GORDO BANKS PANGAS
February 2nd, 2025

We were expecting a more productive week as the previous week showed signs of improvement. Early in the week, we were not able to drift for tuna or jig efficiently as the wind and currents were not ideal towards La Fortuna and 25. Throughout most of the week, the fleet was forced to fish closer to shore or towards the Palmilla area to avoid some of the wind.

Action towards Palmilla/Cerro Colorado this week was significantly slower. The boats were able to land some nice bottom fish, though the numbers were not great. You had to really put in the work on the jig for a chance at a couple fish. Amongst the mix caught in this area, we saw a few nice yellowtail, amberjack, grouper, and snapper. Closer to shore, we also saw some Sierra on jigs and some Roosterfish if live sardines or caballitos were available. Most of these Roosters are on the small side (around 5 pounds), though we did see a handful in the 15–25-pound range. The bait guys continue to struggle with the sardine supply on most days. They are netting a few throughout the shorelines of Cabo Real, though not enough to supply most pangas.

This weekend was much better in terms of wind. Our fleet was able to focus on the areas of Vinorama and San Luis. These captains reported nice clear water averaging temperatures of 70 degrees. While jigging, one of the boats landed a nice 25-pound grouper on a strip of skipjack, while also loosing another quality fish. We also saw 2 nice yellowtail and a handful of red snapper throughout the weekend. Most of these fish came early in the morning on jigs and live sardines. A few small tuna were caught this week on live/dead sardines and strips of squid in the areas of La Fortuna and 25. The only big tuna came in on Monday, weighing 97 pounds on a dead sardine.

It seems that the wind will lay down for next week. We are hoping it turns around with the ideal weather.

Good Fishing, Brian

GORDO BANKS PANGAS
January 26th, 2025

Water conditions were significantly better this week, specially in the area of La Fortuna and 25. Water conditions are not ideal, but it did clear up compared to the previous weeks. Temperature was a couple degrees warmer as well, some areas around 68-69. 

We are now mostly focusing on yellowfin tuna in the area of La Fortuna and 25. Not a wide-open bite but there is a good chance at hooking into a nice yellowfin. These tuna were caught on strips of squid, a few on live caballito and sardines if available. Most of the tuna caught on caballito and sardines are averaging around 15-30 pounds. The bigger tuna were hooked on strips of squid. Most of these bigger fish were in the range of 60 to 100 pounds. Earlier in the week, we did see one tuna close to 150 and another one around 130 pounds. The local guys are focusing on this bite later in the day as most bites came closer to noon. This weekend, one boat reported catching 3 nice size tuna, another one 6 on an afternoon trip.

While drifting strips of squid, there is a good chance at catching something on the bottom. A better bottom bite was reported at San Luis later in the week. One boat tried jigging early in the morning and landed 5 red snapper and a couple white Bonita, while loosing a few more nice fish. Water is a bit colder and greenish towards San Luis.

Palmilla Point and Cerro Colorado continue to produce a decent bottom bite on jigs and live sardines. Most boats are focusing on the grounds of La Fortuna as they target tuna but Palmilla is not a bad area to fish right now. This Saturday, one of our boats landed 4 yellowtail, a couple snapper, a couple white Bonita, and 4 big Sierra. 2 of the yellowtail came on jigs, 2 on live sardines. Some are also seeing some nice grouper and a few amberjack in the mix.

Conditions continue to improve as we start to see water warm and clear up on our high spots.

GORDO BANKS PANGAS
January 19th, 2025

Another slow week of fishing. This week, we saw a bit colder water as compared to previous weeks throughout most of our fishing grounds. Earlier in the week, the fleet reported temperatures around 65-66 at Vinorama, San Luis, Iman, and Gordo, this with a combination of green water. Temperatures towards the end of the week were at the 67-68 mark. We did not see much production from these grounds throughout the week, a few nice bottom fish- grouper, amberjack, snapper, and yellowtail, were the highlight, though the numbers were not good. A handful of small football tuna were also caught at Vinorama this week on strips of squid, a couple on the jigs. We only saw a couple of small dorado at the fillet table, these coming while trolling ballyhoo or lures looking for clear water.

The main highlight this week was Palmilla Point. More quality fish were seen at Palmilla while jigging than any other spot. The numbers were not great either, but you had a good chance at landing a few quality fish if you put in the work with the jig. We saw a good variety consisting of yellowtail, amberjack, grouper, snapper, white bonita and sierra.  On Friday, one of our boats were able to land 3 yellowtail, 1 grouper, 5 bonita, and 1 sierra while jigging most of the morning. They also lost a couple fish while trolling live caballito.

The bait guys continue to struggle finding live sardines consistently. They have been netting some small caballito on most days. A couple days this week, they were able to find nice sized sardines next to the bocana, right next to our marina. If sardines are available, we have seen good sierra action throughout our shoreline, best action coming from Cerro Colorado and Palmilla. A few small roosterfish have also been caught. One of the local guys caught 10 big Sierra at Cerro Colorado in a couple of hours on Thursday, all on jigs. Most of these Sierra were 8-12 pounds, they also lost over 15 more fish. Many boats tried for Sierra the next day and were only able to land a couple. The bite has been spotty, though there is a good chance of landing a few good eating fish.

Good Fishing, Brian