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From Jan 01, 1999 To Jul 31, 2010
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Oct 11, 2009; 09:07AM - A Hint of Things to Come
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Category: Saltwater Fly Fishing Reports
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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Author E-mail: bajafly@bajafly.com
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Report Description:
Endless Season Update 10/10/2009
REPORT #1186 'Below the Border' Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
Caption: Brian Kelley, wearing the white cap, with three of his buddies celebrating his 50th birthday with a fat one …Mark Rayor.
The first serious north wind of the season arrived late this week along with grouchy seas that caused short days for some.
Still seem to be enough fish around to keep things interesting; it is just tougher to find them. There were a few porpoise schools found closer to shore that did produce some tuna for the first handful of boats that found them.
Dorado action was also a little sketchy with most boats finding only a few, if any, but there are still some skipjack and football sized tuna out in front of the lighthouse.
As usual the beach was trashed from the wind waves which created difficult conditions for the beach walkers.
The good news is the winds are predicted to subside soon and hopefully the bite will pick right back up.
Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Well so much for the quickie trip last Friday. By the time I arrived at the border a small tropical depression, Olaf, had turned and was headed on an erratic path for Baja’s midsection.
Since my trip only allowed for a few days of fishing with little or no wiggle room, I delayed the trip until this Monday.
Turned out to be a good call; Olaf dumped plenty of rain from Cuidad Constitution to Mulege. There were a few washouts and one group driving down reported 30 water crossings during their trip from the border to East Cape.
The storm left unsettled conditions but they seem to have dissipated by the end of the week.
So I will be driving down the peninsula Monday, the 12th, with a stop planned in Mulege to check out some rumors of large snook appearing in the Santa Rosalia River. Then on to Lopez Mateos to fish both beach and offshore for three days with Lance Peterson, our Mexico Guide.
I will return on Monday, the 19th, and should have an update on the aftermath of the recent storms.
Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 80° blue water has cooled down a bit from last week, and has moved in very close to the beach. This should improve the fishing, but we have had a series of hard rains and wind and a full moon period, combined with few clients fishing. An accurate picture of the fishing action is hard to describe at best.
The average for sailfish is about one or two a day per boat, and few nice size dorado are also being taken.
Inshore, there are a lot of small jack crevalle, and even a few sierra, but the roosterfish bite also seems to have died off. However, we also had strong surf all this last week, so the roosters have moved offshore, and should move back in when the moon phase affects the surf to a lesser degree.…Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582
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Oct 5, 2009; 11:30AM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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Author E-mail: gmlandrum@hotmail.com
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Report Description:
FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
Sept. 21 - 28, 2009
WEATHER: Tropical Storm Olaf was the influence this week as it slowly worked it’s way up the Pacific side of Baja California, finally crawling across the central part of the peninsula before going off onto the mainland. At the slow speed Olaf was moving, we received lots of clouds and some more much needed rain. With light rains every other day and an occasional one-hour drench, the whole of Baja California Sur is looking clean and green! Our daytime highs dropped a bit due to the clouds and averaged 95 degrees with an occasional short jump to over 100 when the sun showed itself. Nights were in the low 80’s. Winds were from the west and southwest for the middle of the week through the end of the week due to the trailing feeder bands from Olaf.
WATER: Long slow rollers were the word of the week for most of the time with the water on Friday becoming very confused and rough on the Pacific side as the wind finally switched directions. Seas averaged 2-5 feet on the Pacific and 1-3 feet on the Sea of Cortez. Water temperatures were down a bit due to the cloud cover and also they were hard to get unless you were actually on the water for the same reason. What we did see was temperatures on the Pacific side at mostly 79-80 degrees while the Cortez side was 76 degrees inshore and out to 10 miles along most of the coast with a plume of warm water to 82 degrees intruding across the 1150 and Cabrillo Seamount from the southeast.
BAIT: Almost all the larger baits this week were Caballito and mullet at the normal $3 per bait.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Striped Marlin and Sailfish were found rather close to shore on the Pacific side once again. There were reports of some decent Blue and Black Marlin being hooked up on the Cortez side up in the San Jose area, but I did not get to confirm that, just rumors I heard. The water conditions on the Pacific side at the end of the week had many of the boats focusing their efforts on the Cortez side of the Cape and it appears as if there are a few Striped Marlin and Sailfish to be found there as well, just not in the numbers we were seeing on the Pacific. Like the fish found to the west, these fish were not really in the eating mood either, drop a bait on their heads and the odds were 20% for a hook-up.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: While the Tina Seiners the week before last caused a couple of days of no Tuna action, they seemed to have returned a few days later. Still not in the numbers we saw before the seiners came through, they are being found in decent numbers farther offshore on the Pacific side. Running 30-40 miles in the choppy conditions we had was not in the books for most of the boats though, and few of them made it out to the fish, therefore there were few Tuna flags flying. Heading out between 175 and 210 degrees for 30 miles put you in the area, then it was a job to find the porpoise, when the chop started they seemed to disappear!
DORADO: Dorado action was good at the end of the week. These fish seem to like the conditions a bit choppy and most boats were coming in with at least four or five fish, averaging 12-15 pounds with good numbers of larger fish to 40 pounds. Most of the action was on the Pacific side of the Cape close to the beach.
WAHOO: There were some nice fish last week and with the full moon on the 4th, there should be more this week. Most of the Wahoo taken this week were found by boats working just of the beach fishing for Dorado, so you know there were a lot of fish lost due to small diameter Mono leaders!
INSHORE: The Pangas were not doing a lot of inshore fishing this week as the conditions were a bit rough, but there were some decent catches of small grouper and snapper made by boats working the bottom. For Pangas that were surface fishing, most of them were working just off the beach for Dorado and the occasional Striped Marlin and Sailfish.
NOTES: I love the rain that we have been getting, it is just the right volume and scattered out so that it soaks into the ground instead of washing everything away. It has caused a bit of a problem with the road construction however, and for those of you who actually expected the crews to meet the August 1 completion deadline, this is Mexico, we will be lucky if it is finished by the end of October! Full moon in October this week should mean Wahoo in decent numbers and, hopefully, some big Marlin showing up! This weeks report was written to the music of the king of blues, B.B. King on the 2008 Geffen Records release, “One Kind Favor”. Until next week, tight lines!
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Sep 28, 2009; 10:49AM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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Author E-mail: gmlandrum@hotmail.com
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Report Description:
FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
Sept. 21 - 28, 2009
WEATHER: We started this week with clear skies, had a small squall come through and wreaked havoc on us Friday morning. We had thunder and lightning, along with a decent rain for about a couple hours. Along with that came the wind. Apparently they were still parasailing during the squall. One boat crashed on the rocks by the arch, the folks dropped into the water and were rescued, but it was enough for the Port Captain to close the harbor and tell everyone to come back. After sitting around for an hour looking at flat calm water, he reopened the port. Some called it a day, and some headed back out fishing. Our daytime highs were in the high 90’s to low 100’s again, while the nighttime lows were in the mid 80’s.
WATER: Early in the week the seas were big but spaced far apart coming from TS Noro off to the west of us. Seas are back to normal now 1-6 feet, slow rollers. Water temps aaround 89-90 in the Sea of Cortez around the Gordo Banks to 1150, 95 and past Cabo up the Pacific to Golden Gate. Slightly cooler temps out at San Jaime in the mid 80’s
BAIT: Almost all the larger baits this week were Caballito and mullet at the normal $3 per bait. Sardinas available at the usual $30, if you are heading up towards San Jose, they are not bringing them down to Cabo.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: With the warmer waters coming back the Striped marlin bite has dropped off again. They are all over the place but being finicky eaters. Bouncing bait off their noses, just gets you “the look” before they swim away. Head of one 550 brought in on Friday. Makes me sad when people still kill these beauties for a couple tacos. Just a reminder to everyone, those fish over 300 #’s are the female breeding stock! Take your picture at the side of the boat and let her swim away. Fish like that are the future of marlin fishing.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Tuna were the fish of the week with almost every boat being able to get into them. Sizes ranged from 230 pounds to 15 pounds with most of the larger fish being caught on live bait dropped in front of the moving pods of Spinner Dolphin or Spotted Dolphin. Report from San Jose of a 357lb Yellowfin brought in up there. And this was the story until Thursday night when 3 purse seiners moved in the Pacific side with their helicopters. Not a tuna flag flying Friday or Saturday. Ok last minute update, I did get a report Sunday afternoon, that were a couple boats that finally found tuna late Saturday, so hopefully they will make a quick comeback this time.
DORADO: Dorado were an off and on event this week, one day there would be plenty and then the next day they could not be found. When you could find them they seemed to be close to the shore on the Pacific side in the warmer water. Averaging 12-15 pounds, there were enough larger ones out there to make things interesting. Lures accounted for the first fish for most boats and then live bait dropped back usually accounted for the next one or two. Boats that did well on Dorado were catching between five and ten per trip and releasing two or three of the smaller fish. Same this week as last week.
WAHOO: I saw some nice wahoo come in this week. We had one client bring in a nice 50 lb fish, and I saw a few more in the 20-30 lb range.
INSHORE: A repeat of last week’s inshore report. Most of the Panga Captains are doing well on Dorado and Tuna since they are close to shore. There are still some decent Roosterfish being found and a few snapper and some nice 8-10 lb grouper as well. Not many marlin offshore but one panga released a sailfish and a striped marlin! The Pacific side has been the favorite side of the Cape this week.
NOTES: The week started off great with lots of fish being caught all different kinds. It’s amazing how a couple of purse seiners setting their nets scares most of the fish off for a couple days. Hopefully the did not completely deplete the stocks as they have done in the past. 5 cruise ships coming to Cabo today, bringing a much needed boost to the local economy!. This weeks report was written while listening to a new CD our clients brought down, flashback to the 60’s with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Greatest Hits. Brought to you by Curb records 1990. Until next week, tight lines!
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Sep 26, 2009; 08:37AM - Tough Tuna
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Category:
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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Author E-mail: bajafly@bajafly.com
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Report Description:
Endless Season Update 09/25/2009
REPORT #1184 'Below the Border' Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
Once again, September has been a winner. The Humboldt squid continues to be the first stop in the morning for many of the boats. Talk about matching the hatch! Fresh cut chunks of squid are the perfect chum or bait for the dorado and small tuna and when fishing near the rocky points that dot the East Cape.
Of course if you want to go farther offshore and chase the porpoise schools, there are still some gorilla-class tuna reaching 200 pounds. Pulling on one of those behemoths can easily replace the day’s workout on the Nautilus machine…and then some.
If you are trying to avoid the tuna workout, there are still plenty of sailfish, as well as blue and striped marlin to take care of the billfish urge.
Most of the dorado, tuna and skipjack caught close to shore are in the single digit to mid-teen range; offshore don’t be surprised if a larger one shows up in one of the porpoise schools.
The beach is the beach and it is still hot midday. That said, if you are looking for sight casting opportunities, midday is the best time. Later, as the sun sinks behind the hills, it seems like the fish come alive for a brief period before it gets too dark to fish.
Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Local commercial fishermen are reporting lots of dorado around the shark buoys, and the clear blue water close to the shore is holding plenty of smallish tuna as well as a few larger ones up to 30 pounds.
With many of the Soouthern California yachts beginning their long trek down the coast to Cabo San Lucas, we expect to hear good reports of the numbers of fish found as they pass by Magdalena Bay.
Inside the esteros, there has been little current and both grouper and snapper have been on the bite. Still there’s only an occasional snook caught, most weighing no more than ten pounds.
The yellowtail action at the Entrada is mostly the smaller firecracker variety chasing small sardine to the surface, which in turn attracts the birds, making it easy to spot the schools. Farther outside the Entrada there are schools of skipjack and a few dorado to be found.
Though there are plenty of fish, there are few tourists visiting the area recently.
Reports are that Mex 1 is passable all the way from the border to the tip! However, road crews working on the road are causing some short delays…Bob Hoyt
Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The average water temperature is back up to 85° with the blue water only a couple of miles off the beach.
Santiago, on the panga Gitana, told me there is very decent fishing, but few people to take advantage of it. The boats going out have each been averaging two to three sailfish a day, plus a couple of nice dorado around 20 pounds.
We have had some hard rains, which has discolored the inshore water some, but when you find the open patches, the roosterfish action is still holding very strong. Three to four roosters a day is common with at least a couple of them approaching 50 pounds…Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582
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Sep 21, 2009; 12:37PM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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Author E-mail: gmlandrum@hotmail.com
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Report Description:
FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
Sept. 14-20, 2009
WEATHER: We started this week with partly cloudy skies, had partly cloudy skies during the middle of the week and ended the week with partly cloudy skies. Tropical Storm Marty was well off to the west of us at the beginning of the week and remained stalled in the same area for several days until degrading and falling apart. Marty brought us just a sprinkle of rain. At the end of the week an un-named storm came up quickly from the south bringing more clouds and we received a bit of rain from these on Saturday night, enough to leave small pools of water on the sidewalks in the early morning. Our daytime highs were in the mid to high 90’s while the nighttime lows were in the mid 80’s.
WATER: Tropical Storm Marty brought the swells up early in the week, most of them at 6-7 feet but spaced well apart. With no wind on top of them it was very nice water. At the end of the week the Port Captain closed the port to all vessels Saturday afternoon and to small vessels (Pangas) Sunday morning due to the large swells brought by the un-named storm. Again, there was no wind on top of these swells so conditions were still good. At the end of the week the water temperatures on the Pacific side from the beach to 10 miles out stayed in the 84 to 85 degree range while farther out they dropped to 81-82 degrees. Both areas had blue water. On the Cortez side there was a finger of cool water of 83 degrees that had pushed its way between the 1150 and the Cabrillo Seamount toward the Gorda Banks. Everywhere else on the Cortez side was 85 degrees and blue.
BAIT: Almost all the larger baits this week were Caballito and mullet at the normal $3 per bait. Sardinas were not available due to the large swells most of the week.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Marlin fishing picked up a bit when compared with last weeks result with more Striped Marlin appearing within several miles of the beach on the Pacific side. We had one dedicated angler who had never caught a marlin of any kind release three Striped Marlin on Saturday while working this area. I fought and released a small Blue Marlin of around 150 pounds on Wednesday while out to the south of the San Jaime Bank and another client had a Blue in the 260 pound range in the same area on Friday. There were still a few Sailfish around but I did not hear of any Black Marlin caught. Sunday we had to clients release 300-400 lb blues.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Tuna were the fish of the week with almost every boat being able to get into them. Sizes ranged from 230 pounds to 15 pounds with most of the larger fish being caught on live bait dropped in front of the moving pods of Spinner Dolphin or Spotted Dolphin. The White-Bellied dolphin often only held smaller fish but an occasional larger one would surprise an angler. Almost all the fish in our area were caught inside the 1,000-fathom line from due south, then up to the San Jaime Bank and then up to the Golden Gate. This made for easy trips to find the fish, and I know of one Panga that caught a fish over 200 pounds just off of the lighthouse.
DORADO: Dorado were an off and on event this week, one day there would be plenty and then the next day they could not be found. When you could find them they seemed to be close to the shore on the Pacific side in the warmer water. Averaging 12-15 pounds, there were enough larger ones out there to make things interesting. Lures accounted for the first fish for most boats and then live bait dropped back usually accounted for the next one or two. Boats that did well on Dorado were catching between five and ten per trip and releasing two or three of the smaller fish.
WAHOO: I saw a few red/orange flags being flown this week but was never able to contact the Captains or anglers on the boats to find out where or when they caught the fish, or even if they were for Wahoo at all.
INSHORE: A repeat of last week’s inshore report. Most of the Panga Captains are doing well on Dorado and Tuna since they are close to shore. There are still some decent Roosterfish being found and a few snapper and grouper as well. The Pacific side has been the favorite side of the Cape this week.
NOTES: The fishing has been very good this week and almost all the anglers I have talked to have been very happy with the results of their trips, and some of them have been worn out afterwards from fighting Marlin and some of the large Yellowfin that have been around. We hope the action continues this week. Until next week, tight lines!
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Sep 19, 2009; 09:59PM - First The Squid…Then Tuna
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Category: Saltwater Fly Fishing Reports
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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Author E-mail: bajafly@bajafly.com
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Report Description:
Endless Season Update 09/19/2009
REPORT #1183 'Below the Border' Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
Caption: Check out this nice yellowfin tuna we caught in the East Cape. It weighed in at 201 pounds. http://tiny.cc/rayortuna091509
I don’t know if it is a coincidence, but the Humboldt squid show up and suddenly, it was tuna time. Tales of broken tackle and disappointed anglers were common this week. However, for the few who closed the deal, they were so exhausted that even the ‘high-fives’ were difficult. Not all the fish are VW size; for the wimps, (or is it the smart ones?), in your group there are plenty of smaller fish mixed in. Most of the action is out 20 to 40 miles providing time to find a sailfish.
The dorado are thick down toward Los Frailes and beyond all the way to Gordo Bank…most of them are weighing in the mid-teen range.
Near the Lighthouse, there is also a good concentration of smaller yellowfin tuna with skipjack mixed in.
The water along the beaches has cleaned up, but there is still plenty of bait attracting roosters, jacks, ladyfish and pompano. It is still warm enough that if you go out on the beach midday, it may feel more like an Ironman competition, than fishing. If you think that ‘heats not neat’, try early morning and late afternoon.
Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Just outside Boca Santo Domingo 8 – 10 mile the tuna bite has returned with some fish to 35 pounds. Further out the wahoo have begun to show outside the double 23’s and small groups of marlin are also being spotted.
Shrimp season began the 18th which brings much more feeding activity in the Esteros for a long list of predators including grouper, corvina, snapper and snook.
The cannery in Lopez Mateos is still closed and in Puerto San Carlos the job of removing sunken boats is underway.
Finally, I returned home this week and Mex 1 is open all the way… Bob Hoyt
Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
We've had some decent rains from storms pushing up from the South, with the effect of cooling the surface temperatures down quite a bit. Last week we were at a tepid 85°, and we are now averaging a perfect 80°. The cooling water trend actually heated the fishing up.
Stan Hootman of Houston, TX is fishing several days with Adolfo on the panga Dos Hermanos. They are doing excellent. I talked to Stan by cell phone as they were returning to the dock today (Thursday) after a very successful day of rooster fishing. Using a blue and white surface popper, they caught 6 roosters of 60#, 50#, 45#, 40#, and a couple of smaller ones.
Yesterday they had fished for sailfish and released four. Plus, they got into the football yellowfin tuna and caught 6 tuna averaging 10 pounds...…Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582
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Sep 14, 2009; 11:46AM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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Author E-mail: gmlandrum@hotmail.com
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Report Description:
FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
Sept. 7-13, 2009
WEATHER: We had a really nice week as our daytime highs were reaching 100 at the beginning but had ended the week in the high 80’s and low 90’s and the lows have been in the low 80’s. Nice comfortable weather, if just the humidity would drop a bit it would be perfect. We had scattered clouds this week and no rain.
WATER: The water’s color returned to it’s normal blue on both sides of the Cape; the Pacific side was looking much better. With our normal northwesterly breeze back in place the Pacific side was a bit choppy but fishable. The band of cooler 80-degree water 30 miles to the southwest is still in place, closer to home it steadily increases to a nice 86-87 degrees close to home across both the San Jaime Bank and the Golden Gate Bank. On the Cortez side of the Cape at the end of the week the water inside the 1,000-fathom line was 87 degrees and outside it was 84-85 degrees, but blue on both sides. Surface conditions on the Cortez side have been great with just a little chop in the afternoons.
BAIT: Almost all the larger baits this week were Caballito and mullet at the normal $3 per bait. Sardinas were available from the Palmilla and Puerto Los Cabos area at $25 a scoop.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: It was still a slow week for billfish as few Striped Marlin were caught locally. There were reports of some decent numbers beginning to show up at the Finger Bank but with things being in constant flux the boats that went there were just as likely to strike out as to find a decent concentration of fish. A scattering of fish were found locally, most of them being found close to shore on the Pacific side up around the Los Arcos area and northward. There were still some Sailfish to be found but they were scattered as well, only on the Cortez side, and again, close to shore. I did not hear any reports this week of big Blue or Black Marlin, but there may have been a few hooked up.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: There have still been some nice fish caught this week but they have been scattered. 30 miles to the south has been producing a few nice fish to #150 if you are in the right pod of porpoise, and there have been fish to #80 being caught on Sardinas up the coast in the Inman bank area. That was scratch fishing with only a few fish a day with lots of chumming taking place, but at least the fish were there. Light floura-carbon leader, #30 and #40 was needed, but you could get some fish. Some boats did all right catching a few Humboldt Squid at Punta Gorda and using them for chunk baits. Closer to home there were scattered schools with fish to #35 but averaging #15-#20. Most of these were found on the Pacific side between the beach and the San Jaime Bank and on the Golden Gate Bank.
DORADO: It took a while but there was finally some debris in the water this week, perhaps washed into the ocean up north from last week’s hurricane. Boats that managed to find the pieces of wood were able to put a few nice #30 Dorado in the box along with some smaller fish. Inshore on the Pacific side was also producing Dorado once again with the average size being 15 pounds and a few larger fish in the mix. We hooked up one female on Tuesday at may have been 30 pounds and a much larger male was following her. Unfortunately she shook the hook while still a distance from the boat and even though we slow trolled a couple of live baits in the area for a while we could not get hooked up again. That’s fishing!
WAHOO: A friend of mine did get a nice Wahoo this last week, early in the week. It weighed around #85 and he caught it while checking out the Inman Bank area. A few other Wahoo flags were being flown but I have no idea what size the fish were or where they were caught.
INSHORE: Most of the Panga Captains are doing well on Dorado and football Tuna since they are close to shore. There are still some decent Roosterfish being found and a few snapper and grouper as well. The Pacific side has been the favorite side of the Cape this week.
NOTES: The fishing has been decent if not great this week and things are returning to normal on the water. This coming week should see good action on Striped Marlin as the new moon is on the 18th; I hope it happens close to home. This weeks report was written to the music of Darius Rucker (Hootie and the Blowfish) on his first country album, “Learn To Live”, a 2008 Capitol Records release. Until next week, tight lines!
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Sep 7, 2009; 11:38AM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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Author E-mail: gmlandrum@hotmail.com
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Report Description:
FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
August 31- Sept. 6, 2009
WEATHER: Those of you who have been watching our area this past week are already aware that we managed to dodge a bullet once again. Hurricane Jimena was expected to pass almost on top of us, perhaps just a little to the west on Tuesday as a Category 4 Hurricane with winds at 155 mph and higher gusts. With nature and lady luck on our side she shifted just a bit to the west and all we got were three to four days of clouds, about an inch of rain and winds that may have gusted at times as high as 70 mph. It knocked down palm fronds and kicked up some big seas, but it also brought in some cooler weather as well. At the end of the week our nighttime lows were in the low 80’s and our daytime highs had finally gotten back up to the high 90’s, but the humidity at the end of the week was a bit lower than it had been so it did not feel quite as hot as that.
WATER: The Captain of the Port closed the Harbor on Monday at noon due to the increasing size of swells as Hurricane Jimena approached. The port was re-opened on Thursday after the Hurricane had passed and the swells had become smaller. The cloud cover having finally moved away, we were able to access to satellite charts to see how things had changed. We now have a band of cooler water on the Pacific side just to the outside of the 1,000-fathom line that is right at 78 degrees. This is a 10-15 mile wide band of water running from the northwest to the southeast. To the inside of this band of cool water is a band of 82-84 degree water about 15-20 miles wide and just inside there, along the beach, it is 80 degrees, from the inside of the San Jaime Bank to the inside of the Golden Gate Bank and out across the 95 spot on the Cortez side of the Cape. Elsewhere on the Sea of Cortez the water is a fairly steady 84-86 degrees. The cool water close to shore on the Pacific side is also green, a change from the nice blue water we had prior to the Hurricane passing.
BAIT: Almost all the larger baits this week were Caballito and mullet at the normal $3 per bait. Large swells from Hurricane Jimena this week kept the bait guys from getting any Sardinas.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: On Thursday, after the storm, there were Striped Marlin and Sailfish on the Pacific side up around the Los Arcos area. Some boats were able to release two or three of each, most boats were happy to catch one. I heard of one nice sized Blue Marlin being hooked up on Thursday around 25 miles to the south of the Cape, but did not hear of any of these larger fish being brought to the boat. All in all it was a slow week for Marlin.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: It was also a frustrating week for those trying to catch Yellowfin. The only really decent day we had was on Thursday. Several pods of dolphin were found that held Yellowfin and a few boats were able to get the larger fish to bite. About a dozen fish between 150 and 200 pounds were caught but most of the boats were able to catch a half dozen or so smaller fish to 35 pounds. These fish remained in the area for the rest of the week but no one could get them to bite again. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were very disappointing as you could see the fish clearing the water but even dropping down to #40 floura-carbon leader did not help, so very few fish were caught.
DORADO: We were hoping the Hurricane would wash debris from the arroyos and that would help congregate the Dorado for anglers, but with only an inch of rain there was not enough water dropped to cause the arroyos to flood. Perhaps next week the debris from farther north where Jimena crossed onto land will reach our area, by then there should be good concentrations of fish underneath. Meanwhile the bite was way off, most boats were happy to get a Dorado in the box.
WAHOO: I did not hear of any Wahoo caught this week, even though it was a full moon.
INSHORE: The large swells really messed up the inshore fishing, at least for the week on the Pacific side of the Cape, and on the Cortez side while the water was churned for most of the week by Sunday it had begun to settle and clear. Roosterfish were found again up around the El Tulle area but that was pretty much it for the week, with the exception of a few Jacks and a few Grouper.
NOTES: As is normal after the passing of a Hurricane the water is all mixed up and it may take a week for everything to settle out. I am not sure how it affects the fish, but I know the current and temperature changes for a while and that is what we are seeing now. Our fingers are crossed that everything gets back to normal, or better, within the next week. This weeks report was written to the music of Jimmy Buffet and friends on Sirus/XM Margaritaville channel. Until next week, tight lines!
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Aug 31, 2009; 09:48AM - Cabo Bite Report
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Category: Mexico Cabo San Lucas
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Author Name: George Landrum
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Author E-mail: gmlandrum@hotmail.com
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Report Description:
FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
August 24-30, 2009
WEATHER: We had interesting weather this past week as clouds moved in on Tuesday evening and brought with them a spit of rain, just enough to spot the windows. We thought that was all that was going to happen but on Saturday another cloud mass moved in. The thunder and lightning had my dog and the cats scared, but my wife got a decent photo of lightning striking the mountain nearby. It rained for an hour or so, knocking off all the dust and brightening everything up bit. This past week was still a bit warm at an average of 98 degrees during the day and 85 degrees in the coolest part of the night. Check the notes below; it looks like we may get some more rain this coming week!
WATER: It was 85-86 degrees everywhere you went this week with no temperature breaks. The water was blue and with the winds mostly coming from the southeast to east, the Pacific side was calm most of the time with the Cape stopping the wind. The Cortez side had a little chop on it at times.
BAIT: Almost all the larger baits this week were Caballito and mullet at the normal $3 per bait. Large swells this week kept the bait guys from getting any Sardinas this week.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: There were still Striped Marlin being caught out there, and mostly in the same area as last week, up the coast toward the Golden Gate Bank on the Pacific side. There were also still quite a few Sailfish being caught, some of them small and some large, and normally there were at least two in the pattern when they showed up. With the full moon coming on the bite picked up just a bit on the Blue and Black Marlin. These fish were found between the 95 spot and the south end of the San Jaime Bank with the areas around the porpoise seeming to offer a few more chances at one as they seemed to be in there feeding on the small tuna.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: There were not a lot of Tuna caught this week, a few pods of porpoise held football size fish but they were not very willing to bite. Every day at least one boat, sometimes more, got into a fish of over 100 pounds with a few over 200 pounds being caught. The locations varied from 30 miles to the south to 3 miles off the lighthouse and up the Cortez side toward the Inman bank area. There seemed to be several schools out there moving around a lot. Of course there were also those times when you could see the fish but not get them to bite.
DORADO: Once again the fish of the week, Dorado continued to please anglers who went looking for them. Even if your target was something different it seemed you could get at least one Dorado hooked up. Some of the boats that really concentrated on these fish were limiting out early and then going out to try for a big Blue Marlin. The majority of the fish were found close to the beach on the Pacific side from the arch and northward.
WAHOO: I heard of a few Wahoo this week from the Punta Gorda area as well as a couple from close to the beach on the Pacific side up in the Los Arcos area. The fish reported to me averaged 30 pounds and were caught while fishing for Dorado.
INSHORE: Just like last week, Panga fishermen were getting a little bit of everything this week, ranging from Roosterfish to Jacks to Snapper to Grouper to Dorado to Sailfish, etc. Pretty much anything you wanted to fish for could be found from a Panga this past week.
NOTES: Hurricane Jimena looks like she is going to come in and give us a close-up look early this week. Perhaps a category 4 Hurricane when she come in on her closest approach (presently forecast for late Tuesday, subject to change at any moment) she will bring some much needed rain to our area, we just hope it is not so much that it ruins all the street construction taking place downtown (that was supposed to be completed at the beginning of August). Check in next week and I’ll let you know how things turned out. Meanwhile later today I am putting the hardtop back on the jeep and filling my gas cans, putting the yard in order and getting ready for a hurricane party. If you want to follow the storm check out one of my favorite weather sites, www.hurricanezone.com. This weeks report was written to the music of Jethro Tull on the 1993 Chrysalis release “The Best Of Jethro Tull, The Anniversary Collection”. Until next week, tight lines!
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Aug 28, 2009; 03:52PM - Read Carefully!
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Category:
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Author Name: Gary Graham
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Author E-mail: bajafly@bajafly.com
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Report Description:
Endless Season Update 08/28/2009
REPORT #1180 'Below the Border' Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
Based on sample online reports this week, everyone agreed that billfishing was off. However, one report suggested “the billfishing has slowed, as most anglers are targeting the tuna and dorado.”
Another report begins, “fishing seemed to be a roller coaster ride. We had some great days and some slow days.
Then…wait…wait…keep reading! The report continues, “But, overall the fishing was good. We saw many big tuna again this past week, the biggest weighing in at 120 pounds and many more in the 50 to 90 pound range were also weighed in.”
Another report also alluded to a good tuna bite with tuna averaging 25 to 40 pounds and once again, wait…wait…wait…”the largest this week 120 pounds.”
Then comes---“dorado are plentiful, both inside and outside.”
“Inshore fishing has been very consistent with pargo and pompano taking baits daily. The
roosters are smaller this week.”
“Bait has been scarcer than normal. Mostly sardine has been available this week.”
Then my final source, a local with no boats or rooms to rent sent the following:
“Things are very slow. A few schoolie dorado off the light house and a very slow tuna bite on 15 to 25 pound tuna fishing the same area. South of Los Frailes a few tuna if you are lucky enough to find the porpoise. Very slow on marlin and sails; inshore is tough as well. Not many boats going out either. All is very quiet on the East Cape.”
Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Barbra and Bruce Carter, from Hayward, CA, limited out in the bay on grouper, corvina, bass and two snook. And Mark Wisdom, a surfer from Cabo, broke the ice with four wahoo fishing out of the camp on Cabo San Lazaro. He came for the waves which were great ,but topped it off with the wahoo.
Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The blue water is just off the beach, with the average surface temperature at 87°. Due to the absence of tourism, only a couple of boats are going out each day, getting about one or two sailfish per boat. Dorado fishing is slow, and the water is too warm for yellowfin tuna or marlin.
The very good inshore action we have been having shut down this week. The fish are still here, but the surf was huge all up and down the coast. The bait fish can't handle the heavy surf, so the game fish have followed them into the deeper water.
Cheva and I fished with fly fishing clients, Scott and Christine Repass, of New Jersey, down south at Puerto Vicente Guerrero, and did not raise a fish. We also had to move around quite a bit, covering a lot of areas, to keep out of the stained water. Even though we are not getting any rain on the coast, the mountains are getting plenty, with the rivers discoloring the water near their outlet.
Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, reported the same conditions to the North of Zihuatanejo; not catching a single roosterfish for his three days on the water..…Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582
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