BIG STORM SKIRTS EAST CAPE SPORTFISHING AREA THIS WEEK

Sept. 23-29, 2005, Chris Moyers, East Cape Smoke House, East Cape, Baja Sur fishing, Mexico:

Combined East Cape sportfishing fleets including Hotel Palmas de Cortez, Hotel Playa del Sol, Rancho Leonero, Hotel Buena Vista, and Hotel Rancho Buena Vista. Charters 324; Anglers 966; Total Fish 1,128; Fish/Charter 3.48; Fish/Angler 1.17. Combined catch, including released fish: Blue Marlin 18; Striped Marlin 78; Sailfish 53; Dorado 235; Yellowfin Tuna 725; Wahoo 19. Water Temperature 81-91; Air Temperature HIGH 98 LOW 75; Seas calm in the a.m. with slight seas developing in the p.m.

We've spent the weekend battening down the hatches down here in southern Baja as Hurricane Otis gave us a bit of a scare. Otis missed us completely although East Cape did experience some adverse weather conditions and all boats in the East Cape fishing area were pulled from the water on Friday, Sept. 30th.

East Cape got hit with some rain and wind but nothing major. The local arroyos did run, mostly as a result of rain in the mountains upstream from the coast. With that, some local dirt roads were temporarily washed out and were briefly impassable. We never lost power in Los Barriles and the word from the outlying areas is the same. All in all, East Cape came through pretty unscathed. Currently, all is returning to normal.

Prior to Otis' potential arrival, East Cape anglers were in the midst of enjoying a HOT Yellowfin Tuna bite, and a nice Dorado bite, as well as decent billfish numbers. Not to worry amigos, we're looking for anglers to pick up where they left off prior to Otis as the waters were only slightly stirred up.

East Cape still has an abundance of squid in the water, which anglers are taking full advantage of. They're still heading out about 1-2 miles, making squid, and heading out and baiting both Yellowfin Tuna and Dorado, with success. Also available were mackerel, caballito, and some very limited sardines.