2009, 'A Final...Final'

Endless Season Update 12/27/2009
REPORT #1195 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape


Jennifer Medrano and Jonathan Medrano take time out from their Honeymoon for a final...final beach catch.

Fewer visitors and more fish seemed to be the mantra for 2009. While locals debated whether or not the lack of fishermen helped improve the fishing, the smart ones took advantage of the bite when it occurred. The reward was a swordfish for a few as well as one of the largest blues caught in quite a few years in July, plus the dorado and football tuna became commonplace, filling limits daily.

Then the better grade of tuna arrived...the 'tackle-busting kind' that had Captains and deckhands searching their respective storage areas for their heavy tackle. First large fish weighing in the double-digit range, and then the real tackle busting triple-digit ones. For some reason the usually ever-present Mexican tuna seiners never appeared. From Isla Cerralvo to Baja's tip the mayhem continued, remarkably all the way into December.

While all the offshore action drew the attention of most, for the few willing to brave the heat and hot sand, the beach delivered some one-two punches of its own with trophy sized jacks and some memorable roosters.

Now in late December you would assume that most of the attention would be directed to celebrating the holidays. Not exactly! Lance Peterson couldn't resist the great weather and while prowling a deserted beach he found a nice sized rooster to cap off 2009.

With 2010 just around the corner, the anticipation of what will happen in Baja's New Year is exciting.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

While the fall season didn't produce the expected number of billfish, Magdalena's multi- dimensional fishery provided plenty of other species and many memorable highlights. Wahoo action was the best it has been in quite some time. Getting them to bite was the easy part ...keeping them away from the fur coats was another matter. Notwithstanding there were some spectacular catches by the local fleet as well as the visiting sports, yachts and trailer boats. One monster was reported weighing just over 100 pounds.

Tuna, dorado and yellowtail came to the party early and stayed late providing easy limits from early in the summer all the way until mid-December.

The esteros lived up to their 'fishy' reputation. Don’t confuse ‘fishy’ with easy. The spotted bay bass, grouper, corvina, sierra, jacks, mangrove snapper, pargo, pompano, halibut and snook were plentiful and there were trophy fish to be caught. Perhaps earned is a better way of putting it.

This combination of tough and strong fish in an hostile environment demands all the skill that an angler can gather. For those who met the challenge the rewards were some trophy sized catches.
As preparations for whale watching season continues, we are all looking forward to 2010. I'll leave the predications to the experts but after several decades of fishing in and around Magdalena Bay, I can promise it may be unexpected but remarkable..

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

2009 was the best year we have ever experienced for fishing for roosters on the fly here in Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo. Of course, having Cheva and Adolfo, two of the best roosterfish captains in Mexico, certainly helps.

There were days we raised as many as 40 roosters and 30 jack crevalle on hookless teasers. And these fish are huge...averaging 30 pounds.

Sara Henry of British Columbia got one pending line class World Record and several other records almost fell. We are really looking forward to the 2010 season......…Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582


Cabo San Lucas

The predictions of an El Nino year are thus far supported by the unusually warmer sea temperatures and the recent catches of blue marlin, including an 800 pounder. The bite on the striped marlin has been sporadic with little spurts of action from time to time. Private boats willing to travel 80+ miles up the coast on the Pacific side have found large schools of billfish, but these fish have not yet made it into our area. The striped marlin we are getting have been found off of the lighthouse on the Pacific and just offshore of Los Arcos, both areas where bait is concentrated by the currents.

The smaller variety of yellowfin tuna were moving around very rapidly; one day they could be found off of the Golden Gate Bank, the next day they would be absent there but were found 12 miles south of the Cape. With the fish moving around so quickly the action was not consistent, but if you were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time the action was good on fish that ranged in size from 10 to 30 pounds.

Dorado are being caught on almost every boat that fished this week, and those that managed to find something floating in the water managed to limit out. Most of the action was still close to the shore on the Pacific side in the warmer water.

Sierra that were averaging 6 pounds with an occasional 8 or 10-pound fish were the mainstay along with roosterfish that averaged 5 pounds with an occasional fish to 30 pounds. Some scattered bottom fish were found as well. ...George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

One Angler’s Sportfish is another's Carp!

Endless Season Update 12/20/2009
REPORT #1194 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape



Big schools of feeders, and frigates on meatballs of mackerel and sardines down below Punta Tosca on the Finger Bank.

Preparations for Christmas have sprung to the forefront as the north wind blew relentlessly this week. The hot bite down at the Gordo Bank seems to have slowed, and there are few takers for the long ride down and back.

Best bet are the sierra close to the beach. Since the wind has blown more than the usual few days before backing off, everyone is hoping that Santa delivers a few calm days for Christmas.

Odds are the dorado, tuna and billfish are still lurking out there; it just needs to flatten out enough for anyone to care.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Thetis bank is still kicking out some wahoo for the few local boats making the run. Dorado and tuna strung out along the way. The big marlin bite that everyone was looking for last month is happening down below Punta Tosca on the Finger Bank.

Big schools of tailers, feeders, and frigates on meatballs of mackerel and sardines were reported.

Not many yachts there but the long-range boats finally drove away in disgust. They are more interested in cow sized tuna than double-digit marlin catches…one angler’s sport fish is another's angler’s carp!

Estero action fishing this week remained about the same but with fewer anglers. The few that were fishing had catches of pargo, golden jacks, a few grouper and snook.
This is the time of year that attention turns to the migrating whales that should be arriving in numbers sometime in the next few weeks....Bob Hoyt

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 82° blue water has moved off the beach to the 9-mile mark. The fishing action for sailfish and dorado has also moved out a little farther, with most fish being reported to be between the 12- to 15-mile mark.

Here is a report from Flip Himmelreich of Spokane, Washington who each year holds a small mini-tournament among friends fishing from pangas:
“Thought I would tell you how we did last week.
Five boats/ten fishermen caught 35 sails and 8 dorado in the 2-day tournament. All sails were released, except three that died, and all dodo’s were consumed “con mucho gusto” at Lety’s and Chendo’s.

On the next day, I went out with Chago and teased some sailfish up with lures, then tossed a bait on light tackle to them. We raised five and I was able to hook four and land three. WHAT A BLAST!!!! Next time I’ll try the “fly” thing”.
Hugh ‘Flip’ Himmelreich

Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, reports a lot of roosters and jack cravelle up North at the Barra Union area.....…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582


Cabo San Lucas

With the water temperature staying fairly warm, we've had clients on two trips hook into blue marlin. Also, there are still sailfish around. The big news though is the striped marlin bite. It has started again and is happening close to home. Most of the action is taking place off of the Lighthouse and up to the north to Los Arcos, close to the beach where the bait is stacked up, and there are reports of them showing up in small numbers at the Golden Gate Bank. Some of the better catches have been double digit numbers (the best I heard of was 19 in a day) but any boat that has gone out marlin fishing has been coming in with at least two flags flying.

Dorado remained a staple for most, as they were fairly easy to find and close to home. They were scattered over the area with even numbers found on both the Pacific and the Cortez side of the Cape.

Sierra inshore are averaging six pounds with an occasional eight- or ten-pound fish; roosterfish averaged five pounds with an occasional fish to 30 pounds and some scattered bottom fish are being caught as well...George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Stretching the Season

In spite of the north wind, the hard core fishermen continue to stretch the season out a bit farther.

Making the long run down to Gordo Bank has definitely done just that. The big tuna, as well as the more manageable smaller ones, continue to bite. Even the billfish and wahoo are biting well.

It is a good thing something is biting because the ride back uphill to East Cape is not pleasant.

Closer to home, it's an early morning gig. Get out as early as possible, catch a few sierra and whatever else that bites and haul-tail back before the wind picks up.

Same deal for fishing from the beach...if you get up early and hear the waves crashing, it might be a good day to break out the blender for margaritas.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Better late than never...the striped marlin are beginning to trickle into the neighborhood. Several boats have reported catching a few near Thetis Bank. Now that the weather is cooperating, more boats have been getting outside where they are finding wahoo, dorado and lots of smaller tuna.

There's much less pressure in the Esteros this week as the attention turns to offshore. The few boats that did fish inside caught pargo, golden jacks, a few grouper and snook....Bob Hoyt

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80° blue water is still close to the beach, and action has not let up. Each boat is raising an average of six to eight sailfish a day and actually catching three to four. Plus, every boat is also getting a nice dorado or two.

Adolfo, on the panga, Dos Hermanos, had an excellent day with his fly fishing client. They raised eight sailfish, hooked and released three.

The inshore has slowed down a bit for the local roosters, with none of the boats traveling any distance to find them. Cheva, on the panga, Dos Hermanos II, fished the local waters, getting a small rooster and a whole bunch of jack crevalle, enough that the clients were worn out....…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

No blue or black marlin being caught now even though the water temperature is fine for them. The high catch rate per trip for striped marlin are three per boat with the average probably less than one release per boat. There have been some very small fish in the releases...some of them as small as 15 pounds, but the average seems to be staying around the 100 to 110 pound mark. An occasional fish is in the 160 pound range.

It's still slow for yellowfin with a few fish being found on the Golden Gate Bank every few days as well as off of Palmilla on the Cortez side.

The water temperature across the area warmed back up and the dorado have remained in the area, but the bite has been slower than it was last month. Boats are averaging four to eight fish per trip with an occasional limit load. The fish were spread across the area but the best results seemed to be close to the shoreline and close to Cabo.

There's still an occasional wahoo bite, but not nearly the numbers we were seeing during the full moon phase. Once again the shallower waters near steep drops and around rocky points supplied what little action there was.

Inshore has been a decent mix of sierra, small roosterfish and dorado. Most of the activity has been taking place on the Pacific side of the Cape, and you did not have to go very far to get into the action...…George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Cabo Billfish Explode

We had a great trip to Mag Bay......Bob Hoyt helped with a place to park our Chinook ..and advice ........as you know the Marlin didn't show while we were there.so plan B was in effect....fish the mangroves...........we did get outside in our (Baja only)18 ft alum boat for lots of tuna and Dorado!...but.....the most fun was fishing inside, with live mullet..we learned a lot ...............the grouper fishing was awesome........I'm cooking some right now..for dinner .............. we also got Halibut when we went to Campo Rene in Punta Abreojos...among other species. had a great trip overall and as usual, we can't wait to go back!

Best Regards,
Craig and Jilly Cove Boat ( First Light) So Cal
Endless Season Update 12/5/2009
REPORT #1192 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape



It has been mostly quiet this week with increasing clouds and wind. Weather reports are calling for light winds next week which should be good news for the few visitors and locals. The smorgasbord of choices remains!

Yellowfin tuna out in front of La Ribera...nothing huge but large enough to bend your stick. Dorado and billfish are becoming more elusive, or maybe it's just that fewer and fewer boats are willing to go prospecting.

Wind or not, the sierra bite continues producing limits for most. Beach action is completely dependent on the wind velocity. The wind waves caused by the wind can shut the action down quickly.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Offshore action may be good but rough conditions convincing all but the most hard-core anglers to look to the Esteros for most of their action. The one day the Temming's group did get out they found tuna, dorado and wahoo.

The nice thing about fishing Magdalena Bay is that even when the weather gets weird the Esteros are nice insurance. Fishing with flies, the Temming's party landed pargo, snook, golden jack and even a few 'skinn'y halibut. I went out with them one day and I might be hooked on fly myself! ...Bob Hoyt

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 85° blue water is still with us on the beach. I can't remember a time when it has stayed so close for so long. Normally it is within two miles for only a couple of weeks, then moves out to six to ten miles. But, it has been near the beach for almost two months now.

And, the game fish are here. The best action for sailfish and dorado is the area about four miles off the beach. The boats are each averaging two to three sailfish and a couple of nice sized dorado each day.

The outstanding roosterfish action is still holding up inshore, as well as the mid-sized jack crevalle and sierras. Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, released six nice roosters to 55 pounds for his clients while fishing along the beach in the Pantla area.

A couple of days earlier, John Thodos of Illinois and I fly fished with Adolfo up near the Ranch. John had an estimated 75-pound rooster completely inhale the fly, and swim about 15 feet back towards the boat, putting a large belly which in the fly line. John couldn't catch up to get a tight line, and the huge rooster spit the fly about ten feet off the stern...…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582


Cabo San Lucas
SPECIAL BILLFISH UPDATE (Monday)

On Sunday the 6th as the boats started coming in there were blue marlin flags flying everywhere. Mid-morning the bite on Striped Marlin had busted wide open on the ledge at the lighthouse and boats were releasing between two (for the slow boats) and 17 (high flag boat) marlin, best of all, there were only 30 boats in the area at the time. Hopefully the bite will continue. The bait was stacked up and the fish were feeding hard on a mix if Mackerel and large Sardinas, but boats using Caballito as bait got bit as well.))

The high note of the fishing week the capture (and non-release) of a blue marlin that weighed over 850 pounds. The fish was caught on the Pacific side just on the inside of the Golden Gate Bank within a mile of the beach. This area has been providing some action on fish to 400 pounds or so. The amount of bait in the form of young dorado kept these large fish in the area much longer than normal. When weighed, this marlin had two dorado in the 12-pound class in its stomach. There are plenty of striped marlin; however getting them to eat has been a problem. Many boats were seeing groups of a dozen or more feeding on bait balls off of the area known as Los Arcos and were able to get an occasional fish to bite. .

Once again the yellowfin action remained slow as the few fish that found on a regular basis seemed to have been fished so hard that it was difficult to get anything going.

The water continues to cool and the dorado bite continues to drop off. Boats were averaging 4 to 8 fish per trip with an occasional limit load. Most of the fish remained in the warmer water on the Pacific side and around the structure of the 95 spot on the Cortez side.

We continue to catch wahoo. While never a common fish in our area, the past couple of months have really been good. The fish have not been large, with an average weight of 20 pounds once again, but there have been many more than normal come in on the boats.

Inshore has been a decent mix of sierra, small roosterfish and dorado. Most of the activity has been taking place on the Pacific side of the Cape and you have not had to go very far to get into the action..…George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Mag Bay Marlin Stirring

Endless Season Update 11/29/2009
REPORT #1191 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

Russ Weaver, Corvallis, OR displays one of many roosters being caught along the beach near Zihuatanejo.

East Cape

Russ Weaver, Corvallis, OR displays one of many roosters being caught along the beach near Zihuatanejo.

Cooler weather and a tad more wind as November comes to a close. Looks like a shower or two may greet December according to the weather predications.

Very few boats are heading out but when they do, fishing remains wide open. Yellowfin tuna refuse to quit...still nothing huge but enough for sashimi to go with leftover turkey. Dorado are still hanging around out in front of La RIbera .

Farther offshore the billfish haven't left the building. Not much concentration, just one here and there.

Inshore the sierra are the primary target for the tin boat fleet and the beach walkers are finding a mixed bag on the good days.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Offshore action remains a 'wahoo kind of deal'. Taylor Spurgen, San Diego, heard the reports and jumped on a plane, determined to catch his first wahoo. He must be an over achiever...he ended up with six wahoo up to fifty-five pounds, and then released another. This is the best wahoo year I can remember.

There have been encouraging reports of huge schools of marlin heading down the coast. Several boats stumbled onto the fish and racked up double-digit scores for a day's fishing. According to the reports the fish are traveling 5 to 10 miles a day. December could produce the WFO marlin action we normally get in November...HO HO HO!

Small tuna and dorado are still less than ten miles outside the Boca. A few anglers are fishing the tide in the esteros in the morning and then they are running out for a T & D afternoon.

Meanwhile back in the esteros, the action has not slowed. Live shrimp are producing the best action for everything from snook to corvina and everything in between.....Bob Hoyt

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 85° blue water still remains on the beach and the excellent fishing has not let up.

Offshore, the fleet is averaging two to three sailfish a day each, plus a nice dorado or two.

And, even with the hot water, an unusual run of cooler water loving small striped marlin moved into the area and are adding up in the daily totals. I guess they are either lost, or they do not realize they are late for their annual run up at Los Cabos.

Eric and Ellis Skidmore, of Bend, Oregon, fished two days with Captain Martin on the Gaviota (formally the Nautilus) releasing six sails, a striped marlin, and keeping two dorado.

From San Diego, the Lee Fleming family also fished a day with Martin on the Gaviota. They got four sailfish; one for each member of the family.

Bob Barker, from British Columbia, wrapped up his stay of fly fishing several days with Adan on the Gitana II, by getting two sailfish and a striped marlin on the fly rod, getting back to the dock just a couple of hours before his flight.

The inshore fishing remains fantastic. There is tonnage of sierras, which provided a special treat for Troy Evan's 8 year old son while fishing with Cheva on the Dos Hermanos. Plus, Troy also got plenty of action with a couple of 40+ pound roosterfish and several jack crevalle.

Commodore Ellis Skidmore (USN - retired), only 89 years young, also enjoyed the sierras by taking full Mexican limits for the entire crew, while fishing with Adolfo, Jesus, and me on the panga, Dos Hermanos II. We all ate sierra that night.

John Thodos of Illinois released three roosters and several jack crevalle while fishing two days with Adolfo and me on the panga, Dos Hermanos II. The largest rooster, also taken on the fly, weighed 42 pounds. We were fishing the area near the river bar at La Union and the Ranch, about 30 miles north of Zihuatanejo. We were consistently raising 20 roosters a day to the hookless popper, and another 30 to 40 jack crevalle. We have worked the area for four days straight now..…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

Scattered striped marlin are showing on both sides of the Cape, mostly small ones and by small I mean less than 50 pounds in weight! There were groups of stripers on the surface in numbers as high as 25 fish per group, but they were not very hungry. A few boats were able to release two fish per trip, but they were the exception, not the norm. There was also a flurry of action on blue and black marlin to 400 pounds close to shore on the Pacific side in a warm water band. Feeding on small dorado and skipjack, they surprised and tormented a lot of the anglers who had changed over to smaller tackle for the dorado and striped marlin.

Tuna were at the Gordo Banks. Using sardina as bait and light flouro-carbon leader, many of the boats were able to get two or three fish to 100 pounds by drifting over the high spots on both the inner and outer banks. At the end of the week, school sized fish averaging 25 pounds were found off of Palmilla Point.

The water has cooled a bit and the numbers of dorado have dropped off. Most of the boats are averaging 4 to 10 fish with a lot of small ones in the catch. A few of the boats have lucked out and found dorado under floating debris. Those few have recorded great catches of fish averaging 25 pounds, but these were few and far between.

This has been the best wahoo season in years; boats are still getting multiple fish each day if they focus their efforts on these speedy, razor toothed fish. They are mostly smaller than average with the majority of them ranging in size from 6 to 20 pounds.

A few of the pangas found large sierra and a few large roosterfish on the Pacific side. Most of the inshore action has been with snapper and small roosters as well as dorado.…George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Remarkable Thanksgiving

Captain Cary on the party boat, Success, returned from Mag Bay with a boatload of YFT's all over 200 pounds, with one over 371 pounds.

Endless Season Update 11/24/2009
REPORT #1190 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Local Mark Rayor, Vista Sea Sport, commented that this was the nicest November since he moved to East Cape many years ago.

While I was talking him this morning, he reported that the fish were busting right in front of his house. Couldn't tell what they were, but they were creating a ruckus.

Tuna continue to dominate the action...nothing very large but hungry and close. Couple that with the best dorado bite this year and it's easy to understand why the locals are asking each other, "where are the tourists?"

Another November surprise is the consistent wahoo bite that has been happening recently. Throw in a few other species including striped marlin, sailfish, jack cravelle, skipjacks, cabrilla and pargo and you might call it a remarkable Thanksgiving .

For the inshore gang, it is sierra time and there isn't a happy hour worth its salt that doesn't have fresh cerviche.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

While all the visiting yachts hightail it for home or somewhere in search of more fertile marlin waters, many anglers lucky enough to be in on the over the top action are nodding with big smug grins on their faces and saying "who needs those stinking marlin".

Captain Cary on the party boat, Success, returned from Mag Bay with a boatload of YFT's all over 200 pounds with one over 371 pounds.

Then there's the wahoo whack going on for anyone who targets them. So far the largest in that category exceeds 101 pounds.

Limits of small tuna are close to shore with enough dorado to keep it interesting.

And then...the esteros are exploding limits of pargo, a few grouper and the best snook snap in recent memory, if not ever, with a few fish hitting the 40 pound mark...Bob Hoyt

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 84° blue water is still on the beach. We have had almost a month of these conditions, and the good fishing has remained very close. Very few boats are going out beyond the 10 mile mark to average about 2 or 3 sailfish a day and a couple of dorado.

Bob Barker of British Columbia has been fly fishing this last week with Santiago and Adan on the Gitana pangas. He is averaging two caught sailfish a day and a dorado. They are averaging 6 to 10 raised sailfish a day, with 4 to 5 hooked fish, and leadering two.

Russ Weaver of Corvallis, OR fished with me down at Puerto Vicente Guerrero, and had a great day with 2 large roosters, 2 large jack crevalle, and 2 nice dorado. At times we had pods of 40 pound plus roosters chasing the teaser.

The very next day I went back down to Puerto Vicente Guerrero with Bob Barker and his fly rod. We had an incredible day! Cheva, who is 47 years old and has fished here all of his life, said it was his best day ever for roosters.

Cheva, of the panga, Dos Hermanos II, had a day off on his panga, so he went with me to cast the hookless poppers.

With Cheva casting, Jose Pino at the motor, and Bob fly casting to the teased fish, we raised over 50 roosters and about 30 large jack crevalle.

We had so many roosters breaking the surface and slashing bait, they were on both sides of the boat, in front of us, and behind us. To watch a 70 or 80 pound rooster chasing a 2 foot long needle fish on the surface is something you will never forget. Plus, we saw and cast to a free swimming snook and a couple of dorado which had come in on the beach to join the melee.

Cheva was on the bow of the panga going nuts. We were getting a rooster raised with every cast, and often two or three. When a large jack crevalle beat a huge rooster to the fly, with Bob hooking up, the next thing I saw was Cheva swinging the hookless popper to about 2 inches in front of my nose. He said "Bob is going to be on that jurel for 45 minutes,...I am going to get a rooster...put a hook on it!"

I complied.... and Cheva was hooked up immediately after making the cast. Cheva fought the rooster on the 30 pound spin gear like only a world class fisherman can. The second Jose had the large jack in his hand, Cheva handed me the rod and I handed it to Bob. Bob then had another 15 minutes to get it to the boat for the release.…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

Mostly striped marlin and fairly close to shore on the Pacific side, the fish have been scattered up and down the coast. On Saturday a private boat fought and landed a 650-pound blue marlin in about 600 feet of water just north of the Golden Gate Bank

Tuna were scarce this week but toward the end of the week there were a few schools found to the southwest of the San Jaime Bank along the 1,000-fathom line and the temperature break. Most of the fish were footballs to 30 pounds but there were a few fish that pushed the 60 to 80 pound mark.

The dorado have moved a little farther to the north every day on the Pacific side. The bite was not wide open but it was a fairly steady pick on fish that ranged between 8 and 25 pounds in size.

There were a few wahoo caught this week but there were more lost than landed.

Pangas are having good luck on the Cortez side for large sierra and there have been a few large roosterfish found on the Pacific side.

The following was a report from Mark Sheehan who recently fished on the Baja Raider: "I had a wonderful time fishing with Antonio and Gabi. We landed nine dorado and one 60 pound wahoo. I was able to hook three dorado on a nine-weight fly and landed two of them (teasing with a live bait without a hook, then casting to the fish). The rest of the fish were landed on conventional gear. We saw many marlin, but they were not hungry. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and will do it again in one year". …George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Some Large Tuna Remain

After several years of waiting for the opportunity, I finally hooked a dorado on the fly from shore. It wasn't a big fish. But I'll take it. I saw it chasing bait. At first I thought it was a roosterfish. But as soon as it ate the fly I could see it was all lit up in classic dorado fashion! Unfortunately, Colleen wasn't with me and I didn't have a camera. So I had to race down the beach some distance to get a photo. Hence, the dull colors on the fish. This one will be dinner tonight. Courtesy of the ‘mono lisa’ fly on 20lb. fluorocarbon…Lance Peterson.

Endless Season Update 11/08/2009REPORT #1188 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

The yellowfin, dorado and sailfish are all very close to shore. Lots of sailfish spread from the north to the south within three miles of the beach. Larger tuna to 100 pounds outside under the porpoise, but most anglers are opting for the smaller fish closer to shore, from the light house south. Fifteen to thirty five pound yellowfin are all within one mile of the beach. Dorado from five to twenty five pounds are mixed in with the yellowfin. Inshore fishing is very good, with very light fishing pressure. Big roosters, pompano, sierra (early), pargo and huge schools of jack crevalle are all biting aggressively.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Strong winds plagued offshore this week and continue to produce rough seas. The dorado, tuna and wahoo catches have been decent, with our clients, Jeff Dean and friends, catching limits of wahoo, tuna and dorado. In the bay, they limited out every day on pargo, grouper and corvina.

So far, the billfish action has been sparse with only an occasional blind strike. There’s still very little bait around.

The Success, on a multi-day trip, had sixty wahoo and limits of tuna and dorado for eight anglers…Bob Hoyt.

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The clean water is only one or two miles off the beach, with the 84 degree deep blue water six to seven miles out. For the eight to ten boats fishing every day, it does not matter if they choose the blue water or inshore, they are experiencing some great fishing!

The boats are releasing between two and three sailfish a day each, and like last week, the counts would be higher if the dorado wouldn't beat the sails to the baits: Each boat is also getting four to five of the twenty pound class dorado a day.

Inshore is just as exciting, especially using light line or a fly rod, with a lot of sierra, roosters, and jack crevalle. Adolfo, on the panga, Dos Hermanos, said each day the boats are each getting between 12 to 15 of the smaller jacks (from two to five pounds), five to six large roosters (averaging about 35 to 40 pounds), and as many of the smaller sierra as they want for ceviche or evening dinner

The following is a quote sent to me on Wednesday by John Carroll of New York. He and his wife,

Erika, fished with Luis Maciel on the Gringo Loco.
“We had two great days---Monday and Tuesday. Monday we went out for billfish and caught four sails and two dorado. Two sails were 90 to 100 pounds and two were juvenile. The dorado were small in the 10 to 15 pound range.

Because of the very calm weather, Luis suggested we go rooster fishing yesterday. Ran a good ways south, 30 miles by my ‘guesstimate’, but the roosters were not there. Had one runoff on a live bait but lost it. Picked up one dorado at the mouth of the bay on the way out and caught another five or six on the way back; same size fish with one larger one in the 25 pound class. Going offshore again tomorrow for billfish…will let you know that report before we leave on Monday.

Thanks again for hooking me up with Luis and Jorge. We're having a blast with them.”
Clients fishing with Mike Buckley and Francisco on the Huntress had a great day on Wednesday. They got fifteen yellowfin tuna and two sailfish and they were back at the dock by noon.
Jose Pino, down at Puerto Vicente Guerrero, told me there are a lot of roosters on the beaches down there, and a lot of dorado just a couple of hundred yards off the beach. We will be going for them tomorrow with the fly rods…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582


Cabo San Lucas

A black marlin was reported to have been caught on the Gordo Bank during the Western Outdoor News Tuna Tournament that ended up weighing over 650 pounds. That was the only large billfish this week. Most of the action was on striped marlin and a few sailfish. There were fish found scattered about all along the Pacific side with no strong concentrations anywhere.
The big news on the tuna front was the capture of a yellowfin during the first day of the W.O.N. Tournament that weighed 383 pounds! That fish was a real toad and was reported to have been caught while fishing with a live bollito on the surface at the Gordo Banks.

Dorado have slowed down a little overall, but a few boats are continuing to do extremely well when finding debris on the surface. One boat found a dead turtle and loaded up on decent size dorado averaging 20 pounds. For the most part the numbers are down - a good trip is five to ten fish and the average size is now down to 10 pounds. During the Tuna Tournament there were only two dorado weighed in over 30 pounds.

The wahoo bite was good for the boats that targeted them and for everyone else it was an incidental catch. I have one friend that managed to get 15 wahoo in three days, losing a lot more than that, with the largest one being 85 pounds. During the Tuna Tournament the largest to come to the scales was 61 pounds.

It appears that the size of the roosterfish shrinks week by week. The week before last they were averaging 5 to 10 pounds and this past week anglers were lucky to get one that weighed 5 pounds. Other inshore fish have yet to really arrive. There are a few sierras being caught and an occasional small yellowtail, but neither in any numbers. …George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Wind for Some

Then there was the Magdalena Island beach which produced a memorable day of mixed catches.

Endless Season Update 11/1/2009REPORT #1187 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape


October is over and hopefully we have seen the last of the Chubascos for 2009. The seasonal north winds have begun and the trick now is to pick the right days to fish or take up wind surfing.

On the good days, billfish and tuna (both football and some verging on gorilla class) can be located under the porpoise. Though according to Mark Rayor the porpoise have been tough to find and usually only the first few boats that find them are successful.

Rick Maxa, “Let’s Talk Hookup” co-host, passed along a good tip: try the ranger lures that we sometimes use as hookless teasers for jacks and roosters. If you get in front of a school of porpoise and don’t get a bite, try one; it seems that tuna cannot resist the Roberts Rangers . This is the perfect solution for the fly guys when attempting to keep the tuna on the surface long enough to get the fly in front of them.

There are still some quality dorado for the taking…mostly schoolies with a few toads up to fifty pounds mixed in.

The persistent wind waves have chewed up the beaches and left dirty water. However, the water clears up quickly when the wind subsides. Gary Barnes Webb, manager at Rancho Leonero, caught some quality roosters recently along the beach on the non-windy days.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

While the marlin show began early this yea,r the September and October parade of storms seem to have pushed them out again. Consensus is the lack of bait is the reason; earlier there were baitballs everywhere, but unfortunately they have disappeared.

Boats traveling down the ridge reported excellent tuna and dorado fishing all the way down to the 23’s, then nothing on down to Santa Maria.

Some of the Loreto trailer boats are reporting fair to great wahoo action on the Thetis. Closer to shore, ten miles outside Boca Soledad, limits of tuna and dorado were a slam dunk.

Our recent Estero trip produced a steady bite of pargo, snapper, grouper, a few large snook lost and some “what the hell was that”?

Then there was the Magdalena Island beach which produced a memorable day of mixed catches.

Effective immediately Mexican fishing licenses may be purchased in Lopez Mateos without any hassle. They are available near the launch ramp from a Fonmar representative.

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The clean water is only one or two miles off the beach, with the 84 degree deep blue water six to seven miles out. For the eight to ten boats fishing every day, it does not matter if they choose the blue water or inshore; they are experiencing some great fishing.

The boats are releasing between two and three sailfish a day each, and like last week, the counts would be higher if the dorado wouldn't beat the sails to the baits: Each boat is also getting four to five of the twenty pound class dorado a day.

Inshore is just as exciting, especially using light line or a fly rod, with a lot of sierra, roosters, and jack crevalle. Adolfo, on the panga, Dos Hermanos, said the boats are each getting between 12 to 15 of the smaller jacks (from two to five pounds),five to six large roosters each day (averaging about 35 to 40 pounds), and as many of the smaller sierra as they want for ceviche or evening dinner..…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582


Cabo San Lucas

The striped marlin bite, as well as blue and black marlin bite, slowed this week. It may have something to do with the full moon. As the water cooled, we expected the big girls to slow down but the striped marlin should be picking up. Maybe soon the big groups will start to show. The fish that were caught were found on the Pacific side fairly close to the beach by boats looking for dorado. A few boats did all right, releasing two or three fish per trip, but we have not yet seen the numbers of fish as we have over the past three years.

Yellowfin were scattered, some fish were found as close as two miles from the lighthouse and others were out 30+ miles to the west. Almost all the fish were found with porpoise; there were a few unassociated schools found but it was hard to keep on the fish without the mammals to show you where they were headed. Most of the fish caught were football to school size fish, from 8 to 40 pounds with an occasional 60 to 80 pound fish in the mix. The few boats that got to the schools first did all right with an occasional larger fish to 130 pounds. At the end of the week the bite slowed down and the fish were harder to find.

The dorado bite was wide open early on. Boats were catching all they could handle and were releasing anything under 10 pounds. Later in the week the water started to cool and the bite slowed down. With the moon getting larger the bite moved to the afternoon as well so it often seemed that there were no more dorado around. Even with the slow bite late in the week, most of the boats were able to catch near-limits of fish averaging 12 pounds.

The full moon brought the wahoo bite back and there were more fish found late in the week than earlier in the week. Most of the fish averaged 30 pounds and were found near the points by boats working for dorado.

With the great water conditions most of the pangas were trying their best to put clients on the dorado and tuna early in the week. At the end of the week the morning boats returned to the near shore ground and targeted roosterfish, sierra and snapper. Most of the roosterfish were on the small size with an average of 10 pounds but there were some 30 to 40 pound-class fish found in the Cabo bay near the RIU resort beach. The sierra were small at an average of four pounds and were found farther up the Cortez side of the Cape. The main species of snapper found this week were the smaller yellowtail snapper along with a few cubera and barred pargo…George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191