Beach Bites Back

Endless Season Update 02/25/2009
REPORT #1155 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

2009 FLY FISHING SHOW AT Pleasanton, CA
Northern California fly-fishing fanatics will converge at the Alameda County Fairgrounds this February 27th, 28th, and March 1st for the annual Fly Fishing Show.

Gary’s Presentation, “Baja and Mainland Mexico Do it Yourself,” will be held in the RELEASE ROOM
Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and again Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
East Cape

Finally a photo, John Alverez is the angler
“We are heading up to Punta Perico…WFO yellows and pargo!” And then later, “We’re back, tough fishing…one twenty pounder and a few firecrackers. Pargo floated, but none landed. No photo”

Sure, the good sierra bite has been going on for a while. However this week the fishing from the beach yielded more fish than the tin boat fleet could scrape up. As the word spread, a few beaches looked like some kind of festival was going on. Locals gathered before the sun came up to get in on the hot bite. Using everything from bait to crocodile lures, the fishermen’s plastic five gallon buckets filled up fast. For some who figured out a hand-lined, slow-retrieved crocodile lure was the hot ticket, their buckets filled much faster. A few of the alert fly guys went to slow retrieved chartreuse Clouser and matched the Mexicans fish for fish…

Dorado have been feeding along the color line but there has been little or no concentration.

There’s plenty of tuna to look at outside of Las Frailes, but unfortunately there are not many hungry ones. Some quality yellowtail in the 30 to 40 pound range are showing near Rancho Leonero. Hopefully, the yellowtail will stick around and give us some good action like they did last year.

Striped marlin are being taken by anglers using live bait fishing deep on the bank outside of La Ribera.

Though there are plenty of sardina and mullet around, the North winds are still an issue; early mornings are mostly calm but the winds usually pick up around noon and remain through sundown.

Water temperature 67-73
Air temperature 61-91
Humidity 66%
Wind: NNW 10 to 14 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:44 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:22 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Still plenty of the crowd pleasing whales cruising about for the crowds arriving each day. They are not disappointed, as the mommas and their young-uns frolic in the bay.

Still grumpy seas on the outside preventing much pre-fishing for the next big tournament in Puerto San Carlos. Enrique Soto reports a good yellowtail bite out at the Entrada. According to his shark fishing buddies, there are some dorado outside the Entrada up to the west out as far as twenty miles.

Puerto San Carlos Copa Gobernador Tournament will take place March 6 and 7, 2009.

Clicerio Mercado, the event coordinator, promises a BIG Band during the awards’ lunch around 3:00 pm at the weigh station.

Water temperature 67 - 73
Air temperature 54 -92
Humidity 89 %
Wind: NW 13 to 18 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:52 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:27 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

2/25/09 Rob Morton, Portland OR Jack Crevalle Taken on a 10wt fly rod while being teased in off a hookless Yo-Zuri Popper. Caught in the Saladitas area about 25 miles North of Zihuatanejo. We were fishing out of Majahua with Ramon. Photo and fly fishing guide: Ed Kunze
The blue water is still just a few miles off the beach, but a cooler 79 degree area is moving down from the North. The division between the 79 degree water and 82 degree water is right in front of Zihuatanejo. What is the significance of this? There will be fewer sailfish, and more blue marlin with the yellowfin tuna not far behind These two species prefer the water a bit cooler than the sailfish.
And, this has been what was happening this last week. Most boats were raising 4 sailfish each day, and one blue marlin. Margarito on the Gaby averaged 4 sailfish raised and 1 blue each day, with Martin on the Nautilus, fishing with fly fisher Pat Dunlap of Oregon, raised 5 sailfish and two marlin in two days.
The one day total high boat in the fleet was the panga Huntress with 8 sailfish hooked and released.
Inshore action is picking up with the larger jack crevalle, and even a couple of roosters were caught this last week. Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos caught an estimated 60 pound rooster off Playa Buena Vista slow trolling a large live mackerel, plus he said he took a couple of smaller ones on smaller live bait.
Pat Dunlap, fishing with Martin on the Nautilus also took 6 large jacks between 18 and 22 pounds near the White Rocks. They were all taken on Rapalas. Fly fishing client, Rob Morton of Portland Oregon, took a very nice jack the on the fly while we were fishing up near Saladita. He also got a small rooster.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 71-90
Humidity 59%
Wind: NE at 2 mph
Conditions: Mostly Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:07 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:51 p.m. CST


Cabo San Lucas

Though there were still some striped marlin at the Golden Gate, they were not very hungry this week. You could throw live bait in front of at least twenty fish before finding one that would bite. Other areas experienced similar results and the fish were even more scattered. Almost every place you went you could find marlin on the surface but their mouths remained tightly closed.

Dorado remained the fish of the week as most boats were returning with between five and ten fish. Anything found floating in the water was likely to hold at least a few dorado and some of the fish were a very respectable 40 to 50 pounds. Working the current lines was the best way to find the floating debris and both sides of the Cape produced fish.

There were a few wahoo (in the sixty pound class) caught in the open water 15 miles or more due south.

Sierra dominated the inshore action. Most anglers were able to catch limits of these fish that ran to 8 pounds. There were also quite a few small roosterfish, more than are normally seen this time of year. In addition to the sierra and roosterfish, inshore action also produced jack crevalle and amberjack and the pargo bite in the rocks just keeps on going!

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 - 78
Air temperature 61 - 91
Humidity 66%
Wind: WNW 10 to 14 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:44 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:22 p.m. MST

Eye of the Beholder

Endless Season Update 02/18/2009
REPORT #1154 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
2009 FLY FISHING SHOW AT PASADENA CENTER
Southern California fly-fishing fanatics will converge in Pasadena this weekend (2/20-21) for the annual Fly Fishing Show at the Pasadena Center.
Gary will present a “Baja and Mainland Mexico Do it Yourself” in the CATCH ROOM
Saturday 4:00
Sunday 3:00

East Cape
















“Wind ripping…kite boarders delight…”

Though there were come complaints of wind, it seemed to be an ‘eye of the beholder’ kind of week with conflicting reports all over the map!

My email has been full of East Cape fishing updates some of which are below:

“Wide open yellowtail bite right in front of the hotel…no photos.”

“Wind ripping…kite boarders delight…see photo.”

“We are heading up to Punta Perico…WFO yellows and pargo!” And then later, “We’re back, tough fishing…one twenty pounder and a few firecrackers. Pargo floated, but none landed. No photo”

And finally, “The hotel has been sending out two or three boats per day, with all boats doing well…no photos.”

I feel like I am listening to the judges on American Idol. Seven contestants/days…six bad, one ‘okay’ but that one is declared the ‘best ever’ by some.

ATTENTION ALL EAST CAPE FISHERMEN!!!

SAGARPA, the government division that oversees fishing regulations and fishing licenses, has installed a new Port Captain in Los Barriles. In addition to the Port Captain, there are two full time employees, Jorge Castro, whose job it is to sell licenses and a super panga Captain who will be in charge of enforcement.

The boat dispatchers at the various hotels will also have the required fishing licenses available for purchase.

SAGARPA intends to begin enforcement immediately.

Water temperature 67-73
Air temperature 57-82
Humidity 62%
Wind: NW 15 to 21 knots
Conditions: Mostly Cloudy
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:49 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:17 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Offshore action has been limited all week because of high winds and rough seas. Still a decent bite out at the Entrada for small yellows, along with enough sierra to deplete the fly box.
Inside the esteros the action was limited to a few leopard grouper and snapper plus cabrilla.

Seems like there are more whales than tourists this week.

Puerto San Carlos Copa Gobernador Tournament will take place March 7, 2009.


Water temperature 67 - 73
Air temperature 56 -78
Humidity 37 %
Wind: NW 11 to 15 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:58 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:23 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 82 degree blue water is still just a short run from the harbor. The overall fishing for both the inshore and offshore is picking up, and should continue the trend as we get out of the full moon phase.
There is a lot of bait inshore, with the jack crevalle, sierras, black skipjack tuna, and birds all getting in on the feast.
In the blue water, the sailfish action is also picking up. A few marlin strikes were reported, and a couple of dorado were taken.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 73-89
Humidity 65%
Wind: NE at 15 mph
Conditions: Mostly Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:11 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:49 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas

The bite at the Golden Gate Bank for striped marlin remained slower than it has been with good days bringing release numbers of three or five fish per boat. The bite at the Finger Bank was reported to be excellent, as there is much less pressure up there.

Tuna were mostly football and small school fish to 30 pounds. There were some found up around the Inman bank and out toward the Cabrilla Seamount as well as a few scattered schools mixed with dolphin on the 1,000 fathom line south of the San Jaime Bank

A dead whale produced a large number of decent sized dorado to the boats. There was a large section of rope found just off of the Solmar Beach that produced great results until someone decided to pick it up and take it home.

One of the best spots this week for sierra was off of the El Dorado development on the Cortez side of the Cape. Most anglers were able to catch limits on fish that ran to 8 pounds. There were also quite a few small roosterfish and jack crevalle around.

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 - 78
Air temperature 57 - 82
Humidity 49%
Wind: NW 7 to 10 knots
Conditions: Mostly Cloudy
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:49 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:18 p.m. MST

Winds Drop…Fish Pop!

Endless Season Update 02/12/2009REPORT
#1153 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
















Why you need wire


East Cape



According to Mark Rayor, owner of Vista Sea Sport, the fishing early in the week picked up when the wind died. Punta Pescadero was the scene of an outrageous sierra bite that went on as long as the chum held out. Even the yellow tail began to bite. One mossback, weighing nearly fifty pounds, was caught off of one of the rocky points. Everyone is being ‘mum’ on the exact spot; no one wants a repeat of last year when the local gillnetters swooped in and in one morning wiped out the whole school.

Reports of 74 to 75 degree blue water a few miles offshore sucked a few boat out and they were rewarded for their efforts with limits of dorado.

Then Wednesday morning, the north wind returned effectively preventing anyone from getting out to fish.

IMPORTANT AND ATTENTION ALL EAST CAPE FISHERMEN:

The government division that oversees fishing and fishing licenses - SAGARPA - has installed a new Port Captain in Los Barriles. In addition to the Port Captain, there are two full time employees - Jorge Castro - whose job it is to sell licenses and a Super Panga Captain who will be in charge of enforcement.

The boat dispatchers at the various hotels will have the required fishing licenses available.
Licenses are: $136p/day, $284p/week, $408p/month $531p/year.

SAGARPA intends to begin enforcement immediately.
Hmm…could last week’s Road Trekker have made a difference? http://roadtrekker.blogspot.com/

Lance Peterson, our East Cape Guide reported, “Just returned from some kayak fishing out front this morning. I was motivated by seeing a twenty pound dorado almost beach itself chasing a ballyhoo. I wasn't out there long before I spotted another dorado swimming on the surface. I took a cast but no interest. On the way back in I was surrounded by a school of quality roosters...10 to 15 pounds, I'd say. I hooked two but could not get the hook to stick! Fun to see them though! I was surprised to see how close they would come to the kayak.”

Water temperature
67-75
Air temperature
55-77
Humidity
73%
Wind:
N 8 to 10 knots
Conditions:
Partly Sunny
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:54 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:12 p.m. MST



Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Whale watching continued to dominate the water activities again this week, as the strong winds and high seas kicked up most of the week.

Bob Hoyt

Water temperature
67 - 73
Air temperature
51 -76
Humidity
91 %
Wind:
NW 12 to 17 knots
Conditions:
Partly Sunny
Visibility
6 miles
Sunrise
7:03 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:19 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico



With the full moon, the fishing has slowed down considerably. The 82º blue water is still only about 5 miles off the beach, but the fish are not biting.
Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, said it is "muy mal"...In other words, “real bad”. And, when one of the best captains here can't get a sailfish in the blue water, or even a jack crevalle off the back side of the surf line, it IS really bad! Adolfo does think the game fish are here, and said in one more week we will have good action again.
Earlier in the week, and before the full moon, I had fished with John Spriggs down at Puerto Vicente Guerrero. We raised 4 sailfish, had two teased to the boat, and he hooked one on the fly rod.





Ed Kunze



Water temperature
78 - 83
Air temperature
72-86
Humidity
65%
Wind:
NE at 1 mph
Conditions:
Mostly Clear
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
7:15 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:46 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas



The Finger Bank was still reported to be a wide-open bite on striped marlin by the boats that went there early in the week. Many of these boats reported releasing up to 20 fish per trip. The fishing at the Golden Gate Bank dropped off quite a bit as the fish have appeared to have moved off in search of baitfish, but there were still quite a few being caught, definitely better fishing there than anywhere else in easy reach. A good day at the Gate resulted in four to six fish per boat while the average was two to three fish.

There were striped marlin reported off of the ledge at the Westin and a few boats were doing all right drifting live bait at depths of 50 to 100 feet.

A couple of boats reported catching several small tuna to 20 pounds in the blind while trolling around the 1150 area looking for dorado, but there were no schools to be found.

Water conditions on the Pacific side at the end of the week forced many of the boats to fish on the Cortez side of the Cape, and as a result there were many more dorado caught last week from the same area. Most boats were coming in with at least two, and often as many as five dorado. Average size was 18 pounds but there were a few that went as large as 40 pounds.


I talked to one angler this week who told me he had caught a dozen small wahoo. After asking a few questions, I had to tell him they were large sierra. There were a few fish taken however, and the bite was scattered between the Gray Rock and Punta Gorda. Only a few fish were reported on the Pacific side early in the week.

As listed above, the sierra bite has really begun to take off; at least it had started to until the wind kicked in. The same goes for the pargo in the rocks…most of the activity had been on the Pacific side. The Cortez side still delivered a decent amount of these fish, but not to the number count from the Pacific side. Amazingly enough, there have still been quite a few roosterfish caught. While not the large fish we get later in the year, these fish have been in the six to twelve pound class.





George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature
75 - 78
Air temperature
55 - 78
Humidity
66%
Wind:
WNW 8 to 11 knots
Conditions:
Partly sunny
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:54 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:14 p.m. MST

Baja Winter Delivers!

Endless Season Update 02/04/2009
REPORT #1152 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape




























When their cruise ship offered a lay afternoon in Cabo, Jim and Val Isaacson took the opportunity to fish a half-day. Jim brought in a rooster fish and Val caught two red snappers, which they had prepared by Soloman’s Restaurant at the Marina before catching their shore boat back to their ship for a late evening departure.

This time of year the quality of fishing is completely in the hands of the ‘wind gods’. A calm evening is no guarantee of calm seas the next morning. Though many a night the windows rattling in their frames give audible validation that the morning will bring grumpy seas.

Almost always the tin boat guys can be found in the early morning darkness with coffee cups in hand, their shadowy silhouettes gathering on the damp sandy beach. They wait for the Baja morning to determine their work for the day…fish or chores?

Occasionally there will be a morning when the sun rises up from a sea so calm that it appears to be an unbroken sheet of glass where any feeding fish can be spotted instantly.

This week included a few of those days and the boys fishing inshore did well catching plenty of sierra as well as a few small jacks. The few hotel boats that ventured farther offshore were rewarded with a few dorado and tuna. Reports of marlin persisted, but few blue flags were spotted on the returning boats.

Lance Peterson reported, “Beach fishing has been hit or miss for me this week despite some calm mornings and ample baitfish along the shore. Some days there is consistent action on pompano, jacks, and ladyfish; other days have provided very little action. Roosterfish have been in short supply recently with only a few fish spotted chasing bait. Farther off the beach, fleeing baitfish and swooping frigates point toward the presence of game fish. However, I have not ventured out there to see what is biting. Reports from the local tin boat fleet have indicated a decent dorado bite just a mile off the beach.”


Water temperature 67-73
Air temperature 55-88
Humidity 68%
Wind: NE 5 to 7 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:58 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:07 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Copa Gobernador Tournaments part of the XVI Gray Whale Festival was a huge success with good sized tuna, yellowtail and large groupers being the big winners. The winners all wore big smiles and the others vowed to do better next year.

The whale watching continues in full force as tourists arrive by the bus loads. These giants of the sea are the biggest hams in Baja, providing plenty of photo ops for those willing to get up close and personal.

Bob Hoyt

Water temperature 67 - 73
Air temperature 56 -79
Humidity 61 %
Wind: WSW 4 to 5 knots
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:08 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:13 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

Sailfish and dorado fishing has slowed down a bit; however all the captains are telling me "there are a lot of fish out there…they are just not biting." The boats are averaging about five raised sailfish a day each, but they are only hooking one or two.

Baja on the Fly client, Phil Barker of Pleasanton, CA, fished a day with me in the blue water down at Puerto Vicente Guerrero. The fly line parted on the first sailfish he hooked. After the hook set, you have only a nanosecond of time. You are up against a 75 pound fish that has been clocked at 68 miles an hour, and is the fastest fish in the ocean. If you hold on to the fly line too long, things start to break down. Fortunately, the second fish Phil hooked was tagged and released.

Inshore, we’re seeing lots of bait and birds, and there is even some decent jack crevalle action. The action depends on whether the bait has moved to the inside or just outside of the surf line. It is dangerous to get in too close to the surf line, so if they are inside the surf line, we just have to leave them for another day.

There are some large cero mackerel being taken on trolled rapalas by the White Rocks. Jacob Schougaard of Denmark caught five with Marcos on the panga, Oceana. The ceros were between 8 and 11 pounds, and were the largest Marcos had ever seen. Jacob also released two sailfish on the Oceana the next day.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 72-86
Humidity 58%
Wind: NE at 6 mph
Conditions: Mostly Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:18 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:42 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas

This week the Golden Gate Banks still held billfish but they were not as hungry as last week. A few boats ventured up to the Finger Bank and reported excellent action there. Scattered strikes were reported almost all over the place but the normal fishing areas for the stripers still produced better than others, i.e., Golden Gate Banks, the ledges off of the lighthouse on the Pacific side and off of Red Hill in the Cortez as well as the point off of Los Arcos on the Pacific.

The Inner Gorda Bank produced a few fish to 50 pounds on live bait early in the week and there were tuna to 35 pounds found at the same time up in the Punta Gorda area. At the end of the week, the fish moved off but there were reports of some yellowfin to 30 pounds being caught by blind trolling 10 miles south of Cabo.

The dorado were on the flats up off of Punta Gorda yielding two to five fish per trip. The point off of Los Arcos had two days of excellent fishing with many boats getting their anglers their limits of two dorado each. The ledge off of the lighthouse on the Pacific side also produced quality fish averaging 15 pounds.

A few wahoo were found on the flats at Punta Gorda as well as a few from the rocky points on the Pacific side. These fish were small.

The sierra bite has been good and the fish are nice sized…between 8 and 10 pounds. Also a good grade of yellows is beginning pop occasionally near the Rocky points as well as some pargo to 25 pounds right in the rocks.

The first few gray whales of the year appeared this week very close to the beach in 30 feet of water.

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 - 78
Air temperature 57 - 83
Humidity 69%
Wind: WSW 5 to 6 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:58 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:09 p.m. MST