GORDO BANKS PANGAS
September 1st, 2024

This Friday August 30th marked one year of my father, Eric Brictson’s passing. We thank you all for your continued loyalty and support to Gordo Banks Pangas throughout this difficult year. We are committed to continuing his legacy of honest and accurate fishing reports and sportfishing charters. We are writing a shorter than usual report this week and will be back next Sunday, September 7th with our routine weekly report. Enjoy a few pictures from this week below.

We continue to catch yellowfin tuna offshore with porpoise schools. Most of these schools were found closer to Cabrillo this week. This weekend, we saw a handful of fish over the 100-pound mark, the biggest one around 160-170 pounds.

Spotty wahoo bite at San Luis and Iman. Most of the strikes came on XRaps (greenish color) and rigged ballyhoo/live caballito. On Thursday, captain Tony on the Hooker was able to land 4 nice wahoo, while losing a couple more. The bite remained spotty throughout the weekend.

More dorado and marlin (striped and blue) were caught closer to shore, anywhere from 10-12 miles out from our marina. Good areas to start were towards Palmilla point heading towards Gordo Banks or viceversa.

Good Fishing, Brian 

GORDO BANKS PANGAS
August 25th, 2024

Slow tourist activity as seen in previous weeks. Very hot and humid conditions.

The main highlight this week was an unexpected wahoo bite. The best days were Thursday and Friday as some boats were able to land 2 or 3, as well as a handful of dorado. These wahoo were hooked while looking for marlin a bit closer to shore. Most of the strikes came around Cerro Colorado and The Westin Regina area, 3-5 miles from shore. All these wahoo were hooked on marlin lures and rigged ballyhoo. This group of wahoo were nice sized, most of them over 30 pounds. Within the same area, there was a good chance of running into some schools of dorado. Most of the dorado seen were small juveniles, with an occasional 20-30 pounder in the mix.

Towards Gordo Banks, Cabrillo, and 1150, we continue to see good numbers of striped and blue marlin. This far out, there is a good chance of running into a few porpoise schools. Many of the local guys have been specifically targeting yellowfin tuna with these porpoise schools. Most of the tuna caught averaged 30-40 pounds, though we did see one closer to 200 pounds on Friday and heard reports of a handful of big ones lost after long battles.

A couple of Black Marlin were also hooked in between the inner and outer Gordo on live skipjacks. One of the local boats landed a 350-pound Black Marlin on Wednesday, a long 4 hour battle on 50 pound test and 120# fluoro leader.

Not a lot of reports coming from San Luis, Vinorama, or Iman at this time. There is a chance of catching a few bottom fish earlier in the morning while jigging. We saw a 65+ pound amberjack caught at Iman this weekend.  Some small dorado were also caught on live caballito.

Good Fishing, Brian

GORDO BANKS PANGAS
August 18th, 2024

We continue to see small crowds of anglers at our marina. This time of year, many visiting tourists opt out of fishing due to the heat and humidity that can be experienced out on the water. We are closely monitoring weather forecasts, which is a priority during this peak season time frame for tropical storm development. We had no issues with weather this week and it seems like it will continue clear for the next week and a half.

The highlight this week was a 447-pound Black Marlin caught on one of our 26ft super pangas. This fish was caught on “The Killer II” with Captain Maury. The fish was hooked at around 7:30 am at the inner Gordo on a small live skipjack. They were fishing the bottom for a chance at a dogtooth snapper. They thought it was a big shark or yellowfin at first since it didn’t jump for the first 2 hours. We encourage catch and release for all billfish; unfortunately, this fish tired out and died after a long battle. They landed it at around 11:30 am. This marlin fed a big part of the community. Other than this marlin, we heard reports of 2 other Black Marlin hooked and lost in between the inner and outer Gordo.

Throughout the surrounding areas of both Gordos, the 1150 Bank, and Cabrillo, we continue to hook into striped and small blue Marlin. Most of these Blue Marlin are averaging between 150 and 200 pounds. Within the same area, there is a chance of hooking into a few dorado. Not a lot of numbers reported at this time for Dorado. You might get lucky to catch a couple.

Many of the local pangeros and private boats are focusing on chasing porpoise offshore. Most reports were potting schools of porpoise 30-45 miles out, within the surrounding areas of 1150 and Cabrillo. We did hear of a few schools coming closer to outer Gordo. A few lucky boats were able to catch their tuna limits, others were not so lucky putting in long days for 1 or 2 fish. Most of these yellowfin are averaging 25-35 pounds, with a handful of 50-80 pounders in the mix.

Not a lot of action at Vinorama, Iman, and La Fortuna. Some boats have tried jigging and drifting bait on different rock structures, though the current and green waters have not been favorable. A few yellow and red snappers were caught on the jigs early in the morning. Most of the boats that tried this area transitioned into trolling lures offshore.

Good Fishing, Brian