The Real Story on how this Industry Operates in Loreto

Eleven years ago I started The Baja Big Fish Company and throughout those years and even more before those, I personally fished with nearly 100 local captains. It was the fishing and the incredible natural beauty that brought me to Loreto but it was the captains, known as "Pangueros" (pronunced pan-GARE-ohs) who made me stay.

Captain Francisco Muñoz

Captain Fidel Alcaide Garcia

Captain Antonio Romero Murillo

Over years of working closely with these Pangueros I've been able to find some of the best in town. I've given these guys lots of work because they agreed to my "rules of operation" and they've been both responsible and enjoyable to fish with. Rave reviews as opposed to complaints about them convinced me to keep this "core of captains" for our clients. In doing this, I have picked and chosen the best available but have held back in hiring others. What I mean by this is that every boat and captain combination is completely different. They are not the same products, and cannot command the same prices. So those boat/captain combos that can't meet my standards aren't hired.

Every panga in town has unique ammenities such as shade, VHF radio, seatbacks, layout of deck, varying size, motor type, size and year... And the captains have differing levels of experience, varying skill levels in their ability to communicate in English and in their ability to fish, and varying skill levels as to how to accompany light tackle, fly, jig, and bait fishermen. Some like their jobs others just squeak by doing the minumum amount of work to carry out the job, and yet others would rather do nothing more than fish as its "in their blood".

The majority of the sportfishing "fleets" in Loreto are driven by independent pangueros. No operator here owns enough boats to outfit all of their clientele during the high season so when they overflow from their own boats they contract the independents. In the past the independent pangueros in Loreto have not been given the credit they deserve, nor have they ever had good representation. They do not know how to go about selling the product they offer. They don't know how to communicate to their clientele. Most don't have phones and many don't speak English. Most do not understand the power of the Internet and of educational promotion. And they do not understand the concept of running a business. That there are expenses required to maintain a boat and service the client. They tend to undersell themselves and the service they preform. As a result they have been at the mercy of local operators to employ them and who answer to stateside Travel Agents.

We don't have a very high opinion of many of these stateside agents, especially how they have dictated pricing for all these years. You may have seen their advertisements on the internet, at an end-user trade show, or in print. They sell "Loreto Fishing Packages" for very low prices. They are in a price war amoung themselves and a low price is all they have to offer.

Now that may sound fine, but here's why it is not: The money paid by the consumer gets filtered through so many middlemen that the panguero who actually performs the service gets the shaft. In some cases (actually too many) payment for services rendered by these independent pangueros takes weeks (or months) to get to them and when it finally does, its all too often not the amount agreed upon. And in the worst cases these hard working captains never get paid! When these things happen few complain as its been the way of things as long as they can remember. When these variables fall into their lousy place, these good people cannot maintain their boats properly, they can't fuel them properly, they can't pay a guy decently to captain it if they're not captains themselves, they can't keep up with payments if they have credit to pay for a motor or a boat, and they can't keep up with the rest of the ever-increasing requirements that are necessary to keep a boat working here. What follows is that service to the client slides, and in some cases it slides so badly so as to sour a clients interest in any future trips to Loreto.

June 23, 2004; This is a seven year old two stroke Mercury (a gas hog) with approximately 60 liters of fuel. It should get the clients about 20 miles safely out of port and back with some additional trolling distance. Too bad the fish are 35 miles away. This panguero isn't paid sufficiently to properly fuel his boat. His clients will likely get stuck bottom fishing instead of limiting out on dorado.

The Baja Big Fish Company has been doing its part to break this terrible cycle and enable our local Pangueros to make a decent living and maintain their boats and level of service to standards that their clientele expects and deserves. As the years have gone on more and more pangueros make it to our "core of captains". They follow our advice and see our example and open their minds to new techniques. Seasons go by and they win over clients who look forward to fishing with them every time they come to town. Now that's the part I truly love! Connecting repeat clients to their captains has become my most rewarding experience in this business.

Now you may ask, "How is our service different since we too are a middleman?" Well, we are the ONLY middleman, and we will guarantee your dates with the specific captain of your choice. We also specialize in matching the needs of our new clients with the skills and personality of their scheduled captain. We can arrange hotel and ground package as well as fishing excursions. Seeing as we truly know our way around Loreto, we can make possible whatever it is you require to make your trip memorable.

Click to Enter our Captain Listing

Pam Bolles,
Owner
The Baja Big Fish Company
Loreto, B.C.S. MEXICO