Cabo San Lucas
What a week the Pisces Fleet has had to brave the swells and reeling in some impressive catches. They fished under clear skies with a variety of species deciding whether they wanted to take a bite of the anglers’ bait and chum, making it an exciting fishing trip for every fisherman aboard. It was thrilling to see so many different fish in action. The air was warm, the sun shone brightly, and most of them returned to the dock with a Cabo tan. On many days, the water temperature was around 72 to 74 degrees, and the air temperature was close, from 70 to 75. This was Heaven for all the visitors thrilled to arrive in Mexico from different parts of the U.S. and Canada.
On the “VALERIE,” a 35-foot Bertram, Captain Orlando M., and Salvador Flores ran to the Herradura, where their anglers Dennis Hehir and Gerard Rozas from League, Texas caught One outstanding, 40-pound Dorado on curry and Eighteen Yellowfin Tuna on bait. They did a great job, but they also had a wonderful time. They stayed busy all day and were happy this was the way things turned out.
“LA CHINGONA,” a 64-foot Viking, run by Captain Antonio Bojorquez and Mates Miguel, Luis, and Nestor caught and released Six 110-pound Striped Marlin on caballito at the Jaime Bank and One 10-pound Dorado on feathers outside the Jaime Bank. There were no rain clouds or freezing weather in sight!
Haley Weborg, Jeff Kaiser, Karen Kaiser, and Sally Stark, from Fremont, Wisconsin, chartered the “RIPPER,” a 35-foot Cabo Flybridge, with Captain Abel and Mate Salvador. The crew was eager to please their guests, who had come from the cold part of the country. They took them to the San Jaime, where they hoped to get a couple of nice-sized fish to brag about. They got them One 120-pound Striped Marlin, which they caught and released on bait, One 12-pound Dorado on curry, and Nine 10-pound Yellowfin Tuna on cuchi at the San Jaime! The guests were very pleased with their experience.
From Pickering, Ontario, Canada, where the weather has been dismal, Garry Knowling, Keith Knowling, Ken Hildebrant, and Steve Ashbury chose the “TRACY ANN,” a 31-foot Bertram with Captain Julio Castro and Mate TracyAnn Raul Leal. They immediately liked their avid fishermen and took them to the 95 Spot, where they caught and released One 120-pound Striped Marlin and Six 10-pound Yellowfin Tuna on bait.
The fishing was great, but the interaction with the crew was more significant. It was an enjoyable day for all.
GORDO BANKS PANGAS
Water conditions were significantly better this week, especially in the area of La Fortuna and the 25. Although not ideal, the water did clear up compared to the previous weeks. The temperature was a couple of degrees warmer as well, with some areas around 68-69.
We are now primarily focusing on yellowfin tuna around La Fortuna.
and 25. Not a wide-open bite but there is a good chance of hooking into a nice yellowfin. These tuna were caught on strips of squid, a few on live caballito and sardina if available. Most of the tuna caught on caballito and sardina are averaging around 15 to 30 pounds.
The bigger tuna was hooked on strips of squid. Most of these bigger fish were in the range of 60 to 100 pounds. Earlier in the week, we saw one tuna that was close to 150 pounds and another around 130 pounds.
The local guys are focusing on this bite later in the day as most bites came closer to noon. This weekend, one boat reported catching Three nice-sized tuna, another one on an afternoon trip.
While drifting strips of squid, there is a good chance at catching something on the bottom. A better bottom bite was reported at San Luis later in the week. One boat tried jigging early in the morning and landed Five red snapper and Two white Bonito, while losing a few more nice fish. Water is a bit colder and greenish towards San Luis.
Palmilla Point and Cerro Colorado continue to produce a decent bottom bite on jigs and live sardines. Most boats are focusing on the grounds of La Fortuna, as they target tuna, but Palmilla is not a bad area to fish right now. This Saturday, one of our boats landed four yellowtail, a few snappers, a couple of white bonito, and four big Sierra. Two of the yellowtail came on jigs, and two came on live sardina. Anglers also see nice-sized grouper and a few amberjack in the mix. Conditions continue to improve as we see water warm and clear on the high spots…Good Fishing, Brian
East Cape
Roosterfish from the beach, along with a few jack crevalle in January, and the local anglers are all for keeping it quiet. Figure into that hot fishing news are the yellowtail, considered one of the hardest fish to catch in Baja – arriving several months earlier than normal. In both cases, the trick is to choose the days between the sporadic north winds and you have pretty good odds to catch limits of yellows and release some roosterfish from shore. Baja daily limit for yellowtail is five fish per angler!!
La Paz – Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Suenos Bay Fishing Report Frankly, it’s been so windy that we haven’t had anyone out in weeks., This is the off-season for just that reason. The North winds sweep down the Sea of Cortez, and the weather can be erratic. The ocean is consequently very rough! Not much of anyone is on the water except windsurfers and kiteboarders who eat specifically for these world-class winds.
I’ve had a couple of requests for fishing but ultimately had to cancel them or advise them not to fish on that particular day because of the winds. I would just prefer to be honest. No sense in having a bad time … getting wet … getting bounced … or getting seasick!
That’s especially important because folks that come down this time of year aren’t hard-core fishermen.
Fishing reports from our commercial fishermen friends who don’t have a choice about whether to go out or not since they must feed their families tell me it was rough going. Fishing was confined to staying close to shore out of the rougher areas.
However, inshore fishing was moderately productive, with the usual cast of fishing species like jacks, cabrilla, Sierra, snapper, and bonito. I didn’t hear of any yellowtail or dorado. Bait was also more difficult to get since the bait areas were getting pounded by waves.