Beiträge von bajafly

Endless Season Update August 29, 2010
REPORT #1229 "Below the Border"
Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Humboldt squid, the nectar of the gods for yellowfin tuna

As August comes to a close a storm called "Frank" tried to rain on the parade mid-week. There were few guests to care and the locals watched the weather channel and then went fishing as usual. The month which began with the billfish pop, is finishing with the best August fishing in a while.

Because of the lack of anglers, fewer hotel boats have been going out and the light pressure seemed to make the tuna bite even better. There has even been lots of bait including sardina, mullet, caballito, and Humboldt squid.

The tuna drew the most attention, spread out in both direction from a half mile off the coast. Smaller fish were close with the bigger boys underneath the many porpoise schools found in Palmas Bay. Cut up chunks of squid was the hot ticket for chum and out-performed live bait for the larger gorilla-class tuna.

Dorado were mixed with the tuna and spread within two miles of the beach. The average fish caught was around ten pounds. There were limits for the anglers that found the schools…at least two or three per boat per day. One or two big bull in the 40-pound class are being taken daily.

The billfish, blues, stripes and sails, were there for the taking for those anglers that targeted them off the inside and outside banks where there were plenty of tailers and jumpers.
Both blue and striped marlin are biting. Anglers targeting billfish are scoring, very light pressure

While the beach was pretty thrashed by the large swell and wind, mid-week the boats fishing along the shore found the huge bubba-class roosters along with some nice sized pargo and pompano.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Offshore the dorado and tuna are right on the color break at 12 miles in front of Lopez Mateos outside of Boca de Soledad. Pay attention…on the run out there are a few sleepers every day and in the afternoon feeders are on the acres of bait on the surface.

There were few fishing the esteros this week but there were reports of smaller snook (under ten pounds) plus a few grouper and pargo.…Bob Hoyt

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80° blue water has moved in a bit and holding steady at around 14 miles. The fishing, even with the full moon phase is not all that bad. The boats are each averaging between one or two fish a day, with the fish being either sailfish or striped marlin. Plus, they are getting and average of one to three dorado each a day. Between the three species, it is making for a decent day on the water.

Even though Hurricane Frank transitioned from a tropical storm to hurricane status right out in front of this coast, it was nowhere near us. We didn’t even get any rain. However, we have been getting more rain in the last weeks from the thunderstorms. September is the month with the most measured rainfall of all the rainy months. As we head into September, it will take two weeks for the roosterfish action to come back around even without any more heavy rains, which is unlikely.

The inshore water is almost completely silted out, with poor visibility and poor fishing along the beaches up and down the coast. This is very evident by looking at the chlorophyll section of the Terrefin Satellite photos. Wherever a river or stream outlets into the ocean, a mass of green water is also being pushed out in front of them. The larger the river, the larger the green mass.
Fly fisher Steve Baldikoski from Los Angeles fished a day with Cheva and me on the panga Dos Hermanos II. We found some barely 'okay visibility' water up near Troncones and Buena Vista, but that even shut down around noon. Steve only managed to hook a 20-pound class jack crevalle, which broke the 17 pound test leader, and a couple of small black skipjack tuna. …Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

Some sailfish have been showing up as the water has gotten warmer. Most of them have been found on the Cortez side around the 95 and 1150 areas by boats working those same areas for blue marlin. There have also been quite a few striped marlin in the same areas, strange since the water is so warm there. As far as the big fish are concerned, the blacks are still out there as several in the 400-pound class have been caught this week at both the Gorda Banks and the Inman Banks, mostly by boats hoping for a large tuna. The same areas have been producing quite a few small blue marlin in the 200-pound class as well.

Yellowfin tuna remained consistent with some quality fish in over 100 pounds being found in the San Jose area between the Gorda Banks and the Inman Banks, but most of them have been smaller, ranging in size from 15 to 30 pounds. These same size fish have been found elsewhere as well, with fish showing from the south by the 1,000 fathom line to the San Jaime Banks area.

While that action has not been wide open, everyone who has gone looking for them seems to have been able to catch a few. There were some decent fish over 100 pounds found in small pods of porpoise to the southwest of the 95 spot, and there were even more fish in the 60- to 80-pound class as well, so it is looking better for the larger tuna this year.

I fished the Pacific side for dorado this week as a guest of a client and we released three under 10 pounds and kept four fish of about 12 pounds. All of these were found close to shore, within two miles of the beach.

A scattering of wahoo were reported this week and strangely enough the best area seemed to be just along the drop-off in front of Cabo San Lucas Bay and just to the north of the arch, between there and the lighthouse. The fish averaged 40 pounds and while not every boat got bit, those that put in the time had some action as a reward.

The large swells are still inshore! Roosterfish action was down once again due to the storm swells but quite a few pangas made the run to the Gorda Banks to fish for tuna or stayed out in front working the water for dorado..…George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update August 22, 2010
REPORT #1228 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

Locals are shaking their head in disbelief as the fishing has broken wide open and there are no visitors to take advantage of the action. The yellowfin tuna continued to bite in close in front of La Ribera. These were not the football-sized fish that are usually common close to the beach…some hit the 20 to 40 pound class providing more than an ample amount for sashimi at cocktail hour.
The boats heading farther out found some gorilla-sized tuna that pulled like a souped-up VW Bug.

The trick was to get in front of the right porpoise school with lures or bait and then hang-on! Throughout the week, the big tuna seemed to be winning most of the tug-of-wars with an occasional toad brought to the pier.

Blue and striped marlin have kicked into high gear and are biting better than they have in the past several years. One report claimed it was some of the best billfish action in twenty-five years.
The dorado action also ticked upward which probably accounts for the increased billfish action.

Even though it's beginning to sound like a broken record, the bubba-class roosterfish bite (to 70 pounds) just doesn't want to quit, which is something to crow about.

The big Humboldt squid remain one of the best sources of bait with some scary looking 5 to 6 foot specimens being chunked up for bait or chum.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Six kayaks, 22 boats and 42 anglers participated in the first annual Fly Fish, light tackle and kayak tournament in Comondu BCS, Mexico which took place on 13, 14 and August 15, 2010 at Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos.

Considering that the event organizers only had approximately 4 months to plan the event the attendance was remarkable..

The event was held only in the Bay with fishing only from shore, kayaks or boats. Tackle included fly and conventional. With all catches released after weights and length was recorded. It was the first all release event ever held in the bay

Three species targeted were snook, grouper and corvina. During the two day event the contestants caught 35 grouper, 80 snook and 64 corvina.
Winners included http://www.bajafly.com/report/lopeztournament.htm…Bob Hoyt

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 80° blue water is between 16 and 18 miles off the beach and the fishing is a bit on the slow side. The few boats fishing (only 8 to 10 a day) are each averaging about 1 to 2 sailfish or striped marlin a day. Wind was a major contributor to the fishing this week as we had 3 days where it was darn uncomfortable to go out 16 to 20 miles and then get hammered coming back.

Just before the winds hit us for three days, Cheva on the panga Dos Hermanos II, went to the 22 mile mark and got three sailfish for his clients on one day. So the potential is there.
Adolfo, on the Dos Hermanos, made the 40 mile run to Puerto Vicente Guerrero and is staying down there a couple of days. He was very disappointed. The nightly rains, very intense at times, have the chocolate colored rivers running brim full. They have discolored the entire coastline South of Zihuatanejo to way past Vicente Guerrero.

There is a major movement being undertaken by sportsmen right now. A Billfish conservation act has been introduced to congress. It is for the purpose of “taking bill fish off the menu.” Please click on the attached link and then contact your congressman through the link inside the article. http://www.sportfishingmag.com…congress--1000084822.html …Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

One of our friends released a black marlin estimated at 500+ pounds while working the temperature break to the south, so we know that the marlin are still out there. Striped marlin have made a re-appearance at the Golden Gate and surrounding areas; most boats are coming in with from two to more than a half-dozen releases per day. Black marlin averaging 150 to 200 pounds have been found near shore between Cabo and the Los Frailes area and blue marlin in the same size range (with a few in the 300-pound class) have been found just a few mile farther out with concentrations to the north of the temperature break.

Yellowfin tuna ranging in size from 15 to 30 pounds are being found between the Gordo and the Inman Banks, with a few in the 100+ pound class. These same size fish have been showing from the south by the 1,000 fathom line to the San Jaime Banks area. Though not wide open, everyone who has gone looking for them seems to catch a few.

On the Pacific side, the dorado action has started to open up with a lot of fish being found within five miles of the beach. One boat of clients this week released two striped marlin and landed three dorado…a 50 pound, a 35 pound and a 15 pound. Finding one usually means there are more close by!

There were a few wahoo averaging 30 pounds caught, mostly by boats working close to the beach or at the Gordo and Inman Banks…not large, but a nice surprise for those fishing for tuna and dorado.

Large swells made getting on the beach difficult, so the roosterfish action was down a bit, but the dorado, just a short way out, took their place.…George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update July 17th, 2010
REPORT #1223 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Could have been a contender dorado; unfortunately it was not caught in the Dorado Shootout this weekend.

As expected the cooler off-color water is receding, but this week brought another oddity. For several days there were YFT's being caught among the mooring balls of the hotels. Nothing huge but if you went out 30 to 40 miles where the porpoise play, there were some up to 75 pounds.

There were plenty of the smaller fish caught in the Dorado Shootout this weekend but getting a big one was tough .

The billfish action has remained steady but has had little pressure with most anglers choosing the other species as their preferred target.

The epoch roosterfish bite continued another week producing some 50+ pound fish almost daily. There has also been an appearance of schools of sierra , usually more of a winter event.

Lastly, the pargo bite yielded a few fish to 25 pounds.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Preparations for the big First Flyfishing Tournament which will be held August 13, 14, 15th are underway; as usual when there is a big event planned everyone gets tight-lipped about the fishing. .... Bob Hoyt

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80° blue water is practically on the beach. The fishing is really decent, as each boat fishing the blue water is averaging two sailfish a day, and at least 1
dorado of 20-25 pounds. However, not many boats fished this week, with only four or five boats going out a day.

We had been getting rain at night, but today and yesterday we had rain in the morning and early afternoon. However, the fishing has not been affected.

Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, fished the beach all week and did excellent on roosters. He told me the water has cleaned up after the heavy rains of a couple of weeks ago and in the last two days he released 11 roosters, with five “long releases”. He also told me there are more roosters than jack crevalle.

Cheva, on the panga Dos Hermanos II, fished for roosters today, releasing three in the rain. They could have had more, but the clients had had a good time and wanted to go back to the hotel. The last three days, Cheva had been fishing the blue water with a total of four sailfish, two striped marlin, three dorado, and a blue marlin. A great three days anywhere…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

The warm water has finally brought in some blue marlin. Several were released this week and a few were brought in for weighing. Most of them were in the 200-pound class, but there were a couple reported to be over 300 pounds, and one was about 500 pounds. The striped marlin bite improved as well with the fish finally starting to bite on a regular basis. There were no big numbers posted by anyone, but almost everyone was releasing one a day and having shots at a few others during their trips. A few decent sized sailfish were caught, with most of them in the 90 to 100 pound range; there were a few smaller ones around 60 pounds, still these were nice fish. A couple of blacks were reported from boats that were working near to shore for dorado.

Even though we were seeing big tuna last week, and boats were going to the Gordo Banks to target them, boats from Cabo did not have great results. With
these large fish you really needed to be on the spot at first gray light, but the boats fishing from San Jose got a few as they only had a 20 minute run instead of two hours. In our area there were plenty of fish in the 10 to 20 pound class with a few going to 30 pounds. These fish were found with the porpoise and while it did take some time to find them, once you did, at least for the first few boats, the action was good,. A good catch was eight fish with most boats catching three

or four. A few never found them or had other targets in mind.

Dorado were a little larger on average as we expected to happen with the warmer water. The fish were not concentrated in one area;, they were scattered out, one or two here and there. The key for dorado was finding a frigate bird that was staying in one area and occasionally swooping down to the water. The larger fish were in the 25 to 30 pound range while the average was 15 to 20 pounds.

Inshore fishermen found red snapper averaging seven pounds as they worked the rocks on the Pacific side of the Cape. There were also quite a few nice

roosterfish and larger jack crevalle found cruising just outside the breakers ..… George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update July 11th, 2010
REPORT #1222 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Congratulations to Lance Erik Peterson of Port Angeles, Washington, USA, for his new IGFA World Record Grouper, broomtail, Tippet M-10 kg (20 lb), 5 lb 0 oz, Puerto Lopez Mateos, Baja, 20-Feb-10

What had been rated as one of the best bites of the year was temporally stalled by a cold, green current, which along with the two Mexican super-seiners equipped with helicopters prowling the water, put the fish down. There were a few lucky boats that found bigger tuna but most had to settle for the smaller grade. Some smaller dorado were found closer to shore but there were none of the large bulls that had been seen recently.

The striped marlin, with an occasional blue and a few sailfish, continued to be the hot ticket for those who targeted them.
Inshore, the roosters, jacks and pargo didn't seem to be bothered by the unusual cooler water.

Lance Peterson reported tough fishing from the beach with overcast skies, coupled with the wind and larger swells making sight fishing difficult. When the roosters were found, they were in their spawning behavior and had little interest in what was offered.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Few folks were fishing this week but the reports from the locals continue. Marlin, dorado and tuna (including a few bluefin) added to the what is being called the 'oddest season'.

In the esteros, the grouper are quality-sized and biting well.... Bob Hoyt

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80° blue water is still just a couple of miles off the coast, and the sailfish bite is holding up. After last week’s 15 inches of rain in a 4-day period, I am really surprised the blue water wasn’t pushed out farther with the massive intrusion of fresh water from the coastal rivers and streams that are abundant on our coast.

The rain did affect the roosterfish and jack crevalle action and it will probably take another week to get back to decent fishing again. Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, told me the inshore is still too murky from the runoff and has been fishing offshore. He is releasing an average of three sailfish and getting either a shot or catching a blue marlin or striped marlin each day for his clients. Plus, due to the heavy outflow of trees, grass, etc. out of the rivers, a few dorado are showing. I heard an unconfirmed report of a 55-pound dorado being taken today (Thursday).

Neither Santiago or Adan on the Gitana pangas fished much this week, but did well fly fishing with the Steve Powers fly fishing group this last week.

Martin on his 35' cruiser had five strikes on sailfish, but managed to only catch and release two for the one day he fished.......…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

Although nowhere near as hot as it should be (at least not on the Pacific side), the weather has really started to heat up here in Cabo. The Sea of Cortez though, is another question; it has been in the 90’s and that is where most of the fish are being caught. It seems like the marlin bite has finally stabilized with striped marlin being the number one catch in Cabo. A a few blues are also beginning to be found.

After marlin, yellow fin tuna were the most likely catch. While a few large fish were found up in the Punta Gordo area, nearer to home, there were scattered football-sized tuna between 12 and 25 pounds.

A few small dorado were caught recently with a couple of larger fish reported as well. Most of them were in the 8 to 10 pound class with an occasional fish in the 20 to 25 pound range.

The odd wahoo were still being taken here and there up to 45 pounds.

Boats fishing inshore encountered sierra in good numbers, along with some roosterfish, jack crevalle and skipjacks.

Inshore fishing was mostly conducted on the Cortez side of the Cape due to the wind. Pangas were doing all right, but not great, on snapper and small grouper. A few nice amberjack to 60 pounds were caught. Small bonito and football yellowfin tuna were caught as well as a few striped marlin were found very close to the beach which got the panga fishermen excited. The wind and swells made the water close to the beach a bit off color.…

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update June 27, 2010
REPORT #1220 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

Captain Chuy on the Jen Wren is picking up where he left off with the grande yellowfin tuna. Yes, that was a full moon that shined over East Cape all week! photo Mark Rayor, Vista Sea Sports.

I gotta' say it…under the bright light of a full moon, the East Cape went bananas. Throughout the week IM messages of great catches kept flashing on my computer screen.

Not only were there huge tuna to 146 pounds, there were also a few blues and definitely a stronger striped marlin bite all week. Most of the tuna were under the breezing porpoise schools and if the right one was found, there were some serious bites to be had.

Inshore and beach remained great serving up shots at big…oh what the heck…huge roosters and jacks with more broken off more than were caught. Hot days and hot fishing had everyone standing in lines at the bar to get something cold and wet. Can't wait to see if it holds up over the 4th.

Mark Rayor Keep It Reel Fish and Chips Tuna Tournament reported: Twenty boats. I skippered the Cabo, and Chuy the Innovator.

7AM: Shot gun start and all the boats made their way to the squid hole to make bait. I stayed there longer than most of the boats to load up on bait. Off we headed to the outside of Pescadero. We had limits the day before off of the light house but there were no big fish. Earlier in the week several larger fish were landed to the north. Out about nine miles, I picked up my gyros to start looking around.

The first thing I see is the Innovator off to my starboard. We ran a few more minutes and were lucky enough to run right into a huge school of spotted porpoise. Now we are about 12 miles out. I throttled back and we started chumming chunks of calamari. The tuna came for it instantly. I grabbed the radio and called Chuy. It only took him a few minutes to arrive on the spot. We already had three 30 pounders in the boat when the anglers on Chuy's boat had a triple hook up on calamari. They gaffed the 1st fish (about 20 pounds) when one of the other guys said, "I'm getting spooled". Chuy was alarmed when he looked down at an almost empty Accurate Boss B2-30. He immediately swung the boat around and went after the fish. In a few moments they had it under control and in 25 minutes brought it to gaff.

Knowing it was probably a contender they headed to the scale. At 9:30 AM they were at the dock where the tuna officially weighed in at 143 pounds. That was enough to hold up and take first place.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Last week's sketchy rumor of a couple of blues being caught turned out to be two confirmed swordfish that were caught by a yacht above Magdalena Bay on the ridge on their trip down to Cabo.

Meanwhile the local shark fishermen swear they are seeing dorado and billfish every day they venture outside. If the weather would settle down a tad it might be worth doing a little scouting.

Until that happens the yellowtail and white seabass are going off.

Inside it is pretty steady for the corvina and of course the cabrilla.. Bob Hoyt
Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

With the blue water at only about 6 miles and a short ride off the beach, we are really getting some very warm surface temperatures. Morning readings are 84 to 85° with afternoon readings as high as 86 to 88°.

The blue water action has also slowed down some, but not a lot. Part of this is because I only counted five boats yesterday morning leaving the municipal pier in Zihuatanejo Bay with clients, and three of the boats were fishing inshore. There are just not many people here.

Inshore roosterfish and jack crevalle fishing is still excellent. Early in the week, Baja On The Fly Guide, Lance Peterson, guided fly fishing clients Tom Lorish and Kurt Ransohoff of California for four days. They were with Cheva on the panga Dos Hermanos II. Lance told me they raised more roosters than they could count while fishing down south between Valentine and the antennas. Tom did get a nice one weighing almost 30 pounds, with Kurt leadering three large jacks to 20 pounds. The next couple of days saw a few more jacks and a couple of roosters caught, with many more missed opportunities.

One of the problems they encountered, which hurt their chances for the spectacular results of the first day, was a couple of pods of bufeos (pronounced boo-fay-ohs) moved in on the same beaches they were fishing. A bufeo looks like a porpoise, but is twice as long. They are actually false killer whales, and a predator to roosterfish and jacks.

Fishing with Adolfo on the Dos Hermanos, I guided Rosario and Cecile Tortoice of Houston. We went north to the Buena Vista Beach area and ended up with 5 nice roosters to about 40 pounds.....…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

Striped marlin are being found out at the 1,000 fathom line but seemed lethargic and not very hungry. Up toward Punta Gordo where the water is much warmer there were a few blue marlin. Most boats were having about 20% success on the fish using bait, hooking one out of five. The blue marlin were feeding on tuna.

The good news of the week was that we finally had yellowfin show up. It was a long run up into the Sea of Cortez for the 50 to 100 pound class fish just to the north of the Gordo Banks. Only some of the boats gave it a shot, but for many of those that did, it was worth the run. Scattered pods of porpoise were holding fish and it was a matter of finding the right pod. There were smaller fish being found closer to home; it seemed that the farther you went the larger the fish became.

No concentrations of dorado have been reported recently but there were some nice fish found up in the same area as the tuna. The warm water was the key, as was finding anything floating, usually there was at least one fish in the area. Slow trolling a live bait in front of the porpoise pods looking for tuna resulted in several dorado instead, with the largest I heard of going just over 30 pounds.

Inshore fishing has been a bit off with the larger swells that made it uncomfortable. Those that managed to fish did well on the Pacific side with snapper to 20 pounds, some sierra, some amberjack and a lot of action from jack crevalle. The Cortez side of the Cape had fish inshore as well with roosterfish making a good showing in the area just to the west of the Westin Resort… George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Finally a Season!
Endless Season Update June 20, 2010
REPORT #1219 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

Yellowfin tuna limits were the norm this week and most of the catch was a better grade. photo Mark Rayor Vista Sea Sports.

Maybe it was the seasons dismally slow start, but it seems like someone threw a switch. Yellowfin tuna limits were the norm this week and most of the catch was a better grade. Boats targeting marlin were landing multiple stripers with a few bonus blues for the ones with heavy trolling rigs. There were enough red (release) and blue (billfish) flags flying from the outriggers to fool some into believing that the 4th of July was just around the corner.

Even the dorado showed up, admittedly they were mostly dinks but what the heck, they grow fast. Just keep letting them go and they will get to be 'fatties' in no time at all.

Inshore the whole mixed bag thing is still going off. Big roosters to try to fool, huge jacks ready for a tussle along with pompano, pargo, ladyfish, etc.

Those short and terse reports saying that fishing is great are evidence of just how good fishing is…no time to talk!

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Recent rumors are that several yachts traveling by found a couple of decent size blue marlin. This has everyone guessing who, what and when. Meanwhile the local shark fishermen swear they are seeing dorado and billfish every day they venture outside.

The white seabass and yellowtail reported last week still are off the charts this week in both number and size caught. So much so that hardly anyone is bothering with the esteros these days.

Update
Outside remains strong for yellowfin and yellow tail. the grouper bite is just starting. Water remains cold with lots of bait. Inside the corvina bite is wide open feeding on small sardines. Bob Hoyt

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

Update
Saturday: We're off to a fine start over here. Got into a great bite this morning that lasted almost three hours. Fish all over the teaser. Tom Lorish landed his first big rooster...about 28lb's I think, plus a big jack. Kurt Ransohoff boated three big jacks and missed numerous hook sets on big roosters. It was a ton of fun and a huge difference from how we started last year. Lance Peterson

Adolfo, of the Dos Hermanos fame, was elated when I talked with him on the pier a couple of days ago. He was telling me the currents have now changed and the roosters are back. He said we will have excellent fishing from now through December.

The 80° blue water is still holding just four to six miles off the beach, and the fishing is holding up also. Few boats are on the water, with only a maximum of ten boats fishing a day, and often fewer. Blue marlin, sailfish, yellowfin tuna, and a few striped marlin make up the majority of the catches offshore.

Santiago on the supper panga Gitana, and his brother Adan, on the panga Gitana II, only fished one day each this last week. However, Dave Sicard and his son from Mississippi, fishing with Santiago, released two sailfish and got 4 yellowfin from 10 to 30 pounds. And, Walter Glen of Las Vegas, fishing with Adan, caught and released an estimated 90-pound striped marlin on the fly.

Plus, Russ Hampton of Los Angeles, fly fished on the Dos Hermanos II, with Cheva at the helm, hooking six roosters and catching four on the fly in two days of fishing. Adolfo’s clients have taken 12 roosters and “Mucho” jack crevalle on conventional gear over a five-day span....…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

We wish we could say that fishing was better than it is, but we can’t; even though we have had some great catches, the consistency just hasn't been there. It has tended to be feast or famine. Nevertheless, marlin was the top catch this week with forty-two percent of the charters catching stripers. Two of our boats fought the most prized of all billfish, the broadbill swordfish, on June 13th, (both at the 11.50 spot), but unfortunately neither could get them on board. Another angler fought a swordfish for over an hour before losing it…pretty disappointing for everybody. It’s been a tough week with clients. Cabo has such a great reputation that people expect to catch fish all the time and the crews feel the pressure, as they want to catch fish, too; it’s a matter of professional pride plus they want their anglers to be happy.

However, with the effects of the El Niño current on the way out, we are confident that it won’t be long until things are back on track and of course the only way to catch fish is to go out and get some lines in the water

Slim pickings on smaller game this week, with just sixteen percent of the boats catching tuna and only nine percent catching dorado. Tuna catches were usually of a single fish as were dorado, with weights just average on both species at 15 to 25 pounds. We had a couple of wahoo, one at 45 pounds that was caught six miles from Cerro Colorado and another wahoo weighing 38 pounds. In addition, a few skipjacks, jack crevalle and even a manta ray was caught and released.

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update June 13, 2010
REPORT #1218 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Billfish Cowboys of Santa Rosa, CA landed limits of YFT on the Jen Wren this week

With the official beginning of summer just a few day away it feels like our fishing is finally heating up. The big news is that the tuna have finally arrived. They are traveling with porpoise schools from north of Punta Pescadero to south of Las Frailes. A good grade of fish, they range from football size all the way up to gorilla class reaching 100 pounds.

For the billfish set it looks like a few blues along with stripers and sails are finally ready to get in the game. All of this is after a frustratingly slow beginning to the season. Note to the dorado: you are welcome to the party anytime…come back, we miss you!
Meanwhile, one of the brighter bites all spring was the fantastic wahoo bite and it still continues.
Speaking of bright bites, the ROOSTERFISH bite is insane! More grandes. The bubba-class roosters are chewing like there is no tomorrow.

Still missing are the sardine; they seem to be taking the summer off.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Big white seabass and bigger yellowtail have been the week’s crowd-pleasers. Well, forget the crowd part, there are only a few anglers to take advantage of what many of the locals are calling the best bite in recent memory. Tee good news, the bite is tight to the rocks just below the lighthouse at Cabo Lazaro.
Farther offshore the local pangueros checking their shark buoys are reporting seeing striped marlin, swordfish and yellowfin tuna. This would seem to indicate an interesting summer is about to begin… Bob Hoyt

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

With the blue water holding just off the beach, the 80° surface temps are ranging from the beach to at least 60 miles out. And, the fishing is good. What is not so good is there are very few people here to enjoy it. We are only putting 5 to 10 boats on the water a day. That is the whole fleet, and with about half the boats fishing inshore, it is hard to find the concentrations of fish in the blue water.

We are getting blue marlin, a few striped marlin, lots of yellowfin tuna and sailfish. The marlin and tuna are being taken between the 18 and 25 mile marks, with the sailfish being mostly found in decent quantities between the 6 to10 mile areas.

Adan, on the panga Gitana II had a couple of back-to-back bad luck days; however there were some very exciting moments. His client, Walter Glenn of Las Vegas was casting at yellowfin tuna with the 12wt fly rod, and had been very successful for several fish. But, he made one cast too many, as a 300+ pound blue marlin ate the fly. Walter ended up with a broken rod, a lost fly, and a lost fly line.

The following day, Walter borrowed my fly reel (while I replaced the fly line on the other), and armed with one of Rebeca’s special billfish flies, Adan teased in another huge blue. At least Walter was using the 14wt this time. The fish took off for about 10 minutes, and did not jump until a long ways out from the boat. Then it put on a display, and unfortunately cut the 40 pound butt section with its beak.

At least the next day he got more yellowfin tuna (to 30 pounds), raised three sailfish, and released an estimated 200 pound blue marlin on conventional gear.
Jeff and Louise Stackhouse of South Carolina fished with Santiago on the super panga Gitana. Fishing with conventional gear, they had an outstanding day, releasing an estimated 300 pound blue marlin, a sailfish, and getting four football-size yellowfin tuna.
Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos fished the blue water only one day, releasing five sailfish for his client.

Inshore, Adolfo reported there are jack crevalle on the beaches in tonnage quantities. And, the fish are big, ranging from 18 to 25 pounds. He also took three roosters between 18 and 25 pounds, with the main concentrations of bigger fish not yet here...…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

Billfish action still looks a lot like that of Apri;l there were striped marlin to be found on the Pacific side close to the beach. As a matter of fact, one was hooked on iron while jigging for amberjack right off the arch. Most boats were getting shots at three or four fish per trip with one or two releases per trip. I did not hear of any blues or blacks showing up in the patterns this week.

A decent pick on yellowfin tuna to 25 pounds close to home with the fish being just two to three miles off the beach between the Gray Rock and the Red Hill areas. There were some porpoise with them. Working the area steadily resulted in catches of between two and ten fish per boat. Being there early was a definite help.

There were a few dorado this week but with the change in temperature they went on vacation.
Roosterfish were found close to the beach on the Pacific side past the lighthouse, as well as off the beach on the north side of Chileno on the Cortez side provided action, and when the water turned over the sierra started to show again. Quite a few of the pangas went for the yellowfin tuna on the Cortez side and did well.

With the water turning over the fishing offshore dropped off, but it should switch around any day now, just as fast as it went. As of now, the wind is gone and while there are still swells, they are spaced far apart. I feel there will be a decent bite on tuna soon. Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for a turn in water temps and until next week, tight lines…George and Mary Landrum
Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update May 30, 2010
REPORT #1217 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

Mike Hergert provided this photo of a pompano he caught this week during his stay at Rancho Leonero. His panguero, Santos, said it was the largest one he has ever seen and guessed that it weighed between 18 and 20 pounds. Mike also reported that he caught two marlin, six tuna to 50 pounds (enough to fill his ice chest), six dorado from a kayak, two large roosters---one weighing 65 pounds and one weighing 55 pounds---and numerous ladyfish, sierra, etc. on a fly rod from the beach.

While Mike had an excellent week others were not so successful. There were several days of wind to contend with, but it seemed to help the marlin bite.

Tuna action is being found mixed in with the porpoise quite a ways offshore. If you are not one of the first boats to find them, however, it's too late. Apparently the best dorado action is for smaller fish around the moored boats in front of the hotels. Perfect for the kayakers looking for action in the evening.

Inshore action is still where it's happening. Hoards of small roosters with enough 'bubba' class to keep it interesting. The pompano action is near the lighthouse along with some jacks.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

It has been windy lately so few are venturing outside. Bay fishing remains good and in fact has
been picking up with corvina and halibut starting to show in numbers. Local fishermen on
Isla Magdalena have been spotting marlin and swordfish. Bob Hoyt

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80° blue water is just a couple of miles off the beach, and the action has been fairly steady for striped marlin, blue marlin, and a few sailfish. However, this is the time of year to expect these kind of results. It is hard to imagine, but for the 30 calendar days starting about May 12, there can be no better blue marlin fishing anywhere in the world than what we have here on this coast.

A few years back I made a study about our marlin fishing in May. The blue marlin outnumbered the striped marlin by about ten to one, plus there were also a few blacks caught. The sport fishing fleet averaged 7.5 strikes a day, with almost four fish a day brought to leader. Historically during this time period, we average a blue marlin per boat for every three days on the water.

Plus, this was done by boats that were basically geared for sailfish, and found themselves sadly under-equipped when the marlin hit. Some boats, like the See-Ya from Cabo San Lucas, spent the fuel money to get here just to sample this action. They specifically targeted marlin and had a great month. Plus, there was an insignificant difference in fish caught between the pangas and the cruisers, proving the fish don’t care how fancy the boat is.

For this last week, the super panga, Huntress, with Captain Francisco, only caught one sail at the 16-mile mark, in what owner, Mike Bulkley, described as “beautiful blue water”, but they had several marlin strikes also. The Huntress was handicapped by a couple of earthquakes the day before, which really hurts the fishing. Mike also told me there was a lot of the bait-stealing bufeos (boo-fay-ohs) in the area. Almost identical to, but much larger than a porpoise, they are false killer whales, near the top of the food chain, and they can shut off a bite also.

Santiago, on the super panga Gitana, says “fishing is good right now”. He fished three days with John Fuller of Chicago, and friends Ben and Sam, releasing seven sailfish, and catching a 180-pound blue marlin. They also had five more sailfish and two striped marlin strikes, but missed them.

Inshore action was tough this last week, as we had huge waves hit the coast from a storm several thousand miles away. The waves were actually washing up into the beachside restaurants, whose tables are on the sand. But, from tracking the waves on the internet, it sure brought in the surfers from all over the world..…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

There are many more striped marlin being seen, but they were not swimming around with their mouths open. It took time, patience and working the right fish to get hooked up as it appeared most of the fish were still full on squid. Most boats were able to get one to bite and a few boats had better luck and were able to hook three or four fish, but the average was more like one for every two boats hooking up and fighting to each release. The fish are fairly close to the beach, just outside the arch and up the coast on the Cortez side. There were reports of some decent-size black marlin in the area as well.

We had a 'good to decent' bite on football-to-school-size yellowfin tuna close to home. The fish were just outside of the Gray Rock area within five miles of the beach. This placed them in calm water close to home, so they got hammered hard by almost every boat out there. They are gone now but while they were here, guys had great fun on fish ranging in size from 10 to 45 pounds. These fish were associated with a pod of porpoise so they were fairly easy to find most days. Best luck was had by boats able to get sardina up in San Jose, but that meant an early go, as it is a 45 minute run up there and the same back. In order to have the best luck, you needed to be on the fish early! There was scattered action in other areas, but the best alternative was the area to the south and west of the San Jaime banks where the water blued up nicely. The only problem there was that it was easy to get fish close to home and the water was rough out at the Jaime.

Dorado are not here in full force yet, but there are still some decent fish turning up on the catch as boats fishing the near-shore waters on the Sea of Cortez side of the Cape are having decent luck with fish to 20 pounds while trolling live bait. Several pangas reported catching dorado to 30 pounds while slow trolling live mullet for roosterfish just off the beach where you can see the bottom. Other fish were caught on the Cortez side, but the focus was on the Gordo Banks and the Red Hill area. Not a lot of fish were there, but some of the boats were able to get action.

There were still some decent wahoo to be caught; but not in the numbers or the sizes we were seeing recently. The fish that were caught were found in the usual haunts, on top of structure and off of the steeper drops.
Roosterfish remained the best bet inshore with decent action on sierra as well if you worked the beach on the Pacific side of the Cape. All the mullet that have arrived have really improved the inshore action for all species. Amberjack continued to be one of the favorites and limits were easy to come by for most anglers. George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update May 23, 2010
REPORT #1216 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

One of the more unique catches this week was a 28-pound snook in one of the East Cape lagoons, according to East Cape resident, Jim Moyer.

Wow…snook as the lead for the second week in a row! This should dispel any doubts that this is a weird year so far.

This week brought an upward spike in the overall fishing picture for some. Reports of tuna down by Las Frailes were encouraging; however most of the fish were footballs with only an occasional larger fish landed. There has also been a decent volume of striped marlin seen but few biters and a few good sized dorado have been found but no bonanza by any definition.

Inside, the small roosters and ladyfish have been thick but not many in the Bubba-sized scene along the beach.

Now if the sardina would appear, maybe fishing will begin to regain some normalcy.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

A new tournament will be held August 13, 14 and 15 in the mangroves out of Lopez Mateos. It will be Baja's first tournament of its kind to be held in the esteros/mangroves. So far, the plans are to include flyfishing, kayaking and conventional categories. I should have the complete details next week.

Few fished this week and the reports were sketchy but it sounded like fishing was slow.

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80° blue water is back on the beach, with the clear and clean water having moved in to about the 6-mile mark. Historically, this is typical of the first or second week of May. Our bread and butter sailfish will be around, but this is also the time when the marlin and tuna move in. Plus, the warm water on the beach brings back our roosters…the most exciting game fish of them all on a fly rod.

Fishing has been steadily improving this last week, with several notable catches. The boats are each averaging about one sailfish and a striped or blue marlin a day. But, there are only 8 to 12 boats a day fishing. Tourism is really slow right now, with many of the better captains sitting at home.

Santiago, on the panga Gitana, emailed me that Bob Majewski from Texas caught and released a 200-pound blue marlin, and Jim McKenna from New York released four striped marlin and two sailfish for two days of fishing.

Mike Bulkley, owner of the super panga Huntress, and Captain Francisco, told me this last Thursday through Saturday they had a great three days on the water with one blue marlin, two striped marlin and two sailfish. The marlin were taken on separate days, but all were within a few tenths of a mile at the 29 mile mark on a 180° heading.

Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos was real happy when he called me. “The roosters are coming back. We got two today up near Pantla!” He predicts with the warm water on the beaches again, we will be in full swing with the roosters in two more weeks.…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

The striped marlin bite has improved a little, but not much as almost every boat is getting a shot or two per day on tailing fish, with a few being hungry and eating the bait. There have been a few more black and blue marlin being hooked up, with varying degrees of success in getting them to the side of the boat for releases. Most of the striped marlin have been found on the Pacific side or right out front, while their larger cousins have been found in the warmer water in the Sea of Cortez.

Yellowfin tuna ranging from 10 to 50 pounds have been getting into the fish boxes somehow, or at least they were at the start of the week. When the water turned over, the bite dropped off a bit. Most of the fish have been found mixed in with the porpoise, but there have been quite a few found while blind trolling. .

I really thought that the warmer water was going to bring in great numbers of dorado, but they just haven't shown up strongly yet. A few fish were in the 30-pound class with the average in at 15 pounds, and they were close in to the beach for the most part, on the Cortez side of the Cape and due south early in the week.

The week started out with a bang as wahoo went on a decent bite for a change. Strangely enough, it was during the new moon phase, not a full moon, so perhaps in another two weeks the bite will take off again. Anyway, it lasted for about four days and everyone who tried for them seemed able to get at least one or two fish, some boats managed a half dozen in the 30 to 40-pound class.

Schools of roosterfish up to 60 pounds in size were found this week. Slow trolling live bait, preferably mullet, worked best for the roosters. A few sierra were still found, and there was a halfway decent bite on amberjack, but most of the pangas tried to target the wahoo!...George and Mary Landrum
Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Roosters Rock!
Endless Season Update May 9, 2010
REPORT #1214 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

The roosterfish and jacks held the most promise for many anglers, both from boats fishing close to shore or from the beach itself.

Another week of mixed reviews for the fishing. Some tuna have begun to show up north of Punta Pescadero, but most of the fish found with the porpoise are barely football size. There were a few better grade tuna caught close to shore up toward Bahia de los Muertos.

The boats seeking billfish are complaining that they are getting little return for lots of effort.It seems that one billfish for the day is a good score.

Also reports indicate that there is just an occasional dorado showing up behind the boats with little rhyme or reason.

The roosterfish and jacks held the most promise for many anglers, both from boats fishing close to shore or from the beach itself. There was one report of nearly thirty anglers fishing one popular stretch of beach…definitely not like the old days when you could fish the beach all day and not see another angler.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

There were some decent-sized yellowtail under the birds at the Entrada. Offshore the water is pretty cool but there are already reports of both billfish and dorado being spotted near the shark buoys scattered out to the west of the Entrada.

Inside the esteros, the bite remains slow for the few boats that even bothered fishing this week.

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

Historically, we have always had a poor March/April for the blue water species, with this year being no different. And, after the 1st week of May, things usually turn around completely. This is what is happening again this year.

The 30+ year annual sailfish tournament was held this last Friday though Sunday. It was a record breaking year, but fortunately not for the number of sailfish killed; but rather for the 220 boats signed up for the tournament. With wind and rough seas, the tournament averaged fewer than a sailfish a day per boat. The overall winner took home a nice first prize of a Hummer truck, with a small (by other year comparisons) 86 pound sailfish.

Since last weekend's tournament, the current prospects show the blue 80° water moving in a full 10 miles, and 20 miles off the beach today (Thursday). Give the water a few days to calm down, after being beaten by more than 200 boats, and we can expect a very decent turn around.
Adolfo and Cheva, on the pangas Dos Hermanos I and II, fished the area at 20 miles on a straight out 200° heading today, releasing two striped marlin for Adolfo, and two sailfish for Cheva.

The inshore water is still very cold at 72°, with not much action other than the hard fighting jack cravelle. The jacks are being taken on light line outfits with a slow trolled Rapala or live bait.…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

One of our friends pre-fished an angler for the IGFA tournament for two days and only saw one striped marlin in the distance that sunk out as they approached. Another friend, on a private boat, fished five days for three marlin, two of them as a double header. The fish that were found seemed to be fairly close to land and in the cooler water on the Pacific side. All we can hope for is an improvement on the billfish scene. I had reports, unconfirmed, of several blue marlin coming into the lure patterns this week; let's keep our fingers crossed!

Some tuna action took place on the Pacific side up around the Golden Gate Bank as well as closer to home off of the lighthouse, and of course to the south of the San Jaime Bank. The fish were associated with porpoise for the most part and were halfway decent fish averaging 25 pounds with an occasional fish to 40 pounds. You had to be the first (or only) boat there for the action to take place, but most of the boats that got in on it were able to boat a half-dozen fish before the action quit. There were several spots where blind strikes took place as well, but in those instances it was just for one or two fish.

There were a few more dorado caught this week than were brought in last week, and it may have a lot to do with the warmer water, but maybe not, as there were some fish caught on the Pacific side as well. Of course, on the Pacific side the fish were caught close to the arch, where on the Cortez side most of the fish came from farther north, up in the Punta Gordo area or far offshore in the area of the Cabrillo Seamount. The fish averaged 15 pounds with the larger ones in the 25 pound range and the best luck was with brighter colored striped marlin lures. Not very many fish had followers behind them when brought to the boat, so most of the flags were flying by themselves on the boats return.

There were still a few wahoo caught this week, but not in the numbers we were seeing during the full moon phase. Most of the fish reported were found close to the Punta Gordo area or offshore in the wide open sea with nothing else around. Go figure.

The inshore action dropped off just a little, but there were still some nice fish to be had. One couple who tried offshore got nada; then they decided to drop some bait down and landed one grouper of 48 pounds and lost another. The bite on amberjack has been an on/off bite, but the fish have been slightly larger than last week with a few in the 40 pound range. Sierra are still out there but not in large numbers, and there are still roosterfish to be found in the smaller sizes.....…George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update May 2, 2010
REPORT #1213 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

Jason Abrams of Park City, Utah landed this quality rooster on the fly from the Jen Wren.

Some reports are bubbling with optimism expressing their certainty that fishing is going to get better. The 'boots on the ground' reports offer a little different take. The lack of sardina combined with some of the strongest winds in recent memory produced conditions that many say cannot go anyway but up. There were a few instances of good catches but not many.

There was a least one quality roosterfish when Mark Rayor's Jen Wren came upon a huge school of roosters feeding on the surface near Punta Pescadero. But, alas that was the exception.

The good news is the winds seem to be abating and water temperatures are rising. If the conditions continue along that path, fishing could be on track in no time at all.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Few were willing to make the long run to Cabo San Lazaro this week. Most of the focus remained closer in the Esteros. The sierra along with the cabrilla, grouper and corvina have been the primary targets for the few anglers fishing the area.

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 79 degree clean water is holding around 12 miles, with the deep blue water about 30 miles, and along the 1,000 fathom line. Inside 30 miles, fishing for the offshore species has been slow, and as reported by Mike Bulkly, the owner of the super panga Huntress, many boats are not even getting a strike. However, he did tell me that the inshore fishing for jack cravelle, chulas (a small, but excellent eating tuna with teeth), and black skipjack tuna is still good.

Plus, this weekend, starting Friday, is the annual offshore tournament, with a new car or pickup given as the prize for the largest three sailfish, largest marlin, and largest dorado. Fortunately, with the tournament starting on the full moon cycle, and slow conditions anyway, the normal 120 to 150 boat tournament should have poor results. I say fortunately because Zihuatanejo has yet to get out of the stone age with this 30+ year running 'kill' tournament. In years past, with just slightly more favorable conditions, I have seen as many 750 sailfish hitting the dock over the course of the three day tournament. …Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

There were a few striped marlin found this week; most were caught on the Cortez side of the cape, in the slightly warmer water, and in the calmer conditions. The area off Red Hill was once again the best area for these fish as well as the few wahoo that were caught by the early birds. One blue marlin of approximately 500 pounds was also caught in this area.

The rough water conditions prevented boats from fishing the San Jaime bank, the area that normally produces yellowfin tuna, but there were a few fish reported offshore around on the Cortez side.

Just a few scattered dorado were found near the Red Hill and the Punta Gordo areas on the Cortez side, but no concentrations were found. The best results were within a mile or so of the beach, using brightly colored lures. The dorado averaged 12 pounds, but a few were in the 25-pound range.

There were some nice wahoo averaging 30 pounds caught to the north on the Sea of Cortez, but if you were not one of the first boats to the area, you didn't have much luck. The best areas were off the ledge at Red Hill, Gordo Banks and the In-man Banks area.

For some time, inshore fishing has been the most productive. Good catches of small to medium roosterfish are found just off the beach as well as some decent concentrations of sierra. There were some good snapper taken from the rock piles, but due to the rough conditions on the Pacific side, almost all of this action took place on the Sea of Cortez....…George and Mary Landrum
Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update April 25, 2010
REPORT #1212 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

It was tough fly fishing last week, but there were a few jacks to be found

Sardina disappeared, wind kicked up and offshore action slowed and fish behaved lethargically this past week. Mark Rayor reported that his brother did manage to land a few billfish even though most of them seemed to be disinterested in even the liveliest of baits.

Mark said, "We have only been getting one opportunity a day and have been lucky enough to make the most of it. Seems like the last several days the fish have popped up for a short time during slack tide. When it happens you better be ready or your day is done. My brother found one that took a green jack…go figure!"

Women's Flyfishing's® Cecilia “Pudge” Kleinkauf, Anchorage, AK, had tough fishing for their week but did catch a few nice-sized fish. which included a few roosters and jack.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Yellowtail and white sea bass in the 20 to 30 pound class were still going off at Cabo San Lazaro. Bait was plentiful in the Esteros and the sierra along with the cabrilla, grouper and corvina are having a field day feeding on them.

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80° blue water is still holding at 12 miles, which is historically very unusual for April. But since the migratory fish don't know the "historical" difference, the fishing within the normal 'day-charter' distance of about 20 miles is very poor for the average charter.

Incredible action can be had, but at the magic numbers of 40 to 50 miles. There are lots of blue marlin, sailfish, and yellowfin tuna right over the near vertical drop from 6,000 feet to 14,000 feet. (Just check out Google Earth if you don't believe me about the depths.)

This trench, called the Middle America Trench, extends from a bit north of us, down to Costa Rica, a distance of 1,700 miles, with depths at times of over 21,000 feet.

It is a virtual highway for pelagic species like marlin, yellowfin tuna, and sailfish. This is where our local commercial pangueros, in a single engine open panga, go every day to make their living.

Mike Bulkley, owner of the super panga Huntress, with Francisco as the captain, told me the clients do not want to pay the extra gas money and time it takes to get to the 45 mile mark.

They read the daily charter rate on the internet, and expect the captain to take them to Hawaii, if that is where the fish are, and be back in Zihuatanejo at the end of the day.
Rather than try and explain to a client to pay extra fuel for a trip of a lifetime, the Huntress has had very satisfied clients by going inshore and catching a lot of small game fish on light line. After which, Francisco, has been taking the clients to Ixtapa Island for lunch with their fresh caught fish, a little snorkeling, and water sports before returning to the pier, without having to stop for gas in Hawaii.

Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, is very optimistic (read promoter), but then what can you expect from the very best captain in this port. He is getting a few roosters off the beach, with several sailfish and striped marlin in the blue water, when nobody else is getting them. Of course, he did not tell me where he got them, but his clients are very satisfied…Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

There were a few more striped marlin found this week and most of them were on the Sea of Cortez side in the calmer water. There was a small concentration of them mid-week up off of Red Hill about two miles from the beach. Not many, but enough were caught to make it worth the effort. There were a few blue and black marlin released this week as well from the same area, although the fish were not large ones, averaging 250 pounds. I heard that there was a swordfish caught in the area of the 95 spot early in the week as well, but saw no pictures of the fish.

A few yellowfin were found in the vicinity of the Golden Gate Banks by boats brave enough to confront the seas early in the mornings before the winds started to whip things up. The bite lasted for two days, but the guys kept things kind of quiet and not many boats heard the exact area. The fish were just a little larger than footballs but the boats lucky enough to find them came in with a dozen or so.

Only a few dorado this week, but those that were caught were nice fish averaging 20 pounds. Almost every one that I heard of was caught in the Sea of Cortez, and the farther to the north you went the better your chances were. The warmer water gave you a better shot at them.

There were a few wahoo caught but they were incidental catches while boats were fishing for marlin. The wahoo were all nice ones in the 40 pound class, and were caught off the Westin, the Gordo Banks and Punta Gordo.

Inshore fishing was red hot for a couple of days with a good concentration of amberjack just off the beach. There were quite a few people fly fishing this week and if they were able to get sardina for chum they were doing well on sierra with a few small roosterfish, as well as the amberjack. Conventional fishermen were doing very well on sierra using small swimming plugs from three to five inches in length with a small wire bite tippet. There were some decent red snapper as well, on the Pacific side up in the rocks, but it was a case of being in the right place at the right time, mainly early in the morning before the winds started to whip it up...…George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update April 11, 2010
REPORT #1210 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Right place…right time can yield some extraordinary sierra action.

The spring thaw seems to be for real. Both sea and weather temperatures continued to climb in spite of the wind early in the week. More spring-like sounds can be heard; birds chirping as they flit about building their nests, as well as the familiar drone of carpenter bees buzzing looking for some wood to make their home.

Inshore in spite of the scarcity of sardina, the sierra and roosters have been better than good. Some of the bait boats are running as far as Punta Perico to find the precious sardina that can make the difference between a so-so and good day.

Reports of a huge volume of stripers and sails offshore. Finding them was the easy part, getting them to bite was another story. So far April has been devoid of any significant dorado or YFT action. But everyone expects them to show up any day.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Yellowtail and white sea bass in the 20 to 30 pound class continue to provide the best action again this week. It is a pretty good ride from the Boca all the way out to Cabo San Lazaro. Inside the Esteros the pressure was very light this week. The few who were fishing reported a decent cabrilla and grouper bite with an occasional mangrove snapper to spice things up.

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The water has actually warmed up a bit, with a band of 84° (surface temp) water between the 15 to 35 mile mark, and extending all up and down the coast for at least 50 miles in each direction.

My right hand had a serious encounter with a machete, and I have been out of commission. So, for the 'on the water report and observations' Mike Bulkley, the owner of the panga Huntress, came to my rescue. He emailed me the following:

"Fishing has been great inshore again this week with lots of jacks, bonita and big jurel (jack cravelle) off Ixtapa Island. Offshore is still spotty with good catches of sails, stripes and blues if you can find the fish. We have been running 20 to 30 miles south before wetting the lines. We had a triple sailfish hookup on Monday."

Also, while talking on the phone with Mike, he offered the following additional information: "Santiago, on the panga Gitana, had released three sails and a striped marlin at the 32 mile mark. The Huntress was working the area at 20 miles, and near where Margarito on the cruiser Gaby was hooked up to a blue marlin when they had the triple hookup on sailfish. Plus, the water is clear at 12 miles, but deep blue at 20 miles."…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

There was no change in the marlin bite this past week; it is still very slow. We had a couple of fish Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. While looking for striped marlin, they released a shark the first day, a shark and a baby striped marlin of around 20 to 25 pounds the second day, and on Saturday they hooked another small one that came off right away and then hooked a decent fish that they fought for about 2 minutes before it threw the hook. Most of the fish that have been found have been on the Pacific side fairly close to the beach.

Yellowfin tuna are here one day and gone the next. The schools have been moving rapidly and not all of the porpoise have had tuna with them. When the fish have been found they have been footballs or slightly larger. The schools are being found from the San Jaime Banks to 40 miles due south of the Arch

The water is still cold for dorado but there are a few caught every day…most of them in the 12-pound class with an occasional larger fish. Most of them have been found around the 95 spot and also close to the beach on the Cortez side.

There was a short flurry of wahoo action early in the week out at the San Jaime Bank as a school passed through the area. Several boats working the same area received multiple hookups as they passed over the school, but few of the fish were landed as these sharp toothed fish cut the mono-filament leaders easily. The fish that were brought in were in the 30 to 40 pound class.

Inshore action remained good as anglers got their fill on sierra, roosterfish, grouper and snapper this week close to the beach while the grouper and snapper were a steady pick for those anglers choosing to try bottom fishing from pangas..…George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update April 4, 2010
REPORT #1209 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

Here is the evidence that billfish are venturing close to shore to feed on the squid. That's a squid tentacle hanging from the gill plate.

As the wind slammed the door on March, April began with warmer temperatures and positive hints of the quickly coming Spring season. Inshore the roosters, jacks, African pompano and pargo are all biting well along with the still thick sierra, even on the windy days, providing spring-like action for those choosing to remain in sight of land.
Even the billfish including sails and stripers are all only a few miles farther outside.

What's missing are the yellowfin tuna, skipjack and dorado that should be part of any self respecting Spring thaw.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Either the fishing is wide open and everybody is too busy to talk about it, or all the Semana Santa (Easter) activity was too much of a distraction. One report was that the recent big tides made it tough for fishing inside the Esteros.

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 82° blue water is holding at about 10 miles, with most of the action taking place between 12 and 15 miles. The very good striped marlin bite is still holding up, with each boat in the fleet averaging about two striped marlin and a sailfish a day.

Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos told me the jack crevalle action is still slow, but there are a lot of other small game fish around to keep a light line rig very busy. He reports acres of black skipjack tuna, which are not table fare, but very hard-fighting machines. And, there are lots of small "chicken" dorado who are growing up fast.

Mike Buckley of the super panga Huntress, with captain Francisco emailed me the following:
"Fishing was very good inshore. Lots of bonita and small dorado inshore off Ixtapa Island. We had only one or two strikes out between the 15 and 25 mile lines"...…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

Marlin fishing has remained slow, again this week. A few were taken inshore close to Cabo, but the bite is just not happening. There have been reports of tailers seen up around the lighthouse area on the Pacific side, but not much interest when baits are thrown at them. It's fine water temperatures; they just aren't biting.
Yellowfin tuna are there, then gone. Last week there was a good bite out at the Gate, next they were found again out by San Jaime, but not the number of schools we are used to seeing this time of year. Lots of porpoise out there, but the tuna are not with them.

Still a few dorado popping up here and there, with only one or two blind strikes, no school concentrations. It seems like the rougher it gets, the better they bite.

Sierra and more sierra, roosterfish, grouper, snapper, triggerfish, a smorgasbord inshore! We have had quite a few fly fishermen recently on the pangas doing very well chumming the fish up with sardina to cast their flies into schools…mostly roosterfish and sierra on the fly.

Lots of families for the holiday, and it's been all about keeping the younger kids happy so they will keep an interest in fishing. So a lot of boats have stayed inshore where they are catching lots of fish, instead of offshore for one or two fish, if any. It was a pretty busy week here with the younger kids traveling with Mom and Dad for their spring break.…George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update March 28, 2010
REPORT #1208 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Lance Peterson landed this rooster from the beach in spite of less than ideal conditions.

Mixed bag throughout the week; on the windy days, the marlin show and then on a flat calm day, they couldn't be found. Out in front of La Ribera there were plenty of small tuna and skipjack as well as some amberjack, grouper and yellowtail in deeper water. There were even a few sailfish in the count.

The dorado are scarce with only a few landed all week.

Surprisingly the roosterfish bite continued in spite of the windy conditions with a few decent-sized fish being caught from the beach.

Boats focusing on the inshore were able to score on sierra, jacks and pargo.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

According to the locals the white sea bass action has been great outside of Cabo San Lazaro. The Humboldt squid are also still in the neighborhood.

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

With the change to cooler, dirty water and some very large waves hitting the beaches, the very good inshore action for jack crevalle and sierras has taken a nose dive this week. However, the slack has been taken up in spades with excellent blue water fishing.

Striped marlin, like last year, showed up again this year. Historically, we rarely catch striped marlin here, but when they have shown up this past two years, we have been getting more striped marlin than sailfish.

Most of the fish are being caught between 12 and 18 miles, with each boat in the fleet averaging two striped marlin and a sailfish per day. Naturally the better captains are doing better than that.

Some notable catches this last week were with Adolfo on the panga, Dos Hermanos, releasing four striped marlin and five sailfish in one day.

Santiago, on the panga Gitana, reported the following:
Debbie Goggins from Alaska released two striped marlin and one sailfish fishing with Adan on the Gitana II.

Dan Gaffney, with his wife and son from North Carolina, released three striped marlin, two sailfish and they caught many jacks and bonitos, during six days of fishing over the past week. They fished with Santiago on the Gitana.

Also, Cheva on the panga Dos Hermanos II released three striped marlin yesterday, and Arturo on the panga Janeth released three striped marlin and two sailfish..…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

Marlin fishing has remained slow. Victor, my panga guy, had to have the catch of the week on these guys. Pulled in close to the lighthouse to check for sierra and released two striped marlin in the 150-pound range. They were just cruising for a bite to eat! While some folks in PV brought in a 684-pound black this week, we haven't seen anything like that yet. So with these warmer waters moving in, there is a chance!

Yeah I had sashimi for dinner last night!!!!! Finally, Friday some yellowfin tuna showed up. Of course being the only game in town you had to get to the school early or they were scattered. Fish were in the 15 to 30 pound range. Hope this warmer water will keep them around, although yellowfin don't mind the cooler waters.

Dorado on the other hand like these warmer waters and a couple came up to play. Decent ones also in the 15-pound range, not those little slippers that we had last month. Dorado grow fast, but not that fast!

Sierra , roosterfish, grouper, snapper, a smorgasbord inshore. Sure glad the tuna have shown up to relieve the pressure on the inshore fisheries. We want to keep those reefs full all year round. …George and Mary Landrum
Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update March 21, 2010
REPORT #1207 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

Mark Rayor launched his new Cabo and promptly landed their first fish of the year.

For those willing to brave the windy conditions, there were striped marlin to be caught. Mark Rayor launched his new Cabo and promptly landed their first fish of the year even though the water was slightly off-color.

Didn't seem to bother the Humboldt squid action that has been going on for awhile. It's a good thing, since live bait has been hard to come by because of the wind.

Even the dorado have been squirrely…up one day and down the next, with no rhyme or reason. Meanwhile, back inside, the yellows and amberjack were found at the drop offs.

Roosterfish are still around but most that were caught seemed to be small and smaller. There were a few better size reported but no photos kept them into the unconfirmed category.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

This was the only area reporting decent weather. Yellowtail to forty pounds were found under the debris floating outside Boca de Soledad. Outside of Magdalena Island there has been a good whack on white seas bass feeding on small squid. Speaking of squid, the commercial fishermen are loading up on Humboldt's every night.

Inside the Esteros, few bothered to fish this week so there is little to report.

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The 80° blue water has moved into the six mile area. The fishing has picked up some, with the best hard-working captains all getting a few fish.

Karen and Saxon Hutmacher of Alaska fished two days with Cali on the Vamonos II. On the first day they had a couple of strikes on sailfish, got a striped marlin, and then also got a blue marlin of about 300 pounds to the boat. The next day they got two sailfish.

Mike Buckley, owner of the twin engine super panga Huntress, emailed me with the following: "We had two charters, one inshore with lots of bonito and two dorado and one offshore with three sailfish at 22 miles. All three sails struck at the same time and we released them all. Water was beautiful, but that was the only action all day."

Todd Sandell and his friend Ron of Seattle treated themselves to their 40th birthdays by fishing with Cheva on the panga Dos Hermanos II with their 8wt fly rods. They had excellent action on the small game, with most of the fish being the hard-fighting black skipjack tuna, but they also got a very nice sierra, which was their dinner that night.…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

Marlin fishing has remained slow again this week. Still a few bites close to shore, but not hearing of anything offshore. Even the bottom fishing for marlin up the Pacific side isn't working yet. Where are they? Just not here in the numbers we have seen in the past. March should be great for striped marlin.

Still pretty thin in the tuna department and it's not pretty water getting to them. Reports of porpoise schools in close but the boats working the schools are reporting only small bonita. There were a couple of fish coming into the docks but all reported that there were some pretty rough seas getting there and back. Rumors of a good bite past San Jaime the other day, but I never saw any fish to match the rumors.

A few dorado saved the day for some this past week. Not in numbers, but the ones caught were all in the 15 to 20 pound range instead of the four to six pound range that have been passing by.

Wahoo: Okay, let's change this just for spring to Mexican Wahoo…still pretty much the catch of the week…although they are taking a big hit. If you are into the bigger 6 to 10 pound fish, there aren't as many of them being caught. Still lots of the smaller ones. Hey guys throw those two to four pound fish back; let them grow up! Got to leave some as breeders for next year!!!

Inshore continued to prove to be the best action. Snapper bite is alright…haven't seen the numbers of red snapper hitting the docks like in years past, but they are there. People are just spending more time targeting the sierra I think. Don't laugh, but I did see some decent triggerfish come into the dock. (they really are good eating!) Also a few small mako shark were being released. Maybe with this cooler, high sixty degree water moving in the yellowtail bite will pick up again. …George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update March 15, 2010
REPORT #1206 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

John Barley and his son landed five of the squirters in short order near the surface.

To clarify the daylight savings time change, it turns out that here in Baja Sur the change actually takes place April 4th.

Weather permitting, offshore fishing Is enjoying an uptick…enough striped marlin to keep things interesting. Sunday one of the Palmas boats landed a 180 pound swordfish.

There are also reports some yellowfin tuna with skipjack mixed in along with rumors of some larger tuna on the outside down below Las Frailes.

Inshore there has been a decent show of roosters, jacks, sierra, pargo and an occasional yellowtail.

One El Nino surprise for March is the Humboldt squid being caught within a mile of shore. Part-time resident John Barley and his son landed five of the squirters in short order near the surface.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Windy conditions prevented any fishing this week.

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

With the clean 80° water only six miles off the beach, and the deep blue water out about 18 miles, the fishing is still fairly slow. Our bread and butter fish for the area, the sailfish, has been averaging less than a fish per day per boat.

However, not is all bleak as Kjell of Sweden fished with Luis on the panga, Gringo Loco, for two days, taking a huge 50 (plus) pound dorado off a partially sunken tree limb. He released an estimated 250-pound blue marlin the next day.

Cali, Captain of the Vamonos II, did get two sailfish on Friday for his clients, and an estimated 110-pound striped marlin. He told me, as well as the other captains, that the seas were very rough on Thursday.

However, the inshore action has been very good. Adolfo on the Dos Hermanos, Cheva on the Dos Hermanos II, and Arturo ????? all have been getting into large jack crevalle. The 15 to 20 pound jacks are coming off trolled rapalas, live bait, and surface poppers, with most of the action down near the white rocks. …Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

Marlin fishing has remained slow again this week. Still a few more boats were able to find the fish this week, but it was nothing to write home about…at least for those of us who go out all the time. The fish seemed to be concentrated closer to shore than normal; most of the fish were found within three miles of the beach and on both sides of the Cape.

Just like last week, most of the tuna were found quite a long way from home, necessitating a two-hour or longer cruise to get to where you might find some. Out by the Seamounts reports were that bigger schools had small fish, smaller schools had bigger fish. Not pretty water getting there though. My friend who made it out there said he was the only boat there. There are always exceptions though, and on Saturday there was a pod of dolphin found three miles off of Chileno Beach that had loads of football tuna, 5- to 20-pound fish, and the first dozen boats to get there had a blast!

Just a few yellow flags were flying this week on Wednesday with the heavy winds and rough seas the dorado came out to play. The fish were found offshore on the Cortez side by boats searching for tuna and there were a few very small ones found in close to the beach, as well as on the Cortez side of the Cape.

Inshore fishing: sierra bite busted wide open on the Pacific side late in the week. Same again this week with some boats coming in with 30 or 40 fish. There are also reports of the snapper bite picking up…George and Mary Landrum
Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update March 7, 2010
REPORT #1205 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

East Cape

This is what an angler with a March rooster looks like…it's not often you see a guy in a fleece vest with a roosterfish! photo Colleen Hubbard.

Further signs of spring will happen next Sunday when Baja switches to daylight savings time.

Meanwhile, most of the action remains close to shore or from the beach. Lance Peterson submitted this week's photo confirming both the presence of some nice size roosters along the beach and that it is chilly enough for a fleece vest. Along with the roosters there are schools of sierra chasing sardina close to shore.

Even with the spotty weather, a bit of rain and the ever present wind, either way fishing can still be a blast!

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Another quiet week with few anglers even in the neighborhood this week. The entrada produced some nice sized sierra along with a few small yellows and the sandy beaches at Belchers were holding some of the smaller variety of halibut in very shallow water.

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The blue water fishing has been slow this week, with the inshore action being the best bet. The full moon caused the normal slow down in the blue water, but with the earthquake down in Chile, it really shut down. It was way too far for us to feel the quake here, but the small tsunami which came through acted like several major shock waves to the sailfish.

The recorded tsunami was only about three feet high, and did not go much higher than our normal high tide line. When it came through, I was guiding with Cheva on the panga, Dos Hermanos II, and fly fisherman Steve Mara of Seattle. We were in touch with the Port Captain's office, which was in touch with the entire coast of Mexico. We didn't feel or see a thing, but we didn't get any fish either.

The sensitive lateral lines on a sailfish can pick up a school of bait fish a half-mile away. The tsunami comes in with a series of shock waves, and it must really put a scare into the fish!

A couple of days after the quake, Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, called me on his cell phone. He was into a very large school of jack crevalle, and they were huge! He was down at the Valentine river mouth, with the hard fighting jacks being an astonishing 25 to 30 pound average.

Yesterday (Wed.), Ken Unger of Calgary, Canada, fished with Santiago on the panga, Gitana. They didn't get a strike on a sailfish, but found a floating grass patch and managed to pull a couple of smaller dorado and one nice dorado of about 30 pounds off it. Ken's 13 year old daughter, Shelby, had the honors of bringing in the dinner. They had it cooked up at Lety's Restaurant, which is probably the best seafood restaurant here, and very economical.

Today, Ken and Shelby fished with Cheva and meI on the panga, Dos Hermanos II, up on the Buena Vista Beach area. Ken was fly fishing, and Cheva was throwing a surface popper or lure out 75 to 100 yards, and then handing off the caught fish to Ken's daughter, Shelby. She darned near got worn out. We did manage to raise a few roosters, and caught a jack crevalle. Plus, we found our own dorado hotel in the form of a huge patch of floating grass. We pulled eight dorado off it. Nothing was big, but it was a fun…and, I got to take dorado home tonight for my wife Rebecca to cook up. …Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

Marlin fishing has remained slow, though quite a few more boats were able to find the fish and they were biting a bit better…still it was nothing to write home about. The fish seemed to be concentrated closer to shore than normal, with most of the fish being found within three miles of the beach, and on both sides of the Cape.

Just like last week, most of the tuna were found quite a long way from home, necessitating a two hour or more cruise to get to where you might find some. There are always exceptions; recently there was a pod of dolphin found three miles off of Chileno Beach that had loads of football tuna, 5- to 20-pound fish, and the first dozen boats to get there had a blast. There were a few other clos- in fish found this week as well but for the most part, tuna were a long run from home with your fingers crossed!

Just a few yellow flags were flying recently; most of the boats did not have any luck with dorado and those that did only caught one or two at the most. The fish were found offshore on the Cortez side by boats searching for tuna and there were a few very small ones in close to the beach, also on the Cortez side of the Cape.

The sierra bite busted wide open on the Pacific side and it was disappointing to see so many of these so called “conservationist” captains load up with two, three or more times their limits. Come on guys! You have two clients on the panga, come in with 40+ sierra and then complain the next day that the fish have disappeared? Get a clue, please. Anyway, the bite was good and there were a few decent yellowtail caught as well as a few grouper and snapper. The surprise for many was the marlin that were found so close to the beach. While dropping bait to the bottom for grouper and snapper, many boats keep a live bait half-way down for amberjack, but there were quite a few marlin caught doing that.

The whales are beginning to thin out. There were still plenty of Humboldt squid out there if things seem really slow fishing...George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update February 28, 2010
REPORT #1204 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996

Charlie McCrow of London, England, with his 20 pound rooster on the fly, Panga - Dos Hermanos II with Captain Cheva, Photo and Guide - Ed Kunze

East Cape

Typical up and down wind didn't prevent some lucky anglers to land some nice-sized yellowtail. Actually, the no-wind days outweighed the windy ones. For some it was just a mixed bag, producing some fun days on the water; to keep things interesting, several of the local reefs are holding grouper, cabrilla and pargo

There is enough bait around to attract both jacks and roosters. There are a few schools of 'grandes' exhibiting their ability to provide many more refusals than takes. There were a few nice sized fish caught, but not in the 'Bubba' class for sure.

As normal the trick was to stick with the inshore as long as it produced. Many days it remained consistent throughout the fishing day. On other days it slowed down and heading outside, while tempting, was not worth the effort. Thank goodness we are done with February and getting closer to Spring every day!

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

The most consistent activity throughout the bay is the whale watching which continues to attract many tourists eager to photograph the mom's and their calves.

Lance Peterson and his friend, Brad Ellis, spent several days fishing out of Lopez Mateos with excellent results. They caught a variety of species including the elusive snook..all on the fly.

Lance reported that though they were mostly smaller fish, they were still very cool. Even though he has caught more roosters on the fly than anyone else I could name, this was his first snook on the fly and he was stoked! The fishing was pretty impressive. He went on to say that his Panguero Roddy was a master at boat handling. Having the right Captain, the right gear and the skills to make it happen made the team a deadly combo!

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico

The blue water fishing has been a bit erratic, but the quality has increased dramatically. The boats are averaging about a sailfish a day each, but the 15 boat blue water boat fleet caught three blue marlin on Tuesday, six on Wednesday, and another five today (Thursday). Plus, the action is taking place only 10 miles off the beach in front of Ixtapa. This does not reflect how many other boats, armed with lighter sailfish gear, lost a blue. For every blue marlin hooked, there had to be at least three lost.

As Paul Phillips was telling me..."there is a blue water dead sea area out there, and when it passes through, the fishing will be decent." The beautiful bluewater…better than I had seen in a month…was at 14 miles but held no life. It passed through, and we are now getting fish.

Inshore has been incredibly unseasonable, with a great showing of roosterfish. Fly fishing client, Charlie McCrow of England got a nice 20-pound rooster while fishing with Cheva and me on the panga, Dos Hermanos II. We were up at the Pantla/Buena Vista Beach area, which Adolfo had tipped us off as to being a good bet.

And Adolfo, on the Dos Hermanos, has been doing his usual inshore magic. Fishing the areas from Playa Linda to Troncones, his conventional gear clients caught 15 jack crevalle and 6 roosters on one day, and the next day they caught "mucho" jacks and 4 roosters…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

Striped marlin are being caught, but not in numbers to get excited about. Fish were seen close to the shore in the greenish water on the Cortez side, and anglers bottom fishing for grouper and snapper who dropped a live mackerel halfway to the bottom in 150 feet of water hooked two marlin, releasing one and losing the other. Other boats were seeing one here and one there on the surface in the same type of conditions. There was no consistent bite nor was there any regularity to the areas they were being found.

Well, the yellowfin had some regularity to where they were being found, and that was way out there! Most of the fish found this week were from football size to 30 pounds and it was a long run for a consistent bite! While there were fish found as close as 18 miles due south and 24 miles at 210 degrees, most of the action has been due east 35 miles or due south at 40 miles, a long two-hour run for the charters. If you got into the right porpoise pod, the action was 'hot and heavy', but there were a lot of pods with no fish. If you did happen to be in the right ones, almost anything was working, from feathers to marlin lures to cedar plugs.

Dorado seemed to be missing in action this week. While boats were able to find the type of debris that would normally hold these fish (weed lines, dead seals, wood), there were few if any fish under any of them.

Inshore fishing provided the most consistent action. Though not large, there was an abundance of fish.

The most common catch was sierra and most boats did not have any problem limiting out on them. Small swimming plugs, hootchies and live sardina, all rigged with a small trace of wire leader resulted in plenty of fish in the box. Anglers working yo-yo style jigs on the rocky bottom did well on amberjack to 25 pounds, grouper to 20 pounds and snapper to 20 pounds with an occasional larger specimen of each in the mix. There were also plenty of roosterfish to be had; unfortunately most of them were in the small five pound or less class, but there was an occasional school of 20 to 25 pound fish that gave good action. Yellowtail provided some steady action with fish to 30 pounds for boats that worked the points on the Pacific side, but several shrimp boats put a crimp on the action as they anchored on the schools and had 10 guys hand-lining with shrimp heads as bait. Watching the fish come over the rail one after the other really let you know how many there were in the school.

Whales are still providing a show for everyone, both humpbacks and a few grays are always in view. I don't know if there is any correlation between these things, but along with the warm, green water has come the Humboldt squid. A lot of the boats are stopping to jig up a few of these after a long offshore trip just to get something for their anglers to pull on. Spot the bird piles working just off the surface and you can see the squid. Pull up so that your lures sink and pretty soon you are hooked up. Don't get inked though, it's pretty nasty to get off. ...George and Mary Landrum
Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update February 21, 2010
REPORT #1203 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

Henning Morek - Denmark, Huge rooster Panga Dos Hermanos with Captain Adolfo

This has probably been the wettest February in a while. The good news is that it was the gentle soaking type rain that doesn't run off quickly. I guess it is a clue how slow the fishing has been recently, one hotel sent five boats out one day which is the single day's record for 2010. The lack of sierra continues to dismay fishermen who depend on them as a fallback. I saw a report this morning from down toward Cabo that suggested that there were reports that the lack of sierra was caused by gill net activity happening along the remote and unpatrolled East Cape region.

Inshore there are a few small dorado buzzing around that don't seem to stay in one place long. Offshore once in awhile a boat finds a cooperative striper and one unusual catch that was reported a few days ago was a sailfish which stayed late or arrived really early.

The most excitement is all the whales close to shore, huffing and puffing and leaping with reckless abandon.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

What little action there was this week was at the Entrada where the firecracker yellowtail could be found feeding on the surface under the bird schools. Unfortunately, the sierra were mixed in with the yellowtail and there were a lot of fish lost because of the lack of wire leaders. Up above Lopez Mateos, the action was mostly grouper and cabrilla.

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The fishing has been a bit erratic, but it is improving. On Monday, as brothers Henning and Ole Mork of Denmark did on the panga, Janeth with Captain Arturo, you go out and get three sailfish. Then go out the next day, but in a bit different area and a different boat, and not even get a strike all day.

However, Henning is on a roll. He is fishing with conventional gear but fished with Adolfo and his fly fishing son, Ufe, on the panga Dos Hermanos on Wednesday. They went up north to the Pantla area for jack crevalle and the possible shot for a rooster.

For three hours, Ufe had been up on the bow casting the fly…every time the hookless teaser came back to the boat. He took less than a 2-minute break to gulp down a sandwich and chug some water. Of course, this is when the huge rooster came slashing to the boat. The potential fly fishing world record was incredibly aggressive and going after anything near it. With Ufe unable to do anything but just watch, Henning was able to flip a bait at the fish with a spin rod and was hooked up solid.

The rooster was released, but Adolfo estimated it at 68 pounds. This is the second time this has happened with Ufe. Last year he and his Dad fished with me down at Puerto Vicente Guerrero. Ufe did get several dorado and a couple of decent roosters on the fly, but his Dad is the one who got the 50 pound rooster on conventional gear.

I had seen some small yellowfin tuna in the local Mercardo fish market, so I knew the commercial pangeros had found at least one school of tuna. Then, Santiago on the panga Gitana, came across diving birds at 10 miles fromr the port while fishing for sailfish. A live bait cast at them produced an 80-pound yellowfin for Ken Erdman of Pennsylvania.

Also, talking to Cali on the Vamonos II, he said he has been averaging about three sailfish a day for his clients…Ed Kunze

Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

Marlin and sailfish continue to be scarce and while a few are being spotted as well as caught, there are no large numbers of them anywhere. It appears that we are not going to see a repeat of the fantastic striped marlin fishery we have been having this time of the year for the past three years, but if we do, it means that everything else is going to be all contrary for the rest of the year. The few fish that were caught were found up in the Punta Gordo and Gordo Banks area, as well as very close to the beach on the Pacific side up around the Golden Gate Bank.
News is bad for the yellowfin tuna fishermen.

The catch on tuna is still spotty, with a few fish found here and a few found there. The fish that were found were smaller school fish to 35 pounds, but most of them were footballs at 5 to 15 pounds. All the fish found were associated with porpoise.

The good news was the reappearance of the warm water and a few more dorado showing up… most of them were actually worth catching. This warm water brought in some larger fish and though the numbers have not been high, the fish have been quality fish in the 25- to 40-pound class. A few of these fish were found on the Pacific side around the seamounts in the warm water, but the better ones came in on the warm water flow from the east.

Surprisingly there are still wahoo to be caught out there. Most of those were incidental catches, but at least they were there. The fish were not large, averaging just under 25 pounds.

Inshore is providing the best action but that isn't working for everyone. The fish are concentrating in one area for several days and then they are gone. They seem to be constantly on the move. The sierra, yellowtail and amberjack will be in one place in the morning and two miles away in the afternoon. This may be due to the changing water temperature moving the bait around, but for whatever reason, one day can be red-hot and the next ice-cold.

The whales are still providing thrills and if you are fishing offshore that is sometimes the only action you might see. The whales are inshore as well, so if you combine the inshore action with the whale action, inshore is definitely the place to be. ...George and Mary Landrum

Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update February 14, 2010
REPORT #1202 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

So you thought that Mexico was protecting the turtles…
click here http://tiny.cc/turtleeggs

After a week of up and down weather, including some gentle rain, today finally seemed like the beginning a few good days. Throughout the week on the good days the sierra were thick enough to attract the attention of the local gillnetters…sigh. The bad news is the roosters have begun to show and of course the nets are not very selective. A few of the boats that did venture offshore, however, found a few tailers below the lighthouse, but unfortunately they didn't seem to be too interested.

Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Still slow action or is it lack of fishermen? Either/or the squirrely weather has kept everyone off the water.

Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 80° water is still here, but the blue water is still off the charts somewhere. At about six miles, we at least have a decent "clean" water, so a few fish are still in the area.

The fleet is averaging only about onw sailfish a day per boat, with a few small dorado showing up for a few boats. The biggest problem has been the tremendous amount of debris in the water. From just off the beach, to out beyond 20 miles, the floating grass and river bank vegetation that washed out of the Rio Balsas River has made it real difficult to keep a trolling spread from getting fouled. Last week's 12" of rain in 30 hours really opened the flood gates on the rivers and washed a lot of debris in.

It has been a deckhand's nightmare. Even with the captain dodging the worst of it, a line is always getting fouled.

Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos II, has been working the areas to the North and has been doing well on some large jack cravelle......…Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582

Cabo San Lucas

For most of the week the marlin and sailfish would not bite; you could
find them but they were not hungry. Finally at the end of the week the bite picked
up a little and boats began to get them to take both bait and lures. Most of
the fish caught were found on the Cortez side of the Cape and the majority of
them were striped marlin. There were some sailfish caught as well, a real surprise
considering the water temperature.

Yellowfin tuna still spotty…a few fish found here and there. Mostly it seems to be a matter of luck by boats that are actually in the historically producing areas. The fish that were found were smaller school fish to 35 pounds, but most of them were footballs from 5 to 15 pounds. All the fish found were associated with porpoise.

Early in the week dorado were tough to find, but just after the first heavy winds came through there was a big school of small fish (and some of them were really small…smaller than sierra) just off of the beach between Gray Rock and the Westin on the Cortez side. These fish were within a mile of the beach and unfortunately they were hammered hard by the fleet. The school was blasted quickly and by the end of the week the fish were almost gone. There were a few larger fish found offshore on the Cortez side with some of the fish going as large as 35 pounds. Most of these were caught on lures by boats looking for marlin.

There were a few wahoo being caught this week, and they were found close
to the beach by boats working for the dorado in the area. None of the fish were
large, averaging around 15 pounds.

While the action offshore was slow, the inshore fishing was the way to go if you wanted action. There were plenty of sierra on both sides of the Cape to keep rods bent and fishermen happy. Along with the sierra were the occasional showing of yellowtail, snapper and grouper...George and Mary Landrum
Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191

Endless Season Update 02/13/2008
REPORT #1101 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape

Sierra, ladyfish and small roosters still continue to lurk along the beaches providing some killer action in the early morning and extending on until the winds pick up. The tin boat fleet is enjoying a good sierra winter as they troll tight to the beach. A bit further out the bonito can be found feeding bait near the surface.

Up to the north just outside the mooring balls at Muertos Bay, a few moss back yellows have been tearing up tackle quicker than you can say “fish on”.
Tip: When the fish are crashing bait on the surface and every cast is a refusal, try slowing down the retrieve to a crawl. A very slow moving fly will often trigger a strike when nothing else will.
Water temperature 62-68
Air temperature 45-82
Humidity 75 %
Wind: NNW 7 to 10 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 6:53 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:13 p.m. MST

Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico

Whale Ho! Plenty of whales are now inside the bay frolicking in front of the pier.

Up in the Esteros the mixed-bag action, snook, corvina and some fat pargo, kept everyone smiling this week.

Water temperature 66 - 73
Air temperature 45 -83
Humidity 75%
Wind: WSW 7 to 9 knots
Conditions: Partly Cloudy
Visibility 4 miles
Sunrise 7:03 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:19 p.m. MST

Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The fishing is continuing last week's trend. It has been slow. The fleet is only averaging 1 or 2 sailfish a day per boat. A few dorado are still being taken, but only about 1 for every 4 boats.

The blue water is still at 18 miles. Reports are the tuna are out beyond the 25 mile mark, and in decent numbers. We are waiting to see if anything will develop with them.

Cory Cole fished with Marcos on the panga, Oceana, and had a typical two days of fishing. They got 1 dorado the first day, and two sailfish the second day.

Inshore, there are reports of the jack crevalle action heating up, with a few sierras being taken also.
Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 75-97
Humidity 77%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 8 miles
Sunrise 7:14 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:43 p.m. CST