Cabo San Lucas
Overall Catch Success Rate: 85%
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Billfish: 25%, Tuna: 50%, Dorado: 20%
160-pound yellowfin on Pisces 35’ Bill Collector 2
We had fewer charters because of fewer visitors, but still, we had an 85% catch success rate for the fleet! Our top species was tuna, with a few big ones up to 180 pounds coming through!
Other tuna were also of decent size – from 30 to 60 pounds. There were not tons of dorado but a few decent-sized fish. Billfish numbers saw primarily striped and a few blue marlin, mainly in the 200-pound size. None of our boats targeted fish inshore this week, so just pelagic species made the report.
Starting with our Top Species, we had Pisces 31’ Ruthless kick off with eight yellowfin tuna, all about 30 to 40 pounds, for anglers Amber Walling and Dustin Durkee. The fish hit on cedar plugs around 30+ miles to the 210.
Ten yellowfin on Pisces 66’ Friday Bank.
This same day, out of the San Jaime Bank area, Pisces 66’, Friday Bank, impressed with ten yellowfin tuna, ranging in size from 15 to 60 pounds. The tuna took cedar plugs and different lures.
The giant tuna came midweek, though. Pisces 31’ Rebecca had a 108-pound yellowfin caught by angler Rick Walsh, who also took another weighing around 15 pounds, at 27 miles to the 180.
Angler Mark Chiavetta and friends aboard Pisces 35’ Bill Collector searched for the Big Ones Wednesday and found two yellowfin, one 140 pounds and another 180 pounds, about 20 miles to the 180. They hit on feathers and green/black lures.
Pisces 42’ Hot Rod did well with the tuna – six yellowfin from 50 to 80 pounds each, hitting on feather lures.
Pisces 35’ Bill Collector 2 had about a 100-pound striped marlin released on a green jack bait 38 miles out. Angler Rick Muro also released a 200-pound blue marlin and four yellowfin tuna weighing around 30 to 60 pounds each. The next day, Pisces 35’ Bill Collector 2 had nine yellowfin tuna between 15 and 60 pounds each on feathers and cedar plugs about 25 miles to the 210. The anglers from Yorba Linda, Calif., also had a 30-pound dorado.
And for the dorado, there were a few, but the largest was a 45-pounder caught on board Pisces 35’ Knot Workin. Anglers Daniel, Brian, and Walter from Calif. also caught another 15-pounder at the 150 Spot.
Marlin Releases!
Pisces 31’ Tiburon released some nice marlin – a 100-pound striped marlin on dead caballito at the 170 Spot and a 200-pound blue marlin for angler Gibbons Cornwell from Montana.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: The weather began with good conditions, with winds at five kts.
WATER TEMP: Water temperature was between 85 – 87 F.
BEST LURES: The best lures were cedar plugs, feathers, hoochies, lures black/green, and dead bait.
BEST LOCATIONS: The best spot was 25 – 35 miles South, on the 210.
Puerto Los Cabos
This report will be Eric Brictson’s last. In 1985, he moved permanently to his new home in Baja and started a small Sportfishing fleet, Gordo Banks Pangas. He died suddenly from a heart attack on Wednesday. You will find his obit in this issue.
The local weather stabilized after the close call last week with Hurricane Hilary. A couple of tropical depressions are presently developing off the Southern Mexican coast, but we are not expecting them to impact the Southern Baja region. The weather has been hot and humid, as is typical for this time of year. There is a slight cooling trend early in the morning, but it is minimal and hardly noticeable.
The crowds of visiting anglers have been light, though quite a few locals are taking advantage of the excellent tuna action that has been going on at Vinorama. Yellowfin tuna ranging in sizes from small footballs up to 80 lb. are schooling on these grounds. They were striking best while drift fishing with squid strips. The better bite is usually early in the day, though some days they strike at different hours and later in the afternoon for the anglers who tried that time frame.
Currents and water clarity have also been a factor in this relatively small area, as has boat pressure. This one spot has been where the fishing has been more productive. Boats are arriving from various directions to work these grounds.
Average catches per boat will range from one or two to five or six yellowfin. An occasional wahoo was hooked, with a few dorado in the mix, but most were small juvenile-sized fish. There were few reports of billfish, as most anglers have been targeting the tuna bite.
Off the bottom, there were more triggerfish than anything else, though surprisingly, there were some of the normally colder water species –white bonito, a few leopard grouper, snapper, and the highlight off the rock piles were a couple of dogtooth snapper up to 30 pounds! We heard reports from local pangas of commercial activity on the Gordo Banks that accounted for a couple of nice, home guard yellowtail. They supposedly dealt with shark action as well.
There is nothing to report along the beach stretches this time of year – that action fades out. Good Fishing! …Eric Brictson’s last report
East Cape
It has been an excellent week of fishing, a strong dorado bite close to the hotel with good-sized yellowfin taken daily farther south. Boats were releasing lots of striped marlin mixed with large blues and blacks. They were catching big 90-pound wahoo. Medium-sized roosterfish were abundant.
The tuna, marlin, and wahoo were all concentrated south of Frailes at the White Cliffs from one to five miles offshore. Yesterday, the local La Ribera One-Day tournament was won by a 376-pound Blue Marlin and a 57-pound Yellowfin, with numerous Tuna weighing over 40 pounds.
Many dorado were caught very close to the ranch, almost all taken within three to four miles from the hotel. Many were in the 5 to 15-pound range. Some big bulls were mixed in that weighed up to 47 pounds. Trolled ballyhoo worked best. Every angler limited out!
Boats headed south of Frailes to the White Cliffs are picking up yellowfin from 20 to 50 pounds. Closer inshore, within a mile of the beach, by dropping squid, cut bait, and iron off the bottom, most boats took at least a couple.
The billfish are very concentrated off the White Cliffs. Striped marlin mixed with quite a few blues and blacks were taking ballyhoo and darker trolled lures.
Anglers caught quite a few wahoo off the very productive White Cliffs. The largest was in the 90-pound range. Almost all were taken on CD 18 Rapalas and Marauders.
Roosterfish in the 5 to 20-pound class, right off the Costa Palmas Marina entrance. There is not much pressure. …John Ireland, Rancho Leonero
WHEW!… THAT’S MORE LIKE IT!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Bahia Suenos Fishing Report
WEATHER: It’s back to hot, sunny and humid. Day temps are in the high 90s.
WATER: It took a few days for the waters to clean themselves back up, but not completely. It’s mostly back to blue and perfect fishing conditions.
SPECIES CAUGHT THIS WEEK: Dorado, bonito, skipjack, pargo, cabrilla, snapper, roosterfish, jack crevalle.
Once again, just as it was before the storm, the dorado were stacked, and limits were the rule rather than the exception. Most fish were in the 5 to 15-pound class, and many were released.
The exciting part is that some massive fish are still hitting now. Many were lost, but those boated were easily 30, 40, and even 50-pound fish.
Live bait continues to be the best way to entice them.
Not many other species because the dorado are so prevalent, but we did catch pargo, snapper, cabrilla, jack crevalle, bonito, and even some off-season roosterfish.
IMPORTANT NOTE
BUGS – The weather is back to being hot and humid, and any time after we get rain, we have a big hatch of bugs – everything from butterflies to mosquitos for about two weeks. Usually, there is no bug problem. But it’s a good idea to bring some repellent, wear long sleeves, and keep doors and windows closed! …Tailhunter, Jonathan Roldan.
