BILLFISH CATCHES IN A LULL FOR SPORTFISHING BOATS IN SOUTHERN BAJA

May 20-26, 2005, Chris Moyers East Cape Smoke House, East Cape, Baja California, Mexico:

Sportfishing Charters 386. Anglers 1,158. Total Catch Including Released Fish: 978. Fish/Charter 2.53. Fish/Angler .84. Striped Marlin 208. Sailfish 8. Dorado 152. Yellowfin Tuna 600. Pargo 4. Wahoo 4. Pompano 1. Water Temperature 68-80. Air Temperature 93-63. Seas Fri-Thurs calm all day. Winds Fri-Thurs calm in the a.m. with slight breezes developing in the p.m.

The fishing in the East Cape vacation area has picked up ever so slightly. Still, we're not where we want or need to be. The fishing water temperature started picking up a bit but has since dipped again. Most of the cooler East Cape fishing water is hanging out off Los Frailes on down towards the Gordo Banks.

Overall, the Striped Marlin and Sailfish bite has cooled although there's still plenty being landed at this time. We did see a slight but welcome spike in East Cape Dorado numbers as well as a real nice jump in the Yellowfin Tuna count.

East Cape Wahoo fishing dropped off considerably to next to nil after a strong showing over the past couple of weeks.

We've had real calm days at East Cape in terms of the wind and seas, aside from some nice breezes in the afternoons. I took one of my boys, Smokey Bear, out Panga fishing on Friday the 20th and it was absolutely beautiful off La Ribera on down to Punta Arena. The water was so flat calm and glassy, we could have water skied!

East Cape air temperatures have ranged between 63-94 degrees. Our amigos at Terrafin inform us that this past week saw a water temperature range of 68-80 degrees.

Bait-wise, we've got mackerel, limited sardines, and some ballyhoo.

The billfish overall catch rate dropped to about 19%. On Friday, Smokey Bear ended up baiting a few Stripers with some dead ballyhoo but none were too hungry. East Cape anglers reported success regarding Striped Marlin to the north off Punta Pescadero in the vicinity of the shark buoy stops, as well as off Cerro Verde (4-5 miles), and toward the southern end of Isla Cerralvo. Striper action was also reported to the south off La Ribera (5-10 miles), Las Barracas (5-8 miles), Los Frailes (2-3 miles), and El Faro (10-14 miles).

As for Sailfish, the bite fell off considerably after a nice bite the pervious week. The Sails just up and went. Anyhow, the several that were landed were reported to the north off Punta Pescadero in the vicinity of the shark buoy stop, as well as to the south off Punta Colorada (15-16 miles), Los Cerritos (7-8 miles), and Cabo Pulmo (8-10 miles). Mackerel, ballyhoo and lures too numerous to note here reportedly did the trick.

The Dorado fishing is beginning to pick up nicely. East Cape saw almost as many landings as over the pervious week, although there were quite a few less hooks in the water. The overall catch over the past week was about 13%. That doesn't sound like too much, but at least we're back in double digits. Better still, there are some really nice fish coming in mixed in with the 10-15 pounders. There are some Dodo being landed between 30-58 lbs. East Cape anglers reported success to the north off Punta Pescadero (5-7 miles; shark buoy stops), as well as to the south between the waters of Punta Arena (4-7 miles), Los Cerritos (5-11 miles), and Los Frailes (4-6 miles). Mackerel, sardines, and numerous lures which various anglers ranging from sober to very much intoxicated swear by, did the trick there.

East Cape Yellowfin Tuna fishing was extremely nice this past week, both in terms of numbers as well as poundage. There's more than just footballs being landed right now. The overall catch rate is up to about 52%.

Anglers are reporting success to the north off Punta Pescadero (17-20 miles), straight off Los Barriles (35-42 miles), as well as to the south off Rancho Leonero (30-35 miles), Los Frailes (15-20 miles), and El Faro (18-24 miles). Some of the Yellowfin are still out in the 35-40 mile range.

Rounding out the East Cape sportfishing report were 4 Wahoo landed to the south off Destiladeras (6-9 miles). Rapalas and at least one purple and black Yozuri 210 mm Bonita Jig did the trick there. Also caught were 4 Pargo landed inshore at Surjidero just south of Rancho Leonero. Sardines did the trick there. Finally, Smokey Bear caught 1 Triggerfish and 1 Permit inshore at Rancho Leonero on cut ballyhoo. He also caught a whole mess of other fish that I don't know the names of.