JUST A FEW YELLOWTAIL CAUGHT IN WINDY CONDITIONS

April 2, 2005, Pam Bolles, Baja Big Fish Company, Loreto, Mexico Fishing Report:

What a bummer March 2005 turned out to be for Yellowtail fishing at Loreto. Usually late in March we have Yellowtail practically coming out of our ears. Lately we've been lucky to land one yellowtail per person out fishing. This week's winds haven't been any help whatsoever either.

Thursday and Friday the Port Captain flew the red flag at the marina, restricting boats from departing because of the strong winds and high seas they generated.

Monday fishing was winded out, Tuesday we were all fooled into thinking that it would be a decent day out at sea. Scores of Loreto sportfishing boats went out but by mid morning the winds came up and most were unable to get past La Cholla or Isla Coronado's protective wind shadow. I did not see any yellowtail caught on Tuesday but one big Striped Marlin was brought in by Captain Andres Cota. His eyes expressed respect for the power of the sea as he described the big swells and high winds that day. It was just after 10:00 a.m. that he was showing me this 150 or so pound marlin that he took from just off Isla Coronado.

Wednesday was a much better fishing day and we almost didn't expect it. Calm seas and no winds and most boats got some fish.

Since we've been getting a lot of walk-in clients lately the yellowtail catch results have declined. This is because most fishing novices need to go through a learning curve that typically lasts one to two days. So these single day trips often wind up disappointing because they experience lots of break-offs. Even with this one fish per angler isn't too bad and that's what we had on Wednesday.

Thursday and Friday were blown out completely at Loreto, but Saturday was somewhat fishable.

I would guess that at least 50 Loreto boats from town went out on Saturday. I sent out five and three out of five got at least one fish. The other two got skunked. In my conversations with other sportfishing captains who went out I determined that it was a hit or miss day with about half coming back empty, about a third with one fish (per boat of two anglers), and the rest only a select few returning with two or three fish. I only heard of one boat that returned with three yellowtail, an then there's Andres.

Today about half as many fishing boats went out but the winds are shifting direction and the sea is expected to calm.

The egg sacks coming out of the yellowtail from San Bruno and La Cholla appear to have about one to two weeks left before spawn. The spawn will likely take place near the next full moon, which would put the surface feed near the end of this month.

This has been a difficult year since 2005 started. Our water temperatures are rising too quickly to the liking of the Yellowtail and I blame this on the fickle feeds we've been experiencing. All captains are in agreement that this has been a tough year.

The inshore fishing is good at Loreto despite hopes of yellowtail being dashed. There are roosterfish at San Basilio, San Bruno and all the way to the northern edges of town. Slow troll live bait along the shoreline or cast chrome lures to get them. Cabrilla and Pargo are willing to bite too. Live bait or jigs will attract them. Lots of folks are fishing the inshore right after they fish the Yellowtail and are getting good results. One of my boats landed only one yellowtail yesterday then moved a little inshore and got two 15 pound Cabrilla. A good tactic to fall back on.

This year fishing at Loreto is clearly looking different from previous years as the water temperatures are on the rise at least one month ahead of where they should be at this time. One Marlin was caught by Captain Andres Cota on Tuesday. It was an estimated 150 pound Striped Marlin and it was taken on live mackerel that was flylined to the tailing fish. Also that day a large, estimated at 140 pound sailfish was also taken by the Dorado Motel's fleet. Captain Francisco Munoz reports flying fish over the bajo just off Isla Coronado.

While all this may look good for the Dorado season to come, the downside to all this is that our 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 later in the month.

Bait has been pretty easy to catch is also been available to buy at the Loreto marina. On the windy weather days they haven't been selling bait. The sardinas are coming back into the marina again and should be available to buy.

Loreto water surface temperature range: 74-64 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.