RANCHO LEONERO SUPER PANGA FISHING FOR TUNA AND MARLIN

Aug. 11, 2006, Jim Quinlan, Rancho Leonero, East Cape, Baja California Sur, Mexico:

I went fishing at Rancho Leonero on Aug. 7 and 8 with my wife, Alma Quinlan.

On day 1, we fished with Capt. Jorge on the super panga Leonero 7. He is an outstanding captain. The weather at East Cape could have been better. It rained off and on all day and the swells were 2 to 4 feet. We ran 2 hours straight south and fished off of San Jose del Cabo. The fishing made up for the weather.

We caught 8 yellowfin tuna, 10-20 pounds, 7 White Skipjack, 5-10 pounds, and a 45 pound Dorado caught by my wife. All of these fish were caught in the same area, 2 hours south of Rancho Leonero and about 5 miles from the beach. All of these fish were caught on live bait, Sardines. We trolled on the way back and I caught and released a Striped Marlin, approximately 125 pounds. I caught it on a 6 inch hot pink plastic skirted trolling jig. We saw another Marlin earlier swimming through the school of tuna.

On day 2, we fished with Capt. Guillermo on the Leonero 8, another super panga. Jorge was already booked so we couldn't go with him, but Guillermo was another great captain. We opted to concentrate on Dorado and not make the 2 hour run to the tuna hole. We fished about an hour south of Rancho Leonero and I managed to land one Dorado and one baby 3-foot Sailfish on the same hot pink lure that the Marlin was caught on the previous day. My wife lost another Dorado on the troll. We fished live bait and caught one Green Jack, a Skipjack, and about a dozen Needlefish. The Needlefish were a pest. My wife hooked a small striped marlin on a Sardine and fought it for about 15 minutes before the 2/0 hook pulled loose near the boat. She had a blast watching it jump all over. We saw about 5 other Marlin during the day.

The East Cape boats that fished for tuna did great, easy limits. The fish I saw on the 2nd day were a better grade than the ones we caught. Some were close to 35 pounds.

Anyone wanting to catch Marlin or Tuna can't go wrong right now at the East Cape area. They are THICK!

East Cape air temperature was pleasant, maybe 80-95 degrees.

(See "Mexico Fishing News" online for current fishing reports, photos, weather, and water temperatures from East Cape and other major Mexican sportfishing areas. Vacation travel articles, fishing maps and seasonal calendars, and fishing related information for East Cape may be found at Mexfish.com's main East Cape page.