TWO SMALL BOATS FISHING RUNS TO THE THETIS BANK WITH ERNESTO DURAN

Oct. 29, 2005, Bill Erhardt, Magdalena Bay, Thetis Bank, Mexico Fishing Report.

I fished twice on the Thetis Bank outside Magdalena Bay, on Monday and again on Friday. On Monday, I trailered my boat from Loreto for a 6:30 a.m. launch, spent the night in Puerto Lopez Mateos, and returned to Loreto Tuesday morning. On Friday, I went to Puerto Lopez Mateos and back to Loreto the same day.

On Monday, I fished with captain in training and Magdalena Bay entrada pilot Ernesto Duran from Puerto Lopez Mateos.

The south channel of Boca de Soledad was angry and it took 20 minutes or so and a few false starts to make it through the breakers. Outside we found a six foot chop that only allowed 8 or 10 knots as we headed toward the Thetis Bank.

Offshore a few miles, however, we found relatively calm waters that remained so throughout the day. On the bank, we found no fish and no other boats. Trolling back toward the Magdalena Bay boca, we caught one dorado about 30 pounds. In 200 feet of water 10 miles outside the entrada, where for the past couple of months there have been schools of yellowfin, we found no birds, no porpoise and no tuna. Closer, in water about 100 feet deep, we found sierra mackerel and caught four.

On Friday, I fished alone. Jim Luithly and Andres Cota followed me from Loreto and launched Jim's 21 foot Triumph with me in the river at Puerto Lopez Mateos.

We stayed in touch throughout the day. The Magdalena Bay entrada was as calm as I have seen it. We made it out with no difficulty and were on the bank by 10 a.m.

Jim and Andres quickly caught a small dorado and got a double marlin hookup. They boated one of the marlin. We then each caught a wahoo. By late morning, fishing had slowed on the bank so we trolled south looking for a high spot 8 miles or so south of the Thetis that we never found.

Jim and Andres caught a dorado of over 30 pounds between the Thetis and the hypothetical high point.

On the way back to Puerto Lopez Mateos, I stopped and tried fishing for sierra mackerel in the 90-110 foot water outside the entrada where they had been earlier. I found no sierra.

The final count was one 48 pound wahoo for me, and for Jim and Andres, one wahoo around 30 pounds, one dorado a little larger and another smaller, one marlin, and one yellowtail around 20.

Andres' explanation for the disparity in the count was that I did not have a Mexican in the boat.

On Friday there were two other sport fishing boats on the Thetis as well as three commercial boats.

The water temperature on the bank both Monday and Friday peaked at 75 degrees. The water outside Boca de Soledad appears to be cooling, however, and registered only 70 degrees when we put in Friday.

(See "Mexico Fishing News" online for current fishing reports, photos, weather, and water temperatures from Magdalena Bay and other major Mexican sportfishing areas. Vacation travel articles, fishing maps and seasonal calendars, and fishing related information for Magdalena Bay may be found at Mexfish.com's main Magdalena Bay page.