GORDO BANKS PANGAS
August 30th, 2026

Today marks 3 years from Eric Brictson’s passing. As we continue his legacy, there is no doubt that we miss him greatly within our fishing community.

Monday started off great with good tuna and bottom action. Many boats started their day at Vinorama to try and land a few tuna on live sardines. We continue to see good tuna action throughout this area, most of them in the 20–40-pound range. We continue to see bigger tuna in this area; one boat landed a 160-pound tuna on a live bulito later in the week, a few other boats reported hooking into them and losing them after long battlers on lighter tackle. The currents were cooperative on Monday, so a handful of boats decided to make a few bottom drops with chunks of skipjack. The few boats that tried were successful as we saw good cubera and barred snapper numbers, best action coming at Iman. One of the pangas landed a 70-pound grouper on a live bulito at Vinorama while fishing for tuna.

On Tuesday, we had what we call a “Torito” storm hit the area of Los Cabos. This is a sudden, fast-moving storm, characterized by intense rain, severe wind gusts, and heavy electrical activity. This torito developed quickly. We had many boats out that day and they all reported a calm and productive morning. They started to see clouds creeping in around 9:00 am or so at a distance. Within an hour, these clouds took over the region and it came with caos. At around 10:00 am or so, a handful of boats decided to make the run back to the marina as the clouds were looking “too dark.” The boats that were not in a hurry to get back, unfortunately paid the price. From talking to these captains, 7 of them shared near death experiences as they took on winds estimated at 50 knots, heavy rain, and big swells. Most of these captains reported this torito to be one of the strongest and scariest ones in their fishing careers. Some of these boats came in with broken/ripped T-tops, damage to the consoles, and damage to the motors as waves were covering them completely.

Captain Carlos Cota was caught in this storm on his 22ft panga “Sufishiente.” Unfortunately, Carlos lost his panga and all his fishing equipment. His small boat was not able to handle the big waves and strong winds. This happened around the San Luis area. Fortunately, Carlos was able to get ahold of a buoy to swim back to shore. Carlos made it to land in about one hour and a half after his boat sunk. He is extremely lucky to be alive! We are extremely grateful all captains and anglers made it back safely that day.

On Thursday, they were able to find the boat. Luckily, the water was clear enough to detect with drone footage. The boat was located close to shore, in around 50 feet of water. They were able to retrieve the boat, though almost nothing was salvageable. 

The fishing community is doing a great job in supporting Carlos and his family throughout this hard time. This boat was Carlos livelihood as it was the source of income for his family. The goal is to get Carlos back on the water as soon as possible. If you would like to help Carlos and his family throughout this time and help him replace his boat and equipment, this is the link- Fundraiser by Travis Joyce : Let’s Get Carlos Back on the Water! Any donation or sharing the link will make a significant impact. We appreciate your help!

We did not see many charters throughout the week as foot traffic at our marina remain slow. The weekend was much better; more boats started to try Gordo and its surrounding areas. Reports of big tuna at the Inner and Outer Gordo continue to spread. A handful of the local pangeros were able to hook into these fish, though only a couple of fish made it to the fillet table. The biggest tuna was caught by Captain Santiago, weighing 210 pounds, hooked on a live bulito.

Good Fishing, Brian

GORDO BANKS PANGAS
August 23rd, 2026

As we head into the end of August and September, we are now at the peak of our hurricane/storm season. We are hesitant to see where it leads to as many climate scientists believe we are due for a big one. As of now, we are seeing a few developments in the Pacific, the closest one expected within the first days of September. The forecast significantly changes daily, so we are hoping it shifts towards the west.

This week, we experienced increased scattered cloud coverage with some rain, humidity and very warm conditions. Another week of light crowds of visitors, typical for this time of year.

Bait suppliers were still able to find the schooling sardinas just next to the marina jetty. We are not seeing many caballito schools currently. Some bait boats reported small schools of caballito later in the afternoon throughout different rock structures inside the marina, though they were difficult to target as they were moving fast; most likely some fish (Roosters, Jacks, Snook), chasing after them.

Most charters continue to work the grounds of Vinorama. As we continue to see a good supply of sardines, we continue to see decent tuna action. However, our battles with sharks continue. On a good day, some boats were able to land up to 4-5 tuna, most of them in the 20-30 pound range. Other days, you were lucky to land one or two. We did see a handful of nicer 50-60 pound fish in the same area.

On Friday, one of the private boats reported a 200-pound tuna at Vinorama, caught on a live skipjack. That same day, one of the pangas lost another big one after a one-hour battle (also on skipjack). Some of the locals also reported a couple of these cows at the Inner and Outer Gordo on live skipjacks and bulito.

Not much inshore action being done now, this is around the time of year that this action fades out. We did see a few dogtooth snapper this week, though these were found over same high spots where charters were drift fishing. Many boats reported schools of small dorado at Vinorama this weekend, almost none of them keepers.

Good Fishing, Brian

GORDO BANKS PANGAS
August 16^th, 2026

Very similar report compared to the previous one. Foot traffic at our marina remains slow, though we are seeing plenty of action. Very common for this time of year when humidity and heat index are at its peak; we start seeing business pick up around late September/early October. While we wait for the busy season, we focus on boat/gear maintenance and home prep for hurricanes. The forecast continues to change constantly; we are now seeing the possibility of a storm, expected around the 24th or 25th. It is still a way, so we will have to keep a close eye.

The yellowfin tuna bite at Vinorama remains consistent.  Surprisingly, we have had a very good sardine supply for the last month or so. This has allowed us to efficiently chum these tuna. However, sharks are still an issue and have been for the last 3 months or so. Talking to many of the local captains, we do not remember seeing these many sharks in one area for such a long period. It has gotten much better; a few months back we couldn’t even fish the Vinorama grounds. Some boats reported landing up to 6-7 nice tuna in one outing, while others struggled to land a couple. Most of these tuna were in the 20–50-pound range, with an occasional 60-70 pounder in the mix. The few dorado that were caught also came while drifting live sardines for tuna. On Friday, one boat reported a good size school of dorado chasing bait next to their panga; they ended up landing 4 nice size dorado (12-20 pounds).

While drifting for tuna, some boats also made bottom drops with jigs. Even though they reported challenging currents, they did hook into a few amberjack and grouper; one panga landed a small wahoo on a jig as well!

Not much to report from Inner and Outer Gordo. Only one tuna was brought in from these areas all week, weighing 182 pounds. Many other boats tried trolling live skipjacks and bulito with no success. A handful of dogtooth snapper were caught at the Inner Gordo on chunks of skipjack, though currents were tough to focus on the bottom.

Good Fishing, Brian