MEXICAN FISHERMEN REPORT DORADO FISHING IS WIDE-OPEN

June 4, 2006, Don Bear, Dorado Bite at Loreto, Baja California, Mexico, Breaks Open:

The dorado bite at Loreto has apparently broken wide open in the last 3 or 4 days, although I can't say that I've personally experienced it even though I was on the water on Friday.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Loreto pangueros Poncho Susarrey and "Coballo" reported limits of dorado for their fishermen by 11 o'clock, with the largest fish estimated at 35-38 pounds.

Fishing on Friday, panguero Alejo Murillo and his brother from Los Cabos, Baja Sur, Mexico, caught 20 dorado by 10 o'clock.

All three captains found the dorado east of Isla Coronado and just a few miles north of Punta Tintorera on Isla Carmen, i.e., about 15 miles from the Loreto marina.

Alejo Murillo said the dorado seemed to prefer squid strips to mackerel, but that many fish were caught on the latter.

Poncho Susarrey was absolutely ecstatic, claiming he hadn't seen as many fish in one place in the last 3 years.

Captain Paulino Martinez and I fished out of Loreto on my boat on Friday, catching 6 dorado, but 5 of them were too small and were released. We went too far north, to San Bruno and Punta Almeja, to cash in on the close-in action. We caught fish on mackerel, sardines and squid strips.

We found the squid 3.8 miles from the Loreto marina on a 62-degree heading and netted the sardines on the north side of Isla Carmen, while we purchased the mackerel from the Loreto carnaderos.

Water temperatures outside Loreto ranged from 79 to 82 degrees, but we ran into some 83-degree water near Isla Coronado.

Yesterday clouds moved in, making Loreto weather very hot at 100 degrees and very humid, unseasonably so for June. It rained briefly early Saturday morning and there has been very light off-and-on shower activity this morning.

(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.