Hurricane Odile’s effect gradually ebbing

Eric Brictson is slowly seeing one of the world’s sport-fishing capitals come back to life.

In September, that world was torn apart when Hurricane Odile took dead aim at the marina he manages on the Sea of Cortez.

“This was just a big rubble field,” Brictson said. “This area was just devastated.

“We had some warning, so we got the boats out, but the store, the docks, everything was swept away. Telephone poles were down, buildings were damaged and people around here were struggling.

“It was a tough time.”

Worst of all, Brictson and others in the sport-fishing business lost their prime time, October and November.

But 2015 is starting as a better time. Although vehicles still have to weave through a maze to reach the marina, the sounds of construction crews hammering away now fill the air. And the fishing is back on track.

“If anything, the fishing was helped,” said Brictson, who runs Gordo Banks Pangas. “The fish didn’t get any fishing pressure for months, and the hurricane blew a lot of trees and brush into the water, which is good habitat.

“The situation isn’t ideal, but we’re getting there.”

For Brictson, that is considered a small price to pay for living in paradise. While living on the West Coast in the U.S., he fished everywhere from California to Oregon to Washington. He even spent time guiding on Oregon’s Rogue River, leading fishermen to salmon and steelhead.

But he eventually bought some land near Mexico’s San José del Cabo, built a house and bought a boat. And he went fishing.

Almost 30 years later, he’s still sending guides out to enjoy some of the world’s best fishing.

“I’ve fished a lot of places, but I haven’t found any place that can match what this area has to offer,” he said.

This story was originally published March 21, 2015 at 2:51 PM with the headline "Hurricane Odile’s effect gradually ebbing."