MIDWATER YELLOWTAIL CAUGHT AT SAN BRUNO

March 26, 2005, Pam Bolles, Baja Big Fish Company, Loreto, Mexico Fishing Report:

The Yellowtail at San Bruno have been consistently from 20 to 30 pounds. They are taking live mackerel, bigeye or platano bait at the middle of the water column, about 90 feet. Depending on the experience of the angler, folks are able to get from one to three yellowtail per rod, not counting break-offs. There were fewer fish at La Cholla and other points on Isla Carmen this last week. Since there's been reliable fishing at San Bruno, we haven't been venturing all the way to Pulpito.

The egg sacks coming out of the female yellowtail at San Bruno appear to have about two to three weeks of development left before the spawn. So after the spawn, the surface feed... This should take place at the end of next month based on what I'm seeing. The fish in other locations will follow this same rule with a slight variance. The water in our Loreto fishing area is almost super-heating and this will affect the quality of the post spawn surface yellowtail bite this year.

Inshore fishing at Loreto has been great while the yellowtail were being fussy. Large Cabrilla and at least a half a dozen species of Pargo have been feeding cooperatively over the reefs. Loreto light tackle and heavy tackle anglers were catching them consistently during last week and in both shallow and deep water depending on their technique. Roosterfish have not been reported lately. Puerto Escondido has not been fished in the last week due to Easter Week campers taking precedence.

On Wednesday, 23 March, one of the first sailfish of the Loreto sportfishing season was brought into the marina. The fish was estimated at 150 pounds and is larger than we normally see. That same day our Loreto Captain Francisco Munoz reported seeing several jumping and tailing Sailfish in the same size range, just north of Isla Coronado. He recorded the water surface temperature at 74 (F) on Wednesday. We are hearing reports of Dorado at 10 miles north of the bajo de las boyas where pangueros have been setting bouys during the summer of 2004 and 2003. Loreto fishing captains are also reporting more and more floating sargasso out at sea. This is a good sign of a decent dorado season to come. Last week at Ensenada Blanca I saw sargasso beginning to wash onto the beach. We'll see more of this pile up on the beaches between now and mid May. It will make fishing along the beaches frustrating at best, but the tides will eventually remove it from the beaches and take it out to sea where it will attract and hold Dorado. This time last year and the year before we did not see this condition at Loreto, so this year is looking different from the previous two, which were disappointing Dorado years. The downside to all this is that our Loreto surface Yellowtail bite may be shortened in length of time if the water surface temperatures become too hot for their liking. The Yellowtail will go well below the surface to feed after their spawn if the water continues to rise too quickly between now and late next month.

Bait has been pretty easy to catch is also been available to buy at the Loreto sportfishing marina. On the windy weather days they haven't been selling bait. If you plan on buying bait get there early as more boats have been fishing lately at Loreto and they have been selling out. The Sardinas are still not around in high enough numbers to net inside or around the marina.

The Loreto water surface temperature range has been 75-64 degrees.

(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.