GORDO BANKS PANGAS
May 5th, 2024

Despite ideal weather conditions and a good variety of fish species on our local grounds, we have seen limited numbers of anglers now visiting. We are starting to experience hotter sunny days as we are now seeing temperatures in the high 80s. We should be in the low 90s in no time.

Our yellowfin tuna bite slowed down significantly this week. The best days for tuna were Monday and Tuesday. Most of the fish caught were medium sized, averaging around 30-40 pounds, though there are still some nicer ones in the mix. The biggest one caught this week was 125 pounds coming from Iman Bank. Most of this action came from live and dead sardines. A few boats started using strips of squid and we did hear of a couple boats hooking into nicer fish this way. Throughout mid-week and this weekend, we only saw a few tuna per day.

Due to the slow tuna bite, most of the boats focused on bottom and inshore action. The best action seemed to be coming from rock structures at Cardon. We continue to see good numbers of yellow snapper, leopard grouper, amberjack, and triggerfish. We are mostly using live sardines to fish the bottom, though we have caught a few nicer groupers on jigs.

Closer to shore, we continue catching Spanish mackerel (Sierra), Jacks, and Roosterfish. We are now starting to see bigger Roosters in the area. A couple captains reported a few 30-40 pounders caught and released.

This was a slow week for Dorado and Wahoo as well as we only saw a handful caught throughout the week. Most of the wahoo caught are coming from Iman while fishing for tuna with live sardines. The best chance for a dorado was closer to shore.

Good Fishing, Brian

GORDO BANKS PANGAS
April 28th, 2024

We saw ideal conditions this week. Mostly clear sunny skies with lows of about 65 and highs near 85 degrees. We had slight ocean swells with minimal wind that allowed us to fish the tuna grounds comfortably. Our marina had a busy week due to the hot tuna bite.

Our main highlight was the yellowfin tuna bite at Iman bank with live and dead sardines. This week, we noticed that the tuna bite would be best earlier in the morning. Most captains reported that they would only come up for an hour or two. This bite was best Monday through Friday as we saw a slower bite throughout the weekend. Monday was our best day as most of the boats came back early with over 7 tuna per boat. Most of these tuna were averaging around 20-30 pounds, though we had some big ones in the mix. The biggest tuna this week came in at 122 pounds caught on a dead sardine. We had many tuna between 70 and 100 pounds as well. We are mostly using 40 and 50# test as these tuna can be finicky. There is still a good chance of landing one of the big ones on this gear, though you will need to be extra careful, and the battle might be a long one. According to our clients, the battle on the 122 pounder was close to 2 hours. Many locals tried the afternoon, though they reported almost no bites or surface activity.

Within the same grounds of Iman, we have also caught a handful of dorado and wahoo. Most of these dorado are on the smaller side. We did see some bigger wahoo this week, the biggest ones weighing close 54 and 40 pounds. All of this action came on live sardines whiles fishing for tuna.

We did not focus much on the bottom or inshore this week. The boats that fished some rock structures in Cardon did catch yellow snapper, grouper, and a few amberjacks. Closer to shore, continue to see Spanish mackerel (sierra), Jack crevalle, and roosterfish. On Friday, one of our boats focused on Roosterfish for a couple of hours and reported releasing 7 nice ones.

We are now seeing the last few humpback whales in our area as they migrate up north for the summer.

Good Fishing, Brian

GORDO BANKS PANGAS
April 21st, 2024

We are now headed into the peak of our slow season. The number of our charters within our marina has significantly decreased this week. We are experiencing cool mornings in the high 60s and hot days in the mid 80s. Fishing has remained consistent and productive throughout most of the week.

Surprisingly, we continue to see big yellowfin every day, very unusual for this time of year. We are mostly targeting tuna at San Luis and Iman banks with live and dead sardines. Most captains confirmed that the bite was earlier this week. According to multiple reports, the best chance to hook a tuna was before 9 am. A few boats had up to 3-4 hookups before that time. One of the boats within the fleet has 7 nice yellowfin yesterday (Saturday). We are fishing 50 and 60# test and it has still been tough to bring some of these fish up. The biggest tuna weighed this week were a 193 and 149 pounder, both on dead sardine and 50# test.

Within the same tuna grounds, there is a chance of hooking into a few dorado, wahoo, and striped marlin with live sardines. This bite can be hit or miss on most days. A handful of wahoo have been picked off while casting a jig on the surface.

Bottom action continues to be consistent. The best action and most productive rock structures seems to be coming from Cardón. We are catching amberjack, grouper, and a variety of snappers, mainly yellow snapper. Best bottom action is coming from live sardines. Not a lot of action on the jigs.

Closer to shore, we continue to find good Sierra (Spanish mackerel) action. If your preference is to target a Roosterfish, there is a good chance of hooking into a couple nice ones. We are targeting Roosters starting from the Secrets/Marriot hotels all the way to El Zacatón. Most of these fish are averaging 10 pounds, though there are some nice 20 pounders in the mix.

Good Fishing, Brian