GOOD CABRILLA FISHING WITH CAPT. ALPHONSO MURILLO

April 25, 2005, Chuck Byard, Loreto, Mexico Fishing Trip Report:

My brother Mitch Byard, from Torrance, Calif., and I arrived in Loreto Monday 4/18, fishing 4/19-20-21-23 with our friend and panga guide Alphonso Murrillo.

We found a very good Cabrilla bite underway with limits of Cabrilla to 20-plus pounds on the last three days of fishing. The first day we looked for Yellowtail, finding none. So we settled for Grouper and a type of rock fish Alphonso called "Diablo," which was red-and-black, and deep! The cabrilla were caught while fishing close in over rocks. That, of course, means a 1 out of 3 hook up to catch ratio!

The Yellowtail were hard to find. On the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd, a school was located out in front of the airport just 1.5 miles off the beach! We missed out on the bite, not finding out about it until the 23rd and it was pretty much over.

The Loreto fishing area is still getting frequent winds. We were able to fish every day. However, a couple of the days were pretty bumpy with north wind kicking up.

Bait was easy to make right in front of the marina. Caballito hit Sabiki's, and Sardinas were netted right in the entrance of the marina.

We did not have and electronics to measure water temperature, but we heard several folks indicate temps to 75 degrees in the Loreto sportfishing area. Also, it looks like there is lots of sargasso making up this year, So we'll see what July brings.

We did not go out fishing for Dorado. The Loreto folks we talked to were describing having to go 40-plus miles for small Dodo's outside Carmen Island. They also said, not confirmed, that a couple of small Yellowfin were also caught in the same direction/area.

There were not many people fishing at Loreto. There were no more than 10 to 12 pangas fishing each day we fished. There were no bait boats in the morning since everyone could easily catch bait in front of the Loreto marina.

I did talk to a former Tripui resident who fished the north end of Catalan on Saturday. They got three 25-35 pound Yellowtail and lost several others to the rocks. We could not get down there this trip. I also talked to another Panguero who had fished San Bruno on Saturday and got skunked.

The frequent rain Baja has received this year has created several rough spots on the road, but the wild flowers and greenery more than made up for the bumps! Watch your speed. Lots of highway patrol, well equipped with radar. particularly noticeable south of Ensenada and between Guerrero Negro and Santa Rosalia.

(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.