LOTS OF MARLIN, TUNA, AND DORADO BEING CAUGHT BY THE HOTEL FLEET BOATS

July 1, 2004, Chris Moyers, East Cape Smoke House, East Cape fishing roundup, Baja California Sur, Mexico:

Man it's bueno to be back in the saddle down on the East Cape! Better still, the fishing is just freaking going OFF!!!!!! East Cape anglers are catching a whole crapload of Striped Marlin, Yellowfin Tuna, and yes, Dorado! Meanwhile, the Blue Marlin have just begun arriving at the party as well. The East Cape is under attack and there's some serious fun being had down here amigos! Environmentally speaking, we are seeing East Cape air temps with a range of 71-100. Our amigos at Terrafin let us know that as of July 1st, the water temp saw a range of 80-89 with some real nice temp breaks to the south between Cabo Pulmo and Los Frailes, as well as to the north in the vicinity of the 88. The cooler water, if you can call it that, was close in down south at Pulmo and Frailes making for some nice Dorado fishing close in. Out at the 88, the temp went from 84-89 real quick, also making for a decent bite. Bait-wise, we've got sardines and caballito. All in all amigos, it's a fine time to find your backside down in southern Baja!

The East Cape billfish bite, among others, is happening right now amigos! We are seeing real nice Striped Marlin numbers, as well as quite a few Blues and Sails. Anglers are reporting success re: Stripers to the north of Punta Pescadero (15-20 miles), as well as to the south off Punta Arena (2-20 miles), Cabo Pulmo (20-34 miles), and Los Frailes (15-18 miles). The all important fish-per numbers indicate a catch rate of about 21%, which is down from the last report, but still pretty decent. Caballito and lures did the trick there. As mentioned, quite a few Blue Marlin were reported this past week at East Cape as well. We expect them every year at this time, but it's always nice to see them start showing up. Anglers are reporting some fun to the north of Punta Pescadero (15-20 miles), as well as to the south off Cabo Pulmo (20-22). Caballito and lures did the trick for Blues. As if that weren't enough, the Salifish are back too! East Cape anglers reported quite a few landings, mostly to the north in the vicinity of the 88. Caballito and lures worked nicely there as well. All in all, a great week of billfish catching.

East Cape Dorado fishing is just plain HOT right now amigos! They're like ants man, they're everywhere. Anglers are reporting limits left and right, which is cool for two reasons. They're fun to catch and they taste real good, especially when you let us process them for you. Remember last report when I reported a stellar catch rate of about 42%, which was up from about 18% the previous report? Well amigos, the all important fish-per numbers indicate an astronomical catch rate this week of about 77%! that's just plain NICE, I don't know how else to say it! Moreover, there is some real nice sized fish coming in. Most average between 25-35 lbs. but there are quite a few 40-50 pounders mixed in as well. East Cape anglers are reporting some serious fun to the north off Punta Pescadero at the shark buoy stops, as well as to the south off Punta Arena (1-2 miles), Los Cerritos (10 miles), and Los Frailes (500 meters). Sardines, caballito, and various lures seemed the be the drugs of choice among the pelagic species known as Dorado this week amigos.

What about the East Cape Yellowfin Tuna bite you ask? Well, it's still going on amigos! Some may say it's slow with an overall catch rate of about 51%, but that only true when you compare it with the numbers from the previous month worth of reports. Yes it's slowed down a bit but 51% is pretty decent. It's pretty easy to get spoiled down here on the East Cape. What's more, some of the drop off in the numbers can be attributed to the Dorado bite and anglers electing to get limits on Dodo. Anyway, East Cape anglers are reporting success straight off Los Barriles (24-48 miles), as well as to the south off Rancho Leonero (33-35 miles), and Los Frailes ( 25-28 miles). Some real nice poundage is coming in re: Tuna as well with most averaging about 30 lbs. along with some 50+ pounders making cameo appearances. Sardines, cedar plugs and various lures worked nicely there.

Rounding out the report were 2 Wahoo landed off Los Barriles (30-35 miles). Both were caught on lures and one was a real nice 60 pounder, caught on the Awesome (Congo's Awesome Sportfishing). Speaking of Congo's Awesome Sportfishing, our great amigos just purchased a killer new boat, a sweet 32' Blackfin, powered by a 3208 Cat Turbo, complete with a 12 ft. beam and lots of sweet gear. Great people, great boats, great captains!