YELLOWTAIL SPAWNING IN LOCAL WATERS

April 14, 2005, Pam Bolles, Baja Big Fish Company, Loreto, Mexico Fishing Report:

There's an explanation as to why the Yellowtail were not feeding last week. They were spawning! And now they're on the surface and hungry.

They are preferring mackerel over bigeye baits and you can also get them with jigs at the surface. They're getting them at San Bruno, just off Isla Coronado, Punta La Cholla and other areas like the sea mount between the two islands of Coronado and Carmen called Ildefonso, not to be confused with Isla San Ildefonso.

So it looks as though the Loreto surface yellowtail bite has begun. Yesterday was our first really fine day with all boats that I sent out returning with yellowtail.

Over the Ildefonso structure Loreto Captain Enrique Davis Romero caught three nice yellowtail, one weighing over 40 pounds. They were all taken with live mackerel and at or very near the surface.

Captain Nacho Qunitero reported catching six Yellowtail all in the 30 pound size range, very close to town. Their fish were hitting at around 35 feet.

The inside of the marina has been a popular place lately, since the beginning of last week when lenguado, or Halibut have been frequently caught. The halibut have been from 10 to 36 inches in length and mostly taking live sardinas.

Over the weekend a visiting German woman named Uta raked in a nice dorado from right off the beach at Ensenada Blanca! The tide was out and Uta was using a metal rake to dig for clams. Ensenada Blanca is a mile long protected beach with a very shallow pitch. As a result of its shallowness the tide goes out and leaves channels which become landlocked by sand bars when the tide is fully out. Uta's dog ran right to splashing on the beach. Uta followed with the rake. The dog had corralled a large fish into one of the shallow tide channels. Uta took the rake and finished the job, landing an estimated 15 pound Dorado right there on the beach.

(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.