DORADO AND SAILFISH STILL BITING AT BAJO MERCENARIOS

Nov. 26, 2006, Pam Bolles, Baja Big Fish Company, Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico:

Loreto has been very lucky in both the weather department and the fish department.

Seas have been mirror-like thanks to a lack of winds, and Loreto has warm sea surface temperatures. Well offshore of Loreto at Bajo Mercenarios there are Sailfish, Marlin, and dorado.

The Sailfish are especially numerous with 5 hookups per day per boat, and I'm being conservative. Some of the sailfish that were caught on Friday and Saturday were estimated to be over 150 pounds.

There are also Black Marlin in the same general area but they're less numerous.

Dorado are also being caught and some of them are large, approaching 50 pounds. Under 20 pounds on the Dorado is the norm though.

I've been seeing a steady drop in sea surface water temperatures from over 80 degrees last week to around 76 degrees this week at Mercenarios and other Loreto offshore fishing locations such as the Bajo de las Boyas.

The offshore place to be now is definitely Mercenarios.

Closer to Loreto the east side of Isla Coronado just off the Baja California coastline is the place for Yellowtail. Some yellowtail are biting at the surface on sardinas but larger ones, of 15 to 18 pounds, are taking free-swimming caballitos or mackerel at about 60 feet deep.

On Thanksgiving Day, I was interrupted from stuffing turkey to take a photo of 2 of 10 nice Yellowtail caught off the east side of Isla Coronado on the Marvalita II with Captain Nacho Quintero Rodriguez.

Off the shorelines at the bajo which is across the channel from Isla Coronado, expect Roosterfish, Dorado, Cabrilla, Pargo and Sierra Mackerel.

(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.