East Cape
The weather is cooler then normal for this time of year, but Spring seems to have finally arrived. Offshore, there are plenty of billfish to look at; the trick is to get them to bite. If you want football-size tuna they are way outside (45 miles). Inshore action began to improve; Bubba has arrived, still as finicky as ever. Spa reported one in the 50-pound class and our clients are getting a few shots a day from the beach. We are seeing an increase in dorado, but we are still waiting for the hot bite to begin. All-in-all things are looking up as we get ready for a hot June.
For those of you who missed it, here is a link to our update on the ATV\Beach situation.
http://www.bajafly.com/Newsletter/atv.htm
Baja on the Fly
Water temperature 71-80
Air temperature 60-82
Humidity 64%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:33 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:59 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay , Baja Mexico
Giant squid and scallops seem to be on everybody's mind this week. However, with a little digging I did find out that there are a few dorado off the beach outside of Lopez Mateos. Corvina and pargo seemed to be the catch of the day in the esteros. Up at Devil’s Curve there were a few snook that got the better of our clients. They were headed back out today to give them another chance.
Water temperature 62-71
Air temperature 66-71
Humidity 87%
Wind: WSW 15 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:37 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:10 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 80° blue water is only 3 to 4 miles off the beach. The full moon period has slowed the sailfish catch a bit, with only a 1 to 2 fish a day average per boat. But, what we lack in quantity is more than made up in quality. We are recording some great catches of blue marlin and large yellowfin tuna.
The fleet is putting out an average of about 15 boats a day on the water. At least a third of those are fishing inshore, but we are averaging two blue marlin each day (caught). That does not count the thrown hooks, or the stories told by all of the broken lines or spooled reels. The average blue is weighing in at about 250-pounds. A few of the blue marlin, like one by Luis on the panga Gringo Loco, are hitting the 500-pound mark, and several others are in the 130- to 180-pound range. These smaller fish are ideal for a person to accomplish his goal for a blue marlin on the fly rod.
Ed Garvis, of Anaheim, Calif., fishing with Arturo on the panga Whisky III, took a 300-pound tuna. The schools are breezing in and out and when you find a feeding school of tuna, they are going to be big. Several of the commercial pangeros have boated tuna in the 150- to 250-pound class this week. As with the marlin and sailfish, almost all the action is only about 8 to 10 miles offshore.
Both of the Dos Hermanos boats have been fishing the inshore this week. Cheva and Adolpho told me this morning (Sat.) they have really been doing well on the big jack crevalle and roosterfish. Between the two boats, they are averaging about 14 of the jacks and 8 roosters each day. The timing is about right; because we normally see the big roosters arrive in volume by the 1st of June
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 77 - 89
Humidity 64%
Wind: SW 6 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:10 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:15 p.m. CDT
San Jose, Guatemala
Weather was unsettled after the hurricane that passed well below our area. The lack of clients this week left the fleet tied to the dock while the local pangeros whacked the dorado. Sailfish? Who knows! We bet they are out there waiting for someone to come play.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 86
Humidity 94%
Wind: SSE 4 mph
Conditions: Thunder Storms
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 5:34 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:26 p.m. CST
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Friday, May 27, 2005
East Cape Beaches and ATVs
There seems to be some confusion regarding beach access and the use of ATVs on the beaches in East Cape. Recently, because of many complaints about misuse of the rental ATVs on East Cape beaches, the Mexican Government decided to enforce their law forbidding the use of all vehicles on the beach.
Profepa is the Government Agency responsible for the enforcement. In addition to a fine, anyone using an ATV or any vehicle may have the vehicle impounded.
Baja on the Fly was the first to offer Beach Trips using ATVs to access the East Cape beaches for fly-fishing. While we have discontinued the use of ATVs on the beach, we have not stopped fishing the beach. Most of the East Cape beaches may be reached using access roads that parallel the beaches. ATVs are legal on those roads. Obviously, this means less time riding and more time fishing – which we suspect will be more productive. However, all of us will miss the unique opportunity of cruising the beaches on an ATV.
We believe that the law is the law and while we don’t like it, we will respect the Mexican Government’s wishes, just as we would with any state or federal law in the United States.
We would not want an incident with the Mexican Government to ruin your trip with us.
That being said, if you are looking for a unique opportunity to pursue the legendary roosterfish on an East Cape beach, let us know. Baja on the Fly will always provide you with a fun, safe, legal trip with the best guides in Baja!
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Charlie Returns to East Cape
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
The good news is that the tuna showed up this week and we have had fairly consistent teasing action for smaller roosterfish. Also, we found a few dorado close to shore; and we even had a few pompano in front of Punta Colorada. In the chum department, the bait guys are having a tough time making bait. The mackerel have gone away. They have been concentrating their efforts on mullet and have pronounced it too much work for few fish. The schools are very small and each net-throw yields only a few mullet at a time. No one has seen any sardina to speak of. The weather this morning is flat calm and the promise of a hot tuna bite has everyone up and ready to get their rod bent.
Baja on the Fly
Water temperature 71-78
Air temperature 60-89
Humidity 32%
Wind: 8 mph from the WNW
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:35 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:55 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay , Baja Mexico
Offshore 25 miles on a 230˚ heading produced decent tuna up to 25-pounds. Back closer to shore near Punta Hughes, a few giant squid were found, but seemed to be moving up to the north. Up at the Thetis, there were a few grouper reported, but everyone is still waiting for the exotics to arrive. Esteros producing fair catches of corvina, pargo and a few small leopard groupers. Devil’s Curve produced primarily corvina, with the snook still among the missing.
Water temperature 62-71
Air temperature 66-75
Humidity 87%
Wind: West 17 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:39 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:07 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 80ยบ blue water is just off the beach and the fishing is definitely improving. Five pangas took the 35-mile run and stationed themselves out of Puerto Vicente Gro. this week for a large group of people. Temo on the Sequestra Amor, Adolpho on the Dos Hermanos, Cheva on the Dos Hermanos II, Arturo on the Janeth, and Indio (Alex) on the Gran Jefe all fished the beaches for roosters and about 10 miles off the point for sails. Not many roosters showed up, but a lot of large jack crevalle gave them some decent action on the beach. In the blue water, they averaged about three sailfish a day, several yellowfin tuna, and a blue marlin.
Locally here in Zihuatanejo, Santiago on the panga Gitana, also made a run South, releasing three sailfish and boating 10 nice yellowfin tuna with client Gary Stokes.
The blue marlin bite is still going strong, with about one strike for every three boats on the water. Captain Leo, fishing off a private yacht out of the Ixtapa Marina, targeted the marlin and got two to the leader in one day. Indio, on the Gran Jefe also boated a 400-pound + blue marlin.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 77 - 89
Humidity 83%
Wind: WSW 13 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:11 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:13 p.m. CDT
San Jose, Guatemala
The weather has been great over the last week with light winds and pleasant conditions. The potential bad weather associated with Tropical Depression Adrian never really made much of an impact on the San Jose area of Guatemala. The anglers are few and far between, but those that did come this way experienced some great action. There were three boats out for a couple of days, and all three had double digit days, with twice as many shots as releases. The run to fish was 22-32 miles.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 84
Humidity 94%
Wind: WSW 8 mph
Conditions: Thunder Storms
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 5:35 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:24 p.m. CST
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
The good news is that the tuna showed up this week and we have had fairly consistent teasing action for smaller roosterfish. Also, we found a few dorado close to shore; and we even had a few pompano in front of Punta Colorada. In the chum department, the bait guys are having a tough time making bait. The mackerel have gone away. They have been concentrating their efforts on mullet and have pronounced it too much work for few fish. The schools are very small and each net-throw yields only a few mullet at a time. No one has seen any sardina to speak of. The weather this morning is flat calm and the promise of a hot tuna bite has everyone up and ready to get their rod bent.
Baja on the Fly
Water temperature 71-78
Air temperature 60-89
Humidity 32%
Wind: 8 mph from the WNW
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:35 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:55 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay , Baja Mexico
Offshore 25 miles on a 230˚ heading produced decent tuna up to 25-pounds. Back closer to shore near Punta Hughes, a few giant squid were found, but seemed to be moving up to the north. Up at the Thetis, there were a few grouper reported, but everyone is still waiting for the exotics to arrive. Esteros producing fair catches of corvina, pargo and a few small leopard groupers. Devil’s Curve produced primarily corvina, with the snook still among the missing.
Water temperature 62-71
Air temperature 66-75
Humidity 87%
Wind: West 17 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:39 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:07 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 80ยบ blue water is just off the beach and the fishing is definitely improving. Five pangas took the 35-mile run and stationed themselves out of Puerto Vicente Gro. this week for a large group of people. Temo on the Sequestra Amor, Adolpho on the Dos Hermanos, Cheva on the Dos Hermanos II, Arturo on the Janeth, and Indio (Alex) on the Gran Jefe all fished the beaches for roosters and about 10 miles off the point for sails. Not many roosters showed up, but a lot of large jack crevalle gave them some decent action on the beach. In the blue water, they averaged about three sailfish a day, several yellowfin tuna, and a blue marlin.
Locally here in Zihuatanejo, Santiago on the panga Gitana, also made a run South, releasing three sailfish and boating 10 nice yellowfin tuna with client Gary Stokes.
The blue marlin bite is still going strong, with about one strike for every three boats on the water. Captain Leo, fishing off a private yacht out of the Ixtapa Marina, targeted the marlin and got two to the leader in one day. Indio, on the Gran Jefe also boated a 400-pound + blue marlin.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 77 - 89
Humidity 83%
Wind: WSW 13 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:11 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:13 p.m. CDT
San Jose, Guatemala
The weather has been great over the last week with light winds and pleasant conditions. The potential bad weather associated with Tropical Depression Adrian never really made much of an impact on the San Jose area of Guatemala. The anglers are few and far between, but those that did come this way experienced some great action. There were three boats out for a couple of days, and all three had double digit days, with twice as many shots as releases. The run to fish was 22-32 miles.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 84
Humidity 94%
Wind: WSW 8 mph
Conditions: Thunder Storms
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 5:35 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:24 p.m. CST
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Saturday, May 14, 2005
East Cape Dragging it’s Feet
East Cape
This week’s action produced a mixed bag. The groups working the beaches found a few small roosters willing cooperate and take a fly. Inshore a few dorado showed up and even a couple pompano. Further offshore there were a few tuna if you found the right porpoise school. Billfish picked up again later in the week with several boats reporting multiple releases. Last weeks sailfish flurry seems to have petered out.
Baja on the Fly
Water temperature 71-78
Air temperature 60-89
Humidity 40%
Wind: 7 mph / 11 km/h from the WNW
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:37 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:52 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay , Baja Mexico
With the wind still ripping out of the west, it was less than wide open action. Tuna offshore moved a few miles closer. At the Entrada there were a few small yellows under the bird schools. Up in the Esteros, a few corvina, leopard grouper and of course the cabrilla were all that could be found for the few anglers fishing.
Water temperature 62-71
Air temperature 66-75
Humidity 94%
Wind: WSW 15 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:42 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:03 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
This is turning out to be one of our slowest month of May ever. The 82 degree blue water is still just 5 to 6 miles off the beach and the 80 degree clean water is all along the inshore area. But, the game fish still have not shown. We are only averaging about 1 sailfish per boat, no tuna, and no dorado.
The blue marlin fishing has been doing very well however. We are only averaging about a total of 10 to 12 boats a day going out fishing. At least 3 or 4 of those boats are fishing inshore, with the rest in the blue water. Of those in the blue water, we are getting at least 3 to 4 hooked blue marlin a day, and landing one. One of the reasons the catch ratio is low, is because the big marlin are often taking the baits on the sailfish gear, and are spooling the reel.
I did have a great day on the water with fly fishing client Josh Vincent from Michigan. We targeted the black skipjack tuna inshore with a 9wt. Casting to the schools of breaking fish, Josh was averaging a fish for every 4 casts.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 78 - 91
Humidity 83%
Wind: West 13 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:20 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:06 p.m. CDT
San Jose, Guatemala
Action heated back up this week with multiple sails showing up in the pattern. and in closer to shore. The boats going out during the past several days all experienced releases of more than 20 sails per day. Two of the three had multiple shots at Marlin and released a couple. With a short run to the fish of 17 and 22 miles the anglers had plenty of time to take advantage of the bite. Throw into the mix picture perfect weather and you got an almost perfect Guatemala week.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 86
Humidity 94%
Wind: WSW 6 mph
Conditions: Light Drizzle, Scattered Clouds
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 5:36 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:22 p.m. CST
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
This week’s action produced a mixed bag. The groups working the beaches found a few small roosters willing cooperate and take a fly. Inshore a few dorado showed up and even a couple pompano. Further offshore there were a few tuna if you found the right porpoise school. Billfish picked up again later in the week with several boats reporting multiple releases. Last weeks sailfish flurry seems to have petered out.
Baja on the Fly
Water temperature 71-78
Air temperature 60-89
Humidity 40%
Wind: 7 mph / 11 km/h from the WNW
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:37 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:52 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay , Baja Mexico
With the wind still ripping out of the west, it was less than wide open action. Tuna offshore moved a few miles closer. At the Entrada there were a few small yellows under the bird schools. Up in the Esteros, a few corvina, leopard grouper and of course the cabrilla were all that could be found for the few anglers fishing.
Water temperature 62-71
Air temperature 66-75
Humidity 94%
Wind: WSW 15 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:42 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:03 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
This is turning out to be one of our slowest month of May ever. The 82 degree blue water is still just 5 to 6 miles off the beach and the 80 degree clean water is all along the inshore area. But, the game fish still have not shown. We are only averaging about 1 sailfish per boat, no tuna, and no dorado.
The blue marlin fishing has been doing very well however. We are only averaging about a total of 10 to 12 boats a day going out fishing. At least 3 or 4 of those boats are fishing inshore, with the rest in the blue water. Of those in the blue water, we are getting at least 3 to 4 hooked blue marlin a day, and landing one. One of the reasons the catch ratio is low, is because the big marlin are often taking the baits on the sailfish gear, and are spooling the reel.
I did have a great day on the water with fly fishing client Josh Vincent from Michigan. We targeted the black skipjack tuna inshore with a 9wt. Casting to the schools of breaking fish, Josh was averaging a fish for every 4 casts.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 78 - 91
Humidity 83%
Wind: West 13 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:20 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:06 p.m. CDT
San Jose, Guatemala
Action heated back up this week with multiple sails showing up in the pattern. and in closer to shore. The boats going out during the past several days all experienced releases of more than 20 sails per day. Two of the three had multiple shots at Marlin and released a couple. With a short run to the fish of 17 and 22 miles the anglers had plenty of time to take advantage of the bite. Throw into the mix picture perfect weather and you got an almost perfect Guatemala week.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 86
Humidity 94%
Wind: WSW 6 mph
Conditions: Light Drizzle, Scattered Clouds
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 5:36 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:22 p.m. CST
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Saturday, May 07, 2005
East Cape Billfish Show Up Early
East Cape
Cinco de Mayo and better weather always seem to go hand in hand. While the weather has improved, the fishing has been slow to catch up. Offshore the big news was a blue marlin being caught that was just shy of 500 lbs. Added to that factoid, there have been more than a few sails show up in the patterns already this year and striped marlin remained consistent again this week as well. This has some of the locals thinking early…early….early season for the pointy nosed guys. Not enough action for the fly rodders looking for a billfish on the fly but looks promising for the future. Still iffy as far as the dorado go, though the ones that are found are good sized. Mostly football sized tuna and they are pretty much spread out from La Ribera out to 40 miles. The beach produced a few small roosters with Cory Hawryluk, Houston, TX coming up from Cabo to land his first rooster on the fly. He found the beach experience to be a hoot and is planning a return trip soon.
Al Tigert, Anchorage AK emailed us this report about his trip in late April. "The quality of the experience was excellent, and everything we could wish for. It would be difficult to match the quantity of fish that we enjoy at home in Alaska, but the chance to pursue exotic species in a beautiful (warm) locale w/people who are knowledgeable, friendly and have a good sense of humor was perfect. Every fish was a brand new species for us to marvel at."
On the chum side, there were some mackerel to be found but still few, if any sardina available.
Baja on the Fly
Water temperature 71-78
Air temperature 60-89
Humidity 45%
Wind: NE 2 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:41 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:49 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay , Baja Mexico
Still plenty of wind to deal with. Outside, weather permitting there as some quality sized tuna 210 degrees 15 – 20 miles out and that seems to be the best action for the entire area. Still the be squid around outside the Entrada as well. The reports for the Esteros have been very few fish, even the cabrilla have a severe case of lock jaw. One interesting report was a fifteen lb. snook that was caught near the base of the commercial pier. One more thing, closer to town, under the bridge at the entrance to town produced some decent early morning action for corvina, pargo and even a few leopard grouper. Sounds like the guys are overrunning the fish.
Water temperature 62-71
Air temperature 66-75
Humidity 96%
Wind: WNW 20 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:51 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:00 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The clean water is just off the beach, with the blue water only 6 to 8 miles out. The Terrifin Satellite Surface Temperatures show 80 to 85 degree water everywhere. In other words, the conditions are perfect, but still there are very few fish.
Earlier this week we had a great showing of large Yellowfin tuna, but they have also disappeared. However, a few nice fish were taken while they were here. Luis, on the panga “Gringo Loco” fished with Gary Tagahuci from Laguna Beach, CA and got a nice 270 pound fish. Santiago , on the panga “Gitana”, also got a 190 pound tuna. Another member of Gary's group got a nice black marlin while fishing with Luis.
The 22nd annual Sailfish Tournament is currently underway, making a statement about the lack of fish in the area this week. Yesterday (Friday), the first day of the tournament, only 28 sailfish, 2 blue marlin, and 1 dorado were caught from a field of 110 boats. That is less than 1 sailfish for every 4 boats average.
Cheva on the “Dos Hermanos II” found a few small roosterfish earlier in the week, but we are still a little early in the season to expect much action from the roosters. This will pick up over the next three weeks.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 78 - 91
Humidity 83%
Wind: WSW 11 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:20 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:06 p.m. CDT
San Jose, Guatemala
This past week, we hosted the Rick Swetish party of 4 from Texas. During their stay, they experienced great weather and consistent action which enabled them to experience double digit releases each day on sails. The fishing was still pretty far between 30-40 miles. The action in Guatemala continues on through August, with the potential for double digit days on sails with marlin mixed in.
We have open dates throughout this period of time. This is a great time for your spur of the moment trip with us. Just give our office a call for a trip of a lifetime.
We are also currently booking for the peak periods between November and April of next season, available slots are filling quickly.
Fishing guide and newspaper columnist Paul Bruun , Jackson Hole, Wyo., visited us in early March. Here is a link to his entertaining story of the trip and a good example of why hunters and anglers from all over the world subscribe to the little Jackson Hole paper:
http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/PaulBruun.html
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 86
Humidity 94%
Wind: SSW 8 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 5:38 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:20 p.m. CST
Cinco de Mayo and better weather always seem to go hand in hand. While the weather has improved, the fishing has been slow to catch up. Offshore the big news was a blue marlin being caught that was just shy of 500 lbs. Added to that factoid, there have been more than a few sails show up in the patterns already this year and striped marlin remained consistent again this week as well. This has some of the locals thinking early…early….early season for the pointy nosed guys. Not enough action for the fly rodders looking for a billfish on the fly but looks promising for the future. Still iffy as far as the dorado go, though the ones that are found are good sized. Mostly football sized tuna and they are pretty much spread out from La Ribera out to 40 miles. The beach produced a few small roosters with Cory Hawryluk, Houston, TX coming up from Cabo to land his first rooster on the fly. He found the beach experience to be a hoot and is planning a return trip soon.
Al Tigert, Anchorage AK emailed us this report about his trip in late April. "The quality of the experience was excellent, and everything we could wish for. It would be difficult to match the quantity of fish that we enjoy at home in Alaska, but the chance to pursue exotic species in a beautiful (warm) locale w/people who are knowledgeable, friendly and have a good sense of humor was perfect. Every fish was a brand new species for us to marvel at."
On the chum side, there were some mackerel to be found but still few, if any sardina available.
Baja on the Fly
Water temperature 71-78
Air temperature 60-89
Humidity 45%
Wind: NE 2 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:41 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:49 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay , Baja Mexico
Still plenty of wind to deal with. Outside, weather permitting there as some quality sized tuna 210 degrees 15 – 20 miles out and that seems to be the best action for the entire area. Still the be squid around outside the Entrada as well. The reports for the Esteros have been very few fish, even the cabrilla have a severe case of lock jaw. One interesting report was a fifteen lb. snook that was caught near the base of the commercial pier. One more thing, closer to town, under the bridge at the entrance to town produced some decent early morning action for corvina, pargo and even a few leopard grouper. Sounds like the guys are overrunning the fish.
Water temperature 62-71
Air temperature 66-75
Humidity 96%
Wind: WNW 20 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:51 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:00 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The clean water is just off the beach, with the blue water only 6 to 8 miles out. The Terrifin Satellite Surface Temperatures show 80 to 85 degree water everywhere. In other words, the conditions are perfect, but still there are very few fish.
Earlier this week we had a great showing of large Yellowfin tuna, but they have also disappeared. However, a few nice fish were taken while they were here. Luis, on the panga “Gringo Loco” fished with Gary Tagahuci from Laguna Beach, CA and got a nice 270 pound fish. Santiago , on the panga “Gitana”, also got a 190 pound tuna. Another member of Gary's group got a nice black marlin while fishing with Luis.
The 22nd annual Sailfish Tournament is currently underway, making a statement about the lack of fish in the area this week. Yesterday (Friday), the first day of the tournament, only 28 sailfish, 2 blue marlin, and 1 dorado were caught from a field of 110 boats. That is less than 1 sailfish for every 4 boats average.
Cheva on the “Dos Hermanos II” found a few small roosterfish earlier in the week, but we are still a little early in the season to expect much action from the roosters. This will pick up over the next three weeks.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 78 - 91
Humidity 83%
Wind: WSW 11 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:20 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:06 p.m. CDT
San Jose, Guatemala
This past week, we hosted the Rick Swetish party of 4 from Texas. During their stay, they experienced great weather and consistent action which enabled them to experience double digit releases each day on sails. The fishing was still pretty far between 30-40 miles. The action in Guatemala continues on through August, with the potential for double digit days on sails with marlin mixed in.
We have open dates throughout this period of time. This is a great time for your spur of the moment trip with us. Just give our office a call for a trip of a lifetime.
We are also currently booking for the peak periods between November and April of next season, available slots are filling quickly.
Fishing guide and newspaper columnist Paul Bruun , Jackson Hole, Wyo., visited us in early March. Here is a link to his entertaining story of the trip and a good example of why hunters and anglers from all over the world subscribe to the little Jackson Hole paper:
http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/PaulBruun.html
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 86
Humidity 94%
Wind: SSW 8 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 5:38 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:20 p.m. CST
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Persistence Pays Off at East Cape
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
The weather over the last couple of days has been great. The wind and waves subsided for the most part and the inshore water is looking as good as it has for quite some time. Baja on the Fly Lance Peterson reported enthusiastically:
“I fished the beach hard yesterday (4/29), starting to the south and working my way back to La Capilla. I walked a few miles of beach and found few if any gamefish and very little bait for the most part, only small scattered schools of mullet and some decent gatherings of ballyhoo. I eventually spotted a pair of small jack crevalle on the prowl near La Salina. While I did not get them to eat, I was stoked to take a couple of casts at cruising fish. Hopefully, the gamefish will soon be on beach patrol and the spring season can finally kick in!”
[BotF Guide] Josh and Captain Juan on the panga “Mosca” have been working the inshore water with clients Phil Bryna and Al Tiggert, visiting from Anchorage. They have had a few roosters come up to the teasers and put on a good show. While the fish have not been numerous, they were enough fire up these hard fishing Alaskans. Both guys have hit the beach until sundown after their boat trips every day this week. Phil was even rewarded with his first rooster on the fly not far from the hotel . . . yes, persistence pays off when it comes to roosterfish. They are already talking about a return trip in June to continue their quest for the elusive pez gallo.
Offshore there continues to be striped marlin on the bite. Captain Ramon of the cruiser “Tres Hermanos” even reported a few sailfish in the spread yesterday along with the marlin. Sounds like a great time to try for billfish on the fly. A few of the Palmas boats could be seen flying tuna flags yesterday. A sign of things to come? The timing is right for the offshore fishing to really take off, let's hope it goes wide open!
However, on a sour note, by yesterday afternoon the wind had ramped up once again causing plenty of white caps and wind waves along the shore. Here’s hoping it flattens out this morning.
Report by Lance Peterson, Baja on the Fly Guide
Water temperature 69-78
Air temperature 62-89
Humidity 45%
Wind: NW 11 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:46 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:46 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay , Baja Mexico
Plenty of sun and wind is the story for Mag Bay. The giant squid continue to be the best thing going on the fishing front. Several boats spent a couple days pounding the Devil’s Curve zone with dismal results. I did hear some rumors of tuna 20 miles offshore, but with the wind and high seas, no one has been out to confirm the report.
Water temperature 62-71
Air temperature 66-75
Humidity 94%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:51 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:56 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The blue water remains only five to six miles off the beach and the sea temperatures are in the 80s. All the conditions are in place for a great May, but the full moon hurt us a bit this last week.
The blue marlin bite is still is still strong, with three be taken in the best day this last week. At least one has been taken each day.
Roosterfish are showing again, with May be the traditional start of action for the hard fighting members of the jack family.
About two sailfish a day average, per boat, are being caught.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 77 - 89
Humidity 83%
Wind: WSW 8 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:20 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:06 p.m. CDT
San Jose, Guatemala
This past week we had the pleasure of hosting a couple of experienced anglers. The Lumadue party of three from Pennsylvania all took a turn using both conventional and fly-fishing gear to great success during their four days of fishing. The weather was nice. The run to the fish was about 40 miles, but once there they enjoyed periods of non-stop action.
Fishing guide and newspaper columnist Paul Bruun, Jackson Hole, Wyo., visited us in early March. Here is a link to his entertaining story of the trip and a good example of why hunters and anglers from all over the world subscribe to the little Jackson Hole paper:
http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/PaulBruun.html
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 86
Humidity 94%
Wind: SSE 11 mph
Conditions: Mostly Cloudy
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 5:41 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:19 p.m. CST
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
The weather over the last couple of days has been great. The wind and waves subsided for the most part and the inshore water is looking as good as it has for quite some time. Baja on the Fly Lance Peterson reported enthusiastically:
“I fished the beach hard yesterday (4/29), starting to the south and working my way back to La Capilla. I walked a few miles of beach and found few if any gamefish and very little bait for the most part, only small scattered schools of mullet and some decent gatherings of ballyhoo. I eventually spotted a pair of small jack crevalle on the prowl near La Salina. While I did not get them to eat, I was stoked to take a couple of casts at cruising fish. Hopefully, the gamefish will soon be on beach patrol and the spring season can finally kick in!”
[BotF Guide] Josh and Captain Juan on the panga “Mosca” have been working the inshore water with clients Phil Bryna and Al Tiggert, visiting from Anchorage. They have had a few roosters come up to the teasers and put on a good show. While the fish have not been numerous, they were enough fire up these hard fishing Alaskans. Both guys have hit the beach until sundown after their boat trips every day this week. Phil was even rewarded with his first rooster on the fly not far from the hotel . . . yes, persistence pays off when it comes to roosterfish. They are already talking about a return trip in June to continue their quest for the elusive pez gallo.
Offshore there continues to be striped marlin on the bite. Captain Ramon of the cruiser “Tres Hermanos” even reported a few sailfish in the spread yesterday along with the marlin. Sounds like a great time to try for billfish on the fly. A few of the Palmas boats could be seen flying tuna flags yesterday. A sign of things to come? The timing is right for the offshore fishing to really take off, let's hope it goes wide open!
However, on a sour note, by yesterday afternoon the wind had ramped up once again causing plenty of white caps and wind waves along the shore. Here’s hoping it flattens out this morning.
Report by Lance Peterson, Baja on the Fly Guide
Water temperature 69-78
Air temperature 62-89
Humidity 45%
Wind: NW 11 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:46 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:46 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay , Baja Mexico
Plenty of sun and wind is the story for Mag Bay. The giant squid continue to be the best thing going on the fishing front. Several boats spent a couple days pounding the Devil’s Curve zone with dismal results. I did hear some rumors of tuna 20 miles offshore, but with the wind and high seas, no one has been out to confirm the report.
Water temperature 62-71
Air temperature 66-75
Humidity 94%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:51 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:56 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The blue water remains only five to six miles off the beach and the sea temperatures are in the 80s. All the conditions are in place for a great May, but the full moon hurt us a bit this last week.
The blue marlin bite is still is still strong, with three be taken in the best day this last week. At least one has been taken each day.
Roosterfish are showing again, with May be the traditional start of action for the hard fighting members of the jack family.
About two sailfish a day average, per boat, are being caught.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 77 - 89
Humidity 83%
Wind: WSW 8 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:20 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:06 p.m. CDT
San Jose, Guatemala
This past week we had the pleasure of hosting a couple of experienced anglers. The Lumadue party of three from Pennsylvania all took a turn using both conventional and fly-fishing gear to great success during their four days of fishing. The weather was nice. The run to the fish was about 40 miles, but once there they enjoyed periods of non-stop action.
Fishing guide and newspaper columnist Paul Bruun, Jackson Hole, Wyo., visited us in early March. Here is a link to his entertaining story of the trip and a good example of why hunters and anglers from all over the world subscribe to the little Jackson Hole paper:
http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/PaulBruun.html
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 86
Humidity 94%
Wind: SSE 11 mph
Conditions: Mostly Cloudy
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 5:41 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:19 p.m. CST
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Saturday, April 23, 2005
We Need Those Stinking Sardina
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
Wind continues to be a factor in the overall fishing, however, the marlin show has been extraordinary for this early in the year. It is unusual to have enough fish at this time to actually get enough shots to merit attempting the flyrod. The yellowfin tuna have appeared and the catch numbers are climbing every week. What is missing is the sardina and mullet usually found along the beaches. Of course, that not only makes the beach fishing tough, with no bait for chum on the boats, it changes the strategy dramatically for the fly-rodder.
Here is Lance's latest report of a beach day that he and co-Baja on the Fly guide Josh had this week:
“We fished the beach hard today. We came in from the backside using my truck. We walked miles and blind cast diligently. There was not one fish to cast to in all the water we fished. There was very little if any bait. We only saw a few scattered ballyhoo, no mullet and no sardina. The beach was about as lifeless as we have yet seen it.”
So, for now we, play a waiting game. Waiting for the wind to quit . . . sardina and mullet to arrive . . . I am sure in a few weeks (if we can wait that long) we will all be saying "It was worth the wait."
Report by Baja on the Fly
Water temperature 69-76
Air temperature 62-88
Humidity 45%
Wind: NNW 15 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:51 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:43 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Finally, a few yellows showed under the bird schools at the entrada; there were also a few sierra mixed in. If you ventured outside the entrada, the bird schools showed the way to some decent bonito and skipjack action. Water temperature is beginning to slowly creep up, which should bring in some of the exotics. Los Barriles produced non-stop action for cabrilla with an occasional snook grabbing the fly catching the unsuspecting angler off guard. Also a few corvina and grouper could be found up at Devil’s Curve.
Same action for skipjack and bonito could be found outside the boca up at Lopez Mateos. The esteros up there also produced a few decent shook and enough corvina to keep the anglers interested.
Water temperature 62-71
Air temperature 68-75
Humidity 64%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:57 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:53 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 80-degree blue water is only about 6 to 7 miles off the beach and fishing is definitely showing an improvement over the last couple of weeks. The blue marlin bite is continuing on a strong note, sailfish are steady, and the yellowfin tuna are finally making a strong showing.
This week, Ruben on the 31-foot Bertram Vamonos caught two marlin of about 250 pounds each. He had several other opportunities, but was not able to get a decent hook set.
Adolpho on the panga Dos Hermanos, fishing with clients from France, had a great day yesterday (Fri.) On conventional gear, they lost a large marlin, but caught a 100 pound yellowfin tuna. They also picked up several other 30- to 40-pound yellowfin and a couple of sailfish. On the pier early this morning, Adolpho told me the overall fishing is very good, especially with several schools of tuna out around the 16 to 20 mile mark.
The inshore action on the big jack crevalle and roosters has pretty much been blown out all this last week with a very high surf. The jacks are feeding about a mile off the beach however, and action on these hard fighting fish has been very good when trolling a live bait, Rapala, or casting a surface popper. Teasing them in with a hookless popper has been the ticket for the flyrod anglers.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 77 - 89
Humidity 78%
Wind: WSW 8 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:24 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:04 p.m. CDT
San Jose , Guatemala
The action has picked up, and the weather was great for the first part of the week. We had the pleasure of hosting return client Burt Turner and first-timer Matt Johnson for three days of fly-fishing. Burt is an experienced fly angler who has made at least one trip to Guatemala each year for the past several years, and Matt was there to experience the action for the first time after hearing Burt recount the great action over the years. Over the three days, the fishing action increased each day along with the duo's skills and they quickly built up to double digit releases and even enjoyed some dorado and tuna action. On the final day, Mother Nature kicked the seas up, but at the same time exponentially increased the sailfish action. They enjoyed a morning of non-stop action on the fly that surpassed the prior two days. As they headed out to Antigua, Matt indicated that his time in Guatemala was the best trip he had taken in 15 years, and would definitely be back.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 86
Humidity 94%
Wind: West 8 mph
Conditions: Mostly Cloudy
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 5:45 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:17 p.m. CST
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
Wind continues to be a factor in the overall fishing, however, the marlin show has been extraordinary for this early in the year. It is unusual to have enough fish at this time to actually get enough shots to merit attempting the flyrod. The yellowfin tuna have appeared and the catch numbers are climbing every week. What is missing is the sardina and mullet usually found along the beaches. Of course, that not only makes the beach fishing tough, with no bait for chum on the boats, it changes the strategy dramatically for the fly-rodder.
Here is Lance's latest report of a beach day that he and co-Baja on the Fly guide Josh had this week:
“We fished the beach hard today. We came in from the backside using my truck. We walked miles and blind cast diligently. There was not one fish to cast to in all the water we fished. There was very little if any bait. We only saw a few scattered ballyhoo, no mullet and no sardina. The beach was about as lifeless as we have yet seen it.”
So, for now we, play a waiting game. Waiting for the wind to quit . . . sardina and mullet to arrive . . . I am sure in a few weeks (if we can wait that long) we will all be saying "It was worth the wait."
Report by Baja on the Fly
Water temperature 69-76
Air temperature 62-88
Humidity 45%
Wind: NNW 15 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:51 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:43 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Finally, a few yellows showed under the bird schools at the entrada; there were also a few sierra mixed in. If you ventured outside the entrada, the bird schools showed the way to some decent bonito and skipjack action. Water temperature is beginning to slowly creep up, which should bring in some of the exotics. Los Barriles produced non-stop action for cabrilla with an occasional snook grabbing the fly catching the unsuspecting angler off guard. Also a few corvina and grouper could be found up at Devil’s Curve.
Same action for skipjack and bonito could be found outside the boca up at Lopez Mateos. The esteros up there also produced a few decent shook and enough corvina to keep the anglers interested.
Water temperature 62-71
Air temperature 68-75
Humidity 64%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:57 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:53 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 80-degree blue water is only about 6 to 7 miles off the beach and fishing is definitely showing an improvement over the last couple of weeks. The blue marlin bite is continuing on a strong note, sailfish are steady, and the yellowfin tuna are finally making a strong showing.
This week, Ruben on the 31-foot Bertram Vamonos caught two marlin of about 250 pounds each. He had several other opportunities, but was not able to get a decent hook set.
Adolpho on the panga Dos Hermanos, fishing with clients from France, had a great day yesterday (Fri.) On conventional gear, they lost a large marlin, but caught a 100 pound yellowfin tuna. They also picked up several other 30- to 40-pound yellowfin and a couple of sailfish. On the pier early this morning, Adolpho told me the overall fishing is very good, especially with several schools of tuna out around the 16 to 20 mile mark.
The inshore action on the big jack crevalle and roosters has pretty much been blown out all this last week with a very high surf. The jacks are feeding about a mile off the beach however, and action on these hard fighting fish has been very good when trolling a live bait, Rapala, or casting a surface popper. Teasing them in with a hookless popper has been the ticket for the flyrod anglers.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 77 - 89
Humidity 78%
Wind: WSW 8 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:24 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:04 p.m. CDT
San Jose , Guatemala
The action has picked up, and the weather was great for the first part of the week. We had the pleasure of hosting return client Burt Turner and first-timer Matt Johnson for three days of fly-fishing. Burt is an experienced fly angler who has made at least one trip to Guatemala each year for the past several years, and Matt was there to experience the action for the first time after hearing Burt recount the great action over the years. Over the three days, the fishing action increased each day along with the duo's skills and they quickly built up to double digit releases and even enjoyed some dorado and tuna action. On the final day, Mother Nature kicked the seas up, but at the same time exponentially increased the sailfish action. They enjoyed a morning of non-stop action on the fly that surpassed the prior two days. As they headed out to Antigua, Matt indicated that his time in Guatemala was the best trip he had taken in 15 years, and would definitely be back.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 86
Humidity 94%
Wind: West 8 mph
Conditions: Mostly Cloudy
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 5:45 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:17 p.m. CST
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Transition Time Below the Border
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
Early in the week again saw more wind that the kept most of our clients hunkered around the pool until Thurs. (4/14), when we welcomed our first flat calm morning in some time. Of course, there had to be a catch . . . there was little if any bait to be found for purchase. Both [Baja on the Fly guide] Josh and I had to search far and wide for some, but came up empty. I opted to go out and try and troll up a bonito or two. We hooked only one and I headed inshore to tease roosters. The bonito was a good teasing bait, very lively and durable, but we found no roosters to tease in the early morning. We eventually found a few ladyfish for our casts. There were even a few pompano early, but they proved difficult to hook. Large schools of jacks were seen, but they were once again milling in circles and very boat-shy. The sea lions were attacking them – which did not help their mood. Josh found some feeding jacks Wed. for his clients and brought some big ones to the boat.
Report by Baja on the Fly Guide Lance Peterson.
Water temperature
66-74
Air temperature 69-82
Humidity 39%
Wind: 5 mph from the WNW
Conditions: Scattered Clouds 25000 ft
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:57 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:40 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Not much to report this week as most of the attention was directed toward the unusual run of Humboldt squid outside the entrada. Reports of squid to 30 pounds were the talk of San Carlos. With perfect weather, the action both inside and outside should begin to pick up in the next few weeks. There are still a couple of whales hanging around, delaying their long migration North until the very last minute.
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
Conditions are getting more favorable every day. The blue water is moving back in to just a few miles off the beach and the water temperature is edging into the 80-degree mark. The best results have been the blue marlin this last week. We have now had 11 days in a row where at least 1 nice blue has been boated.
Plus, the inshore fishing for jack crevalle is still holding up and has provided us a lot of action for both the anglers using light line conventional gear or the flyrod enthusiasts. Jim Kelsey of the San Francisco Bay area fished with Felipe and me on the panga Yellowfin and took 6 jacks to 25 pounds near the Valentine area.
Chase Smith of New Braunfels, Tex., fished with Ruben on the Vamonos I and got a very nice blue marlin. But, they missed a much larger one.
Santiago got another blue this week for his clients on the panga Gitana, plus 4 sailfish the next day. However, most of the boats are only getting between 1 and 2 sails a day.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 77 - 91
Humidity 78%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:28 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:02 p.m. CDT
San Jose, Guatemala
Sat. night (4/9) brought a tropical thunderstorm leaving a soggy San Jose that greeted Lori-Ann Murphy, Reel-Women Angling and her group of five women flyfishers who had come in search sailfish action on the fly. While long boat rides were the norm, the women weren’t disappointed; flat seas and sunny skies made the traveling easy as they searched for their first opportunity to face a sailfish with only a fly-fishing outfit between them and the fish. The entire group with the exception of one met their goal during the four exciting days of Guatemala bluewater fishing.
Those who achieved their goal of a sail-on-the-fly for the trip were Lori-Ann Murphy, Victor, Idaho; Bobbie Armor, Fremont, Calif.; Diana Rudolph, Islamorada, Fla.; Nancy Keilty, Cedar Mich.; and Jodie Reece, Florida, releasing their first sailfish on the fly and in some cases more than one. In addition to the sailfish, JoAnn “Bo” Ribaudo, Destin, Fla., found enough tuna and dorado for dinner several days to earn the title “Provider” from the group. As they toasted each other’s accomplishments with 23 year old Guatemalan rum at their awards ceremony on the final night at Villas Pacifico Hotel, they all agreed that it had been as fantastic an adventure as they had hoped for and would continue next year.
Water temperature
78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 89
Humidity 94%
Wind: NE 11 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 5:49 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:16 p.m. CST
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
Early in the week again saw more wind that the kept most of our clients hunkered around the pool until Thurs. (4/14), when we welcomed our first flat calm morning in some time. Of course, there had to be a catch . . . there was little if any bait to be found for purchase. Both [Baja on the Fly guide] Josh and I had to search far and wide for some, but came up empty. I opted to go out and try and troll up a bonito or two. We hooked only one and I headed inshore to tease roosters. The bonito was a good teasing bait, very lively and durable, but we found no roosters to tease in the early morning. We eventually found a few ladyfish for our casts. There were even a few pompano early, but they proved difficult to hook. Large schools of jacks were seen, but they were once again milling in circles and very boat-shy. The sea lions were attacking them – which did not help their mood. Josh found some feeding jacks Wed. for his clients and brought some big ones to the boat.
Report by Baja on the Fly Guide Lance Peterson.
Water temperature
66-74
Air temperature 69-82
Humidity 39%
Wind: 5 mph from the WNW
Conditions: Scattered Clouds 25000 ft
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:57 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:40 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Not much to report this week as most of the attention was directed toward the unusual run of Humboldt squid outside the entrada. Reports of squid to 30 pounds were the talk of San Carlos. With perfect weather, the action both inside and outside should begin to pick up in the next few weeks. There are still a couple of whales hanging around, delaying their long migration North until the very last minute.
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
Conditions are getting more favorable every day. The blue water is moving back in to just a few miles off the beach and the water temperature is edging into the 80-degree mark. The best results have been the blue marlin this last week. We have now had 11 days in a row where at least 1 nice blue has been boated.
Plus, the inshore fishing for jack crevalle is still holding up and has provided us a lot of action for both the anglers using light line conventional gear or the flyrod enthusiasts. Jim Kelsey of the San Francisco Bay area fished with Felipe and me on the panga Yellowfin and took 6 jacks to 25 pounds near the Valentine area.
Chase Smith of New Braunfels, Tex., fished with Ruben on the Vamonos I and got a very nice blue marlin. But, they missed a much larger one.
Santiago got another blue this week for his clients on the panga Gitana, plus 4 sailfish the next day. However, most of the boats are only getting between 1 and 2 sails a day.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 77 - 91
Humidity 78%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:28 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:02 p.m. CDT
San Jose, Guatemala
Sat. night (4/9) brought a tropical thunderstorm leaving a soggy San Jose that greeted Lori-Ann Murphy, Reel-Women Angling and her group of five women flyfishers who had come in search sailfish action on the fly. While long boat rides were the norm, the women weren’t disappointed; flat seas and sunny skies made the traveling easy as they searched for their first opportunity to face a sailfish with only a fly-fishing outfit between them and the fish. The entire group with the exception of one met their goal during the four exciting days of Guatemala bluewater fishing.
Those who achieved their goal of a sail-on-the-fly for the trip were Lori-Ann Murphy, Victor, Idaho; Bobbie Armor, Fremont, Calif.; Diana Rudolph, Islamorada, Fla.; Nancy Keilty, Cedar Mich.; and Jodie Reece, Florida, releasing their first sailfish on the fly and in some cases more than one. In addition to the sailfish, JoAnn “Bo” Ribaudo, Destin, Fla., found enough tuna and dorado for dinner several days to earn the title “Provider” from the group. As they toasted each other’s accomplishments with 23 year old Guatemalan rum at their awards ceremony on the final night at Villas Pacifico Hotel, they all agreed that it had been as fantastic an adventure as they had hoped for and would continue next year.
Water temperature
78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 89
Humidity 94%
Wind: NE 11 mph
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 5:49 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:16 p.m. CST
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Transition Time in Baja
East Cape
Mon. (4/4) the weather was picture perfect and hopes were high that fishing would improve with the weather. Unfortunately, the ubiquitous North wind returned on Tues. afternoon and persisted through the night. Thurs., we found good numbers of big roosterfish, jacks, and big sierra (finally!) tearing the bait up in a big way. I teased with hookless mackerel all day and had guests Hegge Wilson and Jon Hickerson, from LeGrande, Ore., casting until they were worn out. Jon boated a really nice sierra and had no less than five great bites on roosterfish . . . but he did not get a good hook set and couldn’t get tight to a fish. Such is rooster fishing!
There were numerous schools of jacks on the move, but they were as spooky as I've ever seen them. Any cast would send them scattering in a panic . . . odd. Yesterday (4/8) a thick fog clung to the water for most of the morning. Josh [another Baja on the Fly guide] and I both fished inshore all day trolling hookless live bait. Wilson boated another nice sierra, but the others were not able to get a hook into a fish. We did not see the action we had the previous day. Only a couple of roosters came to the bait, as well as only a few sierra. Offshore, the marlin bite slowed down also. Only five fish on the board tonight: four marlin and one sierra.
The sardina have yet to show, so the only bait available for chum is mackerel.
Report by Baja on the Fly.
Water temperature 66-74
Air temperature 66-82
Humidity 65%
Wind: NNE 4 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 7:03 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:37 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
There was little surface action to talk about at the entrada, however a few grouper that were deeper in the water column were found near Santa Margarita Island. We’ve been hearing rumors of tuna 40 miles south of the entrada. Corvina and a few quality snook were found up near Devil’s Curve. The halibut bite was pretty consistent on most of the sandy beaches with the south side of Belchers being one of the better spots. A slowly retrieved olive Baja Deep Diver was doing the trick for the snook.
Water temperature 69-75
Air temperature 62-79
Humidity 6%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:09 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:46 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The water has been warming up, and sending the cold water current we have had for this last month out of the area. In summary, the sailfish action is picking up, the blue marlin are moving into the area, and we even got into the roosters yesterday (4/8). The yellowfin tuna are still a no-show.
I fished with Baja on the Fly clients The Barrow Family of Mountain Home, Ark., trying for a sailfish on the fly on Wed. (4/6). It was just too early in the week as the sailfish did not become active until yesterday. We did raise one sail and a marlin however, but were not able to get any action on the fly when they came to the boat. As of today, the fleet is averaging about one sailfish per boat on conventional gear.
This last Sun., Mon., Wed., and yesterday Felipe, on the panga Yellowfin and I fished with various clients with the flyrod, or Felipe fished alone with conventional gear, targeting the inshore jack crevalle bite. On Sun., Tom Ohlson of Colorado got a few on the fly and surface popper. Mon., Dave Powell ended up with 12 of the hard-fighting jacks on surface poppers and slow trolled live bait. Fly fisherman Chuck Smith had 4, and Greg Benfit, of Portland, Ore, and his wife got 4 jacks and 2 very nice roosterfish. Chuck found out just how hard the 6- to 20-pound jacks fight when he snapped his 10-weight in three places. He tried to lift, but the big jack wanted to go down.
Felipe told me roosters were crashing the bait on the beach, and mixed in with the jacks. "There must have been 50 or 60 roosters among the 150 or so jacks. All the roosters were in the 30- to 40-pound class. Their combs were standing straight up and you could easily see them. This is the earliest I have heard of the roosters being here in quantity, so things may really be looking up,” he said.
Several blue marlin were caught this week with the panga Oceana with one. The private boat Aleta Negra, owned by Karl Peters of Nashville released one, and the cruiser Rosa Nautica got one. The largest was caught on the panga Gitana, with Captain Santiago. The huge blue was estimated at about 575 pounds.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 75 - 89
Humidity 77%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:34 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:00 p.m. CDT
San Jose, Guatemala
Forty mile runs were the norm for the week. Once the fish were located, the action heated up allowing most of the fleet to maintain a decent 70% hook-to-release rate. To add to the excitement, a few marlin showed up in the pattern along with an occasional dorado. Internationally known fly-fishing guide Lori Ann Murphy and her Reel Women group will be arriving tomorrow (4/10) looking to get into the billfish-on-a-fly action. Hopefully, we will be able to deliver the same kind of trip Lori Ann’s friend Paul Bruun and Terry Shade had a few weeks ago. Sailfish, marlin, dorado and maybe a roosterfish or two inshore should be enough to keep them smiling. We know the women will be ready, so it should be a fun party if the fish cooperate!
And finally, inshore there were several roosterfish released in one afternoon of fishing.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 84
Humidity 74%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 5:53 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:16 p.m. CST
Mon. (4/4) the weather was picture perfect and hopes were high that fishing would improve with the weather. Unfortunately, the ubiquitous North wind returned on Tues. afternoon and persisted through the night. Thurs., we found good numbers of big roosterfish, jacks, and big sierra (finally!) tearing the bait up in a big way. I teased with hookless mackerel all day and had guests Hegge Wilson and Jon Hickerson, from LeGrande, Ore., casting until they were worn out. Jon boated a really nice sierra and had no less than five great bites on roosterfish . . . but he did not get a good hook set and couldn’t get tight to a fish. Such is rooster fishing!
There were numerous schools of jacks on the move, but they were as spooky as I've ever seen them. Any cast would send them scattering in a panic . . . odd. Yesterday (4/8) a thick fog clung to the water for most of the morning. Josh [another Baja on the Fly guide] and I both fished inshore all day trolling hookless live bait. Wilson boated another nice sierra, but the others were not able to get a hook into a fish. We did not see the action we had the previous day. Only a couple of roosters came to the bait, as well as only a few sierra. Offshore, the marlin bite slowed down also. Only five fish on the board tonight: four marlin and one sierra.
The sardina have yet to show, so the only bait available for chum is mackerel.
Report by Baja on the Fly.
Water temperature 66-74
Air temperature 66-82
Humidity 65%
Wind: NNE 4 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 7:03 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:37 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
There was little surface action to talk about at the entrada, however a few grouper that were deeper in the water column were found near Santa Margarita Island. We’ve been hearing rumors of tuna 40 miles south of the entrada. Corvina and a few quality snook were found up near Devil’s Curve. The halibut bite was pretty consistent on most of the sandy beaches with the south side of Belchers being one of the better spots. A slowly retrieved olive Baja Deep Diver was doing the trick for the snook.
Water temperature 69-75
Air temperature 62-79
Humidity 6%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:09 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:46 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The water has been warming up, and sending the cold water current we have had for this last month out of the area. In summary, the sailfish action is picking up, the blue marlin are moving into the area, and we even got into the roosters yesterday (4/8). The yellowfin tuna are still a no-show.
I fished with Baja on the Fly clients The Barrow Family of Mountain Home, Ark., trying for a sailfish on the fly on Wed. (4/6). It was just too early in the week as the sailfish did not become active until yesterday. We did raise one sail and a marlin however, but were not able to get any action on the fly when they came to the boat. As of today, the fleet is averaging about one sailfish per boat on conventional gear.
This last Sun., Mon., Wed., and yesterday Felipe, on the panga Yellowfin and I fished with various clients with the flyrod, or Felipe fished alone with conventional gear, targeting the inshore jack crevalle bite. On Sun., Tom Ohlson of Colorado got a few on the fly and surface popper. Mon., Dave Powell ended up with 12 of the hard-fighting jacks on surface poppers and slow trolled live bait. Fly fisherman Chuck Smith had 4, and Greg Benfit, of Portland, Ore, and his wife got 4 jacks and 2 very nice roosterfish. Chuck found out just how hard the 6- to 20-pound jacks fight when he snapped his 10-weight in three places. He tried to lift, but the big jack wanted to go down.
Felipe told me roosters were crashing the bait on the beach, and mixed in with the jacks. "There must have been 50 or 60 roosters among the 150 or so jacks. All the roosters were in the 30- to 40-pound class. Their combs were standing straight up and you could easily see them. This is the earliest I have heard of the roosters being here in quantity, so things may really be looking up,” he said.
Several blue marlin were caught this week with the panga Oceana with one. The private boat Aleta Negra, owned by Karl Peters of Nashville released one, and the cruiser Rosa Nautica got one. The largest was caught on the panga Gitana, with Captain Santiago. The huge blue was estimated at about 575 pounds.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 75 - 89
Humidity 77%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:34 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:00 p.m. CDT
San Jose, Guatemala
Forty mile runs were the norm for the week. Once the fish were located, the action heated up allowing most of the fleet to maintain a decent 70% hook-to-release rate. To add to the excitement, a few marlin showed up in the pattern along with an occasional dorado. Internationally known fly-fishing guide Lori Ann Murphy and her Reel Women group will be arriving tomorrow (4/10) looking to get into the billfish-on-a-fly action. Hopefully, we will be able to deliver the same kind of trip Lori Ann’s friend Paul Bruun and Terry Shade had a few weeks ago. Sailfish, marlin, dorado and maybe a roosterfish or two inshore should be enough to keep them smiling. We know the women will be ready, so it should be a fun party if the fish cooperate!
And finally, inshore there were several roosterfish released in one afternoon of fishing.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 84
Humidity 74%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 5:53 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:16 p.m. CST
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Last Gasps of Winter, We Hope!
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
The first three days of the week were punctuated by a strong North wind. Cecilia “Pudge” Kleinkauf’s Baja Spring Co-Ed Special began Mon. (3/28) with mixed results. Tues. and Wed. produced fair action early in the morning for skipjack in front of La Ribera. Later in the day, moving offshore, the group found plenty to look at as the marlin put on a show feeding on the surface. Steve Tomilson, New York, NY had excellent action on roosterfish inshore, landing his first-ever on the fly. He rounded off the day with a few skipjack and ladyfish. He is already talking about coming back in May to hunt for Bubba. By the end of the week, the North wind was back, keeping all but the most dedicated close to the pool with a book in one hand and a cold drink with an umbrella in the other. Ron Radwin, Pittstown, NJ drove up from Cabo San Lucas to check out the beach and liked what he saw. A frequent visitor to Baja, he plans to hang out on a Baja beach more often.
Report by Baja on the Fly.
Water temperature 67-74
Air temperature 68-82
Humidity 37%
Wind: 12 mph N
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 6:10 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:34 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
After several weeks of windy conditions, it finally settled down with welcome sunny skies and no wind. Up at Devil’s Curve, the snook began to bite and I heard of at least one that was in the 25-pound class. Out at the entrada, there were a few small firecracker yellowtail as well as sierra under the bird schools. Outside, there were plenty of skipjack to keep the rods bent.
Diana Hoyt, Mag Bay Outfitters, Lopez Mateos, reported some large snook at Boca de Soledad along with plenty of pompano. Still nothing of note to report offshore.
Water temperature 69-75
Air temperature 66-82
Humidity 6%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 6:17 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:43 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The inshore action has picked up a bit, with most boats still scoring on the jack crevalle and black skipjack tuna. The action on the jacks, when we find them busting bait on the beach has been about as exciting fishing as I have ever had. There will be from 100 to 300 birds diving on the melee as the jacks crash the bait in the waves. You have just enough time to make two or three casts to hook a fish. While you are hooked up, the bait is racing up the beach until the jacks and birds find them again. It is strictly run and gun action, and very productive.
The Terrifin Satellite Surface Temperature charts show 80 degree water at 16 miles. We should start getting the sails again this next week.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 73 - 87
Humidity 74%
Wind: 5 mph from the WSW
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:40 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:59 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
Cloudy skies persisted most of the week and took its toll, producing lower averages than normal for this time of year. 30-40 miles were not uncommon as the fleet spread out in search of the hot bite. Plenty of sailfish showed up in the pattern, but less aggressive. The trick was to entice them to take the fly.
Think pink, the usual mantra, wasn’t working so it was a good week to try some other colors. Dorado-colored Billfish Babies along with blue and white produced the best results. Everyone had plenty of shots and hookups and managed to release at least one sail a day on the fly. Dorado were thick and almost a nuisance, but real crowd-pleasers at the dinner table.
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 84
Humidity 74%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 5:58 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:15 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
The first three days of the week were punctuated by a strong North wind. Cecilia “Pudge” Kleinkauf’s Baja Spring Co-Ed Special began Mon. (3/28) with mixed results. Tues. and Wed. produced fair action early in the morning for skipjack in front of La Ribera. Later in the day, moving offshore, the group found plenty to look at as the marlin put on a show feeding on the surface. Steve Tomilson, New York, NY had excellent action on roosterfish inshore, landing his first-ever on the fly. He rounded off the day with a few skipjack and ladyfish. He is already talking about coming back in May to hunt for Bubba. By the end of the week, the North wind was back, keeping all but the most dedicated close to the pool with a book in one hand and a cold drink with an umbrella in the other. Ron Radwin, Pittstown, NJ drove up from Cabo San Lucas to check out the beach and liked what he saw. A frequent visitor to Baja, he plans to hang out on a Baja beach more often.
Report by Baja on the Fly.
Water temperature 67-74
Air temperature 68-82
Humidity 37%
Wind: 12 mph N
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 6:10 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:34 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
After several weeks of windy conditions, it finally settled down with welcome sunny skies and no wind. Up at Devil’s Curve, the snook began to bite and I heard of at least one that was in the 25-pound class. Out at the entrada, there were a few small firecracker yellowtail as well as sierra under the bird schools. Outside, there were plenty of skipjack to keep the rods bent.
Diana Hoyt, Mag Bay Outfitters, Lopez Mateos, reported some large snook at Boca de Soledad along with plenty of pompano. Still nothing of note to report offshore.
Water temperature 69-75
Air temperature 66-82
Humidity 6%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 6:17 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:43 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The inshore action has picked up a bit, with most boats still scoring on the jack crevalle and black skipjack tuna. The action on the jacks, when we find them busting bait on the beach has been about as exciting fishing as I have ever had. There will be from 100 to 300 birds diving on the melee as the jacks crash the bait in the waves. You have just enough time to make two or three casts to hook a fish. While you are hooked up, the bait is racing up the beach until the jacks and birds find them again. It is strictly run and gun action, and very productive.
The Terrifin Satellite Surface Temperature charts show 80 degree water at 16 miles. We should start getting the sails again this next week.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 73 - 87
Humidity 74%
Wind: 5 mph from the WSW
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:40 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:59 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
Cloudy skies persisted most of the week and took its toll, producing lower averages than normal for this time of year. 30-40 miles were not uncommon as the fleet spread out in search of the hot bite. Plenty of sailfish showed up in the pattern, but less aggressive. The trick was to entice them to take the fly.
Think pink, the usual mantra, wasn’t working so it was a good week to try some other colors. Dorado-colored Billfish Babies along with blue and white produced the best results. Everyone had plenty of shots and hookups and managed to release at least one sail a day on the fly. Dorado were thick and almost a nuisance, but real crowd-pleasers at the dinner table.
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 82- 84
Humidity 74%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 5:58 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:15 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Saturday, March 26, 2005
East Cape, Mag Bay and Z-What Slow; Guatemala Continues Hot Show
East Cape
Persistent winds from the north and cool water made fishing tough today (3/25). Nevertheless, my clients cast diligently and relentlessly and managed to land a few trumpets and some small cabrilla. We’ve heard reports of roosters at Cardonal, but I did not see any though we did troll hookless live bait there for about an hour. Offshore was slowish (is there such a word?) also judging by what I heard on the radio. However, there have been some marlin caught in the last few days. The only bait is mackerel. No sardina to found anywhere yet. Waiting for the bite to kick in . . . Report by Baja on the Fly guide Lance Peterson.
Water temperature
67-74
Air temperature
64-71
Humidity
59%
Wind:
7 mph WNW
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
15 miles
Sunrise
6:16 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:32 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Easter celebrations brought recreational fishing to a standstill this week. Outside, it was Victory at Sea conditions. Even up in the esteros, the wind ripped most of the week keeping the few fisherman there close to home base. While there were a few halibut and corvina caught, it was pretty slim pickings.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
62-71
Humidity
95%
Wind:
WNW 11 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
6:24 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:40 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
About the only thing that can be said about the fishing here in Zihuatanejo is slow. There was still some excellent jack crevalle action in the beginning of the week. But, the cooler water, which has shut down the sailfish bite, turned dirty inshore and even had several areas of red tide.
On Thurs. (324), I went out with captain Martin on the panga Isamar with fly-fishing client John Avery of Napa, Calif., to try for a sailfish. We knew the odds were against us, but John wanted to give it a try. From 12- to-20 miles out, we encountered large areas of red tide and we never even raised a sailfish.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
71 - 86
Humidity
78%
Wind:
West 11 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:44 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:58 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
The overall conditions have been great, the run to the fish has been variable. This past week, due to Easter, there were a lot more boats spending more time focusing on dorado; with many brought to the docks by the local anglers. For sailfish on the conventional side, there was a 65% success rate with an average in the high single digits caught per day. The fly side had a 38% catch rate with a mid-range single digit success rate per boat day.
Terry Shade, Pescadero, Calif., and Paul Bruun, Jackson Hole, Wyo., finished up a successful trip last week. Terry, a long time Baja on the Fly client, couldn’t stop talking about the almost non-stop action, “This is more sailfish than I have seen in my entire life.” Surprisingly, Paul, who has fly-fished all over the world, had never had the opportunity to go mano a mano with the mighty pez vela. “If a person doesn’t get excited doing this, maybe golf would be a better sport for them,” said Bruun.
Terry and I had the opportunity to visit Antigua and Lake Atitlan on travel days and it was a wonderful opportunity to see the tropical country side. Sights included volcanoes and a 16-mile long lake nestled in the mountains at an elevation of 6,000 feet. Colorful costumes, old churches, festivals, shops crammed full of unusual art, jewelry, carvings, etc., convinced both of us that Guatemala was a special treat.
Water temperature
78 - 82
Air temperature
82- 84
Humidity
100%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
6 miles
Sunrise
6:03 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:14 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Persistent winds from the north and cool water made fishing tough today (3/25). Nevertheless, my clients cast diligently and relentlessly and managed to land a few trumpets and some small cabrilla. We’ve heard reports of roosters at Cardonal, but I did not see any though we did troll hookless live bait there for about an hour. Offshore was slowish (is there such a word?) also judging by what I heard on the radio. However, there have been some marlin caught in the last few days. The only bait is mackerel. No sardina to found anywhere yet. Waiting for the bite to kick in . . . Report by Baja on the Fly guide Lance Peterson.
Water temperature
67-74
Air temperature
64-71
Humidity
59%
Wind:
7 mph WNW
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
15 miles
Sunrise
6:16 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:32 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Easter celebrations brought recreational fishing to a standstill this week. Outside, it was Victory at Sea conditions. Even up in the esteros, the wind ripped most of the week keeping the few fisherman there close to home base. While there were a few halibut and corvina caught, it was pretty slim pickings.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
62-71
Humidity
95%
Wind:
WNW 11 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
6:24 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:40 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
About the only thing that can be said about the fishing here in Zihuatanejo is slow. There was still some excellent jack crevalle action in the beginning of the week. But, the cooler water, which has shut down the sailfish bite, turned dirty inshore and even had several areas of red tide.
On Thurs. (324), I went out with captain Martin on the panga Isamar with fly-fishing client John Avery of Napa, Calif., to try for a sailfish. We knew the odds were against us, but John wanted to give it a try. From 12- to-20 miles out, we encountered large areas of red tide and we never even raised a sailfish.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
71 - 86
Humidity
78%
Wind:
West 11 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:44 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:58 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
The overall conditions have been great, the run to the fish has been variable. This past week, due to Easter, there were a lot more boats spending more time focusing on dorado; with many brought to the docks by the local anglers. For sailfish on the conventional side, there was a 65% success rate with an average in the high single digits caught per day. The fly side had a 38% catch rate with a mid-range single digit success rate per boat day.
Terry Shade, Pescadero, Calif., and Paul Bruun, Jackson Hole, Wyo., finished up a successful trip last week. Terry, a long time Baja on the Fly client, couldn’t stop talking about the almost non-stop action, “This is more sailfish than I have seen in my entire life.” Surprisingly, Paul, who has fly-fished all over the world, had never had the opportunity to go mano a mano with the mighty pez vela. “If a person doesn’t get excited doing this, maybe golf would be a better sport for them,” said Bruun.
Terry and I had the opportunity to visit Antigua and Lake Atitlan on travel days and it was a wonderful opportunity to see the tropical country side. Sights included volcanoes and a 16-mile long lake nestled in the mountains at an elevation of 6,000 feet. Colorful costumes, old churches, festivals, shops crammed full of unusual art, jewelry, carvings, etc., convinced both of us that Guatemala was a special treat.
Water temperature
78 - 82
Air temperature
82- 84
Humidity
100%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
6 miles
Sunrise
6:03 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:14 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Guatemala Sailfish Blast Continues
East Cape
The fishing here is definitely slow. We had South wind for three days, but it didn't seem to help. There are lots of boats coming back with nothing. A few big dorado were caught, but no concentrations of any fish. The sierra bite has been good at La Ribera, but is over by 7 a.m. I went out a few days ago and landed one small dorado and a few skipjack; all on red and white. The shore fishing has slowed down a lot. I have been catching a few ladyfish, but not near the numbers I was. Haven't caught a rooster or jack in days. The North wind picked up yesterday (3/17). Everyone here hopes it is the last blow of the season. Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature
67-74
Air temperature
64-71
Humidity
58%
Wind:
NW 11 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:42 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:29 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Conventional fishermen were at the entrada three days ago and got one good-size halibut, a big grouper, yellowtail and lots of barracuda. Shark fishermen have run into lots of squid a couple of miles outside the entrance. There is also loads of squid inside the bay and lots of whales – but definitely not good fishing inside. Weather is absolutely beautiful. Very calm in the mornings with a slight wind after 12 noon. Inside the estero (estuary) they have been catching corbina.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
62-71
Humidity
95%
Wind:
West 15 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
6:32 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:47 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The cold water current still has the sailfish bite turned off. The blue water is beyond the 30 mile mark. The few boats venturing out that far are only raising one or two fish a day, and not seeing any signs of the tuna or marlin either.
Inshore, the birds are crashing on bait on the beach at Buena Vista and Barra Pototsi. There is still a very good jack crevalle bite going on. Today, (Friday) Martin on the panga Isamar, with client Andrew Vigil of Albuquerque, caught 12 of the big jacks averaging between 14 and 22 pounds. The jacks were taken on light line outfits using live bait and slowed trolled Rapalas.
Yesterday, Felipe on the panga Yellowfin, caught 6 pompano from 12 to 15 pounds for his client. They also got 2 amberjack of 8 and 10 pounds, and 6 chulas. All the fish came from drifting a live bait at the white rocks.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
73 - 86
Humidity
78%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:51 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:56 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
The conditions have been nice and consistent, but the run to the fish has varied this week with some fishing in as close as 25 miles and out as far as 40 miles. On the conventional side, there were 967 released sailfish out of 1347 hooked for an average of 21 per boat day. On the fly side there were 45 released sailfish out of 108 hooked for an average of 6 per boat day. Marlin made a strong showing this week with 5 released. Inshore, there was no one out.
Kim Kutsch, Jefferson, Ore., spent several days touring the countryside along with a group of his friends from all across the U.S. before going toe-to-toe with the notorious Guatemala sailfish.
This is what he had to say about the trip: “The fishing was spectacular and everything you made it out to be. I'll be looking at these pictures for a very long time. I think that was the most fun I've ever had with a flyrod. Thank you very much. After seeing the pictures and hearing the stories, Ryan is pretty certain I am bringing him to Guatemala next year in March during his spring break. The rest of the boys will feel the same way I am sure. I will get those dates from him and we will plan a trip.”
Water temperature
78 - 82
Air temperature
82- 86
Humidity
100%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
6:08 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:13 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Guatemala is Hot, Hot, Hot; Others Not
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
NOTE: This report is on Fri. instead of Sat. because of local logistics and communications coming out of Guatemala.
East Cape
We’ve had North wind for the last three days with fishing definitely on the slow side. We did land three baby roosterfish at the lighthouse on a white and olive Clouser. The boats are going south and coming back with some dorado and marlin. The day before the wind started, the marlin fishing was great. All the boats came back with at least one. I was out with a friend and we saw six boats hooked up with marlin at one time. One boat had two on. They were only about three miles out from La Ribera. The same day, we caught small dorado a half mile from the Spa. The wind came up and the fish left. Fly-fishers are finding a few sierra early in the morning at La Ribera. Skipjack bite has been good just a few miles from shore with red the best color. Still no sardines available for chum.Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature
67-74
Air temperature
66-73
Humidity
58%
Wind:
WNW 11 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:31 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:26 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
It’s been very windy afternoons for the past several days. You need to get out early to take advantage of the first few hours before the wind picks up. Several day ago, a few large grouper or maybe a white sea bass were broken off at the entrada, the resident small yellowtail continued to provide fair action on a See Through Deceiver with an olive-colored back. Early as it is we are already receiving some vague reports of yellowfin tuna out to the west near the shark buoys. With only a few anglers fishing the esteros, it is hard to gauge the bite. The corvina have begun to bite and there were several snook landed and – of course – more of them lost. The whale watching season is beginning to wind down with only about 20 whales with their calves still in the harbor to be seen.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
64-71
Humidity
58%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
6:46 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:30 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
A cool water current has moved in, essentially sending the sailfish South. Fishing for all species, except for some very good action on large jack crevelle, has been slow all this last week.
This annual cool water current brings in the big yellowfin tuna and marlin, but it is still a little too early to target them with consistent results. Cheva, on the panga Dos Hermanos II did catch one nice black marlin of about 250 pounds this week, as well as Pepino on the Whisky II with a smaller blue. A few other marlin were hooked, but lost.
Steve Talbot has been targeting the big jacks most of the week with Martin on the panga Isamar and, releasing about 10 fish a day. The big jacks are averaging between 15 and 20 pounds, with an occasional 25 pounder. Their fish have been caught using a red and white surface popper, live bait, and trolled Rapalas.
Baja On The Fly client Matt Herman of Los Angeles fished the inshore one day with Cheva, releasing 5 of the big jacks, several black skipjack tuna, and one chula.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
73 - 89
Humidity
78%
Wind:
West 11 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:56 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:54 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
The weather has been very pleasant with overall calm seas and bright skies. During the past week on the conventional side there were 847 sails released out of 1268 hooked for an overall average of 16 per boat-day with the high boat going 34 of 44. On the fly side, there were 127 released sails out of 306 hooked for an overall average of four per boat-day with the high boat going 12 for 14. There were also several marlin that showed up and a couple were released on light conventional tackle. Dorado were encountered by every boat, and made a nice addition to many dinner tables. Inshore, there were a couple of roosterfish also released.
Jack Balch, from Fremont, Calif., finished up his trip last Sun. and here is his take on the trip:
“Thank you for a fantastic trip. I don't believe you can find a greater concentration of sailfish then I saw in Guatemala. One day we raised fish 22 different times. Often multiple fish were raised at the same time. I actually had two fish fighting to try and get my fly at the same time. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who wants to catch a sailfish on the fly.”
Water temperature
78 - 82
Air temperature
82 - 84
Humidity
94%
Wind:
SE 13 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
6:13 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:13 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
NOTE: This report is on Fri. instead of Sat. because of local logistics and communications coming out of Guatemala.
East Cape
We’ve had North wind for the last three days with fishing definitely on the slow side. We did land three baby roosterfish at the lighthouse on a white and olive Clouser. The boats are going south and coming back with some dorado and marlin. The day before the wind started, the marlin fishing was great. All the boats came back with at least one. I was out with a friend and we saw six boats hooked up with marlin at one time. One boat had two on. They were only about three miles out from La Ribera. The same day, we caught small dorado a half mile from the Spa. The wind came up and the fish left. Fly-fishers are finding a few sierra early in the morning at La Ribera. Skipjack bite has been good just a few miles from shore with red the best color. Still no sardines available for chum.Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature
67-74
Air temperature
66-73
Humidity
58%
Wind:
WNW 11 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:31 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:26 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
It’s been very windy afternoons for the past several days. You need to get out early to take advantage of the first few hours before the wind picks up. Several day ago, a few large grouper or maybe a white sea bass were broken off at the entrada, the resident small yellowtail continued to provide fair action on a See Through Deceiver with an olive-colored back. Early as it is we are already receiving some vague reports of yellowfin tuna out to the west near the shark buoys. With only a few anglers fishing the esteros, it is hard to gauge the bite. The corvina have begun to bite and there were several snook landed and – of course – more of them lost. The whale watching season is beginning to wind down with only about 20 whales with their calves still in the harbor to be seen.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
64-71
Humidity
58%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
6:46 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:30 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
A cool water current has moved in, essentially sending the sailfish South. Fishing for all species, except for some very good action on large jack crevelle, has been slow all this last week.
This annual cool water current brings in the big yellowfin tuna and marlin, but it is still a little too early to target them with consistent results. Cheva, on the panga Dos Hermanos II did catch one nice black marlin of about 250 pounds this week, as well as Pepino on the Whisky II with a smaller blue. A few other marlin were hooked, but lost.
Steve Talbot has been targeting the big jacks most of the week with Martin on the panga Isamar and, releasing about 10 fish a day. The big jacks are averaging between 15 and 20 pounds, with an occasional 25 pounder. Their fish have been caught using a red and white surface popper, live bait, and trolled Rapalas.
Baja On The Fly client Matt Herman of Los Angeles fished the inshore one day with Cheva, releasing 5 of the big jacks, several black skipjack tuna, and one chula.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
73 - 89
Humidity
78%
Wind:
West 11 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:56 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:54 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
The weather has been very pleasant with overall calm seas and bright skies. During the past week on the conventional side there were 847 sails released out of 1268 hooked for an overall average of 16 per boat-day with the high boat going 34 of 44. On the fly side, there were 127 released sails out of 306 hooked for an overall average of four per boat-day with the high boat going 12 for 14. There were also several marlin that showed up and a couple were released on light conventional tackle. Dorado were encountered by every boat, and made a nice addition to many dinner tables. Inshore, there were a couple of roosterfish also released.
Jack Balch, from Fremont, Calif., finished up his trip last Sun. and here is his take on the trip:
“Thank you for a fantastic trip. I don't believe you can find a greater concentration of sailfish then I saw in Guatemala. One day we raised fish 22 different times. Often multiple fish were raised at the same time. I actually had two fish fighting to try and get my fly at the same time. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who wants to catch a sailfish on the fly.”
Water temperature
78 - 82
Air temperature
82 - 84
Humidity
94%
Wind:
SE 13 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
6:13 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:13 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Saturday, March 05, 2005
Guatemala Sailfish Like Pigeons in the Park
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
The wind finally stopped on Thurs. (3/3) and things definitely look brighter when you can cast a fly without having it sail back in your face. To prove my point, I landed a 20 pound pargo from the beach. There are also a few ladyfish, lots of small jacks, and a few small roosters. All the pangeros (panga drivers) are seeing loads of marlin off of Punta Pescadero, along with small dorado. Not many sierra around. Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature
67-74
Air temperature
66-69
Humidity
58%
Wind:
NNE 8 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:37 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:23 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Whale watching is still taking center stage for both Lopez Mateos and Puerto San Carlos. There are still a few small yellows under the bird schools at the entrada as well as a few leopard grouper deeper down in the water column. The esteros produced a few small snook both at Los Barriles and Devil’s Curve.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
64-69
Humidity
53%
Wind:
WNW 4 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
5 miles
Sunrise
6:46 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:30 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
Checking the Terrifin Satellite Surface Water Temperatures (SSWT) the last four days, it was evident a cold water current was moving in. This has been verified by the lack of sailfish being caught by the fleet. Checking again yesterday morning (3/4), before leaving with fly fishing client Ludo Coenen of Holland, it appeared a favorable band of water was about 12- to 15-miles out. On either side of this band of water, the SSWT showed a cooler water current moving in from the North. We never did find the blue water, but it appears it must be about 25 miles or so.
We got two sailfish on the fly and the rest of the fleet averaged only one fish on conventional gear. But, the fact remains, the fishing will continue going down hill if this cooler current moves in and sticks around. On a high note, the blue marlin and the big tuna should be moving in with the cooler water.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
71 - 86
Humidity
78%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
7:06 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:51 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
This is an e-mail that we received this week. “What a great trip you all whipped together for me on such short notice. I just don't know how billfishing could get any better than it was! In four days we raised 53, I hooked 39 and landed 14. I can't get back there fast enough.” -- Joseph A. Turano
For the past week I can only report on 4 days of fishing. In those 4 days, there were 454 released sailfish out of 664 hooked with an average of 14 releases per boat with conventional tackle. On the fly side, there were 118 released sails out of 218 hooked for a average of 8 releases per boat. In addition to the sails, there were a couple of marlin hooked up, but released, and quite a few reports of dorado.
Yesterday (3/4) was the first of a three day trip with Joe Balch, Fremont, Calif.. Having never caught a sailfish on the fly, he was up at sun-up ready to rock and roll. By the time the boat backed into the slip in the afternoon, he was no longer a wannabe. He had three sailfish on the fly under his belt. Yes, he was grinning from ear-to-ear. He was a great pupil and I can’t wait to see what he does today.
Water temperature
78 - 82
Air temperature
80 - 84
Humidity
55%
Wind:
SE 8 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
7 miles
Sunrise
6:26 a.m. CST
Sunset
5:46 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
The wind finally stopped on Thurs. (3/3) and things definitely look brighter when you can cast a fly without having it sail back in your face. To prove my point, I landed a 20 pound pargo from the beach. There are also a few ladyfish, lots of small jacks, and a few small roosters. All the pangeros (panga drivers) are seeing loads of marlin off of Punta Pescadero, along with small dorado. Not many sierra around. Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature
67-74
Air temperature
66-69
Humidity
58%
Wind:
NNE 8 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:37 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:23 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Whale watching is still taking center stage for both Lopez Mateos and Puerto San Carlos. There are still a few small yellows under the bird schools at the entrada as well as a few leopard grouper deeper down in the water column. The esteros produced a few small snook both at Los Barriles and Devil’s Curve.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
64-69
Humidity
53%
Wind:
WNW 4 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
5 miles
Sunrise
6:46 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:30 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
Checking the Terrifin Satellite Surface Water Temperatures (SSWT) the last four days, it was evident a cold water current was moving in. This has been verified by the lack of sailfish being caught by the fleet. Checking again yesterday morning (3/4), before leaving with fly fishing client Ludo Coenen of Holland, it appeared a favorable band of water was about 12- to 15-miles out. On either side of this band of water, the SSWT showed a cooler water current moving in from the North. We never did find the blue water, but it appears it must be about 25 miles or so.
We got two sailfish on the fly and the rest of the fleet averaged only one fish on conventional gear. But, the fact remains, the fishing will continue going down hill if this cooler current moves in and sticks around. On a high note, the blue marlin and the big tuna should be moving in with the cooler water.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
71 - 86
Humidity
78%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
7:06 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:51 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
This is an e-mail that we received this week. “What a great trip you all whipped together for me on such short notice. I just don't know how billfishing could get any better than it was! In four days we raised 53, I hooked 39 and landed 14. I can't get back there fast enough.” -- Joseph A. Turano
For the past week I can only report on 4 days of fishing. In those 4 days, there were 454 released sailfish out of 664 hooked with an average of 14 releases per boat with conventional tackle. On the fly side, there were 118 released sails out of 218 hooked for a average of 8 releases per boat. In addition to the sails, there were a couple of marlin hooked up, but released, and quite a few reports of dorado.
Yesterday (3/4) was the first of a three day trip with Joe Balch, Fremont, Calif.. Having never caught a sailfish on the fly, he was up at sun-up ready to rock and roll. By the time the boat backed into the slip in the afternoon, he was no longer a wannabe. He had three sailfish on the fly under his belt. Yes, he was grinning from ear-to-ear. He was a great pupil and I can’t wait to see what he does today.
Water temperature
78 - 82
Air temperature
80 - 84
Humidity
55%
Wind:
SE 8 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
7 miles
Sunrise
6:26 a.m. CST
Sunset
5:46 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Friday, March 04, 2005
Guatemala Sailfish Like Pigeons in the Park
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
The wind finally stopped on Thurs. (3/3) and things definitely look brighter when you can cast a fly without having it sail back in your face. To prove my point, I landed a 20 pound pargo from the beach. There are also a few ladyfish, lots of small jacks, and a few small roosters. All the pangeros (panga drivers) are seeing loads of marlin off of Punta Pescadero, along with small dorado. Not many sierra around. Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature
67-74
Air temperature
66-69
Humidity
58%
Wind:
NNE 8 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:37 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:23 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Whale watching is still taking center stage for both Lopez Mateos and Puerto San Carlos. There are still a few small yellows under the bird schools at the entrada as well as a few leopard grouper deeper down in the water column. The esteros produced a few small snook both at Los Barriles and Devil’s Curve.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
64-69
Humidity
53%
Wind:
WNW 4 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
5 miles
Sunrise
6:46 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:30 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
Checking the Terrifin Satellite Surface Water Temperatures (SSWT) the last four days, it was evident a cold water current was moving in. This has been verified by the lack of sailfish being caught by the fleet. Checking again yesterday morning (3/4), before leaving with fly fishing client Ludo Coenen of Holland, it appeared a favorable band of water was about 12- to 15-miles out. On either side of this band of water, the SSWT showed a cooler water current moving in from the North. We never did find the blue water, but it appears it must be about 25 miles or so.
We got two sailfish on the fly and the rest of the fleet averaged only one fish on conventional gear. But, the fact remains, the fishing will continue going down hill if this cooler current moves in and sticks around. On a high note, the blue marlin and the big tuna should be moving in with the cooler water.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
71 - 86
Humidity
78%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
7:06 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:51 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
This is an e-mail that we received this week. “What a great trip you all whipped together for me on such short notice. I just don't know how billfishing could get any better than it was! In four days we raised 53, I hooked 39 and landed 14. I can't get back there fast enough.” -- Joseph A. Turano
For the past week I can only report on 4 days of fishing. In those 4 days, there were 454 released sailfish out of 664 hooked with an average of 14 releases per boat with conventional tackle. On the fly side, there were 118 released sails out of 218 hooked for a average of 8 releases per boat. In addition to the sails, there were a couple of marlin hooked up, but released, and quite a few reports of dorado.
Yesterday (3/4) was the first of a three day trip with Joe Balch, Fremont, Calif.. Having never caught a sailfish on the fly, he was up at sun-up ready to rock and roll. By the time the boat backed into the slip in the afternoon, he was no longer a wannabe. He had three sailfish on the fly under his belt. Yes, he was grinning from ear-to-ear. He was a great pupil and I can’t wait to see what he does today.
Water temperature
78 - 82
Air temperature
80 - 84
Humidity
55%
Wind:
SE 8 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
7 miles
Sunrise
6:26 a.m. CST
Sunset
5:46 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
The wind finally stopped on Thurs. (3/3) and things definitely look brighter when you can cast a fly without having it sail back in your face. To prove my point, I landed a 20 pound pargo from the beach. There are also a few ladyfish, lots of small jacks, and a few small roosters. All the pangeros (panga drivers) are seeing loads of marlin off of Punta Pescadero, along with small dorado. Not many sierra around. Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature
67-74
Air temperature
66-69
Humidity
58%
Wind:
NNE 8 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:37 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:23 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Whale watching is still taking center stage for both Lopez Mateos and Puerto San Carlos. There are still a few small yellows under the bird schools at the entrada as well as a few leopard grouper deeper down in the water column. The esteros produced a few small snook both at Los Barriles and Devil’s Curve.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
64-69
Humidity
53%
Wind:
WNW 4 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
5 miles
Sunrise
6:46 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:30 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
Checking the Terrifin Satellite Surface Water Temperatures (SSWT) the last four days, it was evident a cold water current was moving in. This has been verified by the lack of sailfish being caught by the fleet. Checking again yesterday morning (3/4), before leaving with fly fishing client Ludo Coenen of Holland, it appeared a favorable band of water was about 12- to 15-miles out. On either side of this band of water, the SSWT showed a cooler water current moving in from the North. We never did find the blue water, but it appears it must be about 25 miles or so.
We got two sailfish on the fly and the rest of the fleet averaged only one fish on conventional gear. But, the fact remains, the fishing will continue going down hill if this cooler current moves in and sticks around. On a high note, the blue marlin and the big tuna should be moving in with the cooler water.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
71 - 86
Humidity
78%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
7:06 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:51 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
This is an e-mail that we received this week. “What a great trip you all whipped together for me on such short notice. I just don't know how billfishing could get any better than it was! In four days we raised 53, I hooked 39 and landed 14. I can't get back there fast enough.” -- Joseph A. Turano
For the past week I can only report on 4 days of fishing. In those 4 days, there were 454 released sailfish out of 664 hooked with an average of 14 releases per boat with conventional tackle. On the fly side, there were 118 released sails out of 218 hooked for a average of 8 releases per boat. In addition to the sails, there were a couple of marlin hooked up, but released, and quite a few reports of dorado.
Yesterday (3/4) was the first of a three day trip with Joe Balch, Fremont, Calif.. Having never caught a sailfish on the fly, he was up at sun-up ready to rock and roll. By the time the boat backed into the slip in the afternoon, he was no longer a wannabe. He had three sailfish on the fly under his belt. Yes, he was grinning from ear-to-ear. He was a great pupil and I can’t wait to see what he does today.
Water temperature
78 - 82
Air temperature
80 - 84
Humidity
55%
Wind:
SE 8 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
7 miles
Sunrise
6:26 a.m. CST
Sunset
5:46 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Endless Season Update 03/04/2005
Guatemala Sailfish Like Pigeons in the Park
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
The wind finally stopped on Thurs. (3/3) and things definitely look brighter when you can cast a fly without having it sail back in your face. To prove my point, I landed a 20 pound pargo from the beach. There are also a few ladyfish, lots of small jacks, and a few small roosters. All the pangeros (panga drivers) are seeing loads of marlin off of Punta Pescadero, along with small dorado. Not many sierra around. Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature
67-74
Air temperature
66-69
Humidity
58%
Wind:
NNE 8 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:37 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:23 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Whale watching is still taking center stage for both Lopez Mateos and Puerto San Carlos. There are still a few small yellows under the bird schools at the entrada as well as a few leopard grouper deeper down in the water column. The esteros produced a few small snook both at Los Barriles and Devil’s Curve.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
64-69
Humidity
53%
Wind:
WNW 4 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
5 miles
Sunrise
6:46 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:30 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
Checking the Terrifin Satellite Surface Water Temperatures (SSWT) the last four days, it was evident a cold water current was moving in. This has been verified by the lack of sailfish being caught by the fleet. Checking again yesterday morning (3/4), before leaving with fly fishing client Ludo Coenen of Holland, it appeared a favorable band of water was about 12- to 15-miles out. On either side of this band of water, the SSWT showed a cooler water current moving in from the North. We never did find the blue water, but it appears it must be about 25 miles or so.
We got two sailfish on the fly and the rest of the fleet averaged only one fish on conventional gear. But, the fact remains, the fishing will continue going down hill if this cooler current moves in and sticks around. On a high note, the blue marlin and the big tuna should be moving in with the cooler water.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
71 - 86
Humidity
78%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
7:06 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:51 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
This is an e-mail that we received this week. “What a great trip you all whipped together for me on such short notice. I just don't know how billfishing could get any better than it was! In four days we raised 53, I hooked 39 and landed 14. I can't get back there fast enough.” -- Joseph A. Turano
For the past week I can only report on 4 days of fishing. In those 4 days, there were 454 released sailfish out of 664 hooked with an average of 14 releases per boat with conventional tackle. On the fly side, there were 118 released sails out of 218 hooked for a average of 8 releases per boat. In addition to the sails, there were a couple of marlin hooked up, but released, and quite a few reports of dorado.
Yesterday (3/4) was the first of a three day trip with Joe Balch, Fremont, Calif.. Having never caught a sailfish on the fly, he was up at sun-up ready to rock and roll. By the time the boat backed into the slip in the afternoon, he was no longer a wannabe. He had three sailfish on the fly under his belt. Yes, he was grinning from ear-to-ear. He was a great pupil and I can’t wait to see what he does today.
Water temperature
78 - 82
Air temperature
80 - 84
Humidity
55%
Wind:
SE 8 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
7 miles
Sunrise
6:26 a.m. CST
Sunset
5:46 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
The wind finally stopped on Thurs. (3/3) and things definitely look brighter when you can cast a fly without having it sail back in your face. To prove my point, I landed a 20 pound pargo from the beach. There are also a few ladyfish, lots of small jacks, and a few small roosters. All the pangeros (panga drivers) are seeing loads of marlin off of Punta Pescadero, along with small dorado. Not many sierra around. Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature
67-74
Air temperature
66-69
Humidity
58%
Wind:
NNE 8 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:37 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:23 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Whale watching is still taking center stage for both Lopez Mateos and Puerto San Carlos. There are still a few small yellows under the bird schools at the entrada as well as a few leopard grouper deeper down in the water column. The esteros produced a few small snook both at Los Barriles and Devil’s Curve.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
64-69
Humidity
53%
Wind:
WNW 4 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
5 miles
Sunrise
6:46 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:30 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
Checking the Terrifin Satellite Surface Water Temperatures (SSWT) the last four days, it was evident a cold water current was moving in. This has been verified by the lack of sailfish being caught by the fleet. Checking again yesterday morning (3/4), before leaving with fly fishing client Ludo Coenen of Holland, it appeared a favorable band of water was about 12- to 15-miles out. On either side of this band of water, the SSWT showed a cooler water current moving in from the North. We never did find the blue water, but it appears it must be about 25 miles or so.
We got two sailfish on the fly and the rest of the fleet averaged only one fish on conventional gear. But, the fact remains, the fishing will continue going down hill if this cooler current moves in and sticks around. On a high note, the blue marlin and the big tuna should be moving in with the cooler water.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
71 - 86
Humidity
78%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
7:06 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:51 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
This is an e-mail that we received this week. “What a great trip you all whipped together for me on such short notice. I just don't know how billfishing could get any better than it was! In four days we raised 53, I hooked 39 and landed 14. I can't get back there fast enough.” -- Joseph A. Turano
For the past week I can only report on 4 days of fishing. In those 4 days, there were 454 released sailfish out of 664 hooked with an average of 14 releases per boat with conventional tackle. On the fly side, there were 118 released sails out of 218 hooked for a average of 8 releases per boat. In addition to the sails, there were a couple of marlin hooked up, but released, and quite a few reports of dorado.
Yesterday (3/4) was the first of a three day trip with Joe Balch, Fremont, Calif.. Having never caught a sailfish on the fly, he was up at sun-up ready to rock and roll. By the time the boat backed into the slip in the afternoon, he was no longer a wannabe. He had three sailfish on the fly under his belt. Yes, he was grinning from ear-to-ear. He was a great pupil and I can’t wait to see what he does today.
Water temperature
78 - 82
Air temperature
80 - 84
Humidity
55%
Wind:
SE 8 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
7 miles
Sunrise
6:26 a.m. CST
Sunset
5:46 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Guatemala Sizzles; Z-What Hot; Others Lukewarm
East Cape
Thursday’s (2/24) beach trip went fairly well with two small roosters, one small jack and a couple of ladyfish. Yesterday (2/25) we were out in a panga with little success. The North wind came up and we couldn't find the dead whale. On the bright side, we did get one 55-pound dorado trolling conventional gear. No sardines yet.
The North wind is back. Fishing has dropped off. I'm still able to catch some ladyfish and small jacks from shore early and I mean early – the bite is over by 7:30. The whale is gone and so are the dorado. There are a few dorado around but no concentrations. Red, and black is what worked a few days ago. As has been the case all winter, there are more marlin than usual for this time of year. Some yellowfin were caught a few days ago, but that was before the wind came back. The roosters have disappeared, but I'm sure they will be back on the beach when the wind quits. I landed two one day on a gray and white deceiver. The fish are scattered, but most boats are going south. Sierra have been hard to find. Local people say it’s because of the fleet of shrimp boats that have been fishing every night for the last week. I don't know how much truth there is to that. It is cloudy and cool. I hope the water doesn't cool off too much. Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature
67-74
Air temperature
60-68
Humidity
58%
Wind:
NNE 4 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:42 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:20 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
It’s been a little cooler this week, but all-in-all nice weather. The few that ventured out to the entrada (entrance) were not disappointed. A few small yellows and leopard groupers couldn’t resist a slow retrieved Baja Deep Diver. Up at Devil’s Curve, the snook did their snipe impression and were among the missing this week. As usual for this time of year, more time was spent whale watching than fishing.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
60-68
Humidity
93%
Wind:
WNW 13 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
6:51 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:27 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 80 degree blue water has moved out a bit to the 6 mile mark, and I thought the full moon was going to affect our fishing. The pattern was holding true for most of the boats fishing the normal 8 to 14 mile areas. But, early yesterday morning (Friday) I logged onto the Terrafin Surface Temperature Satellite Service and noted decent water from 19- to 30-miles out. Martin, on the panga Isamar, fly-fishing client Kirk Strawn of Chicago, and I then fished the areas from 19 to 28 miles on a 180 degree heading.
\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIt was Kirk\'s first fly fishing\r\nexperience for sailfish, but he managed 3 tagged and released sails by\r\n10 O\'clock. As we got back to pier, Santiago, on the panga Gitana, was\r\nright behind us and flying 6 tag and release flags for conventional\r\ngear fisherman Russ Kirtchner of Indiana. They had gone 20 miles on a\r\n200 degree heading. This bite is not off, it\r\nhas only moved out a few miles.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nA couple of days ago, I saw a lot of\r\nbait and birds working the shoreline at Barra Pototsi. Kirk and I are\r\ntaking the 9wts there this morning, for some jack crevalle and black\r\nskipjack tuna action from the beach.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nRoosterfish action was very slow this\r\nweek however, and there are still no signs of the tuna.\r\n\r\nEd Kunze\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n",0]
);
//-->
It was Kirk's first fly-fishing experience for sailfish, but he managed 3 tagged and released sails by 10 o'clock. As we got back to pier, Santiago, on the panga Gitana, was right behind us and flying 6 tag and release flags for conventional gear fisherman Russ Kirtchner of Indiana. They had gone 20 miles on a 200 degree heading. This bite is not off, it has only moved out a few miles.
A couple of days ago, I saw a lot of bait and birds working the shoreline at Barra Pototsi. Kirk and I are taking the 9-weight there this morning, for some jack crevalle and black skipjack tuna action from the beach.
Roosterfish action was very slow this week however, and there are still no signs of the tuna.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
75 - 86
Humidity
94%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
8 miles
Sunrise
7:06 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:51 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
The conditions this past week were really nice with calm seas and fishing action from 5- to 15-miles out. There have been some days with tougher conditions, and others where the sails were just jumping in the boats. There are a lot of anglers down, and most of the boats are venturing out. During the week on the conventional side there were 2,314 hooked sails and 1,542 released sails for an average of 24 releases per boat day. On the fly side there were 691 hooked sails and 340 released sails for an average of 10 releases per boat day. The high boat on the conventional side for the week had 72 releases in a day and on the fly side had 27 releases. Truly spectacular results for a week! In the mix of all the sails were also some monsters with quite a few sails being reported in the 100-140 pound class. One of our clients on our feedback form said, "The thrill of these huge sails is going to be hard to describe.” There were dorado in the mix as well, and inshore there were several roosterfish released in one afternoon of fishing.
We also ventured over to Huatulco, Mexico last week, and will begin offering trips in March. This location looks really fabulous from a fishing standpoint with excellent billfish action from March through August. It also offers great activities for non-anglers in the group including stunning beaches and scenery. During our stay there was great action reported on yellowfin tuna, sailfish, and marlin. Look for our upcoming reports in the next couple of weeks.
\r\nSan Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWater temperature\r\n\r\n78 - 82\r\n\r\n\r\nAir temperature\r\n\r\n80 - 84\r\n\r\n\r\nHumidity\r\n\r\n55%\r\n\r\n\r\nWind:\r\n\r\nSE 8 mph\r\n\r\n",1]
);
//-->
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature
72 - 82
Air temperature
78 - 82
Humidity
94%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Mostly Cloudy
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
6:21 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:11 p.m. CST
Thursday’s (2/24) beach trip went fairly well with two small roosters, one small jack and a couple of ladyfish. Yesterday (2/25) we were out in a panga with little success. The North wind came up and we couldn't find the dead whale. On the bright side, we did get one 55-pound dorado trolling conventional gear. No sardines yet.
The North wind is back. Fishing has dropped off. I'm still able to catch some ladyfish and small jacks from shore early and I mean early – the bite is over by 7:30. The whale is gone and so are the dorado. There are a few dorado around but no concentrations. Red, and black is what worked a few days ago. As has been the case all winter, there are more marlin than usual for this time of year. Some yellowfin were caught a few days ago, but that was before the wind came back. The roosters have disappeared, but I'm sure they will be back on the beach when the wind quits. I landed two one day on a gray and white deceiver. The fish are scattered, but most boats are going south. Sierra have been hard to find. Local people say it’s because of the fleet of shrimp boats that have been fishing every night for the last week. I don't know how much truth there is to that. It is cloudy and cool. I hope the water doesn't cool off too much. Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature
67-74
Air temperature
60-68
Humidity
58%
Wind:
NNE 4 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:42 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:20 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
It’s been a little cooler this week, but all-in-all nice weather. The few that ventured out to the entrada (entrance) were not disappointed. A few small yellows and leopard groupers couldn’t resist a slow retrieved Baja Deep Diver. Up at Devil’s Curve, the snook did their snipe impression and were among the missing this week. As usual for this time of year, more time was spent whale watching than fishing.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
60-68
Humidity
93%
Wind:
WNW 13 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
6:51 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:27 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 80 degree blue water has moved out a bit to the 6 mile mark, and I thought the full moon was going to affect our fishing. The pattern was holding true for most of the boats fishing the normal 8 to 14 mile areas. But, early yesterday morning (Friday) I logged onto the Terrafin Surface Temperature Satellite Service and noted decent water from 19- to 30-miles out. Martin, on the panga Isamar, fly-fishing client Kirk Strawn of Chicago, and I then fished the areas from 19 to 28 miles on a 180 degree heading.
\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIt was Kirk\'s first fly fishing\r\nexperience for sailfish, but he managed 3 tagged and released sails by\r\n10 O\'clock. As we got back to pier, Santiago, on the panga Gitana, was\r\nright behind us and flying 6 tag and release flags for conventional\r\ngear fisherman Russ Kirtchner of Indiana. They had gone 20 miles on a\r\n200 degree heading. This bite is not off, it\r\nhas only moved out a few miles.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nA couple of days ago, I saw a lot of\r\nbait and birds working the shoreline at Barra Pototsi. Kirk and I are\r\ntaking the 9wts there this morning, for some jack crevalle and black\r\nskipjack tuna action from the beach.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nRoosterfish action was very slow this\r\nweek however, and there are still no signs of the tuna.\r\n\r\nEd Kunze\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n",0]
);
//-->
It was Kirk's first fly-fishing experience for sailfish, but he managed 3 tagged and released sails by 10 o'clock. As we got back to pier, Santiago, on the panga Gitana, was right behind us and flying 6 tag and release flags for conventional gear fisherman Russ Kirtchner of Indiana. They had gone 20 miles on a 200 degree heading. This bite is not off, it has only moved out a few miles.
A couple of days ago, I saw a lot of bait and birds working the shoreline at Barra Pototsi. Kirk and I are taking the 9-weight there this morning, for some jack crevalle and black skipjack tuna action from the beach.
Roosterfish action was very slow this week however, and there are still no signs of the tuna.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
75 - 86
Humidity
94%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
8 miles
Sunrise
7:06 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:51 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
The conditions this past week were really nice with calm seas and fishing action from 5- to 15-miles out. There have been some days with tougher conditions, and others where the sails were just jumping in the boats. There are a lot of anglers down, and most of the boats are venturing out. During the week on the conventional side there were 2,314 hooked sails and 1,542 released sails for an average of 24 releases per boat day. On the fly side there were 691 hooked sails and 340 released sails for an average of 10 releases per boat day. The high boat on the conventional side for the week had 72 releases in a day and on the fly side had 27 releases. Truly spectacular results for a week! In the mix of all the sails were also some monsters with quite a few sails being reported in the 100-140 pound class. One of our clients on our feedback form said, "The thrill of these huge sails is going to be hard to describe.” There were dorado in the mix as well, and inshore there were several roosterfish released in one afternoon of fishing.
We also ventured over to Huatulco, Mexico last week, and will begin offering trips in March. This location looks really fabulous from a fishing standpoint with excellent billfish action from March through August. It also offers great activities for non-anglers in the group including stunning beaches and scenery. During our stay there was great action reported on yellowfin tuna, sailfish, and marlin. Look for our upcoming reports in the next couple of weeks.
\r\nSan Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWater temperature\r\n\r\n78 - 82\r\n\r\n\r\nAir temperature\r\n\r\n80 - 84\r\n\r\n\r\nHumidity\r\n\r\n55%\r\n\r\n\r\nWind:\r\n\r\nSE 8 mph\r\n\r\n",1]
);
//-->
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature
72 - 82
Air temperature
78 - 82
Humidity
94%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Mostly Cloudy
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
6:21 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:11 p.m. CST
Saturday, February 19, 2005
All Signs of Spring Say GO!
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
Fishing here has turned on. A Spa boat went out two days ago (2/16) and found a dead whale. They landed 26 dorado from under and around it. Skipjack are biting well and some sierra early. The shore fishing has been good. I can catch ladyfish every time I go out. I landed four jacks and one rooster yesterday (2/17). The wind is still blowing out of the north, creating large waves. The afternoon fly-fishing from shore is tough. Most of my fish have come from casting a baitcaster and surface lures a long way out. A white jumping minnow is by far the best lure. The ladyfish are in close early and will hit a variety of flies. White and olive Clousers with lots of flash work best. Pink and purple still the best colors for the skipjack.
Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature
70-74
Air temperature
68-71
Humidity
58%
Wind:
North 8 mph
Conditions:
Clear
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:48 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:17 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Nice weather most of the week brought out the whale-watchers in full force. The entrada produced a few small yellows, sierra and a full-on barracuda bite. Up at Devil’s Curve, the snook still continued their elusive ways with only a few small ones caught. Up at Lopez Mateos, the Whale Festival is history and it is back to business as usual. Not much action on the outside where lumpy conditions persisted. Corvina, sierra and a few leopard grouper were all that could be found in the esteros this week
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
66-71
Humidity
25%
Wind:
WNW 13 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
6:57 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:23 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
We are certainly having one of our best Februarys for the last couple of years. Historically, February is one of the best months of the year, and this year is proving it so.
The 80 degree blue water is still only a couple of miles off the beach and no boat is traveling further than 20 miles to find fish. Most of the sailfish are being taken between the 8 and 12 mile mark.
I was talking with the captains this morning (Saturday) on the municipal pier, and we were recounting the number of fish they have released this week. Everybody was running out of fingers and toes. Adolpho, on the panga Dos Hermanos had the best week. He fished the blue water four days and never released less than eight sails, with two days of 13 releases. Adolpho also fished for roosters three days and tallied numbers of 9, 5, and 4 roosters each day. They averaged about 30 pounds, with a few fish well over 50 pounds. He also averaged between 8 and 10 jack crevalle on those days. The big jacks were about 15- to 20-pounds.
Santiago, on the panga Gitana, released 38 sailfish in the last seven days. And, Cheva, the captain of the Dos Hermanos II, released 30 sailfish for his four days in the blue water.
Scott McKane of New Jersey, fishing with Orlando on the panga Tequila, averaged four sailfish a day, while looking for the yellowfin tuna. They never found the tuna, but with the sails and a few dorado, he was really excited about the quality of fishing he has had.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
75 - 89
Humidity
83%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
7:10 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:49 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
The conditions this past week have been very nice, with the run to the fishing getting longer during the week. Early in the week, the run was 2-5 miles and it grew to 20 miles later in the week. The early part of the week started off with some lower production and tough times for the anglers, but the later parts of the week came on strong, and for the sails the boats hooked 243 sails and released 149 of them on the conventional side, and hooked 46 and released 21 on the fly side. Dorado again made a consistent showing, and a few boats even got in to some grouper action during slow sailfishing times. Roosters were also present with most of the action occurring on live bait on outgoing tides.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature
72 - 82
Air temperature
78 - 82
Humidity
100%
Wind:
SE 11mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
6 miles
Sunrise
6:24 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:09 p.m. CST
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
Fishing here has turned on. A Spa boat went out two days ago (2/16) and found a dead whale. They landed 26 dorado from under and around it. Skipjack are biting well and some sierra early. The shore fishing has been good. I can catch ladyfish every time I go out. I landed four jacks and one rooster yesterday (2/17). The wind is still blowing out of the north, creating large waves. The afternoon fly-fishing from shore is tough. Most of my fish have come from casting a baitcaster and surface lures a long way out. A white jumping minnow is by far the best lure. The ladyfish are in close early and will hit a variety of flies. White and olive Clousers with lots of flash work best. Pink and purple still the best colors for the skipjack.
Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature
70-74
Air temperature
68-71
Humidity
58%
Wind:
North 8 mph
Conditions:
Clear
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:48 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:17 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Nice weather most of the week brought out the whale-watchers in full force. The entrada produced a few small yellows, sierra and a full-on barracuda bite. Up at Devil’s Curve, the snook still continued their elusive ways with only a few small ones caught. Up at Lopez Mateos, the Whale Festival is history and it is back to business as usual. Not much action on the outside where lumpy conditions persisted. Corvina, sierra and a few leopard grouper were all that could be found in the esteros this week
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
66-71
Humidity
25%
Wind:
WNW 13 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
6:57 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:23 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
We are certainly having one of our best Februarys for the last couple of years. Historically, February is one of the best months of the year, and this year is proving it so.
The 80 degree blue water is still only a couple of miles off the beach and no boat is traveling further than 20 miles to find fish. Most of the sailfish are being taken between the 8 and 12 mile mark.
I was talking with the captains this morning (Saturday) on the municipal pier, and we were recounting the number of fish they have released this week. Everybody was running out of fingers and toes. Adolpho, on the panga Dos Hermanos had the best week. He fished the blue water four days and never released less than eight sails, with two days of 13 releases. Adolpho also fished for roosters three days and tallied numbers of 9, 5, and 4 roosters each day. They averaged about 30 pounds, with a few fish well over 50 pounds. He also averaged between 8 and 10 jack crevalle on those days. The big jacks were about 15- to 20-pounds.
Santiago, on the panga Gitana, released 38 sailfish in the last seven days. And, Cheva, the captain of the Dos Hermanos II, released 30 sailfish for his four days in the blue water.
Scott McKane of New Jersey, fishing with Orlando on the panga Tequila, averaged four sailfish a day, while looking for the yellowfin tuna. They never found the tuna, but with the sails and a few dorado, he was really excited about the quality of fishing he has had.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
75 - 89
Humidity
83%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
7:10 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:49 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
The conditions this past week have been very nice, with the run to the fishing getting longer during the week. Early in the week, the run was 2-5 miles and it grew to 20 miles later in the week. The early part of the week started off with some lower production and tough times for the anglers, but the later parts of the week came on strong, and for the sails the boats hooked 243 sails and released 149 of them on the conventional side, and hooked 46 and released 21 on the fly side. Dorado again made a consistent showing, and a few boats even got in to some grouper action during slow sailfishing times. Roosters were also present with most of the action occurring on live bait on outgoing tides.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature
72 - 82
Air temperature
78 - 82
Humidity
100%
Wind:
SE 11mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
6 miles
Sunrise
6:24 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:09 p.m. CST
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Saturday, February 12, 2005
That Glimmer of Light Looks Like Spring
East Cape
The wind is out of the east at about 10 knots and cloudy the last few days including scattered rain showers. The surf is large, but not choppy. The water is warming and clearing. Fishing is good for marlin and OK for dorado. Sierra are hard to find. A Buena Vista boat went out on Tues. (2/8) and caught one marlin, two dorado and two tuna. A “tin boat” angler went out yesterday, landed a dorado and hooked a marlin close to shore. Pink and purple seem to be the preferred colors. Shore fishing has been slow, but a few ladyfish were chasing bait yesterday off the beach here. First ladyfish I have seen in awhile.
Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature
70-74
Air temperature
66-69
Humidity
88%
Wind:
West 4 mph
Conditions:
Light Rain
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:52 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:13 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Wind and rain dominated the area this week. Whale watchers needed slickers to stay dry. No one seemed to mind as there are plenty of whales and even a few with calves already. The trip out to the entrada yielded small yellowtail, barracuda and a few leopard grouper. The trick is getting your fly down deep enough in the water column for the grouper. For the first time this year, Devil’s Curve produced a couple of decent snook – one 16-pounds and the other 12. Weather reports call for improving conditions during the week. Anyone want to get snookered? Up at Lopez Mateos the Whale Festival is in full swing and the town is packed with tourists who couldn’t resist the combination of whales and a party.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
62-69
Humidity
25%
Wind:
WNW 15 mph
Conditions:
Clear
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
7:07 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:14 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The blue water is only a mile off the beach and the sailfish fishing has been very good. Historically, Feb. is one of our very best months. But, the last three years has seen a 150 boat kill tournament at the end of Jan., and unseasonable cool water moving in about the second week, essentially shutting everything down. This year, we were able to eliminate the kill tournament (which is another story), and the current has cooperated.
Client Jim Rainey of Denver fished with Captain Cheva on the Dos Hermanos II earlier in the week, and released eight sailfish on conventional gear. The next day, Cheva went back out to the same spot and released 10. While guiding Tim Martin and Russ Coleman of Houston, with Cheva yesterday (Fri.), we raised one blue marlin and six sails. We were fly-fishing with only two hookless teasers out. Russ hooked two sailfish, and missed one. We backed the missed fish up with live bait, a circle hook, 30-pound gear, and shortly Tim had his first ever sailfish released. With nothing on the boat other than flyrods or 30 pound gear, we did not even try for the marlin.
Captain Santiago, on the panga Gitana, is averaging about five tagged and released sailfish a day, for this last seven days. And, for some interesting competition, his brother Adan, on the new Gitana II, is doing exactly the same.
The blue marlin are finally showing up in decent numbers. The 38-foot cruiser Yellowfin II has raised five marlin in three days and hooked one. The released fish was estimated at about 250-pounds.
(On a special note, I want to thank David Holts, of the NOAA in La Jolla, for sending me another 250 tags for tagging and releasing the billfish. I distribute them to all the captains. Please, when you come down here to Zihuatanejo, bring some of the Billfish Foundation or NOAA tags with you. E-mail me if you need instructions on how to get them.)
I may have to eat a few words I have written in the last couple of weekly fish reports. I thought the roosterfish, in catchable numbers, were out of here, at least for the time being until their appearance again in July. However, Adolpho, on the panga Dos Hermanos, fishing with a client from England, caught 18 jack crevalle and six roosters Thursday (2/10). They got the roosters on poppers and slow-trolled live bait near the antennas location, 26 miles south. Then yesterday, Martin on the panga Isamar, went 15 miles north and hooked four nice roosters on live bait. All the roosters were in the 30- to 40-pound class.
Inshore, several nice sierra to eight pounds have been taken.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
77 - 87
Humidity
83%
Wind:
West 11 mph
Conditions:
Clear
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
7:14 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:46 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
Conditions in Guatemala have been unusual with the fleet putting the teasers out just a few miles from the marina. I only have stats from Thurs. (2/10), where boats on the conventional side released 156 of 217 hooked sails. On the fly-side, 13 of 31 hooked sails were released. There were also some stellar performances with one boat that had a 90% hookup ratio on 40 raised sails. No marlin to report this week, but the dorado made a strong showing. Inshore, there were several roosters released in one afternoon of fishing.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature
72 - 82
Air temperature
77 - 82
Humidity
94%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
6 miles
Sunrise
6:27 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:07 p.m. CST
The wind is out of the east at about 10 knots and cloudy the last few days including scattered rain showers. The surf is large, but not choppy. The water is warming and clearing. Fishing is good for marlin and OK for dorado. Sierra are hard to find. A Buena Vista boat went out on Tues. (2/8) and caught one marlin, two dorado and two tuna. A “tin boat” angler went out yesterday, landed a dorado and hooked a marlin close to shore. Pink and purple seem to be the preferred colors. Shore fishing has been slow, but a few ladyfish were chasing bait yesterday off the beach here. First ladyfish I have seen in awhile.
Report by Baja on the Fly guide Tim Selzer.
Water temperature
70-74
Air temperature
66-69
Humidity
88%
Wind:
West 4 mph
Conditions:
Light Rain
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:52 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:13 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Wind and rain dominated the area this week. Whale watchers needed slickers to stay dry. No one seemed to mind as there are plenty of whales and even a few with calves already. The trip out to the entrada yielded small yellowtail, barracuda and a few leopard grouper. The trick is getting your fly down deep enough in the water column for the grouper. For the first time this year, Devil’s Curve produced a couple of decent snook – one 16-pounds and the other 12. Weather reports call for improving conditions during the week. Anyone want to get snookered? Up at Lopez Mateos the Whale Festival is in full swing and the town is packed with tourists who couldn’t resist the combination of whales and a party.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
62-69
Humidity
25%
Wind:
WNW 15 mph
Conditions:
Clear
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
7:07 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:14 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The blue water is only a mile off the beach and the sailfish fishing has been very good. Historically, Feb. is one of our very best months. But, the last three years has seen a 150 boat kill tournament at the end of Jan., and unseasonable cool water moving in about the second week, essentially shutting everything down. This year, we were able to eliminate the kill tournament (which is another story), and the current has cooperated.
Client Jim Rainey of Denver fished with Captain Cheva on the Dos Hermanos II earlier in the week, and released eight sailfish on conventional gear. The next day, Cheva went back out to the same spot and released 10. While guiding Tim Martin and Russ Coleman of Houston, with Cheva yesterday (Fri.), we raised one blue marlin and six sails. We were fly-fishing with only two hookless teasers out. Russ hooked two sailfish, and missed one. We backed the missed fish up with live bait, a circle hook, 30-pound gear, and shortly Tim had his first ever sailfish released. With nothing on the boat other than flyrods or 30 pound gear, we did not even try for the marlin.
Captain Santiago, on the panga Gitana, is averaging about five tagged and released sailfish a day, for this last seven days. And, for some interesting competition, his brother Adan, on the new Gitana II, is doing exactly the same.
The blue marlin are finally showing up in decent numbers. The 38-foot cruiser Yellowfin II has raised five marlin in three days and hooked one. The released fish was estimated at about 250-pounds.
(On a special note, I want to thank David Holts, of the NOAA in La Jolla, for sending me another 250 tags for tagging and releasing the billfish. I distribute them to all the captains. Please, when you come down here to Zihuatanejo, bring some of the Billfish Foundation or NOAA tags with you. E-mail me if you need instructions on how to get them.)
I may have to eat a few words I have written in the last couple of weekly fish reports. I thought the roosterfish, in catchable numbers, were out of here, at least for the time being until their appearance again in July. However, Adolpho, on the panga Dos Hermanos, fishing with a client from England, caught 18 jack crevalle and six roosters Thursday (2/10). They got the roosters on poppers and slow-trolled live bait near the antennas location, 26 miles south. Then yesterday, Martin on the panga Isamar, went 15 miles north and hooked four nice roosters on live bait. All the roosters were in the 30- to 40-pound class.
Inshore, several nice sierra to eight pounds have been taken.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
77 - 87
Humidity
83%
Wind:
West 11 mph
Conditions:
Clear
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
7:14 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:46 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
Conditions in Guatemala have been unusual with the fleet putting the teasers out just a few miles from the marina. I only have stats from Thurs. (2/10), where boats on the conventional side released 156 of 217 hooked sails. On the fly-side, 13 of 31 hooked sails were released. There were also some stellar performances with one boat that had a 90% hookup ratio on 40 raised sails. No marlin to report this week, but the dorado made a strong showing. Inshore, there were several roosters released in one afternoon of fishing.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature
72 - 82
Air temperature
77 - 82
Humidity
94%
Wind:
Calm
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
6 miles
Sunrise
6:27 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:07 p.m. CST
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Oh, to be in Guatemala for the Sailfish Blitz
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
There’s no nice way to say it: the fishing is slow. Five days of north winds have cooled the water and made it a cloudy green. There are still some small dorado by Punta Pescadero. Sierra are scattered and only seem to bite early. Best sierra bite is by Rancho Leonero. Boats going 40 miles out have had some luck on dorado and marlin. The possibility of strong winds has kept most of the fleet closer to home. The wind finally died down some yesterday (2/4). Hopefully we will get a break for a few days.
Water temperature
70-74
Air temperature
64-68
Humidity
43%
Wind:
NNW 14 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:56 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:09 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Whales dominated the scene at both Puerto San Carlos and Lopez Mateos this week. The few pangas that ventured out to the entrada found scratchy fishing yielding only fair results including a few small yellows, grouper and barracuda. Up at Lopez Mateos, the annual celebration of the whales, “Festival Ballena Gris,” will be held Feb. 12. The event will include the crowning of a Queen of the Festival and the celebration of what many locals are calling the best whale-watching season in several years. The esteros continued the same pattern of slow fishing influenced by poor weather reinforced by strong winds.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
62-69
Humidity
25%
Wind:
WNW 15 mph
Conditions:
Clear
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
7:07 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:14 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The blue water has moved out to about 12 miles. Most of the fleet is fishing the area between 14 and 22 miles, and not doing very well. They are only averaging about one sailfish a day. The Terrifin Satellite Surface Temperature service clearly shows the cooler water being within the 10 mile mark, mixed water out to about 28 miles, and then good warm water from 30 miles and beyond.
It also stands to reason the few boats fishing beyond the 30 mile mark are doing very well, averaging five and six sailfish released a day.
A few mature dorado, between 20 and 35 pounds, are being taken at a rate of one dorado for every five boats on the water.
Butch Cooley, fishing with Capt. Martin on the panga “Isamar,” made a 35 mile run yesterday for roosters. They only had one strike on a surface popper.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
75 - 86
Humidity
63%
Wind:
South 4 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
7:16 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:43 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
The overall conditions have been very nice in the San Jose area this past week. There were more boats out for a women’s light tackle tournament that is going on. For sailfish there were 447 releases on 668 bites. On the fly-fishing side, there were 34 releases for 60 bites. The action has been at 10 miles on quite a few of the days, with still a few boats ranging out as far as 20 miles. There are good reports of dorado being caught by the boats, but no action on tuna. Inshore, once again there were no clients out, but there were several roosters caught by a couple of the captains who were testing the waters.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature
72 - 82
Air temperature
78 - 84
Humidity
100%
Wind:
ESE 8 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
6 miles
Sunrise
6:25 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:01 p.m. CST
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
East Cape
There’s no nice way to say it: the fishing is slow. Five days of north winds have cooled the water and made it a cloudy green. There are still some small dorado by Punta Pescadero. Sierra are scattered and only seem to bite early. Best sierra bite is by Rancho Leonero. Boats going 40 miles out have had some luck on dorado and marlin. The possibility of strong winds has kept most of the fleet closer to home. The wind finally died down some yesterday (2/4). Hopefully we will get a break for a few days.
Water temperature
70-74
Air temperature
64-68
Humidity
43%
Wind:
NNW 14 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
6:56 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:09 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Whales dominated the scene at both Puerto San Carlos and Lopez Mateos this week. The few pangas that ventured out to the entrada found scratchy fishing yielding only fair results including a few small yellows, grouper and barracuda. Up at Lopez Mateos, the annual celebration of the whales, “Festival Ballena Gris,” will be held Feb. 12. The event will include the crowning of a Queen of the Festival and the celebration of what many locals are calling the best whale-watching season in several years. The esteros continued the same pattern of slow fishing influenced by poor weather reinforced by strong winds.
Water temperature
69-75
Air temperature
62-69
Humidity
25%
Wind:
WNW 15 mph
Conditions:
Clear
Visibility
3 miles
Sunrise
7:07 a.m. MST
Sunset
6:14 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The blue water has moved out to about 12 miles. Most of the fleet is fishing the area between 14 and 22 miles, and not doing very well. They are only averaging about one sailfish a day. The Terrifin Satellite Surface Temperature service clearly shows the cooler water being within the 10 mile mark, mixed water out to about 28 miles, and then good warm water from 30 miles and beyond.
It also stands to reason the few boats fishing beyond the 30 mile mark are doing very well, averaging five and six sailfish released a day.
A few mature dorado, between 20 and 35 pounds, are being taken at a rate of one dorado for every five boats on the water.
Butch Cooley, fishing with Capt. Martin on the panga “Isamar,” made a 35 mile run yesterday for roosters. They only had one strike on a surface popper.
Baja on the Fly report by Ed Kunze
Water temperature
80 - 84
Air temperature
75 - 86
Humidity
63%
Wind:
South 4 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
10 miles
Sunrise
7:16 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:43 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
The overall conditions have been very nice in the San Jose area this past week. There were more boats out for a women’s light tackle tournament that is going on. For sailfish there were 447 releases on 668 bites. On the fly-fishing side, there were 34 releases for 60 bites. The action has been at 10 miles on quite a few of the days, with still a few boats ranging out as far as 20 miles. There are good reports of dorado being caught by the boats, but no action on tuna. Inshore, once again there were no clients out, but there were several roosters caught by a couple of the captains who were testing the waters.
San Jose, Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa McFarlin
Water temperature
72 - 82
Air temperature
78 - 84
Humidity
100%
Wind:
ESE 8 mph
Conditions:
Scattered Clouds
Visibility
6 miles
Sunrise
6:25 a.m. CST
Sunset
6:01 p.m. CST
For additional information: bajafly@bajafly.com
USA toll-free (800) 919-2252 or 760/746-7260; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
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