventure. We went to Performance Tackle to dial our gear in and to geek out in the presence of other like-minded anglers.

We woke at midnight to hop in the truck and meet up with Randy Spizer, Justin Hugron, Kyle and Tristan Meza, Jeff and Skyler Khachadoorian, and several other groups of guys pulling boats below California. We had ourselves a convoy.

432 miles and 13 hours later we had arrived at our final destination, Gonzaga Bay in Mexico. We were all stoked the driving had come to an end and we could now wet a line. Everyone hastily set up camp and rigged their rods, then we walked to the water’s rocky edge to make a few casts and see if anyone was hungry.

As night approached it got darker and the bite seemed to really turn on. Reynolds, Hugron, Spizer, and Skyler were fishing a point and getting bit, so I walked over to them and started casting because I really wanted to catch my first cabrilla of the trip. When Reynolds caught his first fish he told me it almost pulled him in; I was skeptical until I got my first hookup. My stance was athletic in nature with knees slightly bent and one foot in front of the other to help resist loosing my balance when a fish bit, but nothing could have prepared me for what I would soon experience. The fish bit and immediately pulled extremely hard. I literally was almost pulled in; all I could do was hold on. Once I caught my balance I began pulling on the beast as hard as I could. I felt my titanium leader get ripped across rocks, but I continued to wind and pump. I eventually got the fish close enough to grab it. I was absolutely shocked by the bite and fight of the fish. What a battle!

After that battle, I did not care if I caught another fish that evening or not. We all worked our way down more rocks and witnessed cabrilla cartwheeling on the surface in their pursuit to fill their stomachs with baitfish. I made a few casts, but then decided to just watch, as it was highly entertaining.

The next day everyone woke early in anticipation of the day to come. Boats were launched and headed off to the islands. I fished in the Free Ranger with Capt. Justin Reynolds, Randy Spizer, and Tristan Meza. Many laughs were produced and casts made.

We picked away at the fish and managed to get some big fish to bite towards the end of the day.

After the Free Ranger was put back on the trailer, we popped the tops on some Tecates, ate some Mexican food, and started a campfire to reminisce about our day’s catches. Some of the crew even caught scorpions and ate them.

Day two on the Free Ranger was even better than the first day. Randy, Hugron, Reynolds, and I caught many big fish on big hardbaits, while filling time in between bites with childish laughter.

The day was finished with big smiles and the satisfaction of catching and releasing big cabrilla. I think it’s safe to say we were content with going home then, but day three would prove to be even more psychotic.

On our third and final day of fishing in the Free Ranger, we decided to run further than we had fished prior, and it paid off hugely. Kyle and Tristan Meza, Reynolds, and I started the first drift with several fish over ten pounds and even a few teeners; it was insane.

I made the conscious decision to target big fish by throwing the biggest bait I brought, a Lucky Craft Flashminnow in the 190mm size. I threw this bait with a Shimano TranX 500HG mounted on a Calstar GF800XH I personally wrapped last summer. This decision and gear ultimately helped me to successfully fight and land my biggest fish of the trip, an 18 pound cabrilla. The fish ate way out on a long cast and I was completely exhausted by the time it was in the net. It was the single most epic battle I have ever experienced with any fish.

Our last day of fishing ended up being the best day of big fish catching I had ever experienced with over a handful of double-digit cabrilla caught personally. We were stoking hard. It was a phenomenal way to finish the trip.

I am so thankful that I was invited on this trip and was able to finally experience the bite and fight of these creatures; it exceeded every expectation and imagination I had. Thank you Justin Reynolds for taking your boat into the depths of the Mexican desert, and for working so very hard to put us all on trophy fish that we will cherish for the rest of our earthly lives. To all the dudes on this trip, it was a pleasure to laugh, hang, and catch and release fish with you. I cannot wait for the next trip, wherever that may take us.

In the end, last-minute surprise trips like this are such a blessing. I got to escape winter in Washington State while hanging with epic humans, fish a new body of water and species, and cross off a trip from the bucket list. What an all-time voyage!

This is Jeff Rodgers,

OVER & OUT