Anglers –
April 25, 2015

With weather conditions now ideal, hard to say why crowds of visiting tourists remain light, the climate is perfect, mostly clear sunny skies, with high temperatures up to 85 degrees. Winds fluctuated, calm through most of the week, increasing late week.

The bite for yellowfin tuna and wahoo was the highlight for local San Jose del Cabo fleets, also there was much improved action for striped marlin found on local fishing grounds. Supplies of sardinas were being netted near San Luis, though in recent days the commercial pangeros found less quantities compared to previous weeks, these batfish have been the bait of choice for the yellowfin tuna. Quality yellowfin ranging from 25 to 50 pounds have been testing the limits of angler’s light to medium equipment. The most productive grounds have switched from north of Vinorama, back south to the Iman Bank, but beware of the pesky sea lions, who have been getting more than their share of hooked tuna. With some larger sized tuna now in the mix another option for bait has been chihuil, which of course all gamefish will feed on, particularly wahoo. Some wahoo hit on ballyhoo or trolled Rapalas, but many more were taken on either chihuil or sardinas, sizes ranged up to 40 lb. The action for the tuna changed more towards later in the morning, early through mid- week was very good, Friday the north wind picked up and all around action was limited.

Dorado were not as numerous, though a handful of fish have been accounted for, no particular area seemed to be better than the other and most dorado hooked into were in the 5 to 10 lb. class, with the exception of a few fish larger to 30 lb. Striped marlin action was centered around the 1150 spot, with fish coming up on the lure spread and rigged ballyhoo. Stripers were also seen frequently on the same grounds where tuna and wahoo were found.

Not much along the shore now, roosterfish were harder to find this past week and sierra action was spotty as well. Bottom action improved some, anglers fishing the same grounds where tuna and wahoo were found near the surface, found a mix of species such as amberjack, pargo, bonito, cabrilla and plenty of triggerfish. Most of these action was on various whole and cut bait, not much going on while using the yo-yo’s. Yellowtail action was not reported, though not many people were trying the Outer Gordo Banks where these fish were previous found holding down in the cooler depths. With surface water temperature now ranging 74 to 77 degrees, this is a bit warmer than what would be ideal for yellowtail, so best chances would most likely be down deep where currents are cooler.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 78 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of:
3 surgeonfish, 32 striped marlin, 44 wahoo, 33 dorado, 176 yellowfin tuna, 22 sierra, 14 jack crevalle, 7 roosterfish, 6 pompano, 20 amberjack, 65 various pargo/snapper species, 120 bonito and 110 triggerfish

Good fishing, Eric

Anglers –
April 18, 2015

Crowds of tourists are lighter now that spring break has wound down, the visitors that are arriving to Los Cabos are enjoying great all around weather conditions, ideal climate now, scattered cloud cover, though plenty of sunshine, high temperatures around 85 degrees. With the exception of last weekend, when on Sunday the wind blew heavily out of the north, since then days have been much calmer, still unpredictable from day to day this time of year.

Ocean water temperatures fluctuated from 72 to 76 degrees throughout most of the region, swells were moderate and supplies of sardinas were sufficient, being netted by the commercial fleet near San Luis. Anglers found the most consistent action from areas near Vinorama, San Luis and Iman Bank. Last Saturday there was a wide open bite reported from the Tule area, just north of Vinorama, this is a longer than normal run for local charter fleets, though the action was centered very close to shore. Yellowfin tuna in the 30 pound class was the mainstay of daily catches, though there were dorado and wahoo mixed in. Drift fishing with sardinas for bait was the most productive technique. The very next day, on Sunday, high winds made conditions extremely difficult and also stirred up the sea, slowing the bite for a couple of days. Then the action improved by mid-week, before tapering off once again later in the week. Definitely an up and down deal, though conditions remain favorable and anything could happen on any given day.

More striped marlin are being seen around the Iman Bank and other nearby grounds, as well as a handful of larger dorado, wahoo action was elusive, though these speedsters are holding on local fishing grounds and with warming weather could go on a big bite at any time. Not much consistent bottom action being found, not many anglers were even trying the Gordo Banks, where yellowtail had previously found schooling down deep, this action was sporadic and most anglers opted to travel further north in search of better opportunities for tuna, wahoo and dorado.

Inshore there were sierra, roosterfish and jack crevalle, no big numbers, as spring progresses we expect to see improved inshore action soon as spring progresses. Have not heard of any great reports coming from the East Cape or outside of Cabo San Lucas, best bite appears to be out of the San Jose del Cabo area, which can be normal for this time frame.

Rebuilding efforts of the panga dock area out of Puerto Los Cabos Marina continue to progress, though more priority seems to be put towards fancying up the fillet station areas and perimeter of the parking areas, not towards actually rebuilding loading ramps, connecting docks, bathroom facility, lighting and fresh water wash down options for all of the moored pangas. Street work in the La Playita village area surrounding the docks continue at a snail’s pace, with no detour signs in place and this makes work conveniences limited. We do all hope that this project is someday completed, as the new tropical storm season is just around the corner.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 77 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 85 yellowfin tuna, 9 striped marlin, 11 wahoo, 58 dorado, 17 sierra, 32 Eastern Pacific bonito, 16 cabrilla, 8 pompano, 14 roosterfish, 5 amberjack, 16 jack crevalle, 22 pargo, 22 yellow snapper and 105 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric

Anglers –

April 11, 2015

Spring break vacation period is now coming to a close, this has been a busy time in Los Cabos, with everyone enjoying the pristine conditions, perfect 85 degree temperatures now, felling a bit tropical, light winds, perfect conditions for all of the available outdoor activities.

Anglers found ideal ocean conditions, light swells, moderate variable afternoon breezes, with water temperatures ranging from 74 to 77 degrees, occasional swift currents, blue water being found within a couple miles of shore and a variety of gamefish now in local waters.  Most consistent fishing grounds were from the Gordo Banks and north towards Vinorama. Recent catches have included striped marlin, dorado, wahoo, yellowfin tuna, bonito, roosterfish, skipjack, pargo, cabrilla and jack crevalle. Sardinas have once again been found schooling near San Luis, commercial bait netters worked hard for limited supplies, other bait option were caballito, chihuil and ballyhoo. Many species now in the area, though the action varied from day to day and the fish needed to be worked for. Best action proved to be encountered while using various baits.

Dorado were not numerous, though some larger sized fish are now being accoutered for, some bulls to 30 pounds were brought in. Some of these dorado were found very close to shore. Most of the roosterfish now being found were along the stretch from Puerto Los Cabos Marina towards Punta Gorda and weighed less than fifteen pounds. Schools of large sized jack crevalle found close to shore as well, some up to 30 pounds. Not many sierra now being located. The Eastern Pacific bonito were one of the more prevalent species now present on the various high spots, these fish ranged up to ten pounds.

The highlight of the week was that with sardinas once again obtainable, the yellowfin tuna action rebounded near Vinorama, even though this preferred bait was not overly abundant, anglers were accounting for decent catches on yellowfin weighing in the 25 lb. to 35 lb. class. The tuna were striking on both dead and live sardinas, while drift fishing with lighter weight leaders of 30/40 lb. Charters fishing this spot were accounting for anywhere from one to ten tuna, all quality sized fish. This spot is very close to shore and aggressive triggerfish are biting here as well. Wahoo have been hanging around these same grounds, some days more active than others, striking best on sardinas while targeting tuna, or on rigged ballyhoo and a handful on Rapalas. Many of the wahoo caught were smaller sized 15 to 25 lb. fish, though there was one wahoo this past week that was in the 80 lb. class and another one close to fifty pounds.

The few yellowtail that have been in the area have been coming from the Outer Gordo Banks, these fish all ranged in the 20 to 35 lb. class, striking most readily on live chihuil, a few hit on dead bait, though this was a hit or miss bite and there was not much else in the meantime being found on these grounds, besides some skipjack and bonito, though striped marlin were found near these grounds.

Humpback whales are still in the area, though in fewer numbers, they were seen feeding aggressive on some unidentified food source on the Gordo Banks, apparently filling up before starting their journey to their northern summer feeding grounds.

Not much bottom action this past week, some snapper, pargo, bonito, amberjack, but no consistent bite and most anglers opted to try for the tuna or wahoo.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 74 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 280 yellowfin tuna, 15 striped marlin, 38 wahoo, 28 dorado, 9 sierra, 90 Eastern Pacific bonito, 23 cabrilla, 16 roosterfish, 10 amberjack, 21 yellowtail, 12 jack crevalle, 28 misc. pargo and 55 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric