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

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

Low 60's Signal Winter's Arrival

Endless Season Update November 28, 2010
REPORT #1235 "Below the Border"
Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

 Dennis caught his 'career-best' Baja halibut throwing artificials along the shore.

East Cape

More winter and fewer guests was the story this week as the north winds hampered fishing on several different days. However, on the non-windy days, the billfish action produced consistent striper and sailfish catches for the few who were interested in going out.

Inshore has been a mixture of good days and bad, depending on the wind. On the good days there are roosters, jacks…and a sure sign of winter, the toothy sierra working the schools of sardina along the beach.

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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

 

Cold water continues to plague the offshore fishing with about the only bright light being the limits of dorado hiding in a few warm pockets of water scattered around.

While hopes have been high in the esteros that there would be a repeat of last year's snook snap, it has not materialized so far. There's been plenty of variety with an occasional quality-sized snook or corvina showing up often enough to keep it interesting.

I filmed a "Monster Fish" segment with Dennis Braid of Braid Products recently. He caught his 'career-best' Baja halibut throwing artificials along the shore. It was an interesting trip, and as usual with Dennis, it was a lot of fun. I'll let you know when it will air…Gary Graham

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

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

By Tuesday of this week, the 80° blue water had moved back in close to the beach with it now being only a short run of about six miles. And the game fish are responding. Francisco, on the super panga Huntress, with his client from France, was making long runs of 25 miles or more early in the week and was able to follow the blue water back to the coast, making no more than 15 mile runs in the last couple of days. He is averaging a hooked striped marlin and four sailfish a day. All fish have been released.

Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, is also averaging four to five sailfish a day, with Cheva, on the panga Dos Hermanos II, getting three to four sailfish a day, but also had a hooked blue marlin on three consecutive days. Fighting a big blue marlin really cuts into the amount of trolling time to find more sailfish. Adolfo and Cheva’s fish were found between the 6.5 and 15 mile marks.

With Adolfo’s son as my deck hand, Argentine fly fishing client Enrique Amatore and I went down to Puerto Vicente Guerrero for two days of fly fishing. We fished an area new to me, and a long ways south of the Port. But, the boat ride was worth it.

The new spot, about 3/4 of a mile off the beach, has a couple of sea mounts coming to within 25 and 50 feet from the surface. It was incredible. I have never seen bait fish dimpling the surface here on this coast like I saw on our 1st day down there. Huge schools of green jacks, sierras, and pompano were busting bait everywhere. The jack crevalle were averaging 10 to 20 pounds and schools would cruise in and out. Huge roosters, to an estimated 50 pounds, were mixed with the jacks.

With Adolfo Jr. casting the hook-less popper, we brought about 20 jacks to the boat and 8 roosters. Plus, because we were dead in the water the whole time on a sea of glass, the dorado would come over to investigate. We had several legitimate shots at dorado.

Unfortunately, when we went back the next day, the current changed and brought in dirty water. There was no bait, no nothing. We couldn't buy a fish. But, you can bet I will be going back.…Ed Kunze

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

Cabo San Lucas

The 80 degree water we have had this week has still provided a few blue and black marlin in the 250-pound range to give anglers a fight, but I did not hear of any that were larger. These fish were caught on the Cortez side around the 1150 and on the outer Gordo Banks. There have been plenty of striped marlin around, but they have not been in the mood to bite. Most of the fish have been on the Pacific side, within five miles of the beach.

Yellowfin tuna are on again, off again, close to shore, and then 30 miles out. There's no way to predict where you would find the tuna this week with the exception of the Inman and Gordo Banks, and even there, they were iffy.

Once again we did not see any large numbers of dorado with a couple of exceptions. A few boats did come in flying multiple flags and after asking the crew what they had done, I found that two of the boats had found a large piece of wood and had a great time loading up with limits of fish that averaged 15 pounds. These were the exceptions though, as most of the boats felt lucky to get one or two fish during a full day trip.

As a result of being on the back side of the moon, the wahoo bite we had been experiencing dropped off quite a bit. There were still fish out there, but not in the numbers we had been seeing for the past two weeks.

Small roosterfish, and 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, but the mainstay was small roosters and sierra. Both sides of the Cape produced, but the sierra were more concentrated on the Pacific side…George and Mary Landrum

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

Warm water stalls Winter's arrival

Zihuatanejo Sampler

Endless Season Update November 21, 2010
REPORT #1234 "Below the Border"
Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
Current weather reports point to some wind in the next few days; however, excellent weather continued this week providing good fishing both offshore for billfish, striped marlin and sailfish, that seem to be enticed to remain in the area enjoying the warmer sea temps. Anglers targeting the billfish continue to enjoy multiple shots almost every day.

Tuna action is less reliable with most of the fish being found with porpoise schools but they are definitely not as aggressive as a few weeks ago.

Inshore action includes smaller dorado, large wahoo usually in the early morning. Fishing along the shore, both by boat and by walking the beaches, is producing sierra, roosterfish, pargo and pompano.
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Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Earlier in the week, the sea temps cooled off slowing all of the offshore action dramatically. Farther down near Tosca and out toward the pinnacles seemed to produce the best billfish action for the yachts fishing the area.

Inshore the esteros action produced multi-specie days consistently, with some quality-sized corvina, as well as a few better quality snook weighing in the 10 to 20 pound class with more lost than landed.…Bob Hoyt
Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

Early in the week the 80° blue water moved in to within about 8 miles of the beach, with most fish being taken between the 10 and 12 mile areas. It has moved out a bit again, to about 15 miles, but the fishing is still holding well for dorado, sailfish, blue marlin and striped marlin.

Cheva, on the panga Dos Hermanos, is finally back at the helm. He was off for almost two months due to a ruptured Achilles tendon operation. As that is how the injury happened, it sure looks like his days of playing soccer are over. He got a couple of striped marlin for his clients, several dorado, sailfish, and lost two large blue marlin this week.

Early in the week, Mecate on the cruiser Aqua Azul, lost two huge blues, with one estimated at over 450 pounds. He did release a couple of sails and got a nice dorado yesterday (Thursday) for his client Mike Garrett of Malvern, Arkansas.

Mike Bulkley emailed me this report for Francisco on the super panga Huntress:
Sunday-two sails released
Monday-two marlin, two sails, four dorado Ken Hill from Utah
Tuesday- one sail and one dorado
Wednesday- one sail
Thursday- two Sails

Inshore action is still doing well for jack crevalle, sierras and dorado only a half a mile off the beach. .…Ed Kunze

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

Cabo San Lucas

The largest marlin I heard of this week was a black that was caught around the 1150 area and weighed in over 500 pounds. There were a few other blacks and blues caught, but I did not hear of any more large ones, mostly small fish in the 200 to 250-pound class. The good news was the numbers of striped marlin that were found on the Pacific side of the Cape.

Most of them were found just on the edge of that warm water band I mentioned earlier, about two miles or so from shore. The lack of mackerel for bait has hindered the anglers abilities to hook up, but even so, a good day has meant releasing two to four fish, and a great day has been up to six striped marlin releases.

The bite on yellowfin tuna has been an on/off event this past week. One day they are in one area, the next day the same area is as dead as can be. Pods of dolphin holding tuna have been found everywhere this week, and the most consistent area has been a slice of water from directly south of us to just to the south of the San Jaime Banks. This area also encompasses a strong temperature break/current line that keeps moving around.

There have been some nice fish taken from these schools, up to 150 pounds, but most of them have been in the 20-pound class. There are still fish being found in the San Jose area as well, and boats working the humps there have been doing well using sardina as chum and live bait.
Dorado numbers continue to be low and the fish small, with an average size of only 10 pounds. There have been decent concentrations of them on the Cortez side of the Cape close to the beach, and Gray rock up to Palmilla has been providing action on these smaller fish. Some boats have been coming in with limits of these, with an occasional fish to 20 pounds. On the Pacific side the fish have been a bit larger on average, but there have been fewer of them.

For a lot of the fishermen this week, wahoo have been the highlight of the trip. If they managed to get out early they had a really good chance to get one of these speedsters.

There have been more wahoo caught in the past two weeks than I have seen in years, and the fish are decent size. We had one client that went out in the morning and was back at 10:30 a.m. with one 50 pound and one 25 pound wahoo as well as a dorado. Some boats have been getting three or four fish a day, but almost all the action has been early morning.

Most of the action has taken place along the coast in the Sea of Cortez.
Inshore fishing has been a repeat of the past month's action as once again small roosterfish (with an occasional 35 pounder), ladyfish, decent sized sierra, small yellowfin, bonito, skipjack, occasional snapper and grouper along with a patchwork of dorado and striped marlin made up most of the inshore catch. Most of the effort took place on the Pacific side of the Cape and for sheer numbers, sierra dominated the inshore action. George and Mary Landrum
Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Fall is in the Air

Fishing for the big blues or blacks reduces tuna fishing to simply catching bait

Endless Season Update October 19, 2010
REPORT #1233 "Below the Border"
Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Fall is in the air…very pleasant weather, with highs in the high 80's.

The best fishing has been north of Pescadero with most boats targeting billfish, and releasing at least a couple per day. There are a few more sails than stripers although there are still a few blues around. One of the 'Lets Talk Hookup' tournament boats released seven sails and three stripers in one day!

The dorado bite has been off and on, with some good action off Punta Colorado as well as off the buoys between Cerralvo Island and Pta. Pescadero. Large schools south of Vinorama, 35 miles from the hotels produced ten to fifteen-pound tuna with limits for all anglers. Recently tuna fishing has been mixed with lots of skipjack in the same areas as the yellowfin. Outside large schools of porpoise are holding big tuna, very line-shy this week.

A few wahoo were taken and lots were broken off around the buoys and all the way south of Vinaramas, close to shore.

Overall a very good dorado bite. Most were being taken closer to shore, from the light house south to Pulmo Park boundary. Larger dorado mixed, with some big bulls are being taken off the buoys between Pescadero and Cerralvo Island with smaller ones from five to twenty five pounds inside.

Inshore has been good with very light pressure…especially good fishing around the jetties at the new Riviera Marina entrance. The dorado are being taken very close inside. Lots of smaller roosters in the 5 to 15-pound range are being released. Sierra (earlier than usual), pargo and big pompano are coming in daily.

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

 

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

 

Still enjoying excellent wahoo fishing with limits every trip. Plus there are plenty of 20 to 30-pound tuna to round out the trips. Even though the marlin are still being seen every day, none of our clients have wanted to target them.

Closer to San Lazaro, there has been steady action for both grouper and quality yellowtail.

Inside the bay there are sierra, corvina, grouper and a few smaller snook for the few fishing there.…Bob Hoyt
Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 85 degree blue water is around the 25-mile mark. Not many boats are making the run, and are staying within the 12-mile areas, picking up an average of a sailfish and three 15 to 30-pound dorado a day.

Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, has been doing well for his clients fishing inshore. He has been getting a lot of action on sierras and mid-sized jack crevalle. The jacks are averaging 5 to 10 pounds. Both the sierras and jacks provide great light line and fly rod action.

Martin, on the cruiser Gaviota, fished the areas from two miles off the beach to about 12 miles. His clients picked up seven dorado, thee chulas (a 3 to 6-pound tuna with teeth and white meat), and several barriletes (black skipjack tuna) for two days of fishing.…Ed Kunze

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

Cabo San Lucas

There were still plenty of striped marlin being found with most of the action happening on the Pacific side around the Golden Gate. While not red hot, there has been a fairly steady bite.

The yellowfin tuna action remained steady for boats fishing for football-size up to 20 pounds in size, particularly around the Gray Rock area and the Santa Maria area during the tournament days. The largest tuna of the Los Cabos Tournament was 209 pounds and was caught by a friend of ours, who will not give any details about where or how, except to say the fight took two hours, and was caught on a panga!

The charter fleet did very well on dorado this week but I was surprised that the largest dorado caught during the Los Cabos Tournament by a tournament boat was only 31 pounds. Perhaps it was the areas that were being fished because most of the big dorado (and the large numbers) came from near-shore area on the Pacific side.

There were plenty of wahoo reported this week and some boats were able to get multiple fish in the box, but you had to leave early for the first bite. Working the bottom contour at first light with lures around the 300 foot line seemed to work well for several boats. The fish ranged between 30 and 50 pounds.

Inshore fishing produced roosters to 40 pounds; some nice-sized sierra and a scattering of snapper were reported from the Pacific shoreline this week. The snapper have been tight into the rocks, but our small swells have made it easier than normal to get in there and toss a live bait. Most of the pangas fishing for the dorado have been focusing slightly offshore.

If you are getting your own fishing licenses, you must have pesos!!! The people who sell the licenses around the marina can no longer take dollars from anyone. Get pesos!George and Mary Landrum

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

Mag Bay Wahoo Wake Up

Endless Season Update October 03, 2010
REPORT #1232 "Below the Border"
Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

I have lived full-time in Loreto and spend a lot of time fishing here and have always done very good.....But nothing like this!!

East Cape

There was a little stutter in the action when a tropical storm breezed over the top of East Cape, but by the time October arrived, the fishing roared right back to life. Football-sized tuna to eighty pounds were caught by anglers with much larger ones lost after long tedious battles that were won by the fish.
Meanwhile nice-sized dorado to twenty pounds were being taken.

Inside of ten miles, the sailfish and stripers were biting and there were enough surprise blue bites to make it tough to decide which tackle to use.

Inshore action remained good for a variety of species including roosters, small jacks, lady fish and pompano though there were more school-sized and fewer Bubba-class fish.
There were a few larger fish seen from the beach but they were tough to get to.
Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Greg Gordon, Baltazar Sequires and Gerardo Ferrand sent this report: "The best fishing trip of our lives. I have lived full-time in Loreto and spend a lot of time fishing here and have always done very good.....But nothing like this!! Two days catch includes: 12 - Wahoo - 50 to 86 LBS, 14 - Dorado - 15 to 40 LBS, 25 - Yellowfin Tuna - 15 to 35 LBS, 9 - Yellowtail - 20 to 35 LBS and 3 - Whale Shark Rides at break time! Your experienced crew, accommodations and service is unmatched anywhere in Baja! Thanks again and we will see you soon! Greg Gordon....…Bob Hoyt


Just like that the wahoo kicked off the season on the Thetis and those in the know are there in a heartbeat. According to the few boats fishing the bank there were stripeys in zone as well. Lance Peterson raced up from East Cape and filled the cooler in one day with six nice-sized wahoo. He also added that he was bit within a minute of dropping the Marauder in the wake.

Inshore? I forgot to ask…

I swung by the following day and he passed off a fillet.
Later that night I delivered it to Jill and Jonathan Roldan to be prepared at their terrific Tailhunter Restaurant in La Paz. In no time, it was back at my table prepared two different ways. I had one of the most delicious seafood meals I've ever had! It's no wonder their restaurant is so popular!
Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

There is not much to say about this week's fishing. The 83° blue water is still out at the 1,000 fathom curve (30 miles), but there is clean water within 6 miles of the beach.
There are very few people fishing and tourism is slow. Most of the captains are taking the opportunity for their annual maintenance of the boats. They are pulling them out of the water for new paint, bottom paint, repairing last year’s dings in the fiber glass, etc.
The one bright note is the heavy rains we experienced this year have let up and the rain season is just about over. This will bring the blue water back close to the beach, and most of all, clear up the inshore waters for our anticipated excellent action for roosters..…Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

The water warmed right back up and with it came the big marlin. Last Sunday a blue marlin was weighed in at 780 pounds, and there was also a reported 1,200 pound blue marlin brought in. That last fish has not been confirmed by me as I just heard about it yesterday in the evening. There have been plenty of nice fish in the 200 to 300 pound class as well, and there have been striped marlin found on the Pacific side in the slightly cooler water.
There has been little change in the yellowfin tuna action. The fish have been found in all the usual places, the Outer Gordo Bank, the Inman Bank, the 1,000 fathom line on the Cortez side, 40 miles to the south, south of the San Jaime Bank, and just the other day we had a brief showing of decent fish just five miles off of the lighthouse on the Pacific side. Most of the fish had been football-sized, but those off of the lighthouse had fish to 120 pounds, and those off of the banks have been producing occasional fish that were that size and even larger. Almost all of the larger fish on the banks have been caught on live bait, while around half the fish found offshore in the porpoise have been lure-caught fish.

Good-sized dorado remained decent with an average weight of around 18 pounds with lots of fish in the 30 to 35 pound class. We had one angler land a bull dorado that weighed over 50 pounds, possibly as large as 60 pounds, along with several others in the 30 pound class, and they released plenty more. Most boats were able to get limits of these fish without trying hard.

A few wahoo were caught, but the bite has remained sporadic. They were caught either on the high spots or found offshore while looking for tuna.

The pangas were fishing near-shore from 100 feet deep to around five miles from the beach due to flat water conditions and the numbers of dorado to be found so most of the inshore action consisted of dorado, roosterfish and jack crevalle, with an occasional snapper or grouper. Almost every boat there was able to limit out if they wanted. George and Mary Landrum

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

No Limit to Limits

Endless Season Update September 19, 2010

REPORT #1231 "Below the Border"
Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

Late summer yellowfin tuna meet their match with Cassandra one of RBV's tenacious lady anglers.

September continues to promise limits for many anglers looking for a late summer yellowfin tuna fix. Often the first tuna will be a short distance from your hotel. Admittedly they are small but a good warm up for the bruisers lurking under the porpoise schools farther offshore. Hook the right…wrong one??? And you will find yourself laying in a Jacuzzi nursing a margarita with barely enough energy left to lick the salt off the glass.

You might find the plentiful dorado more to your liking as they put on a show leaping about.

Once you have limited out there is always the billfish option which currently offers , stripers, sailfish or an occasional blue or black.

Inshore the roosterfish action remains some of the best recorded in years and the pompano or pargo are waiting to rock your world.
Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Like most of Baja Sur there are very few anglers in the house. Offshore a steady parade of boats fleeing the slow California season are traveling down the coast. Local info about the many marlin and tuna twenty or so miles above San Lazaro have Captains working out their timing so they can arrive in the area at gray light.

Meanwhile, closer to shore, small yellowfin tuna and firecracker yellowtail are thick ten miles outside the Boca.

Esteros are expected to improve over the next few weeks as shrimp season goes into full swing. With few anglers it's hard to gauge how good the fishing is right now. There are reports of decent sized groupers, pargo and even a few snook...…Bob Hoyt

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

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

Due to the heavy rainfall we normally experience in September, the 82° to 84° blue water has been pushed out past the 1,000 fathom line and at about the 32 mile mark.

No doubt the fishing was slow this week with few boats going out due to the lack of tourists. On a trip to the Centro Mercado today (Friday), I checked out the local catches by the commercial pangueros. There were a few yellowfin tuna, dorado, and striped marlin fillets, and not much else.

When I pulled up the Terrafin Satellite photos for the blue water (chlorophyll), it was incredible how much brown stuff was coming out of the Rio Balsas about 45 miles to the North of us, and brown water is worse than green. It is actually reaching areas we fish for sailfish and tuna from Zihuatanejo…Ed Kunze

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

Cabo San Lucas

Most boats releasing one billfish per day, others more. Most of the fish have been Striped Marlin, but there have been a lot of small Blue Marlin caught as well, fish between 180 to 280 pounds, and a few larger fish to 500 pounds. Many of the fish have been found on the Pacific side of the Cape with the effort being most intense for the Blue Marlin between 10 miles off the lighthouse to the ridge between the San Jaime and the Golden Gate Banks. The Golden Gate and the area off of Los Arcos have been producing most of the Striped Marlin, with more seen than caught!

Tuna action continues inconsistent, one day there are plenty, the next they are gone. Of course, if you are the one in the right place at the right time it seems there is no end to them. The problem of course, is finding them in the first place. Most of the local banks produced some with an occasional toad of over 200 pounds. They have been the exception however, most of the fish found have been between football size to school fish, between 8 and 20 pounds for the most part.

There are plenty of dorado, averaging size 10 pounds with a few in the #30 class, but they are easily found. Fly rod action on these guys was great it was catch and release until your arms dropped off, and the excitement of having one of the big ones show up in the chum line made for some great action.

Wahoo went on the bite this past week. We had one group who hooked multiple fish each day three days in a row, landing at least one a day. The largest was right around 60 pounds and they lost a larger one that day as well, the others were around 35 pounds.

Inshore action roosterfish were the exotic, plus some decent snapper, lots of small skip-jack and baby yellowfin as well as loads of small dorado that supplied most of the action for the Pangas this past week. As well as the usual inshore fish, there were a few nice black marlin hooked by Pangas fishing for larger dorado, so there was always the chance of being surprised!...…George and Mary Landrum

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

September Secret

Endless Season Update September 5, 2010
REPORT #1230 "Below the Border"
Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
Shrimp season is just around the corner and if last year was any indication, the Esteros should light up soon

East Cape

Once again, September keeps its secret! All of the area hotels are nearly empty because September is rumored to be a poor Baja month. It’s too bad, because the yellowfin tuna fishin’ continues to dominate the action throughout Palmas Bay and beyond, producing limits for most. The fish closer to the beach are ranging from football size to thirty pounds. Farther offshore, where the porpoise play, there have been some bruisers that some claimed were approaching two hundred pounds.
The Humboldt squid continues to be a predictable bite in the morning, providing the morning workout for those heading out for the bigger tuna that can't get enough of the chunked squid.
Percentage-wise, the dorado counts climbed a click or two…nothing huge, mostly under twenty pounds. However, about the time the light tackle came out for sport, a big dorado would cruise through the chum and play havoc with the light line.
Wahoo have been putting on a pretty good show early morning tight to the beach from Punta Arena and down beyond Cabo Pulmo Marine Park below Las Frailes.
It seemed to be a bye-bye blue kind of week in the billfish department with mostly stripers and some sailfish offshore up above Punta Pescadero.
There was a little bit of buzz about some huge roosterfish lurking close to shore below Punta Arena at Rincon.
Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Shrimp season is just around the corner and if last year was any indication, the Esteros should light up soon.

Offshore the dorado and tuna remain outside the twelve mile mark. Yellowtail are still hanging out off the rocks beneath the lighthouse at San Lazaro as well as at the Entrada.

So far, the Southern California season has been slow, and we expect more of those boats to be showing up at Magdalena Bay soon as they make their way to Cabo for the October tournament season..…Bob Hoyt

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

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80° blue water is at least 30 miles out past the 1,000 fathom curve; the 80° greenish (off-colored) water is clear out to about the 9 mile mark. From 10 miles to at least 30 miles out, the water is clear and clean, but not the desired deep blue we always look for.

The commercial pangeros have found the yellowfin tuna, but they are traveling at least 35 miles each way to get them.

Mecate, on the 35 foot cruiser Aqua Azul, got four sailfish for his clients, but the numbers for the fleet are less than that, averaging one or two sailfish a day per boat.

Besides the sailfish, the main attraction right now is the three to five dorado per boat average. The dorado are running between 15 and 20 pounds, with a few larger fish in the mix. Most sailfish and dorado are being taken around the 12 to the14 mile marks.. …Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

 

The billfish bite picked up this week. Most of the black and blue marlin were in the 200- to 300-pound range but a few larger fish to 450 pounds were found as well. Striped marlin and some sailfish in the 100- to 120-pound class were also found. With warm water in both directions, both sides of the Cape were producing.
Yellowfin action has finally picked up as larger schools of fish move through the area. Mostly in the 40- to 50-pound range, the fish are associated with porpoise for the most part and getting in front of the moving schools and dropping back bait has worked well. There are still larger fish being found at the Gordo Banks, the Inman Banks, the Cabrillo Seamount, off the Lighthouse on the Pacific side and south of the San Jaime Banks. There isn’t a steady bite, but there are quality fish ranging in size from 80 to 200 pounds.

Dorado finally showed up, close to home. Boats have done very well on fish to 30 pounds with numbers ranging from three to eight per boat. Getting the first one hooked and attracting more to the boat with it was the key.

There were wahoo found in the same area as the tuna; that is, on the banks and sea mounts. Most of the fish were single hook-up with the average size being 35 pounds
The swells were smaller recently so there were more fishermen going after roosterfish, and finding them on both sides of the Cape. Almost any sandy beach area with scattered rocks or that abutted a rocky point, produced fish averaging 25 pounds with an occasional 60 pound or larger fish in the mix. There were also snapper and bonito and dorado to be found. With the good water conditions, many of the pangas were going a bit offshore and focusing on tuna and marlin...…George and Mary Landrum

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