BILLFISH BITE JUST MARGINAL THIS WEEK
FOR CHARTER FISHING BOATS AT EAST CAPE

Sept. 3-9, 2004, Chris Moyers, East Cape Smoke House, East Cape, Mexico Fishing:

Charters 118. Anglers 366. Total Fish 619. Catch, including released fish: Blue Marlin 4. Striped Marlin 12. Sailfish 47. Dorado 154. Yellowfin Tuna 402. Water Temperature 82-89. Air Temperature HIGH 102 LOW 74.

East Cape fishing picked up a bit this past week! The East Cape Yellowfin bite is really strong at present, and the Dorado bite is up over the past week. In fact, the Tuna and Dorado being landed more than made up for a marginal billfish bite.

So far this hurricane season, East Cape has been quite blessed. We have had some stormy weather however, with scattered thunderstorms on Saturday and Sunday, as well as on Tuesday and Thursday. East Cape fishing was pretty rough on Saturday especially with heavy seas and wind on the outside. Pretty much, it rains daily somewhere between La Paz and Cabo. With the rain comes the humidity, which along with air temps ranging between 74-102, have made for some real hot and muggy days.

East Cape water temp, according to our amigos at Terrafin, saw a range of 82-89. the moon continues to wane towards new so we should see some nice fish coming in over the next couple of weeks. Bait-wise, we've got mackerel and sardines for the fish to snack on.

The East Cape billfish bite is quite marginal at present with an overall catch rate for Blue Marlin, Striped Marlin and Sailfish, at about 17%. The few Blue Marlin that were landed were reported to the north off Punta Pescadero (30 miles), as well as to the south off La Ribera (8-20 miles). As for Striped Marlin, East Cape anglers reported limited success mostly to the south off Surjidero (3 miles), La Ribera (6-13 miles), and Cerritos (5 miles). Most fun was had landing Sailfish, where anglers reported success to the north off Punta Pescadero (19 miles), as well as to the south between the waters of La Ribera (2-15 miles), Punta Colorada (13-15 miles), and Punta Arena (12-15 miles). Mackerel and various lures did the trick for billfish.

The East Cape Dorado bite picked up some this past week with an overall catch rate at about 42%. Most fish are coming between 25-40 lbs, so there's some pretty nice fish being landed. Better still, the Dodos are pretty much hanging out real close to shore so anglers are not having to travel far to get them. East Cape anglers reported success mostly in southern waters between Rancho Leonero (1 miles), La Ribera (1-2 miles), Punta Arena (3 miles), and El Rincon (1-2 miles). Sardines, mackerel and hoochies worked nicely there.

There are some real nice Yellowfin being landed right now amigos, with the overall catch rate well above 100%! Some are in the 100 lb. class with many more in the 40-60 lb. class. Most are averaging 30-40 so there is some serious fun being had right now down here on the East Cape! Anglers reported success to the south between La Ribera (6-13 miles), Punta Colorada (12-15 miles), Punta Arena (21-25 miles), and Los Frailes (45-49 miles).