ENSENADA, MEXICO: Ivan Villarino of Vonny's Fleet said quality yellowtail action continued for his pangas fishing at Punta Banda last week. "This week was good again for yellows," Villarino said. Anglers scoring on bottom fish plus yellowtail of 18 to 26 pounds with Vonny Fleet's Capt. Beto Zamora during the week included Jay Johnson, Debbie Oslin, and Don Fredette and his group. On Monday, Brian "Calico" Foley fished in slower conditions, but still managed a catch of lingcod, red rockcod, sandbass, and Johnny bass. "We caught wind, rain, and rough water for the rest of the week," Villarino said. Ensenada fishing area weather on Saturday was partly cloudy in the low-60s, with 3 to 4-foot ocean swells, winds at 4 m.p.h., and the water temperature at Punta Banda averaging 58 degrees.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Steve Ross of the boat Bad Dog at Marina Coral reported "big wind" off Ensenada on Friday. "Staying home with the heater on," Ross said. Earlier, Ross commented on his big load of red rockcod at the Banda Bank. "Rockfish fishing at Ensenada couldn't have been any better," Ross said. "We caught very little junk fish. We had no problem with 'easy limits.'" GOOD BOTTOM FISHING FOR THE BOAT BAD DOG.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Conal True, director of Ensenada's totoaba breeding laboratory at the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, said another release of the endangered fish was scheduled at San Felipe this week aboard the Tony Reyes Fishing Tours panga mothership Jose Andres. "This time we will release 2,000 juveniles, 5 months old," True said. "We are also holding onto another 2,000 totoaba for a grow-out trial. We hope to generate some interest with the commercial shrimp farmers." Thirty-nine adult totoaba being raised at the laboratory were expected to begin spawning in 2008. The brood stock was collected south of San Felipe last year aboard the Jose Andres.

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Pete Hillis of Pedro's Pangas said fishing was good last week, although few anglers visited the San Quintin area. Hillis fished on the Pedro's charter boat Rommy with Capt. Hector and anglers Oscar Guzman of Ensenada and Raul Oscena of Visalia, Calif., for large red rockcod, lingcod, 1 yellowtail, and 6 Humboldt giant squid at the San Quintin 15 and 6 spots. "I got tired of ganion fishing and changed to a Salas 6X," Hillis said. "I got the only yellowtail of the day at 18 pounds and also the largest rockcod, lingcod, and squid." San Quintin weather had some wind and rain during the week, but was calm on Sunday morning, although cold enough at first light to put ice on the boats.

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Kelly Catian of K&M Offshore Sportfishing reported yellowtail caught the San Quintin 15 spot, plus large red rockcod, lingcod, bass, Humboldt giant squid, and barracuda at other bottom fishing locations, Isla San Martin, and Playa San Ramon. "Yellowtail have been hanging around the 15 fathom spot since late January," Catian said. "If you put the time in, you can scratch up a decent bag. With rockcod at an all-time high commercial price, a lot of San Quintin fisherman are targeting them so the more generic spots are thinned out with only smaller fish showing. There's a lot more out there than just the 240, the 15, and the 6. Please release the small lingcod. When they're gone, that's it."

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Randy Peters of Lakewood, Calif., reported on an outing with Capt. Kelly Catian of K&M Offshore Sportfishing, fishing with his children Kellie and Daniel around the 15 and 240 spots for a catch of about 25 red rockcod, 3 lingcod, a few bonita, and some Humboldt giant squid. "The seals were a bit of a problem as they followed us from spot to spot," Peters said. "These squid were easily 40 pounds. They wore both my kids and me out." San Quintin fishing water temperatures were at 57.8 degrees. SQUID, SEALS, AND ROCKFISH WITH K&M OFFSHORE SPORTFISHING.

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Julio Meza of San Quintin reported limits of small yellowtail under 15 pounds at local high spots for his boat Santa Monica. "There are squid up to 30 pounds everywhere," Meza said. "The yellowtail are very busy with the squid, so they do not take the easy meals on the hook." Sandbass fishing with swim baits was also good south of San Quintin bay in 59-degree water. Meza's 5-year-old nephew Elias was also getting in on the action. "I do not touch his rod," Meza said. "Sometimes he cries and screams, but he refuses help. He wakes up at 4 a.m. and he calls me on the radio asking if we are going fishing."

MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said the California gray whale migration on Baja's southern Pacific coast was in full swing last week and "every hotel in Magdalena Bay is sporting a 'No Vacancy' sign." The few boats fishing offshore of Magdalena Bay reported marlin seen, but most dorado were gone as water temperatures continued to decline. In the Magdalena Bay mangrove channels, some corvina to 10 pounds were caught. Magdalena Bay weather was partly cloudy at 80 degrees, with the water temperature at 65 to 72 degrees.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Eric Brictson of Gordo Banks Pangas reported on 106 combined La Playita fleet pangas fishing off the Baja coast at San Jose del Cabo, with a catch of: 54 yellowfin tuna, 12 yellowtail, 285 sierra, 55 dorado, 6 striped marlin, 8 hammerhead sharks, 5 mako sharks, 12 amberjack, 38 cabrilla, 185 pargo, 8 pompano, and 14 surgeonfish. Massive construction continued on the Puerto Los Cabos marina project as La Playita pangas operated on the very crowded beach in anticipation of the project's completion in a few weeks. "The La Playita panga fleets are barely able to function," Brictson said. San Jose del Cabo fishing waters were green at 70 to 72 degrees. PUERTO LOS CABOS MARINA CONSTRUCTION NEARS COMPLETION.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Species fishing specialist John Snow of San Jose del Cabo reported on 4 surf fishing outings with 13 fish caught, mostly small, but including a 2-pound giant clown hawkfish, or chino mero. A rarely seen juvenile chino mero at about 2 inches long was also found in a tide pool. Four panga outings with Capt. Pata on the panga Salome fished in some wind for many small assorted species on sabiki rigs, 2 very small dorado, 1 yellowfin tuna, and a striped marlin.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly reported some days with less wind and more striped marlin showing for East Cape charter boats fishing 15 to 18 miles north last week. "There was one report of an East Cape boat hooking 7 marlin earlier in the week," Graham said. Some scattered dorado were also caught in Bahia de Palmas. Inshore, jack crevalle were in their pre-spawn concentrations, but not biting lures or bait. East Cape weather was clear at 80 degrees, with water temperatures at 65 to 72 degrees. MARLIN ACTION PICKS UP NORTH OF BAHIA DE PALMAS.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Chris Moyers of East Cape Smoke House reported on 33 charter boats from combined fleets including Hotels Palmas de Cortez, Playa del Sol, Punta Colorada, Buena Vista Beach Resort, Rancho Leonero, and Martin Verdugo's Beach Resort, with a catch including released fish of: 42 striped marlin, 24 dorado, 80 sierra, and 4 roosterfish. East Cape fishing weather was in the high-70s, calm in the mornings with afternoon wind and chop, and the water temperature at 66 to 75 degrees. "Environment-wise, we had a bad week in terms of the north winds," Moyers said. "Anglers made due and simply headed north for most of the week." For the previous week ending Feb. 15, 2007, Moyers reported on 27 boats, with a catch including released fish of: 19 striped marlin, 48 dorado, and 1 pompano. East Cape water temperatures were at 66 to 73 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Torrance Eddy of Buena Vista reported on a run Friday by his beach-launched aluminum boat Reina Maria II, trolling lures with 3 guests aboard down to Rancho Leonero and back for a 3-hour catch of: 3 small bonito, 1 sierra, and 1 yellow snapper. "I probably would have caught more if I'd been alone and working it hard," Eddy said, "but as usual, there are enough fish close in to catch dinner and have a good time."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Mark Rayor of East Cape's Vista Sea Sport diving service at Buena Vista reported bottom temperatures at the Cabo Pulmo coral reef at 70 to 71 degrees, with 40-foot visibility. "Monstrous schools of bigeye jacks have moved onto the reefs and are being sighted on every dive, along with giant grouper, clouds of yellow snapper, and colorful reef fish," Rayor said. East Cape weather was mostly good during the week but blowing at 25 knots on Saturday morning. Divers Rob and Laura Townsend of Boise, Idaho, completed their PADI Open Water Diver certification at Vista Sea Sport with final check dives at the Cabo Pulmo Marine Park.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Steve Crouch announced the 19th annual Crouch/Roberts No Kill Billfish Tournament to be held at East Cape's Rancho Buena Vista on July 5-9, 2007, with an entry fee of $250. Information: Tami, 800-258-8200; tagandbrag@sbcglobal.net, 800-355-6441.

SANTA ROSALIA, MEXICO: Jim Anderson of Santa Rosalia's San Lucas Cove RV Park reported 4 days of good fishing weather and very good winter yellowtail action on the bottom and on the surface around the Isla San Marcos bajos for 25 to 30-pound fish. "These fish are the strongest yellowtail I have ever caught," Anderson said. "If they hit on the surface you might get lucky with 30-pound line. Almost everyone who fishes this regularly uses 60 or even 80-pound." Visiting anglers getting in on the action included Ed Duitsman's group from Hinkley, Calif., aboard Duitsman's boat Day Care. "These guys really managed to get in the groove very quickly and started pulling in fish," Anderson said. HEAVY DUTY YELLOWTAIL FISHING AT ISLA SAN MARCOS BAJOS.

SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: Steve Calvert of Catch-22 Sportfishing reported the results of the San Carlos Yacht Club Rescate yellowtail fishing tournament held Feb. 17-18, 2007. With 12 boats and 44 anglers fishing for 2 days, a total of 56 yellowtail were caught, 36 on Saturday and 20 on Sunday, with boats about evenly split between Punta San Antonio and Isla San Pedro Nolasco. The largest yellowtail was caught by angler Chase Clayton at 24.8 pounds, aboard the boat Hattador. The winning boats in the $100 pool were, in order: Debbie's Delight, Que Rico, and Hattador. The winning boats in the $500 pool were: Que Rico, Hattador, and Catch-22. Only 1 boat entered the $1,000 pool, and no prize was awarded. The San Carlos fishing area had good sea conditions and 64-degree water temperatures for the tournament.

MAZATLAN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards reported seasonally slower offshore fishing in Mazatlan waters as water temperatures dropped last week. Twenty-nine offshore Aries Fleet boats fishing out of Marina El Cid had a catch including released fish of: 4 striped marlin, and 5 dorado. Inshore boats provided the better fishing opportunities, as 15 Aries Fleet super pangas caught: 96 jack crevalle, 1 dorado, 18 sierra, and 29 triggerfish. Mazatlan weather was mostly calm, with green water at 70 to 72 degrees. SLOWER OFFSHORE FISHING IN COOLER WATER TEMPERATURES.

PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Sportfishing articles, maps, and fishing report archives for Puerto Vallarta.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Ed Kunze, reporting for Baja On The Fly, said blue marlin fishing continued very good for offshore boats fishing out of Ixtapa Zihuatanejo last week. About 40 boats fishing one day, including commercial pangueros, accounted for 30 blue marlin caught. "Other fishing days have not been quite so plentiful," Kunze said, "but we are still seeing a minimum of 10 blue marlin per day being hooked and landed." Offshore boats also averaged about 1 or 2 sailfish per day. Fly fishing angler Onno Van Veen of Holland had an exceptional outing with Capt. Santiago on the charter panga Gitana, releasing 1 striped marlin, 1 blue marlin of about 100 pounds, and 2 sailfish. Few boats fished inshore during the week. Ixtapa fishing area weather was sunny in the high-80s, with water temperatures at 80 to 84 degrees. BLUE MARLIN ACTION CONTINUES FOR MEXICAN SPORT AND COMMERCIAL FISHING BOATS.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported sailfish action up-and-down last week. Top outings included Capt. Adolofo Espinosa on the charter boat Dos Hermanos I with an 8-sailfish day and a 5-sailfish day, but Edwards said, "As currents and water temperatures changed, some very good days were followed by days with little action." Inshore fishing was slow. Ixtapa Zihuatanejo weather was mostly calm at 90 degrees, with water temperatures at 79 degrees inshore and 81 degrees offshore.

HUATULCO, MEXICO: Sportfishing articles, maps, and fishing report archives for Huatulco.