A GOOD DAY OF FLY FISHING AND CONVENTIONAL FISHING

Oct. 8, 2004, Pam Bolles, Baja Big Fish Company, Loreto, Mexico Fishing:

The late summer cloud patterns, characteristic of August and September have disappeared. Loreto has been getting light fog in the mornings and clear skies throughout the day. Last night and today the skies have been cloud free.

Current Ambient Conditions: Temperature (F): Low: 70 High: 92. Winds: Loreto winds have been calm to absent, but the cool air has finally arrived. I can only describe the weather as being perfect right now. Mornings are cool, afternoons are warm and the evenings and nights are cool.

The sea... has been perfect! Mornings are flat as glass, even offshore. The winds from the North and the East start in the early afternoon and build, they have not been very strong but enough to build up whitecaps inside the channel in the afternoons.

Offshore, Dorado and Billfish: I did hear a nice report from Captain Eulogio Davis Sanchez that there were schoolie Dorado only six miles north of Isla Coronado. I heard another report of more schooied Dorado right off Punta Lobos from a local ex-pat. I couldn't help but wonder what was really going on.

Yesterday Captain Francisco Munoz took out clients who were both fly fishing and light tackle conventional fishing. They had the kind of day that would please anyone. They decided to hit the offshore fishery first, using live sardinas for chum. Since the sun is rising late these days, there's no need to depart at an uncivilized hour anymore. They netted fresh sardinas at 7:30 a.m. and headed off towards the buoy at San Bruno. Francisco saw no sign of life until they reached the buoy, then they found the Dorado.

They caught and released six Dorado on both fly and conventional tackle and kept three more. All of the Dorado were 10-18 pounds. They used 8 and 10WT fly gear with streamer patterns on 350 grain shooting head. Pretty much the standard. Francisco says the Dorado are leader shy as they were before we left. They used 20 pound class tippet all the way to the hook. They also caught a few of the Dorado on light tackle conventional rods, 25 pound monofilament with a hooked live sardina. Free-swimming and flylining the sardinas both worked.

They also caught and released one Sailfish on the same conventional light tackle with a flylined hooked sardina.

Loreto Inshore & Structure Fishing: After they had their fill of the offshore action, Captain Francisco took them to fish inshore over the rocas de San Bruno and the Mangles area. They did well, bringing back a Cabrilla and a Rose Snapper each about 5 pounds. They caught and released several others of both species. These were caught on free swimming live sardinas, Rapalas trolled along the shorelines, and on Closer Minnows using an 8WT flyrod.

The Roosterfish and the Jack Crevalle were ever present as they caught three Jack Crevalle from 5 to 10 pounds and one eight pound Roosterfish. All of these were caught on cast chrome Krockodile lures with 15 pound line on a light conventional bass rod.

Bait: At 9:00 a.m. I noticed boats jigging for squid and mackerel in the same location they had been all season. There is plenty of bait but few anglers buying it so most are catching it themselves.

The sardina have been plentiful inside and around the outside walls of the Loreto marina. Prime time for the sardina is about quarter past seven in the morning, unless there's cloud cover.

(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.