April 11, 2021

With the local Easter vacation week now past, beach crowds have returned to more reasonable levels and most residents are now back to work. We are seeing larger numbers of tourists arriving due to this now being spring break period for many schools in the U.S. Though not a high percentage of these visitors are anglers, so for this reason we have limited numbers of fishing charters. This is now a transition period for ocean conditions, a slow unpredictable process, when northern winds reside and ocean currents stabilize, becoming warmer and bringing in blue water closer to shore. At this time water temperature has been in the 69 to 71 degree range throughout the zone. Daytime highs are reaching the mid-80s and it is also the time when the cool ocean and warm land air currents mix and create a marine layer, resulting in thick fog at times and limited visibility.

Supplies of caballito remain steady in the marina area, though sardinas have been scarce, not being found in close enough proximity for commercial bait netters to find. Some charters were able to jig up some additional larger baitfish such as chihuil, scad and spanish mackerel near the Gordo Banks.

Overall the better fishing action was found close to shore for good numbers of sierra, with the large sized jack crevalle mixed in. Also there was a variety of species being accounted for over the many rocky high spots, with anglers using a mix of yo-yo jigs and bait while drift fishing. Most numerous are the Mexican bonito, these are different than the Californian bonito, the local bonito taste similar to tuna and can be prepared all the same ways, they are feisty fighters, though average in the 4 to 8 lb. range. We did see one 40 lb. yellowfin tuna early in the week, but with currents shifting and becoming a little off colored again these tuna are not on the bite now.

Despite the cooler water we did see a few wahoo starting to bite on the grounds to the north of Punta Gorda, striking on trolled Rapalas and yo-yo jigs, sizes were up to 25 lb., still only a few fish being seen, but this is encouraging for when water conditions improve slightly we should see these fish become more active. Conditions can change rapidly this time of year and we are definitely feeling the weather become a bit warmer every day.

We did see a few nice cabrilla, grouper and amberjack landed, a couple of these were in the fifty pound class. Not as many red snapper as we would normally expect for this time frame, though it is still early in the season, pelagic red crabs were not being seen at this time either.

With limited anglers in town we did not see many reports for offshore action for the striped marlin, last we knew they were seeing the billfish near the 1150 spot.

Good fishing, Eric

April 4, 2021

Easter weekend meant very large beach crowds, supposedly authorities were going to control capacity levels, but it seemed to get a bit out of their means to do so. This is always a hugely popular traditional holiday that families swarm to enjoy themselves on the local beaches. Weather was great, highs of 85 degrees, light winds, swells increased some, so surfers were also happy.

We also saw more numbers of anglers arriving this past week, water conditions were a bit up and down, ocean temperatures warmed up to the 72/73 degree range, though currents were pushing off colored waters in different directions. Main bait source was caballito, though there were sardinas also being found along the shoreline near San Luis, it was a matter of getting the bait netters to travel this distance and then have to negotiate with the higher surf conditions. Some people were also using slabs of squid and there was still a lot of yo-yo jigs being used over the bottom structure.

Most consistent fishing grounds were found near Cardon, La Fortuna, Iman, San Luis and to Vinorama. A wide variety of species were accounted for, the most common being the bonito, with leopard grouper and amberjack also found in decent numbers. There were a handful of yellowfin tuna landed from the La Fortuna area, to over 40 lb., these tuna hit on caballito, sardinas or strips of squid, anglers were lucky to land one, as they were still scarce, but as conditions improve we should see more of these yellowfin being hooked into.

Offshore the striped marlin action was definitely picking up, especially around the 1150 spot, many boats had multiple fish accounted for while using trolled lures, caballito and ballyhoo. We also heard of a couple of sailfish, not a normal catch in the cooler water.

Along the shoreline the main catch was for jack crevalle and some sierra, as water continues to warm we should see some more roosterfish.

Lots of sea life being seen, as people were commonly spotting whales, porpoise, manta rays, sea lions, turtles and a variety of sea birds as well.

Good fishing, Eric

March 28, 2021

With the first wave of spring break vacationers now arriving, we are seeing many more tourists in town. Though not a high percentage of these visitors are anglers and we are still seeing limited numbers of charters being booked. Weather patterns remained unpredictable, we are feeling an overall warming trend, though still changing daily, mostly clear sunny skies, highs averaging 80 degrees. Ocean temperatures are averaging 69 to 70 degrees, though cooler currents are found near Cabo San Lucas and on the Pacific. Wind cycles remained, predominately out of the north, this has meant a delay in ocean conditions being able to stabilize and become cleaner. This is now the midst of transition time, winter to spring, every year can vary and this year things seem to be settling down later than normal. Typically by mid-April, which is in a couple of weeks, we see ocean temperatures reach the mid-70s, so we do expect this pattern to arrive soon.

Anglers are now finding mainly caballito for the available bait source, with a scattering of sardinas being found. The main fishing grounds now being concentrated on have been from Chileno, Palmilla and north to Iman Bank. Working inshore grounds for a mix of sierra, snapper, jacks and roosterfish. As well as the various rocky high spots throughout the zone. Drift fishing while using various baits and yo-yo jigs produced a large variety of species, more bonito than anything else, the largest species being encountered have been a mix of amberjack, yellowtail and various grouper species, all of these being prized eating specimens.

There were several yellowfin tuna accounted for through the week, they ranged in sizes from 20 to 80 lb. These tuna are hanging around the same high spots and as conditions become more favorable we anticipate more consistent action. There were limited reports of striped marlin be found scattered further offshore, as clarity was cleaner some 15 miles offshore. Still spotty though and we did not have many anglers venturing out to look for this action. As more productive numbers of fish were found closer to shore.

Still quite a few whales hanging around, though typically these would be the final weeks for this before they head back north. We see forecasts of warmer weather for the first week of April, so this should help get conditions more on track.

Good fishing, Eric