Anglers –
April 2, 2016

We are now seeing the final wave of Spring Break vacationers arriving in good numbers and enjoying the warm sunshine and scores of activities available. Transition period now, weather is variable, from slightly chilly early in the day, to highs in the upper 80s. Some marine layer cloud cover early, even a little fog, quickly burning off as the sun rises.

Ocean swells have been moderate, winds variable, at times from the north, then from the south, but not enough to keep charters from venturing to the normal fishing grounds. Currents were strong at times, water temperature ranged from 70 degrees on the Pacific, to 73 degrees off of San Jose del Cabo and towards the north. These patterns are normal for this time of year, usually lasting though the later part of this month, then we see warmer currents move in, continuing warming trends helping to stabilize conditions.

Not much has changed for bait availability, caballito, ballyhoo and squid strips still be used. No one reported finding any sardina schools, except for some 50 miles north in Cabo Pulmo National Park, not an option from this heavily protected zone. The big news this week was that the pelagic red crabs once again became abundant on the surface of the Gordo Banks. This always sets off a flurry of commercial activity, as it means that the prized pargo, snapper catch will be following these red crabs.

In the cooler waters we are not finding any dorado or wahoo to speak of, there have been decent numbers of striped marlin encountered as close as two to five miles from shore, striking on various baitfish best, but also hitting on trolling lures, sizes ranged to 140 lb. Many charters are doing a combination of bottom action, inshore and offshore, everything is close enough now that this can be a decent option.

Not much going on close to shore except for sporadic action on roosterfish, jack crevalle and sierra. Though hit or miss and no big numbers reported. The striped marlin was definitely the main offshore bite, easily available now for even the smallest of charters, since stripers are being found close to shore. No huge numbers, but a very good chance of hooking into a billfish if wishing to target these fish.

Many family groups vacationing now and the majority of these groups have been opting to target smaller species, better number of a variety and excellent eating. The red snapper, pargo action was good for anglers that got into the red crab action, because this is what these fish are now feeding on, not much interested in anything else at the present time. The snapper and pargo species being landed are averaging in the 2 to 14 lb. range. An occasional amberjack cabrilla, grouper or yellowtail were hooked into, some on yo-yo jigs, others on baitfish. Mid-week there was one impressive 75 lb. broomtail grouper landed by veteran Baja angler Joey Hanen of So. Cal., fishing on the super Panga “Periquita”.

Only a handful of yellowfin tuna were found this week, most from the Iman Bank area, cooler water and choppy seas made this bite tough, the ever present sea lions were in wait as well. The yellowfin that we did see were ranging in the 15 to 30 lb. class.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 98 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 21 striped marlin, 9 yellowfin tuna, 12 pompano, 2 yellowtail, 12 amberjack, 2 broomtail grouper, 5 pinto cabrilla, 18 cabrilla (leopard grouper), 480 huachinango (red snapper), 78 yellow snapper, 320 other pargo species,4 island jack, 5 sierra, 13 jack crevalle, 15 roosterfish, 6 bonito and 230 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric

Anglers –
March 26, 2016

The first official week of the Spring Season saw heavier crowds of vacationers arrive for the traditional holiday. Busy times in Los Cabos, weather was a bit unpredictable all week, started off with heavy winds from the south, pushing in cooler Pacific currents, which also created murky inshore conditions. By the later part of the week the conditions settled down and were once again on an improving trend. Ocean temperature ranged from 71 degrees on the Pacific to 73 degrees in the direction of San Jose del Cabo and Los Frailes.

Since last weekend through midweek we saw tough conditions, though now once again clarity is rebounding, combined factors such as, full moon, strong cool currents, high winds, choppy seas, all can add up to more difficult fishing. Though during this seasonal transition period, things can change very fast, conditions can predict what can happen on a given day. Bait availability has been mainly caballito, strips of squid and some ballyhoo. The baitfish such as sardineta and mackerel which had been found off of San Jose del Cabo have now all but vanished, so in turn the offshore action for billfish has been more scattered as well.

The majority of the charters are now concentrating on the grounds north of Punta Gorda, namely, La Fortuna, Iman and San Luis Banks. This is where the best opportunities for a variety of species has been found. Drift fishing over rocky structure has been the favored technique, using various baits and yo-yo jigs. Snapper, pargo, amberjack, cabrilla, triggerfish have been most common catches. No huge numbers, but some quality eating fish are being accounted for. We did see one 70 lb. class amberjack, the majority of the bottom species are in the 5 to 15 lb. class. We heard a report from Cabo San Lucas, that some larger charters venturing towards Todo Santos encountered schools of yellowtail on the surface traveling with porpoise and these boats were able to land up to a half dozen nice sized yellowtail while trolling marlin, tuna, dorado type surface lures, of course this was an isolated event, at least it was a sign that more numbers of yellowtail are heading our direction, so far this season these jacks have been almost nonexistent.

Action for dorado, wahoo or yellowfin tuna was very limited, only an occasional wahoo or dorado being reported. Tuna are still being found on the Iman Banks and towards Vinorama, drift fishing with strips of squid. This action was very hit or miss, though a handful of yellowfin were landed each day, including fish to over 70 lb., most common sized tuna was more in the 15 to 25 lb. range, anglers were fortunate to land one tuna in their combined catch. Best bet to catch fish was to try off the bottom.

Inshore there was some action on jack crevalle and roosterfish, limited as it was, we did hear of a couple of larger sized roosterfish hooked into off of the San Jose del Cabo hotel zone, still early in the season for these popular gamefish. Quite a few whales still being sighted, though this is usually now the tail end of the annual migration for these mammals, they well be heading back north soon.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 86 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 6 striped marlin, 2 wahoo, 3 dorado, 29 yellowfin tuna, 5 pompano, 17 amberjack, 23 cabrilla (leopard grouper), 32 huachinango, 45 yellow snapper, 16 barred pargo, 9 island jack, 18 sierra, 16 jack crevalle,8 roosterfish, 8 bonito, 18 black skipjack and 95 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric

Anglers –
March 20, 2016

This is a busy time in Southern Baja, with the annual San Jose del Cabo traditional fiesta lasting throughout the week, Fishing Tournament from Puerto Los Cabos on March 19, then the Off Road racing classic on March 20, all during the same weekend when the spring season officially begins. Sunny days, with high temperatures into the 80s, ideal climate now, some unpredictable winds, blowing from the north and then gusting out of the south, common pattern this time of year.

Anglers have found a combination of surface action, inshore and bottom action. Striped marlin is the main species being targeted offshore, no big numbers, though there are good chances at having opportunities anywhere from 3 to 10 miles from shore, fish are spread out. Not many dorado being found, just an occasional fish. Same for wahoo, not really the season for these species, but they still are in the area, just not striking very often.

Most of the panga charters are now concentrating on the normal grounds to the north of Punta Gorda, La Fortuna Iman and San Luis Banks. There have been yellowfin tuna schooling here and anglers were hooking up while drift fishing with strips of squid, some charters accounted for five or six yellowfin, while others worked hard for one or two fish. Some days the winds made for tough fishing, other days proved to be nice. Sizes on these tuna averaged 15 to 25 lb. though there were larger fish in the mix, we weighed in one yellowfin at 87 lb., and several others in the 40 to 60 lb. were also accounted for.

The bait supply consisted mainly of caballito, ballyhoo, slabs of squid and some sardineta, these baitfish which had been holding off of San Jose del Cabo are now dispersing, with heavy pressure by porpoise a main factor on scattering these bait schools. We still have the ongoing problem of having to battle with the sea lions in order to land your hook ups.

On the same grounds where the yellowfin tuna were holding, there has been a variety of bottom species hooked into, common catches were pargo, of mixed varieties, leopard grouper, rainbow runner, skipjack, bonito, triggerfish, also chances at pompano and amberjack. There were reports of a couple of tiger sharks being hooked into as well. Many bottom fish were lost to cut lines as well, heavier fish that cut lines on the sharp rocks.

Not much going on close to shore now, sporadic action for smaller sized roosterfish and some early morning sierra. A few halibut have been landed by both shore and boat anglers, not a usual catch for us.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 66 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 8 striped marlin, 3 wahoo, 4 dorado, 106 yellowfin tuna, 2 halibut, 6 pompano, 11 amberjack, 19 cabrilla (leopard grouper), 14 huachinango, 30 yellow snapper, 9 barred pargo, 18 sierra, 9 roosterfish, 4 bonito and 42 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric