FIRST WAHOO OF THE SEASON FOR BOATS OUT OF PUERTO LOPEZ MATEOS

October 6, 2006, Bill Erhardt, Puerto Lopez Mateos, Baja California Sur, Mexico:

This week I fished on Sunday and Monday offshore of Magdalena Bay on the banks outside Isla Magdalena before the wind came up and pretty much shut down fishing on the outside for the rest of the week.

Both days I launched over the clam shells in the mangroves at Puerto Lopez Mateos and entered the Pacific through Boca de Soledad.

On Sunday I fished with Captain Ruben Duran of Puerto Lopez Mateos, and on Monday I fished alone.

On Sunday we ran out of Magdalena Bay to a reef about 20 miles northwest of the Thetis Bank. We wet our lines a little before 9 a.m. and by 9:30 a.m. had the first wahoo of the season. It was not a monster, but after farming three wahoo a week earlier it was nice to have one in the boat. We had no more wahoo action but throughout the day encountered schools of small yellowfin and dorado. And, near the entrada on the way back in, yellowtail.

Our final count for the fishing day was two yellowfin tuna, two yellowtail, one wahoo, and more dorado than I saw fit to count. The only thing that kept us from a Baja Pacific grand slam was a marlin.

On Monday I went from Boca Soledad to the Thetis Bank. On the Thetis Bank there were hundreds of whales whose attitude seemed to be that it was a boater's responsibility to avoid them; they were not going to worry about it. We saw porpoise, sea lions, boils of bait fish and diving birds, everything except biting fish.

After an hour and a half without a bite I took in the lines and headed back to "the 23's" on the reef northwest of the Thetis Bank. Three miles south of the 23's I found porpoise with yellowfin tuna under them. On the bank were more dorado, but no wahoo.

The final count for the fishing day was 9 yellowfin tuna and one keeper dorado of about 25 pounds.

The yellowfin tuna both days were between 15 and 20 pounds.

I had no marlin bites and saw no marlin either day.

The sea surface water temperature off Magdalena Bay was 84 to 85 degrees, and the water was clear and blue. The conditions both days were about as good as it gets with light winds and 3 to 4-foot seas from the northwest.

(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.