January 8, 2023

Holiday crowds continued this past week, but in the coming days the majority of these tourists will be heading back to school and work as vacation time expires. Weather patterns remained ideal, lows of about 60 degrees and highs of 80 degrees or more, clear sunny skies. Variable winds picking up most days later in the morning.  Ocean water temperatures continue to be on a cooling trend, now in the 72 to 74 degree range. With the cooler currents we are seeing more greenish off colored areas, especially closer to shore.

The bait situation remained much the same, not many caballito being found at all, ballyhoo and slabs of squid are available everyday, also mackerel and sardineta schools are now congregating off of the San Jose del Cabo Hotel Zone, about three miles offshore, so this will be a new option for anglers, using the sabiki rigs.

For local fleets the main grounds now being targeted have been straight off of the Puerto Los Cabos Marina region, where mackerel schools are now congregated and north to the Gordo Banks, Iman, San Luis, La Fortuna and Cardon. Dorado have been the most common game fish being found, many charters able to fill their limits on fish up to 20 lb., average of 5 to 15 lb. Striking best on trolled ballyhoo.

Wahoo action has faded out, only a few of these seen all week, as with the cooler water temperature these pelagics are now migrating south to preferred temperate water temperatures.

Early in the week there was some quality yellowfin tuna action encountered near the Iman Bank, fish to 60 lb. taken while drift fishing with squid. Also off of San Luis Bank some nice tuna were hooked into on yo-yo jigs where anglers were also catching some nice white bonito up to 12 lb. Later in the week the tuna were harder to entice, also winds were up some days and made these further grounds less accessible.

Still not much going off the bottom rock piles besides the bonito, triggerfish and a few pargo and leopard grouper. With lack of sardinas not much sierra action or shallow water inshore action being targeted. Hopefully these cooling waters will bring in some new schools of sardinas, because they are always a valued bait resource for the coming winter season.

Good Fishing, Eric

January 1, 20223

HAPPY NEW YEAR’S

Well another year is in the books. This past week we saw larger crowds of families arriving, many of them deciding to make late notice fishing reservations. As weather was very ideal compared to much of North America, where freezing temperatures were being endured. Local conditions were mostly clear with warm sunny skies, high temperatures to 80 degrees, slight ocean swells, variable winds, predominantly from the north and usually picking up later in the day. Overall, very  nice winter time conditions.

Fishing action centered on the grounds from Punta Gorda, Cardon, La Fortuna, Iman and the Gordo Banks. Water temperatures continued to be on a cooling trend, now averaging in the 72 to 75 degree range, also as can happen this time of year, swift currents are pushing in some more off colored greenish waters. Bait sources have had heavy pressure, limited supplies of live caballito, ballyhoo and slabs of squid remained the mainstay for anglers.

Considering the time of year some very impressive catches were being accounted for. Dorado up to 25 lb., though most were in the 8 to 15 lb. class, were probably the most numerous of all gamefish now being found, anglers used both lures and bait, with more fish being hooked up on various baits, close to shore as well, often the bite came on stronger late morning. Wahoo were still in the area but with changing ocean currents, not as many were being hooked into, we were just seeing a few each day by the combined fleet, spear fishermen were accounting for the majority, a couple up near 60 lb. that we saw.

Yellowfin tuna bite actually improved over the previous week, they were found on the Iman Bank, Cardon and even close off of Punta Gorda, striking more often on the strips of squid, but also on caballito. Average sizes were 15 to 30 lb., but we saw some quality sized yellowfin up to 70, 80 and the largest of all was 116 lb. fish hauled in on Thursday. Despite not being found in large numbers, this was a great end of the year showing for these tuna.

Billfish action remained steady on the Pacific side, but was very limited in the direction off of San Jose del Cabo, just a few scattered striped marlin encountered. This is the time of year now that the billfish action does start shifting in the direction of the Sea of Cortez.

Not much bottom or inshore activity to report, a few miscellaneous species such as leopard grouper, bontio, pargo and triggerfish hooked into, most of this while anglers were drift fishing and targeting the yellowfin tuna.

More numbers of whales arriving throughout the region with each passing day, peak migration of these migrating mammals seems to have arrived.

Good Fishing, Eric