Guatemala Sailfish Like Pigeons in the Park

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East Cape
The wind finally stopped on Thurs. (3/3) and things definitely look brighter when you can cast a fly without having it sail back in your face. To prove my point, I landed a 20 pound pargo from the beach. There are also a few ladyfish, lots of small jacks, and a few small roosters. All the pangeros (panga drivers) are seeing loads of marlin off of Punta Pescadero, along with small dorado. Not many sierra around. Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature
67-74
Air temperature
66-69
Humidity
58%
Wind:
NNE 8 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:37 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:23 p.m. MST


Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Whale watching is still taking center stage for both Lopez Mateos and Puerto San Carlos. There are still a few small yellows under the bird schools at the entrada as well as a few leopard grouper deeper down in the water column. The esteros produced a few small snook both at Los Barriles and Devil’s Curve.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
64-69
Humidity
53%
Wind:
WNW 4 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
5 miles
Sunrise
6:46 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:30 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
Checking the Terrifin Satellite Surface Water Temperatures (SSWT) the last four days, it was evident a cold water current was moving in. This has been verified by the lack of sailfish being caught by the fleet. Checking again yesterday morning (3/4), before leaving with fly fishing client Ludo Coenen of Holland, it appeared a favorable band of water was about 12- to 15-miles out. On either side of this band of water, the SSWT showed a cooler water current moving in from the North. We never did find the blue water, but it appears it must be about 25 miles or so.

We got two sailfish on the fly and the rest of the fleet averaged only one fish on conventional gear. But, the fact remains, the fishing will continue going down hill if this cooler current moves in and sticks around. On a high note, the blue marlin and the big tuna should be moving in with the cooler water.

Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze

Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
71 - 86
Humidity
78%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
7:06 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:51 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala

This is an e-mail that we received this week. “What a great trip you all whipped together for me on such short notice. I just don't know how billfishing could get any better than it was! In four days we raised 53, I hooked 39 and landed 14. I can't get back there fast enough.” -- Joseph A. Turano
For the past week I can only report on 4 days of fishing. In those 4 days, there were 454 released sailfish out of 664 hooked with an average of 14 releases per boat with conventional tackle. On the fly side, there were 118 released sails out of 218 hooked for a average of 8 releases per boat. In addition to the sails, there were a couple of marlin hooked up, but released, and quite a few reports of dorado.
Yesterday (3/4) was the first of a three day trip with Joe Balch, Fremont, Calif.. Having never caught a sailfish on the fly, he was up at sun-up ready to rock and roll. By the time the boat backed into the slip in the afternoon, he was no longer a wannabe. He had three sailfish on the fly under his belt. Yes, he was grinning from ear-to-ear. He was a great pupil and I can’t wait to see what he does today.
Water temperature
78 - 82
Air temperature
80 - 84
Humidity
55%
Wind:
SE 8 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
7 miles
Sunrise
6:26 a.m. CST
Sunset
5:46 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin

For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373