ENSENADA, MEXICO: Ivan Villarino of Vonny's Fleet reported wide-open bonita plus a steady pick on yellowtail for his pangas fishing at the tip of Ensenada'S Punta Banda. "Fishing has been very consistent this week," Villarino said. "Ensenada had good fishing and good weather." Lester Ellet of Orange County fished with Capt. Beto 2 days on the charter panga Vonny I for a catch of: lots of bonita for the Vonny's Fleet fish smoker, limits of calico bass, 4 Humboldt giant squid, and 6 yellowtail of 12 to 21 pounds. Other anglers during the week catching about 1 yellowtail per day plus lingcod, red rockcod, squid, and lots of bonita on the Vonny I and Vonny III included Jay Johnson, Cuck Beck, and Bill Koltz. Ensenada fishing area weather over the weekend was partly cloudy in the mid-70s, with light winds, 3-foot ocean swells, and the water temperature at Punta Banda averaging 63 degrees.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Stan Pianko of Chula Vista, Calif., reported on a run out of Ensenada's Marina Coral by his boat Mel's Diamond, fishing with Pete Reynard in wind and sloppy water at the upper 500 spot for 6 albacore to 28 pounds, all caught on Mexican flag jet heads on a temperature break between 67.5 and 66.8 degrees, plus the boat's first dorado of the year at 12 pounds, and 8 yellowtail to 30 pounds found at a kelp paddy in a patch of 70-degree water on the way in. "By noon the water was so bad we headed in," Pianko said. "Bad water but great fishing."

ENSENADA, MEXICO: For the previous week, Emerald Argonza of Matador Sportfishing said 3 anglers boated 1 yellowfin tuna of 25 pounds and 8 albacore averaging 25 pounds and including 2 fish at almost 40 pounds aboard the charter boat Matador while fishing in 66.5-degree water around GPS 31.50 117.18 out of Marina Coral. "We also lost a couple of albies at color," Argonza said. "All the fish were caught on the troll using black-purple Zukers and yellow, green, and orange feathers. This might be the last weekend for albacore fishing for us in Ensenada, but now the yellowfin, dorado, and marlin start to show up."

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Julio Meza of San Quintin said 239 anglers fished in this weekend's Fourth Annual San Quintin Sportfishing Tournament. The overall tournament winner was Estanislao Perez with a 49-pound white seabass. Tournament category winners, in order from first to third place, were: Sandbass: Valery Bechwith, Theodore Snellen, and Javier Godinez Garcia. Lingcod: William James Person, William Haward Person, and Jason Ray Person. Yellowtail: William James Person, Richard Thomas, and Barry Brightenburg. Tuna: Ray Thomas McDenan Jr. White seabass: Estanislao Perez, Juan de Dios Dominguez R., and Rafael Macias Velazquez.

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Pete Hillis of Pedro's Pangas said most San Quintin boats fishing after Saturday's tournament headed south for white seabass and yellowtail. Walt Kruzienski and his son Nick from Pennsylvania fished on the charter boat Pelicano for limits of bottom fish and yellowtail plus a white seabass of 45 pounds. "This was Nick's first fishing adventure," Hillis said. "Too bad it wasn't on Saturday. It most likely would have taken a prize."

MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said commercial pangueros reported yellowfin tuna estimated in the 100-pound class that were too big to boat with handlines just outside Magdalena Bay's Boca de Soledad at Puerto Lopez Mateos. "Other reports were received for wide-open tuna 30 miles outside the boca," Graham said. Surface yellowtail action continued at the San Carlos entrada and more dorado were seen at the shark buoys to the west. Mag Bay Outfitters at Puerto Lopez Mateos said kayaks are now available for fishing in the Magdalena Bay mangrove channels. "They couldn’t wait for clients to show up to try them out," Graham said, "so they loaded them on their boat Mar Gato and headed up to the esteros for their trial run. The kayaks are a welcome addition." Magdalena Bay fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the high-80s, with water temperatures of 64 to 76 degrees.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 25 outings by Gaviota Fleet and the Cabo charter boats Fish Cabo and Fish Cabo I, with a catch including released fish of: 41 striped marlin, 3 yellowfin tuna, 2 skipjack, and 18 dorado. "Angler numbers were down," Edwards said, "But there were some very good fishing opportunities as the stripers finally decided to go on the chew." Cabo San Lucas fishing area weather was in the mid-90s, with good sea conditions and water stability, and water temperatures rising from 72 degrees at the beach up to about 78 degrees 15 miles out. Most boats fished the Cortez side of Cabo about 12 to 14 miles off the coast from Chileno the Punta Palmilla. Caballito live baits were in good supply.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Jesus Cota of New Solmar Fleet reported on 10 outings for the week, with a catch including released fish of: 13 striped marlin, and 26 dorado including a 75 pounder.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: George Landrum of Fly Hooker Sportfishing said, "The California Current brought cool water close to shore and wrapped around the cape so water within 20 miles of the coast was in the low-70s and slightly off color. Anything outside the 1,000-fathom curve on the Cortez side and immediately south was warm and everything else was cool. On Saturday the Cabrillo Seamount was 85 degrees. On Thursday there was a blue marlin of 350 pounds caught at the seamount. As the water warms up the dorado catch continues to improve. In sportfishing, warm water equals dorado."

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Jim Dillon of Salvador's Sportfishing reported on 15 outings by the Cabo San Lucas charter boats El Budster, El Budster I, and El Budster II, with a catch including released fish of: 8 striped marlin, and 14 dorado of 20 to 40 pounds.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Eric Brictson of Gordo Banks Pangas reported on 52 combined La Playita Fleet pangas fishing off San Jose del Cabo, with a catch of: 62 jack crevalle, 13 dorado, 3 yellowfin tuna, 24 striped marlin, 28 skipjack, 34 bonito, 76 various snapper species, 12 amberjack, 4 hammerhead shark, 4 roosterfish, and 17 cabrilla. Cooler southerly winds returned to the San Jose del Cabo fishing area, turning coastal water green again, reducing inshore water temperatures 10 degrees to about 70 degrees at midweek, and scattering sardina bait supplies. "The recent opening of the new Puerto Los Cabos marina has also caused many of the schools of bait fish to move inside where they are not schooling on the surface and are hard to capture by throw net," Brictson said. With inshore water disrupted, most charters returned to offshore fishing and found slow action for tuna and dorado. "There have been more striped marlin than any other species, but at times they were not easy to entice into striking," Brictson said.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Bob Lewis of San Jose del Cabo said the Los Cabos fishing area was still struggling with variable southwest winds, mixed water conditions, and water temperatures as cool as 72 degrees close to the beach, but some good roosterfish action was found at Punta Gorda. "My son went out near Punta Gorda with a friend chasing roosters," Lewis said. "They saw huge roosterfish crashing schools of mullet on the beach, snagged a mullet with a treble hook rig, and cast into a feeding frenzy. He was bit right away and coaxed a 30-poundish roosterfish up on the beach to be released. There were a lot of people out there with many big fish caught." An outing by Lewis' boat Dos Gueros produced 7 marlin sighted but none hooked. "Anyway it seems we are in for another patch of cool water and wind," Lewis said. "It's strange weather but it makes for pleasant beach conditions and keeps storms away."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Chris Moyers of East Cape Smoke House reported on 297 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 921 anglers and a catch including released fish of: 5 blue marlin, 149 striped marlin, 20 sailfish, 359 dorado, 756 yellowfin tuna, 4 snapper, 1 wahoo, 5 roosterfish, 1 mako shark, and 1 shortbilled spearfish landed south of Punta Arena. East Cape fishing area weather was in the high-80s, with some heavy afternoon seas and winds. "Bait-wise, we’ve got dead ballyhoo and limited caballito," Moyers said. "The lack of sardinas is likely affecting the fish counts." Moyers noted that in the recent East Cape Dorado Shootout fishing tournament 10 dorado of 50 and 54.1 pounds were weighed, with the boats Jalapeño out of Rancho Buena Vista and Tio Arturo out of Flota Verde tied for high weight at 54.1 pounds.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Eddie Dalmau of Van Wormer Resorts reported on 297 East Cape charter fishing boats from Hotels Palmas de Cortez, Playa del Sol, and Punta Colorada, with a catch including released fish of: 9 blue marlin, 126 striped marlin, 9 sailfish, 190 dorado, 538 yellowfin tuna, 53 roosterfish, 5 wahoo, 15 cabrilla, 26 pargo, 74 triggerfish, 3 mako shark, and 4 amberjack. "The tuna bite continues to be solid, but there is nothing big to report yet," Dalmau said. "The tuna that have come in are all football size. A handful of blue marlin were also caught this week with the biggest weighing 400 pounds." East Cape fishing area weather was in the mid-90s, with water temperatures at 75 to 82 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Jeff deBrown of The Reel Baja fly fishing guide service at East Cape said morning seas were calm all week with cooling afternoon breezes, high air temperatures at about 98 degrees, and water temperatures of 75 to 88 degrees. "Everyone did not seem to mind the breeze as it helped to keep us from feeling the high temperatures and humidity in Baja during mid-July," deBrown said. Beach fishing was slower for a few small roosterfish and jacks as sardina bait fish remained scarce, although some larger fish were present. "If you are willing to put in the effort you got some good shots," deBrown said. Inshore fishing was also quiet and offshore action consisted mainly of football tuna and some improved marlin action plus occasional dorado. "Some of the best marlin action we saw this week was very close to shore between Punta Colorada and La Ribera," deBrown said. "We found good numbers of marlin and a few dorado from 1 to 4 miles off shore."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said football yellowfin tuna continued to dominate East Cape offshore fish counts last week, with good numbers of sluggish striped marlin and sailfish also seen and dorado again disappointing but including some fish into the 50-pound class. A few blue marlin were also reported. "Early in the fishing week, a floating carcass produced the best concentrated dorado action of the season," Graham said, "including limits of smaller dorado and yellowfin tuna." Inshore water temperatures were still down, with sardina bait fish scarce. "The cooler water seems to have caused the sardina to evaporate, leaving us with only with a few larger live baits and dead ballyhoo," Graham said. "It has also slowed the roosterfish bite to a trickle." East Cape fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the low-90s, with water temperatures at 75 to 87 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Russell Fritz of La Ribera said honeymooners Jennifer and Sam Williams fished aboard his panga Soplado for a catch including a dorado that was Jennifer's first-ever fish and another dorado caught by Sam that was weighed at 56 pounds 4 ounces. "Too bad for us Sam's fish was caught on Monday, 2 days after the East Cape Dorado Shootout tournament," Fritz said. "Whatever, it was tasty on the grill." Fritz also noted the disappointment of many entrants in the dorado tournament when the rules were changed to allow more than the specified 100 boats to enter. "The promoters changed it to accommodate an additional 31 teams," Fritz said. "One of the tournament rules was that the committee could change any rules, at any time, and that was final. They should hand out the rules in both Spanish and English. Many local Mexican fishermen were insulted by the 'groseros' who thoughtlessly presumed that all people speak English."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Mark Rayor of the Vista Sea Sport East Cape diving service at Buena Vista reported a 485-pound blue marlin landed by his boat Jen Wren on Friday after it hit a dorado pattern lure and died during the fight about 20 miles south of Buena Vista with anglers J.D. Davis of Rossmoor, Calif., and Hank Forhing of Signal Hill, Calif., also aboard. On Wednesday, the Jen Wren also landed a 308-pound blue marlin off El Cardonal. "In 4 days of fishing on the Jen Wren, J. D. and Hank have caught 7 marlin, 2 dorado, and 22 tuna," Rayor said. "The biggest blue was landed by J. D., but Hank also got one over 300 pounds."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Tammy Gaussoin of Rancho Buena Vista reported on 71 boats, with a catch including released fish of: 205 yellowfin tuna, 42 striped marlin, 2 blue marlin, 6 sailfish, 46 dorado, and 2 wahoo. East Cape fishing water temperatures averaged 74 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Ray Frew of Torrance, Calif., reported on George Carter's recent hosted trip to Rancho Buena Vista, with 12 anglers fishing on 4 boats for 5 days for a catch including released fish of about: 24 smaller marlin to about 135 pounds, 20 dorado of 35 to 48 pounds, roosterfish to 55 pounds, and lots of small yellowfin tuna. The boat fishing with Carter, Frew, and Larry Christie won top honors, with Frew named as grand champion and Carter runner up. "Two more blue marlin in the 400-pound range were lost," Carter said. "I believe the blues are now starting to show up."

SANTA ROSALIA, MEXICO: Sportfishing articles, maps, and fishing report archives for Santa Rosalia.

SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: Fernando Almada of Catch-22 Sportfishing said his charter boats fishing out of San Carlos including the Suerte and Rubina were releasing several sailfish per day on 8 to 10 fish in the spread, plus a few marlin and nice dorado. San Carlos fishing area weather had morning winds, settling down in the afternoons, with the water temperature in the mid-80s. "For me the hot spot has been the tip of the reef at about 12 miles out on a heading of 210 degrees," Almada said. About 30 to 40 boats per week were fishing out of San Carlos, and about 45 boats were entered in the weekend's 60th International Billfish Tournament.

MAZATLAN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 9 Aries Fleet offshore charter boats out of Mazatlan's Marina El Cid, with a catch including released fish of: 5 striped marlin, 4 sailfish, and a couple of larger dorado. Boats fishing at the buoys continued to have unlimited schooling dorado action. "Offshore waters have slowed a little, along with the numbers of anglers," Edwards said, "but easy limit dorado fishing at the buoys continues with all-day catch-and-release endless light tackle and fly fishing entertainment." Mazatlan fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the high-80s, with light surface winds and water temperatures of 85 to 86 degrees. All billfish were taken on rigged baits and the dorado were hitting anything. "I have heard of fish that even bit on grapes and French fries," Edwards said.

PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Keith Denette reported skippering the boat Martuni which landed a 137.5-pound yellowfin tuna to win the Club de Pesca tournament at Puerto Vallarta on July 13-15, 2007. Also fishing aboard the Martuni were angler Keith Jones and crew Ned Washburn. "The tuna was caught in a spinner porpoise school mixed with tuna of 40 to 135 pounds," Denette said. "With all the pressure at Roca Corbeteña and El Banco I chose to spend the first day picking tuna on the school until we had a possible tournament winner. We also released 4 sailfish and had multiple strikes on striped marlin and sails throughout the day. Fishing day 2 was spent at Roca Corbeteña where we had a small tuna and a release on a black marlin that we chose not to kill. The weather was nice and the tournament was a success. Danny Osuna on the Marla won second place with a tuna of about 75 pounds."

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Ed Kunze, reporting for Baja On The Fly, said torrential rains in the Ixtapa fishing area last week produced a recorded 12 inches falling during one period from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. the following morning. "This pushed a lot of weeds, trees, and debris out of the rivers, and it also pushed the blue water out to at least the 20-mile mark," Kunze said. "The captains are complaining that the weed lines are in such abundance it is making trolling difficult." Offshore boats were averaging about 1 to 2 sailfish per day and were seeing some schools of peanut dorado among the floating weeds. Inshore fishing before the rains was good, as Capt. Santiago on the panga Gitana had an outing for 7 roosterfish to 40 pounds. Capt. Adolpho on the panga Dos Hermanos found lots of roosterfish while working with a film crew at Puerto Vicente Guerrero. Ixtapa Zihuatanejo fishing area weather at the end of the week was clear in the low-90s, with water temperatures of 80 to 84 degrees.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters said, "A storm riddled week hampered fishing as high winds and torrential rains made inshore fishing as difficult as one can imagine. The fishing was extremely difficult. The large surf and muddy water made for a challenging mix. Weather forced an end to fishing most days by mid to late morning." Offshore boats reported more marlin than sailfish and some school sized yellowfin tuna to 30 pounds seen. Ixtapa fishing area water conditions remained rough at the end of the week, with water temperatures at 84 degrees inshore and 86 degrees offshore.

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