Dorado Bite Continues, a few nice Tuna ~ January 8, 2023

January 8, 2023

Holiday crowds continued this past week, but in the coming days the majority of these tourists will be heading back to school and work as vacation time expires. Weather patterns remained ideal, lows of about 60 degrees and highs of 80 degrees or more, clear sunny skies. Variable winds picking up most days later in the morning.  Ocean water temperatures continue to be on a cooling trend, now in the 72 to 74 degree range. With the cooler currents we are seeing more greenish off colored areas, especially closer to shore.

The bait situation remained much the same, not many caballito being found at all, ballyhoo and slabs of squid are available everyday, also mackerel and sardineta schools are now congregating off of the San Jose del Cabo Hotel Zone, about three miles offshore, so this will be a new option for anglers, using the sabiki rigs.

For local fleets the main grounds now being targeted have been straight off of the Puerto Los Cabos Marina region, where mackerel schools are now congregated and north to the Gordo Banks, Iman, San Luis, La Fortuna and Cardon. Dorado have been the most common game fish being found, many charters able to fill their limits on fish up to 20 lb., average of 5 to 15 lb. Striking best on trolled ballyhoo.

Wahoo action has faded out, only a few of these seen all week, as with the cooler water temperature these pelagics are now migrating south to preferred temperate water temperatures.

Early in the week there was some quality yellowfin tuna action encountered near the Iman Bank, fish to 60 lb. taken while drift fishing with squid. Also off of San Luis Bank some nice tuna were hooked into on yo-yo jigs where anglers were also catching some nice white bonito up to 12 lb. Later in the week the tuna were harder to entice, also winds were up some days and made these further grounds less accessible.

Still not much going off the bottom rock piles besides the bonito, triggerfish and a few pargo and leopard grouper. With lack of sardinas not much sierra action or shallow water inshore action being targeted. Hopefully these cooling waters will bring in some new schools of sardinas, because they are always a valued bait resource for the coming winter season.

Good Fishing, Eric

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