SOME BLUE MARLIN STARTING TO SHOW AS STRIPED MARLIN THIN OUT

Sept. 6-12, 2004, Capt. George Landrum, Fly Hooker Sportfishing, Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico:

CABO SAN LUCAS WEATHER: Cabo San Lucas had partly cloudy skies this week but no rain. Sometimes it felt as though Cabo San Lucas had been rained on as the air was very humid. Cabo San Lucas day time highs were in the high 90‚s while the night time lows averaged 80 degrees.

CABO SAN LUCAS WATER: At the end of the week you could see the warmer water on the charts up around Punta Gorda, the dark brown color indicated water temps around 89-90 degrees, way too warm for most fish. Water from 88 to 86 degrees came to Cabo San Lucas from that area and wrapped just around the Cape out to a distance of 15 miles then it dropped to a much better 85 degrees. On the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas water temperatures in the 86 degrees area were at the San Jaime and the Golden Gate Banks and extended just past them to the west and all the way east to the shore line.

CABO SAN LUCAS BAIT: No change in bait availability this week, the normal summer Caballito at $2 per bait.

CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING:

CABO SAN LUCAS BILLFISH: The Cabo San Lucas Billfish bite still has not picked up, but this time of year the Striped Marlin bite drops off anyway as the water warms up. The Blues and Blacks are not here in any concentration but Cabo San Lucas fishing boats are getting shots every day at some kind of Billfish, at least on the average. There have been Blue Marlin found on both the Pacific side and on the Cortez side but they seem to bite better on the Pacific side where the water temperatures stay in the 85-86 degree range. The Blue Marlin have ranged between #200 and #600, a few Blacks brought in have been between #200 and #400 and most of the Stripers have been around #100. A few Sailfish have been caught on the Pacific side as well, but they have not been there in any numbers.

CABO SAN LUCAS YELLOWFIN TUNA: Almost all the Cabo San Lucas Yellowfin found this week were in the football category and most of them were found on the Pacific side within 5 miles of shore. No Porpoise were around as indicators, the fish were found on blind strikes. Cedar plugs and small feathers were good for getting anywhere between 2 to 10 fish in the boat. Quite a few small Bonita were mixed in with the schools of Yellowfin and these indicators had a lot of boats working the areas for Marlin as well.

CABO SAN LUCAS DORADO: Most of the Cabo San Lucas fishing boats returning from the Pacific side of the Cape were flying Dorado flags on their return and quite a few of the fish were found by watching for diving Frigate Birds then tossing live bait under them or slow trolling live bait in the area. There were anchoring floats out on the Golden Gate Banks that held some Dorado as well and the first or last boats to work them were almost always able to get a few fish in the boat. Most of the Dorado were between 12 and 20 pounds with a few fish in the 40 pound range.

CABO SAN LUCAS WAHOO: I only saw a few Wahoo flags this week and those fish were an incidental catch, there was no rhyme or reason, just blind strikes in open water.

CABO SAN LUCAS INSHORE FISHING: Lot's of Skipjack and Bonita with a few Dorado in the mix accounted for most of the inshore action this week. A few boats were bottom fishing and reported fair catches of Snapper, Grouper and Amberjack.

FLY HOOKER DAILY CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING RESULTS (5 TRIPS):

Blue Marlin: 1 fish released (#200)

Dorado: 5 fish kept (#12-25)

Yellowfin Tuna: 4 fish kept (#10-12)

"FLY HOOKER" CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 6, 2004

This was the second day of Cabo San Lucas fishing for our anniversary couple, Jere and Roz Foust. They didn't get a Blue Marlin yesterday, just the two Wahoo so they have their fingers crossed that today will be the day. Juan and Manuel headed up toward the Gordo banks area and had no signs of life there. They turned to the east and worked out to the 1000 fathom ledge then back toward the 1150 spot. It was around the 1150 spot that they finally had a hint that there were fish around. The fish hit on the short corner lure and made a few jumps at the beginning and at the end of the fight. It took Jere 20 minutes to get the estimated #200 Blue Marlin to the boat for a good tag and release. Juan said the fish was in great shape and swam off strong. That was all the Cabo San Lucas Marlin action for the day; Let's hope that Wednesday provides a Marlin for Roz as well!

"FLY HOOKER" CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 8, 2004

The last day of Cabo San Lucas fishing for the Fousts did not provide any action on Billfish for Roz, in fact it was really slow as they did not even spot a Marlin all day. They did get one Dorado that they caught after Juan spotted it swimming under a Turtle. Juan said that they lost three other Dorado as well. We're sorry Roz, perhaps next time you guys get down to Cabo San Lucas you will get your Blue! Thanks for the good company and the fishing though, we really enjoyed having you fish with us!

"FLY HOOKER" CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 9, 2004

Mike and Katy Berger are newlyweds and are here in Cabo San Lucas for several weeks on their honeymoon. They just want to go out and have a good time and catch fish! Great idea and our guys did their best to help them out. The big story of the day, besides the action on two Dorado in the boat, three others lost and six Skipjack caught was the Marlin that Mike fought for 2 hours and 40 minutes. They were just trolling along and had a strike on one of the rigger lures. The fish did not hook up and just a few seconds later the other rigger gets a hit. Neither Juan nor Manuel were able to see the fish so Juan pinned a live Caballito to the #40 live bait outfit and dropped the bait out. Imagine his surprise when the bait skittered to the top, followed by a large Blue Marlin that just gulped it down! The fish made a few jumps at the beginning and Katy got them on video then had some more video of Mike fighting the fish. Back and forth, back and forth. The fish came as close as 50 feet to the boat and then would take off again. Eventually after 2 hours and 40 minutes the line gave out and the fish got away. Guess Mike's arms were hurting after that! Anyway, a good day on the water with plenty of action!

"FLY HOOKER" CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 10, 2004

I did not get to meet the two couples, who fished the "Fly Hooker" today as I had Captains duties on another boat, but Mary told me they had fished Cabo San Lucas on their last trip here and were looking for another outfit to help them this year as last trips boat and Captain left a lot to be desired. Thankfully we were able to assist them this year and make the experience a good one. Juan and Manuel had the boat ready to go when they showed up this morning and all they had to do was enjoy! The water was nice and Manuel decided to work the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas up toward the Golden Gate Banks. On the way there they got into some football Yellowfin, about 10 pounds each and were able to get four of them, along with some Bonita. Later they had action with Dorado, getting two of them into the fish box. Sometime during the trip they had a decent hook up with a Striped Marlin and fought the fish almost to the boat before it came off, but hey, they said they were going to let it go anyway! A good time was had, the Cabo San Lucas fishing and water were great and they said they defiantly would hook up with us again on their next trip to Cabo. That's what we like to hear! Thanks folks, have a great vacation!

"FLY HOOKER" CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 11, 2004

Jay Walker, his dad J.R. and friend Robert were our anglers today on a late booking from last night. They have fished at Cabo before and Jay has caught plenty of Dorado, Tuna and Striped Marlin so his target for the day was Blue Marlin. Juan and Manuel went out to the 95 Spot and worked it hard, then worked out to the 1150 area hoping to find a big one. They had one fish come into the pattern early in the trip and try to jump on a lure, but that was all the action they had, other than that there were no fish spotted. Jay was understanding and knows the guys tried hard for him and that he could have had Dorado and Tuna if he had wanted to try the Pacific side for them. Thanks guys, and J.R., sorry you did not get to catch a fish.