LATE SEASON DORADO STILL HANGING AROUND

Dec. 1, 2004, Pam Bolles, Baja Big Fish Company, Loreto, Mexico Fishing Report:

Believe it or not we still have good numbers of dorado in our Loreto sportfishing area. Well, that was before the wind became a major factor in our ability to fish. Monday marked our first day of the winter season as far as I'm concerned. The strong nortes reared their ugly head and made it impossible to fish at Loreto, and the cold air that came with them makes one think about hibernation.

In a couple to a few days it will be over and we'll be back out there seeing what's left. Before we were blown off the water we were blessed with dorado from just under ten pounds to just over twenty. The dorado have been caught consistently along the Loreto shoreline in what we'd consider the inshore. The north and west sides of Isla Coronado have been holding them and Loreto folks going out fishing have been able to limit out well before mid morning. If the winds stop this week, we should still have a chance at them.

We will typically see dorado very close in right before they leave the Loreto area for the season. The reports of dorado being caught off the dock at Puerto Escondido lately are proof of this and quite typical.

We've been getting dorado with live sardinas and live mackerel, and it's been a sure thing. There are dorado off the north end of Isla Carmen and off the San Bruno area. Schooling has been reported but inconsistently, usually they are caught as singles or small groups by trolling, however if you want to target dorado specifically right now you probably still can.

We also have yellowtail! Actually Loreto had them throughout the summer, in really deep water, but now we're getting smaller ones, from 10 to 15 pounds, near the surface and along the shorelines. They'll take live sardinas flylined or trolled along the shorelines off San Basilio and San Bruno and all the way south past Isla Coronado. Look for birds working at the surface.

Further north of Loreto, at Isla San Ildefonso, are larger Yellowtail feeding in deeper water. These are over twenty pounds and taking live mackerel or jigs at about 90 feet. Numbers are good. If you want to target Yellowtail specifically in the Loreto area right now, you can.

Inshore fishing at Loreto has been easy and satisfying and we've been able to get excellent pargopargo, cabrilla, roosterfish, and even dorado and yellowtail all in the same day. The pargo fishery has been exceptional all month with about a dozen species readily taking trolled and free swimming live bait and trolled rapala type lures; dog snapper, barred pargo, rose snapper, and yellow snapper among others.

Roosterfish have been numerous along all of our Loreto shorelines since October. In fact, if you want to specifically target them right now we can get you on them. This is rarely the case in our area. Along the shoreline from in front of the marina to Isla Coronado you'll encounter Roosterfish from 5 to over 20 pounds. The size increases the further away from town you get. Off the launch ramp at Nopolo they are large and actively feeding. If you have live sardinas you're dialed in. They'll take flylined sardinas that are tethered to a 1 oz. weight and allowed to swim freely, or they'll eat a cast chrome spoon on a fast retrieve.

Along the nearby beaches its been hit or miss. Fishing for small Roosterfish and Jack Crevalle has been decent from the East break wall of the marina. Barracuda are also becoming frequent and the occasional Sierra is also being caught.

Sardina are being netted within the Loreto marina pretty easily. Often the netter doesn't have to board the boat, he only need cast his net from the dock. The best time to net sardinas is from 6:45 to 7:15 a.m. Mackerel are readily available except when the winds are strong in the evening or the night. We've been able to buy mackerel as late as 7:00 a.m. so there seems to be plenty available.

Loreto Sea conditions: strong nortes are ripping up the surface.

Loreto Water Temperature: 73-78(F).

(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.