Baja Ready to Pounce on October

REPORT #1030 “Below the Border” Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
Endless Season Update 09/30/06

East Cape
Good weather continued this week with the locals talking about the Sea of Cortez being like a lake. Tuna and dorado action was the best for the few hotel guest this week. On the billfish front, the action has improved from last week when the fish were pretty lethargic. More fish in the pattern this week, but still not enough to make it worthwhile for the fly-flinger. Along the beach, the water has cleaned up after the storms and action has improved. There are a few jacks and roosters crashing on the schools of sardina between La Ribera and Punta Colorada. Also some ladyfish and a few pompano near the hotels.


Water temperature 74-89
Air temperature 75-91
Humidity 94%
Wind: WSW at 2 kph
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 9 miles
Sunrise 7:10 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:07 p.m. MDT

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

We received a report from Nick Smith on the “Old Reliable,” who began their first trip of the season. Fishing the pinnacle below the entrada mid week yielded fair action for a couple hours in the afternoon. When they returned the next day, the sweet spot had dried up and they slid down seven miles below Tosca and had non-stop action. Meanwhile, up at Thetis, there were reports of lots of marlin around the bank and further up the ridge good wahoo and dorado action under kelp paddies.

Mangrove action included corvina, grouper and several small snook at Devil’s Curve.

Water temperature 64 - 78
Air temperature 74-87
Humidity 94%
Wind: NE 8 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:18 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:15 p.m. MDT


Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
Things have calmed down considerably since the last two near misses by Hurricanes John and Lane. The 82° blue water has come back to the 12 mile mark and the sailfish fishing has been very good this week. Even though there are very few people fishing, the three or four boats going out each day are averaging about three sailfish each.

The blue marlin have also come on very strong. Each boat is getting at least a shot at the blues, with a couple a day being caught. Most of the blues are being taken at the 20- to 25- mile mark.

The most exciting day I have ever had on the water was just this last Monday. Baja on the Fly client, Jim Funk of Snow Valley, Idaho, fly-fished with Cheva, Jesus Juarez and me on the panga “Dos Hermanos.” Jim and I made the 1.5 hour trip to Puerto Vicente Gro. in my Suburban, while Cheva and Jesus made the 2.5 hour trip by water and brought the panga down from Zihuatanejo.

Ten minutes after getting on the panga, we were into the roosterfish. They varied in size from five to an estimated 50 pounds. And, there were a ton of them, with the average being around 25 to 30 pounds. In a few short hours we had teased up 32 roosters. The fish were so aggressive they followed the hookless surface popper to within 10-feet, to a maximum of 25-feet, from the boat. Sometimes we had a different rooster following the teaser on three and four consecutive casts. It was awesome.


Ed Kunze
Water temperature 78 - 87
Air temperature 77 - 92
Humidity 95%
Wind E 5 kph
Conditions: T-Storms
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:36 a.m. CDT
Sunset 7:36 p.m. CDT

Baja Conditions Falling into Place

REPORT #1029 “Below the Border” Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
Endless Season Update 09/23/06
East Cape
As storm season winds down, it was another busy week of clean up and preparation for the flood of visitors who will begin arriving after the 1st of October. Traditionally, Chubasco season officially ends in late October, but with cooler temperatures both on the mainland and Baja, hopes are high that the worst is behind us.

Nice weather with some wind chop in the PM was the report from the anglers who were out on the water.

If tuna are your thing, this was a great week to be at East Cape. Tuna schools were found just a few miles offshore from La Ribera all the way down to below Las Frailes, providing enough action to keep the sashimi flowing at “Happy Hour” back at the hotels.

As the water continued to clear up close to shore, more dorado were found under the floating debris left in the wake of the recent storms. Anglers who failed to have their rods rigged when they left the dock took more than a little heat when the boats skidded to a stop on floating weed patches close to the hotel. Small olive-backed See Through Deceivers or Baja Wasabi’s were the flies of choice.

A few anglers opted to spend their time looking for billfish, but the action included more dorado and tuna than the targeted billfish this week.

Locals predict some extraordinary East Cape action as conditions settle down in the next few weeks.


Water temperature 74-89
Air temperature 74-94
Humidity 89%
Wind: NNE at 9 kph
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 9 miles
Sunrise 7:07 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:14 p.m. MDT

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Every year, boats seem to be arriving earlier to search for the “holy grail” – the fish build-up that often is found offshore here at Magdalena. This year is no different. I received a call from Nick Smith, Palm Beach, Fla., whose “Old Reliable” is steaming up the West Coast of Mexico to begin fishing for billfish on the fly later this month. From recent reports, his timing may be right on target. A few yachts traveling through the area have reported large schools of billfish, tuna and dorado all the way from Thetis down to the entrada.

Inshore the action at the entrada included a few small yellows, grouper and bonito with skipjack just beyond the entrance. Still a few sierra on the surface at Punta Belcher’s with halibut hugging the sandy bottom.

Up at Lopez Mateos, Diana Hoyt reports that the mangrove action included corvina, grouper and spotted bay bass.

Water temperature 64 - 78
Air temperature 74-83
Humidity 87%
Wind: NE 5 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:15 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:21 p.m. MDT


Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
No report received this week. The following is a repeat of last week’s information with a weather update.

Water temperature 78 - 87
Air temperature 76 - 92
Humidity 86%
Wind E 5 kph
Conditions: T-Storms
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:35 a.m. CDT
Sunset 7:42 p.m. CDT
We really do not know how the fishing is right now. Tropical storm Lane formed only 60 miles out in front of us, and the port has been closed for 4 days now.

We do know the blue water has not come in very much from the 20 mile mark where it was pushed out last week by hurricane John.

And, just like Hurricane John, even though the port was closed and we got rain, we did not get any wind at all. However, I have recorded 9.75 inches of rain since this last Monday (the 11th), almost twice the amount of rain we got from John. Things should start clearing up soon, and we can get back to fishing.

Ed Kunze

Whew! Hurricane “Lane” Heads East

REPORT #1028 “Below the Border” Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
Endless Season Update 09/16/06

THE CENTER OF LANE IS EXPECTED TO MAKE
LANDFALL ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST OF MEXICO LATER TODAY.... NWS.
East Cape
While the locals continue to clean-up after Hurricane John, “Lane” came bobbing and weaving up the Mexican coast. Fortunately, Friday night its course altered to the East and this morning conditions are cloudy but calm.

Tuna and billfish provided the best action offshore most of the week. Back inshore, as the off color water dissipated, there were more dorado to be found under the debris left in John’s wake.

Beach action is sporadic at best with a few ladyfish found near the hotels providing the best action. With the dirty water along the beach, sight casting is impossible. Your best bet is to look for diving pelicans working the sardina schools from La Ribera to Punta Colorada.


Water temperature 74-89
Air temperature 74-90
Humidity 96%
Wind: W at 11 kph
Conditions: Thunderstorms
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 7:05 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:22 p.m. MDT

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico


Aside from the large swells from Hurricane Lane down below, the weather has been nice. The large swells prevented most of the boats from going out to Thetis Bank where the marlin and dorado action had been great earlier in the week. Last week the dorado were even found in the Entrada when the water temps reached 80 degrees. Back in the Esteros, the pargo action has slowed down from last week’s bite. Still there was decent grouper action up at Lopez Mateos and of course still a few corvina and plenty of spotted bay bass at Devil’s Curve.

Water temperature 64 - 78
Air temperature 74-88
Humidity 82%
Wind: NW 7 mph
Conditions: Cloudy
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 7:13 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:30 p.m. MDT


Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
We really do not know how the fishing is right now. Tropical storm Lane formed only 60 miles out in front of us, and the port has been closed for 4 days now.

We do know the blue water has not come in very much from the 20 mile mark where it was pushed out last week by hurricane John.

And, just like Hurricane John, even though the port was closed and we got rain, we did not get any wind at all. However, I have recorded 9.75 inches of rain since this last Monday (the 11th), almost twice the amount of rain we got from John.

Things should start clearing up soon, and we can get back to fishing.
Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 87
Air temperature 78 - 95
Humidity 90%
Wind Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:34 a.m. CDT
Sunset 7:48 p.m. CDT

East Cape…Damaged but Rebounding!

REPORT #1027 “Below the Border” Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
Endless Season Update 09/10/06
East Cape
Hurricane John came and went, leaving plenty of damage in its wake as the photos will attest to.
Here’s the link to photos of the damage caused: http://www.parkmodelexpress.com/baja/Hurricane%20John

While everyone has a story of varying degrees of damage, there have been limited reports of injury. Many of the locals however, were wiped out and are basically starting again from scratch. There are several individuals working to deliver relief to the families who were affected. If you are interested in additional relief information, there are links on the photo page.

Hotel boats are beginning to get back on the water, and are reporting plenty of debris which was washed out of the arroyos. Like someone said “fish have got to eat” and the tuna schools wasted no time resuming the bite below Las Frailes. Out in front of La Ribera the billfish came right back on point as well. Mark Rayor’s “Jen Wren” reported good tuna catches, several marlin and a dorado from under the debris in spite of a revisit of rain on Thursday.

Water temperature 74-89
Air temperature 78-90
Humidity 52%
Wind: W 6mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 7:03 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:27 p.m. MDT

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico


Neither Puerto San Carlos nor Lopez Mateos took much of a hit from “John”. They did have some wind and rain, but not of epic proportions like the tip and the west side of the Sea of Cortez, according to Enrique Soto in Puerto San Carlos. Several boats that ran up to Turtle Bay to hide from the storm reported lots of marlin spotted above the Thetis all the way to within fifteen miles of the Entrada. Also plenty of dorado to 35 lbs. were spotted under the floating debris.
Back at the Entrada the grouper bite was the best thing going and in the esteros it was primarily cabrilla with an occasional corvina.

Water temperature 64 - 78
Air temperature 72-84
Humidity 54%
Wind: WNW 13 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 7:10 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:35 p.m. MDT


Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
Things have calmed down considerably since hurricane John blew by last week, but the blue water has been moved out to the 20 mile mark. And the full moon phase is hurting the catch a bit. Most boats in the fleet are only averaging about 1 or 2 sailfish per day.

The dorado, like the blue water, took off with John, and the tuna do not yet want to come in close to play. The yellowfin averaging about 50 pounds, are 40 miles out.

However, the roosterfish and jack crevalle fishing is still excellent. Adan, on the panga Gitana II got 3 nice roosters to 45 pounds for his clients, plus they lost a couple others. They also got two large jacks averaging about 20 pounds, and a trevally
Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 87
Air temperature 78 - 90
Humidity 62%
Wind WSW 7 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:33 a.m. CDT
Sunset 7:52 p.m. CDT

And Along Came John!

REPORT #1026 “Below the Border” Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
Endless Season Update 09/02/06
East Cape
While everyone was preparing for a big Labor Day weekend, along came Hurricane John. This is the first time that I can remember the same storm hitting three of our locations in one week. If you haven’t heard about “John” you must be watching too much football. All the networks covered this one extensively. To Tel Mex’s credit, they managed to keep DSL up throughout the storm. The IM’s (instant messages) yesterday reflected the sender’s experience with Baja storms. Messages ranged from “ho hum” to “oh shit!”

Here’s a typical message from early evening and this morning:

PP: (3:10:37 pm): Right now it's coming down in sheets and winds are about 60 MPH, but we should get the 110 MPH in couple of hours. Our windows are boarded up so we can't see, but the last time I ventured outside the waves were about 4 feet and the tide was high, but not much more than a normal high tide. Power is going in and out so we will probably lose that soon.
MR: (4:37:58 pm): We may have had wind to 25, just 2 inches of rain; we had more rain two weeks ago.
MR: (5:55:39 pm): Man did we take a hit. Ripped doors out by the jams. Filled the house with water and tossed things around pretty good. The eye came over us about 10pm last night. I can't get out the front or back door because of all the downed trees. Well, at least I still have a front door (minus the stained glass) The front door at guest house is laying out in the driveway.
MR: (7:14:37 am): A 28’ Californian parked on a trailer behind Vista Del Mar. The wind blew it off the trailer and it rolled 360 degrees. Landed on its bottom after taking out the Bimini, rails and more. The 100 pound battery is lying in the dirt next to it. The trailer is bent like a pretzel.

As the reports continue to filter in, it sounds like plenty of property damage, but fortunately few injuries.

On a lighter note, congratulations to Brett Phillips who received notification this week from IGFA that his “Gaff Sail Pompano” caught on a trip with Baja on the Fly in May set a new all tackle record.



Water temperature 74-89
Air temperature 80-91
Humidity 83%
Wind: S 15mph
Conditions: T-Storms
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 7:01 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:35 p.m. MDT

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico


As the Southern tip of Baja begins to dig out this morning, all of Magdalena Bay is hunkering down for their turn with “Hurricane John”. Predictions are for more rain and less wind as the storm moves into that area.

Water temperature 64 - 78
Air temperature 76-86
Humidity 97%
Wind: WNW 15 mph
Conditions: Rain
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:07 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:44 p.m. MDT


Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The big story this week was not about fishing, but rather staying off the water. Hurricane John, even though we got no damage at all, passed only 60 miles out in front of Ixtapa / Zihuatanejo. Over a period of several hours, we did get 5 inches of rain, but no wind. However, you would not have wanted to be on the water, because it was a completely different story only a couple of miles off the beach.

It is going to take a few more days before the barometer stabilizes and things settle down.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 87
Air temperature 75 - 84
Humidity 89%
Wind Calm
Conditions: Mostly Cloudy
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:31 a.m. CDT
Sunset 7:58 p.m. CDT