REPORT #1116 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
Scott Barker with a late afternoon rooster
Offshore the action has been sporadic. There seems to be plenty of billfish around, with many spotted on the surface feeding, but they are so quick that it is all most impossible to be there fast enough…by the time you arrive, all that is left are a few scales!
On the dorado front, everybody enters the “dorado lottery” but only a few have a winning ticket.
Mike Little, our client from Calgary, Canada, spent the day searching for a cooperative billfish. He finally raised one that tried to eat everything but his fly. In the end Mike went home with no hook-ups but he was stoked on seeing those marlin and left with the bug to return for more billfish! We’ll see him again in November.
Inshore the white bonito were still in front of El Cardonal and were an easy mark for a little mid-day sushi. Note to self: Remember to put some more soy and wasabi in the gear bag before the next trip.
There is an abundance of small roosters and ladyfish slicing and dicing the excess bait tossed by the returning boats at Palmas de Cortez in the afternoon
.
The beach is also producing some roosters. Most of the fish being landed are the ‘schoolies’--- to 5lb's or so. But there are ‘grandes’ on the prowl as well. As always it's a matter of fishing hard and being a bit lucky enough to be there when the big ones cruise within range.
Last week I stopped by Mike O’Dell’s La Trinidad R.V. Ranch in La Ribera. They are only open on Friday and Saturday nights but if you are in the neighborhood and looking for a good meal you might give them a try.
Bar open daily
Happy Hour at the bar @ 3:00 - 5:00 PM
CLOSED on Sunday
Reservations please, @ 130-02-06 with Reina Cota RVranchtrinidad@yahoo.com
Driving Directions:
Turn off from the Highway 1 at Las Cuevas Bridge to La Ribera and Cabo Pulmo.
Travel approximately 7 miles through the town of La Ribera, turn right and follow the beach road south to the Pemex station on the far side of town. Just before the Pemex station, turn left and follow the signs into La Trinidad R.V. Ranch
Tip: It is always a good idea to have at least one outfit rigged when you board the boat. It is not unusual to encounter some action close to the shore.
Water temperature 73-80
Air temperature 67-96
Humidity 48%
Wind: NNW 8 to 11 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:32 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:00 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Bob Hoyt reported that there was still quite a bit of wind but the larger yellowtail had moved in just off of Lazero.
The esteros are producing good catches of sierra and corvina on the surface. Down deeper the grouper and pargo have become more active as the water begins to warm up.
Water temperature 60 - 66
Air temperature 67 -96
Humidity 55 %
Wind: WNW 14 to 18 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:37 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:11 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The blue marlin action is still very strong. At least 5 to 7 blues a day are being hooked by the 20 boat fleet. When I had called Adolfo on the panga Dos Hermanos by cellular, he told me they were still fighting a huge blue, and had been on it for over 6 hours. He also told me he has been having good success this week on sailfish and roosters on the beach.
David Cooper, fishing with Margarito on the Gaby took 10 yellowfin tuna and a sailfish in one day. The tuna were averaging between 35 and 45 pounds. With huge schools scattered throughout the area, they are being taken from 12 miles to 20 miles off the beach.
Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 76-98
Humidity 45%
Wind: W at 9mph
Conditions: Mostly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:11 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:17 p.m. CDT
Cabo San Lucas
WEATHER: This week brought us cooler weather than we have had for a while. Our nights were down in the low 60’s; I saw our thermometer read 61 degrees here at the house one morning. Our daytime highs were in the high 80’s. On Wednesday the wind started to blow, and blow hard, from the northwest, occasionally shifting more from the west. That lasted until Friday morning, and then it became nice again.
WATER: Ugly is the term I have to use for our water conditions this past week, I sure hope things improve quickly. On the Pacific side of the Cape we have had the warmest water at 72 degrees, and that has been in a big circulation just to the south of the San Jaime Bank. It got as cold as 58 degrees right next to the beach just above the lighthouse mid-week. With the cold water comes color, and for the most part the water was very green. The current from the Pacific side must have been extra strong this week; the full moon may have had a lot to do with that. Anyway, the cold water from the Pacific started to push up into the Sea of Cortez, causing green/blue banding out as far as 50 miles and up the coast until the Vinorama area off of Punta Gorda. The warm water up there was 72 to 74 degrees. The farther up the coastline you went, the better things became. The wind that kicked in on Wednesday made offshore conditions miserable as well. On Wednesday you could not fish on the Pacific side if you wanted to, and things were not much better on Thursday, to the point that the Port Captain closed the Port until 11 am Thursday.
BAIT: Mackerel and Caballito were available at the new price of $3 per bait, and there were Sardinas at the Palmilla area at $25 a scoop.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Before the winds and currents moved the fish, the WCBRT, held on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, had the top team release 57 Striped Marlin over the three days. The second place team released 34 and the third place team released 27 fish. These were professional teams fishing on the same boat every day. In comparison, last year the top two boats tied at 33 releases each. During the tournament the fish seemed to be holding just to the east and north of the 1150 spot. When the wind and currents started, the fish moved way up to the north. There were almost no Marlin caught after Tuesday, and at the end of the week boats had to travel 2 ½ hours up the coast to find any fish. The bright spot is that it seems the warm water is moving back in our direction and the fish that are being found are starting to feed again. Hopefully next week things will be better.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Once again the bite on Yellowfin was slow; I saw very few white flags flying from the outriggers this week. The few Tuna flags I did see were for Bonita. I discovered this while looking at the fish carts coming off the docks with fish from the boats flying these flags. I heard of no Yellowfin being found in our area this week.
DORADO: The cold green water moved the Dorado out as well; this week was a bust for them. A couple of fish were caught, but they were found a long distance away, up in the warmer water off of Punta Gorda.
WAHOO: The cold water moved the Wahoo out as well, even up at Punta Gorda the bite was not happening, and normally the full moon and structure there provide decent action.
INSHORE: This was the only bright spot at the end of the week for us. On the Pacific side, if you went past the lighthouse you were out of luck, but off of the Pedregal and the arch there were schools (small) of Pargo and groups of Yellowtail For any other inshore action you needed to make the trip up the coast of the Sea of Cortez, and even then, during the middle of the week, it was a long trip home against the swell sand the wind. If you did get up there, the fishing for Roosterfish to 30 pounds, Sierra to 8 pounds, the occasional Amberjack, lots of Jack Crevalle and a few Pacific Barracuda made the trip worthwhile.
NOTES: This was one of the worst fishing weeks I can remember having had in quite a while. Maybe that is the reason for listening to Stevie Ray Vaughn while writing this report; a little blues goes a long way! The bright spot is that it appears that the warm water is moving back our way! Until next week, tight lines!
George & Mary Landrum
Water temperature 67 - 75
Air temperature 66 - 93
Humidity 35%
Wind: SSE at 7mph
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:34 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:00 p.m. MST
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