Color East Cape Yellow

Endless Season Update 03/26/2008
REPORT #1107 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape



After running to Muertos for some phenomenal yellowtail action the past six weeks, anglers have discovered a body of quality yellows a few miles out in front of Rancho Leonero. Not exactly a secret spot, it has been ‘wall to wall’ boats cashing in. Most anglers were getting a couple of smaller yellows with some fatties to thirty five lbs. The bite only lasts until too many boats show up and drive the fish down. Still it’s fun fishing while it lasts!

Finding a bait guy to sell us some chum was tougher this week as more boats begin fishing.

Inshore action dominated the East Cape scene. When the yellows quit biting each day, most of the fleet remained close to shore finding a few sierra, jacks, pargo, and cabrilla, Several boats located some larger pompano off the lighthouse.
Tip: When fishing in a fleet that is tossing out a lot of chum, try to get your fly as deep as possible by casting as far as you can and allowing the fly to sink for a 10 count before retrieving with long sweeping pulls.

Water temperature 66-73
Air temperature 60-89
Humidity 62 %
Wind: ENE 2 to 3 knots
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:16 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:33 p.m. MST


Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Still windy outside. However, Enrique Soto reported ‘fair to good’ action at the Entrada for sierra and firecracker yellows on the surface under the bird schools, as well as a few grouper near the shore on the south side of the Entrada. The shallows on the south side of Punta Belcher was loaded with small halibut.

Beneath the Bridge at the entrance to San Carlos, there were a few smaller sierra and corvina willing to take a chartreuse Clouser.


Water temperature 62 - 70
Air temperature 57 -86
Humidity 87%
Wind: WNW 9 to 12 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:23 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:41 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The full moon phase is hurting the sailfish action this week, with an average of about 1 sailfish per boat per day. Close in, the yellowfin tuna are elusive, but decent action has been fairly consistent on the 30 pound average fish out around the 1,000 fathom line (30 miles).
The blue marlin bite is definitely picking up, with lots of strikes reported every day, but hookups have been few. The general consensus is, like the sailfish, the fish are here, but just not hungry enough to be aggressive once they are in the spread.
Yesterday (Wed.), I fished with fly fishing client, Roy O'Shaughnessy of Vancouver, B.C., down at Puerto Vicente Guerrero. We saw 5 sailfish, with none being more than two miles off the beach, but we could not entice them close enough to get a shot.
Inshore, the large 18 to 25 pound jack crevalle action is still holding up well for those who are trolling small Rapalas.

Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 65-98
Humidity 87%
Wind: NNE 3mph
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 8 miles
Sunrise 7:44 a.m. CST
Sunset 7:59 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas

WEATHER: The weather has been going back and forth from cool to warm and it seems to change about every 5 days or so. This past week it was cool at the beginning and warm toward the end. At the end of the week our nighttime lows were in the mid 60’s and our daytime highs reached 91. Earlier in the week everything was 10 degrees cooler and there was wind and partly cloudy skies. Thankfully, the wind died down to nothing on Thursday and there were just light breezes over the Easter weekend.

WATER: Water conditions remained less than perfect on the Pacific side at the beginning of the week with strong winds from the northwest pushing up swells to 6 feet with lots of whitecaps on top. Also during that time frame the Cortez side was rougher than is normal with winds from the North not really pushing up swells but bringing on a lot of chop. At the end of the week things had really settled down, the wind quit blowing on Thursday and the swells relented on the Pacific side, becoming 2-3 feet with no chop, and conditions almost glassy on the Cortez side. On Sunday afternoon the wind again started to pick up from the Northwest and the Pacific side started to kick up a bit. Water temperatures were much warmer due south of the Cape much of the week with a band of warm water out past the 25 mile line, wandering between there and 30 miles out. This water was in the 70-70.5 degree range and was pretty clean and blue. I made a run out to the southern side of San Jaime on Friday and while I read mostly 68 degrees to the south, as soon as I approached within 5 miles the water dropped to 64 degrees and turned very green. I overheard other Captains mention that the water out past the 95 spot was also cool, but a bit cleaner, but with no fish to be found.

BAIT: Mackerel was easily available at the usual $2 per bait and there were also Caballito at the same price.

FISHING:

BILLFISH: There were very few Marlin caught this week and the ones that were caught were found due south, in the warmer water among the Dolphin, I think the hook-up ratio was probably in the 10% range once again. Just as happened the week before, there were a few Swordfish sighted and fished for, but I did not hear of any coming in to the dock.

YELLOWFIN TUNA: Once again the football size fish were found anywhere from 170 degrees to 220 degrees off of the cape. The distance varied from 32 miles to 38 miles, but very few fish were found any closer than that. All of the fish were associated with the white-bellied Dolphin; if you found a pod of them the chances were good that there were fish with them. The average size was 12 pounds with a few fish going to 20 pounds and a few in the 8-pound range. Best lures were cedar plugs and dark colored feathers. Multiple hook-ups were not uncommon and most boats later in the week were able to catch as many as they wanted. I heard of one boat that got into fish just a little bit bigger at a reported 25-pound average while fishing a bit farther east, just to the south of the Cabrilla Seamount, but there was no confirmation on that. The full moon we are going through right now may be helping our tuna catch.

DORADO: Once again there were a few Dorado caught, but most of them were very small. A few boats reported finding patches of kelp while looking for Tuna, and some to these patches held Dorado and small Yellowfin as well as a few Yellowtail.

WAHOO: Wahoo are in the same category this week as Dorado, with the red flags seen flying but I believe they were all for Sierra!

INSHORE: The bite on small Yellowtail continued this week with many more of them being taken off of the lighthouse on the Pacific side. A surprise for most anglers was the chance to get bit by large Humboldt squid. The squid were concentrated off of the arch, right in front of town, and on Friday they had moved even closer, with boats fishing for them within 200 yards of the Marina entrance. Sierra continues to provide action for those fishing just outside the breakers on both sides of the Cape, but the action seemed better on the Pacific side.

NOTES: It’s a long run out to the Tuna, and they are not big fish, but at least there is action in that area, plus the chance to come across a Marlin or Swordfish as well as a patch of kelp. The Tuna have been keeping anglers happy and with the Humboldt squid right in front there is no reason for anyone to have gone home empty handed later in the week. The Whales are slowly moving back to the north, we saw only three of them on Friday. If the water warms up a bit things should start to take off, our fingers are crossed for better action in the future.

Tight Lines!

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 64 - 71
Air temperature 58-84
Humidity 22%
Wind: NNE at 4mph
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 13 miles
Sunrise 7:23 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:31 p.m. MST


Bahia Asunción


Weather only

Water temperature 62 - 70
Air temperature 61-81
Humidity 86%
Wind: NE at 10 mph
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 11 miles
Sunrise 7:33 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:52 p.m. MST

Warmer Water and Less Wind…..

Endless Season Update 03/19/2008
REPORT #1106 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Cerviche time
Warmer water and less wind again brought this week brought some early rooster and jack action up toward Punta Pescadero and beyond to El Cardonal. Some better quality fish to 20 lbs. were found crashing on sardina close to shore. The bait also attracted a mixture of sierra, pargo and pompano,

Inshore the sierra and white bonito were concentrated in front of La Ribera and down to Punta Colorada.

Offshore there were rumors of a few marlin out beyond thirty miles and a few small dorado spread throughout Palmas bay.

Up at Muertos, the grande yellowtail were still continuing their early season snap. Also some pargo and jacks were around to tear up tackle.
Tip: When you get that yellow or pargo bite, set the hook and reel those first few seconds. It is critical to keep the fish from darting back into the rocks.
Water temperature 66-73
Air temperature 63-88
Humidity 75 %
Wind: NNE 6 to 8 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:23 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:30 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Windy conditions prevailed most of the week, not allowing boats to go outside. The few that did venture outside the Boca found some breezing schools of small yellowtail just a few miles beyond the entrance.

Estero action was limited to a few halibut and the obligatory bay bass.

Water temperature 62 - 70
Air temperature 64 -88
Humidity 75%
Wind: WNW 10 to 13 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:30 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:38 p.m. MST


Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The cool water is still with us, but the Terrafin Satellite Surface Temperature images show a finger of 80º water has moved up from the South. The warm water starts from about 10 miles from the beach, and extends to about 30 miles out.
A few sailfish, dorado and blue marlin are being taken, with the yellowfin tuna really getting active.
The clear water is about 10 miles, and the most action, especially with the yellowfin tuna, being at the 16 mile mark. The yellowfin are averaging about 30 pounds each.
This morning (Thursday), Cali called in to me to give me his weekly report on the Aloha. By 8:00 a.m., he already had a 25 pound dorado on the boat. He had also fished the last two days with fly fishing client, Robert Hoy, raising 5 sailfish and 1 blue marlin.
Margarito, on the Gaby, told me he had gotten into schools of large jack crevalle 5 miles off the beach. They boated several of the 20 pound jacks before continuing on to find a couple of sailfish.
Almost every boat in the fleet is getting the added spectacle of hump back whales, as they have moved into the area. Plus, lots of sea turtles are also being sighted each day by each boat.
Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 73-96
Humidity 60%
Wind: NNE 3mph
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:50 a.m. CST
Sunset 7:57 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas

WEATHER: While the week started off great, with the daytime highs to the low 90’s and nighttime lows in the mid 60’s, at the end of the week the clouds moved in and the wind picked up. As of the weekend we were having winds from the northwest to 18-20 mph with partly cloudy skies and the average temperatures had dropped by 8-10 degrees. No rain came with the front system, but it definitely cooled things off.
WATER: As a result of the winds later in the week, what had been smooth 2-4 foot swells with light breezes on the Pacific side turned into sheep farming by Friday. Everywhere you looked there were whitecaps and swells that had kicked up to 4-6 feet with a few larger ones. Boats that fished south of the Cape early in the week started reporting the wind and swell increase on Tuesday and by Thursday the effects were right off the Cape. On the Cortez side, things were a bit nicer, especially in the morning before the wind really got to cranking it up. Outside of 10 miles though the effects came into play and you had to deal with the choppy conditions. As a result of the wind and the strong California current there was a band of very cool water, down as low as 59 degrees right at the lighthouse. Almost made me expect Albacore Tuna! On the Pacific side the water remained cool, between 59 and 65 degrees outside the 1,000-fathom line. This cool water extended south a distance of 30 miles while on the eastern side of the Cape it only went north as far as a line east of Cabo out to the 1150 area. Farther north it warmed a bit to the 68-degree range and out to the south of the Seamount there was a warm spot that had been drifting around all week that had water as warm as 71 degrees.
BAIT: Mackerel was easily available at the usual $2 per bait and there were also Caballito at the same price.
FISHING:

BILLFISH: Striped Marlin this week were found either close to shore, within 10 miles on the Pacific side or far out, past 30 miles to the south. While there were fish spotted, there were not many of them that were hungry. Looking at the flags flying as boats returned for the day and talking to the guys who were out there this week, the fish were either going to eat right away or disappear before you could get a bait to them. My guess is that only 10% of the boats had a decent shot at a Striped Marlin this week and about half of them hooked up, with some of these fish lost. From that I guess you can tell that the percentages were pretty low. I did hear rumors of a large Marlin, either Blue or Black, being landed early in the week. This fish was reported to be in the #400 range but I never heard anything more on it. With water this cold it would be surprising to me to have one out there, but you never know. There were a few more Swordfish hooked this past week in the cool, green water to the southwest with the largest reported at #250. These fish were reported to have eaten live Mackerel.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Once again it was mostly football Yellowfin this week. The majority of the fish were found south at 30+ miles early in the week before the wind picked up. Later in the week the fish may have been there still, but it was too rough for most of the boats to get there. As a result of the wind more boats fished on the Cortez side of the Cape and around the warm water sot south of the Seamount there were reports of fish averaging 25 pounds with a few to 50 pounds mixed in with the white bellied dolphin. There were massive pods of these dolphin reported off of the Pacific side in the area of the San Jaime Banks, but with the pods reported to be 3 or 4 miles wide and long, it was difficult to find any fish with them.
DORADO: I did see several Dorado flags early in the week but nothing over this weekend.
WAHOO: Wahoo are in the same category this week as Dorado, with the red flags seen flying but I believe they were all for Sierra!
INSHORE: There was a giant school of small Yellowtail found on the Pacific side up at Los Arcos early in the week. Thank goodness the wind kicked up, as there may be some of them that escaped to reproduce. A lot of the Pangas were going out and loading up on them, and these were small fish in the 5-pound range. I hated to see this as for many of the guys there was no reasoning with them, it was a “load up while you can, the hell with the stock’ mentality. There were a lot of the Captains however that limited their clients to only a couple of these for dinner, then took off to look for larger fish. My hat is off to these guys; they care about the future of the fishery here. Also inshore there were scattered Pargo up in the rocks as well as a few larger Yellowtail to 40 pounds just off the bottom in 120 feet of water.
NOTES: I hope the winds die down, but it looks as if it may continue to blow for the next four of five days. Normally this type of wind only lasts three days then we get three days of good weather. It remains to be seen if we will have the same pattern this season. There are still whales around but they are getting ready to return to the north. No music this week, I wrote this report to the sounds of the wind blowing, my dog snoring and one of the cats crying for treats. Until next week, tight lines!

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 42 - 76
Air temperature 61-89
Humidity 22%
Wind: NNE at 4mph
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 13 miles
Sunrise 7:23 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:31 p.m. MST

Baja Turns a Corner!

Endless Season Update 03/12/2008

REPORT #1105 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape


Not all sierra are caught early

This week the locals stood on the beach in shirt sleeves and smugly proclaimed that spring has arrived! The weather has definitely turned a corner, but past experience suggests that there may be a few more windy days left in winter’s bag of tricks.

Still, there were not many boats out fishing, but the few that were out found the sierra and white bonito continues to be the best bet along the shore. From the beach, the sierra were around early in the day, and later, a smattering of jacks, small roosters and even a few ladyfish.
Offshore, a few dorado and tuna here and there but certainly not a bonanza.

Yellowtail action is still going on up north, as well as a good showing of pargo at Punta Perico. They seem to have a serious case of lockjaw, but maybe all the warm weather will entice them into a biting mood.

While daylight savings time changed in the U.S. this past weekend, time remains the same in Mexico until April.
Tip: Don’t ignore your peripheral vision. Often that movement or commotion seen out of corner of your eye can be a piece of the puzzle in locating fish.
Water temperature 66-70
Air temperature 63-86
Humidity 80 %
Wind: NNW 6 to 8 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 4 miles
Sunrise 7:30 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:27 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Whales continue to be the ‘crowd pleaser’ much to the delight of both the visitors and locals.

A few miles off of San Lazzaro, large spots of breezing yellows and small tuna could be found beneath the bird schools.

Fishing in the Esteros yielded good catches of pargo, grouper and cabrilla.


Water temperature 62 - 70
Air temperature 57 -83
Humidity 77%
Wind: W 11 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:39 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:34 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The blue water is somewhere way off, with no real definition of how far, but clean water is encountered at 12 miles, and is producing a few fish.
The boats are averaging less than a sailfish per day each, and making up for the inactivity by getting some action on large dorado. Almost every boat is getting at least one dorado averaging between 25 and 40 pounds.
Plus, three separate schools of yellowfin tuna have moved into the area. Fishing the 18 to 22 mile mark, Santiago on the panga, Gitana, managed 5 tuna between 20 and 25 pounds. The panga, La Mirada, got one tuna at 90 pounds. And, a nice blue marlin was weighed in at a little over 400 pounds.
No action was reported this week for the inshore areas.
Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 71-96
Humidity 60%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 7:06 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:52 p.m. CST


Cabo San Lucas

WEATHER: It was just another great week here in Cabo! I love living here when the weather is like this, the daytime highs in the mid 80’s and the nighttime lows in the high 50’s, it makes me feel good to get up in the morning to a slight chill, and cooking on the grill in the evening is so nice! We had mostly sunny skies this week with no rain seen or felt.
WATER: The water on the Pacific side of the Cape has cooled considerably with the near-shore water 64-65 degrees while farther offshore it warms to a toasty 69 degrees. The near shore cooler water is slightly green while offshore there is a nice blue color. On the Cortez side the water across the 95 spot, the 1150 and Gorda Bank has remained at 66 degrees and green. Off shore at a distance of 30-50 miles the water warms up to 72 degrees and is just slightly tinged with green. Our good deep blue water is to the southwest. Everything appears to be moving slowly to the east with a clockwise rotation. The water has remained nice on the surface on both sides of the Cape with swells of 2-3 feet and light winds.
BAIT: Mackerel was easily available at the usual $2 per bait and there were also Caballito at the same price. There were Sardinas up around Chileno Bay at $25 a scoop.
FISHING:

BILLFISH: The Striped Marlin catch remained slow this week for most of the boats but there were fish found. Most of these were tailing or sleeping fish, and only a few were hungry and bit. These fish were in the cooler water close to shore, most of them found off of the points and drops along the Pacific side of the Cape, but there were also a few fish found just outside the Gorda Bank area. There were a few more Swordfish sighted this week but I did not hear of any boated.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: This past week was almost a repeat of last week as there were plenty of the football size fish to be found offshore. On the Cortez side, out toward and on the edge of the warm water at 30-50 miles the fish were slightly larger at 15-30 pounds with a few fish pushing 40 pounds. To the south of the Cape and to the south of the San Jaime Bank the fish were footballs for the most part with an occasional fish pushing the 25-pound mark. The best action was had with smaller feathers with squid colors as these fish are just stuffed with 4-5 inch squid. Having all the rods go off at the same time was not unusual, but it did take time to get out there and back.
DORADO: There have been a few fish found this week, but no large numbers like a few boats had the week prior. Most of these fish have been found in the warm water to the south and west and have averaged 15 pounds.
WAHOO: I did not hear of any Wahoo this week but I did see several flags flying along with Tuna and Dorado flags so I assume there were some of them caught offshore.
INSHORE: The inshore fishing remained hot this week with large numbers of Sierra and smaller Yellowtail providing plenty of action on both sides of the Cape. Smaller swimming plugs pulled just outside the breaking waves provided lots of action on Sierra to 8 pounds and Yellowtail to 10 pounds. Fishing slow trolled live Mackerel down close to the bottom in 50 feet of water caught fewer, but much larger fish, up to 10 pounds on the Sierra and 35 pounds on the Yellowtail. A few very nice Grouper and Snapper fell to these same methods. Just off the rocky points there was great action on the Bonita to 20 pounds and they bit well on blue-silver irons fished yo-yo style. An occasional big Yellowtail was an added bonus for many anglers.
NOTES: Things continue to improve and I am optimistic it will continue. Now, if only my golf game would hit the next level! This week’s report was written to the music of Alison Krauss + Union Station on the 2002 Rounder records release “Live”.
George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 42 - 76
Air temperature 55-80
Humidity 79%
Wind: NNE at 4mph
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 2 miles
Sunrise 7:31 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:28 p.m. MST


Bahia Asunción


It was an experience of a lifetime for these kids and he even let them fly the plane!

It's been a busy week here in Bahia Asunción (with parties anyway). Both Juan & Shari celebrated birthdays and our brand new sports complex cultural centre had its grand opening.

The governor and his wife cut the ribbon and pleased the crowd by announcing that another 30 km of road will be paved. It was a festive event with the usual government speeches and folkloric dancing.

We finally got out on the big pond this week with Phil & Gretchen Olsen from Oregon who flew in on their sweet super cub Piper to attend Juan's birthday bash. Phil caught a big bonita, about 15 pounds which tired him out --- so while he took a little siesta on the bow, Juan took them over to "bajo seiz" about 6 miles from the island to teach Gretchen how to jig. Well, she was a natural and lady luck was with them and she hauled in fish after fish...rock cod, whitefish and sheepshead. She LOVED it and is definitely hooked on fishing now. We celebrated again in the afternoon with a big fish fry with family and friends.

The next day, Phil took niece and several of our nephews flying for their first time. It was an experience of a lifetime for these kids and he even let them fly the plane! Afterwards he gave them an inspiring pep talk about fulfilling their dreams and reaching for the skies with their aspirations…who would have thought that today they would fly a plane!

This is a great example of how villages can benefit by opening their hearts to visitors and I am proud to have shared our paradise with them.

Lobster season ended with a big beach party lobster feast in San Roque and now the abalone fishermen are readying their equipment to start the season after Easter week.

The water has been cold, around 62, with good visibility and today there is a nice swell to make the surfers happy...hopefully it will be big for when the kids are off school next week.

Shari and Juan

Water temperature 62 - 70
Air temperature 64-85
Humidity 27%
Wind: WNW at 7mph
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 13 miles
Sunrise 7:49 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:44 p.m. MST

Pizza and Anchovies

Endless Season Update 03/05/2008
REPORT #1104 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Did I mention the roosters are small?
March and wind go together like pizza and anchovies at East Cape! That said, get out before the sun comes up and chances are you will catch a few sierra. Who knows you might also find a few small roosters and jacks willing to take your fly.

The best bet boat-wise is to head up to the North to Muertos (“Sueno” to newcomers) where there is a mixed bag, including mossback-class yellows along with some pargo that will kick your tail if you don’t stay focused. Talk about getting rocked! Both of these critters will do so without hesitation.
Tip: Don’t forget to check your line and backing for nicks or signs of deterioration. If it is over a year old…change it!

Water temperature 62-68
Air temperature 47-78
Humidity 69 %
Wind: SE 3 to 4 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:37 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:24 p.m. MST


Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Few fishing clients this week. Locals found fair snook, grouper and corvina action at Devil’s curve. Out at the Entrada, the sierra and small yellows continued to hammer the surface bait…easy to spot under the bird schools.

Whale watching continues but at a slower pace as more and more leave for their northward journey.

Water temperature 66 - 73
Air temperature 48 -77
Humidity 55%
Wind: WNW 9 to 12 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 11 miles
Sunrise 6:45 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:31 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The clean water has moved to back within the 10 mile mark, but with the favorable moon phase conditions arriving, this is expected.
The counts for sailfish are still low, with the boats only averaging about 1 sail per day / boat. However the dorado, averaging between 20 and 35 pounds, have been taking up the slack. The boats are getting two to four dorado each per day.
The high surf has really shut down the inshore bite. Most of the Mexicans are blaming the high surf, and the poor fishing, on the full eclipse of the full moon we had this last week. But, I believe the full moon "phase" was more of the culprit, and things will really start picking up again this next week.
A few big blue marlin were also taken this week, with the top marlin hitting the scales at almost 400 pounds.
Ed Kunze

Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 63-93
Humidity 66%
Wind: SE at 7mph
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:06 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:52 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas

WEATHER: It warmed up a bit this past week with several days where our highs were in the mid to high 80’s. On the cooler days we were in the high 70’s, still just about right. In the evening it cooled off quite a bit and on the cold nights we were seeing temperatures in the mid 60’s with a bit of an evening breeze working that made it feel even cooler. There were partly cloudy skies for the first part of the week but it cleared later on. There was no rain, of course.
WATER: I fished both sides of the cape this week, on the Cortez side on Wednesday and the Pacific on Friday and they were surprisingly similar as far as surface conditions went. On the Cortez side the water was cool and green out as far as the 95 spot and the 1150, past that point and out to the Cabrilla Seamount things warmed up to 73.4 degrees and were nice and blue. The only problem we had was the fact that we could not find any fish! The surface was almost glassy with current rips easily seen and the swells slight at 1-2 feet but all we ended up with was seeing some common Pacific Dolphin, a few Humpback Whales and two Striped Marlin on the surface. Oh, we did release on 3-pound Dorado. On the Pacific side on Friday the water within three miles of the coast was a bit bumpy and there was a strong cloud line out 15 miles. We went 31 miles out looking for Tuna and other than the first three miles, the swells were slight at 2-4 feet and the water was glassy, almost summer time like. The water was a slight bit cooler at 71 degrees but we did find football-size Tuna to 25 pounds.
BAIT: Mackerel was easily available at the usual $2 per bait and there were also Caballito at the same price. There were Sardina up around Chileno Bay at $25 a scoop.

FISHING:

BILLFISH: There was a bit of Striped Marlin action almost every morning for boats the fished the area off of Los Arcos on the Pacific side, but it revolved around the tide change and did not last long on any one day. The lucky boats were getting two releases a day while most others were lucky to get a strike. The nice part of the billfish situation is that the Swordfish are starting to be seen on the surface on a fairly regular basis, and by that I mean regular when compared to normal! Probably one in 15 boats have sighted a Swordfish this week and one boat I know saw three different fish on Tuesday and managed to find one of them hungry, proceeding to catch a Swordfish in the 150-pound class after a fight of 90 minutes.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: There are finally Tuna showing up on a regular basis even if they are football size fish. From a distance of 30 to 45 miles at between 150 and 240 degrees from the Arch there have been fish found every day. A few small groups have been found closer but they have not been biting well. On my Friday trip we went 31 miles at 230 degrees to find two separate pods of Dolphin. Both of them held fish with the first pod having fish averaging 20 pounds and the second pod averaging 10 pounds. A triple strike, then the fish in the first pod went down. At the second pod we were covered up with all five lines going off, then a double, then singles for a total of 16 Tuna at the end of the trip with the larges at 25 pounds. A friend of mine found fish at 170 degrees and 45 miles on Wednesday that averaged 25 pounds and picked 16 of them in about an hour before having to return to port
DORADO: The warm water on the Cortez side produced a few Dorado this week but other than one day, Tuesday when a pair of boats found a dead seal and loaded up on 15-pound fish, they have been scarce with just a few fish showing up.
WAHOO: I did hear of one nice Wahoo being caught this week about 35 miles to the south by a boat looking for Tuna. The fish was reported to weigh around 90 pounds. I am sure there were a few others caught, and on Wednesday we had one make a pass at one of our lures, but I had no other confirmed reports of them.
INSHORE: The inshore fishing has remained good for Sierra and Yellowtail. Most of the Yellowtail have been caught by boats fishing swimming plugs for Sierra and these fish have been small, but boats willing to do the work and drift live baits deep off of the rocky points or use iron jigs to “yo-yo” have been getting a few nice fish of up to 30 pounds. The Grouper have started to bite a little better and there are still a few snapper being found in the rocks.
NOTES: Things are starting to look up on the fishing front here in Cabo as we are starting to see some Tuna showing up and the inshore fishing remains good. Our fingers are crossed that things continue to remain on a positive track. My golf game is improving as well; I am now consistently getting under 100 strokes! This week’s report has been written to the music of the Gypsy Kings on the 1995 Nonsuch Records release “The Best Of The Gypsy Kings”.

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 42 - 76
Air temperature 54-80
Humidity 69%
Wind: WNW 10-14 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:37 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:25p.m. MST


Bahia Asunción

Bleachers in our new Sports Complex
It's been a busy little village this week in Asuncion as the governor was here on Tuesday to inaugurate our new sports complex and the paving crews are busy getting ready to pave the next 10 km of highway into here. It was a big celebration with the usual speeches, folkloric dancing and we were happy to hear the news that the next 30 km of dirt road will be paved this year!! There was a big party for the closing of lobster season in San Roque with music and lobster of course, and now the abalone fishermen are readying their equipment to begin the abalone season. There is a flurry of building activity and we are all watching with amazement as work has begun on a 42 room hotel/shopping plaza at the entrance to town. Many have mixed emotions on this development but I for one will enjoy having a good meal in a new restaurant and finally having a bar in town. And the kids got a new park to play in, too! It was very windy for a few days...strong Santa Ana winds so we haven't been out on the water but plan to head out this weekend

Shari and Juan

Water temperature 62 - 70
Air temperature 58-76
Humidity 34%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 12 miles
Sunrise 6:57 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:40 p.m. MST