DAILY RESULTS FOR FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING

Aug. 22, 2004, Capt. George Landrum, Fly Hooker Sportfishing, Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico:

WEATHER: It was a warm week here in Cabo San Lucas but at least the afternoon breezes kept us from sweating like we did last week! Our night time lows were in the 80 degree range while our day time highs ranged from 93 to 100 degrees. Very little cloud cover in Cabo San Lucas this week and of course, no rain at all. It looks like we have had a slight shift in our weather patterns and we may have a bit of a cooling trend coming, at least that is what some people have been saying to me. I am not a meteorologist so heck, I just keep my fingers crossed!

WATER: At the end of our week we had a band of warm 85 degree water running out to 15 miles off shore on the Cortez side of the Cape and it wrapped around and extended out to the San Jaime Bank. Just up the coast on the Pacific side it dropped to 81-82 degrees and that cooler water extended off shore for 5-8 miles. That cooler water was also green earlier in the week and extended quite a bit farther off shore. Both the Pacific and the Sea of Cortez had very nice water in the mornings but as noon approached every day the wind started to pick up and the Pacific became choppy. Not uncomfortable, just lots of whitecaps.

BAIT: Pretty much the same as last week with almost the only bait available being Caballito at the usual $2 per bait.

CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING:

BILLFISH: With the moon phase at the first quarter at the end of the week and the water temperatures the way they are, it was no surprise that the action on Billfish picked up this week. The hot Cabo San Lucas fishing area was around the 95 Spot and in toward Gray Rock and from the 95 Spot out to the 1150. There were plenty of Cabo San Lucas Striped Marlin and Sailfish in the area and most boats had at least a dozen shots a day at one or the other. There were lots of Blue Marlin showing up in the patterns (a relative term as I feel that one or two shots a day is a lot), but they were hard to get hooked up well. Cabo San Lucas Striped Marlin were of varied size, with our boat catching them from #70 to #210. The Sailfish were of decent size with most around #70, and the Blue Marlin that showed up looked to be between #250 and #350. Cabo San Lucas Striped Marlin showed a preference for lighter colored lures with Bleeding Mackerel doing very well. The Blues liked the darker lures run short while the Sailfish preferred small, light colored lures. Live bait accounted for about 50% of the catch this week.

CABO SAN LUCAS YELLOWFIN TUNA: The Yellowfin were not that hard to find at the beginning of the week and at the end of the week, but when that cold green water moved in off the coast on the Pacific side at the middle of the week things just shut off. Early and late, the bite seemed to be about 5 miles off the beach on the Pacific for football size fish, but I did hear eyewitness accounts of schools of Tuna as large as #200 busting baitfish as close as mile off the beach early in the week. There were good catches of Cabo San Lucas Tuna made at the San Jaime and the Golden Gate Banks as well with fish averaging 20-30 pounds. Dark colored feathers and cedar plugs were the ticket, but when the bite got finicky those who did well put out very small hootchies and down-sized the leader, or went directly to the main line with no leader at all.

DORADO: The main Dorado action this week was on the Pacific side with some large fish being found on the Cortez side by boats fishing bigger lures for Marlin. Most of the fish on the Pacific side were between 15 and 20 pounds, and a few boats were able to limit out for their anglers. Live bait was the key, with a Caballito being dropped back as soon as a troll caught fish approached the boat. A few boats were lucky enough to find a piece of kelp holding fish, and every day or so one of them came in with lots of yellow flags flying.

WAHOO: I heard of one Cabo San Lucas fishing boat getting 8 Wahoo in one day, but that was second hand information. I was told it was two miles north of the 1150. Most of the Wahoo I heard of were caught off of Gray Rock and the lighthouse on the Pacific as well as some at the San Jaime Banks. Most of the fish were between 20 and 30 pounds. Bright colored lures worked for the sharp toothed guys, and bright Marauders in bleeding Mackerel and Dorado colors worked well.

INSHORE: Cabo San Lucas inshore fishing action this week was almost a repeat of last week with a few Roosterfish and Jack Crevalle making up most of the catch, at least according to the Panga captains I talked to. Most of them preferred to work the Dorado and football Yellowfin off the Pacific side this week, as the action was more consistent than the inshore fishing.

NOTES: The Billfish bite is picking up and everyone is walking around town with smiles on their faces! Combine that with the eating fish that are being caught and everyone is happy. Let‚s hope it stays that way for a while!

DAILY REPORTS:

Fish count for the week (5 BOATS): Striped Marlin: Four fish, two released, two taken (#70, #140, #180, #210). Sailfish: Four fish, three released, one taken (#70, #70, #70, #90). Yellowfin Tuna: 16 fish taken (#10-#35). Dorado: One taken (#15).

"FLY HOOKER" FISH REPORT FOR AUGUST 16, 2004

The Getty parties of three fished aboard the "FLY HOOKER" today and were referred to us by our friend from New Jersey, Joe Baczuski. A Cabo San Lucas Marlin was the ultimate goal, but they did not want to focus solely on that and have a chance of missing out on taking home some fillets, so Juan and Manuel decided to take off up the Pacific side and find some Tuna or Dorado, with a chance of getting a Striped Marlin as well. The Tuna were there, and they ended up with 16 of them, ranging in size from 10 to 35 pounds. Juan said that they lost one fish that was well over 60 pounds. All this Cabo San Lucas fishing action was not too far from shore and after they had enough they went out to the Golden Gate banks to check it out. They got one Dorado on the way out there but there was no action for them on the bank itself. Not one Marlin was sighted by then today, but everyone had a fairly good time anyway (except for one very seasick angler). Thanks guys, and don‚t forget to share the fish when you get home!

"FLY HOOKER" FISH REPORT FOR AUGUST 17, 2004

Liam Ruddy and his new wife Rachel were our anglers today. They just got married this weekend in Palm Beach, and Hurricane Charley did not interfere with their plans! They have a 31‚ Contender at home and do a lot of fishing there, so they did not have a lot of interest in any Tuna or Dorado, Liam wanted Billfish, Marlin preferred! Juan and Manuel took off and headed out to the 95 spot where they put in lines. I got a phone call about 10:30 from Juan and he told me that they had just taken a Cabo San Lucas Striped Marlin that had been bleeding from the gills. Later on in the morning Liam got hooked up to a Sailfish and got it to the boat for a successful tag and release. Rachel fought a #20 Dorado up to the boat and then the guys saw a big #50 bull Dorado following so they left Rachel‚s fish out and tried to hook the big guy on live bait. Eventually they were able to get a hook in him, but then both fish came off! Oh well, that‚s fishing! Things apparently slowed down after that and with the Marlin caught and fishing slow, they decided to come in a bit early. Congratulations Liam and Rachel, I hope your life has many more days like this one!

"FLY HOOKER" FISH REPORT FOR 19 AUGUST 2004

Steve Henline, his son Jack and friends Max and Scott are fishing aboard the "FLY HOOKER" for the next three days. Today was a great day on the water for them as the target for the day was Billfish and everyone except Steve got one to the boat. Steve is waiting for the big boy, the Blue Marlin! Max caught the smallest fish of the day, and unfortunately it was also bleeding heavily when they got it to the boat. His Sailfish weighed approximately #90 and ate a live Caballito tossed to it. Jack‚s fish was the first one hooked up and it was hooked on a lure. The #140 Striped Marlin was fought for about 20 minutes before coming to the boat for a tag, photos and then a good release. The last fish of the day was Scotts, and it was also the largest one! Caught on live bait, his Striped Marlin was estimated to weigh #180 and it took him around 30 minutes to get it to the boat. Again there was a good tag and release. Steve got some great video and says that of 50 days on the water this trip today was the best he has ever had. Thanks Steve, we have our fingers crossed that the big Blue shows up for you tomorrow!

"FLY HOOKER" FISH REPORT FOR 20 AUGUST, 2004

For the second day of video shooting and Billfish hunting Steve, Jack, Max and Scott had a good time. Juan and Manuel worked the same area as yesterday, out around the 95 Spot, and there were still fish in the area. They had a lot of fish come into the pattern but were only able to go two for four on Sailfish, and blanked out on two Striped Marlin and one Blue that made attempts at eating lures. Not a lot of fish to the boat, but there was a lot of action! Maybe Steve will get his shot at a Blue tomorrow.

"FLY HOOKER" FISH REPORT FOR 21 AUGUST, 2004

Today was the last of three days Cabo San Lucas fishing for Steve, Jack, Scott and Max. It was supposed to be Steve‚s day for a Blue Marlin, but it turned out to be a day for Scott, but not on a Blue! Starting in the same area around the 95 Spot early in the morning, Juan and Manuel started the search for a Blue. Of course the guys were not going to turn any fish down, but a big Blue was the target for the day. With nothing showing on the surface, and no reports of action in the area, they worked their way farther north, to outside of Cabo Real about 12 miles. Still nothing happening and they decided to get farther offshore. Out to 22 miles from Cabo San Lucas they went and finally had a solid strike. No one really saw the fish, and while it was a strike, it did not hook up. Juan dropped back a live bait, the bait got bit, the hook was set and then the water exploded! Both Juan and Manuel thought it was a Blue of a bit over 200 pounds. Now, a Blue was supposed to be Steve‚s fish, right? Well, Scott happened to be closest to the rod when the fish was struck so he became the angler. There was a lot of jumping, and some great video of the action, then about 30 minutes into the fight the fish became tail wrapped during one of the jumps and died shortly after that. It ended up taking Scott over an hour to get the fish to the boat. At the Cabo San Lucas dock, the fish weighed #210 pounds, an extremely nice Striped Marlin! They did have a few fish that they tossed bait to later on in the day, but no more hook-ups. Three days of Cabo San Lucas fishing, three Striped Marlin, three sailfish and shots at others. Scott was the big fish guy for the trip with one Striped at #210 and another estimated at #180. Thanks guys, we enjoyed your company and are glad you had a great time!