Finishing Well

Endless Season Update December 26 2010
REPORT #1238 "Below the Border"
Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

Mostly smaller fish with maybe one out of five being a keeper.

East Cape

As a capper on an unusual season, good fishing seems to be likely.  Nearly perfect weather greeted the handful of boats that have been going out recently. The buoys on the drop-off outside of Punta Pescadero have been producing consistent dorado catches, mostly smaller fish with maybe one out of five being a keeper but they are providing action throughout the day.

Also a few sails and striped marlin are around…more than the number of anglers who are out looking for them.

Another crowd pleaser is the large bonito found throughout the bay. They are definitely large enough to provide a memorable tussle. Then there are the sierra that have been getting the locals up early to catch the sunup bite which is usually the best.

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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

With more whales continuing to arrive, Magdalena Bay is settling into its wintertime routine. Nice-sized white sea bass are being caught outside the Boca. Thetis is still producing yellowtail and grouper for the few boats willing to make the trip.

The esteros remain productive for the few takers interested in spending a few hours fishing there..…Bob Hoyt

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

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80° blue water is just a short run of six miles out of Zihuatanejo Bay. There seems to be plenty of fish, but the full moon has made them picky and not very aggressive. Mike Bulkley of the super panga Huntress told me, “We fished every day and released five sailfish total.  Lots of fish sighted from 6 to 20 miles, but they were short-striking and not coming back on the bait.  Same story with the two marlin strikes we had.  Four out of five sails were caught before 7:30 a.m.,  before the sun even hit the water.”

Cheva, on the panga Dos Hermanos II, and Adolfo on the Dos Hermanos, have been hitting the inshore hard all week with their clients from France. Cheva is fishing 16 days straight with his client, and Adolfo 25 days. These European anglers are such fanatics they got off the plane, took a taxi to the pier, jumped on the boat and went fishing; luggage and all. They checked into the hotel when they got back from fishing.

Both boats have been doing basically the same thing and concentrating on points south from Valentine to the Antennas. They are getting lots of very large jack crevalle (20 in one day for Cheva’s clients), large sierras, and black skipjack tuna. They did get a couple of roosters on a long run down to Puerto Vicente Guerrero, but not any others within a reasonable day’s charter…Ed Kunze

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

Cabo San Lucas

Striped marlin were an on-one-day, off-the-next, then on-again event this week.  Just before the water turned, the bite was great with plenty of fish being seen in the Migraino on the Pacific sid;, then overnight the water turned over and became cool and green. Poof, they were gone.  Two days later they were back but would not bite.  Next day, gone again, but appeared five miles off the lighthouse and were biting well. Almost all the action took place on the Pacific side of the Cape.

Yellowfin tuna was a very on/off fishery this week as the schools moved constantly.  One day they were four miles off the beach to the south, then next day 25 miles out and the following day over on the Pacific side just inside the San Jaime Bank.  I did not hear of any large fish but there were decent fish to 35 pounds caught.  If you were in them at the right time all the lines would go off and you could limit out fairly quickly.  It also helped if you were one of the first boats there! 

The cool water has really shut down the dorado bite even though a few fish are still being caught.  They are being found in the warmer water but the number of fish is down quite a bit.  The size has averaged 12 pounds with a few fish larger and smaller.  The area around Punta Gorda and San Jose seems to be holding more fish than elsewhere, but the warm water to the southwest of the Cape has its share as well.

It seems as if sierra were almost the only fish to be found in numbers as the pangas concentrated on the beach areas on the Pacific side.  The boats fishing the Cortez side did well on a variety of fish, from dorado to small yellowfin and little roosters as well as lady fish, needle fish and skipjack.…George and Mary Landrum

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

The three/four routine

Endless Season Update December 12 2010
REPORT #1237 "Below the Border"
Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

Time to grope a grouper at Magdalena Bay

East Cape

December is when East Cape falls into the three/four routine. Some weeks its three days of north wind and four days of nice weather, other weeks the reverse. If you arrive and the kite boarders are smiling, it has probably been a four day wind week…which has been the case recently.

The good news is often the wind doesn't crank up until mid-morning and if you play the ‘early bird gets the worm’ game, chances are you’ll get the sierra along and a few small jacks and maybe an occasional small rooster. If you are lucky and hit the no-wind stretch, the inshore fishing should provide a few small dorado and tuna with a few skipjack mixed in.

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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Flat calm weather on the outside allowed a few boats to reach the Thetis bank resulting in good catches of grouper and yellowtail. Also reported football sized YFT's as well as a few marlin leaping about. Sounds like a end of the season report not a "its about to happen one".

Also received a report from Dennis Braid returning from Hurricane bank, upper zone and inner banks. Good fishing for tuna and wahoo for his "Monster Fish" show nothing approaching the Mike Livingston catch weighed in earlier in the month. Apparently the entire ridge has rolled over and is cold and off-color (green) and in some places as cool as 54°

Esteros continue cough up some grouper and corvina but the wily snook seemed to have taken a powder.

Already beginning to see a few whales in the neighborhood.…Bob Hoyt

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

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80° deep blue water has moved to about 15 miles off the beach, but the action has been very good, with most fish being taken in the clean water between the 14 and 18 mile marks.

Early in the week Gord Roberts fished with Noe Martinez on the panga Porpy for two days. Gord has been coming here for several years and always fishes with Noe, who is one of the less known captains here, but right up among the best. On the first day they fished about 8 miles in front of the White Rocks and got 4 sailfish. The second day they went north up near Troncones fishing the inshore. They got numerous small sierras, green jacks, a couple of jack crevalle, and a nice red snapper. Most of the fish were taken on a Rapala trolled on a diving plane. On the way back to port, they got two nice dorado.

Chuck Stratton of Las Vegas and fishing partner Scott Wargo of Dallas fished two days with Cheva on the panga Dos Hermanos II. Chuck described it as “We had a great time with Cheva! Caught 5 sailfish and 2 dorado in 2 days! One sail approached 120lbs...largest sailfish I have ever caught!”…Ed Kunze

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

Cabo San Lucas

Striped marlin are being seen but catching them is the tough part. A very lucky boat may get one or two releases, but that is a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Of course this means spending a lot of unproductive, boring time focusing in one area, an area where you know there are fish, and hoping that they suddenly go ‘on the feed’ for a few minutes, or where you travel constantly hoping to come across a new batch of fish that are hungry.

Yellowfin tuna averaging 15 pounds continue to be the best bet as schools of football and a bit larger fish up to 35 pounds move in and out of the area…sometimes as close as four miles out and sometimes as far as 25 miles out. Consistent action is one thing, but consistent location is another. These fish have been moving, and moving quickly so the area that produced in the morning may not be in the same area in the afternoon. This has made for some frustrating days, but when you do get into the fish, it has been great. Along with the football-sized a few have been as large as 100 pounds.
Dorado remain scarce with only a few boats coming in flying multiple flags, and those have been for fish that have averaged 12 pounds. A few larger fish have been found in the offshore waters, but the majority have been found close to the beach and they have been the smaller fish.
Among ten boats fishing a small local tournament for tuna and wahoo, only one small fish of 12 pounds was brought to the scale. Several days before a 80-pounder was reported and the day of the tournament one boat lost seven fish in a row because the leader was bitten through. This shows me there are still fish out there, but tackle rigging is the key to success on these fish.
Sierra have taken over the show for the inshore fishing, but some yellowtail are beginning to show up as well. While not large, the sierra have been there in numbers and it was not a problem for most boats to limit out on them quickly. Yellowtail were a bit larger, but still on the small side at an average of six to eight pounds. A few amberjack along with good catches of bonito and skipjack rounded up the inshore action.…George and Mary Landrum
Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

North winds prevailed early in the week

Endless Season Update December 5 2010
REPORT #1236 "Below the Border"
Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

Wire is a must for these toothy sierra

East Cape

North winds prevailed early in the week and residual conditions lasted for several days. If the warm water pockets could be found there were still a few takers, including dorado and striped marlin lurking beneath the surface. Unfortunately few anglers could be coaxed into gambling on the conditions in hopes of the possibility of a bite.

Most opted for the inshore where there were sierra, small roosters and jacks within a few miles of the hotels, which allowed anglers to flee for cover if a wind line suddenly appeared on the horizon.

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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

With water temps on the outside hovering around 70°s, the billfish action has been spotty at best. According to Terrafin SST's the water temps are beginning to creep upward, which is an encouraging sign. There are a few football-sized tuna along with some dorado around some of the shark buoys.

The esteros continue to produce a variety of species including grouper, corvina, pargo and a few snook under ten pounds for the few anglers fishing this week…Bob Hoyt

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

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80° blue water is still only about 7 to 8 miles off the beach, with some outstanding action this last week. Even though the sailfish have been excellent, the blue and striped marlin are stealing the show.

Early in the week, Mike Garrett of Malvern, Arkansas, fished with Mecate on the cruiser Aqua Azul. Mike had a great couple of days of fishing, plus the Razorbacks beat Alabama, so his week was fantastic. First they released a sailfish, then Mecate spotted a huge blue marlin which was trying to get at a dorado next to a turtle. The dorado was using the sea turtle as a shield, and would move to where the repeated attempts by the marlin failed. Mecate brought the trolled lures and baits nearby the turtle, and hooked the marlin solid in the corner of the jaw on the second pass. Mike released the estimated 400-pound blue after a two-hour fight.

The following day Mike fished inshore for small game with Arturo on the panga Janeth, and got about 35 fish of several different species.

Mark and Doug of San Diego, CA, also had an incredible day fishing on the super panga Huntress with Francisco. This was Doug’s first bill fish experience ever, and he ended up releasing a black and a striped marlin. The total count for the day was four sailfish, a black marlin weighing about 200 pounds and a striped marlin weighing approximately 100 pounds. All of the fish were taken on a SW heading between 16 and 20 miles.
Argentine fly angler Enrique Amatore fished with Cheva and me for two days on the panga Dos Hermanos II. In total, we raised 12 sailfish, one blue marlin, and one striped marlin. Seven sailfish and the two marlin followed the hookless teaser to the boat, with Enrique hooking a sail and the striped marlin..…Ed Kunze

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

Cabo San Lucas

 

The lower water temps seem to have brought more striped marlin into the area, but the moon phase (maybe) has had the effect of keeping their mouths from opening on most bait and lures. Boats are seeing several dozen fish a day but are lucky to get three or four bites, releasing one or two fish a day. Almost all the action has been on the Pacific side of the Cape just off the beach near drop-offs that concentrate what bait has been out there. There have been plenty of fish offshore as well, but not concentrated in any one area.

There have been quite a few scattered schools of football-sized yellowfin tuna this week, with the fish ranging in size from 8 to 25 pounds and a few larger fish to 80 pounds on the outside of the schools. While much more common than they have been, it is still not wide open by any means, but when you do get into the fish there are multiple hook-ups. The fish have been found from near the shore to 30 miles off the beach and most of them have been to the south and west. Larger fish have been found near the temperature break outside the 1,000 fathom line to the west of us.

Cooling water slowed down the dorado bite close to home, but reports from the Punta Gorda area have been that the fishing for dorado in that area has picked up, and all the way to the East Cape, even though the water is cool, the fishing has been fair to good for these great eating fish. In our area, the water near shore on the Cortez side has produced some decent fish to 25 pounds, and the same depth of water on the Pacific side has produced a few more fish, but in smaller sizes.

I thought that the wahoo bite was over, but the past two days seemed to have proved me wrong as friends of mine caught six yesterday and two the day before. Working near shore and slow trolling with rigged dead baits they have been catching fish ranging in size from 25 to 40 pounds. Other boats have been getting one or two here and there, so the fish are still around.

Small roosterfish, the occasional yellowtail, some decent sierra and an occasional amberjack rounded up the normal inshore catch this week. A few pangas got into some grouper and snapper, and a few focused on the dorado. Both sides of the Cape produced, but the sierra were more concentrated on the Pacific side. The numbers of yellowfin have proven to be a big draw and quite a few pangas are venturing farther offshore in search of the fish.…George and Mary Landrum

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