Productive Grounds; Porpoise Schools closing in!

GORDO BANKS PANGAS
March 8th, 2026

We had more tourist activity this week; it most likely has to do with the proximity to Spring Break. Water conditions remained similar to the previous week, though we did notice North winds making a presence since the early morning around mid-week. Looking at the forecast, we should be expecting a few windy days next week as well. This will limit our options as it will most likely be a challenge to focus on further ground such as Vinorama and San Luis.

The tuna bite at Vinorama this week was spotty, though most boats did decent. On the slower days, boats were landing 2-3 yellowfin tuna on average; on the good days, we saw 5-8 tuna per boat. Most of these tuna were on the smaller side, averaging 5 to 15 pounds. The sardine supply was inconsistent this week; some days there were not enough to supply all pangas going out. Many captains mixed it up by buying a couple kilos of squid, which came in handy and worked quite well. Within the same area of Vinorama, we also saw decent size dorado on live/dead sardines while slow trolling/drifting for tuna. 

On the slower days, many boats decided to focus on the San Luis area and jig for white Bonita and a possible chance for a nice bottom fish. The Bonita bite was good all week and saved the day for many boats. While jigging for Bonita, we also saw a handful of amberjack, grouper, and small snapper, mostly yellow and red snapper. On Sunday, a handful of boats reported seeing nicer size tuna (40 to 60 pounds) feeding at San Luis, though they wouldn’t bite much. We did see 6 or 7 these nicer tuna come into the fillet tables this Sunday.

This weekend, many captains also reported seeing small tuna at 25 later in the morning. Some captains were able to land a handful of tuna in this area. While looking for tuna at 25, these boats also caught nice sierra and white skipjack.

The highlight of this week were good size tuna schools running with the porpoise, not far from our regular fishing grounds. We heard about these porpoise schools 3 days out of the week, spotted 5-8 miles offshore from Vinorama. Many boats decided to make the run after hearing good reports on the radio, and most of them were successful. Some of these boats landed up to a15 tuna in a couple of hours. These tuna were good size, most of them in the range of 40 to 60 pounds. These areas were tough on the smaller pangas as it did get windy.

Good Fishing, Brian

Spring-like Weather; Tuna Still Active!

GORDO BANKS PANGAS
March 1st, 2026

Very slow foot traffic at our marina this week. Surprisingly, we even had a couple of days off. We are now starting to experience warmer weather with day temperatures in the low to mid 80s. That said, we saw many local families take advantage and enjoy beach activities. Looking at the forecast, we are expecting cooler temperatures towards the end of next week (mid 70s). These are ideal temperatures as we head into Spring Break.

Ocean swells and wind were minimal. Water temperatures slightly warmer than last week, now averaging in the 75-to-78-degree range throughout most of our fishing grounds. We are seeing warmer water throughout the outskirts of Gordo and Cabrillo Seamount, approaching 80 to 82 degrees. We are hoping this warmer water brings some action to both Gordo’s as we haven’t heard many reports from these areas. Live bait situation remains consistent most days; we are seeing nice size sardines throughout the shorelines in front of Secrets and Marriot Hotels. The bait guys are also netting good caballito numbers within the marina.

Fishing was on the slower end for most part of the week. Our main focus continues to be yellowfin tuna, most of them caught at Iman on live/dead sardines. Many boats tried other grounds, though they were not successful. Many captains reported the tuna bite to come later in the morning, around 10:00-11:00 am. Most of the tuna caught were small to medium size, in the range of 5 to 50 pounds. Only a handful of medium ones were caught this week; most of them were on the smaller side. This Sunday, the bite was much better, most boats were able to land 3-5 tuna at Iman, while other lucky boats reported landing up to 10.

While boats waited for the tuna bite to pick up, they spent the early morning covering multiple rock structures at Cardon, La Fortuna, 25, Iman, San Luis, and Vinorama. Not much bottom activity was seen this week. Boats were lucky to land a couple of bottom species (amberjack, grouper, snapper) on the jigs. More white bonita and skipjack were caught on the jigs than actual bottom species. There is definitely at good chance at landing a few quality fish if you put in the time and cover multiple rock structures.

Some boats are now focusing at Palmilla Point and Cerro Colorado areas, including their shorelines for a chance at some snapper, grouper, amberjack, and Sierra.

Good Fishing, Brian

Spotty Tuna Bite; Bottom and Inshore Action Picking Up!

GORDO BANKS PANGAS
February 22nd, 2026

Typical February patterns continue as we see lighter crowds of anglers, cycles of winds predominantly from the north, cooling ocean temperatures and scattered fishing action. Water temperatures ranged from 72 to 76 degrees across most fishing grounds towards the North. We did see warmer water (75-76) at Gordo and surrounding areas, though there was not much to report there.

We started the week of strong on Monday and Tuesday with good tuna and bottom action in the areas of Vinorama and San Luis. Most of these tuna were caught on live and dead sardines, a handful on live caballito. These tuna were small to medium size, ranging anywhere from 5 to 60 pounds. On Tuesday, many of our boats came in with 5 to 10 tuna each, all decent size. Within the same area, a few boats also landed nice amberjack, grouper and a variety of snapper (red, yellow, spotted-rose, and barred pargo). One of the amberjack caught was close to 70 pounds! The amberjack, grouper, and red snapper came on jigs. The other variety of snapper came mostly on sardines. After Tuesday’s great day, things took a quick turn.

Wind picked up significantly Tuesday around midday and it seemed to change conditions for the remainder of the week. Action was slow throughout the rest of the week. The fleet continued catching tuna at Iman, though the bite was very spotty; most of the tuna caught came later in the morning, around 11ish. Many boats were not able to land a tuna on their outing, a few boats were able to land 1 or 2 a day (if lucky). A handful on white

We did not see many dorado this week; the ones caught were in the same area while looking for tuna. On average, we saw 1 or 2 dorado come in daily between our combined fleet. Billfish also continue to be more prevalent on the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas, only a few striped marlin are being found on the grounds off of San Jose del Cabo.

The highlight of the week is that we continue to see more bottom and inshore action. Many boats have started fishing rock piles throughout Palmilla Point and Cerro Colorado for amberjack and grouper. No yellowtail were reported this week. We are also seeing more Spanish mackerel (Sierra) and Roosterfish throughout various shorelines. This Sunday, many pangas reported good Sierra action at Cardon, 25, and La Fortuna.

Good Fishing, Brian