Wind Again!!!

Endless Season Update 01/31/2008
REPORT #1099 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
Plenty of action from the beach and inshore, sierra, small roosters and jacks …, actually more fish than visitors. Which was probably a good thing since the north wind seemed relentless this week. Supposedly there are some tuna and billfish outside but high seas caused by the wind prevented anyone from getting out to find them.

Water temperature 67-73
Air temperature 49-76
Humidity 81 %
Wind: NNW 16 to 22 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:00 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:04 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Bob Hoyt, of Mag Bay Outfitters, reported that the whales are slowly filtering into the bay through Boca de Soledad but so far only 15- 20 that have made it inside.

Estero action this week included some good corvina bites as well as a few better quality grouper, along with a few pargo.

Water temperature 66 - 73
Air temperature 54 -75
Humidity 76%
Wind: WNW 7 to 10 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 13 miles
Sunrise 7:10 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:10 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

For this last week the sailfish and dorado bite has still been holding up with fantastic action for all boats. The boats were averaging 3 to 4 sailfish a day, plus a couple of the 20 to 40 pound dorado.

Margarito on the Gaby has really had an excellent week, with the slowest day catching 6 sailfish and 1 dorado, and the best day with 10 sailfish and 2 dorado.

Unfortunately, I do not see this bite holding up for much longer. Yesterday the boats came in with fewer flags flying. Whether this is a trend developing, or the fleet just needs to locate new areas for the concentrations of fish will become evident over the next couple of days.

With the blue water only six miles off the beach, hopefully it may just be a lull until a new batch of fish move into the area.

The jack crevalle and black skipjack tuna are providing a lot of inshore action also.
Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 48-96
Humidity 78%
Wind: S 5 knt
Conditions: Cloudy
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:19 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:40 p.m. CST


Cabo San Lucas
WEATHER: It has been cloudy most of the week so sun seekers were not very happy; I saw a lot of folks that were very burned, thinking that the clouds were stopping the tanning rays. Oh well, at least the clouds helped hold the warmth in and we didn’t see temperatures lower than the mid 60’s at night. At the end of the week early I the morning it was 69 at our house. Daytime highs were around the low to mid 80’s, warm enough that I had no need of a sweater most of the time. With all the clouds I thought that we were going to get some rain but all that happened was a bit of spit, you know, the kind that just dots the dusty windshield on the car? That was early in the week on Tuesday, and it was probably my fault as I had just washed the Jeep when it started.
WATER: There did not appear to be any real change in the water conditions from the week before. The cloud cover made it almost impossible to get an updated sea surface shot from space so reliance on the boats that were fishing was very strong. It appears that the water within 5 miles of the beach on the Pacific side up to just past the Golden Gate Bank remained warmer than that farther offshore and was a nice blue color as well. On the Golden Gate and the San Jaime Bank the water was off color green and quite a bit cooler at 70 degrees and lower. On the Cortez side of the Cape the water was green and off-colored everywhere and the area off of Punta Gorda was reported as almost a brown color by some boats. To the immediate south on an east-west line across the arch the water warmed up and blued up. As you reached 8 miles to the south the temperature rose to 74 degrees. Surface conditions across the area were good since this cloud cover arrived without any wind. Some swells on the Pacific side with a light ripple on top most of the time, but on the Cortez side up past Punta Gorda the wind started howling.
BAIT: Mackerel was easily available at the usual $2 per bait and there were also Caballito at the same price. There were Sardinas up around Chileno Bay at $25 a scoop.
FISHING:

BILLFISH: The Striped Marlin bite remained off for another week for most of the boats. The fish were found on the Pacific side and to the south but while there were a lot of fish seen on the surface, not many of them were hungry. A few, very few, boats managed to come in with between three and five Marlin flags flying, but most boats were feeling lucky if they were able to get a couple of fish to eat and get one to the boat for a release. The big new for the week is the appearance of some Swordfish. This week several of these fish were spotted on the surface and at least two that I know of were hooked. One was hooked on a live Mackerel while fishing 23 miles to the south and was fought for six hours before the 100-pound leader parted. The Captain estimated to fish at over #300! It’s tough to get a fish like that on Striped Marlin gear!
YELLOWFIN TUNA I overheard a conversation about a private boat being hooked up on a very big Yellowfin just off the Golden Gate Bank on Saturday, and then nothing else. I know a few boats have been having a little luck on fish in the 30-pound class out past the San Jaime Bank, but it has been very inconsistent. The same has been the case on the football sized fish, they have been out there but the bite has been slow, a few fish have been the average with a few boats able to get into double digits.
DORADO: Once again there have been a few fish caught, one or two here and there, but no large numbers have been reported. The best area has been the warm water to the south.
WAHOO: Inconsistent, but there have been some quality fish out there. One boat caught two of them between 80-100 pounds in the warm water 20 miles south and a few other smaller ones were reported from the same area.
INSHORE: The Sierra action picked back up on the Pacific side as schools of fish to 10 pounds have moved in off of the beaches and rocky points to the north of the lighthouse. Double-digit catches were not a problem. Either whole Mackerel rigged with a stinger hook I the tail or large Sardines were needed for the larger fish, hootchies and plugs did not work on fish over six pounds. Off of the Rocky points Snapper have begun to show, it is time for the normal spring spawning groups to begin gathering. A few Yellowtail continue to be caught but the numbers have really dropped off over the past several weeks.
NOTES: There were acres of Humboldt Squid reported on the surface feeding on red crab this week, and this may have been a contributing factor in the Swordfish being seen. There are still whales out there and the numbers seem to be increasing. This weeks report was written to the guitar of Marshall Crenshaw on the 1989 Warner release “Good Evening”, great stuff! Until next week, Tight Lines!

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 65 - 74
Air temperature 54-74
Humidity 85%
Wind: NNE 6 to 8 knots
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 2 miles
Sunrise 7:00 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:06 p.m. MST
Bahia Asunción

Winter Calico photo provided by Bahia Asunción local guide Manuel Arce Aguilar

Baby it’s Cold….Still

Endless Season Update 01/24/2008
REPORT #1098 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
North winds along with cool temperatures are back and according to the predictions will be here until the weekend. But last week there was a brief respite for the nasty stuff.

Between the windy days, the beaches and inshore produced sierra, jacks, and ladyfish along with a few small roosters. Those were found on the beaches between Rancho Leonero and La Ribera with the best action being in the early morning before the wind cranked up..

A few tuna showed up toward Cerralvo Island. That sounded promising but north wind and Cerralvo should not be used in the same sentence!

Travel Tip: Benadryl in both gel and capsule form is a must for your tackle box! Handy in case of stings, bites of any kind of critter you might encounter, including jelly fish, scorpion or bees.

Boat owners take note: Effective January 2008, boat permits are no longer required for vessels practicing sportfishing in Mexican waters. More info

AS OF JAN 23RD, 2007 EVERYONE MUST HAVE A PASSPORT TO TRAVEL TO AND FROM MEXICO!!!!!
Water temperature 67-73
Air temperature 47-72
Humidity 88 %
Wind: NNW 13 to 17 knots
Conditions: Cloudy
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:02 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:01 p.m. MST


Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Diana Hoyt reported good fishing in the Esteros for corvina as well as a few grouper and plenty of spotted bay bass.

More and more whales are arriving every day---just in time for the 15th annual Festival del Ballena to celebrate their arrival this Saturday the 26th.

Protected by the barrier island of Isla Magdalena, Lopez Mateos is one of Baja's best whale-watching sites. The bay is narrow here, so you don't have to travel far by boat to see the whales. In fact they can usually be seen from the pier. Boca de Soledad, only a short distance north of town, boasts the highest density of whales anywhere along the peninsula.

Water temperature 66 - 73
Air temperature 47 -67
Humidity 79%
Wind: NNW 10 to 14 knots
Conditions: Cloudy
Visibility 9 miles
Sunrise 7:12 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:05 p.m. MST


Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

Historically, January is considered to be the best month of the year for sailfish. This is the time when large migrations of the fish pass by us on their way to Guatemala. It is also a fact the full moon period usually affects the fishing here, except for those occasional really outstanding years. This January is one of the really outstanding years.

Plus, we are having the largest showing of dorado I have seen in years. The dorado are all mature fish, averaging between 12 and 18 pounds for the hens, and 25 to 40 pounds for the bulls.

Before the full moon, Mark Davis, of Malibu, CA, fished 4 days on the Gaby with Captain Margarito. They released 7 sailfish, and kept 12 large dorado. Also last week, clients from Denmark, fishing with Francisco on the panga, Huntress, released 15 sails and released 1 striped marlin. And they caught 11 dorado.

After the full moon, on Monday, Cali released 7 sailfish and kept 3 dorado.

While standing at the pier and watching the boats come in on Tuesday, Adolpho came first in his panga, Dos Hermanos, with 8 sailfish release flags flying and another 3 dorado flags. Then came the panga, Gitana, with Santiago with 9 sailfish and 2 dorado tags, followed by his brother Adan with 5 sailfish and 2 dorado flags.

Every afternoon at the pier, around 2:00, is like a colorful parade as the boats come in with their flags a flying. The fishing is just outstanding!
Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 73-96
Humidity 68%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Cloudy
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:20 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:36 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas

WEATHER: For the past two weeks our cool wintertime conditions have continued. Our nighttime lows have been down in the mid 50’s while the daytime highs have reached the high 70’s but have mostly been in the mid to low 70’s. As of the end of this week the skies have been only partly cloudy and we have had no rain. It has become windy in the afternoons but the mornings have been calm for the most part.

WATER: The water close to the beach on the Pacific side has remained warmer than most of the area with an average temperature of 71 degrees out to a distance of three-four miles from the beach at the inside of the Golden Gate Bank area. This warm water extends to the southwest across the San Jaime Bank and then in a thumb-shaped are with the tip 15 miles south of Cabo it warms to 73-74 degrees. The 71-degree water extends into the Sea of Cortez across the 95 Spot but stops short of the 1150. Water outside of this range on both sides of the Cape drops in temperature to the mid and high 60’s. At the end of this week, there was cold and dirty water across the Golden Gate Bank, the Finger Bank and the 1150 and Gorda Banks. The area inshore between Cabo and Punta Gorda was reported as being very dirty and green.
BAIT: Today is the full moon and as usual, as the full moon approaches the number of Caballito available for bait has fallen off. There are still plenty of Mackerel however and all these larger baits are at the normal $2 per bait. I have been told that there were no Sardinas available due to dirty water conditions up in the San Jose area.

FISHING:

BILLFISH: The Striped Marlin bite has dropped off quite a bit over the past week and instead of boats coming in with double digit numbers of flags, the high catch boats were getting four or five fish. Most boats were happy to get one or two releases and many were happy just to get a shot at a fish. One of the reasons may have to do with the temperature and clarity of the water in most areas, but the moon phase may have had an effect as well. Most of the Striped Marlin action was taking place between the San Jaime Bank and the 95 Spot and areas to the south of there, down in that warmer water area I mentioned earlier. I also heard form a Captain on a fleet boat that they hooked up a Blue Marlin earlier this week for a short while down in that warmer water, but the fish came off after the first run.

YELLOWFIN TUNA The Yellowfin Tuna that I have heard about have all been from the San Jaime area and for the most part have been football sized fish in the 10 pound range, found mixed in with porpoise. There have been a few fish to 40 pounds mixed in with them as well, but the numbers have been low. I have also hear unconfirmed reports of some nice sized fish being found occasionally 40-50 miles to the south of us. These fish have also been mixed in with porpoise and are reported to be in the 50-60 pound class. As far as I am aware no one has yet gotten into any concentrations of #100 + fish in the past two weeks, but we are hoping that it happens soon.

DORADO: The cool water of the past month has really slowed down the Dorado bite as they move south into warmer water. A few fish have been caught every day and for the most part they have been either just off the beach on the Pacific side or in the warmer water due south. The average size has been around 12 pounds with a few fish in the 25-pound class, but most of them are average size. The number of fish per boat is much lower as well, with an average catch of .3 fish per day, or 1 fish per three days of effort. I expect the Dorado to almost disappear as the water continues to cool.

WAHOO: As the full moon approached there were a few Wahoo caught, and there will probably be a few more on the waning side of the moon as well, but they have been incidental fish caught in the open water due south. Wahoo like warm water and just like the Dorado; there are fewer of them around right now than there were earlier in the season. The fish that were caught averaged 40 pounds and were caught on dark colored Marlin lures.
INSHORE: The Yellowtail bite dropped off as the water on the Cortez side of the Cape became dirty. A few have been caught on the Pacific side off of the rocky points on live bait dropped to about 250 feet, but there has been no consistent bite on them. The Sierra bite has slowed down as well with most boats getting only a half-dozen or so per trip. The Pargo are starting to show among the rocks on the Pacific side, and hopefully action on them will improve this coming week as the moon starts to wane.

NOTES: The fishing really slowed down the past two weeks as the water cooled off. Hopefully the Yellowfin will show in force and give us some alternative action, they are overdue based on the past six years catch records. On the positive side, the water conditions have been pretty good! This weeks report was written to the music of Mark Knopfler on his new solo release “Kill To Get Crimson”, a melancholy set of songs, sort of like the fishing the past two weeks! I just returned from visiting my father in Oklahoma City, his birthday was Saturday and it was nice seeing him for his 71st! Happy birthday dad! So, for those of you who were wondering why there was no report last week, now you know! Until next week, tight lines!

George & Mary Landrum
Water temperature 65 - 74
Air temperature 50-72
Humidity 95%
Wind: N 7 to 10 knots
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 11 miles
Sunrise 7:02 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:01 p.m. MST

Bahia Asunción

Juan christened his new panga with Mexican champagne...Tecate! Four pilots who flew in had a fun day fishing on the maiden voyage. The water temp warmed up considerably and even though fishing on the full moon is usually poor, they found some yellowtail 2 miles off of San Pablo, a place called ‘yellowtail rock’, jigging with irons...the guys lost more than they landed but had a blast anyway. Visibility was excellent as well and they caught several nice calicos and bonita and enjoyed watching gray whales pass by as they fished.
Shari and Juan

Water temperature 62 - 70
Air temperature 52-68
Humidity 66%
Wind: WNW 3 to 4 knots
Conditions: rainy
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:28 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:10 p.m. MST

A Nice Assortment

Endless Season Update 01/17/2008
REPORT #1097 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Still more wind than people at East Cape this week. With just an occasional boat venturing out, it is difficult to find the offshore action. It’s a big ocean! On the calm days, the best bet is inshore or the beach. Odds are pretty good that you will catch something. There should be enough sierra, mixed in with other species, to distract you while you worry about the wind showing up. The other species can include small cabrilla, black skipjack, white bonito, ladyfish and possibly a pargo or two near the rocky points.
Travel Tip: If you are planning a fly fishing trip be sure to pack a set of different colored sharpies and some flies tied in all white. Then when you stumble on the “perfect” colored fly you can color the white ones with your sharpie.
Last week Yvonne and I attended the ISE show in San Mateo and I had the honor of being inducted into the California Outdoor Hall of Fame. More

Water temperature 67-73
Air temperature 47-70
Humidity 88 %
Wind: SE 2 to 3 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 2 miles
Sunrise 7:03 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:54 p.m. MST


Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

The whale watching season is slowly kicking into gear and should be in full force by early February. Estero action for the week was spotty…sierra, and corvina along with a few small grouper and plenty of the spotted bay bass.

Enrique Soto reported the action at the Entrada had also slowed down this week with only a few small yellows to be found.

Water temperature 66 - 73
Air temperature 47 -74
Humidity 100%
Wind: NNW 6 to 8 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:13 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:59 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The sailfish are here in huge numbers. Plus, there are lots of dorado being taken each day, with almost every boat getting at least 1 or 2 of these tasty fish. The dorado are averaging between 20 and 35 pounds.

But, the sailfish are gorging on a large bio-mass of a very small anchovy-like bait, and are hard to entice with the larger trolled baits. Paul Phillips told me there must have seen 200 sailfish on the surface today (Wednesday), but only had a couple of the fish interested in the teaser baits for our fly fishing client Greg Bronstein of Seattle.

A few boats are finding hungry fish however, and Adan on the Gitana II released 5 sails and got 2 nice dorado for his Danish clients today. They were fishing light conventional gear and spin rods, with 50 pound braided line.
Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 47-89
Humidity 80%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Cloudy
Visibility 8 miles
Sunrise 7:20 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:32 p.m. CST

Bahia Asunción

The yellowtail action near San Pablo area has slowed and the fleet (three boats) has spread out looking for the next hot spot. Water temps barely cracking 62….brrrrr. Calico action seems to be taking up some of the slack until yellows are located.
Water temperature 62 - 70
Air temperature 47-61
Humidity 76%
Wind: WNW 5 to 10 kts
Conditions: Mostly sunny
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:29 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:04 p.m. MST

Get’r Done Early!

Endless Season Update 01/09/2008
REPORT #1096 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

This has been another ‘cookie cutter’ week with that pesky north wind never too far away. Best bet continued to be the inshore or the beach early mornings until the wind shows up and then it is time to hot foot it back to the casa or hotel. Good sierra action with a few small jacks, roosters and ladyfish on south facing beaches. Also a few skipjack schools to bend the stick for giggles. Mark Rayor reported “I went out in a tin boat yesterday and murdered the sierra and white bonita.

Water temperature 67-73
Air temperature 55-76
Humidity 81 %
Wind: NNW 11 to 15 knots
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 4 miles
Sunrise 7:03 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:48 p.m. MST


Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

The much anticipated whale migration has begun and a few are beginning to filter into the bay. A few more weeks and the bay should be filling up with the welcomed visitors. They always provide a fun time for the family.

Out at the Entrada, there has been plenty of action for sierra and a few firecracker yellowtail beneath the bird schools feeding on sardine and red crab. Inside the esteros, the corvina and grouper have been the best bet.
According to the few yachts traveling up and down the coast, the offshore water has cooled and continues to be slightly offcolor.

Water temperature 66 - 73
Air temperature 45 -75
Humidity 54%
Wind: NW 8 to 11 knots
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:13 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:53 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The week started out looking promising. It is January, and historically one of the best months of the year for sailfish. Plus, the new moon was yesterday, the 8th. We are (theoretically) going into the best two weeks of the year.

But a cold water current has moved in, moved the blue water to way offshore, and the game fish have either left the area, or are too sluggish to feed.

Yesterday, Adan, on the panga Gitana II, managed the best numbers for the fleet. His clients from Denmark released three sailfish and got two nice dorado. But the average per boat was way down. It is less than one fish per boat.

The inshore is the same story; with cold water and an absence of game fish.

Fortunately, the cold water current is a current, and conditions can change in 24 hours. We are keeping our fingers crossed.
Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 75-95
Humidity 83%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:19 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:27 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas

Our guide, Lance Peterson, along with Baja on the Fly client, Kurt Jones, Houston, TX, and his 14 yr. old son, Conner, had an interesting day out of Cabo on the Baja Raider. The Golden Gate Bank was holding good numbers of marlin and it didn't take long for us to tease up some hot fish. On the first hookup, we had one of those "Murphy's Law" events when a loop of line got caught up on the rod leading to the abrupt loss of both the fly line, and the rod tip! The next available fly rod was my Cam Sigler 10wt. The bite was on so I rigged the 10wt. for marlin and we got back in the game. Before too long, Kurt was tight to his first ever fly rod marlin...on a 10wt! He landed it in 35 minutes. Not to be outdone, Conner stepped up to the rod. I wasn't done coaching him on what to do when we had a marlin teased up. He presented the fly and the fish ate. Fish on! With some help from Kurt, this stubborn fish also came to the boat. We finished the day with 10 fish raised, four hooked and two landed. Not bad for first time marlin fishermen with a 10wt!

WEATHER: Here at the end of the week, we are in a wintertime heat wave as our morning temperatures have been in the high 60’s for the past four days and the daytime highs have been in the mid 80’s. The skies have been clear and there has been no rain.
WATER: On the Sea of Cortez, from a line due east of Cabo and north of that line, the water was green and cold with the water at 71 degrees and dropping down to 69 degrees off of Punta Gorda. All the banks on the Pacific side, the Finger, Golden Gate and the San Jaime, had water at 73-75 degrees and the water was considerably cleaner. The 95 Spot, 1150 and the Cabrillo Seamount were on that line and for the most part saw the warmer, cleaner water. Surface conditions were good all week long close to home. There was an occasional day of breezy conditions on the Pacific but nothing too uncomfortable. Up on the Sea of Cortez, once you went north of the Punta Gorda area, the northerly winds made fishing very uncomfortable.
BAIT: Just like last week, the bait was mostly mackerel, but there were a few caballito in the mix. These larger baits were the normal $2 per bait. Up in San Jose there were sardinas available at $25 a scoop, but they were tiny ones with the biggest only 2 inches…better for chum than as bait.

FISHING:

BILLFISH: Striped Marlin were the fish of the week, no doubt about that. Almost every boat that went out caught at least one, and if they wanted to work at it a little bit there was no problem getting into double digit numbers. The great thing about it was you did not have to go far for them. If you wanted to burn the fuel, the water allowed a trip to the Finger Bank, and there were still great concentrations of fish there, but closer to home you did almost as well and did not spend so much time in transit. Most boats did just fine drifting live bait but I always like it better when the fish appear in the lure pattern and you get to drop back a rigged bait and see them eat it. We had several clients this week that did just that, only they dropped back a streamer on a fly rod and hooked up!
YELLOWFIN TUNA We still have not seen any solid concentrations of Yellowfin this season. Once in a while a boat will find a school with porpoise but they have been few and far between, and the size of fish has been lacking, most of them have been football fish. They have mostly been found on the Pacific side outside the banks, but a few schools were reported within a mile or two of the coast on that side as well.
DORADO: I saw a few more Dorado flags this week than last week and we are hoping that the water stays clean and above 70 degrees for a while longer, maybe we will continue to find them. I had a friend get two fish in the 30-pound class early in the week up past the Golden Gate Bank, and there are still scattered fish in the 10-15 pound class being caught close to the beach on the Pacific.
WAHOO: I did not hear of any concentrations of Wahoo this reporting period but I did see one of about 70 pounds being wheeled along the Marina in a cooler, a really nice fish!
INSHORE: There was no change in the inshore report for this report period. Sierra were the fish of the week for the inshore fishermen and they were consistently on the feed off of the Solmar-Finesterra beach early in the morning. They seemed to move up to the north later in the day. Yellowtail continued to produce scattered action off of the rocky points on the Cortez side with some decent fish being taken off of Gray Rock and the drop at Chileno.
NOTES: We are seeing more whales every week. The weather has been great, my golf game is sadly lacking consistency and my ears had a treat as I wrote this report while listening to some cuts from the CD collection “Watching the Dark, the history of Richard Thompson”, a 1993 release by RYKODISC. Until next week, tight lines!

George & Mary Landrum


Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 55-74
Humidity 83%
Wind: WNW 7 to 9 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 4 miles
Sunrise 7:02 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:50 p.m. MST

Bahia Asunción

Local guide Manuel Arce Aguilar a nice yellow caught recently. kalicosloco@yahoo.com

Water temperature 62 - 70
Air temperature 52-70
Humidity 76%
Wind: NNW 12 to 17 kts
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:30 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:58 p.m. MST

Sierra-Fish of the Week!

Endless Season Update 01/02/2008
REPORT #1095 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

Your best option this week was early morning beach fishing unless you were willing to gamble on the North wind. Sierra continued to put on a good show along East Cape beaches; mixed in with the sierra were a few jacks and, yes, even a small rooster or two.

Offshore action was tough to gauge this week. Between the wind, few guests and way too many New Years parties, there were few boats venturing out…which reminds me: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Another Sierra Tip: Pacific Sierra mackerel (scomberomorus sierra), while considered a winter and spring fish, are a great diversion before the wind begins to rip. Known for their savage strikes and lightening fast runs, this is the perfect fish to allow you to join in the ongoing debate as to which fish fights the hardest – fresh or saltwater. That 8-weight rod you purchased for a steelhead trip will fill the bill for a rod. Match that with a good quality saltwater reel equipped with a large drag and capable of holding a minimum of 200 yards of 20-pound test Dacron backing and you are almost ready. Use either an intermediate or seamless shooting head system line, and attach a 6-foot, 16-pound fluorocarbon leader with a 12-inch wire bite tippet.

Now is an excellent time to go looking for the feisty sierra. Look for the local baitfish, sardina, schooling along the shore; the sierra can often be found chasing the sardina, close enough for you to take advantage of the opportunity and get shots at them while you’re walking along the beach. Remember: no waders needed here.

Your choice in flies should “match the hatch.” Since we don’t have bugs, the
“hatch” is 2 ½ to 4 inch-long sardina. Olive, gray or blue-backed See-Through Deceivers or Sea Habits should do the trick, but bring a few Clousers in chartreuse or olive to round out your flybox.
Take one of the boats from the hotel and look for the sierra to be crashing wildly
into the schools of sardina. Cast the fly or surface lure into the fray. Fast, two hand retrieves are the hot ticket for the fly, and reel as fast as you can with conventional tackle. Don’t worry about feeling the nibble. If you’re not paying attention, these critters will rip the flyline – and maybe the rod and reel – right out of your hands. More Tips
Water temperature 67-73
Air temperature 59-80
Humidity 82 %
Wind: NNW 9 to 12 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:01 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:43 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

OK, the weather did lay down. Now if we could convince someone to venture out, we might have something to talk about. Billfish action continues from the Finger Bank below Punta Tosca all the Cabo (See Cabo Report below).

In the Esteros the corvina, grouper and cabrilla were biting enough to keep things interesting.

Water temperature 66 - 73
Air temperature 59 -83
Humidity 82%
Wind: WNW 3 to 4 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:12 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:48 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The blue water is staying close, and the boats are having to travel only 5 to 8 miles to get into the action. Most boats are averaging about 2 to 3 sailfish a day, and a few dorado are also showing up.

As we go into the favorable moon phase, I am looking for the fishing to really turn on.

The small cruiser Gaby, with Captain Margarito, Cali on the panga, Tarpon, and Martin on the panga, Isamar all reported good numbers of fished raised and the fishing is getting better on a daily basis.
Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 71-95
Humidity 82%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:17 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:22 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas

WEATHER: Wintertime in Los Cabos still beats wintertime anywhere to the north of us! Sorry about the one-week no-report zone, I have only missed three reports in 6 years but I am in a transition time, job hunting, Christmas, mom visiting and football play-offs, just too much going on for the last couple of weeks. Anyway, no snow for us in Cabo, things did remain cool however and I felt like it was going to snow on a few mornings when the lows hit the mid 50’s. At least we warmed up to the high 70’s on those days. We did get a bit of cloud cover just at the beginning of this report but now at the end of the year the skies are clear and there is nothing appearing on the horizon.
WATER: On the Pacific side the water has been much warmer with 71-74 degree and fairly blue water. The warmer water at the end of this reporting time was closer to shore and between the San Jaime Bank and us and in a long plume running directly south of the bank. On the Cortez side the water was warm as far as east to the 1150 spot, but became much cooler, down to 67 degrees at the Cabrillo Seamount, cooler and much greener, almost a pea-soup green in places just to the east of the 1150 and along that small temperature break.
BAIT: Bait was mostly Mackerel these past couple of weeks but there were a few Caballito in the mix. These larger baits were the normal $2 per bait. Up in San Jose there were Sardina available at $25 a scoop, but they were tiny ones with the biggest only 2 inches, better for chum that as bait.
FISHING:

BILLFISH: As we expected to happen, the Striped Marlin have started to move our way. The bait moved south and the Marlin followed. The bite is still very good at the Finger Bank but there was no need to go that far. At the end of this reporting period there was an excellent bite going on at the San Jaime Bank on fish in the 100-120 pound class with a lot of boats releasing up to 20 Marlin a day. There was great activity on the Golden Gate as well, but there were a few days right around Christmas when the fish moved off of the Bank and the boats really had to search hard to find them. As well as the Golden and the Jaime Banks, there are good concentrations of Striped Marlin appearing off of the points and ledges just off of the beach. With just a hint of wind there are good numbers of tailing fish to be found close to shore in the afternoon. Almost all these fish are feeding on small Mackerel and slow trolling or drifting with these live baits has resulted in the best catches. It is more exciting to run in to bait balls popping up to the surface, but it was not needed in order to catch fish. A few boats were not able or not interested in catching Marlin however and directed their attentions elsewhere, and reported a distinct lack of Marlin anywhere else. Boats going up toward the Vinorama and Punta Gorda area on the Cortez side reported very green water and only a couple of Marlin sighted.
YELLOWFIN TUNA Once again at the end of this reporting period the football size Yellowfin were reported appearing up outside of San Jose, but the bite was sporadic, the size of available Sardines apparently had a strong effect on the bite. There were fish in the 15-20 pound class reported from the south side of the San Jaime Banks mixed in with pods of Porpoise but the moved around fast. A few boats going north on the Pacific side toward the Finger Bank reported fish in the 80 pound class but they were scattered out and the boats had a difficult time getting bit on these fish.
DORADO: Once again there were a few Dorado found but for the most part these were small fish, less than 15 pounds. A few boats caught one or two fish, most boats had none. The fish that were caught were found in the warmer water on the Pacific side and were caught on live Mackerel with a couple coming on bright colored lures.
WAHOO: I saw no Wahoo flags this week that were for Wahoo, I did see quite a few that were flown for Sierra.
INSHORE: There was no change in the inshore report for this report period. Sierra were the fish of the week for the inshore fishermen and they were consistently on the feed off of the Solmar-Finesterra beach early in the morning. They seemed to move up to the north later in the day. Yellowtail continued to produce scattered action off of the rocky points on the Cortez side with some decent fish being taken off of Gray Rock and the drop at Chileno.
NOTES: There are whales out there so be careful early in the mornings. Quite a few Makos (small ones) have been seen and caught at the Golden Gate Bank, averaging 30 pounds. Santa was nice to me this year; I must have been a good boy. No complaints but I am looking for a new boat to captain.

Captain George Landrum
Cabo Fish Report

Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 57-77
Humidity 82%
Wind: NE 9 to 13 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:01 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:46 p.m. MST

Bahia Asunción

Our client from Saskatchewan, Todd Burke, speared a 22 pound halibut at San Roque the day before yesterday. He says the bottom is covered with them...excellent visibility, and today they are diving with the sea lions at Asuncion Island.

Yesterday another client caught a medium yellowtail in San Pablo and they also caught lots of white fish, calico, bonito and a sheepshead. Excellent calm weather...lovely temps around 75-80 in the day with water temp around 68.
Shari Bondi

Water temperature 62 - 70
Air temperature 57-79
Humidity 76%
Wind: 11 mph NW
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:28 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:53 p.m. MST

Ladies on the Prowl!

Endless Season Update 12/27/2007
REPORT #1094 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

With the North winds howling, it’s time to look for an alternative. The gray-light action before the wind got “wound up” at Gray Beach provided sierra, jacks and ladyfish and was enough to satisfy the locals and the few guests in the hotels. To quote my good friend Martin James, from across the pond, it was enough to “bend your stick and pull your fluff”.

If you are willing to gamble with the ‘wind gods’, there are still a few small yellowfin and dorado offshore, as well as some marlin that have refused to leave and will probably remain until spring.

Ladyfish Tip: Often called ‘sabalo’ by the locals and “poor man’s tarpon” by some Baja visitors, this is a species usually found along almost any sandy beach in southern Baja. They can provide countless hours of entertainment for the saltwater flyrodder.

Begin with a small chartreuse Clouser and a 300-grain shooting head system. Work your way down the beach, looking for signs of surface feeding activity. A stripping basket is helpful to keep your line from becoming tangled as you walk along. Another method that works well if you don’t care for a stripping baskets is to walk just above the water line with your fly line dragging along the sand behind you. Let the shooting head portion extend outside the rod tip and drag along in the water. Then, when you see something that you want to cast to, you can “water load” and cast a good distance with one or two false casts.

After you have made your cast, keep the fly line tight and let the fly sink for a few seconds. Try a five count. If that doesn’t work, try a little longer. If you don’t get a take, make a few long strips and then let the Clouser sink again. If there are any’ ladies’ around, they can seldom resist this presentation.

The ladyfish is a fish that is usually airborne the instant it feels the hook, so be prepared. When you feel the take, strip strike, then let the line slip through your fingers and lower the rod toward the surface of the water and off to your side. The purpose of this is to have as much wetted surface on your line as possible so that when the lady goes ballistic, the friction of the water on the line will hold the fly firmly in the its mouth.

Water temperature 67-73
Air temperature 51-77
Humidity 81 %
Wind: NNW 15 to 20 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 4 miles
Sunrise 6:59 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:40 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Christmas and preparation for the impending arrival of the annual whale watching season took priority for the locals this week. Whales have already been reported, making their way down the West coast.
The Estero action remained consistent including corvina, grouper, small sierra and a few good sized pargo.

Offshore the seas were grumpy and most, if not all, of the yachts have returned to their home ports until next year.

Water temperature 66 - 73
Air temperature 50 -73
Humidity 82%
Wind: NNW 13 to 18 knots
Conditions: Cloudy
Visibility 8 miles
Sunrise 7:10 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:45 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The full moon has hit us hard and really slowed down the great fishing we have had for the last three weeks. Once we are out of this moon phase, all conditions point to continuing to getting back to good fishing.
Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 68-96
Humidity 82%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 4 miles
Sunrise 7:15 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:19 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas

We received an abbreviated report on one of our client’s trip this week. Jon Lay, from Washington, D.C., and his family had a great time. They didn't stay long at Finger Bank; it was very windy with 20 ft. seas. However they caught twenty marlin before heading back downhill. When the Captain asked if everyone had enough, one of the ladies, said, “NO, I want two more”. She caught three more!!!!!

Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 51-74
Humidity 76%
Wind: SW at 10mph
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 6:59 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:42 p.m. MST

Bahia Asunción

Conditions have been excellent, calm wind and seas. Earlier this week, Juan Marron took a Canadian couple fishing. They got 3 medium sized yellowtail, plus calicos and bonito. Water temps are still up between 68-70.

Water temperature 62 - 70
Air temperature 45-65
Humidity 76%
Wind: NW 5 - 10mph
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:27 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:49 p.m. MST

Blowing in the Wind!

Endless Season Update 12/19/2007
REPORT #1093 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
NOTE: Beginning this week, we will be sending out our reports each Wednesday instead of Saturday. In addition, we are adding two areas to our reports: George and Mary Landrum will be providing Baja on the Fly with Cabo San Lucas updates and Shari Bondy and Juan Marron will be providing updates from Bahia Asuncion. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! ...GARY AND YVONNE GRAHAM.
East Cape
East Cape weather has definitely shifted to our typical winter pattern with many windy days. However, early in the morning and sometimes all the way to mid-morning, you may find good fishing. You can usually see the wind line coming and hightail it home before it reaches you.

There are still ‘schoolie’ sized yellowfin tuna offshore along with some dorado; along the shore the sierra are still around, dashing and slashing.

We’ve had some reports of a pargo snap in the rocks at Punta Perico.

Yellowfin Tuna Tip: Often as the fleet of boats grows, the fish will go deeper in the water column. Use a shooting head cast the fly out as far as possible and let the fly sink. Then try 3 or 4 hard pulls, shake the line out again letting the fly sink again. We’ve had great success with this method using this fly: http://www.bajafly.com/bajawasabi.htm

Water temperature 74-74
Air temperature 62-81
Humidity 73 %
Wind: NNW 13 to 18 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 13 miles
Sunrise 6:56 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:36 p.m. MST


Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

It’s kind of like throwing a party and nobody showing up with no one fishing this week at Mag Bay.

The Finger Bank below Punta Tosca is going off again and the few boats taking advantage of the bite are coming up from Cabo. One boat out of Cabo boasted 30+ fish two days ago.

In the Esteros, the locals reported good action for grouper, snook and corvina.

Water temperature 67 - 70
Air temperature 61 -79
Humidity 73%
Wind: NW 14 to 19 knots
Conditions: Cloudy
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:01 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:41 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The excellent sailfish and dorado action is still holding up this week, with the daily counts actually being higher than the last two week's averages. We are definitely going to have a great Christmas.

Cali and I fish with fly fishing client David McCarty of Philadelphia, PA down at Puerto Vicente Guerrero (about an hour and a half below Zihuatanejo). By noon, we had raised 12 sailfish, teased 8 to the boat, and hooked 4.

We also raised an estimated 16 dorado. We had 8 come to the boat, and hooked 4. The dorado were averaging about 15 pounds for the females, and between 25 and 45 pounds for the bulls.

Plus, something I had never seen before; the dorado were actually coming in on the same teasers as the sailfish, and beating the sails to the fly. Several times Cali had a dorado on one teaser, while I was bringing in a sail on the other. At one point David asked me if he should take the sailfish or the dorado. I had no more than yelled out "the one which gets there first", and a large bull sliced across the stern and slammed into the fly. The voracious hit, from only about 10 feet away, plus a hard left hand strip hook set, and the fly line parted. But, it sure was exciting!
Ed Kunze

Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 72-96
Humidity 61%
Wind: SW at 10mph
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 7:11 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:15 p.m. CST


Cabo San Lucas

BILLFISH: The Striped Marlin bite has remained wide open on the Finger Bank on the Pacific side, but it is such a long run for the fleet boats that very few have been going. The average there has been in the double-digit area in numbers of releases. The bite that had been happening on the Golden Gate dropped off to practically a standstill as the bait moved off the bank and in toward shore. The fish moved with them and now the close to home bite is within three miles of the beach on the Pacific side and extending down to just outside the lighthouse. Slow trolled or drifted live baits have been the best producer but a lot of luck is being had by boats pulling lures as well, dropping back live bait to fish that appear in the spread. One of the problems we see occasionally is lots of fish on the surface that don’t want to eat, and one way to get them excited is to troll lures at a faster speed. A few boats had luck doing that during the middle of the week, finding that lures pulled at ten and eleven knots got those fish to bite.

YELLOWFIN TUNA A scattering of football fish showed up again just to the north of the Gorda Banks on the Cortez side of the cape but there were also scattered fish on the Pacific, just no big numbers or consistently large sizes yet. The football Yellowfin were 10-15 pounds with an occasional 20-pound fish and Sardinas were the way to go. Chumming heavily with both live and dead Sardinas would bring the fish up, then a live one pinned on a small #2 silver hook on 20-pound floura-carbon leader would get bit quickly, heavier leader did not produce as well.

DORADO: There were a few scattered fish, but the numbers were smaller than last week. As the water cools these will become an exception in the catch rather than a targeted fish. Most of the ones that were found were on the Sea of Cortez up around the Punta Gorda area, but a few fish shoed up in the warm water on the Pacific as well. The best lures were smaller ones in bright colors, bright feathers worked for many boats. Small Dorado were found mixed with the football Tuna as well and readily ate Sardinas presented for Tuna.

WAHOO: I saw no Wahoo flags this week that were for Wahoo, I did see quite a few that were flown for Sierra.

INSHORE: Sierra were the fish of the week for the inshore fishermen and they were consistently on the feed off of the Solmar-Finesterra beach early in the morning. They seemed to move up to the north later in the day. Yellowtail continued to produce scattered action off of the rocky points on the Cortez side with some decent fish being taken off of Gray Rock and the drop at Chileno.

Bahia Asuncion

After a lousy couple weeks of nasty weather, (torrential downpours that washed out roads, gale force SE winds, enormous swells and cool cloudy days), FINALLY we got a nice sunny day.
It coincided with the big holiday, Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe, which was a treat for the villagers as they paraded the Virgin about town and even for a spin in a panga.

Juan woke up and looked out our window and saw lots of indicator birds so he flew out to the panga and set off with his workmate to Pta.Loma, between Asuncion & San Roque. There were hundreds of dolphins feeding heavily on sardines and within an hour they had 3 nice big yellowtail and a bunch of bonito and they were home for breakfast soon after.

Nice to know the storm didn't chase the fish away! The water is still about 70 degrees and visibility is good. The yellows hit on Juan’s favorite lure...the 7" EXRAP, a white one with a red head and a plastic nose. The fish were down about 15-20'. Local fishermen report an abundance of yellowtail, bonito and lots of feed.

The folks of Bahia Asuncion wish you all a very Feliz Navidad!

Sierra Rule!

Endless Season Update 12/10/2007
REPORT #1092 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

East Cape weather turned cold this week effectively shutting down most of the action. For the hard core there still was a decent tuna bite in spite of the north winds which are a factor this time of year.

Inshore the sierra offered the best action with a few small jacks and roosters mixed in.

Sierra Tip #2: When the sierra are crashing bait on the surface, use a surface lure or popper (Rebel “Jumpin' minnow) with the hooks removed. Attach the lure with a light piece of 4lb. to 6lb. leader. Cast into the melee and when the fish strike the line, it will eventually break. Now you have a free floating teaser that will drive the Sierra crazy! Just cast your fly or lure in the proximity of the free floating lure and you should have no problem getting hooked up. When the bite is over, recover your floating teaser to use the next time.Tip Archives

Water temperature 74-74
Air temperature 60-69
Humidity 95 %
Wind: WNW 8 to 11 knots
Conditions: Mostly Cloudy
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:50 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:32 p.m. MST


Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Cold and windy! Even Baja had to contend with its own version of the Polar Express this week. Still a few fish traveling down the coast, but miserable conditions prevented all but the most dedicated from trying to find them.

Estero action remained hot regardless of the cool temperatures. Plenty of pargo, corvina and better than average snook snap this week.

The following reports demonstrate the importance of the old adage (“being in the right place at the right time”)

Rich Johnson on his “Marie B”: We left on November 15, fueled at Turtle, stopped at Santa Maria to make bait, and then went down to Tosca. From there we went to the Potato Bank, saw black porpoise but tuna were not at home. We then plowed our way back to Belcher’s and spent the night. So far only a few marlin and surprisingly few, if any, dorado. No other boats---so we thought we were a day late and dollar short. Heading out the Entrada, my grandson saw a ‘tailer’ about 3 miles outside. Then it was as many as we could catch, nonstop in the green colder water! We stayed until the day after Thanksgiving and then went to Cabo to drop off my son and grandson.

Maurice Smith came down to help Mark Henwood on the “Marie B” for the uphill return to San Diego. Made some bait and caught a few on the Golden Gate. Ran all night back in flat calm weather at sunrise the next morning. The water was grease, and the most lazy 'tailers’ we had ever seen--away from the birds and bait---were still in close in that cold, green water. It was a nonstop bite for 5 hours! We finally arrived in the San Diego early in the morning December 4 before the nasty weather came storming down the west coast.

Our Guide Lance Peterson headed up to Magdalena Bay in early December along with some friends for a “Busman’s Holiday”. He says: “Our 2007 Mag trip began with high hopes but we just never hit the mother lode. We logged over 600 hard miles in not so great conditions. I felt we were really fishing well but the mighty Pacific was a tough egg to crack. We were always a day late, a day early, or just not able to reach the action in a panga. We did catch a few marlin and had some cool fly shots. But damn...we really took our medicine this time! Such is life on a big ocean in a small boat.
On the way back to Lopez we found 70 degree water at the San Carlos Entrada. The sea was finally calm and the sun was out. We just knew it was going to go off out there...but our time had run out and we reluctantly headed back into the bay and up to Lopez. Of course...the marlin went nuts that day where we had fished hard for 9 days. We missed it!!! We did have a blast on the Magdalena Island although it was Alaska-like conditions. It rained buckets at times with strong wind and huge swell. I fished in full north west style rain gear.”

Water temperature 67 - 71
Air temperature 60 -67
Humidity 87%
Wind: W 13 to 17 knots
Conditions: Overcast
Visibility 4 miles
Sunrise 7:01 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:38 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The blue water is fluctuating between 5 and 10 miles, but with the moon phase kicking into high gear, the fishing is improving daily.

The cooler 78 to 80 degree water is still here, but the sailfish have been getting more active. Since Wednesday the count is averaging about three sailfish per boat per day. Plus the large dorado are showing again.

Santiago, on the panga, Gitana, had a 4 sailfish released day, and then a day with one sail and three nice dorado. He told me the dorado are averaging between 20 and 40 pounds.

Chuck Stratton fished two days with Cheva on the panga, Dos Hermanos II. Chuck had tried to get his dad C.D. to come down and experience the good fishing here, but it did not happen. On the first day Chuck fished inshore, taking numerous black skipjack tuna to an incredible 15 pounds. These hard fighting fish normally average about 3 to 4 pounds here, and really gave him a work out. Plus, they got 4 very large sierra, up to 10 pounds, for ceviche and dinner fillets.

Fishing offshore on the second day, Thursday, they hooked 7 sailfish and kept 2 large dorado between 30 and 40 pounds. More ceviche and dinner fillets. And dorado is one of the best tasting fish in the ocean. Too bad C.D., you missed out on a lot of good action, the experience of fishing with a world class captain....and some great fresh fish dinners.

Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 74-95
Humidity 91%
Wind: S at 2mph
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:01 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:10 p.m. CST

Mag Bay Rekindles…

Endless Season Update 12/01/2007
REPORT #1091 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Beach action for small jacks and roosters, mixed in with schools of sierra feeding on small sardina, was found in shallow water from Rancho Leonero to La Ribera.

Sierra Tip: A sierra has a mouth full of teeth and will play havoc with your fluorocarbon leaders. Use flies tied on long-shanked hooks instead of wire. You may lose an occasional fly but you’ll have many more takes. Your choice in flies should “match the hatch.” Since we don’t have bugs in saltwater, the “hatch” is 2 ½ to 4 inch-long sardina. Olive, gray or beige-backed See Through Deceivers should do the trick, but bring a few Clousers in chartreuse or olive to round out your flybox.

In spite of a couple of days of rain, the tuna and dorado bite was outrageous this week. Even better news was that it was close. Saturday morning, Mark Rayor, Vista Sea Sports, reported “seeing porpoise feeding and birds diving, clearly visible from his front porch”. Of course all the action essentially goes unnoticed with few guests at the hotels to take advantage of the near shore fishing. Reports indicate the offshore billfish action finally choked.


Water temperature 75-80
Air temperature 60-77
Humidity 92 %
Wind: NNE 9 to 12 knots
Conditions: Mostly Cloudy
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:44 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:31 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Pete Wishney, Foxy Lady, reported extraordinary action inside the Esteros for a mixed bag of critters including snook, corvina, snapper, halibut, pargo, pompano, and grouper. This mix was caught on fly and live shrimp purchased from the pangeros who used nets to catch shrimp commercially inside the bay.

Outside the Entrada, there have been billfish found all the way to the pinnacles outside Punta Tosca. However the best action reported was below Punta Tosca on the flats above the Finger Bank where wide open action with the billfish feeding on the surface was found. There are few yachts --- just local pangas reportedly fishing it.

Water temperature 67 - 75
Air temperature 60 -76
Humidity 99%
Wind: NNW 5 to 6 knots
Conditions: Fog/sunny later
Visibility 0 miles
Sunrise 6:55 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:36 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

With the water in a cooling trend, the blue water is averaging about 12 to 15 miles from Zihuatanejo Bay. However, the currents have been changing daily, and going back to the same place you caught fish the day before has not been productive. We are having to locate the fish on a daily basis.

The fleet is averaging about two sailfish a day, per boat. But, because of the cooler water, the blue marlin are showing up again, and in decent numbers. We are averaging about 4 blues a day for the 20 boat fleet.

Adan on the panga Gitana II got a nice blue for his client Mark from San Francisco, and Santiago released another for Glenn Wittur of Kalona, British Columbia. Even though Glenn is an experienced fresh water fisherman, this was his first day ever on the blue water. Within the first two hours, Santiago had tagged and released a sailfish and the blue. I sure hopes he does not think every day is like that.

Adolpho reports the roosters are still up North, and yesterday (Friday) he took 4 for his French client. He also told me the dorado are hitting very well to the South, and in close to the beach.

Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 74-95
Humidity 91%
Wind: S at 2mph
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:01 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:10 p.m. CST

Mag Bay Still Sputtering…

Endless Season Update 11/24/2007
REPORT #1090 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

More celebrating Thanksgiving and less fishing is the report this week! Lance Peterson did report that the beach looked great, but because of a finger injury he was unable to take advantage of it.

Water temperature 75-80
Air temperature 60-74
Humidity 82 %
Wind: WNW at 10mph
Conditions: Mostly Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:40 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:31 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Most of the talk this last week has been about how great the 2007 bite was. However, Bob Hoyt of Mag Bay Outfitters, reports that there is still ‘fair’ billfish action being found below the Entrada near the pinnacles in spite of the windy conditions; nothing like the double digits of last month but enough to keep things interesting.

He also reports that the Estero action has continued to produce good catches of grouper, pargo, corvina and a few snook. Most of that action took place up toward Boca Santo Domingo.

Water temperature 67 - 75
Air temperature 56 -70
Humidity 66%
Wind: WNW 13 to 18 knots
Conditions: Mostly Cloudyr
Visibility 13 miles
Sunrise 6:50 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:37 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 84° blue water is just a couple of miles off the beach. All conditions, with calm seas and clear skies, are perfect. But the fishing has been a bit on the slow side.

The blue marlin have been making another showing this week, with about one blue being caught by the fleet almost every day. There are still a few dorado around, and each boat is averaging one to two sailfish a day.

The Northern rooster migration seems to be making its way down, but are still a fairly long boat ride to get to. I was talking to a homeowner up at Saladitas. Saladita is a little over an hour boat ride from Zihuatanejo Bay. He told me there were huge schools of bait out in front of his house, and about 20 big roosters herding them.

I also talked with a surfer who had been up to the Ranch. The Ranch is another 1/2 hour above Saladita. He told me the bait was actually trying to hide under the surfboards, and huge roosters were dashing in and out trying to get at the bait. He said it was the first time he had experienced anything like it, and it was fantastic.

To prove the point even more about our local roosters having disappeared, we fished down South at Puerto Vicente Guerrero and only raised 5 roosters and three jack crevalle after a long day of constant casting with the poppers.

Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 67-95
Humidity 86%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 4 miles
Sunrise 6:56 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:09 p.m. CST

Mag Bay Winding Down…

Endless Season Update 11/17/2007
REPORT #1088 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape
As East Cape begins the fall-to-winter transition, the weather becomes more sporadic. Most of this week was ‘picture perfect’ until this morning when the north wind began howling down the Sea of Cortez.

There were still good catches of tuna this week, though some boats traveled long distances south to find them. Smatterings of dorado were also to be found along with a few early morning wahoo.

Beach action for small roosters and jacks was good early in the week but the north wind will probably slow that down for the next few days.

Water temperature 77-85
Air temperature 52-81
Humidity 74 %
Wind: NNW 11 to 14 knots
Conditions: Mostly Clear
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 6:35 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:33 p.m. MST


Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

The best offshore season in years has been enjoyed off Mag Bay with marlin being taken in extraordinary numbers, but the cold winds crept in and have brought off-color water and cooler temperatures which have slowed the action down dramatically! Bird schools are few and far between as the remaining boats in the area fan out looking for warmer water.
The bright spot is that inside the Entrada this week the boats caught quality yellows in the 30 – 40 lb. range.

Up at Boca Santo Domingo, the Estero action was non-stop for pargo, grouper, and corvina, and a few small snook were landed with several larger ones lost.

Hopefully the winds will back off, the warmer water will be found and everyone will get another “whack” before the season shuts down entirely.

Water temperature 67 - 73
Air temperature 59 -83
Humidity 83%
Wind: WNW 11 to 15 knots
Conditions: Mostly Clear
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 6:45 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:39 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 84° blue water is just off the beach. The seas are almost dead calm, and fishing conditions are ideal. The fishing has seen a variety of action this week, with a lot depending on being at the right place at the right time.

Most boats are averaging a sailfish a day, and we are also getting blue marlin, yellowfin tuna, and dorado.

For one day counts this week, Cheva on the panga, Dos Hermanos II, got two sailfish and two dorado for his client. Santiago, on the panga, Gitana, took a 275 pound blue marlin while fishing with Russ Kirtchner of Iowa. Laura Sanders of LA got 1 sailfish and 7 yellowfin tuna while fishing with Captain Ruben on the Vamonos III.

Adolpho, on the panga Dos Hermanos, found the roosterfish concentrations again by traveling 20 miles to the North. They got 5 roosters weighing 30 to 50 pounds. And, Dave Martin of Colorado also took a 50 pound rooster while fishing the Pantla area on the panga, Esturion.

Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 70-94
Humidity 89%
Wind: NNW at 3mph
Conditions: Cloudy
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:52 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:10 p.m. CST

WOW! Double Digits!

Endless Season Update 11/3/2007
REPORT #1087 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape
Thanks to all of you who emailed me last week to remind me that the time changes this week in the U.S. However, this is a “Below the Border” report and the time changed in Baja last Sunday morning.

Sam and Janet Farish, Atlanta, GA, enjoyed a week of great weather and fishing this week with double-digit roosters, sierra and ladyfish inshore. Offshore it was dorado and yellowfin tuna rounding off a great week of East Cape fishing.

Then they headed up to Lopez Mateos in Magdalena Bay to sample the even hotter offshore action.


Water temperature 77-85
Air temperature 66-90
Humidity 83 %
Wind: NNW 7 to 9 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 2 miles
Sunrise 7:26 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:39 p.m. MST


Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Early November and the fishing is easy…offshore. Sam and Janet Farish on their first day headed out on the “Mar Gato” with Captain Sergio and our guide Lance Peterson.

Their day started quick! In the first ten minutes they were both tight to fifty pound wahoo. Today they headed out for hopefully more of the same action on the Thetis before sliding down to the anchorage at Santa Maria Bay to spend the night.

Billfish action from the Entrada to below Pta. Tosca could only be classified as “wide-open”. Bird school after bird school in every direction you looked but even as you slid on the spot you could never be sure what might be there. Marlin, tuna, dorado or wahoo? As one angler put it, “They were biting everything; probably would have bitten an old tennis shoe!”

If you are heading this way, bring plenty of tackle. Double digit fishing goes through the tackle fast!!!

Water temperature 72 - 82
Air temperature 67 -88
Humidity 76%
Wind: W 8 to 11 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:36 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:45 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 82° blue water is only a very short ride out of Zihuatanejo Bay, and with the effects of the full moon period winding down, the fishing action has been steadily improving.

The boats are averaging between 1 and 2 sailfish a day, per boat. Plus, at 12 miles, there is still a long weed line which is holding large dorado.

Paul Zobeck, of Grand Slam Fishing Charters on the Kenai River, has fished with Adan on the panga Gitana II for 2 days. They have taken 7 dorado, averaging about 25 pounds.

Yesterday (Friday), Mike Griffin of Anchorage, fished with Captain Poli on the Don Gordo II, taking 4 dorado from 25 to 45 pounds.

This seems to be a week for Alaskan people fishing here, because Cali and I went down to Puerto Vicente Guerrero with Jim Albert to fly fish for roosters. Jim manages one of the Brooks River lodges of the grizzly bear watching fame. We arrived to find the inshore waters had dropped from an ideal 82° down to 76°. The roosters and large jack crevalle had left for other parts unknown. It was a very tough day of fishing, with only three roosters raised.

Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 77-97
Humidity 65%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Cloudy
Visibility 9 miles
Sunrise 7:46 a.m. CST
Sunset 7:14 p.m. CST

Time Falls Back…Fish Turn On!

Endless Season Update 10/27/2007
REPORT #1086 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

The time change tonight should indicate that it’s time for the East Cape season to wind down. Guess someone forgot to tell fish!

Yellowfin tuna are on the chew like it’s their last meal. Joe and Nick Turano, from Houston, Texas, must have left a few for the clients this week. YFT’s mixed with Baja Wasabi flies had everyone out of breath and sore by mid-morning and eager to head out and troll teasers for billfish.

No rest for the wicked! Billfish action was more like June than the last week of October, preventing anyone from any kind of a breather before the first sail appeared in the pattern.

North wind and beach fishing should never be in the same sentence so until yesterday when the wind died, the boat action was a much better choice.

Water temperature 77-85
Air temperature 69-92
Humidity 78 %
Wind: NNW 7 to 10 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:22 a.m. MDT
Sunset 6:44 p.m. MDT

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

As the Sea of Cortez begins to taper off, the action offshore kicks into full gear. Reports of WFO action are spread out from Thetis to the north all the way to below Pta. Tosca to the south.

Wahoo, dorado, yellowfin tuna (great for that midday sashimi) and double digit billfish combined with super weather has everyone predicting an action packed November.

As far as the Esteros go, no one seems to be paying much attention with all the action outside.

Water temperature 72 - 82
Air temperature 61 -90
Humidity 79%
Wind: WNW 10 to 13 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:31 a.m. MDT
Sunset 6:50 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 84 degree blue water is still only a couple of miles off the beach; however the full moon period slowed us down this week. We are only averaging about 1 sailfish per boat, per day.

The bright note is the late season rains have brought the dorado in numbers. Near shore, the smaller school dorado, averaging 8 to 12 pounds are biting very well. Off shore, the larger adults are readily taking the trolled sailfish baits.

About the best recorded catch of the week was when Keith Bell, of Pensacola FL, fished one day with Ruben on the Vamonos III, catching 1 sailfish and 5 dorado. The dorado averaged between 25 and 30 pounds.

The inshore waters have cleaned up since the rains, but the action on the roosters was also affected by the moon phase and has slowed down. Keith Bell wanted to try for the roosters on the fly rod, so he and I went down to Puerto Vicente Guerrero. We only raised 4 roosters, and they did not take the fly. However there were hundreds of jack crevalle, busting small sardines in the shallows. The jacks were averaging about 5 pounds, plus there were a few sierra.

Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 76-95
Humidity 78%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Cloudy
Visibility 4 miles
Sunrise 7:43 a.m. CDT
Sunset 7:17 p.m. CDT

Center Stage: Billfish and Tuna

Endless Season Update 10/20/2007
REPORT #1085 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996







East Cape
The billfish and tuna action picked up this week which was fortunate as the dorado bite that had been the ‘crowd-pleaser’ for the past month backed way off this week.

Long time clients, Joe and Nick Turano, from Houston, Texas, had a great first day: they raised 11 billfish, hooked1 marlin and 3 sails. On the second day the north wind and conditions were against them, and they had only one shot at a sail and a few sierra inside. Undeterred they headed out again on the third day and had an excellent day, cashing in on a serious yellowfin tuna bite.

Beach action suffered from the windy conditions as the wind waves turned the water the color of Starbucks coffee. The good news is the sierra have returned and could be found feeding on sardina. Instead of using wire, try using flies tied on long shank hooks. You may lose a fly or two but you will definitely have more takes.


Water temperature 77-85
Air temperature 73-95
Humidity 73 %
Wind: N 2 to 3 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:24 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:03 p.m. MDT

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Windy and sloppy conditions this week kept most of the locals on the beach. More yachts arrive every day to find the billfish action out fifteen miles southwest of Pta. Tosca toward the pinnacles. Down farther toward the Finger Bank reports of 10-20 fish days are not uncommon.

Dorado action and football sized tuna can be found outside the bumps in front of Boca de Soledad.

Water temperature 72 - 82
Air temperature 70 -92
Humidity 82%
Wind: NW 11 to 15 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:28 a.m. MDT
Sunset 6:56 p.m. MDT

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 82° blue water was only a 1.5 miles off the beach earlier in the week. The offshore action was a bit slow, with only a 1 or 2 sailfish per day / per boat average. There were also a few dorado scattered around in the catches.

The inshore action for roosters was just incredible until tropical storm Kiko settled in here late in the week and dumped 10 inches of rain on us for a 48 hour period. We even had a port closure on Friday.

On Wednesday, one day before Kiko hit, Cali and I went down to Puerto Vicente Guerrero with fly fishing client, Andre from British Columbia. Using a hookless popper, we raised 16 roosters and 4 jack crevalle. Andre was able to hook 4 roosters.

The inshore waters are now very dirty from the huge volume of water coming out of the numerous small rivers here. It will take at least a week to get settled down and the roosterfish action should be excellent again.

However, because of the debris floating out of the rivers, the dorado and tuna should be making another decent appearance this next week.
Ed Kunze

Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 72-91
Humidity 83%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Cloudy
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:41 a.m. CDT
Sunset 7:21 p.m. CDT

Big Bite…Bigger Bucks

THE BUCK STOPS HERE

Endless Season Update 10/13/2007
REPORT #1084 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

The first North Winds of the season kicked up a few days early in the week, causing wind waves and off-color water. Though the water temps remained good, it didn’t begin to clean up until late in the week.

The offshore action was scattered from a few miles offshore to forty miles out. A good striper bite, along with a few sails and two blues, was reported.

The tuna overshadowed the dorado this week with some fifty pound class tuna showing up under the porpoise.

Overshadowed maybe, but the dorado bite remained consistent again this week under debris found close to shore.

In spite of the North Winds making for tough fly fishing days, Lance reported the bait schools were still hanging out in the same spots and a diligent caster could expect to connect. Roosters, jacks to 5 lb's. and ladyfish were the most active feeders. Once again, his best results were had with small, sparse baitfish patterns and clousers. Chartreuse was an effective color in the off-color water.

Last weekend, October 4 through October 7, East Cape’s Mark Rayor and his team, Captain Jesus, ‘Chuy” Cota and Juan Diego Romero, fished the first annual La Paz Gold Cup Black and Blue Marlin Tournament on Mark’s boat, the Jen Wren. The tournament was held by local developers in the La Paz area: Costa Baja Resort and Marina, Playa de LaPaz, Snell Real Estate, Maravia Country Club Estates, La Concha Pearl, Bahia los Suenos, Mosquito Fleet, Scott O’Hara and Jim House. This group of developers put up the prize money and volunteered their time to organize and carry out this charity event. James Curtiss and Gabriel Ley were Tournament Chairs. The Rotary Club of La Paz was selected as the recipient of the charity money for their cause: to provide prosthetics for children in need

First prize was one million pesos, the equivalent to about $100,000 US dollars, plus a new Ford Lobo truck if the fish exceeded 400 pounds! But there was a twist in the rules that made things even more interesting; a $50 per pound penalty was imposed on any team weighing a fish under the 200 pound minimum. What a fantastic idea! We are lucky to have one of the best fisheries in the world and this certainly discourages the killing of short fish. It also raised extra money for a good cause. Full Report click here

Water temperature 77-85
Air temperature 73-95
Humidity 73 %
Wind: N 5 to 6 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:24 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:03 p.m. MDT

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Bob Hoyt, Mag Bay Outfitters, reported that the weather turned sideways early in the week and few boats ventured outside. He did hear of excellent marlin action on the high spot below Punta Tosca for the boats traveling down the line toward Cabo San Lucas.

The Esteros produced grouper, corvina plus the usual spotted bay bass with the best area being up toward Boca Santo Domingo.

Water temperature 72 - 82
Air temperature 61 -94
Humidity 93%
Wind: NW 14 to 19 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:24 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:05 p.m. MDT

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 81° blue water is about 15 miles out, with most of the fish being taken between the 18 and 20 mile mark. Sailfish are averaging about 1 to 2 fish a day per boat.

However, this last week has seen another surge of blue marlin coming into the area. On Thursday, Hans Clausen of Denmark fished with Santiago on the panga Gitana, catching two marlin, with the largest going 285 pounds.

The yellowfin tuna have not shown for a few days, and have either moved out of the area, or further out and past the 1,000 fathom line.

The dorado, while not as plentiful as in weeks past, are still averaging about 20 pounds.

The roosterfish and jack crevalle action is still excellent, with the action all up and down the coast

Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 77-96
Humidity 87%
Wind: WSW at 2mph
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:39 a.m. CDT
Sunset 7:26 p.m. CDT

October Sizzles On!

Endless Season Update 10/06/2007
REPORT #1083 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

The outstanding fishing at East Cape continues to sizzle, making up for the slower fishing earlier in the season. Strong billfish and dorado action provided lots of smiles this week.

The sailfish turned on this week, adding to the blue marlin and striper mayhem that began just a few miles offshore and continued out as far as forty miles. John Lowther, of Phoenix, AZ, finished up his trip early in the week and called it one of the best he has seen for his group in several years.

Showing a level of consistency not seen up to this point this year, the dorado action could only be rated as “hot” for the past several back-to-back weeks.

Tuna action has slowed somewhat, causing a change in menu from sushimi to chips and guacamole at happy hour.

Lance Peterson spent his week plying the hot sand beaches and reported consistent action on smaller roosters and jacks to 5lbs. When you find the sardina in the shallows, you’ll find ladyfish, pompano, and the odd pargo or cabrilla rounding out the catch. Small to mid-sized sardina patterns tied “sparse” have yielded good results.

Water temperature 82-88
Air temperature 66-86
Humidity 84%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 8 miles
Sunrise 7:13 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:01 p.m. MDT

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Bob Hoyt, Mag Bay Outfitters, reported excellent bay fishing again this week including grouper, several snook and a good surface bite for bragging sized corvina

Outside was only fished lightly but the bull dorado and small YFT’s were plentiful.

A few yachts making their way down the coast toward Cabo are reporting 78 degree water and a few marlin as well as dorado schools all the way down the ridge.


Water temperature 64 - 78
Air temperature 71 -90
Humidity 79%
Wind: NNW 6 to 8 knots
Conditions: Mostly Clear
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:21 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:09 p.m. MDT

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 82° blue water is only about 5 miles off the beach, and the contact line is producing dorado and yellowfin tuna.

The dorado action is steady, but the tuna are breezing in and out. It’s more of a matter of luck and being at the right place at the right time for the tuna. The dorado are averaging a hefty 20 pounds, with several much larger being taken. The tuna are ranging from footballs, up to about 60 pounds.

The sailfish action is at the 12 mile mark, and we are averaging about 2 fish a day/per boat.

The roosterfish action is still excellent all up and down the coast. However, with the entire fleet consisting of only 4 or 5 boats a day, there are very few people fishing the roosters, and few being reported.

Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 76-96
Humidity 83%
Wind: NNW at 3 mph
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:37 a.m. CDT
Sunset 7:31 p.m. CDT

September Sizzled!

Endless Season Update 09/29/2007
REPORT #1082 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

East Cape’s September fishing was some of 2007’s best, and hopefully it was a prelude to a great October.

Offshore action began where inshore action left off, just a few miles offshore. John Lowther, of Phoenix, AZ, called in yesterday morning from his cellular to report he was in a wide open tuna bite only a few miles from the hotel. John is hosting a group of friends at the old Rancho Buena Vista Hotel.

At Punta Pescadero, the sailfish were lollygagging on the surface less than two miles from the point and only a few miles farther out, the blue marlin were in the teasers.

Finding the dorado was a ‘slam dunk’ with plenty of easy-to-spot debris providing cover for them.

Lance Peterson reported that on the beach around the bait there were many "schoolie" jack crevalle, roosterfish, and ladyfish that could be sucker punched with the right fly. The gaff top sail pompano schools were in evidence cruising up and down the beaches. A smaller fly and light tippet were needed to get the grabs from the pompano.

Water temperature 77-85
Air temperature 67-89
Humidity 90%
Wind: N 5 to 7 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 7:10 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:09 p.m. MDT

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Bob Hoyt, Mag Bay Outfitters, reported bay fishing is “as good as it gets” with limits of grouper, a handful of snook, as well as several large corvina

Outside, the dorado action picked up again with some larger bulls showing up. Still plenty of small yellowtail with a few sierra mixed in.

Water temps out at the Thetis have climbed to 78.5 degrees and the top of the bank is covered with small bonito. The clients had to get off the high spot to find the dorado.

One yacht making the trip south reported wahoo, marlin and dorado on the ridge.

Water temperature 64 - 76
Air temperature 71 -90
Humidity 83%
Wind: NW 11 to 15 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 4 miles
Sunrise 7:18 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:17 p.m. MDT

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The sailfish have been kind of slow, but with the full moon, this is not really a surprise. Plus, there are only 4 or 5 boats fishing per day, and half of them are fishing the inshore for the great roosterfish bite.

The 83° blue water is about 12 miles off the beach, but the boats are often short stopping at the 6 to 8 mile mark in order to fish the dorado in the weed lines. They are averaging about two or three of these tasty fish, which are averaging between 16 and 33 pounds.

The inshore water, averaging about 86°, has really been holding the bait and the roosterfish on the beaches, with quite a few jack crevalle in the mix. There is no defined area for the concentrations of roosters. They are all up and down the coast.

Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 76-92
Humidity 86%
Wind: NNW at 3 mph
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 9 miles
Sunrise 7:36 a.m. CDT
Sunset 7:37 p.m. CDT

Hurricane Roulette…

Endless Season Update 09/22/2007



REPORT #1081 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape




You know its September because there was another tropical depression below Baja and threatening to head our way. That must be why all the hotels offer special deals in September to entice folks to play hurricane roulette. For all of you who played this week, you are big winners!

Once again, East Cape’s little secret that some of the best fishing of the season is in September has been exposed. By all accounts this week was one of the best this year!

Dorado and yellowfin were found close to shore along the current break, which was easily found with all the floating debris.

Billfish action, while a click slower, is still good enough that Mark Rayor, owner of Vista Seasports, is headed out this morning to try to get one on the fly.

Our Guide, Lance Peterson, reported good beach activity as well. “Schools of gaff top sail pompano continue to provide some challenging opportunities. I see them feeding actively but have to work to catch them. Sparse fry baitfish, in small sizes, has been effective. As always find the bait and you find the fish. Around the sardina schools I've been catching jacks and roosters (to 5lbs), ladyfish, as well as some pargo.”

Water temperature 78-87
Air temperature 76-96
Humidity 83%
Wind: SE 2 to 3 knots
Conditions: Mostly Cloudy
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:35 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:43 p.m. MDT

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Offshore action for dorado, small yellows and football sized tuna was great throughout the week. TD IVO produced some squirrelly weather late in the week and rain this morning.

Estero action included spotted bay bass, grouper, and on the surface, a few sierra and corvina down at Devil’s Curve.

The Entrada also produced small yellows and bonito under the bird schools as well as some small halibut in the shallows at Belchers.

Water temperature 64 - 76
Air temperature 71 -90
Humidity 82%
Wind: NNW 10 to 13 knots
Conditions: Rain
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:15 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:25 p.m. MDT

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
No report received this week, the following report is from the past week:
Not much is happening this week. There are so few clients fishing, there are not many boats on the water. Those boats which are getting out with a client, are only averaging about one sailfish per day and maybe one or two dorado.

The commercial pangeros are still working the areas out about 30 miles and getting four or five dorado apiece, averaging about 25 pounds.

No action has been reported on the inshore for the roosterfish.

Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 76-96
Humidity 83%
Wind: NNW at 3 mph
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:35 a.m. CDT
Sunset 7:43 p.m. CDT