GOOD-SIZED TUNA AND DORADO COMING IN THIS WEEK

May 21-27, 2004, Chris Moyers, East Cape Smoke House, East Cape fishing report, Baja California Sur, Mexico:

What a week of fishin we just had amigos!!! I must say, we are kickin some fish butt down here! Judging by the all important fish-per numbers, we are indeed firing on all cylinders. The Striped Marlin bite continues to impress, the Dorado bite continued on an upward trend, and the Tuna bite is absolutely amazing! Yes amigos, this is what fishing on the East Cape is all about. If you haven't already done so amigos, book your trip, NOW! The key right now is poundage. Both the Tuna, as well as the Dorado, are coming in at some real nice size, given the early date in the season.

Environmentally speaking, we are seeing East Cape air temps ranging from 70-91. The wind kicked up outside just a bit in the afternoons on Wed. & Thurs. but other than that, there was very little wind to mess with the fishin. Better still, we've got some nice afternoon breezes kicking in.

With regard to the water temp, our buddies at Terrafin tell us we are seeing a range of 68-81. As of the 26th, the cooler East Cape water (68-72 degrees) was just off Los Frailes. The temp ranged from 74-76 about 10 miles off Los Barriles. The outside at most locales ranged from 77-80, but it did get up to about 81 in the vicinity of the 88. There really are some nice temp breaks in the water right now. If you amigos have a chance, check it out at www.terrafin.com. Bait-wise, we've got some sardines and caballito, as well as some limited mackerel. The fishin at East Cape is simply going OFF! In case you couldn't figure it out, all in all, it's a fine time to find your arse in southern Baja.

Specifically, the Striped Marlin bite continues to remain strong. The action occurred mostly to the south between the waters off La Ribera (10-23 miles), Punta Colorada (14-20 miles), Punta Arena (25 miles), Los Cerritos (20 miles), and Destiladeras (20-25 miles). Straight off Los Barriles also yielded some nice numbers (20-24 miles). A few Sailfish were also landed between Cabo Pulmo (33 miles), and Los Frailes (20 miles). Caballito and lures were the drugs of choice among billfish.

More good news . . . the Dorado bite continued pick up with some real nice fish being landed to the north off Cerro Verde (16 miles) and Punta Pescadero (12-15 miles), as well as to the south off Punta Arena (15-30 miles). Some East Cape action also occurred off Los Barriles (10-15 miles). as you can see by the pics, many Dodos are coming in between 30-50 pounds. NICE!!! Sardines and lures did the trick there.

The Yellowfin Tuna have absolutely invaded the waters of the East Cape. What's more, they are real nice in size. 30-40 pounders are the norm, along with some cute little footballs mixed in. Anglers are reporting some serious fun to the north off Punta Pescadero (28-40 miles), straight out of Los Barriles (20-25 and 35-45 miles), as well as to the south off La Ribera (37-40 miles), Punta Arena (20-25 miles), Los Cerritos (20-25 miles), and El Faro (20-22 miles). Caballito, sardines, hoochies, and cedar plugs worked wonders this past week.

Rounding out the report were 4 East Cape Wahoo landed off Los Barriles (15 miles) and to the south off Punta Arena (12 miles). Lures did the trick there. Also caught were 3 Pargo close in off Cerro Verde on sardines.