Summer Schools are in Session

Endless Season Update 07/02/2009
REPORT #1173 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape


Kurt Ransohoff, Tom Lorish, and I had a really fun time over in Vicente Guerrero, south of Zihuatanejo. Even with the poor conditions, courtesy of Tropical Storm Andres, we managed to see some good fishing and certainly saw the potential for some really amazing action. Yesterday we fished out of Zihuatanejo and found some good sized roosters willing to chase the teaser. Kurt landed the attached fish. Tom had two great shots at fish to 40 pounds but didn't connect. There was only one other boat fishing near us and the fly angler in that boat landed two, the largest weighing about 35 pounds. The bite was on! There were even dorado showing up on the teaser right along the surf line. Pretty cool fishery. Lance Peterson

Blue marlin and yellowfin tuna have finally made it to the area with most boats reaching their daily limits. Blue marlin from 350 pounds to 600+ pounds have been reported. Tuna schools are scattered and those caught have been from football size to ‘oh my God’ range. Resort boats are still not going out as much as in past summer fishing seasons, but tourists/fishermen are gradually showing up again to enjoy the great weather and fishing.

Dorado continue to be strong with many boats reaching their limits early; roosterfish are being targeted by most boats early in the morning along the beaches south of La Ribera to north of Los Barriles. Red snapper are being caught off rocks by Punta Colorada and the bank a few miles off La Ribera.

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

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Good News…they’re back! It seems longer but it has only been since last December that marlin have been seen at Magdalena. According to Captain Sergio there are a few out in front of Lopez at about 24 miles. Since the yellowfin tuna have been in that area for a while along with a wad of dorado in the 10-20 pound range, it makes for some good fishing!.

Small yellowtail dominated the action at the Entrada under the bird schools, along with grouper and mangrove snapper…along with the cabrilla which are a nuisance. However, don’t make the mistake of moving to get away from them. You just have to pick through them until you get that quality bite, you know a snook or something.

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

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico


Uffe Moerk – Denmark, Puerto Vicente Guerrero, Panga - Angela II with Captain Jose Pino, Guide and photo -Ed Kunze Fly - pink and white. We were trolling a red and white hookless Ranger lure. When the school-sized dorado started crashing on the lure, we threw the boat into neutral and made the cast...instant hook up! We took seven dorado on the fly that day, plus a rooster.

After tropical storm Andres left here last week, things calmed down enough for us to get some fishing in. The sailfish action is still on the slow side, with only a one-fish average per boat per day. However, this is being made up by a lot of smaller dorado being taken by each boat. The roosterfish and jack crevalle action has been excellent.

With good clean water only six miles from the beach, and an average surface temperature of 87º, it may be a bit too warm for the sailfish. However, the roosters and dorado sure like it, with most of the dorado action being only less than a mile off the beach.

Arturo, on the panga Janeth, fished with Richard Anbers of Danville, Illinois. Using conventional gear he caught two nice roosters to 32 pounds, 12 jack crevalle and a dorado. Arturo told me they saw many more roosters but were not able to get a hook set. They were fishing the Valentin area south of Zihuatanejo Bay.

The biggest news of the week was by George Brown of Lodi. He was fishing with Cheva, on the panga Dos Hermanos II in the Valentin area and caught a 54 pound rooster on the fly. It was probably a world record, as the cast was made with an approved leader, but the fish was not weighed until 10 hours later. George always releases his roosters, but his double hook rig got in the gills, and killed this fish. By the time Cheva and Adolfo decided they had a possible record and called me, it was too late. The fish had dehydrated too much.

Henning and Uffe Moerk from Denmark fished with me at Puerto Vicente Guerrero using gear. Henning caught and released an estimated 55 pound rooster. Then Uffe took a nice rooster and seven dorado on the fly.

Santiago on the panga Gitana is vacationing in Minnesota right now and his brother, Adan, is taking care of the charters. This is what Santiago emailed me: Joe Luciano with his boys, Peter and Mark From Oklahoma, caught two rooster fish (15 Pounds) also many dorados and bonitos (little ones). The two others days we fished offshore with no luck.

Ed Kunze

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


Cabo San Lucas

The first tropical storm/hurricane of the season, Andreas, has come and gone. While it briefly touched shore in the Acapulco and Zihuatanejo areas, once the storm approached cooler water, it began to lose force and finally petered out.

After a couple of windy days the seas calmed and the fishing picked right back up for the fleet.
The Sea of Cortez produced some blue marlin; a couple of black marlin were caught with a few more lost. Striped marlin action see-sawed between great to why won’t they bite? Most boats caught a couple on the bite days.

Yellowfin tuna action continued to be slow with a few football sized fish being found among dolphin. Then when you least expected it, a tuna between 100 and 150 pounds would show up mixed in with the big black porpoise up inside the Sea of Cortez.

Dorado on the Cortez side of the Cape were the real ‘biters’ and most boats landed a handful of fish in the 15 to 20 pound range, along with a few smaller ones, as well as some in the 30 to 40 pound category. There were a few that were in the 50 pound range.

For those choosing to fish inshore there were some quality roosterfish to be found if you worked at it but you had to pick through the smaller fish to find them.

George & Mary Landrum

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

Andres is History…Bite Resumes

Endless Season Update 06/24/2009
REPORT #1172 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Fishing was great until Andres stirred things up down by Zihuatanejo this past week, resulting in unseasonal north winds bringing rough conditions and plenty of white caps to the area. Whether the fish quit biting or everyone just elected to stay in is debatable.

When Andres faded into obscurity and the north wind went with it. Both the billfish and dorado picked up where they had left off before the storm. It has taken a few days for the inshore water to clean up, but there are still lots of jacks and enough roosters to keep everyone pumped up.

Current East Cape Weather

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

With the lighter winds and calmer seas this week, the few boats heading out found plenty of dorado and small tuna ten miles outside the Boca. The entrada produced good catches of small yellows. Deeper down in the water column, there were some smaller leopard grouper.

Estero action above Lopez Mateos seemed to be the most productive with grouper and spotted bay bass dominating the catch.

Current Magdalena Bay Weather

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

Tropical storm Andres hurt the fishing this week. We had two days of port closure, and nobody went out fishing.

The aftermath, caused from high winds and a high tide caused by the storm surge, along with the rain, made it very difficult to fish for the roosters, and the blue water bite slowed way down also.

Baja On The Fly client, Kurt Ransohoff of Santa Barbara and Tom Lorish of Portland fly fished with fly fishing guide Lance Peterson down at Puerto Vicente Guerrero on Wednesday and only raised one rooster. However, the day was salvaged by moving off the beach about a mile and fishing the weed lines caused by the storm runoff out of the rivers. They took 13 nice dorado. Lance was casting a hookless surface popper teaser and the dorado were readily eating the fly.

Tomorrow, they have relocated to Zihuatanejo and will be fishing with Arturo on the panga, Janeth. I will be guiding fly fishing client Mark Hennig of Denmark tomorrow down at Vicente Guerrero. We are all hoping the 24 hours will give the ocean enough time to calm down and bring back the roosterfish bite.

Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather

Cabo San Lucas

Boats that targeted striped marlin this week were having very mixed results. One day the fish would bite and the next they all had their mouths closed…no matter what you put in front of them. There were a few blue marlin caught this week as well as a couple of black marlin reported, and the size of the fish was decent, an average of 250 pounds. They were all found on the Sea of Cortez, and they struck on lures.

For most of the week the tuna action continued to be slow with a few fish being found among dolphin; most of the fish were footballs, between 5 and 12 pounds. There were a few very nice fish between 100 and 150 pounds brought in, caught among the big black porpoise in the Sea of Cortez.

Dorado were the fish of the week for offshore anglers as they were almost everywhere on the Cortez side of the Cape. Along with numbers which averaged between three to six fish per boat came a very nice average size at between 15 to 20 pounds. A few small fish in the 10-pound class balanced out the few caught that were 50+ pounds, and there were quite a few in the 30 to 40 pound category.

Roosterfish dominated the inshore action. Although they were not everywhere, when you did find them they were there in good numbers. The high swells put them off their feed for a while, but they did bite well once they got going.

George & Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather

First TD and Lance Needs Your Vote!

Endless Season Update 06/17/2009
REPORT #1171 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

Our guide and friend of many years, Lance Peterson, has been nominated in the “Who are the faces of fly fishing’s future?” in the American Angler Magazine. Those of you who have fished with Lance know that he is one of the best! If you would like to vote for him in the categories of Fly Fisherman and Fly Fishing Guide here is the link: http://americanangler.com/index.php?option=com_forme&fid=31

UPDATE...Tropical Depression One E is moving northeast at 7 knots toward the mainland located 335 miles below the tip of Baja turning conditions windy and even a few sprinkles Wednesday night disappeared by Friday afternoon. Saturday the weather was back to normal with flat and beautiful seas. 85 degree water off shore, 82-83 on the beach

More importantly, though, offshore action is kinda’ all happening according to an IM received from Mark Rayor, Vista Sea Sport, today. Marlin and good sized dorado are biting and from twenty-five to fifty miles the porpoise are holding schools of yellowfin tuna to 30 pounds with a few fatties above 50 pounds mixed in.

Inshore beach fishing is going strong but the wind is making fishing a little tougher. Lots of roosters and jack crevalle are still keeping the beach fishing exciting. Roosters in the 25 to 30 pound range are close to shore with lots of juvenile roosters just off sandy beach areas. Some of the rocky points are producing some quality pargo and the larger pompano bite at the lighthouse has been extreme.



Water temperature 72-82
Air temperature 67-97
Humidity 45%
Wind: SSE 10 to 14 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:32 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:08 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

While the winds continue to rip on the outside preventing anyone from fishing the dorado or small tuna that have shown up, the grouper remain ‘on the chew’…still nothing gigantic but fun fishing anyway. A snook here and there can be found and the halibut are off the sand beaches at Belchers.

The small yellows are having a field day under the bird schools at the Entrada, but the afternoon winds make for a wet bumpy ride home.

Water temperature 69 - 77
Air temperature 65 -91
Humidity 48 %
Wind: WNW 14 to 19 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:37 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:18 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 84º blue water is just a couple of miles off the beach. The big surprise this week is most of the sailfish being caught are in the is not so clean water, only about one mile off the beach. The fish counts are reflecting only a 1 or 2 sailfish per boat per day average, but the numbers are misleading. Within the first few minutes after leaving Zihuatanejo Bay, most of the boats have passed right by the fish.

Ben and Austin Gaffney of NC fished with Santiago on the panga, Gitana, releasing three sailfish and three small dorado.
Roosterfish action is still very good. Jay Eshbach, fishing with Adolfo on the panga, Dos Hermanos, took three roosters and a couple of dorado.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 79-93
Humidity 66 %
Wind: W at 17mph
Conditions: Mostly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:12 a.m. DST
Sunset 8:23 p.m. DST

Cabo San Lucas

Striped marlin have been inconsistent with the bite first turning on and then slowing. A good trip is resulting in two to three releases; most boats were lucky to get one release. There are plenty of fish seen, but few biting.

The numbers were still low for yellowfin tuna, though there were some caught. Most of the fish were less than 20 pounds and most were caught while blind trolling. There were lots of flags being flown, but most of those were for bonito caught directly in front of town.

The dorado bite continued to improve with most returning boats flying at least one or two flags for fish up to 50+ pounds. A few boats really got into the fish and returned with limits for their anglers, but it did not happen often. The warmer water on the Cortez side of the Cape had the largest fish. A few of them (to 50 pounds) were found on the Pacific side in the Golden Gate area, but no large numbers.

There were still a few wahoo caught in the Punta Gorda and Gorda Banks area.

The snook disappeared and the bite for snapper, sierra and yellowtail slowed. A concentration of smaller roosterfish, a few up to 50 pounds, produced some short-lived action just to the north of Chileno Beach. Most of the pangas worked just outside for bonito and dorado.

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 – 78
Air temperature 72 – 97
Humidity 28%
Wind: WNW 20 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:34 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:07 p.m. MST

Inshore, Off the Charts

Endless Season Update 06/10/2009
REPORT #1170 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
The inshore action for roosters and jacks continues to be off the charts. Plenty of bait along the beaches is attracting some of the best grade of roosters to be seen in years! Huge schools of jacks are also being seen daily cruising up and down the beaches along the shore.


Lance Peterson added another ‘grande’ to his 2009 total before leaving on a trip to the Caribbean and then on to chase roosters with our clients at Zihuatanejo.

Another noteworthy catch this week - actually last night in front of Rancho Leonero - Jim Ogborne, from Bozeman MT, landed an unusual catch…a small orange-mouth corvina on a chartreuse Clouser. While common in Magdalena Bay, this is the first one I can remember being caught at East Cape.

While many keep trying to will the offshore bite to turn-on, the facts indicate that it is still tough going for the billfish and dorado. While a few football-sized tuna are being found with the porpoise, if you aren’t one of the first boats to find them, chances are that you will be a spectator…not a player.

Water temperature 72-82
Air temperature 71-97
Humidity 56%
Wind: N 6 to 8 knots
Conditions: Mostly Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:31 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:05 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Fishing the Esteros continues to be the best bet this week. There’s plenty of grouper, nothing huge, but along with the corvina and an occasional snook in some of the secret spots it’s enough grabs to keep things interesting.

There are good signs outside. If the wind would lay down a bit and if someone wanted to fish, there are both dorado and small tuna ten or so miles out in front of Lopez Mateos.

Bob Hoyt

Water temperature 69 - 77
Air temperature 663 -93
Humidity 97 %
Wind: WNW 15 to 20 knots
Conditions: Mostly Sunny
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:36 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:16 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

Conditions have been improving dramatically this week. Early in the week, the fishing was as it had been this last several weeks; slow. Then Jaime Morales, the owner of the Vamonos Fleet, reported to me things started turning around on Tuesday.

The entire area is averaging a surface water temperature of 87º, and the blue water has come back in to about 12 miles. The game fish are coming with the favorable water conditions. On Tuesday the Vamonos I found a floating log and took a 20 pound dorado, a sailfish, and a very nice rainbow runner off it. Plus, Jaime's panga took a blue marlin only four miles in front of Zihuatanejo Bay. Other pangas also report several sailfish and a couple of blue marlin.

On Wednesday, the Vamonos I, with Leigh Bingham and friend, Chris, caught three sailfish. Martin, on the Nautilus also picked up a couple of sailfish. Remember, all of this is going on during the full moon period, so next week should be very good fishing.
Roosterfish and jack crevalle action remains strong.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 81-101
Humidity 69%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Cloudy
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:11 a.m. DST
Sunset 8:21 p.m. DST

Cabo San Lucas

All those striped marlin that we were seeing last week that would not eat a bait decided to get hungry this week. Not only that, they decided to move closer to us! The bite was going off only one to four miles off the arch during the latter half of the week. There were marlin everywhere you looked, tailers here and there, jumpers everywhere and groups of fish schooled up. The largest group I saw was 15 fish within a 30 yard circle, two on the surface and the others just underneath. They were biting well on live and dead baits; we had hooked one on a live bait and were clearing a rigged dead bait, just letting it hang back about ten feet when it was attacked by a brightly lit striper! There were reports on the radio of a few small blue marlin being caught as well, but I don’t have any hard information on them.

Some decent sized dorado were caught this week up in the warm water in the Sea of Cortez. The large fish were 40 to 50 pounds with fair numbers in the 20 pound class. Close to shore there were good numbers of small fish in the 6 to10 pound range. Most boats that got away from the marlin and made dorado their target were able to get a couple of fish per boat…not great numbers yet, but with some quality fish in there.

There were a few yellowtail and a few sierra caught inshore and the snapper bite dropped off.

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 – 78
Air temperature 72 – 99
Humidity 55%
Wind: WNW 14 to 19 knts
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:34 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:05 p.m. MST

Snook Snap at Cabo

Angler's name is Ellie Crocker, fishing aboard the Santi I with Captain Victor Saizar. They also caught 5 snappers that day. Ellie is a Phys Ed teacher at Lanier Middle School in Houston TX. She is visiting her brother-in-law Capt George Landrum. The next day they caught 3 more snook in the 20-30 lb range. The 3rd day she reeled in 8 roosterfish of various sizes.
Endless Season Update 06/03/2009
REPORT #1169 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Marlin are fickle and not too interested in lures or ballyhoo or anything else. But a few reports have come in with 120 to140 pound fish being caught and released. Those caught have been around 25 to 35 pounds. A few sailfish were reported and there are reports of an occasional tuna south in the Frailes area. The dorado are scattered but are being found under floating objects. Those caught have been around 25 to 35 pounds.

Much larger roosters are spread out throughout Palmas Bay, with the Frailes area producing the really big fish. Anglers have released at least a dozen over 50 pounds. Live mullet is the best bait for the larger fish. Lots of jacks, mixed with pompano and pargo, are making for stellar inshore fishing. One huge dog-toothed snapper (about 60+ pounds) was caught recently.

Lance Peterson reported: “The beach game is always a challenge. No boat, no chum, just sight casting and a teaser man, if you're lucky enough to have one. Even when it's "game on" it's super physical…running, casting, and plowing through the deep sand to find the next shot. There has been a ton of bait and a good amount of gamers along the beach. Roosters and jacks a plenty. If you're able to get on the bite the action has been amazing and the fish have been anywhere from 5 pounds to way over 40 pounds. Good stuff for sure.”
“There has also been a tremendous number of jack crevalle in the high teens to twenty pounds.”

Water temperature 72-82
Air temperature 65-98
Humidity 72%
Wind: ENE 3 to 4 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:31 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:03 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

The Esteros have been producing good catches of small grouper, halibut and cabrilla. The Estero at Santa Maria Bay had consistent action for corvina and small halibut in the channel at the entrance.

Outside at the shark buoys there are dorado to 25 pounds and tonnage of football sized yellowfin.

Bob Hoyt

Water temperature 69 - 77
Air temperature 66 -97
Humidity 81 %
Wind: WNW 16 to 22 knots
Conditions: Mostly Sunny
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 6:36 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:14 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

Offshore fishing was very slow here this last week. Our 26th Annual Sailfish/Marlin/Dorado tournament, which is normally held on the first weekend of May, was delayed to this last week due to the earlier flu scare.

However, even with the delay, 90 boats entered the 2 day tournament this last week, but only caught a total of 34 sailfish and 2 blue marlin, no dorado. With the full moon cycle coming up, I do not expect things to improve.

We are seeing a lot of red tide along the coast right now, stretching about 7 miles on either side of Zihuatanejo Bay. The other areas are not affected, having good clean water and very favorable conditions for jack crevalle and roosters.
In fact, the close by red tide has actually pushed the baitfish into the bay, with the jacks following. Some of the best fishing right now is inside Zihuatanejo Bay.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 77-94
Humidity 59%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:10 a.m. DST
Sunset 8:19 p.m. DST

Cabo San Lucas

Striped marlin by the dozens between the 95 spot and the 1150, but they were not interested in biting. Some boats were throwing baits every five minutes to fish, but rarely found one that was hungry. Now the numbers are diminishing. The depth sounders were showing squid with marlin around them; one theory was that the marlin were stuffing themselves with squid and were not in the mood to expend energy chasing lures or caballito and mackerel. Putting out artificial squid as lures brought more attention. The marlin are moving closer, and at this writing, they were pretty concentrated three to four miles off of the Cape.
Big news this week: the snook showed and were biting…how long will it last??

There are pargo in the rocks and live bait is still the way to go. You have to button down the drag on these guys or they will rock you. There have been some nice sized jacks in with them.

On the Cortez side, roosters from 5 to 35 pounds have begun to show. Live bait slow-trolled in 15 to 30 feet of water brought fish to the boat for pictures. There have been very few sierra caught and the yellowtail bite has slowed down.

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 – 78
Air temperature 70 – 93
Humidity 45%
Wind: WNW 16 to 21 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:33 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:02 p.m. MST

Fish Count Higher than Anglers

Endless Season Update 05/28/2009
REPORT #1168 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

photo Mark Rayor, Vista Sea Sports

Water temps in the low 80’s and flat calm seas have offered great conditions for looking but the fish that are found seem not be interested in biting. Even last week’s dorado action has slowed to a few fish here and there.

Inshore reports indicated that the great action experienced for the past month has also slowed. Of course, part of the problem is that the recent Swine Flu thing has reduced the normal busy spring season to a trickle of hard core Baja regulars.

Conditions have improved a lot with warmer water and great visibility for sight casting. Add in the numerous schools of mullet along the beach and it's a recipe for good rooster fishing. In the last few days there has been a tremendous amount of jack crevalle, with many in the high teens to twenty pounds.
“There have also been good number of roosterfish ranging from five pounds to well over forty pounds. The true ‘grandes’ have eluded me this week. One highlight this week was sight casting to an estimated twenty-pound triple tail that eagerly followed the fly right to the beach. However...it just would not close the deal”…Lance Peterson

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Water temperature 72-82
Air temperature 66-91
Humidity 45%
Wind: SE 7 to 10 knots
Conditions: Mostly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:34 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:59 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Offshore remains, windy and grumpy with plenty of white caps to discourage even the most avid die hard anglers.

No report received from Bob Hoyt again this week

Water temperature 69 - 77
Air temperature 59 -89
Humidity 82 %
Wind: WNW 15 to 20 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:37 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:10 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

Check Ed’s article on Marlin on the Fly http://tiny.cc/5Ol7l
This has been kind of a strange May for us. Historically, this is the absolute best month for blue and black marlin and the larger yellowfin tuna. But, with the blue water holding around the 1,000 fathom line (about 30 miles), the action has not yet developed for the sport fishing fleet.

The commercial pangueros and larger private yachts are getting good action on the tuna at the 40 mile mark....with reports of a couple of blue marlin being taken in the same area each day, one of the marlin weighing 273 kilos (614 pounds). There are very few clients here for the fishing and this has also lowered the counts substantially.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 77-91
Humidity 73%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:11 a.m. DST
Sunset 8:16 p.m. DST

Cabo San Lucas

The striped marlin are still showing in good numbers on the Cortez side of the Cape from the 95 spot and past the 1150 spot. Most of them seemed to be mixed in with an enormous pod of common Pacific dolphin that moved in, probably feeding on the same squid. The difference this week was that the marlin were willing to eat live bait. Later in the week the action was starting later in the day so the boats that stayed out an extra hour or so were doing much better than the boats that came in early.

Find something floating on the water and you might get a dorado…or not, and the chances of this happening in the warm water of the Sea Of Cortez were much greater than in the cooler waters of the Pacific.

Fishing from a panga was the way to go this week. One of the pangas we use got into a nice school of pargo late in the day farther up the beach and had 10 fish over 20 pounds for his two anglers. Small live caballito were the way to go. The yellowtail bite dropped off a bit and the fish were scattered. Trolling Rapallas at 6 knots found some of the fish and then working yo-yo’s in the area would result in a few more bites. There were some bigger skipjack just outside the 50-foot depth that made a few reels scream as well. On the Cortez side there were scattered sierra between Cabo and San Jose and past San Jose they were getting into some decent bonita.

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 – 78
Air temperature 66 – 91
Humidity 45%
Wind: WNW 8 to 11 knots
Conditions: Mostly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:34 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:59 p.m. MST

Offshore – Leapers and Ample Bait

Endless Season Update 05/21/2009
REPORT #1167 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

With 77 degree calm seas, offshore action has begun to comeback from the slowdown caused by excessive bait and cooler waters. Lots of jumping marlin and ample bait have equaled enough action for some boats to rack up decent multiple scores.
Dorado action has continued to produce limits around anything floating. Plenty of ‘schoolie-sized’ fish with some larger fish mixed in.

Sunny skies and little wind have allowed the rooster action to pick back up. They are mixed with large schools of good sized jacks. Boats fishing at the lighthouse found some pompano along with a few pargo very close to shore.

The new fishing inspectors implemented earlier this season are being criticized by both the locals and the hotels for devoting all of their time to policing the sportfishing fleet while the inshore gillnetters continue to illegally set their nets along the shore.
Be sure to check out our newest audio project, Gary Graham’s Baja Backroom. Unabridged taped interviews of individuals featured in Gary’s columns and articles are now available online either on iTunes or http://www.bajabackroom.com/

The first is with Captain Peter “Pete” Groesbeck, with his background of over 30 years of successful tournament fishing, discussing and comparing Southern California and Baja billfishing.

Water temperature 72-78
Air temperature 61-91
Humidity 53%
Wind: SSE 6 to 9 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:34 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:56 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Plenty of smaller yellows were found under the bird schools at the Entrada according to Enrique Soto, Puerto San Carlos. While there are few boats fishing offshore, reports of dorado being spotted by local shark fishermen sound tempting.

Punta Belcher is producing good catches of small halibut in the shallows twenty yards off the beach.
Also a few grouper and corvine are being caught from shore under the bridge entering Puerto San Carlos.

Lopez Mateos has been eerily quiet. Maybe the grouper bite reported last week broke wide open and they are trying to keep it to themselves?

Water temperature 69 - 77
Air temperature 64 -93
Humidity 36 %
Wind: WNW 13 to 17 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:39 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:07 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The sailfish action has died off a bit, with less than one fish per boat per day. But, this may be because most of the captains are concentrating on the yellowfin tuna, which have shown up in excellent numbers. Even though the blue water is still about 25 miles out, we have clean water at 16 miles. Most of the fish are being taken between the 16 and 20 mile mark.

A few blue marlin are being taken in the same area as the tuna, and small dorado are in the weed lines close to shore.

I fly fished with Greg Eynon of Vail, CO, up above Troncones and Saladita with Captain Ramon. Greg took several green jacks, a very nice sierra, and several black skipjack tuna. The schools of jack crevalle we were after were moving too fast and not slowing down enough to get a fly to them. We did not see any roosters.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 78-91
Humidity 69%
Wind: WSW 8 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:14 a.m. DST
Sunset 8:11 p.m. DST

Cabo San Lucas

The striped marlin have shown up again in fair numbers from the 1150to the Cabrillo Seamount. They have not shown much interest in live bait…they just play with them and turn their bills away from the bait that was dropped back into the pattern. However, most of the fish came in pretty aggressively to the lures. The boats where the mates and Captains worked the lures, teasing the fish into eating what they were already focused on, had best results. Boats targeting striped marlin averaged two fish per boat with some getting as many as four releases per trip.

A few scattered dorado have been caught by boats working the beach on the Cortez side, but with the water warming up there may be a better bite on its way.

Fishing from a panga has been the way to go and the cold water on the Pacific side did not deter the fish from biting. Action just to the north of the lighthouse yielded 16 firecracker yellowtail and another one lost that felt much larger. Pargo are beginning to show up as well and the catch is becoming a mixed bag. On the Cortez side there were scattered sierra between Cabo and San Jose and past San Jose they were getting into some decent bonito.

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 – 78
Air temperature 61 – 97
Humidity 45%
Wind: WNW 8 to 11 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:36 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:56 p.m. MST

Flu you…Fish Bite Anyway!

Endless Season Update 05/14/2009
REPORT #1166 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape


There have been very few guests at any of the hotels to enjoy the continued good fishing. Even without any reported cases of swine flu in Baja, it’s taken its toll.

If you can handle the heat, the beach has been producing plenty of jacks with some roosters mixed in including some larger class Bubbas above twenty-five pounds…also ladyfish, pompano and a few pargo.

Boats fishing along the shore found plenty of action near the rock reefs near Punta Colorada which included few good sized grouper and pargo as well as jacks and roosters. A bit farther out, there are some huge skipjack breezing on small sardina.
Out in the bluewater, boats lucky enough to find something floating usually found dorado under it and some are large up to thirty five pounds.

As the water warms up, the sails have begun to be seen mixed in with the marlin. Also an occasional swordfish pops up and few even bite.

Water temperature 72-78
Air temperature 64-94
Humidity 62%
Wind: ESE 6 to 8 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:37 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:53 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Plenty of wind and whitecaps made this a good week to fish the esteros and what do you know… the leopard grouper cooperated; none of them were huge but a few were up in the 10 pound range. Of course there were five spotted bay bass for every grouper. On the surface the orange mouthed corvina were eating small poppers.

Out at Cabo San Lazzaro there were yellows up to a Baja 12 lb. which by most standards are still firecracker class. Last and maybe least there were some small halibut hanging out in the shallows off the sand beaches.

Water temperature 69 - 77
Air temperature 61 -98
Humidity 67 %
Wind: WNW 13 to 18 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:42 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:03 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The fishing is picking up this week. There are very few clients, but the action on the yellowfin tuna has been excellent. Basically it is just the commercial pangueros who are doing most of the fishing for the tuna. With the blue water moving in to the 18 mile mark, the tuna were between 18 and 20 miles. But, reports are circulating that the bite is shutting off and they have moved out to about 40 miles. This is typical, and they should move back in close again within a few days. A few blue marlin are also being taken and the fleet is averaging one or two sailfish a day per boat.

There is still excellent action on the jack crevalle, and the roosterfish are making their long awaited arrival. There has been some very good roosterfish action reported down about 18 miles in the Petalan region.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 78-105
Humidity 68%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:14 a.m. DST
Sunset 8:11 p.m. DST

Cabo San Lucas

Some ‘stripeys’ showed up at the Punta Gorda and north of there in the warmer water. There were plenty of small skipjack on the bank as well as common pacific dolphin. A couple of boats reported seeing swordfish on the surface around the 95 spot on Thursday but no one was able to get a bite.

Dorado were scattered this week on the Cortez side of the Cape and perhaps 50% of the boats out there were able to get a hook into one of them.

The full moon brought about a few hungry wahoo up around the Punta Gorda area and the Inman Banks area.

Inshore fishing was almost non-existent on the Pacific side as wind and swells kept getting stronger and larger, the water became colder and got greener. The action on the Cortez side made up for it a bit though with some decent yellowtail to 25 pounds being found off of the rocky points as well as some nice sierra around 9 to 10 pounds. A scattering of other fish in the mix such as amberjack, small roosterfish, pargo and grouper made for some interesting trips on the Pangas.

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 – 78
Air temperature 67 – 107
Humidity 56%
Wind: WNW 11 to 15 knts
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:39 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:53 p.m. MST

Crowds Light…Fish Bite

Endless Season Update 05/07/2009
REPORT #1165 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

As I write this report the biggest impact of the swine flu is the lack of tourists. There are still no cases of swine flu in Baja Sur. For my take, read the cover story in this week’s WON. http://tiny.cc/i5K3z

Water temps continue to climb and the weather is great – winds are nice and calm in the mornings with very nominal afternoon winds and fishing is awesome! The striped marlin are everywhere! Running in packs of three or four and performing their aerial jumps for everyone's benefit, including their own!

Another bonus this week was the landing of a swordfish by Mark Rayor on his birthday from his boat, Jen Wren. More on this to come.

The photo below is from Lance Peterson. Lance said, “Fed a few (roosterfish) on Cinco de Mayo. This one was the best of the bunch. Since then it's been tough. Maybe I'm crazy...but perhaps it has something to do with the gill nets I've seen lately? Two nights ago a panga came in after sunset and set one right along the beach near our house. Yesterday I saw two groups of men swimming with gill nets to set them along the beach near the park boundary south of the Lighthouse (Miramar). The "authorities" are busy checking fishing licenses at East Cape while these guys run amok and do untold damage to the fishery. It’s frustrating to say the least.”

Dorado are being found up and down the East Cape, either free swimming or under almost anything floating - including dead sea lions. Near Punta Pescadero, a whale carcass was located that provided limits of dorado for several days. Some in the 50 to 60 pound range were reported over the days the carcass was seen. Another reported carcass was north off the Sierra Verde (slide rock area) that was also holding lots of dorado. Fishermen heading either north or south were having no trouble reaching their limit on dorado.

Late season sierra mackerel are still around and those being caught have been ‘grandes’.

Lots of sardina available and those with some ballyhoo rigs are doing better with their marlin catch and release.

Water temperature 72-77
Air temperature 65-95
Humidity 58%
Wind: S 1 to 1 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:41 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:50 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

The water has begun warming up which has improved fishing conditions for yellows, tuna, dorado and skipjack just a few miles outside the Entrada and Boca Santa Domingo all the way to the Thetis Bank.

In the Esteros there are a few snook up to 10 pounds along with some mangrove snapper and leopard grouper from 5 to 10 pound class.

The scallop season is now in full swing and will continue for the next few months.

Water temperature 69 - 77
Air temperature 65 -96
Humidity 50 %
Wind: WNW 7 to 9 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:46 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:00 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

Cool water is still the controlling factor, with the blue water moving even further out this week. Six miles off the beach, the water is 76º at the 100 fathom line and only 80º at the 1,000 fathom line (30 miles).
Even though there are very few marlin, sailfish and dorado being taken.

A very large area of yellowfin tuna has been located at 26 miles. Most of the tuna are averaging between 35 and 45 pounds, with a few larger ones down below the large schools of smaller fish.

Inshore action is still very good for jack crevalle, sierras, chulas, and black skipjack tuna.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 73-85
Humidity 83%
Wind: WSW at 12kt
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:17 a.m. DST
Sunset 8:09p.m. DST

Cabo San Lucas

There were striped marlin seen and a few fish caught up around the 1,000-fathom line on the Pacific side as well as quite a few seen and a few caught around the 95 spot. Catches averaged on release per boat with a couple of boats releasing three fish.

There were still quite a few of the football 10-15 pound yellowfin found around the area of the San Jaime Bank this week and the boats that got into them had a great time because of the lack of pressure. There were reports of some larger fish being found at the Cabrilla Seamount, supposedly fish to 50 pounds.

Almost every boat that fished the Cortez side this week caught at least one dorado, and some of the fish were really nice sized, to 50 pounds. Finding the feeding Frigate birds really helped zero in on an area.
Inshore fishing is still a happening thing with every Panga getting Sierra and having a good shot at Yellowtail to 20 pounds. Toss in the possibility of dorado, amberjack, Pargo and grouper and almost every boat came in with a nice mixed bag of fish. Action was scattered along both sides of the Cape.

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 – 78
Air temperature 64 – 95
Humidity 49%
Wind: WNW 8 to 11 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:43 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:49 p.m. MST

No Stinkin’ Swine Flu Here

Endless Season Update 04/30/2009REPORT #1164 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996



East Cape

Regarding the elephant on the beach, all of the talk about swine flu in Baja is just that…talk! As of today, there are nada, none, zip cases reported here in East Cape, as well as the rest of Baja Sur and West Coast of Mexico. The following link is a Google map with an up-to-date map of all reported cases. http://tiny.cc/V8Q8j

As promised, the Mexican Department de Pesca has begun inspecting to be sure that anglers are abiding by Mexican fishing regulations. Apparently a panga is being provided by alternating hotels each month.

Marlin action exploded early in the week but it has slowed somewhat as the baitballs have been broken up by schools of feeding skipjack.
Dorado action continued at a better than average rate for this time of the year with many larger fish being caught close in.
Beach action also has heated up early; larger roosters have begun to show in shallow water close to shore. There were reports of “Bubba” class roosters seen feeding on mullet. Lance Peterson sent us a photo of his first of the ’09 season caught earlier this week and photographed by his wife Colleen before it was released. He commented that he had lost even a larger one just minutes before hooking the one in the photo.

Water temperature 72-77
Air temperature 58-91
Humidity 42%
Wind: SE 4 to 6 knots
Conditions: Mostly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:45 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:47 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Angler count was even less than last week. Enrique Soto reported good action under the bird schools at the Entrada for a mixed bag of bonito, sierra and a few firecracker sized yellowtail. Dorado were still being reported by commercial fishermen 15 to 20 miles west of the entrada.

Lopez Mateos reported small tuna and yellows outside Bode Soledad, beginning at ten miles and improving out to twenty miles.

Estero action took a back seat as scallop season began capturing the attention of most of the locals this week.

Water temperature 69 - 77
Air temperature 59 -90
Humidity 50 %
Wind: NW 7 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:03 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:50 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The blue water fishing is improving, but not by a lot. A few sailfish are being reported, but the average is still only about 1 sailfish per day per boat. The clean water has come in to about the 18 mile mark, which is better than the 24 miles last week. The blue water is about 30 miles out.

With the very low fish counts this last couple of weeks, Jamie Morales, the owner of the Vamonos Fleet, was telling me this weekend's annual International Sailfish Tournament should be changed to jurel (jack crevalle), chulas, and barriletes (black skipjack tuna). This is because the action is still outstanding for these inshore fish.

However, a lot of other people must have thought the same thing, because the tournament has been delayed until the weekend of May 22nd. Of course, this was all done in solidarity for the other sporting events in Mexico, which are shut down due to the swine flu. There is no swine flu here in this state, but the federal mandated program is shutting down all sporting events in the republic.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 72-90
Humidity 61%
Wind: WSW at 12kt
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:20 a.m. CDST
Sunset 8:036p.m. CDST

Cabo San Lucas

The warm spot of water between the 1150 and the Cabrilla Seamount was expected to give up a couple of blues or blacks but failed to produce much of anything at all other than a couple of dorado. There were a few tailing fish sighted on the Cortez side.

We had a couple of good days of fishing for football tuna in the 5 to 15 pound class in the middle of the week. The fish were with a large pod of dolphin on the Pacific side just to the south of the San Jaime Banks. When the wind picked up on Thursday the fish were more difficult to find.

Just like last week, once again it was a case of scattered fish. Almost every boat was able to get a dorado this week, and a few boats managed to get three or four.

Inshore, the bite is still on for sierra and yellowtail; it’s decent for amberjack and pargo and there are a few grouper to add to the mix. The yellowtail were up around Los Arcos on the Pacific side and the sierra were on the Cortez side of the Cape. When the winds blew hard in the middle of the week, the water really greened up on the Pacific coast and most of the action moved to the Cortez side.George &

Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 – 78
Air temperature 61 – 95
Humidity 30%
Wind: SSE 7 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:47 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:46 p.m. MST

May Action Comes Early

Endless Season Update 04/23/2009
REPORT #1163 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

By all accounts, the past few days have been the best in 2009 so far. With the help of a floating dead whale and flat seas, the dorado action was ‘off the charts’ providing nonstop action on both fly and conventional.

Inshore action continued with its winning ways providing plenty of bait which attracted roosters, jacks and pompano…enough to keep rods bent. Even after being thrashed last week by wind, the beach has turned the corner and those fishing from shore in the past few days have had the kind of action normally not expected until later in the spring.

Water temperature 67-73
Air temperature 56-86
Humidity 48%
Wind: NNW 13 to 18 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:58 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:41 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Very few anglers went out but the commercial guys are still talking about the dorado around the shark buoys west of the Entrada. Skipjack and small tuna remain in easy striking distance of Boca de Soledad.

The Esteros have also been lightly fished but there were a few grouper and mangrove snapper all the way up to the top end of the bay. There are also a few small halibut on the sandy beaches near the inside of the Boca.

Water temperature 67 - 77
Air temperature 52 -81
Humidity 45 %
Wind: WNW 12 to 16 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:03 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:50 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

Being the blue water has moved out beyond the 24 mile mark, the blue water fishing is practically non-existent this week for the sport fishing fleet. They are only averaging less than a sailfish a day per boat. The only reports of decent blue water fishing are coming in from the commercial pangueros. They are working an area from 45 to 50 miles out, and scoring on yellowfin tuna and blue marlin.

There is a hot bite going on however. The jack crevalle, chulas and black skipjack tuna are providing lots of action for the light-line fishermen. The majority of the action is taking place between 1/2 to 2 miles off the beach, all up and down the coast. (A chula is an excellent tasting small tuna, between 4 and 6 pounds, with white meat and a serious set of dentures).
Most of the inshore fish are being taken on trolled Rapalas.
Talking to Jaime this morning on the municipal pier, he told me how yesterday they even encountered a school of large jacks at 17 miles. The 25 pound (average) fish were so hungry he ended up with a quadruple hookup on his sailfish baits.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 68-86
Humidity 62%
Wind: WSW at 13knt
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:29 a.m. CST
Sunset 8:03 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas

The striped marlin bite has slowly begun to pick back up with fish showing on the surface on the Cortez side of the Cape. Most of the fish being caught are found tailing on the surface and the bites have been pretty evenly mixed between live and dead bait. On the Pacific side there have been a couple of fish found, but overall everyone pretty much agreed that inside the Pacific side banks the water is too cool for much action. There were reports of a couple of blue and black marlin giving some adrenalin rushes out there.

Once again the yellowfin tuna failed to show in any numbers. There were a few fish found, but they were at quite a distance from Cabo. It took several hours running time to get into the productive waters, such as they were, and once there it took quite a long time to find any fish, it there were any. A few schools were found 40 miles to the southwest, in the 20 to 35 pound class. That meant a long run for the possibility of getting a couple of small tuna…most anglers said never mind.

There were mostly scattered dorado; however, most boats were able to get at least one, and a few boats managed to get three or four. The warm water on the Cortez side produced the fish and the best area was three to five miles off the beach in the same area that held most of the striped marlin.

Wahoo were scattered with a few fish found in the early part of the week in the Punta Gorda, Inman Bank area. These fish averaged 25 pounds and swimming plugs had the best results.

Sierra and yellowtail continued to provide the best inshore action, but there was also a fair bite on amberjack and pargo and a few grouper to add to the mix. Most of the action early in the week was taking place on the Cortez side of the Cape but as the winds died down the bite moved back to the Pacific side off of Los Arcos.

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 – 78
Air temperature 56 – 86
Humidity 48%
Wind: W 9 to 12 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:58 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:41 p.m. MST

Offshore Cool, Inshore Just Right

Endless Season Update 04/16/2009
REPORT #1162 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996







East Cape

Our clients found the offshore a little cool but the inshore was just right, yielding multiple species on the fly.
Cecilia “Pudge” Kleinkauf, Anchorage, Alaska, visited this week with a group of mostly seasoned Baja anglers with one angler on her first trip to Baja. They caught a variety of fish which included roosterfish, red snapper, pargo, cabrilla, sierra mackerel, pompano and white bonito all round. By the end of the trip almost everyone had achieved a personal best or a new species!

Heggie Wilson, from Park City, Utah, caught a fish on his second cast in the morning and it never slowed down. They fished the reef in front of Leonero until almost 10 a.m. for 5 different species. He ended up the day with 8 different species. it was full speed most of the day!

Water temperature 67-73
Air temperature 56-86
Humidity 48%
Wind: NNW 13 to 18 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:58 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:41 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Enrique Soto reported that the shark fishermen were finding dorado around the shark buoys twenty miles west of the Entrada. Up at Lopez Mateos outside the Boca ten miles, there are some small yellowfin tuna with skipjack mixed in.

Water temperature 49 - 82
Air temperature 52 -81
Humidity 45 %
Wind: WNW 12 to 16 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:03 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:50 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The fishing and conditions picked up a bit this week. Even though the fleet is only averaging about one or two sailfish a day per boat, this should improve soon.
The warm, 80° blue water is about 12 miles off the beach and several blue marlin are being hooked. The boats are averaging about one marlin hookup for every five boats each day.
Santiago, on the panga Gitana, had one decent day with his clients and released three sailfish. Not to be outdone, his brother Adan on the panga Gitana II, released four sails in one day.
The jack crevalle action bounced back to life, with lots of the larger 15- to 20-pound hard fighting fish being reported around the White Rocks, and on down to Petatlan (about 7.5 and 16 miles south of Zihuatanejo).

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 68-86
Humidity 62%
Wind: WSW at 13knt
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:29 a.m. CST
Sunset 8:03 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas

The concentration of striped marlin that we saw last week up in the Destilladera area was a short-lived showing that only lasted about three days as far as having a good bite. Later in the week the bite dropped off and a really good day might have resulted in three fish released. As we moved toward the end of the week, the fish were to be found almost everywhere up in the Sea of Cortez.

Yellowfin tuna have still failed to show up in any numbers but a school was found well to the south of the San Jaime during the middle of the week. A few boats were able to post good numbers on fish averaging 25 pounds, with an occasional fish pushing 40 pounds.
Almost every boat was able to get a dorado this week, and a few boats managed to get three or four. The warm water on the Cortez side produced the fish and the best area was three to five miles off the beach, the same area that held most of the striped marlin.

Strong winds this week made the inshore fishing a bit tough on the Pacific side but the area off of Los Arcos produced decent yellowtail early in the week for boats using iron in 150 feet of water. Later in the week the anglers all moved to the south side of the lighthouse and up on the Cortez side of the Cape to get away from the wind. The sierra bite continued to be very good and anyone who really tried was able to limit out on fish to 9 pounds. An on/off bite on red snapper kept every day a surprise and there were a few species such as roosterfish, amberjack, ladyfish, needlefish and skipjack that kept the action fairly constant.

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 – 78
Air temperature 56 – 86
Humidity 48%
Wind: W 9 to 12 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:58 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:41 p.m. MST

“Ocho Ocho” - the Place to Go

Endless Season Update 04/09/2009
REPORT #1161 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Best action reported is to the north, close to the 88. Loads of dorado and some marlin.
Closer to shore, anything floating seems to be holding schools of small dorado.
Same story inshore with a continuing run of quality roosters mixed in with some big-shouldered jacks north of Punta Pescadero all the way to Muertos.

Water temperature 67-73
Air temperature 57-87
Humidity 60%
Wind: NNW 8 to 11 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:03 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:38 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Outside, the dorado can be found around the shark buoys and the small yellowfin tuna are within ten miles of Boca de Soledad. There’s still some decent action at the Entrada for small yellows and some remaining sierra.

Estero action has been spotty. The few anglers fishing there found small snook, grouper and snapper at Devil’s Curve.

Water temperature 67 - 73
Air temperature 52 -81
Humidity 55 %
Wind: WNW 14 to 19 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:10 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:47 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

For all species, the fishing here has really been very slow this week. Historically, this is a typical April trend. Then when the cooler water current moves out, the fishing rebounds after the first week of May.

The blue water is still holding between 10 and 12 miles out, but the average is only about 1 sailfish per boat, per day. I was on the beach early this morning watching the night fishermen bring in their catch, and even it was very small. However, this could be attributed to the full moon phase. There was one commercial fisherman who had a few football sized yellowfin tuna, but he said he had to go 50 miles to find them.

Even the inshore jack crevalle action, which has been so hot the last few weeks, completely shut off this week.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 68-86
Humidity 72%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:40 a.m. CST
Sunset 8:00 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas

This time of year the Sea of Cortez, specifically up at the Punta Gorda area around the Inman Banks is where you’ll find the best striped marlin action…mostly tailing fish and you’ll need to be pretty accurate with your casts. However, if you manage to get bait within 10 feet, the chances are pretty good of getting a hookup. The better scoring boats are releasing 5 to 7 fish per day; others, one or two.

A few nice yellowfin were recently caught at the Gorda Banks, nothing earthshaking but some decent fish to 50 pounds. There were also several pods of dolphin that did have fish with them, 10 to 20 pound football-sized fish. Most were on the Cortez side of the cape.

There have been scattered 20+ pound dorado in the warmer waters offshore on the Sea of Cortez. Hook one up and there’s a fair chance of getting another following behind the hooked one. Spotting the frigates feeding was the key, although blind trolling resulted in some as well.

Inshore action has definitely been good. Sierra and yellowtail continue to dominate the inshore action. While not large, the sierra are in great numbers once the schools were found. There has been great action just outside the beach on the Pacific side at Pueblo Bonita Sunset Resort and on the Cortez side outside the Cabo Del Sol Golf Course. Most boats have been able to get limits for their anglers using sardina as live bait, but blue/silver swimming plugs and hootchies did well also. A few yellowtail in the 8 to 10 pound class with a few fish to 25 pounds and an occasional fish that could not be stopped. Added to the mix of fish caught were the occasional pargo and amberjack as well as some small roosterfish.

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 – 78
Air temperature 61 – 91
Humidity 62%
Wind: WNW 14 to 19 kts
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:04 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:38 p.m. MST

Early Billfish Pop

Endless Season Update 04/02/2009
REPORT #1160 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape
Every day can be different this time of the year. The last few days have been terrific!

Mark Rayor, Vista Sea Sport, reported, “Yesterday, we fished straight east about 15 miles. There was a wide open dorado bite to the north of us. Although we saw jumpers all over, the marlin didn’t bite until the afternoon and we ended up with two. Our second one was only 4.5 miles from the house.”
Beach action was best from La Ribera to the lighthouse with numerous small schools of sardina attracting roosters, jacks and ladyfish right up to the shore line.

Cerralvo Island fishing report:

“Outside the warm water bulge continues to produce dorado on the buoys, while yellowtail action is slightly slower but still good. Sierra, cabrilla and pargo are abundant inshore and the winds are calming more and more.” Tim Hatler
Water temperature 67-73
Air temperature 58-84
Humidity 75%
Wind: SE 4 to 5 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:11 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:46 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Regardless of the cool water, the dorado remain just a few miles offshore. There are also some football-sized tuna with skipjack mixed in.

The esteros were lightly fished again this week but they did yield a few grouper, spotted bay bass and on the surface, some small sierra and corvina.

Water temperature 67 - 73
Air temperature 52 -82
Humidity 80 %
Wind: W 9 to 13 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:17 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:43 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

With almost the cruelty of a bad April Fools joke, you can be fishing in beautiful blue water, and not see a sign of life. Then you check the water temperature. The 77º reading makes it obvious if you want to catch a sailfish, instead of trolling lures, you would be better off trolling a jacket.

There is a strong cold current pushing the blue water, and it is meandering. It can be at 4 miles in the morning, and then 10 miles in the afternoon. The boats are only averaging one sailfish a day per boat.

There are no tuna or dorado showing, and even the blue marlin bite has died off. Historically, this is very typical for April. In a couple of weeks, the private yachts will start arriving and will be fishing out at the 45 to 50 mile mark. They will do well on blue marlin and large yellowfin tuna. It is all a prelude for the good things which start happening in May.

The best action on the coast is the large jack crevalle. Earlier in the week, Gordon Krantz of Texas fished with Cheva on the Dos Hermanos II. This is what he had to say: "We caught yellowtail jacks till my poor old arms couldn't take it anymore. The most fun, however, was catching them on top of the water...Poppers." The hard fighting jacks were averaging between 18 and 25 pounds.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 68-86
Humidity 72%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:40 a.m. CST
Sunset 8:00 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas

There have been just a few striped marlin caught this week. Most of these fish were found on the Pacific side inside the San Jaime Bank area. These fish have been tailing down-sea and when you found a hungry one, you had a chance at a hook-up. The problem was, not many of the fish were hungry! Maybe a quarter of the boats fishing this week returned with a Marlin flag, quite a difference from last month.

There were plenty of bonito to be hooked up, and in those schools yellowfin were reported as well, but they just would not bite.

There were some dorado to be found in the warmer waters on the Cortez side of the Cape this past week. The waters just offshore of the Westin and at the Inman Bank held fish that were not large, but there were some decent numbers averaging 12 pounds. Offshore just a few miles there were larger fish to 40 pounds…few and far between.

Inshore was definitely the way to go this week if you wanted action. Sierra and yellowtail continued to dominate the inshore action this week. While not large, the sierra was in great numbers once the schools were found. There was great action just outside the beach on the Pacific side at Pueblo Bonita Sunset Resort and on the Cortez side outside the Cabo Del Sol Golf Course. There were not great numbers of yellowtail found this week, but they were showing up in the fish boxes of the pangas. Most of them were firecracker fish in the 8 to 10 pound class, but there were a few nice fish to 25 pounds and an occasional fish that could not be stopped. Added to the mix of fish caught were the occasional pargo and amberjack as well as some small roosterfish.

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 – 78
Air temperature 58 – 84
Humidity 75%
Wind: WNW 11 to 15 knots
Conditions: Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:11 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:36 p.m. MST

Roosters…Yellows…Dorado!

Endless Season Update 03/26/2009
REPORT #1159 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape


Inshore action dominated this week. Sierra and a few good quality yellowtail were found from Cardonal to Punta Arena, with the largest concentration of sierra from Punta Pescadero to El Cardonal. Warmer water produced a few jacks and roosters as well.

Rumors of offshore dorado some distance from the beach failed to entice many out there. There didn’t seem to be much concentration, so it made for a long boat ride.
The recent nice weather has been favorable for fishing from the beach and the few that tried it reported good signs of bait, particularly from La Ribera to Punta Pescadero.

Palapas Ventana (Las Arenas area) report: “Mackerel are gone locally - but there are plenty of sardina that will do the job to get those yellowtail for those using live bait. Just keep them out of the rocks please --no slack line ever -- I just bent a spear shaft up good by playing with a 30 pounder too long -- now imagine what a 50 pounder will do to you and your gear!

Now the weird thing is that dorado just showed up and they are good size. Why? Sea surface temps have spiked a little outside towards 88 - I guess that’s why... but under the backside buoys, the dorado are congregating…waiting for flies and baits!! Too much fun!!

Winds are up and down this time of year but the lulls are lengthening and the weather is warming up fast!!” Tim Hatler

Water temperature 67-73
Air temperature 56-86
Humidity 75%
Wind: ESE 6 to 8 knots
Conditions: Mostly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:17 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:32 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

As early as it is the dorado and football sized tuna are showing around the shark buoys according the commercial fishermen. Inside was pretty much the same story with little sportfishing activity. The Entrada is still providing some decent action for small yellows and sierra. Most of the sandy beaches have small halibut in shallow water.

Up in the Esteros, surface action for corvina was widespread from Puerto San Carlos to above Lopez Mateos. Down deeper it was a slow pick for both grouper and mangrove snapper.

Water temperature 67 - 73
Air temperature 51 -83
Humidity 77 %
Wind: WNW 10 to 13 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:32 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:37 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80º blue water has moved out to about the 12 mile mark, with the offshore action slowing down a bit. The boats are only averaging 1 to 2 sailfish a day each. Few dorado are being caught, and the blue marlin bite has even slowed. No tuna were reported.
The one highlight is the jack crevalle action has really turned on big time. Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, reported the big jacks are running between 20 and 25 pounds. He is getting them as they crash on bait about a 1/2 mile off the surf line. These are very hard fighting fish and excellent on light gear or the fly rod. He also reports a lot of sierra.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 72-90
Humidity 60%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:45 a.m. CST
Sunset 7:58 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas

The wide open billfish bite on the Golden Gate that began last November seems to have finally come to a close. Now we are most likely going to be doing the normal fishing, casting live bait in front of tailing fish as they move through the area. With the water cooling down and turning a bit green, we might expect to see a few swordfish in the next few weeks.

There has been very little yellowfin tuna action with only a few fish being reported for the entire fleet. Most of the dorado action is in the warmer waters on the Cortez side and inshore most of the fish taken were in the 12 to 15 pound class with a few larger ones up to 40 pounds occasionally found offshore.

Sierra and yellowtail continued to dominate the inshore action. While not large, the sierra were in great numbers once the schools were located. Though not in great numbers, a few yellowtail have been showing up in the fish boxes of the pangas. Most of them were firecracker-sized fish in the 8 to 10 pound class, but there were a few to 25 pounds and an occasional large fish that could not be stopped. Added to the mix of fish caught were the occasional pargo and amberjack as well as some small roosterfish. The fishing action has mostly been inshore, but there were some days when the bonito averaged 15 pounds and provided a good fight on the right gear when fishing offshore.

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 – 78
Air temperature 56 – 86
Humidity 67%
Wind: WNW 11 to 14 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:18 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:33 p.m. MST

Nicer Weather…Better Bite

Endless Season Update 03/19/2009
REPORT #1158 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape
















The recent nice weather was favorable for fishing from the beach photo Mark Rayor
Inshore action dominated this week. Sierra and a few good quality yellowtail were found from Cardonal to Punta Arena, with the largest concentration of sierra from Punta Pescadero to El Cardonal. Warmer water produced a few jacks and small roosters as well.

Rumors of offshore dorado some distance from the beach failed to entice anyone out there. There didn’t seem to be much concentration, so it made for a long boat ride.
The recent nice weather was favorable for fishing from the beach and the few that tried it reported good signs of bait, particularly from La Ribera to Punta Pescadero.

Water temperature 67-73
Air temperature 58-83
Humidity 48%
Wind: SSE 5 to 7 knots
Conditions: Mostly Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:24 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:30 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Whale watching has begun to wind down and rough conditions outside kept the few anglers inside. There were small bait schools on the surface at the Entrada. With birds diving from above and sierra and small yellows chasing the bait from below, it created quite a commotion, making it easy to see from a long way off.

Punta Belcher even produced a few halibut in the shallows!

Up in the Esteros, it was mostly bay bass with an occasional grouper or snapper. There were a few corvina to be had at high slack under the bridge at the entrance to Puerto San Carlos.

Water temperature 67 - 73
Air temperature 57 -82
Humidity 93 %
Wind: W 10 to 13 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:32 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:37 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

Considering we are in a full moon period, with the 80 degree blue water between 8 and 10 miles off the beach, the sailfish action is holding up as well as could be hoped for. Dorado are sparse, but the cooler water pushing down from the North is still bringing blue marlin into the area.

Plus, because of a strong pelagic crab migration moving through the area, the game fish are not eating off color trolled baits aggressively. If you are trolling bait, it better have a lot of red to match the color of the crab.
Each boat in the fleet is raising 3 to 4 sailfish a day and catching 1 or 2. The blue marlin are still holding with about 30 percent of the fleet getting strikes.
Martin, on the cruiser, Nautilus, hooked two blue marlin in one day, and was only able to leader the smallest. It was estimated to be about 180 pounds. On the second day he fished, they released 3 sailfish.
Margarito, on the cruiser, Gaby, reported averaging 1 or 2 sailfish a day in the blue water. He then went inshore one day and they got into a lot of large jack crevalle near the rock pinnacles in front of Ixtapa.

Mike Buckley and Capt. Francisco on the panga, Huntress, are still holding up to have the best weekly catches of the fleet. Mike reported this: "Capt. Francisco had a good week releasing 9 sailfish and 2 striped marlin on three trips. The fish have moved out past the 16 mile line with most of the action between the 20 and 25 mile lines. Lots of clean blue water all over and multiple strikes are common. Several blue marlin have been landed this week."

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 70488
Humidity 70%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:51 a.m. CST
Sunset 7:57 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas

The striped marlin bite tapered off a bit this week as we saw the full moon make its appearance. With the fish feeding all night long, the fish that were caught were biting in the late afternoon. For this reason most of the charter fleet boats were not flying many marlin flags on their return. The few private boats that braved the weather out there and stayed until 5 or 6 PM returned flying outriggers full of blue flags. With less competition in the afternoon and the fish starting to feed, they were able to do quite well.

Once again there were not very many fish caught this week. The few fish that were caught this week were from either very fast moving small groups of dolphin or as a result of heavy chumming with sardinas up around Punta Gorda.

There were scattered dorado caught among the feeders at the Golden Gate Bank as well as some fish scattered up around the Punta Gorda area early in the week. Without any floating debris to hold them we have just not seen very many this week.

Sierra were the fish of the week inshore, with the appearance of some decent yellowtail adding to the excitement for those fishing close to the beach. Add in the occasional jack crevalle, pargo and amberjack, and factor in the conditions offshore, I think that the pangas were the way to go this past week!

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 – 78
Air temperature 57 – 86
Humidity 50%
Wind: WNW 8 to 10 knots
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:25 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:30 p.m. MST

Puerto San Carlos Tournament a Local Hit

Endless Season Update 03/12/2009
REPORT #1157 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996




Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico



The composite photo above from the Puerto San Carlos Copa Gobernador Tournament last weekend is irrefutable evidence of how popular this series of tournaments has become in Southern Baja. The photo of families crowded together shoulder to shoulder fishing from the Puerto San Carlos commercial pier is one that many would have never thought would happen.

Clicerio Mercado, organizer of the Copa Gobernador Tournaments in Baja has done an outstanding job of bringing the communities together and introducing sportfishing to families and their kids and it is working. Each year the number of participants grows. Why wouldn’t it? Small entry fees, cash prizes, free stuff…hats, t-shirts, good food and of course the fish.

Corvina, mojarra, cabrilla and yellowtail showed up in good enough numbers to make it a contest. As the winners were announced everyone whooped and hollered for their friend and neighbors who won the cash prizes.

According to Mercado, much of the events success was attributable to API office in San Carlos.

Congratulations to our good friend Captain Sergio Garcia from Lopez Mateos for his win in the grouper division.

Results

Water temperature 67 - 73
Air temperature 52 -73
Humidity 82 %
Wind: NW 13 to 17 knots
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:39 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:34 p.m. MST

East Cape

Local Jim Gray with yellowtail caught near Rancho Leonero photo provided by John Torres
Unseasonably calm weather produced an uptick in the fishing action. While there were few boats and anglers to capitalize on the good bite, a couple of pangas found a drifting dead seal and the fly fishermen racked up some double digit numbers of dorado…some of them up to forty-five pounds. It was literally fish till you drop or until you can’t lift a rod anymore.

The warmer water below the light house also had a few striped marlin but there were few anglers who cared.

The inshore was the place to be or maybe no one was willing to go any farther. Roosterfish cruising well within casting range could be seen at several different beaches all week with the lack of wind.

The big news was the ongoing yellowtail bite that keeps going off sporadically. One day it is over the top and the next it is all about pelicans sitting on the water. When it does go off, it is ‘bendo’ for yellows all the way up to fifty pounds. The fifty pound ones are probably the ones that got away…you know how fisherman are.

Don’t forget the sierra that are a nuisance when they buzz through at the same time as the yellows, leaving you with a line fluttering in the breeze as they bite through the line and all.

Water temperature 67-73
Air temperature 60-75
Humidity 77%
Wind: NE 4 to 5 knots
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 7:31 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:27 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

This week we are averaging about 1 or 2 sailfish a day per boat. Dorado are sparse, but the blue marlin bite is heating up. The 81º blue water is still only 5 or 6 miles off the beach, but the boats that are getting in on most of the action are getting their fish from 18 to 20 miles out. The cooler 78º water is still holding to the North, but should move in within the next couple of weeks. This will bring in the blue marlin in force.

At least 30% of the boats are getting a shot at the big blues, and a few of them have been leadered every day this week.

The super panga, Huntress, with Mike Buckley and Captain Francisco, is still holding up to be the high boat in the fleet, and has been for this last 4 weeks. When they find the fish, they are still getting double and triple hook ups, with one day being a double on sailfish, and a blue marlin taking the third bait. However, as with all the boats, the fish are not aggressive and are short-biting the baits. The total for the Huntress was 30 strikes for 5 days of fishing, and 10 sailfish released. They also got a nice 40 pound dorado.

Santiago, on the panga Gitana, is averaging 2 sailfish a day released, and got a nice blue marlin yesterday (Tuesday).

Early in the week, the private boat Moonlight, out of Marina Ixtapa, fishing with Arturo Ramirez of Morelia, Michoacán, caught a nice 500 pound blue marlin, and then the next day took a huge 56 pound dorado.

Ed Kunze

Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 70-88
Humidity 78%
Wind: ENE at 3 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:56 a.m. CST
Sunset 7:55 p.m. CST

Cabo San Lucas

The amazing striped marlin action continues as the Golden Gate area went red hot again. It was combat fishing most of the time with boats running to the feeders as they popped up. Many boats caught good numbers by drifting with live baits set deep, while the rest of the fleet ran around chasing the bird schools. Getting your live bait on site was the key to getting good numbers.

Dorado were scattered among the feeders at the Golden Gate Bank, and there were a few fish up around the Punta Gorda area as well. The lack of floating debris to hold them makes them harder to find.

Limits of sierra are the norm now, and there is also a good showing of pargo, amberjack and yellowtail on the Pacific side.

While there has been an extraordinary showing of whales this year they seem to be beginning their northward migration.

George & Mary Landrum

Water temperature 75 – 78
Air temperature 61 – 84
Humidity 75%
Wind: WNW 13 knots
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:31 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:28 p.m. MST