Storm Pass, Cow Sized Tuna Landed ~ July 3, 2022

July 3,, 2022
  
Light summer crowds now,  they enjoyed settled down weather patterns this past week. Though this next week we will be following the path of Tropical Storm Bonnie, forecast to pass even further off to the southwest than TS Celia did last week. Strange to see the name Bonnie though, since we already had the name Blas and then Celia, apparently this latest system originated in the Atlantic basin and then crossed over and is reforming over the Pacific. 

Early in the week, after the port reopened on Monday, we had a few days of south winds which contributed to cooling off and turning the water over some, as it was greenish in places, now once again we are seeing clarity improve. The most consistent action remains off the bottom and close to shore for roosterfish and jacks. There was a mix of caballito, mullet, sardina and anchoveta being found for bait. Offshore there were schools of bolito encountered and these made great bait options as well.

Main bottom species now being brought in were amberjack, yellow snapper, barred pargo, African pompano, pargo colorado, leopard grouper, gulf grouper and triggerfish. All excellent eating, a few amberjack weighing up to 50 lb.

Highlight of the week was a 290 lb. yellowfin tuna that was landed from off of San Luis Bank while drift fishing with a live bolito for bait, besides this one cow sized tuna, we only saw a handful of other yellowfin, these were under 30 lb. Dorado were also very scarce, a few wahoo were accounted for and many other strikes were missed, most of these on the same bottom fishing grounds.

Billfish action was very scattered, we did see sailfish and striped marlin, but very few. It will not be long now we start to hear reports of blue and black marlin.

Good Fishing, Eric





Great Action Before TS Celia Closes Port ~ June 26, 2022

June 26, 2022

First official week of the summer season brought with it Tropical Storm Celia. This latest storm system passed just off to the southwest of the Southern Baja Peninsula, closing down all Port facilities for Saturday and Sunday. High ocean storm swells, wind gusts to 30 mph and some much needed scattered light rainfall. We are hoping to be back operating on Monday.

The week started out great, anglers found good action for a variety of gamefish. Quality sized amberjack, to over 50 lb.,decent numbers of yellowfin tuna, mostly in the 8 to 15 lb. range, largest of 35 lb.,a few wahoo and dorado also in the mix. Best action was found near Vinorama, within a couple miles of shore.

A variety of quality leopard and gulf grouper were also accounted for. Also off the shallow structure were yellow snapper, barred pargo, African pompano, blackfin jacks and triggerfish.

The bait were scattered some to start the week due to the passing of Hurricane Blas, baitfish schools quickly rebounded as swells resided. Will be the same situation again this week. At least the caballito were found inside the marina channel, not affected be swells, it is the anchoveta and sardinas outside the marina which scatter in the high surf conditions. Some anglers did well with the strips of squid for the yellowfin tuna, so this is another option.

Closer to shore the roosterfish action was much better early in the week, many trophy sized fish of over 40 lb., to 60 lb. plus, were caught and released. There was a mix of jack crevalle, a few late season sierra, pargo colorado and mullet snapper. We should start to see more dogtooth snapper appearing near the rock outcroppings, this is that time of year now.

Marlin action was farther offshore near the 950 and 1150 spots, though some striped marlin and sailfish were hooked on the grounds from Iman to San Luis Banks as well. Hog sized black skipjack were also found throughout the region.

Good Fishing, Eric

Hurricane Blas Passes Close By ~ June 19, 2022

June 19, 2022  

With the summer season officially starting this week we had moderate crowds of anglers arriving, they were greeted with more tropical and humid conditions. With the development of Hurricane Blas passing to the southwest about 250 miles from Cabo San Lucas over the weekend, high ocean swells to over 10 feet arriving, a lot of cloud cover, only some scattered rain showers felt and not too strong of wind gusts either. Another tropical system has developed behind Blas, this one named Celia and is forecast to come close to the Southern Baja next weekend. So the tropical season has arrived and as usual we will be following fall forecasts closely. 

Through the week there was good quantities of bait available, caballito, anchoveta, sardina and some mullet, though swells from the storm made bait more scattered over the weekend, mainly caballito being found inside the marina area. Most local sportfishing charters were concentrated on the grounds from Red Hill, straight off San Jose del Cabo and towards La Fortuna, Iman and San Luis Banks. Action was spread out, a good variety of fish being found, though no one particular species being overly abundant. A mix of inshore, surface and bottom action being done.

Offshore there were a scattering of striped marlin, sailfish and dorado, just a few dorado, but sizes were very impressive, close to 50 lb. Yellowfin tuna were very scarce, but a handful were landed, up close to 40 lb. Along the beach stretches there was a mix of jack crevalle and roosterfish, though roosters were much more scarce than we should expect for this time of year, changing currents and scattered schools of mullet being a factor.

Off the bottom rock piles was the best chance to load up on some quality eating fillets, we saw bonito, pompano, island jack, triggerfish, red and yellow snappers, amberjack, leopard and gulf groupers, white fish, pargo colorado, dogtooth snapper, barred pargo and others. Anglers were using a mix of bait and yo-yo jigs. Also saw a few wahoo in the mix and others were seen free swimming about, on the same grounds where bottom action was taking place.

These passing storm systems always stir up the conditions, so we will be dealing with that for the rest of the summer. Bait along the beach stretches become more scattered as well. Offshore action should start to produce more pelagics, such as yellowfin tuna and black and blue marlin.

Good Fishing, Eric