Spring Thaw?

Here is the evidence that billfish are venturing close to shore to feed on the squid. That's a squid tentacle hanging from the gill plate.

Endless Season Update April 4, 2010
REPORT #1209 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

As the wind slammed the door on March, April began with warmer temperatures and positive hints of the quickly coming Spring season. Inshore the roosters, jacks, African pompano and pargo are all biting well along with the still thick sierra, even on the windy days, providing spring-like action for those choosing to remain in sight of land.
Even the billfish including sails and stripers are all only a few miles farther outside.

What's missing are the yellowfin tuna, skipjack and dorado that should be part of any self respecting Spring thaw.

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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Either the fishing is wide open and everybody is too busy to talk about it, or all the Semana Santa (Easter) activity was too much of a distraction. One report was that the recent big tides made it tough for fishing inside the Esteros.

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

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 82° blue water is holding at about 10 miles, with most of the action taking place between 12 and 15 miles. The very good striped marlin bite is still holding up, with each boat in the fleet averaging about two striped marlin and a sailfish a day.

Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos told me the jack crevalle action is still slow, but there are a lot of other small game fish around to keep a light line rig very busy. He reports acres of black skipjack tuna, which are not table fare, but very hard-fighting machines. And, there are lots of small "chicken" dorado who are growing up fast.

Mike Buckley of the super panga Huntress, with captain Francisco emailed me the following:
"Fishing was very good inshore. Lots of bonita and small dorado inshore off Ixtapa Island. We had only one or two strikes out between the 15 and 25 mile lines"...…Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582


Cabo San Lucas

Marlin fishing has remained slow, again this week. A few were taken inshore close to Cabo, but the bite is just not happening. There have been reports of tailers seen up around the lighthouse area on the Pacific side, but not much interest when baits are thrown at them. It's fine water temperatures; they just aren't biting.
Yellowfin tuna are there, then gone. Last week there was a good bite out at the Gate, next they were found again out by San Jaime, but not the number of schools we are used to seeing this time of year. Lots of porpoise out there, but the tuna are not with them.

Still a few dorado popping up here and there, with only one or two blind strikes, no school concentrations. It seems like the rougher it gets, the better they bite.

Sierra and more sierra, roosterfish, grouper, snapper, triggerfish, a smorgasbord inshore! We have had quite a few fly fishermen recently on the pangas doing very well chumming the fish up with sardina to cast their flies into schools…mostly roosterfish and sierra on the fly.

Lots of families for the holiday, and it's been all about keeping the younger kids happy so they will keep an interest in fishing. So a lot of boats have stayed inshore where they are catching lots of fish, instead of offshore for one or two fish, if any. It was a pretty busy week here with the younger kids traveling with Mom and Dad for their spring break.…George and Mary Landrum

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