Cabo San Lucas
Another fun week with a 98.5% Catch Success Rate for the fleet! The marlin bite picked up a bit with the boats staying close by, and they still managed to release up to seven striped marlin each today. In addition, there were some 40-pound bulls caught! Last week, we had over 500 dorado for the fleet. The numbers have been lower this week, but it was because the tuna bite was on!
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Boats targeting the tuna caught upwards of ten fish each, and some were decent-sized! Pisces 31-ft. La Brisa caught tuna close to eighty pounds last week, and there were 400 tuna catches this week compared to about 80 fish last week.
Plus, the wahoo has still been biting, with 20 to 40-pounders coming through. There have also been roosterfish releases and some sierra, too! Water temperatures are around 78 degrees. …Pisces Sportfishing Fleet
San Jose
December 24, 2023
Many vacationing families are beginning to arrive in Los Cabos for the Christmas and New Year holidays. However, only a moderate number of anglers are visiting, even though the wintertime climate has been ideal, with little wind and some cloudy days. The ocean water temperatures range from 76 to 79 degrees, and we still see excellent action from some of the most popular pelagic gamefish species.
The main target species continues to be dorado, with a good chance of catching yellowfin tuna and wahoo. Some fortunate anglers are catching a grand slam of all three during one outing.
Most of our charters this week focused on the inner Gordo and Punta Gorda. Many boats began their day trolling Rapalas and ballyhoo at Punta Gorda to catch wahoo. While some boats came in empty-handed, others caught a few wahoo with this technique. The wahoo bite slowed down this week. Some days, we only saw a couple. Usually, after a few hours of trying for wahoo, the boats moved towards the inner Gordo for dorado and tuna.
This week, we saw many nice-sized yellowfin tuna caught at the Gordo, with most fish ranging from 70 to 110 pounds. Most of these fish were taken on squid strips or dead sardina when available. Big dorado continue to be seen on the same grounds, with many of them in the 30 to 40-pound range. The biggest dorado this week was closer to 50 pounds and was caught on a squid strip while looking for tuna. On some days, these large schools of dorado feed off the squid chum line and do not allow us to fish for tuna efficiently. The tuna bite seemed better for the local pangeros later in the day.
Later this week, boats encountered a tuna bite at Punta Gorda. These fish were primarily in the 30 to 40-pound range. For the last three days, these tuna have been biting for brief periods, usually around 30 to 40 minutes, with the best action coming closer to midday. In addition, these Punta Gorda tuna have been hooked on squid and sardina.
The dorado bite continues to be very productive on most grounds, with many of our boats catching their limit daily. Our boats stayed mostly at Punta Gorda and inner Gordo this week, though we did hear of many boats finding big schools of dorado at Iman, La Fortuna, and Cardon. Many of these boats also saw tuna feeding at Iman while chumming for dorado with live sardina
We are starting to see a more significant number of striped marlin caught. There is not much inshore or bottom action going on currently. However, we did see a few Mexican bonito and snapper caught while jigging on different structures. More whales are now arriving, providing extra entertainment for anglers and their families.
Next week should be an even slower week in terms of anglers. Our captains will enjoy a few days of spending quality time with their families. We hope that you have a great Christmas with your loved ones.…Good Fishing, Brian …Gordo Banks Pangas
East Cape
The area has enjoyed an unexpected December bonus as our great sport fishing season stretched through the Christmas holidays.
Striped marlin and sailfish were caught and released aboard the few boats that were out fishing. PLUS, dorado in the 10 to 20-pound range are still hanging out under anything that floats can be added to the catch.
For those choosing to stay closer to shore, the roosterfish can usually be found with their unusual dorsal fin that gives them their name. Plus, you can add several varieties of jacks known for their strong fighting tendency, and last but not least is the toothy sierra, considered the prime ingredient for homemade fresh ceviche. – a welcome dish at many local New Year’s Parties! …Van Wormer Resorts.
La Paz
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report
UNUSUAL CRAZY GOOD WINTER FISHING?
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report
WEATHER: Mostly mild with some clouds, but the key, as far as fishing, has been the wind. It was gusty earlier, but then, during the last week (Christmas week), we had some of the calmest winter weather we’ve seen in…forever.
WATER: When the winds blew, the water was junk and uncomfortable. But, when the wind didn’t blow, the water was almost glassy blue and flat!
FISH HOOKED THIS WEEK: It was crazy dorado fishing. It’s hard to believe this is “off-season!” School-sized dorado of about 10-pound size. However, larger 20- to 40-pound fish are also still running around. Then, late in the period – sailfish? Yup! Inshore – sierra, bonito, jacks, cabrilla, and a few yellowtail also showed up in the coolers.
BAIT:
Bait stocks are good when the wind isn’t blowing. Nice sardine for live bait.
OUTLOOK:
Winds will be coming back, but there are a few windows here and there. …Tailhunter, Jonathan Roldan.
