GORDO BANKS PANGAS
October 1st, 2023
Weather conditions have remained consistent for the last month or so. We are currently seeing the development of a storm off the south pacific coast, though it seems it will not be a threat for us at this time. We will continue to closely monitor this one; there is a possibility that we will get a couple days with higher winds and some rain. We are hoping that it continues to shift out of our reach as we have some busy days this upcoming week. With the beginning of October, we can now say that our busy season has officially begun. October and November are the busiest months and should be interesting as we continue to see bigger fish show up. We are also excited for temperatures to cool off a bit within the next couple of weeks.
The main action as seen in previous weeks has been mostly yellowfin tuna. We continue to see a good variety of sizes depending on what area you are fishing. If you are looking to catch a tuna in the 100 pound club or bigger, then Gordo is the way to go. Again, these fish are mostly caught on strips of squid or slowly trolling bulito/skipjacks that you can catch on the grounds. One captain reported hooking one of the bigger cows on squid. Unfortunately, the tuna broke off the #80 flouro leader after an hour on the line. There is also a chance of hooking a black marlin while slow trolling bulito and smaller skipjacks. This week, we had a 365 pounder that was caught while looking for tuna.
We are also seeing smaller sized tuna averaging 20-30 pounds on the Imán and Vinorama Banks. These schools of tuna are hit or miss on most days. We saw a few good days were some boats were catching between 4-6 per day. However, there are other days where they are only seeing a few caught. Some captains have reported seeing more bait and bird action on the banks later in the day. That said, we will definitely see some of them scout these areas later in the afternoon/evening.
In between the mix, there is always the chance to find a few dorado and wahoo. These wahoo are in the same area as the tuna and can occasionally hit on the strips of squid or live bait. Bottom fishing has been a bit slow and there is not much to report at this time, rather than a few triggerfish and red snappers.
Good Fishing, Brian