Go angling at a world-class fishing spot in Rocky Point, Mexico. Rocky Point is known to Mexicans as the town of Puerto Peñasco in the Mexican state of Sonora. It is popularly called "Rocky Point" by tourists and fishermen and can be found at the northern tip of the Sea of Cortez.
From its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s as the sportsfishing dream destination, Rocky Point was also known as a famous party spot in the 1920s (during Prohibition) and as a military outpost in WWII. Originally a small fishing village, Rocky Point is home to commercial fishing industries and sport fisheries.
Enjoy inshore or beach fishing at Rocky Point for small or medium-sized corvina, mixed species and pompanos in the cooler temperatures of spring and early summer. The prime inshore fishing season peaks about the end of May. As the late summer temperatures heat up, the shallow water at Rocky Point beach is much too hot to provide prosperous fishing as the fish retreat to cooler, deeper water.
The largest member of the croaker family, totoaba can grow as large as marlin. One was caught in 1961 that weighed 330 lbs. Totoaba were historically plentiful at Rocky Point, Mexico, and the Sea of Cortez. Because of drastic overfishing and the destruction of bottom habitat by shrimp trawlers, the totoaba, corvina, croaker, red snapper, grunts, triggerfish and other common species in this area were greatly reduced in number by the 1970s. Currently, the catches are regarded as "good" for knowledgeable anglers as all the schools of fish are making a comeback.
Fishing in winter may be difficult because of desert-style North winds and low water temperatures in the 50s.The fall and winter temperatures (August to December) average around 60 to 75 degrees F. Spring and summer fishing is popular and there are reportedly good catches of red snapper, black sea bass, whitefish, gold-spotted bass and halibut. From January to May, temperatures average around 60 to 80 degrees F in Penasco.
In late summer months, the shallow water near the beach heats up to 93 degrees or above. Average temperatures for May to August range from 80 to 105 degrees F. During these hottest days of summer, most fishermen go far south out of Rocky Point to the eastern shore south of Isla San Jorge in the late summer months. Here, you'll find dorado, sailfish and marlin in late summer and fall. Summer rains are often short, heavy and turn into monsoons, which can wash out roads and otherwise cause dangerous conditions.
Do not take a firearm and do take your vehicle title. If you have a firearm, you may be arrested and detained up to three months in a Mexican prison. If you do not have a title to whatever vehicle you are traveling in (boat, jet ski, water vehicles, car, ATV, SUV, camper, etc.), you may be turned back at the border. Rocky Point is in the "Free Zone;" however, if you plan to travel outside the free zones, there will be additional requirements.
