Way Cool

Endless Season Update January 30, 2011
REPORT #1243 "Below the Border"
Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

2011 Winter week 4; Wind remains the theme again this week that coupled with very few visitors wanting to fish. There were a few boats out on Sunday so we delayed the report until after they returned. Their outriggers were bare when they returned. Also heard from a couple of locals that in desperation had run all the way to Bahia de Sueño (Muertos) for zip…zilch…nada.

On top of that there was cloud cover plus cooler sea temps seemed to be exclamation point on the idea of fishing an hour or two from the beach and spending the rest of the morning catching up on chores.

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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Yellowtail continue to be there for the taking if anyone cared. Whales, whales and more whales that seems to be what is getting the most attention. So far it hasn't sounded like a banner year. Judging from the So. Cal reports of a good number being spotted heading south whale watching season should begin to spike soon. 

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

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80º water is getting kind of confusing as to where to find the fish. If you find the concentrations, you do excellent. If you don’t find the fish in the pockets of clean water, you get skunked. The Terrafin Satellite chlorophyll charts make this very clear. The chart shows clean water at the 100 fathom line and about 6 miles out. This holds true to the south, with clean water going for miles. But, straight out in front of Ixtapa, the water turns off colored again at about 16 miles. Plus, a large area of green water seems to be pushing down from the north.

And all this holds up with what we are experiencing this week. Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, found a concentration of sailfish releasing 6 one day, and then going back and releasing another 6 for his clients. But, Martin, on the Gaviota, released 6 one day, went back two days later and got Zip. It just seems to be feast or famine.

Santiago on the super panga Gitana made a long run for tuna. He found them too; but at 59 miles and darn close to where the ocean drops off the earth. They got a dozen yellowfin tuna between 20 and 40 pounds. He told me this morning at the pier they actually ended up at 72 miles when they were done.

But, again, going back to the Terrafin Photo, the 60 mile mark is just at the back edge of the off colored water. The tuna were in the clean water.

There were not many reports on the inshore this week, but Adolfo did tell me he was going north today because there were a lot of sierras up there, small to medium sized jack crevalle (4-10 pounds) and a few small roosters (6-12 pounds).  These all translate to a lot of fun with light tackle or a fly rod....Ed Kunze

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

Cabo San Lucas

Striped marlin season, which we have been hoping would improve, is beginning to look like a bust.  Normally by this time of year the bait has reached at least the Finger Banks, a good 50 miles to the north, and we would be seeing action on the Golden Gate Bank, but so far there has been nothing there.  It looks as if the past four years were an anomaly and are not going to repeat soon.  Instead of almost being able to guarantee a fish during a trip, the hook-up ratio has begun to be around 10%.  There was a report of a local fleet boat hooking up to a small Blue Marlin this week, and also reports of several Swordfish being caught.

Long runs for a small chance at medium sized yellowfin were reported by captains that tried for them this week.  A few of the private boats reported runs as far as 70+ miles out.  Going that far out occasionally resulted in fish to 50 pounds, but it was not a sure thing, and that sure is a long way to go on a guess, or a wing and a prayer as it may be.  There were scattered pods of Dolphin found between 5 and 18 miles out on both the southern and southwestern directions, but not all of them held fish, and sometimes when they did the fish just would not bite.

Dorado continue to be scarce with cooling water.  There are still a few being caught, not no numbers of them.  A great catch this past week would have been two fish, most boats were lucky if they got one. Most of the ones that were found were found either very close to the beach on the Cortez side or 30+ miles to the south.

For some reason even the inshore bite was off this week, and boats that had been doing well on the “go-to” Sierra were having a difficult time getting more than a dozen fish in the boat.  The key to getting even that many was reported to be live sardina. A few of the Pangas tried way up the beach on the Pacific side and reported the algae bloom had brushed the shore line 20+ miles in that direction as well.  For the boats staying closer to home, an occasional yellowtail, and lots of small bonito provided the bulk of the action, roosterfish were noticeably absent close to home, but there were reports of a few decent sized fish showing up in the surf around Palmilla Point..…George and Mary Landrum

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

Winter Species Dominate

Endless Season Update January 23, 2011
REPORT #1242 "Below the Border"
Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

There were mostly windy days at East Cape with a few less windy day interspersed in between. The inshore winter mainstay, the sierra action, has even slowed way down as the water temperatures continue to fall. There was a good pargo snap in front of Rancho Leonero for a day or two and then it disappeared.

There have been some sketchy reports of a few dorado outside of Punta Pescadero. Beyond that there is not much to talk about offshore mainly because there are few visiting fishermen interested in taking a boat ride offshore.

You know its winter when the most successful event held inshore is something called  Lord of the Wind. I don't think that you will find many anglers who are inclined to put their fishing rods away and take up kite boarding.

However, when the wind ceases the fishing will come back to the forefront until the next blow…it goes with the territory at East Cape this time of year.

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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Continuing with the winter theme again this week. Yellowtail action is off the charts at all the local banks and the Entrada. With the local pangueros focusing primarily on whale watching there is not much information about current fishing conditions indside the bay.

A group locals from East Cape including Mark and Jennifer Rayor found cool but nice weather on their annual break at Cancun down at the southern end of the bay.

According to Mark the area is growing quickly. He also reported the last few miles a road into the fish camp situated bay side was in poor shape with lots of soft sand.

Fishing was good for the usual list of bay bass, grouper and even some small flat rascals (halibut) for the grill.

Lastly Success and Vagabond, two San Diego boats that based out of Lopez Mateos for the past several months headed home after a productive season.

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

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

With this full moon phase, the fishing has kind of put on the brakes. The 80ｺ clean water is still holding at about 6 miles, but the fleet is averaging only 1 to 2 sailfish a day, per boat. There are still a few dorado out there, and a few blue marlin are being raised.

The fish are here, but just off their feed for the majority of the boats. A couple of the good captains are finding the active fish however, with Santiago on the super panga Gitana releasing 7 for two days of fishing for his clients. And, just a couple of days before that, Adolfo on the panga Dos Hermanos, released 11 in two days.

When I asked Adolfo about the inshore action, his reply was very slow.  ...Ed Kunze

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

Cabo San Lucas

Striped marlin action has still been extremely slow. On the positive side, there are a few fish out there, and at least some of them are willing to bite if you get a bait in front of them. The fish that have been seen have been scattered around, from the inshore water on the Pacific side to the offshore water on the Cortez, and everywhere between, indicating that the bait has been scattered as well.  Normally we find concentrations of marlin where there is bait. No such luck on either count for us the past couple of months though, except for a few scattered days. On another positive note, there was a small blue marlin reported, one that was estimated to be 180 pounds. 

The yellowfin tuna bite has been off again and on again, one day here, the next day there, and occasionally nowhere! Recently there were fish found at approximately 15 miles to the southwest, outside the 1,000 fathom curve below the San Jaime Bank. Not a lot of fish, but at least the boats that found them early got into some decent action. The fish have not been large, mostly footballs, but some in the 30 pound class have been mixed in there as well.

With the cool water, the dorado have packed their bags and moved south. A few of them could not find their luggage and got hungry, so we have been seeing a couple of flags here and there.

Most of the wahoo got free tickets to travel to warmer climes, getting discounts on seats by buying in bulk. That's my story and I am sticking to it. Only three of these speedsters were caught that I heard of, and all of them were when the full moon was up. All the other “wahoo” flags I saw were for sierra.

There have been roosterfish close to the beach on the Pacific side past the lighthouse early, as well as off the beach on the north side of Chileno on the Cortez side providing action. Also there has been a good amberjack bite off of almost all the points. The most common inshore catch has been sierra, and the bite was good on them for the boats that targeted these fish. A scattering of yellowtail to ten pounds rounded up the inshore action..…George and Mary Landrum

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

Wind is King

Endless Season Update January 16, 2011

REPORT #1241 "Below the Border"
Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

East Cape

Obviously the organizers of the this week's "Lord of the Wind" event held at East Cape have some pretty good weather intel. It has been basically blowing most of the week which took care of any fishing. However, when it ceases the fishing will come back to the forefront until the next blow…it goes with the territory at East Cape this time of year. Want to know more about the event?  Here is a link. http://www.lordofthewindbaja.com/

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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Baja's brand of winter is currently in full force at Magdalena Bay. Water temps are in the mid to low sixties, so forget about exotics unless yellowtail and grouper qualify as exotics on your list. Good fishing for them on most of the banks beginning a few miles outside of the bocas'.

Inside the corvina are the leaders of the pack, eating practically anything put in front of them…also grouper, pargo and of course more than enough bay bass.

Even the whales are not arriving in the numbers that are hoped for by the locals.

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

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The fishing for sailfish can only be described as being way down when compared to other years in the past. This is supposed to be our best couple of weeks of the year, but with two to three sailfish per boat per day, the numbers of fish just aren’t here. Is it that the illegal long lines are finally taking their toll in Mexico? Or, as most captains are saying, is it due to a cold current coming in way early this year? I am thinking the lack of conservation is taking its toll, with the captains closing their eyes, crossing their fingers, and “hoping” it's the current. There has just been too steady of a decline since I moved here 14 years ago, and the captains have seen it, too.

Along the lines of conservation, I got an interesting email from Roger Reese. His observation on future conservation in the U.S. does have some merit. “In the U.S. conservation is being taken care of by the lack of participation. With the event of the hi-tech X-Boxes, i-Pods , 3g, 4g, cell texting, (and the list doesn't stop there), the next generation has very little interest in the outdoors or nature. Fishing and hunting is down by 5 to 7% annually.”… Roger Reese.

But, lack of participation also means lack of income for fishing and hunting, and it is always the sportsman’s dollars that lead the way for future conservation.

While on the Municipal Pier this morning (Thursday) at 5:30, I was talking to the captains to get a feel for this fish report.  They were trying to “promote” me by saying five and six sailfish a day by, etc. But further questioning, and also by spending the day on the water with fly fishing client Brent Schwarz of Lake Geneva, WI, I came to realize it is a whole different story. More realistic it is two sailfish a day, with most of the fish caught two to four miles offshore, and using conventional gear. It is darn tough with the fly rod right now.

For sure a couple of boats posted fou and five fish days this week, but historically we should have a few boats posting double digit days, with the rest averaging four to five releases.

Also this morning, Adolfo and Cheva on the Dos Hermanos boats told me they have been fishing the inshore all week. They both told me there are lots of sierras and green jacks, but the jack crevalle and roosters are scarce...Ed Kunze

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

Cabo San Lucas

Let's see, a private ten-boat tournament for striped marlin and on the first day only one was caught.  And that one was caught close to home.  Tell's the story of our marlin bite for the week.  There are a few being seen but not many of them will bite.  This has to be the slowest marlin action I have seen in years.

There were scattered YFT's.  Sometimes we could find them out past the 1,000 fathom line to the south, other times just four miles off of the lighthouse on the Pacific side.  The key was to be the first boat to find the fish, then you had a chance.  If you were not the first boat then your chances were really lowered.  None of the fish this week were large fish, the biggest I heard of was 35 pounds.  Most of them were in the 12 to 20 pound class with an occasional school found that averaged 20 pounds.  Many of the boats were flying tuna flags for bonito.  There were plenty of them around due to the cooler water.  Average size for them was 4 to 5 pounds with an occasional school of 15 to 20 pound fish. 

Once in a while a dorado in the 10 to 12 pound class was caught, but these appeared to be stray fish, and were found close to the beach.  There were no concentrations found this week, not even under floating debris.  Cold water normally equals slow dorado fishing and that is what we are seeing now. 

Just like last week, as usual this time of year, lots of wahoo flags are flying everywhere and people are getting excited.  Then they are educated about “Mexican Wahoo.”  Lots of sierra, but nothing really big, mostly 2 to 5 lbs. 

On one day, off the next, or maybe it was just a matter of the right place at the right time, but the sierra bite was either wide open or non-existent.  Personally, I think the schools were moving around really fast and if you could not find them in one spot, you had to cruise the beach fast in order to find out where they were.  Once you got into them, limits were easy to get, but the fish were small at 2 to 5 pounds.  The yellowtail bite was fair, with fish that are small by northern standards but decent by ours at an average of 12 pounds.  A few grouper and amberjack rounded up the inshore catch reports except for an abundance of bonito.…George and Mary Landrum

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

Whale of a Week

Endless Season Update January 10, 2011
REPORT #1240 "Below the Border"  Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

No surprises here at East Cape!  You can expect some sun, some wind and most importantly, enough fish to keep things exciting.

As long as the sardina remains along the shore the jacks, sierra and even roosterfish can be in your catch of the day and you don't even have to set foot on a boat. However if you do and find one of the few pangueros selling bait, ask them where they are catching it. That is the best way to figure out where to fish on the windy days.

The skipjack/bonito bite continues to offer some non-stop action throughout Palmas Bay… just watch for fish feeding on the surface and even better yet, frigates swooping down on it from high in the sky.

Head up to the north, which I might add is a good direction to head. Then when the north wind blasts in mid morning your ride back to the hotel is much more user-friendly.

Outside of Punta Pescadero there is enough dorado action to satisfy most. Nothing huge but plenty of tugs from these much sought after gamefish.

Farther offshore when the wind remains reasonable there are a few confused billfish still lurking about. Nothing to write home about but you can't catch-em if you aren't among-em.

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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Seasonal whale watching is dominating  the on the water activity throughout Magdalena Bay. 

January through March, hundreds of gray whales mate and bear their young in these protected waters after traveling over 5000 miles from the Bering Strait.

The bay sheltered from the Pacific Ocean by a barrier of desert islands offers the ideal conditions observe the gray whales and their newly born calves up close from the safety of motorized skiffs in the deeper parts of the bay, where friendly whales swim up to the skiffs for a head rub!  Breaching, spy-hopping and fluking, the whales will captivating with their behavior.

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

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

With cooler 77º water pushing down from the north, the fishing is remaining steady in the clean water, with most of the action taking place only a mile off the beach.  The boats heading out to the 6-12 mile areas are running past the actively feeding fish, and averaging only 1 or 2 sailfish a day. Boats working the inshore areas are getting between 3 to even, as the El Renee did, up to six sailfish a day.

The reason for the near shore action is the water is a couple of degrees warmer than further out. The captains are all saying there are lots of sailfish out there, but they are lethargic and not willing to bite. The close in water is also producing a few dorado. They are only averaging about 12 to 15 pounds, but there are enough of them to help keep things exciting.

Plus, for a regular visitor here at this time of the year, which is the peak of the sailfish season, would find it incredible there are so few boats going out. We would normally have about 15 to 18 cruisers and about 25 to 30 pangas fishing every day. The pangas would be stacked up side to side 6 deep waiting to pick up their clients.  Yesterday, only about 10 pangas and 8 cruisers had clients. The only “stacking” that occurred was when Cheva called out and asked me to get him a cup of coffee. Francisco, on the super panga Huntress, was at the pickup point getting a block of ice and loading the rods and gear. Cheva then brought the Dos Hermanos II over alongside and Francisco passed the coffee off to him.

Gary Meger of  Toronto is here for his annual 6 week vacation to escape the harsh winters of Canada, and will be fly fishing several times during this period. Yesterday, fishing with Cheva, they only had one sailfish come to the boat, but got a hook set. Gary fought the fish for about 15 minutes, and the hooks pulled. We’ll call it a long release.

Adolfo on the panga Dos Hermanos, is continually proving me wrong about the roosterfish action here this last month. Fishing his 19th day straight, of a total of 25 days, with his French man and wife team they really found the roosters up north again.

Using spin rods with surface poppers and live bait, they came back to port with 10 roosterfish flags flying.

 Inshore action has been very good for light line conventional gear fishermen, with a variety of sierras, black skipjack, and medium sized jack crevalle..Ed Kunze

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

Cabo San Lucas

So far the January billfish bonanza that has occurred for the past several years has not materialized. Hopefully, the show is just late getting started, but as each day passes hope is replaced with disappointment.

There are fish out there, but they don't want to bite.  A few boats released fish or two, but they were few and far between.  For the most part, seeing the fish was the best anglers could do.  Most of the fish were in the cold water on the Pacific side, or just along the temperature break on the east side of the cold water plume.

Yellowfin tuna fishing continues to be a hit-or-miss proposition.  The most consistent action was close to shore between the Palmilla resort and the Inman Bank for boats that slow-trolled live bait or chummed with sardina. Most of the fish were small but there were two or three fish to 35 pounds.  Offshore, the white-bellied porpoise was key…there were very few fish found that were not associated with them.  One of the largest groups of porpoise seen in a very long time showed up 30 miles to the south.  There were porpoise to the horizon as well, and a mix of yellowfin with them, bigger fish in one spot, smaller fish in another.

Dorado are also among the missing forcing many boats to find other alternatives. There are still fish out there as many boats have shown this week, but there are no consistent concentrations.  A few boats came in with catches, some with four of five fish to 30 pounds, some with just a couple, but most of the boats did not get any at all.

Lots of sierra biting inshore and always the 'go to' if the yellowtail and amberjack aren't biting. Even some of the cruisers are stopping for sierra, just to make sure their clients catch something!.…George and Mary Landrum

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

Action till the end

Endless Season Update January 2, 2011
REPORT #1239 "Below the Border"
Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

After a week of great weather, with clear days and low-80's midday, the north wind fired back up on New Year's morning.

Pressure was light all week with just a handful of boats getting out each day. Those that did make it out were rewarded with some nice-sized dorado outside of Punta Pescadero, a few very respectable thirty-pounders included. There are still a few billfish but the water temps continue to plunge.

Inshore, remarkably there are still some leftover roosters from one of the most productive rooster seasons ever recorded. Slowly, however, they are being replaced with sierra and jacks, as well as good sized pargo and grouper.

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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

New Year's brought cooler weather and water temps to the entire area. Partying seemed to be more important to most with few interested in braving the cold to go out into the Pacific to find the white sea bass or grouper.

Same thing inside the bay; the transition for most locals now is to focus on whale watching to satisfy the impending horde of tourists seeking their own close encounter with one...…Bob Hoyt

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

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The terafin.com satellite photos show the blue water moving out and away from Zihuatanejo Bay to the north to about the 15 mile mark. But, on a 200º to 180º heading to the south, it is still within six miles from the lighthouse.

And, the fishing has been excellent. We are coming out of the full moon period, and going into our most productive blue water time of the year for sailfish…January.

Each boat is averaging about three sailfish a day released in the blue water. High boat in the fleet this week was Martin on the cruiser Gaviota with nine sailfish releases.

But, the biggest surprise is that the roosterfish have come back. Actually, I don’t think they came back, as our local fish headed south for warmer water in early November, but we are getting a great showing of a southerly migration from parts unknown to the north of us.

Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos went 1½ hours north on Tuesday and raised 28 roosters, hooking and releasing 10. He was using surface poppers and slow-trolled live bait. Per Adolfo, they varied from “fairly small to medium to large”. Cheva, on the panga Dos Hermanos II, worked the areas to the south to the antennas and below, doing well on three roosters and lots of large jack crevalle.

Jose Pino, in Puerto Vicente Guerrero, where I am going tomorrow, told me there are lots of roosters and jacks. Hopefully, we will get into some of the action.

Ed Kunze …Ed Kunze

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

Cabo San Lucas

This past week was probably the slowest for striped marlin that I have seen in some time.  There were fish out there, but for some reason, perhaps the cold water, they did not want to bite.  A few boats were able to get a released fish or two, but they were few and far between.  For the most part, seeing the fish was the best anglers were able to do.  Most of the fish were seen in the cold water on the Pacific side, or just along the temperature break on the east side of the cold water plume.

Yellowfin tuna fishing continues to be a hit-or-miss proposition as the fish moved a lot.  The most consistent action was close to shore between the Palmilla resort and the Inman Bank for boats that slow-trolled live bait or chummed with sardina.  Catching two or three fish to 35 pounds was not unheard of but most of the fish were slightly smaller.  Offshore, finding the white-bellied porpoise was key, as there were very few fish found that were not associated with them.  If you were one of the first boats to the porpoise you had a decent chance of getting bit on fish to 70 pounds (most of them much smaller), if the porpoise held fish, and many did not.  One of the largest groups of porpoise we have seen in a very long time showed up mid-week 30 miles to the south.  There were porpoise to the horizon, and a mix of yellowfin with them, bigger fish in one spot, smaller fish in another.

We are almost ready to hang it up as far as trying to target dorado this new year.  There are still fish out there as many boats have shown this week, but there are no consistent concentrations to be found.  A few boats came in with great catches this week, some with four of five fish to 30 pounds, some with just a couple, but most of the boats did not get any at all.  

Sierra were found by pangas working the beach on the Pacific side up around Migraino.  These fish were not large but they were there in large numbers. Many shore fishermen got into these fish as well!  In other areas a few amberjack as well as a few yellowtail provided action, and just off the beach some very nice-sized jack crevalle (to 35 pounds) and bonito provided excitement.  .…George and Mary Landrum

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