Yellowtail fishing fever south of Loreto

Mexico Fishing News, April 12, 2005

LORETO FISHING REPORTS

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LORETO, MEXICO: Ty Miller of El Fuerte Sportfishing at Puerto Escondido said last week’s excellent yellowtail bite continued at Isla Catalan: “It’s nonstop action from the time you arrive until you are limited out.”

Miller reported 15 to 20 pangas from Loreto at the isla: “These guys must have left at 5 a.m. to get there. Every boat was bendo! And when we brought fish to the gaff, there were free swimmers coming right to the boat.” Miller said 30 to 35-pound fish were active north and south of the isla, and he’s even seen cabrilla coming to the surface to hit flylined bait. Weather at Puerto Escondido was southerly in the low-80s, with water temperatures averaging 71 degrees.

LORETO, MEXICO: Pam Bolles of Baja Big Fish Company said the Baja Boys yellowtail tournament pangas had slow action locally their first day, then ran south 34 miles to Isla Catalan the second day for good action on yellowtail to 38 pounds, averaging about 24 pounds. “It appears at least five boats limited,” Bolles said.

Bolles noted that the yellowtail spawn has begun, and fish were being sighted on the surface around Punta Perico.

LORETO, MEXICO: Arturo Susarrey of Arturo’s Sportfishing said plentiful yellowtail were still coming in from Punta Pulpito to the north, and from the long 70-mile ride to the south side of Isla Catalan. The best catches were of 12 to 16 fish per day, averaging 24 pounds, but topping out at 36 pounds. Slower action, on three to four fish per day averaging 24 pounds, was found closer to town at Isla Carmen and at San Bruno.

LORETO, MEXICO: Norman Don of Tucson fished two days out of Arturo’s Sportfishing for nine yellowtail: “Overall, a fun trip. Wind came up both afternoons. Leave at 5 a.m., and get back by 2 p.m. Fished on a sea mount north of Loreto using live mackerel and caballitos. No bait for sale on Sunday. Spent one hour making bait.”

LORETO, MEXICO: Gregorio Segoviano of the Carnaderos baitsellers cooperativa said that after a nine-year stint as president of the cooperative, he has handed the reins over to new president Ignacio Davis. “Ignacio, myself and others began this business some 22 years ago when the Presidente Hotel, currently Whale’s Inn, opened,” Segoviano said.

The Carnaderos were catching new season mackerel baits last week, and many boats were fishing out of Whale’s Inn during the yellowtail tournament.

LORETO, MEXICO: At Villas de Loreto, Wendy Wilchynski said guests were returning with big yellowtail and good-sized pargo, mostly fishing south. Capt. Gregorio had his motor overheat during a run north and took it to Ciudad Constitucion for repair.

LORETO, MEXICO: Jeff Petersen and his son Brad of Loreto fished south of Isla Catalan with the Carnaderos for a nice catch of yellowtail and pargo. “We camped one night,” Petersen said. “Plan to return around the next full moon.”

In other mainland Mexico and Baja fishing action this week:

ENSENADA FISHING REPORTS

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ENSENADA, MEXICO: Ivan Villarino of Vonny’s Fleet said another hot bite of yellowtail surfaced at Punta Banda over the weekend. Derek Arneson, Armando Rodriguez, and Fausto Buenrostro of San Diego scored on seven fish of 18 to 25 pounds, all on aluminum jigs, with Capt. Beto Zamora on the Vonny I. They also limited on lingcod and assorted bottom fish.

No yellowtail were caught earlier in the week, but limits of lingcod and rockcod were had by all anglers, including Brian and Joanne Foley, Karen Layns and Cody Durbin of Redondo Beach, David Leveille of Thomaston, Conn., Pam Shier of Campo La Jolla, Chad Davis of Davis, and Mike Martinez of Woodland. Punta Banda weather was partly cloudy in the mid-60s, with light breezes, and water temperatures averaging 61 degrees.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Gaspar Lares of Paramount and his group from Tijuana fished about 2 miles off Punta Banda on El Dorado with Capt. Memo: “Easy limits of rockcod, starry rockfish, bocaccio, some to 5 pounds. Also lings, sculpin, and whites. Nice sardines for bait. Jigs didn’t work. We tried them all. There weren’t many boats out there.” Lares said they fished in light conditions, with some whitecaps by noon, in water temperatures averaging 62.4 degrees.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Gerardo Sanchez of KCHTS Sportfishing said the Don Juan II found bottom fish and calico bass at University Point, in fairly slow action with lots of current. Another boat reported medium to large bonita and barracuda at Maximino reef, and one had limits of red rockfish at the Soledad bank.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Barry Stangl of San Clemente launched his 21-foot boat at Marina Coral and trolled a mackerel-colored lure in about 110 feet of water for a 34-pound yellowtail off the tip of Punta Banda.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: At Lily Fleet, Sammy Susarrey said the Tamara caught some nice yellowtail on kelp paddies at the 295 and double 220 banks, in 61-degree water. The 20 to 25-pound fish hit live bait about 20 feet down. Boats fishing Punta Santo Tomas landed log barracuda to 8 pounds and bonita to 10 pounds, plus plenty of lingcod.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Earlier, Sergio Susarrey of Sergio’s Sportfishing Center reported on 31 anglers with a catch of: one bonito, 25 lingcod, 118 rockcod, 50 whitefish, 225 salmon grouper, and 71 red rockfish.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Baja author Bernie Swaim said specially signed copies of Jimmy Smith’s well-known book, “Grinning Gargoyle Spills the Beans...” will be on sale at a Baja Author’s Book Signing and Wine Tasting scheduled at the Pyramid Resort south of Rosarito Beach on May 1. Smith was able to sign some books at the VA hospital in San Diego just before he died recently, Swaim said. All proceeds will be given to Smith’s family in Los Barriles. Information 01152-646-155-0265.

ERENDIRA FISHING REPORTS

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ERENDIRA, MEXICO: Fernando Castro of Castro’s Camp said 14 pangas fished during the week, for heavy counts of red rockfish, lingcod, and barracuda, in water temperatures of 56 to 57 degrees. Ismael Hernandez, Luis Garcia, Santana Figueroa and Carlos Ortiz were among anglers who loaded up on quality bottom fish during the week, using sardina and frozen squid in about 180 feet of water.

SAN QUINTIN FISHING REPORTS

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SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Louie Prieto of Hacienda Heights and Kay Ramos of Ontario stayed at Cielito Lindo and had a great time fishing with Capt. Chino, 011-52-616-161-1550, for sandbass to 5 pounds, many red rockfish to 6 pounds, whitefish, larger sculpin, one barracuda, and assorted rockfish. Prieto said they went out in a 22-foot Searay, and most of their fish were gorged with bait, baby rockfish, and octopus.

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Pete Hillis of Pedro’s Pangas had eight boats out during the week, mostly fishing at the 240 and 6 spots for steady limits of lingcod and rockcod. Some local boats went south to Socorro for limits of nice sandbass and calico bass, Hillis said. Some boats caught one or two white seabass of 20 to 30 pounds. San Quintin weather was chilly at night and warming to the mid-70s by 11 a.m., with water temperatures of 58 to 60 degrees.

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Julio Meza of San Quintin said Capts. Jaime and Chava were reporting white seabass to 45 pounds south of the bay at Consuelo, with fish taken on blue-white and blue-chrome jigs in 80 to 100 feet of water at 57.5 degrees. At Campo Lorenzo, Larry and Big John caught four white seabass during the week, Chava got three, and Jaime one.

Earlier, Meza ran almost 50 miles offshore on a 240 heading, then south for 20 miles, in 60.5-degree water, found nothing. Meza said the sea was flat, but the water was green with no birds around: “Some kelp paddies, but empties. We tried everything. Nothing out there. Just giant ships.” On the way in, Meza stopped south of Arroyo Hondo and loaded up on nice calico bass, reds, and sandbass.

MAGDALENA BAY FISHING REPORTS

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MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said a few boats found some small yellowtail, grouper and larger cabrilla at the entrada, and there were more unconfirmed reports of tuna off Punta Tosca. A few corvina were caught at the San Carlos pier and at Devil’s Curve. San Carlos weather was hazy in the low-70s, with water temperatures of 64 to 70 degrees.

CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORTS

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CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Tommy Garcia of Cabo Magic reported on 66 boats with a catch including released fish of: two striped marlin, 596 yellowfin tuna, nine dorado, one wahoo, 28 ocean skipjack, one mako shark, and “too much” giant Humboldt squid. Garcia said, “Lots of giant squid early in this week kept marlin uninterested. Toward the end of the period, we had two boats release marlin, and no boats catching squid.”

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 32 Gaviota Fleet boats with a catch including released fish of: 15 striped marlin, eight dorado, and 312 yellowfin tuna of 15 to 25 pounds. Edwards said the tuna were found with porpoise about 10 to 12 miles off Chileno and Santa Maria.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Capt. George Landrum of Fly Hooker Sportfishing reported on five boats with a catch including released fish of: one striped marlin, 25 yellowfin tuna of four to 45 pounds; one dorado at 10 pounds, and three bonita.

Cabo weather was sometimes cloudy and windy into the high-90s, with water temperatures as low as 59 degrees right at the arch, and only into the low-70s farther out. Landrum said the slow billfish action was probably the result of low water temperatures and plentiful squid in the area. Inshore fishing was fair to slow in rough water for sierra and yellowtail to about 25 pounds.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: At Pisces Fleet, Tracy Ehrenberg reported 11 percent of boats with striped marlin, and 96 percent landing all species combined, mostly yellowfin tuna. Several broadbill swordfish were sighted and Karina lost an estimated 200 pounder after 15 minutes. Almost 500 tuna were caught, mostly 15 to 30 pounds, but with a few close to 100 pounds. Six striped marlin were released, and seven dorado were landed. Inshore fishing produced skipjack, sierra, yellowtail and amberjack, one small hammerhead shark released, and some large Humboldt squid to 5 feet. Pisces boats fished in all directions from the arch in sunny but sometimes windy conditions, and water temperatures of 66 to 70 degrees.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Benjamin Ortega of Solmar Fleet reported a catch including released fish of: three striped marlin, 238 yellowfin tuna, 29 skipjack, 12 sierra, four dorado, and one mako shark.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO (LOS CABOS) FISHING REPORTS

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SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Eric Brictson of Gordo Banks Pangas said water temperatures were a cool 64 to 69 degrees throughout the local area, and the La Playita panga fleet was fishing close to home due to rough seas far offshore. The highlight of the week, Brictson said, was a huge bite of red snapper right off the San Jose del Cabo estuary on Thursday: “Pangueros reported incredible wide-open action using sardinas, Rapalas and casting lures, with most of the fish ranging 5 to 10 pounds. The very next day the action was nonexistent, as the school had moved off the spot.” Bottom fishing produced amberjack, yellowtail, cabrilla, and grouper to about 30 pounds.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Jim Tolbert of San Jose del Cabo said that “more than the normal amount of drunks” converged on the area, during to Semana Santa and spring break. The La Playita road to East Cape was scheduled to close permanently on April 12, due to construction of the new marina, and will be replaced by a new road running higher up on the hill.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Bob Grimes of San Jose del Cabo noted that radio ads apparently paid for by the federal government stated that, “what (commercial) fishermen need are fish, fish, and more fish...the federal budget devoted to commercial fishing was tripled beyond its original proposal.”

EAST CAPE FISHING REPORTS

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EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Axel Valdez of Buena Vista Beach Resort reported on 28 boats with a catch including released fish of: two sailfish, 21 dorado, 75 tuna, 10 jack crevalle, three amberjack, 10 triggerfish, one cabrilla, 27 skipjack, and 47 sierra. Most boats fished north toward El Cardonal in good conditions and water temperatures of 74 to 77 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: At Rancho Buena Vista, Tami Mouyeos said 20 boats had a catch including released fish of: four striped marlin, 72 tuna, 38 roosterfish, nine dorado, and two wahoo. “Respectable numbers,” Mouyeos said. “Looks like a promising season.”

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: At Baja On The Fly, Gary Graham said fly angler John Thompson of Calgary, Alberta fished several days, catching a jack over 10 pounds, tuna of 32 and 44 pounds, and a 10-pound dorado on a 9WT rod. Beach anglers scored on roosterfish, jacks, and a few pompano. Heavy beach crowds during Semana Santa made it hard to find a place to fish, Graham said, but there were enough roosterfish showing up to get his guides out even on their days off.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Gary Leeper at Martin Verdugo’s Beach Resort said, “A week to die for. The cruisers started coming in Sunday with tuna limits. My wife, Sam, and I limited quick once we were on the porpoise. Took Greg George out for dorado on Wednesday. Caught a pair of 40-pound bookends, and released a smaller hen. Average size on the yellowfin was 30 pounds, with 40s and 50s common. The dorado have been large, with 40s common, and one monster 67 pounder.

“Most action has been within 30 miles, and lots of action within 15, mostly to the north and due east.”

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: At Verdugo’s, Randy Dale reported: “Fishing just seems to be turning on right now. All the old timers say it was the worst ever season this winter. Horror stories. But now everyone is a lot happier.

“Ran into tuna 20 miles off Punta Pescadero. Ronny got 25, and I got the big dorado 44 pounds, 9 miles out. I was told someone brought in a 60-pound plus dorado at Verdugo’s today.”

Dale reported glassy calm seas and a water temperature of 71.5 degrees in the tuna area. Many boats were also sighting marlin.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: At Rancho Leonero, John Ireland said: “A consistent bite, with tuna, dorado and striped marlin topping the fare. The pelagic fish are all outside, 20 to 40 miles offshore, on a heading of 017 to 020 degrees.” East Cape weather was mostly calm and sunny in the low-80s, with water temperatures of 69 to 74 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Jorge Bergin of La Ribera said the beach was crowded the Semana Santa visitors: “There are 120 vehicles on the beach and they are in a party mood. With no launch access, nobody is fishing here. There are some tuna at 11 miles out. Lots of flags on the hotel boats.”

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: At Cabo Pulmo, Mark Rayor of the Vista Sea Sport dive service said conditions were not quite “Tidy Bowl” blue yet, but visibility was good enough to see manta rays, turtles, snappers, and “Goliath” sized grouper on the reef. Water temperatures averaged 73 degrees on the surface, and 70 degrees at depth. Rayor said there has been a delay in organizing the Cabo Pulmo Park program, and he has not yet begun collecting the 20-peso per day user fee.

LA PAZ FISHING REPORTS

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LA PAZ, MEXICO: James Curtiss of the Cortez Club reported on 21 pangas and six cruisers fishing for Mosquito Fleet, with a catch of: 39 yellowtail of 15 to 39 pounds, 10 pargo of 10 to 18 pounds, 23 roosterfish of 15 to 58 pounds, and lots of sierra and bonito.

Top anglers for the week included Leobardo Felix, 10, and Enrique Felix, 12, of Sinaloa, with a 37-pound yellowtail and a 58-pound roosterfish respectively, and Brian Santos, 14, of Whittier with a 37-pound rooster. Also fishing were John Marinovich and Sheri Lewin, who were married during the week at Balandra beach, with a reception following at the Cortez Club.

Lopez said boats were fishing mostly in good conditions on the northeast side of Isla Espiritu Santo in water temperatures of 68 to 70 degrees, with sargassum weed starting to show on the surface.

LA PAZ, MEXICO: Betty Hill-Crofoot fished El Bajo with husband Tad on their boat the WICO: “Saw lots of fish being taken, some with jigs, but most with live bait. Something happened I had never seen before, a huge ball of squid right on the surface. The pangas were able to get over and throw their nets, cutting our 30-foot boat off several times before we were able to get into position to cast a net. We hit the jackpot with a single throw and used the squid as bait which caused lots of action. Had a great, fun day!” Hill-Crofoot said several of the 12 to 18-inch squid were also enjoyed for dinner that night at the La Concha Resort dining room. She also relayed reports of a yellowfin tuna bite at Isla Cerralvo.

LA PAZ, MEXICO: Jonathan Roldan of Tail Hunter International said divers are seeing yellowfin tuna on the La Paz side high spots, and tuna and dorado were caught on the Las Arenas buoys: “It's not full blown, but the fact that they are there has the fleet poised!” Inshore fishing produced solid action on larger pargo, snapper, and yellowtail.

On the Las Arenas side, Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing said the action was very good on yellowfin tuna of 30 to 40 pounds, plus pargos, yellowtail, dorado, and even wahoo. The beaches were crowded with Semana Santa visitors, and there was plenty of sardina bait at Punta Perico and at Isla Cerralvo. Las Arenas weather was excellent in the low-80s, with water temperatures in the low-70s at Punta Perico.

LA PAZ, MEXICO: Don Ballentine of San Isidro south of Ensenada de los Muertos said he had reports of wahoo off the south end of Isla Cerralvo: “Made the trip, but no birds, bait, or wahoo. On the way back we did catch two dorado and had a lot of fun with several marlin. One followed and hit our lures for almost a quarter of a mile. Never hooked up. We did see a group of four. Made four passes, but nothing. Things are getting better up here. At least a few fish showing up.”

LA PAZ, MEXICO: Arturo Davis of Las Brisas Villas said winds made the water off-color around Isla Espiritu Santo and El Bajo, but a good variety of fish were still caught on the La Paz side, including roosterfish to over 30 pounds, yellowtail near Punta Lobos, and cabrilla and pargo from the rocks. Davis said he checked out the rumors of yellowfin tuna at El Bajo, but “I found nothing but green water and a billion skipjack.”

Earlier, Davis reported a water temperature of 68 degrees at the remote Las Animas area, east of Isla San Jose.

MULEGE FISHING REPORTS

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MULEGE, MEXICO: At the Hotel Serenidad in Mulege, Diana Johnson reported many guests at the hotel, and some action on yellowtail, pargo, and cabrilla. “The beaches are full of people camping,” she said. Mulege weather was in the mid-80s.

SANTA ROSALIA FISHING REPORTS

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SANTA ROSALIA, MEXICO: Mike Kanzler of Isla San Marcos said 247 anglers entered the island’s 10th annual COMSA Cabrilla Tournament last week, with top prizes in the shore and boat divisions going to: Pablo Soto, Men’s Shore, 5.5 Kg.; Fabiola Castillo, Women’s Boat, 4.7 Kg.; Magdalena Rodriguez, Women’s Shore, 4.2 Kg.; and Daniel Lopez Murua, Men’s Boat, 6.9 Kg.

Kanzler said tournament winners were presented great tackle prizes sponsored by Progear. Kanzler came in third, as he and his deckhand boated over 30 leopard grouper for the day. Shore fishing was from several locations on the island set up for residents by the gypsum mining company, COMSA.

Isla San Marcos weather was beautiful and flat in the mid-80s, with water temperatures at 68 to 70 degrees. Isla San Marcos produced some yellowtail, but most boats ran to Isla Tortuga for wide-open yellowtail limits, including Kanzler’s two-day catch of 32 yellowtail of 22 to 33 pounds, fishing with surface iron, and flylined mackerel and caballito.

SANTA ROSALIA, MEXICO: Alan Lewis of San Lucas Cove reported fair cabrilla and small firecracker yellowtail around Haystack and the cliffs going up to Santa Rosalia, on trolled plugs.

SANTA ROSALIA, MEXICO: Christopher Bruno and Bob Lee stayed four days at crowded San Lucas Cove: “We finally started to see schools of large yellowtail boiling on the surface, chasing small bait, but huge schools of pesky barracuda were surrounding them and would take our lures before the yellowtail had a chance. We saw one experienced couple take three good yellowtail by dunking non-weighted live bait while drifting over the sea mounts just north of San Marcos Island.”

Bruno said bottom fishing was fair to good on triggerfish, especially, plus a variety of other species caught by all methods: “There is an enormous amount of bait in the area, and large pods of dolphins are feeding north of Haystack on chub mackerel. Barracuda, yellowtail, etc., are feeding on small, maybe 2 to 2.5-inch bait around the island.”

BAHIA DE LOS ANGELES (L.A. BAY) FISHING REPORTS

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MIDRIFF & NORTHERN CORTEZ, MEXICO: Pete Hadley of San Juan Capistrano and Bahia de los Angeles, and Brian Manning of Dana Point fished at Bahia de los Angeles, where Manning landed a 45-pound white seabass on a rock pile just northwest of Isla la Ventana on a chrome Krocodile jigged off a 30-foot bottom. “The big croaker swallowed the whole lure and gave Brian about a 15-minute fight on 30-pound test,” Hadley said, adding that they were kept off the water by winds for five of their nine days at the bay. Fishing was generally slow around the inner islands. Water temperatures were in the mid-60s, with extreme tides due to the full moon.

MIDRIFF & NORTHERN CORTEZ, MEXICO: Paul Lopez of El Centro, and his group including Roy Lopez, John and David Ryan, and their friend Roy, had an excellent trip to L.A. Bay to fish with Capt. Igor Galvan. “It was a real treat to fish with Igor,” Lopez said. “He is very serious about putting fish on the deck. He has a great sense of humor and makes you feel very comfortable right away.” Lopez’ group fished on Galvan’s large panga near Isla Angel de la Guarda and along the Baja coast for seven yellowtail on surface iron and Rapalas, caught by chasing birds. They also caught sheephead, jawfish, and goldspotted bass in sometimes windy conditions, with water temperatures of 58 to 59 degrees.

MIDRIFF & NORTHERN CORTEZ, MEXICO: Mark Baker of Hemet and Nicole Venegas fished out of Casa Diaz with Capt. Pepe around Isla Partida for a mixed catch of cabrilla and grouper, but no yellowtail, until they spotted birds working: “Then we saw some birds working in the distance. Yahoo! The yellows were there! Boiling on the surface about a mile east of Isla Raza.

“When we got on top of the boils, we threw blue-and-chrome and green-and-yellow irons on them and managed to bag three.” Baker said their yellowtail weighed 20 to about 35 pounds, and they returned to L.A. Bay with those, plus a lot of cabrilla.

MIDRIFF & NORTHERN CORTEZ, MEXICO: Doug Magee of Papa Fernandez at Bahia Willard said the Fernandez family is allowing camping on Punta Willard for $5 per night, and is also providing pangas for sportfishing out of Papa Fernandez: “Chichi', one of Pap's sons, and his wife Chelo, have five children, all of whom are involved in the running of this camp and business. The three boys have married and given their parents seven grandchildren, making seventeen total at the present time.” Magee said the Fernandez restaurant is open seven days per week. Last week cabrilla to 30 pounds were caught, and large schools of sierra and 28-inch yellowtail were seen outside the bay.

SAN FELIPE FISHING REPORTS

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SAN FELIPE, MEXICO: At San Felipe, Catalina Meders of the Title Company Bookstore overlooking the bay said the weather was beautiful and clear for Easter weekend, in the low-80s, with the water temperature at 79 degrees. The town was crowded, traffic was heavy on the road from Mexicali, and local vendors were doing great: “On Friday I counted 17 people having their hair braided on just this small street.” Meders said town authorities were doing a good job of cleaning up after the crowds, which seemed to be on good behavior: “I didn't see a single fight or hear any voice raised in anger. There is a great lesson to be learned here.”

ROCKY POINT (PUERTO PENASCO) FISHING REPORTS

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PUERTO PENASCO, MEXICO: Neff Nash of Tucson spent Semana Santa at the large, 2,700-room Mayan Palace resort, 15 miles southeast of Puerto Penasco: “One golf course is under construction and three more are planned. The world's largest swimming pool will be included along with a monorail system which will circumnavigate the resort.” Nash said he launched his boat in the estuary and fished a day at Isla San Jorge for some nice leopard grouper and what he called “HUGE, world record size spotted bay bass,” caught by himself and his wife. The next day, they caught seven nice corvina from a deep channel running close to the beach.

PUERTO PENASCO, MEXICO: Jonathan Dufek of Flagstaff and his father fished out of Puerto Penasco for a nice catch of grouper and big numbers of barracuda. “Caught a couple of grouper and lost a couple,” Dufek said. “Great trip.”

SAN CARLOS (SONORA) FISHING REPORTS

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SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: Bob Blair of Fishing San Carlos said one boat caught dorado of about 12 pounds, and the Rambler spotted a marlin south of town. “The long-awaited fish are back,” he said. Yellowtail were also caught at Isla San Pedro Nolasco in water temperatures of 72 to 73 degrees. Blair reported sargassum weed in the area, but so far no dorado under it: “We keep looking, but nothing yet.”

Norman Don of Tucson fished in 74-degree water on Saturday, and reported one small dorado, 18 miles out on heading 180.

MAZATLAN FISHING REPORTS

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MAZATLAN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters said Aries Fleet boats out of Marina el Cid were sighting as many as 60 striped marlin per day, but having difficulty in drawing strikes. Trolled guacamaya and black-purple skirts were drawing about two to three strikes per day, plus some scattered 30 to 45-pound dorado and a few small tuna. The Double Diamond landed a 100-pound broadbill swordfish. Inshore boats scored strongly again on red snapper, triggerfish, mojarra, cabrilla, a few baqueta, pargo, and sierra. Mazatlan weather was calm in the high-80s, with water temperatures of 70 to 73 degrees inshore, and 74.5 degrees offshore.

PUERTO VALLARTA FISHING REPORTS

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PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Kim Moore of Charter Dreams said many Mexican tourists were in town for Semana Santa. Small dorado, sierra, and jack crevalle of 25 to 35 pounds were plentiful inside the bay, and a few small yellowfin tuna were showing up around Punta Mita and Mismaloya. El Banco and Corbetana were still quiet. Moore added that she had been unable to find confirmation of earlier reports of wide-open tuna caught at El Banco on surface spawning paper nautilus. Puerto Vallarta weather was sunny with afternoon clouds, and water temperatures of 77 to 78 degrees.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO FISHING REPORTS

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IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Local guide Ed Kunze said most boats were getting at least three sailfish per day, and Capt. Adolpho on the Dos Hermanos had eight in a day. Kunze said he also took some beach excursions to areas rarely visited by tourists: “We went south to Playa Larga and drove the beach for a few miles to Playa Blanca. From there we went by dirt road Barra Potosi, with its 3 miles of mangrove lined-lagoon, and finally ended up on the main highway 1.5 hours from Zihuatanejo, in Puerto Vicente Guerrero.

“Puerto Vicente Guerrero is like stepping back in time over 75 years ago here in Mexico. It is just a very small fishing village, with a small clear water port. There are often roosterfish inside the harbor. A snack lunch there, under a palapa palm beach front restaurant, with fresh caught fish and fresh oysters as big as your hand, is hard to beat.”

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters said Larry Lohr scored on eight sailfish in three days with Capt. Jose Vargas on La Bamba. Inshore, roosterfish were slow, but Bill Linka had a good day with Capt. Adolpho, landing 18 yellowtail jack, 30 bonito, and one sierra.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Inshore, Paul Phillips of the Fintastic Total Tag & Release Tournament said, “Roosterfish are taking a vacation somewhere else.”

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: John Garner of Encinitas fished out of Ixtapa on Steve Campbell’s boat Corsario, not finding the 200-pound tuna caught two weeks earlier only 10 miles out of the harbor, but scoring on 12 sailfish, two dorado, 12 small tuna, and one blue marlin, in four days. Garner said the dorado were both over 40 pounds, but the tuna were only 10 to 15 pounds. Conditions were greasy flat with water temperatures of 82 to 85 degrees. The blue marlin, a 260 pounder, came up dead and had to be taken, Garner said, but was carefully cleaned and “every part” was used by the captain and deck hand. Garner reported, “The harbor was clean and beautiful, but did contain crocodiles.”

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly reported Zihuatanejo weather was mostly cloudy in the low-90s, with water temperatures at 72 to 78 degrees, and blue water about 5 miles out.

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SOUTH OF LORETO--Brad Petersen of Loreto caught this nice cabrilla fishing with his father Jeff Petersen, at Isla Catalan. Photo courtesy Jeff Petersen.

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YELLOWTAIL BONUS--Derek Arneson, Armando Rodriguez, and Fausto Buenrostro of San Diego caught bottom fish limits, plus this great haul of seven yellowtail of 18 to 25 pounds, with Ensenada’s Vonny’s Fleet last week. Photo courtesy Ivan Villarino.

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PUNTA BANDA YELLOWTAIL--Barry Stangl of San Clemente launched his 21-foot boat at Marina Coral, and scored on this 34-pound yellowtail under birds at the tip of Ensenada’s Punta Banda. Photo courtesy Barry Stangl.

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CASTRO’S SEAFOOD BUFFET--Shown left to right with a great catch of bottom fish at Castro’s Camp are Ismael Hernandez, Luis Garcia, Santana Figueroa and Carlos Ortiz, all of the Los Angeles area. Photo courtesy Fernando Castro.

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AT CIELITO LINDO--Kay Ramos fished out of San Quintin’s Cielito Lindo with Louie Prieto and Capt. Chino for a good day on mixed bottom fish. Photo courtesy Louie Prieto.

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NEW CARNADEROS PRESIDENT--Ignacio Davis (left) took over last week as president of Loreto’s Carnaderos baitsellers cooperativa from outgoing president Gregorio Segoviano (right). Carnaderos was established 22 years ago. Photo courtesy Jeff Petersen.

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LAS ARENAS ROOSTER--Doug Johnson of San Diego caught this nice roosterfish last week near the Hotel las Arenas, with La Paz’ Tail Hunter International. In the background is Capt. Juan. Photo courtesy Jonathan Roldan.

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ISLA TOURNAMENT WINNERS--Shown with prizes sponsored by Progear are the winners of this year’s 10th annual COMSA Cabrilla Tournament at Isla San Marcos near Santa Rosalia: (left to right) Pablo Soto, Men’s Shore, 5.5 Kg.; Fabiola Castillo, Women’s Boat, 4.7 Kg.; Magdalena Rodriguez, Women’s Shore, 4.2 Kg.; and Daniel Lopez Murua, Men’s Boat, 6.9 Kg. Photo courtesy Mike Kanzler.

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L.A. BAY CROAKER--Brian Manning of Dana Point caught this surprise 45-pound white seabass inside L.A. Bay, using a chrome Krocodile in 30 feet of water near Isla la Ventana. Photo courtesy Pete Hadley.

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WORKING BIRDS--Mark Baker of Hemet caught this nice yellowtail near Isla Raza after spotting birds working in the distance. He fished with Nicole Venegas with Capt. Pepe out of Casa Diaz at L.A. Bay. Photo courtesy Mark Baker.

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GONZAGA VIEW--Fifty-year Baja pilot, Larry Hahn of El Paso sent this beautiful view of Isla Willard and Gonzaga Bay, looking south. Photo courtesy Larry Hahn.

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BOTTOM FISH MIX--Karen Layns and Cody Durbin of Redondo Beach, and David Leveille of Thomaston, Conn., had a great catch of mixed bottom fish with Vonny’s Fleet at Ensenada last week. Photo courtesy Ivan Villarino.

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IXTAPA BLUE--John Garner of Encinitas fished out of Ixtapa on Steve Campbell’s boat Corsario, and they kept this 260-pound blue marlin after it died during the fight. Photo courtesy John Garner.

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SEMANA SANTA AT CABO--The Holy Week crowds were heavy on all of Baja’s beaches last week. Here’s the action at Cabo San Lucas’ Medano Beach. Photo courtesy Jim Tolbert.

Baja coastal fishing reports and articles.

Ensenada fishing reports and articles.

Puerto Santo Tomas fishing reports and articles.

Erendira fishing reports and articles.

San Quintin fishing reports and articles.

Magdalena Bay fishing reports and articles.

Cabo San Lucas fishing reports and articles.

San Jose del Cabo (Los Cabos) fishing reports and articles.

East Cape fishing reports and articles.

La Paz fishing reports and articles.

Loreto fishing reports and articles.

Mulege fishing reports and articles.

Santa Rosalia fishing reports and articles.

Bahia de los Angeles (L.A. Bay) fishing reports and articles.

San Felipe fishing reports and articles.

Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco) fishing reports and articles.

San Carlos (Sonora) fishing reports and articles .

Mazatlan fishing reports and articles .

Puerto Vallarta fishing reports and articles.

Ixtapa Zihuatanejo fishing reports and articles.

Huatulco fishing reports and articles.

Cancun fishing reports and articles.

Mexico coastal fishing reports and articles.

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