Delila Fades…Tournament Looms

Lance gets a teener


REPORT #1073 “Below the Border” Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
Endless Season Update July 28, 2007

East Cape



This week brought the first Tropical Storm of the season; Delila popped up out of nowhere and things went from flat calm to grumpy in the space of an afternoon. Fortunately, sea conditions were only messed up for a few days and then it was back to normal.

Delila departed just in time for the “East Cape Bisbee” which begins next week (Aug. 1-3). This year’s purse is expected to be around $300k so it’s no surprise that everyone has become tight-lipped about the current billfish action. Striper action continues to improve and rumors of a few blues are flying. The rumors claim that several have been caught weighing over 300 lb. and one purportedly in the high 4’s, which is all the encouragement needed to justify lots of pre-fishing.

Good news for the fly fisher’s; there were more and more instances of multiple fish showing up behind the teasers.

Tuna action slowed for weather related reasons. However a 145 lb. gorilla-class yellowfin made it to the scales… the largest of the 2007 season so far…stay tuned. For the football sized tuna we are having great success with our Baja Wasabi fly.

Dorado action continued to be less than wonderful, partly because of the weather; we are just not seeing the schools that provide the best action for the fly rod.
Lance Peterson reported; “Plenty of small jacks up to 5 lbs. to take shots at, along with breezing schools of small pompano that can be sucker-punched with small Clousers or even smaller ‘Crazy Charlies’. Roosterfish have been hit or miss. Most fish are seen in pairs or daisy chains of up to 6 fish. Mostly very tough to move them but I had some good reactions from them several days ago and landed one in the 30's. The weather has changed. Lots of clouds, some rain, very warm SE wind.”
On the bait front, live sardina are tough to come by unless you are willing to make the thirty mile run up to Bahia de Los Suenos. The good news is that there were some live mackerel being offered by the bait guys locally.

Water temperature 68-85
Air temperature 75-96
Humidity 73%
Wind: S 4 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 4 miles
Sunrise 6:47 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:04 p.m. MDT

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Tropical Storm Delila also dumped some rain here along with stronger winds. Tuna action resumed as soon as the seas settled down. Most of the action has been inside of thirty miles from Boca de Soledad. Closer to shore, inside of ten miles the dorado action broke wide open according to Bob Hoyt, Mag Bay Outfitters. It was so good that they were headed out today with a couple of kayaks loaded on Mar Gato. Hopefully he will have photos to share next week.

Because of the unsettled weather no one made the twenty mile run out to the Entrada this week. Up at Devil’s Curve, grouper and pargo provided the best action. Still a decent bite on the surface for corvina up to ten lbs.

Water temperature 64 - 76
Air temperature 70 -84
Humidity 73 %
Wind: WNW 9 – 13 knots
Conditions: Fog in morning
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:52 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:14 p.m. MDT

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

Conditions have improved this week, with the inshore action for roosters being phenomenal. The boats are each averaging between 7 and 8 roosters a day! Plus, that does not count an almost equal number of the hard fighting jack crevalle. The jacks are averaging between 12 and 16 pounds, with the roosters averaging a whopping 30 to 40 pounds.

It really does not matter if you go North or South out of Zihuatanejo Bay, all the beaches are producing jacks and roosters. Also, with most of the fish being taken on surface poppers, it is an ideal situation for the fly caster. The same popper, with the hooks taken off, makes an excellent teaser to bring the rooster to the boat, and well within fly casting distance.

Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 77-95
Humidity 73%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Thundershowers
Visibility 2 miles
Sunrise 7:24 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:22 p.m. CDT

Summer Has Arrived!

REPORT #1072 “Below the Border” Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
Endless Season Update July 21, 2007

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico


You know that season has arrived when you get a late night phone call reporting that some bruiser tuna in the 100 lb. class have been found just outside Boca de Soledad. The conversation went something like this:

“Amigo, the commercial panga guys found some really big tuna outside--- so big they couldn’t catch them on their handlines. We are going out tomorrow (Thursday) and we will let you know what happens.”

That’s it! Nothing more. Either they are still hooked up, are still cleaning their catch or it was bum dope. Stay tuned…I will let you know! Just before I posted this report I received the following “yellowfin tuna WFO thirty miles outside Boca de Soledad”.
Meanwhile more and more dorado are being seen each week near the shark buoys west of the Entrada. Yellowtail fishing continues to provide the best surface action at the entrada. On the bottom there are enough grouper to keep it interesting.

At Lopez Mateos, Mag Bay Outfitters finally received the kayaks they had ordered a while back. The Captains and crew couldn’t wait for clients to show up to try them out, so they loaded them on Mar Gato and headed up to the Esteros for their trial run. Judging by the photos the kayaks are a welcome addition!

Water temperature 64 - 76
Air temperature 69 -88
Humidity 94 %
Wind: WNW 9 – 13 knots
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 2 miles
Sunrise 6:49 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:17 p.m. MDT

East Cape


Spring is gone and summer action is beginning to seriously kick in. Offshore, striped marlin and a few sails provided the best action this week with only a few blues reported so far. There are plenty of stripey’s around; they just don’t seem ready to get serious just yet.

Football sized yellowfin tuna dominated the offshore action this week. Distances ranged from a few miles offshore to more than thirty. As usual the boats arriving early to the spots got limits while the late ones watched.

Dorado action continues to be disappointing for most. There have been a few quality fish caught (up to fifty pounds) but they are few and far between.

Early in the week, a floating carcass produced the best concentrated action of the season, including limits of smaller dorado and YFT’s

Inshore the cooler water stubbornly remains close to shore and seems to have caused the sardina to evaporate, leaving us with only with a few larger live baits and dead ballyhoo. It has also slowed the rooster bite to a trickle compared to a few weeks ago. Still the tenacious angler prowling the beach has been rewarded with a few fish here and there.


Water temperature 75-87
Air temperature 67-93
Humidity 92%
Wind: ENE 5 - 6 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 8 miles
Sunrise 6:43 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:07 p.m. MDT

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

We had a lot of rain for a couple of days this last week. On Wednesday, I recorded 12 inches of rain between 5:00 in the afternoon to 7:00 the next morning. This pushed a lot of weeds, trees, and debris out of the rivers, and it also pushed the blue water out to at least the 20 mile mark.

Most of the captains are reporting averaging between 1 and 2 sailfish a day per boat. And all of them are complaining that the weed lines are in such abundance, it is making trolling difficult. A trolled bait, with three feet of weeds trailing behind it, will not catch any fish.

However, a lot of the captains are also reporting several schools of peanut sized dorado among the weeds. Hopefully these fast growing fish will stick around for a while.

The inshore fishing was great early in the week. Santiago, on the panga, Gitana, did get 7 roosters, up to 40 pounds, in one day for his clients. And Adolpho, on the panga, Dos Hermanos, spent several days with an ESPN2 TV crew in Puerto Vicente Gro. They got a bunch of roosters and plenty of footage for their show.

Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 71-93
Humidity 92%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Mostly Clear
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:21 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:24 p.m. CDT

Jacks Back….

REPORT #1071 “Below the Border” Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
Endless Season Update July 14, 2007

East Cape


Inshore fishing still seems to be the best bet for the fly rodder providing consistent action for jacks and roosterfish close to the beach.

For the beach walkers, though, it seems to be more walking and less casting. Even the ‘go to’ ladyfish have been tougher to find recently. The lucky anglers are getting some shots at nice sized jacks and roosters ranging from a few pounds to Bubba sized.

Offshore, there are plenty of striped marlin around to look at but it’s tough to find the hungry ones. They just haven’t turned on yet.

Tuna action has been producing limits of football sized fish the run has been beyond thirty-five miles and the risk is if you are not one of the early boats there you can miss the bite entirely.

Dorado fishing continues to be hit or miss with most of fish caught showing up behind the teasers.

Water temperature 75-86
Air temperature 76-100
Humidity 88%
Wind: N 6 - 8 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 6:40 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:09 p.m. MDT

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

As the water continues to warm, more dorado are being spotted near the shark buoys twenty miles west of the Entrada. There were a few schools of yellowfin tuna found outside of Boca de Soledad with quite a few skippies mixed in. The occasional billfish can be spotted tailing down swell in the afternoons.

The Entrada continues to produce good catches of yellowtail and bonita chasing the breezing sardines.

While the snook action has diminished this week, the leopard grouper filled the gap with a few better sized ones up to twenty pounds. Corvina action provided the best surface action up above Lopez Mateos where they could be found feeding on balls of sardines near the surface.
Water temperature 64 - 76
Air temperature 72 -90
Humidity 88 %
Wind: WNW 13 – 18 knots
Conditions: Mostly Sunny
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 6:46 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:19 p.m. MDT

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The fishing has slowed a bit this week. We have had some unsettled weather, with the barometer bouncing around like a yoyo. We only had one day of rain (Thursday), but we got over two inches between 8AM and 10AM.

The fleet is averaging only 1 or 2 sailfish a day average. However, the 10 to 15 pound yellowfin are between 15 and 20 miles off the beach and are providing very good action for the light line angler.

The clear and clean water is just two miles off the beach, and the inshore action is doing well. The roosterfish action is good, and there are lots of mid-sized jack crevalle between 12 and 16 pounds. The jacks are giving the fly rodders a great day on the water.

Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 78-100
Humidity 79%
Wind: N 5 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:19 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:25 p.m. CDT

Cold Currents Persist….

REPORT #1070 “Below the Border” Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
Endless Season Update July 07, 2007

East Cape

Unseasonably cooler water plagued the area again this week, pushing the best offshore action farther up into the Sea of Cortez from Punta Pescadero out to the eighty-eight - more fish seen than caught. However, there were a few blues to add to the excitement. Sardina were tough to come by so the bait supply was limited to ballyhoo and cabillitos. Dorado action continued to be sporadic with only an occasional trolled fish caught, though some were as large as forty pounds. Tuna action could be found if you were willing to travel 30 – 50 miles…mostly football sized fish with a few 20+ pounders mixed in. If you weren’t on one of the early boats to find the porpoise, your odds diminished quickly.
Inshore has continued to be the best option for the flyrodder, offering good action for smaller roosters and jacks (with a few decent sized pargo in the mix) close to shore.
Beach action continued to be a challenge and is best left to the physically fit. Patrolling the beaches on foot in the midday sun trying to be in the right place at the right time can be tough. Try early morning and late afternoon when the ladyfish come out to play.
Water temperature 69-84
Air temperature 75-91
Humidity 83%
Wind: ESE 8 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 6:37 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:10 p.m. MDT

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

The only offshore reports this week came from the shark fishermen who found a few dorado twenty miles west of the Entrada. Enrique Soto, from San Carlos, continued to pound the yellows at the Entrada, mostly firecrackers with just enough mossbacks to keep it interesting. There were also a few sierra and bonita mixed in with the yellows under the bird schools chasing the breezing sardinas.

Devil’s Curve produced a few snook in the ten pound class, as well as a few pargo and grouper that were suckers for a slow-retrieved chartreuse Baja Deepdiver.

Above Lopez Mateos the best bet was the surface action for corvina that were hitting poppers of any description. Of course there were plenty of spotted bay bass deeper down in the water column that couldn’t resist small Clousers.

Water temperature 64 - 73
Air temperature 70 -85
Humidity 58 %
Wind: W 8 – 11 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 6:42 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:20 p.m. MDT

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

Clean clear water is at the solitary rock at the entrance to Zihuatanejo Bay. Fishing is improving, with the trend on the plus side as we move away from the full moon phase. Even though there are not many boats going out, the fleet is averaging about 3 sailfish a day, per boat. Adan, on the panga, Gitana II, fished only one day this week, but managed 4 sailfish released.

Most of the sailfish have been taken between 12 and 14 miles from the bay entrance. The blue marlin and yellowfin tuna are still around, but they are still out at the 1,000 fathom line (about 30 to 32 miles).

Santiago, on the panga, Gitana, told me he released two nice roosters this week weighing approximately 42 to 45 pounds, but most roosters are averaging about 25 to 30 pounds. He also said there are a lot of the hard fighting jack crevalle filling in the gap between the rooster bites and are averaging 14 to 16 pounds.

Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 71-95
Humidity 79%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Cloudy
Visibility 17 miles
Sunrise 7:17 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:26 p.m. CDT