Author Archives: BrianBrictson

Spring Weather, a few Yellowtail Highlight Action ~ March 12, 2023

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March 12, 2023

A noticeable increase in crowds this past week, first wave of spring break activity. Just like clockwork the weather is changing as well, definitely feels like spring season already, sunny days with high temperatures up to 86 degrees, lows were now in the 62 degree range. Relentless north winds have also diminished and not such a plague as they were through the past month. Very pleasant now, great time to visit the Los Cabos area.

Ocean swells are very minimal and water temperatures slightly warmer, now averaged in the 69 to 72 degree range. Live bait situation remain scarce and scattered, slabs of squid and ballyhoo are available everyday, but obtaining live bait such as sardinas, caballito or mackerel has been very sporadic.

Sportfishing fleets are scattered about searching different areas, this week the more consistent action was encountered from the Gordo Banks, to Cardon, La Fortuna, Iman and San Luis Banks. With a mix of surface and bottom action being found.

Numbers of dorado being found dropped way off in recent days, just a handful now being found, most of these fish were in the 10 to 15 lb. class, did see a few bulls as large as 25 lb. A couple of wahoo were landed earlier in the week, a bit unusual for this time of year. 

Yellowfin tuna were still hanging around the Iman Bank, but were not easy to entice, only an occasional tuna being landed, some days none at all, others days just a few for the combined fleet, of the fish we saw, they ranged from 30 to 90 lb. Some hit on strips of squid, others on caballito or sardinas, if you were fortunate enough to obtain the live bait.

The highlight off the bottom was mid week when some nice yellowtail were found off of the various high spots. Most of these are taken on various baits and a few on yo-yo jigs. These fish were weighing in the 20 to 35 lb. range. Encouraging to see these yellowtail, we hope the bait situation improves some as the recent full moon darkens some more. In recent seasons the month of March has been the most productive for these popular gamefish.

Most numerous bottom species was the bonito, striking over the high spots, mainly on yo-yo jigs, we did also see limited numbers of grouper, snapper, whitefish, sheephead, amberjack and triggerfish, a couple of amberjack over 50 lb. were weighed in.

Billfish action slowed way down, we are only seeing an occasional striped marlin accounted for, no large bait concentrations now attracting these fish into any feeding frenzies.

Good Fishing, Eric

Dorado, a few Tuna Highlight Catches ~ March 5, 2023

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March 5, 2023

Starting another new month, getting that much closer to spring season now, though this past week we felt the same wintry cold wave that had been sweeping through all of California, chilly 54 degree mornings with highs in the lower 70s. Scattered cloud cover, light ocean swells and water temperatures averaging about 70 degrees. It seems that the worst of the northern winds are past, though conditions still can be unpredictable on the fishing grounds further offshore.

Bait supplies have been sporadic from day to day, at times limited numbers of sardinas were found, as well as some jacks, caballito, other days there were some mackerel and as usual there were ballyhoo and slabs of squid available. The majority of the fishing action is now being done off the grounds from Punta Gorda, to Iman and San Luis Banks. 

The striped marlin action slowed way down from how it was the previous week, just a few marlin being found spread out through the region, no large concentrations. The number of dorado were not as high either, this can be the case during winter season, though we are seeing dorado everyday and there were even a few bulls over 20 lb. accounted for. Some charters even found limits of these fish, while others worked hard to find one or two. These fish were striking both on lures and various baits.

Bottom action has been slow to get going this season, main catch now being bonito on the San Luis Bank. Highlights were one yellowtail of about 25 lb. and a handful of broomtail grouper up to 30 lb. Also a mix of small snapper and triggerfish. Along the shoreline there were a few sierra and smaller sized roosterfish being found. As weather and water warm some we expect this action to improve.

Later in the week as winds laid down some anglers found chances at hooking into yellowfin tuna on the Iman Bank. On Friday several nice tuna were landed, the largest being  a 90 lb. fish, others in the 40 to 60 lb. class. All of these yellowfin were taken while drift fishing with strips of squid, time of day did not seem to matter, some anglers had luck early and others later in the day.

Sighting whales seem to be one of the more consistent activities these days, these mammals should be around for another month or so before they srart heading back to their northern summer feeding grounds.

Good Fishing, Eric

Hint of Spring, Dorado, Marlin Bite ~ February 26, 2023

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February 26, 2023

Winter time crowds of tourists continue to arrive, enjoying the great weather now prevailing in the Los Cabos area. As much of the west coast of the U.S. endured cold snap this past week, with snow levels recorded in regions rarely seeing any snow fall. Locally we are starting to feel the first signs of springtime, not quite as cool early in the morning, scattered cloud cover throughout the day with average highs of about 75 degrees. North winds seem to be finally tapering off some this past week, ocean temperatures averaging about 70 degrees, water clarity much improved, slight ocean swells and the most consistent fishing action now being found is concentrated in the diction of San Jose del Cabo, where even the Cabo San Lucas fleet is now heading, making for more crowds than normal on local San Jose grounds.

Bait fish remain scattered, changing daily as to what might be available, some days limited sardinas, caballito and mackerel were found, on others only ballyhoo or slabs of squid were being offered. Occasionally anglers were able to use sabiki rigs to jig up bait found schooling on offshore grounds. 

Most common catches this week were dorado, striped marlin, a mix of bottom species and for a few fortunate anglers a handful of yellowfin tuna were found near the Iman Bank. Dorado were spread out, from inshore to offshore, no large schools, mainly single fish, sizes up to 20 lb., striking on trolled lures and a variety of bait. Striped marlin were found spread out as well, seen tailing on the surface or taken by blind strikes while trolling. No big concentrations of bait schools are being reported to create surface feeding frenzies, lots of local pressure with Cabo San Lucas fleet now fishing on the same grounds off of San Jose del Cabo, since they have no fish now on their normal Pacific or Cabo grounds.

The best chance for yellowfin tuna was to concentrate all of your efforts on the Iman Bank, chumming and drift fishing with strips of squid. Though the bite was tough, a lot of patience was needed and  sufficient supplies of the squid, some days the bite was early, some days late or on other days never happened at all. The yellowfin that we did see accounted for ranged from 25 lb. up to 75 lb.

Not much consistent bottom action being found, the highlight we saw was one 37 lb. amberjack, mainly bonito, smaller sized pargo, leopard grouper, whitefish and triggerfish. 

Good Fishing, Eric