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.
.

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

Few Anglers…More Fish

Humboldt squid, the nectar of the gods for tuna

Endless Season Update August 29, 2010
REPORT #1229 "Below the Border"
Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

As August comes to a close a storm called "Frank" tried to rain on the parade mid-week. There were few guests to care and the locals watched the weather channel and then went fishing as usual. The month which began with the billfish pop, is finishing with the best August fishing in a while.
Because of the lack of anglers, fewer hotel boats have been going out and the light pressure seemed to make the tuna bite even better. There has even been lots of bait including sardina, mullet, caballito, and Humboldt squid.
The tuna drew the most attention, spread out in both direction from a half mile off the coast. Smaller fish were close with the bigger boys underneath the many porpoise schools found in Palmas Bay. Cut up chunks of squid was the hot ticket for chum and out-performed live bait for the larger gorilla-class tuna.
Dorado were mixed with the tuna and spread within two miles of the beach. The average fish caught was around ten pounds. There were limits for the anglers that found the schools…at least two or three per boat per day. One or two big bull in the 40-pound class are being taken daily.
The billfish, blues, stripes and sails, were there for the taking for those anglers that targeted them off the inside and outside banks where there were plenty of tailers and jumpers.

Both blue and striped marlin are biting. Anglers targeting billfish are scoring, very light pressure
While the beach was pretty thrashed by the large swell and wind, mid-week the boats fishing along the shore found the huge bubba-class roosters along with some nice sized pargo and pompano.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Offshore the dorado and tuna are right on the color break at 12 miles in front of Lopez Mateos outside of Boca de Soledad. Pay attention…on the run out there are a few sleepers every day and in the afternoon feeders are on the acres of bait on the surface.
There were few fishing the esteros this week but there were reports of smaller snook (under ten pounds) plus a few grouper and pargo.…Bob Hoyt
Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80° blue water has moved in a bit and holding steady at around 14 miles. The fishing, even with the full moon phase is not all that bad. The boats are each averaging between one or two fish a day, with the fish being either sailfish or striped marlin. Plus, they are getting and average of one to three dorado each a day. Between the three species, it is making for a decent day on the water.
Even though Hurricane Frank transitioned from a tropical storm to hurricane status right out in front of this coast, it was nowhere near us. We didn’t even get any rain. However, we have been getting more rain in the last weeks from the thunderstorms. September is the month with the most measured rainfall of all the rainy months. As we head into September, it will take two weeks for the roosterfish action to come back around even without any more heavy rains, which is unlikely.
The inshore water is almost completely silted out, with poor visibility and poor fishing along the beaches up and down the coast. This is very evident by looking at the chlorophyll section of the Terrefin Satellite photos. Wherever a river or stream outlets into the ocean, a mass of green water is also being pushed out in front of them. The larger the river, the larger the green mass.

Fly fisher Steve Baldikoski from Los Angeles fished a day with Cheva and me on the panga Dos Hermanos II. We found some barely 'okay visibility' water up near Troncones and Buena Vista, but that even shut down around noon. Steve only managed to hook a 20-pound class jack crevalle, which broke the 17 pound test leader, and a couple of small black skipjack tuna. …Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582
Cabo San Lucas


Some sailfish have been showing up as the water has gotten warmer. Most of them have been found on the Cortez side around the 95 and 1150 areas by boats working those same areas for blue marlin. There have also been quite a few striped marlin in the same areas, strange since the water is so warm there. As far as the big fish are concerned, the blacks are still out there as several in the 400-pound class have been caught this week at both the Gorda Banks and the Inman Banks, mostly by boats hoping for a large tuna. The same areas have been producing quite a few small blue marlin in the 200-pound class as well.

Yellowfin tuna remained consistent with some quality fish in over 100 pounds being found in the San Jose area between the Gorda Banks and the Inman Banks, but most of them have been smaller, ranging in size from 15 to 30 pounds. These same size fish have been found elsewhere as well, with fish showing from the south by the 1,000 fathom line to the San Jaime Banks area.
While that action has not been wide open, everyone who has gone looking for them seems to have been able to catch a few. There were some decent fish over 100 pounds found in small pods of porpoise to the southwest of the 95 spot, and there were even more fish in the 60- to 80-pound class as well, so it is looking better for the larger tuna this year.
I fished the Pacific side for dorado this week as a guest of a client and we released three under 10 pounds and kept four fish of about 12 pounds. All of these were found close to shore, within two miles of the beach.
A scattering of wahoo were reported this week and strangely enough the best area seemed to be just along the drop-off in front of Cabo San Lucas Bay and just to the north of the arch, between there and the lighthouse. The fish averaged 40 pounds and while not every boat got bit, those that put in the time had some action as a reward.
The large swells are still inshore! Roosterfish action was down once again due to the storm swells but quite a few pangas made the run to the Gorda Banks to fish for tuna or stayed out in front working the water for dorado..…George and Mary Landrum

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

First Release Tournament at Magdalena Bay

Endless Season Update August 22, 2010
REPORT #1228 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

Locals are shaking their head in disbelief as the fishing has broken wide open and there are no visitors to take advantage of the action. The yellowfin tuna continued to bite in close in front of La Ribera. These were not the football-sized fish that are usually common close to the beach…some hit the 20 to 40 pound class providing more than an ample amount for sashimi at cocktail hour.
The boats heading farther out found some gorilla-sized tuna that pulled like a souped-up VW Bug.

The trick was to get in front of the right porpoise school with lures or bait and then hang-on! Throughout the week, the big tuna seemed to be winning most of the tug-of-wars with an occasional toad brought to the pier.

Blue and striped marlin have kicked into high gear and are biting better than they have in the past several years. One report claimed it was some of the best billfish action in twenty-five years.

The dorado action also ticked upward which probably accounts for the increased billfish action.

Even though it's beginning to sound like a broken record, the bubba-class roosterfish bite (to 70 pounds) just doesn't want to quit, which is something to crow about.

The big Humboldt squid remain one of the best sources of bait with some scary looking 5 to 6 foot specimens being chunked up for bait or chum.

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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Six kayaks, 22 boats and 42 anglers participated in the first annual Fly Fish, light tackle and kayak tournament in Comondu BCS, Mexico which took place on 13, 14 and August 15, 2010 at Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos.

Considering that the event organizers only had approximately 4 months to plan the event the attendance was remarkable..

The event was held only in the Bay with fishing only from shore, kayaks or boats. Tackle included fly and conventional. With all catches released after weights and length was recorded. It was the first all release event ever held in the bay

Three species targeted were snook, grouper and corvina. During the two day event the contestants caught 16 grouper, 4 snook and 24 corvina.
Winners included click here…Bob Hoyt

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 80° blue water is between 16 and 18 miles off the beach and the fishing is a bit on the slow side. The few boats fishing (only 8 to 10 a day) are each averaging about 1 to 2 sailfish or striped marlin a day. Wind was a major contributor to the fishing this week as we had 3 days where it was darn uncomfortable to go out 16 to 20 miles and then get hammered coming back.

Just before the winds hit us for three days, Cheva on the panga Dos Hermanos II, went to the 22 mile mark and got three sailfish for his clients on one day. So the potential is there.
Adolfo, on the Dos Hermanos, made the 40 mile run to Puerto Vicente Guerrero and is staying down there a couple of days. He was very disappointed. The nightly rains, very intense at times, have the chocolate colored rivers running brim full. They have discolored the entire coastline South of Zihuatanejo to way past Vicente Guerrero.

There is a major movement being undertaken by sportsmen right now. A Billfish conservation act has been introduced to congress. It is for the purpose of “taking bill fish off the menu.” Please click on the attached link and then contact your congressman through the link inside the article. http://www.sportfishingmag.com/news/news/billfish-conservation-act-of-2010-introduced-to-us-congress--1000084822.html …Ed Kunze

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


Cabo San Lucas

One of our friends released a black marlin estimated at 500+ pounds while working the temperature break to the south, so we know that the marlin are still out there. Striped marlin have made a re-appearance at the Golden Gate and surrounding areas; most boats are coming in with from two to more than a half-dozen releases per day. Black marlin averaging 150 to 200 pounds have been found near shore between Cabo and the Los Frailes area and blue marlin in the same size range (with a few in the 300-pound class) have been found just a few mile farther out with concentrations to the north of the temperature break.

Yellowfin tuna ranging in size from 15 to 30 pounds are being found between the Gordo and the Inman Banks, with a few in the 100+ pound class. These same size fish have been showing from the south by the 1,000 fathom line to the San Jaime Banks area. Though not wide open, everyone who has gone looking for them seems to catch a few.

On the Pacific side, the dorado action has started to open up with a lot of fish being found within five miles of the beach. One boat of clients this week released two striped marlin and landed three dorado…a 50 pound, a 35 pound and a 15 pound. Finding one usually means there are more close by!

There were a few wahoo averaging 30 pounds caught, mostly by boats working close to the beach or at the Gordo and Inman Banks…not large, but a nice surprise for those fishing for tuna and dorado.

Large swells made getting on the beach difficult, so the roosterfish action was down a bit, but the dorado, just a short way out, took their place.…George and Mary Landrum

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

Woopsie’ for me

Woopsie’ for me…I was attempting to confirm the fishability of an Estero.

Endless Season Update August 08, 2010
REPORT #1226 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
Caption: One ‘

The recent good fishing for both billfish and tuna was briefly put on hold when the southeast winds arrived mid-week. Fortunately, the winds subsided after a couple of days and the fishing should be back on track in a day or two.

The bite seemed to cover all the bases. Billfish action included stripers, sailfish, blues and a few blacks to round out the catch. Excited billfish anglers were eager to take a show at an East Cape slam of three or maybe even four billfish species in one visit or maybe it was that the stars were aligned just right in one day.

On the tuna front, there were more footballs than gorilla-class but again, there were enough big ones to convince savvy anglers to break out the heavy tackle and not take any chances on being under gunned when the VW-sized tuna appeared behind the boat.

While there are ample school-sized dorado, there are just enough bull dorado to keep the anglers guessing.

Inshore the roosterfish remain off the charts as the longest bite of big fish has gone on for several months…non-stop.

Finally, the two p’s, pargo and pompano, are both making a good showing.

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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Action inside the Esteros was slow for the four clients who fished this week. During the three fishing days, they caught only a few grouper, a few cabrilla along with a handful of mystery bites One ‘oopsie’ for me was when I was attempting to confirm the fishability of a spot. I really would have preferred the client to catch the snook that bit.

Later in the week the action began to improve slightly with better catches in the morning as we did some exploring in the Bass Tracker…Gary Graham

Offshore dorado and small YFT’s are inside of twenty miles and there was at least one marlin seen only three miles offshore by one of the Captains…Bob Hoyt

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 84° blue water is still holding at 16 miles. There is also a huge area of very warm 88° water holding just south of Zihuatanejo, on down towards Acapulco.

Normally, water this warm would not be productive for blue marlin, but the consensus among the captains is there are as many blues out there as there are sailfish. This is probably due to the huge amount of black skipjack tuna we have here right now. The blue marlin are just simply following the food supply. Plus, a three pound tuna is too large for a sailfish.

Early in the week, the skies were clear and the fishing decent for all species. But, the last couple of nights has seen some very intense rains. This morning’s (Thursday) rain, from about 1:30 until 2:00 dumped 3” of rain and wind on us in a half hour. Plus it lasted intermittently until about 10:00, but much less intense.

Inshore has been slow, with the roosters moving off the beach and into deeper and cleaner water. One bright note is the ojtones, a member of the hard fighting jack family, is giving the inshore fisherman a lot of action. The 20 to 25 pound, good eating fish are being taken off the rock pinnacles, the White Rocks and the rocky points, on live bait and trolled Rapalas.…Ed Kunze

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


Cabo San Lucas

The much anticipated arrival of blue marlin began in earnest with several large fish lost, a few boated and many others released. The striped marlin along with a few sailfish remained consistent but In fewer numbers than experienced in early July.

Several larger yellowfin tuna were reported lost: most of the tuna that were caught were of the smaller variety. There were none reported over 100 pounds throughout the fleet.

In the dorado category, it was mostly smaller fish with an occasional larger fish in the forty-pound class caught farther offshore.

Inshore action consisted of a few roosters, amberjacks and pargo. Aside of those, there were a few skipjack and bonito to round out the action. Many of the pangas took advantage of the
dorado and small tuna just a few miles offshore.

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

Magdalena Produces Swordy

Offshore action at Magdalena Bay included a swordfish on 30 lb. line one of two baited.


Endless Season Update August 01, 2010

REPORT #1225 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

The Bisbee Black and Blue produced more fish than had been predicted. The winning fish, a black marlin was caught the first day and weighed in at 581 pounds, the other two winning fishe were 441 and 377 pounds. There were over 40 blues released over the three days. Striped marlin and a few sailfish action remained consistent with most boats targeting them finding at least one.
Tuna action was close to shore in front of La Ribera for the smaller fish. Further offshore there were some larger fish to over 100 pounds beneath the porpoise.

Dorado action were mainly smaller fish with an occasional bull up to fifty pounds. Inshore once again this week the larger roosters continued to dazzle the clients with some 30 – 50 pounders to take a shot at.

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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Offshore action included a swordfish on 30 lb. line one of two baited. Yellowtail and white seabass out at San Lazzaro and reportedly some dorado around the shark buoys. Inside the bay it was a mixed bag with nothing spectacular, but plenty of variety. The weather has warmed up but with calm winds in the morning and afternoon breezes…Bob Hoyt
Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 83° blue water is still lingering between the 16 mile and 20 mile marks as the result of the large volume of fresh water coming out of the rivers from last week’s hard rains.

The boats are averaging 1 to 2 fish a day each in the blue water, with the fishing probably affected mainly by this week’s full moon period.
Not many boats were fishing this week either, with a lot of excellent captains staying at home for several days. Early in the week, and before the full moon, Santiago on the panga Gitana only fished 1 day in the blue water releasing 2 sailfish and a striped marlin. The second day he fished inshore, catching1 nice rooster.
Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, fished two days in the blue water this week, releasing 2 sailfish and a striped marlin. Adolfo has mostly been fishing the inshore this week, as the stained waters from last week’s rains are clearing up a bit. Due to the turbidity, and the decreased salt content along the shoreline, the bait and roosterfish have moved off the beach and into deeper water. They are hanging out in the 30 to 50 foot deep water, requiring a down rigger or diving plane to get a live bait down to them. He has taken 14 roosters in the last two days.
To me, this is an interesting phenomenon. Adolfo may not understand the science of it, but he has enough experience he was able to find the fish. Last week’s heavy rains not only pushed a lot of silted and stained water out of the rivers, but it was fresh water, which also lowered the salinity content along the shoreline. The fresh water is lighter, so it sits on top the salt water.
Plus, the fresh water near the surface is stained a murky brown, but below it is clear and clean water. The closer to the shoreline, the less saline the water, as the depth has decreased. So, as Adolfo found out, a surface popper is only making for a long day and wearing the caster out, but moving 100 to 200 yards offshore, and going down deeper with a live bait, is producing. …Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

After a stupendous report last week, things dipped down a bit this week. Catches were not as good, mainly due to greener water moving into the area and the temperature dropping somewhat, sending the fish in search of better conditions. So we had a few slow days with things starting to now rebound somewhat, with bluer water. The bait being used is not ideal; mullet, which although a very hardy bait, living longer in the bait well, is not the first choice of marlin, who prefer mackerel, scarce at this time. Still striped marlin was the number one catch in Cabo with fifty three percent of charters catching between one and three marlin in a day, with a few sailfish mixed in. Those boats that did get “skunked” usually saw fish but couldn’t get them to bite, or hooked up but couldn’t register true a release, with the fish mouthing the baits only, or not staying on the line for very long.

Dorado catches were in second place after marlin this week with twenty nine percent of boats catching between one and five fish, with some as large as 50 lbs, like the one caught on “Tracy Ann” on a petrolero lure. Others ranged from 18 to 30 lbs and took a combination of live bait, green and petrolero lures- found from the 11.50 to Punta Gorda. Tuna catches were at twenty three percent with catches of between one and seven fish. “Attitude Adjustment” had the largest tuna of the week a 70 lb fish on July 26th, plus two others around 30 lbs at the 95 and 11.50 spots. What we did get excited about this week, were the roosterfish; we had several really large ones. The only other smaller game we had was a few jack cravelles and a couple of cabrilla.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record….the weather is still off….much cooler than normal on the Pacific, we also had a surprise thunderstorm and some rain on Sunday. Cortez side is warmer but not as it should be. Skies mostly clear and sunny, seas calm… Tracy Ehrenberg

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

Spring Arrives in Mid Summer

Endless Season Update July 25th, 2010

REPORT #1224 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Bill Heim of Ontario, CA. He comes and fishes with Vista Sea Sport every year with his son and brother. In past years, his father also came on the trips but passed away eariler this year at 86.

 

No storms on the horizon, but there was few hours of rain followed by a strong wind from the east. Las Palmas Bay is somewhat of a divided playing field with the warmer water up to the north toward Las Arenas and cooler water from the Punta Arena lighthouse down.

In the warmer water the yellowfin bite has been outrageous for some. A good number of larger gorilla sized fish have been kicking serious *** leaving spent anglers and in some cases plenty of broken tackle. The fish are being found under the numerous porpoise schools found anywhere from five to forty miles offshor
More dorado seem to be showing up daily and there have been a few more wahoo landed as well.

Along the shore and from the beach the big roosters continue to be caught…some exceeding fifty pounds.

Next week brings the first of the Bisbee Black and Blue series to East Cape and teams are already out scouting for the hot spot.
With the water temperatures continuing to climb, more and more billfish are moving into the area. Blues are being spotted and a few are hooked and released every day. Striped marlin are throughout the bay and there have been some sails caught and released just outside of Punta Pescadero.

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


Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

The weather has been nice, but with some wind. Plenty of tuna outside along with some marlin farther out. Shark buoys are holding some larger dorado.

On the north-facing beaches on Magdalena Island, there have been some nice-sized snook along with some white seabass.

Inside the Esteros grouper and corvina provided the best action this week..... Bob Hoyt
Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The surface water temperature satellite photo from Terrafin shows a scrambled egg pattern from the shoreline to over 50 miles out, bouncing around between 82 and 84 degrees. However, this has had less of an effect on the fishing than the blue water moving out to about 20 miles.

The clean water is still found at about the six-mile mark, but the game fish are mostly being taken in the blue water, meaning runs of 20 to 28 miles.

The boats not making the run are only averaging about o0ne sailfish or a striped marlin a day each.
The boats going the distance are each averaging about three fish a day. Sometimes it is two sailfish and one striped marlin like Adolfo had on the panga Dos Hermanos, or two striped marlin and one sailfish like Cheva on the Dos Hermanos II.

The blue water has been pushed out this week due to the large volume of fresh water coming from the numerous nutrient rich streams and rivers we have here on the coast. This last week has seen rain almost every night, and even a couple of daytime rains. Some of the early morning rains were very intense, with one particular two-hour deluge of about 6” between 5:00 and 7:00 in the morning.
The Terrafin satellite photo measuring the chlorophyll (pigment from organic plant life) of the water shows the results of this occurrence with high concentrations of chlorophyll in the vicinity of the rivers and streams, and out about five to six miles. (The less chlorophyll, the deeper blue the water.)
And, because of the high concentrations of chlorophyll and stained water coming out of the rivers, the good roosterfish action we were having early in the week was disrupted substantially.
It has come down to finding clean water where you find the roosters; Paul Ruzumna, of Chicago, fly fished with Cheva and me on the panga Dos Hermanos. We first tried casting to the two to three pound green jacks (cocineros) in the boiling waters off the rocks at the White Rocks. Then we went after roosters, finally getting one around 18 pounds about noon. …Ed Kunze


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

Cabo San Lucas

We are seeing quite a few striped marlin, with 65% of the boats releasing one or two fish. Many that did not get marlin were targeting dorado or tuna. Along with the warm water came the blue and black marlin. There were several blues to 400 pounds and a fifteen-year-old girl released a marlin estimated to be 250 pounds. As is usually the case, find the bait, and you find the fish.

The small tuna were holding near shore around the Chileno bay area and offshore along the 1,000 fathom line. Near shore resulted in striped marlin and a few black marlin; working the bait offshore resulted in a few striped marlin and all the blue marlin.
The yellowfin bite slowed though a few to 100 pounds were still being found around the Gordo Banks, but you had to be there early to get hooked up. Offshore, boats were finding small pods of dolphin that held school and football-sized fish averaging 15 pounds.
Almost every boat that went out caught at least one dorado and some of them were nice-sized fish! We had one client who fly fished for three days; on the first day he released a striped marlin and kept a dorado of about 12 pounds, the second day he caught two dorado of about 15 and 18 pounds and on the third day he hooked up a dorado estimated to be 40+ pounds, only to lose the fish close to the boat after a long fight. Most of the fish were found close to shore (within four miles), just to the south and 15 degrees either direction.
Red snapper dominated the inshore as the rocks were producing for guys using live or cut bait. The key was to get the bait as close to the foamy pockets between the rocks without getting hung up, and fishing with the drag set at almost full in order to get the fish away from the rocks quickly. Many of the pangas took advantage of the dorado and did a lot of fishing just off the beach...… George and Mary Landrum
Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Tuna in the Anchorage

Could have been a contender dorado; unfortunately it was not caught in the Dorado Shootout this weekend.

Endless Season Update July 17th, 2010

REPORT #1223 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

As expected the cooler off-color water is receding, but this week brought another oddity. For several days there were YFT's being caught among the mooring balls of the hotels. Nothing huge but if you went out 30 to 40 miles where the porpoise play, there were some up to 75 pounds.

There were plenty of the smaller fish caught in the Dorado Shootout this weekend but getting a big one was tough .

The billfish action has remained steady but has had little pressure with most anglers choosing the other species as their preferred target.

The epoch roosterfish bite continued another week producing some 50+ pound fish almost daily. There has also been an appearance of schools of sierra , usually more of a winter event.

Lastly, the pargo bite yielded a few fish to 25 pounds.

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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Preparations for the big First Flyfishing Tournament which will be held August 13, 14, 15th are underway; as usual when there is a big event planned everyone gets tight-lipped about the fishing. .... Bob Hoyt

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

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80° blue water is practically on the beach. The fishing is really decent, as each boat fishing the blue water is averaging two sailfish a day, and at least 1 dorado of 20-25 pounds. However, not many boats fished this week, with only four or five boats going out a day.

We had been getting rain at night, but today and yesterday we had rain in the morning and early afternoon. However, the fishing has not been affected.

Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, fished the beach all week and did excellent on roosters. He told me the water has cleaned up after the heavy rains of a couple of weeks ago and in the last two days he released 11 roosters, with five “long releases”. He also told me there are more roosters than jack crevalle.

Cheva, on the panga Dos Hermanos II, fished for roosters today, releasing three in the rain. They could have had more, but the clients had had a good time and wanted to go back to the hotel. The last three days, Cheva had been fishing the blue water with a total of four sailfish, two striped marlin, three dorado, and a blue marlin. A great three days anywhere…Ed Kunze

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

Cabo San Lucas

The warm water has finally brought in some blue marlin. Several were released this week and a few were brought in for weighing. Most of them were in the 200-pound class, but there were a couple reported to be over 300 pounds, and one was about 500 pounds. The striped marlin bite improved as well with the fish finally starting to bite on a regular basis. There were no big numbers posted by anyone, but almost everyone was releasing one a day and having shots at a few others during their trips. A few decent sized sailfish were caught, with most of them in the 90 to 100 pound range; there were a few smaller ones around 60 pounds, still these were nice fish. A couple of blacks were reported from boats that were working near to shore for dorado.

Even though we were seeing big tuna last week, and boats were going to the Gordo Banks to target them, boats from Cabo did not have great results. With these large fish you really needed to be on the spot at first gray light, but the boats fishing from San Jose got a few as they only had a 20 minute run instead of two hours. In our area there were plenty of fish in the 10 to 20 pound class with a few going to 30 pounds. These fish were found with the porpoise and while it did take some time to find them, once you did, at least for the first few boats, the action was good,. A good catch was eight fish with most boats catching three or four. A few never found them or had other targets in mind.

Dorado were a little larger on average as we expected to happen with the warmer water. The fish were not concentrated in one area;, they were scattered out, one or two here and there. The key for dorado was finding a frigate bird that was staying in one area and occasionally swooping down to the water. The larger fish were in the 25 to 30 pound range while the average was 15 to 20 pounds.

Inshore fishermen found red snapper averaging seven pounds as they worked the rocks on the Pacific side of the Cape. There were also quite a few nice roosterfish and larger jack crevalle found cruising just outside the breakers ..… George and Mary Landrum

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

Green is Not Good

Congratulations to Lance Erik Peterson of Port Angeles, Washington, USA, for his new IGFA World Record Grouper, broomtail, Tippet M-10 kg (20 lb), 5 lb 0 oz, Puerto Lopez Mateos, Baja, 20-Feb-10

Endless Season Update July 11th, 2010

REPORT #1222 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape


What had been rated as one of the best bites of the year was temporally stalled by a cold, green current, which along with the two Mexican super-seiners equipped with helicopters prowling the water, put the fish down. There were a few lucky boats that found bigger tuna but most had to settle for the smaller grade. Some smaller dorado were found closer to shore but there were none of the large bulls that had been seen recently.

The striped marlin, with an occasional blue and a few sailfish, continued to be the hot ticket for those who targeted them.
Inshore, the roosters, jacks and pargo didn't seem to be bothered by the unusual cooler water.

Lance Peterson reported tough fishing from the beach with overcast skies, coupled with the wind and larger swells making sight fishing difficult. When the roosters were found, they were in their spawning behavior and had little interest in what was offered.


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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Few folks were fishing this week but the reports from the locals continue. Marlin, dorado and tuna (including a few bluefin) added to the what is being called the 'oddest season'.

In the esteros, the grouper are quality-sized and biting well.... Bob Hoyt

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

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80° blue water is still just a couple of miles off the coast, and the sailfish bite is holding up. After last week’s 15 inches of rain in a 4-day period, I am really surprised the blue water wasn’t pushed out farther with the massive intrusion of fresh water from the coastal rivers and streams that are abundant on our coast.
The rain did affect the roosterfish and jack crevalle action and it will probably take another week to get back to decent fishing again. Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, told me the inshore is still too murky from the runoff and has been fishing offshore. He is releasing an average of three sailfish and getting either a shot or catching a blue marlin or striped marlin each day for his clients. Plus, due to the heavy outflow of trees, grass, etc. out of the rivers, a few dorado are showing. I heard an unconfirmed report of a 55-pound dorado being taken today (Thursday).

Neither Santiago or Adan on the Gitana pangas fished much this week, but did well fly fishing with the Steve Powers fly fishing group this last week.

Martin on his 35' cruiser had five strikes on sailfish, but managed to only catch and release two for the one day he fished.......…Ed Kunze

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


Cabo San Lucas

Although nowhere near as hot as it should be (at least not on the Pacific side), the weather has really started to heat up here in Cabo. The Sea of Cortez though, is another question; it has been in the 90’s and that is where most of the fish are being caught. It seems like the marlin bite has finally stabilized with striped marlin being the number one catch in Cabo. A a few blues are also beginning to be found.

After marlin, yellow fin tuna were the most likely catch. While a few large fish were found up in the Punta Gordo area, nearer to home, there were scattered football-sized tuna between 12 and 25 pounds.

A few small dorado were caught recently with a couple of larger fish reported as well. Most of them were in the 8 to 10 pound class with an occasional fish in the 20 to 25 pound range.

The odd wahoo were still being taken here and there up to 45 pounds.

Boats fishing inshore encountered sierra in good numbers, along with some roosterfish, jack crevalle and skipjacks.

Inshore fishing was mostly conducted on the Cortez side of the Cape due to the wind. Pangas were doing all right, but not great, on snapper and small grouper. A few nice amberjack to 60 pounds were caught. Small bonito and football yellowfin tuna were caught as well as a few striped marlin were found very close to the beach which got the panga fishermen excited. The wind and swells made the water close to the beach a bit off color.… George and Mary Landrum

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

The Return of the Sardina!

All in all, this will be remembered as one of those weeks when you should have been here! photo Mark Rayor, Vista Sea Sports and Ruth Moran.

Endless Season Update July 4th, 2010
REPORT #1221 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape



East Cape fishing exploded in the week leading up to the 4th of July. Lots of fish…big fish, and finally the sardina have returned.

Yellowfin action continues to be extraordinary! There have been many schools of porpoise with tuna to 150 pounds beneath them. The good news is that the porpoise schools are spread out allowing the fleet to do the same. Action begins as close as the lighthouse and can be found in any direction.

The dorado action is on the upswing as well, though most of the schoolie fish are on the smallish side. However, just when you least expect it, in comes a 30 to 40 pounder.

Then there is the giant of a wahoo (104 pounds) caught off La RIbera by a father and son from Colorado who were fishing with skipper Ramon from La Ribera on Los Amigos.

Billfish, sails, stripers and blues, are there for the taking for those interested. Inshore the Humboldt squid are there to get everyone started in the morning before heading out for a big one.

Then the rooster fish action has produced more Bubba's than a Catfish Noodling tournament in the south. All in all, this will be remembered as one of those weeks when you should have been here.

When the action gets this good, anglers often end up getting hooked, literally. Here is a refresher on what to do when it happens…the removal part not the other!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTUQXpg76xQ

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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

In keeping with the oddest Baja fishing season in memory, there have been reports of marlin mixed in with the yellowfin tuna, but, as we know reports are as common as Pacifico's at a Mexican fiesta. The photos made the difference this time. In 71 degree water on the 23's , they caught two and broke off several marlin on the light gear they were using for the small tuna with plenty more marlin mixed in.

More weird stuff: WFO for halibut in Santa Maria Bay…go figure... Bob Hoyt

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


Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

We had been experiencing some fantastic action in the early part of this last week. The 84° blue water was just off the beach and the sailfish were going strong. Plus, we were recording some incredible catches of roosterfish and jack crevalle inshore. And then the rains came…

Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, told me his clients caught 18 roosterfish on Sunday. They were taken on surface poppers and slow-trolled live bait. He was working the areas south of Valentine and down to the antennas. He went back on Monday, and the roosters were gone, but he got about 15 jack crevalle, which are not so sensitive to the huge volume of fresh water lowering the salinity of the coast line. Due to the wind and intensity of the rain, he didn’t even try to fish on Wednesday.

From Sunday evening through Thursday afternoon, we have gotten 15 inches of rain, which really screws up the inshore fishing by bringing in tonnage of silt and fresh water from the numerous local rivers and streams. The silt makes the water look like weak hot chocolate and the fresh water lowers the salinity. It will take a couple of weeks to get things settled down again.

Our normal heavy rain comes at night, in the form of thunder showers, but we have had intermittent heavy rain at any hour of the 24 hour day. Other than the month of September, this
is very unusual.

There is a group of fishermen who have been fighting the elements, and considering the conditions they are fishing in, they are doing well. There are ten fly fishermen here from the California's central valley, chartered through Mike Powers of American Fishing Company in Sacramento. Without the five pangas they are going out in daily, there would have been only three or four boats on the water each day this week.

So far, Adan on the panga Gitana is the high boat in the fleet, raising 15 sailfish, teasing 10 to the boat, with the fly clients hooking six. Please understand, a hooked fish on the fly is not exactly a fish brought to leader. The line gets wrapped around the reel, hooks are not set firmly enough to withstand the incredible aerobatics of a sailfish, the angler is standing on the fly line, etc.
Second captain honors go to Fernando, with two sailfish actually getting to the boat for photos.

When the sailfish action died off on Thursday, all of the group’s boats found the schools of small yellowfin tuna, which were willing to eat the fly. Plus, there were schools of the small pelagic sharks, which rarely get larger than four feet, but have a large shark’s appetite......…Ed Kunze

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


Cabo San Lucas

There was a decent preview of summer fishing this week with striped marlin being a bit more active than last week, blue marlin showing up and a few swordfish showing as well. The striped marlin were found pretty close, as was everything else, mainly due to the fact that the farther out you went, the rougher the water became! Striped marlin were seen tailing on the surface but for the most part were ignoring the normal caballito and mackerel live baits. The boats that did the best were hooking small bonito close to shore,,,then slow trolling them. There were a few fish found that would eat the other baits, so it was not a waste of time or money to buy them, but the bonito seemed to work better. There was a nice blue marlin of 600 to 700 pounds caught and released (I saw the video) two miles off of Gray Rock. There was also a 150-pound swordfish caught around the 95 spot on Wednesday.

Yellowfin were being caught every day and there were a few large fish found up in the Punta Gorda area. Not as many of the larger fish as there were last week, but if you were one of the lucky boats, the fish were going up to 100 pounds. Nearer to home, there were scattered football fish to 25 pounds.

A few small dorado were caught this week, a few more than were showing up last week, and there were a couple of larger fish reported as well. Most of them were in the 8 to 10 pound class but the larger fish were around 20 to 25 pounds.

Inshore fishing was mostly conducted on the Cortez side of the Cape due to the wind. Pangas were doing all right, but not great, on snapper and small grouper. A few nice amberjack to 60 pounds were caught. Small bonito and football yellowfin tuna as well as a few striped marlin were found very close to the beach and got the panga fishermen excited. The wind and swells made the water a bit off color very close to the beach.

Our fingers are still crossed that the storms stay away, and it appears as if the winds have died down, at least for now. If the water warms back up (it has been in flux all week) the fishing should definitely keep improving. … George and Mary Landrum
Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

East Cape Gets Mooned!

Captain Chuy on the Jen Wren is picking up where he left off with the grande yellowfin tuna. Yes, that was a full moon that shined over East Cape all week! photo Mark Rayor, Vista Sea Sports.
Endless Season Update June 27, 2010
REPORT #1220 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

I gotta' say it…under the bright light of a full moon, the East Cape went bananas. Throughout the week IM messages of great catches kept flashing on my computer screen.

Not only were there huge tuna to 146 pounds, there were also a few blues and definitely a stronger striped marlin bite all week. Most of the tuna were under the breezing porpoise schools and if the right one was found, there were some serious bites to be had.

Inshore and beach remained great serving up shots at big…oh what the heck…huge roosters and jacks with more broken off more than were caught. Hot days and hot fishing had everyone standing in lines at the bar to get something cold and wet. Can't wait to see if it holds up over the 4th.

Mark Rayor Keep It Reel Fish and Chips Tuna Tournament reported: Twenty boats. I skippered the Cabo, and Chuy the Innovator.

7AM: Shot gun start and all the boats made their way to the squid hole to make bait. I stayed there longer than most of the boats to load up on bait. Off we headed to the outside of Pescadero. We had limits the day before off of the light house but there were no big fish. Earlier in the week several larger fish were landed to the north. Out about nine miles, I picked up my gyros to start looking around.

The first thing I see is the Innovator off to my starboard. We ran a few more minutes and were lucky enough to run right into a huge school of spotted porpoise. Now we are about 12 miles out. I throttled back and we started chumming chunks of calamari. The tuna came for it instantly. I grabbed the radio and called Chuy. It only took him a few minutes to arrive on the spot. We already had three 30 pounders in the boat when the anglers on Chuy's boat had a triple hook up on calamari. They gaffed the 1st fish (about 20 pounds) when one of the other guys said, "I'm getting spooled". Chuy was alarmed when he looked down at an almost empty Accurate Boss B2-30. He immediately swung the boat around and went after the fish. In a few moments they had it under control and in 25 minutes brought it to gaff.

Knowing it was probably a contender they headed to the scale. At 9:30 AM they were at the dock where the tuna officially weighed in at 143 pounds. That was enough to hold up and take first place.
Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Last week's sketchy rumor of a couple of blues being caught turned out to be two confirmed swordfish that were caught by a yacht above Magdalena Bay on the ridge on their trip down to Cabo.

Meanwhile the local shark fishermen swear they are seeing dorado and billfish every day they venture outside. If the weather would settle down a tad it might be worth doing a little scouting.

Until that happens the yellowtail and white seabass are going off.

Inside it is pretty steady for the corvina and of course the cabrilla.. Bob Hoyt

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

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

With the blue water at only about 6 miles and a short ride off the beach, we are really getting some very warm surface temperatures. Morning readings are 84 to 85° with afternoon readings as high as 86 to 88°.

The blue water action has also slowed down some, but not a lot. Part of this is because I only counted five boats yesterday morning leaving the municipal pier in Zihuatanejo Bay with clients, and three of the boats were fishing inshore. There are just not many people here.

Inshore roosterfish and jack crevalle fishing is still excellent. Early in the week, Baja On The Fly Guide, Lance Peterson, guided fly fishing clients Tom Lorish and Kurt Ransohoff of California for four days. They were with Cheva on the panga Dos Hermanos II. Lance told me they raised more roosters than they could count while fishing down south between Valentine and the antennas. Tom did get a nice one weighing almost 30 pounds, with Kurt leadering three large jacks to 20 pounds. The next couple of days saw a few more jacks and a couple of roosters caught, with many more missed opportunities.

One of the problems they encountered, which hurt their chances for the spectacular results of the first day, was a couple of pods of bufeos (pronounced boo-fay-ohs) moved in on the same beaches they were fishing. A bufeo looks like a porpoise, but is twice as long. They are actually false killer whales, and a predator to roosterfish and jacks.

Fishing with Adolfo on the Dos Hermanos, I guided Rosario and Cecile Tortoice of Houston. We went north to the Buena Vista Beach area and ended up with 5 nice roosters to about 40 pounds.....…Ed Kunze

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


Cabo San Lucas

Striped marlin are being found out at the 1,000 fathom line but seemed lethargic and not very hungry. Up toward Punta Gordo where the water is much warmer there were a few blue marlin. Most boats were having about 20% success on the fish using bait, hooking one out of five. The blue marlin were feeding on tuna.

The good news of the week was that we finally had yellowfin show up. It was a long run up into the Sea of Cortez for the 50 to 100 pound class fish just to the north of the Gordo Banks. Only some of the boats gave it a shot, but for many of those that did, it was worth the run. Scattered pods of porpoise were holding fish and it was a matter of finding the right pod. There were smaller fish being found closer to home; it seemed that the farther you went the larger the fish became.

No concentrations of dorado have been reported recently but there were some nice fish found up in the same area as the tuna. The warm water was the key, as was finding anything floating, usually there was at least one fish in the area. Slow trolling a live bait in front of the porpoise pods looking for tuna resulted in several dorado instead, with the largest I heard of going just over 30 pounds.

Inshore fishing has been a bit off with the larger swells that made it uncomfortable. Those that managed to fish did well on the Pacific side with snapper to 20 pounds, some sierra, some amberjack and a lot of action from jack crevalle. The Cortez side of the Cape had fish inshore as well with roosterfish making a good showing in the area just to the west of the Westin Resort… George and Mary Landrum

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