Recently, I went on a exploratory adventure to a remote fishing lodge called Bahia la Tortuga located in the fishing village of Puerto Vicente, which is on the Pacific side of Mexico. John Lorenz and his lovely wife, Angie, were the best hosts anyone could have, serving some of the best Mexican dishes and really making us feel at home.

We fished and dove out of a small boat called a “panga” offshore. It was pretty rustic, and definitely not the polished, finished type boat that we are so lucky to normally fish in…..that’s what made it so cool! With no depth finder, electronics or even a compass, we used the mountains to navigate and find our way.

Looking for any signs of local game fish, we came upon large “slicks” of water that looked like oil or grease on the water’s surface. Usually, “slicks” in open water are associated with high nutrient level as well as microorganisms. As we got closer we realized that in the areas of the slicks, there were actually about a zillion jellyfish pulsing around. As we found these slicks, we also noticed turtles feeding on the jellyfish…… And wherever the turtles were, we found sailfish.

The sailfish bite was hot and we captured a lot of great shots on video and still photography. After catching several nice sails, I got in the water to get the underwater perspective of what was going on.

As I slipped under the water, I found incredible evidence of the proverbial food chain at its finest. What I couldn’t see from the boat, was clearly evident under the water. The nutrients in the water were being devoured by the jellyfish. The jellyfish were being devoured by the turtles… And under each of the turtles, there were tons of baitfish swarming... And the sailfish were stalking the baitfish!

So instead of the obvious technique of searching for birds in the sky to show us the baitfish to lead us to the fish, we looked to the water for our “slicks” and turtles.

While filming and capturing exciting sailfish footage, I was approached by a large green turtle who seemed to be overly curious and interested in me. He bumped my camera with his head several times and then proceeded to swim up next to me. Without bringing any flowers and without warning, the turtle proceeded to put his flipper over my shoulder and tried to climb aboard the “Jose Express”! I immediately informed the turtle that I am not that type of guy and gave him a gentle shove to move him on his way. It was quite amusing and provided some pretty funny video footage.

I continue to keep adding photo and video footage to my collection and I have some really cool shots to share. Make sure to check back as we will be definitely adding the sailfish action to the website. Oh, and of course, we will entertain you with the “turtle love” clip in the Outtakes section.

For more info about Bahia La Tortuga, contact John at: escape@escapeixtapa.com