BAJA BIG FISH COMPANY SPORTFISHING REPORT

Sept. 11, 2004, Pam Bolles, Baja Big Fish Company, Loreto, Mexico Fishing:

Very few are going out these days as Loreto tourism is at its slowest in September.

Loreto seas have fish in them but the fishing's not easy if you want Dorado.

However, if you want Billfish you're in for a very open bite.

If you want Sailfish, you'll need not go farther than the northwest side of Isla Coronado. On Friday on our way out to the buoy at San Bruno, we spotted several. We had live sardinas but they weren't enough to hold the interest on one that within 20 feet of our panga. We spotted it tailing from a distance. It took some of the sardinas but then dove down deep. We saw several Sailfish like this throughout Friday's fishing. Some of them were just off the buoy, and others were very near land, where the underwater profile plunges suddenly. We did not see any Marlin.

As for Dorado, we started to see some as soon as we went out. Even before Isla Coronado there were Dorado feeding. They were however, of the very puny variety from 5 to 10 pounds.

We went to the buoy at San Bruno where we'd gotten good Dorado action a couple of weeks ago. On arriving we chummed with sardinas. Exactly two came up but weren't in the least bit interested in our offerings. There was a huge school of tiny sardinas already at the buoy, easily pickings for either one of these juvenile male fish. That was the only Dorado action we saw all day.

I'm not seeing anyone going out these days but I am hearing that squid is the ticket. I certainly saw how the fish were totally uninterested in my little sardinas and I am also being told that the mackerel aren't to the liking of the Dorado either.

Maybe not for the Dorado, but they are for the Striped Marlin.

Captain Francisco Munoz fished to the South of Loreto earlier this week. He had intended on fishing Punta Perico but saw no action there so proceeded further south. About halfway to Isla Montserrat, he came upon a group of half a dozen Striped Marlin. They hooked into four of them and broke off on three out of the four. They were all in the same size range of 130-140 pounds.

Loreto inshore fishing is really happening right now as it has been for at least a week. If you want Roosterfish we sure got 'em right now. You won't have to go any further than the small Island off Isla Coronado for some nice Roosterfish. Nearby Terra Firma Point is also holding these guys as are the submerged small to medium sized boulder lined shorelines from there to where the north end of town begins.

I found a cove on Friday that is holding mucho hungry Pez Gallos. We saw a school of mullet fly into the air as they were being chased by a couple of hungry Gallos. It was at about 2:00 p.m. and I got as much as a big hit on my tan and white angel hair clouser. I had to leave as we were still an hour away from picking up the kids from school. (Darn!) But I call that cove, "Hungry Fish Cove" now. Right before coming onto this cove we fished the rocks along the shoreline just north of San Bruno. We got Pargo and Cabrilla on live sardinas and on flies. The fish were under the rocks in about 20 feet of water.

With the squid as plentiful as they are right now at Loreto, and the moon phase being as dark as it is...I believe this would be a perfect time for night fishing!

Beaches/Shorelines: Early mornings will be ideal for small Roosterfish along Loreto beaches well to the north of town. for fly fishers use an intermediate sink-tip line and a slow sinking fly such as a Sand Eel. Light tan and white is a great color combination.

Bait: There are mackerel for sale but few folks going out to buy them. There are a lot of squid out about 2 miles off the Loreto marina to catch. You'll see other boats getting them too.

The sardina have been plentiful inside and around the outside walls of the marina. Prime time for the sardina is about seven in the morning, unless there's cloud cover, in which case it will be later.

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