EAST CAPE DORADO FISHING BONANZA FOUND
AT FLOATING DEAD WHALE 25 MILES OUT

Feb. 19, 2005, Gary Leeper, at Martin Verdugo's Beach Resort, Baja California Sur, East Cape, Mexico:

It was an interesting week of fishing at the East Cape, featuring very fishable weather, with water temperatures at 70-73 degrees, air in the 60s to 80s, and little wind. East Cape appears to be getting a push of fresh water from the south, so fishing could get interesting if this continues.

High points of fishing here include a dead whale out about 25 miles creating some bonanza dorado (mahi-mahi) fishing for those on it, a landing by Ronnie Verdugo and client of a nice thresher shark, and lots of bait in the form of halfbeaks and ballyhoo in the area.

I see both the fish I call halfbeak and the one I call ballyhoo in front of Verdugo's in less than 30 feet of water. The one I call halfbeak averages maybe 6 inches in length and is light brown in color, with a red tip to its beak.

The mature ballyhoo averages 10-12 inches, is silver bellied with a blue back and top half of the tail, and the beak is dark blue to black with no red tip.

I had a chance to observe juvenile ballyhoo yesterday and they are the same as the bigger ones.

The ones I call ballyhoo here are the same as the ones I saw sold frozen all over the Caribbean and Bahamas. I will try to catch one and photograph it, and may be able to do so as another East Cape fisherman told me today he caught one on a sabiki type jig.

I have been diving and snorkeling here at East Cape for three years and this is the first time I have seen the ballyhoo on shore, although I did see a school in deep water off the pyramids two years ago. Ronnie Verdugo says they have always been around.

Jocelyn Martel caught a nice golden grouper with dark mottling on its sides, from his tin boat near the pyramids.

Dorado fishing at East Cape in general fell off the previous pace, particularly in the area of the buoys to the north, but most boats scored on the occasional 10 pounder. East Cape marlin fishing was spotty to poor, and sierra were scattered, but available.