Billfish on the Fly:

Saltwater fly-fishing guide Jeff Solis reports excellent fly-fishing in the mangroves of Magdalena Bay and offshore at Thetis Bank north of Cabo San Lucas. Solis fished with John Sherman of Sage Fly Rods, Bon Galvin of Galvin Fly Reels, John Alvarez of the Nautical Bean, a coffee shop in the Oceanside Harbor, and Chuck White on White's 38-foot boat, Pacific Venture. Solis said they caught and released grouper, spotted bay bass, shortfin corvina and pompano in the mangroves. "At times we had a fish on every cast," Solis said. "We had one school of 3-to 5-pound pompano that really wanted to bite." Outside, after a two-hour run, they found a spot of marlin near the Thetis Bank, and Solis said they couldn't go more than 20 minutes without raising marlin. "Sometimes there would be three and four fish in the teasers," Solis said. In 4½ days of fishing, Solis said they raised an estimated 120 marlin, hooked about half of them and landed between 35 and 40, all on the fly.