GORDO BANKS PANGAS
August 23, 2020
We had the first serious storm system strike the Los Cabos area this week. Hurricane Genevieve which developed off of the Southern mainland coast, strengthening rapidly to a category four storm, before weakening some as it past much closer to the Baja Peninsula than was originally forecast, with the eye passing within about 50 miles of land as it paralleled the Baja coast on a northwesterly track. Rainfall ranging from 6 to 12 inches was recorded, wind gusts to 60 mph and some fairly serious flooding in lower locations. There were local Port closure for three days due to heavy storm swells, reopening for Saturday morning. Most of the region was out of power for two to three days before utilities were restored. Overall the area escaped any serious devastating damage and did receive some much needed rainfall.
All of the rain caused a lot of muddy run off and ocean was stirred up and dirty to over five miles offshore, with weather now settled we should see clarity improve and rebound with each passing day. Live bait also became very scattered, with bait vendors scrambling to find limited resources for caballito, mullet and a few sardinas.
Before the storm most of the better fishing opportunities came off of the San Luis Bank and this is where the fleets resumed after the storm. Fighting greenish dirty currents made things tough for anglers over the weekend, though they did find a mix of species off the bottom and some limited surface action. Anglers used lures, yo-yo jigs and limited bait for a mix of pargo, red snapper, cabrilla, amberjack, bonito, dorado, with the highlight being a handful of yellowfin tuna in the 40 to 60 lb. range.
No inshore action was found as it seems that the high swell scattered all that had been going on close to the shoreline. This is the time of year that conditions can clear back up just as fast as they had turned over, as long as no new storms strike. We do see the forecast of new systems possibly developing for late next week, so we will be monitoring these reports and hope that they pass off further to the west. The next six weeks are historically the period when Hurricanes have developed and impacted this zone.
Light crowds, good fishing, Eric