GORDO BANKS PANGAS

February 14, 2021

Half way through the month of February now, we continue to see very light crowds of tourists arriving, we are remaining optimistic that the coming months will see larger numbers of visitors. The weather patterns have been changing day to day, we saw a warming trend, then a cool front moved back through, daytime highs ranged from 75 to 80 degrees, winds have been on and off from the north, a bit unpredictable, currents sweeping through the region, changing water temperature and clarity from locations.

With limited charter activity there has still been plenty of commercial fishing pressure, with the shrimp trawlers working the areas off of San Jose del Cabo where there had been concentrations of mackerel and sardineta, this impacted this bait source and along the shoreline we saw schools of sardinas diminish as well, the smaller baitfish still have been obtainable, just not as abundant as they have been for the past months. It is the season where anglers commonly use yo-yo style jigs, working the various high spots for a variety of species.

The ocean temperature is averaging in the 70 to 72 degree range now, clarity has improved on the grounds north of the Gordo Banks, such as La Fortuna and Iman Banks, though green water has moved in off of Cabo San Lucas. The majority of the charters have been concentrating near La Fortuna and Iman Banks, this is where water clarity was cleaner and the more consistent all around action was found. Early in the week there were a handful of nice yellowfin tuna to over 80 lb. accounted for, though these yellowfin were finicky and only coming up sporadically, found close to shore though, over bottom structure, must be a certain food source that is attracting these fish to this area. The tuna action slacked as wind became more of a factor through the week, thing about this time year, is finding a calm day in order to increase opportunities.

The various rock piles are producing a mix of structure species, recently the most common fish being the bonito, also an occasional amberjack, cabrilla, pargo, red snapper or yellowtail, but by far more bonito than anything else, mainly striking on yo-yo jigs and weighing in the 4 to 8 lb. range. With the cooler water we are only seeing an occasional dorado, we also saw one wahoo early in the week. No billfish being talked about on local grounds out of San Jose del Cabo, though we did hear reports of decent action for striped marlin on the Pacific grounds, such as Golden Gate, where schools of mackerel were now concentrated, though overall the action out of Cabo San Lucas was not as consistent as on grounds in the direction of the Sea of Cortez.

The highlight for the week were definitely the few quality grade of yellowfin tuna that were accounted for, as conditions stabilize we do expect these tuna to remain on these same grounds and become more prevalent in the daily counts. As we progress towards spring season we also anticipate to find more wide spread bottom action.

Good fishing, Eric