GORDO BANKS PANGAS
December 14th, 2025

Even though the number of charters has decreased significantly at our marina, we continue to see good productivity throughout most of our fishing grounds. We also continue to see good crowds of tourists arrive in Los Cabos, greeted by great weather, clear sunny skies and highs in the low 80s; the perfect vacation spot for families looking to get away from the harsh winter temperatures for a week or two. We are experiencing cooler mornings in the high 50s and low 60s (cold at least for us locals), though it gets very warm as soon as the soon is out. We had patterns of north winds early in the week, but anglers did well fishing closer to shore in the more protected calmer waters of La Fortuna and Cardon. Throughout mid and end of the week, wind conditions were ideal and ocean swells were very slight with water temperatures averaging about 78 degrees. 

Live bait continues to be a challenge, though we did see a better supply this week. The bait guys were able to net live sardines throughout the shorelines of Palmilla Point and in front of the lighthouse next to the marina. These sardines have been on the small side, so most boats are using them to chum while they try to hook the bigger tuna on the dead sardines (bigger size). These dead sardines continue to come from the East Cape. We have also seen small caballito schooling binside the marina. This time of year, we recommend a good variety of baits (dead/live sardines, caballito, ballyhoo, squid) as we focus on tuna, wahoo, and dorado.

The most popular fishing grounds this week were Punta Gorda, Cardon, La Fortuna, and Inner/Outer Gordos. Throughout these areas, we are seeing good numbers of dorado while trolling lures and various baits. We did see a handful of dorado in the 25 to 30 lb. range, though most of these do-do’s were averaging 12-15 pounds, many of them females. Wahoo were a main target species as well on these same grounds. Everyday we are seeing varying numbers of wahoo brought in, sizes ranging up to 40 lb. Some fortunate anglers landed as many as three or four in a day, though most charters were doing well to find one or maybe two. Many captains reported that these ‘hoo were acting very finicky, following the slow trolled baits closely but not wanting to strike the baits. The fresh live chiwili seemed to be their favorite. Others did strike on the rigged ballyhoo, as well as on trolled Rapalas/DTXs and skirted lead heads. Chiwilis were a challenge for most part of the week.

We are seeing small yellowfin from Punta Gorda to La Fortuna on live and dead sardines. These small tuna are averaging 5-10 pounds most days. Within the same area, there is a good chance of hooking into a nicer 30–50-pound fish. Some fortunate boats were able to land 3-4 of these bigger tuna and a handful of smaller tuna and white skipjack (skipjack tuna). For a chance at a bigger tuna, Inner and Outer Gordo would be the go-to spot. We are seeing 30-70 pound class tuna at the Inner Gordo, most of them coming on live and dead sardines. Many captains were trying strips of squid, though we did not hear of any hooked on this bait. Bigger tuna were caught at the Outer Gordo on small live bulito and skipjack. The biggest tuna brought in this week was 165 pounds, with a handful of them in the 105 to 135 pound range. Even though we did see good action and productivity from both Gordos, the tuna bite can be spotty. Many boats were not able to hook into these tuna or if they did ended up losing it after a long battle. These tuna can be finicky, so getting a hookup could mean fishing lighter tackle, which isn’t always a good idea.

Good Fishing, Brian

GORDO BANKS PANGAS
December 7th, 2025

We are starting to experience some windy days as we usually see throughout these colder months. For most part of the week, we had scattered clouds and light showers throughout the area of Los Cabos. On Friday, it rained most of the day. Other than our clients getting very wet, it did not affect our day much as our fleet did great, good tuna and dorado numbers.

This was our most productive dorado week of the year. Throughout most of our fishing grounds we saw good numbers and size for dorado. Most of these dorado were averaging 15-20 pounds, though we did see a handful of 25-30 pounders. The most productive grounds were La Fortuna, Cardón, and Punta Gorda close to shore. These dorado came on small lures/feathers, Rápalas, rigged ballyhoo, and live/dead chiwilis. Some of these dorado schools were found as close as Secrets and Marriot Hotels, less than 1/4 of a mile from shore.

Live bait continues to be a challenge. Most bait guys are focusing on selling bags of dead sardines, squid, and ballyhoo as live sardines and caballito have been hard to find. A couple of bait guys reported small schools of sardines in front of the lighthouse close to us, though only enough to supply 2 or 3 boats a day. We believe it is not worth waiting for a chance at live sardines as you might not get any, or if you do, we are waiting until 8:00 am or so. For dead sardines, the bait guys have been driving towards La Ribera to net them.

We continue to see a spotty yellowfin tuna bite at Iman, La Fortuna, and Punta Gorda. Hard to bring them up to the surface without live bait, though some days we are doing good with dead sardines and squid. The tuna in these grounds are on the smaller side, 5-10 pounds, though we did see a handful of fish in the 20-40 pound class. We are seeing quality size tuna at the Inner Gordo most days. This bite can be hit or miss; many of the boats that tried were not able to land any, other lucky boats landed up to 4 in one day. These tuna were on average 45 to 70 pounds. Many boats reported seeing big tuna (100-250 pounds) feed at the Outer Gordo, though they would not bite. Only one big tuna, around 200 pounds was caught this week on a live bulito at the Outer Gordo. This boat landed this fish in 10 minutes as it hit on 2 lines at the same time and died almost instantly.

Earlier in the week, we had a good wahoo bite at Iman, La Fortuna, and Cardon. On Monday-Tuesday, some of the boats were able to land 3-4 each day. The bite remained very spotty throughout the rest of the week. Earlier in the week, the wahoo bite was better on live chiwilis and rigged ballyhoo. Later in the week, we noticed better action early in the morning on X-Raps and Nomad DTXs.

Good Fishing, Brian

GORDO BANKS PANGAS
November 30th, 2025

Activity at the marina slowed down significantly right after Thanksgiving as many families are flying back home. We are expecting another big wave of anglers the first 2 weeks of December.

The fleet continues to focus on finding yellowfin tuna. Iman was the most consistent fishing ground earlier in the week as we saw decent tuna numbers and a handful of nice size dorado and wahoo as well. Most of these tuna are small, averaging 5-10 pounds, though we did see nicer 20-40 pounders in that same area. Later in the week, a couple of boats found better action and size (15-30 pounds) tuna towards Vinorama. This Sunday, most boats focused at Punta Gorda closer to shore (due to wind) and were able to bring yellowfin up to the surface on live sardines.

The fleet is mostly using strips of squid and dead sardines. There are live sardines available most mornings, though most boats are not waiting as we are seeing them late in the morning around 8:00-8:30 am and the supply is usually low. These sardines are coming from Hilton/Cabo Real area. Later in the week, a couple of bait guys found sardines and caballitos in front of the lighthouse close to us. This supply was enough for only a couple of boats.

The wahoo bite continues to be spotty. We might see a good wahoo day and then the next one is a great challenge to find them. We had some days were some boats had up to 3 wahoo while losing a few other strikes. The guys focusing on wahoo are covering grounds from Vinorama to Punta Gorda, finding more production at Iman, La Fortuna, and Cardon. Live bait (chiwili) continues to be a favorite, though ballyhoo and Rapalas/lures worked well too.

Many captains reported seeing big sharks, what seemed to be Tigers in the Imán to La Fortuna area. One boat experienced a shark cutting 2 wahoo in half back to back.

If you are interested in a bigger yellowfin tuna, there is still a good chance at the Inner and Outer Gordos. Most boats were able to see the big boils and surface bait chasing, though they couldn’t get many bites. Not even going light on tackle, which was not a great idea as these tuna are big ranging from 80 to 200+ pounds. Only a handful of lucky boats were able to hook up. This Saturday, one of our boats lost a big one after an hour and a half that hit on a live chiwili. 

Good Fishing, Brian