Gray Light at East Cape..Guatemala Rocks

REPORT #997 . “Below the Border” Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
Endless Season Update 02/04/06
East Cape
Our guide Lance Peterson reports – Beach fishing at this time is an early morning deal. And I mean EARLY! Hit the beach at gray light and you'll have a shot at sierra. The bite lasts for 20 minutes or so. Once the sun hits the water, the action moves out of range. The anglers fishing from boats, however, have a longer lasting bite. I fished from my neighbor’s 12-foot Livingston three days ago and we had great action on the troll. Casting however proved more challenging as the sierras would pop up on the surface for a few seconds and then vanish. Fun stuff though.

I've found isolated pockets of beach action in the evening, too. It's a ladyfish show at that time of day. But these ladies are tough! They are feeding on fry that look to be about ¼-inch long and they are very tough to catch. I've been trying to "match the hatch," but don't quite have small enough flies.

Offshore, there has been tuna action for those who make it out. On the flat days I see good numbers of tuna flags. And from what Bob at East Cape Tackle says . . . those who find marlin have been doing very well indeed.

Baja on the Fly

Water temperature 62-70
Air temperature 59-76
Humidity 34%
Wind: NNW 11 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 8 miles
Sunrise 6:54 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:12 p.m. MST
San Jose, Guatemala
Action was hit or miss this week with more fish beginning to show later in the week. Chris Pearson, from Boise, Idaho and Jack Baltch, Fremont, Calif., after a slow start in the morning with more misses than hits, came up with a strong finish in the afternoon with Chris catching his first sailfish ever. Jack, not to be outdone, added to his total with the first one of the trip late in the day. Lots of high fives and more than a little bit of Guatemalan rum in the bar. With three days to go, it could get interesting tomorrow.

Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 70- 84
Humidity 62%
Wind: SSE 6 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 6:28 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:06 p.m. CST


Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

The whale action continues to dominate the scene. There are plenty to go around and hence most of the pangas are busy doing whale watching tours. Still plenty of action for corvina, a few pargo and grouper and of course the spotted bay bass. Out at the entrada there are still a few yellows and grouper for the persistent.

Water temperature 68-73
Air temperature 51-77
Humidity 100%
Wind: WNW 6 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:04 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:17 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
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This week has seen some good fishing. The 82º to 84º water is all along the coast, with the cobalt blue water only a couple of miles off the beach. Most boats are averaging about two sailfish a day, with an additional 25- to 35-pound dorado, but several boats have had days with four to five sailfish a day. Adan, on the “Gitana II” released seven sailfish in four days; Santiago on the panga “Gitana” released 10 sails in five days; and Martin on the panga “Isamar” also held the two fish a day average all week. Adolpho on the “Dos Hermanos,” and Cheva on the “Dos Hermanos II” each had a couple of days with four to five fish a day.

Inshore action is finding a lot of jack crevalle, with Bill Berg of Minnesota fishing with Adan, and releasing enough for Bill to call it an early day. Adolpho found some roosters, which must have been heading South to warmer water from a destination up in the colder Baja regions, because he took seven roosters and several big jacks up near the Pantla beach area.

Other inshore action is seeing a lot of sierras and black skipjacks.
Ed Kunze, Zihuatanejo

Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 66 - 86
Humidity 79%
Wind W 9 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 8 miles
Sunrise 7:15 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:45 p.m. CST