GORDO BANKS PANGAS
March 14, 2020
We are now feeling the effects directly related to worldwide panic due to the coronavirus health situation. Very few tourists are now traveling, many cancellations and not many new reservations being made for the spring season. This will surely all pass, but in the meantime many businesses will be struggling to survive.
Weather patterns have warmed back up, feels like any cold weather we endured, is all past us and we will be on a warming trend from now through summer. Ocean water temperature is still ranging 70 to 72 degree, currents and clarity fluctuating from day to day. Winds were on and off through the week, settling down over the weekend. The most consistent fishing action has come from the area north of Punta Gorda, Cardon, La Fortuna and Iman Bank.
Caballito are now much scarcer inside the marina area where these baitfish have been schooling throughout the winter, no sardinas at all to report, mainly slabs of squid, also some ballyhoo. Anglers were saving black skipjack for use as chunk bait as well.
The highlight for anglers has been trying to land a couple of yellowfin tuna, most of these tuna being hooked on strips of squid, sizes ranged up to 70 lb. Finicky fish, in recent days the lighter 40 lb. leaders worked best. No huge numbers of these tuna, some charters landed three or four yellowfin. There was also some very hungry seas lions taking more than their fair share of hooked up fish.
Very few dorado or wahoo even being reported, extremely fortunate to find even one of these gamefish. A few more striped marlin were moving into local waters, not every day though, some days a flurry of marlin action and others no fish found, mostly smaller sized stripers, not many over 100 lb.
On and off through the week there were red crabs found floating on the surface, especially around the Gordo Banks. Main catch when using these for bait were smaller sized tijareta snapper, also some huachinango found as well. No yellowtail reported, though there was an occasional amberjack hooked into over the high spots. Also a few nice leopard grouper in the mix, found off these same rocky areas, hitting on yo-yo jigs and various baits.
Not a whole lot of inshore trolling going on, lack of live bait the main reason, the roosterfish have wanted the live caballito, which are not very numerous recently.
The combined sportfishing fleet launching out of the panga area from Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out an estimated 62 charters for the week and anglers reported an approximate fish count of: 9 striped marlin, 1 wahoo, 1 dorado, 72 yellowfin tuna, 5 amberjack, 13 leopard grouper, 22 bonito, 150 red snapper, 18 yellow snapper, 8 spotted rose snapper, 4 sierra, 6 roosterfish, 8 Pacific tilefish, 6 porgy, 5 hogfish and 70 triggerfish.
Good Fishing, Eric