East Cape fishing was for scattered winter dorado

Mexico Fishing News, February 22, 2001

EAST CAPE FISHING REPORTS

ALL ARTICLES, REPORTS AND FISHING INFORMATION FOR EAST CAPE

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: BAJA ON THE FLY, Buena Vista, February 21 2001, Gary Graham, Reservations Tel 800-919-2252; Fax 760-746-7260. TEMPERATURES: High of 71 with a low of 56. STRIPED MARLIN--More every week, but they are feeding on bait and not taking artificials well. YELLOWFIN TUNA--A few down deep near Cerralvo Island. DORADO--Some fair catches near Cabo Pulmo and a few near the shark buoys.

ROOSTERFISH--The water in front of Las Palmas Hotel and La Ribera seems to be producing the best action. JACK CREVALLE--A few mixed in with the roosters and sierra along the shore. BARRILLETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK--Good catches at Punta Perico this week. PARGO AND CABRILLA--Not much action this week.

OFFSHORE: Marlin on live bait seemed to be the story this week. A few dorado and tuna helped round out the count. INSHORE: A few dorado and plenty of skipjack provided good action. BEACH: The beach in front of Las Palmas was the place to be this week with jacks and roosters hammering the sardinia near the shore.

QUICK COMMENT--Ted Angradi, visiting from Denver, had a great day fishing at East Cape from the beach in front of La Palmas using his 8 weight to entice a 15 pound jack with a small brown Clouser. Bob Defillippis, Roseland, N.J., fishing from a panga, caught over 15 skipjack up near Punta Perico. He used a variety of flies including surf candies, Clousers and deceivers. Yvonne and I are at the International Sportsmen's Exposition at the Denver Convention Center thru Sunday. Stop by and say hello if you're in the area. Gary will be giving a presentation on Flyrod Friendly Baja: An Overview on Thurs. afternoon at 4:30 and Fri. at 3:30.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: RANCHO LEONERO, Bahia de Palmas, February 17, 2001, John Ireland and Roy Baldwin, Reservations 800-646-2252; Hotel 011-52-114-10216. Typical winter weather, with daytime highs in the upper 70s, cool evenings in the mid 50s, with breezy conditions most of the week and water temp 67-69.

Bumpy seas limited the number of boats going out this week, but those that ventured out were rewarded with limits of dorado averaging 8-10 lbs, spread throughout the bay, taking mostly slow trolled or fly lined live mackerel. The roosterfish bite remains on, with the best results south of the lighthouse, where the inshore seas were calmer, with fish averaging 15 lbs taking live mackerel. Striped marlin are spread throughout the bay, from just off the beaches to about 8 miles out, feeding on the large schools of mackerel in the water. Inshore fishing continues to produce pargo, jacks and sierra, all actively biting along area beaches.

In other mainland Mexico and Baja fishing action this week:

ENSENADA FISHING REPORTS

ALL ARTICLES, REPORTS AND FISHING INFORMATION FOR ENSENADA

ENSENADA, MEXICO: LILY FLEET, Ensenada, February 18, 2001, Sammy Susarrey, Reservations Tel/Fax, 5 to 9 p.m., 011-52-617-46747; Cell 011-52-618-67485. Today the Amigo fished from Ensenada with 4 anglers, reporting, 2 yellowtails caught on the bottom, one 17 lb., on yo-yo with sardine color; 16 red snappers at 180 feet deep, 3 lingcod 6 lb., 4 sand bass 3 lb., 3 barracudas at the Todos Santos reef. Weather was excellent, flat, flat like glass. Water is 59 degrees. We used frozen squid and lures.

February 20, 2001-- Today we fished again at the reef of Todos Santos Island, reporting 7 yellowtails 12 to 15 lb., 16 bonitos 5 lb., 4 barracudas 4 lb., 3 lingcod 5 lb., and 12 miscellaneous fish. Water temp. was 62 degrees and clean. A lot schools of macarel, also bonitos and yellowtails mixed in. Most of the fish were caught trolling feathers small sizes.

SAN QUINTIN FISHING REPORTS

ALL ARTICLES, REPORTS AND FISHING INFORMATION FOR SAN QUINTIN

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: SAN QUINTIN SPORTFISHING, San Quintin, February 20, 2001, Gene Allshouse, Reservations 011-526-162-1455. Hi Guys and Gals Well, the weather has not been our friend in the last couple of weeks as you all are aware I'm sure! However, we have managed to get a couple of boats out fishing at San Quintin this past week and had some real nice fish brought in. The Yellowtail are still biting but, you have to throw a lot of Iron at them. If you know what you're doing, you can bag a limit and they are really nice fish in the 15 to 25 pound class and quite a handful on 20 or 25 pound gear. The Rock Cod, Lingcod, Whitefish, and Sheephead have all been excellent as usual with limits of all but the Sheephead on each boat. We had one group that really knew how to fish for Halibut and brought in one in excess of 30 pounds and 4 others from 6 to 15 pounds. I managed to get a filet and needless to say, it was great eating. I heard a report on the radio that another group got into some nice Black Sea Bass in Soccoro Bay but, I couldn't get any weight information. No one for some reason has gone after the White Sea Bass at the Island but, I know they are there. Maybe I'll get a chance to go after them myself this week and let you know how it went. All in all, the fishing in San Quintin is as usual, "great"; with lots of variety and lots of choices to go after if the weather will just hold out. As always, I hope to see you all here this year and Happy Fishing to All.

MAGDALENA BAY FISHING REPORTS

ALL ARTICLES, REPORTS AND FISHING INFORMATION FOR MAGDALENA BAY

MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO: BAJA ON THE FLY, San Carlos, February 21, 2001, Gary Graham, Reservations Tel 800-919-2252; Fax 760-746-7260. Temperatures: Clear, with strong wind in the afternoons with a 75-degree high; low 50. TUNA--Not much going on. YELLOWTAIL--Still fair fishing near the Mag Bay entrada (entrance). CORVINA--A few up near the power plant where the water is a little warmer. SNOOK--Still good fishing is several spots close to Puerto San Carlos. HALIBUT--An olive Clouser bounced along the sandy bottom near Punta Belcher is almost a sure thing for fish to 8 pounds. QUICK COMMENT--Warmer weather brought with it better fishing up in the esteros (estuaries).

MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO: MAG BAY TOURS, Punta Hughes, February 18, 2001, Brian Freitag, Reservations 800-599-8676. Offshore: Yellowtail are the name of the game at the Thetis, and the local high spots. Inshore: Grouper, Bay Bass, Sand Bass, Snook and Halibut. New Report coning soon!

CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORTS

ALL ARTICLES, REPORTS AND FISHING INFORMATION FOR CABO SAN LUCAS

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: PICANTE FLEET, Cabo San Lucas, February 17, 2001, Sergio Cortes, Reservations Tel 011-52-114-32474; Fax 011-52-114-35969. Fish available: Striped Marlin, Swordfish, Dorado & Yellowfin Tuna. Water temperature, 68-71.5. Air temperature, 75/55. Humidity, 77%. Wind, 9-12 Knots(Pacific), 10-14 Knots (Sea of Cortes). Fleet production (6 boats): 3 Striped Marlin, 17 Dorado & 24 Tuna. Hot spots: 95 Spot (Gulf ), 35-40 miles south of The Arch. Luckiest boat, Shameless (35' CABO ). Captain, Rosario Ledezma. Angler, Toyota Group. Production: 4 Yellowfin Tuna 35 lbs., 4 Dorado 30-40 lbs. Striped Marlin fishing is average at the moment. Yellowfin Tuna and Dorado have been averaging good numbers and good sizes too. 35-40 miles south of Cabo seems to be the best way to go. Some Swordfish have been spotted also. Blue skies throughout the day and cold mornings.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: PISCES FLEET, Cabo San Lucas, February 15, 2001, Tracy Ehrenberg, Reservations Tel 011-52-114-31288; Fax 011-52-114-30588. BILLFISH: Not a super fishing week here in Cabo for marlin, again the weather is not what it should be, which we think is an important factor in the catches that we are currently experiencing. However, as we close the week, the weather is much better and boats on the last day of this period, reported sighting lots of marlin, in fact we had a boat leave late (after 9.00 a.m.) on the last day of this report and return with three striped marlin released to their credit (La Brisa). There really was no consistency to the fishing this week, some days one boat would have a couple of marlin, while others were skunked. James Barry from Aurora, Ohio, was one of the lucky few, to catch two stripers aboard, "Ruthless" and this was the day after full moon, February 9th. One was released and the other weighed 130 lbs. He also caught 4 sierra on the way in. The following day Michael Theodore from Cabo San Lucas, was out on "Adriana" with a friend and also released two striped marlin and had more action, catching 16 sierra to boot. Charles Van Vorst and William Tolliver, from Mechanicville, N.Y, were also delighted to release two stripers, aboard "Andrea" on February 12th . The Old Lighthouse has still been the place to fish, anywhere from 2 to 15 miles offshore. Live bait has worked best for striped marlin. Overall Pisces anglers caught a total of 24 striped marlin of which 23 were released. Our catch success rate for all species combined was 80%.

OTHER SPECIES: There were a couple of days when yellowfin tuna were found in good numbers, but it didn't last long. On these days, boats caught between 4 and 14 in the 20 to 25 lb. class, with some fish going as large as 40 lbs . The tuna were found directly out from Land's End 25 to 30 miles, so it was a pretty long run. Dorado were not numerous, but were picked up here and there whilst trolling for marlin. Every fourth boat or so, caught one in the 20 to 30 lb. range, occasionally we did see boats bring back as many as three. Inshore there is plenty of activity for sierra, skipjack, ladyfish. Some needlefish and some red snapper also, but in lesser numbers.

LOCATION: Old Lighthouse and Cabeza de Ballena. WEATHER CONDITIONS: Partly cloudy, seas moderate. AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 69 BEST LURES: Live bait.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: REEL EASY SPORTFISHING, Cabo San Lucas, February 22, 2001, Mike & Renee Hebert, Reservations/Fax 011-52-114-33579. Hola Gene. Captain Alvaro Gastelum of the Sea u Later and Captain Tony Gutierrez of the El Chilito reported tough fishing for the week due to a drop in water temperature. Totals for the week were 15 Yellowfin ranging from footballs to 40 lbs. being caught mainly on lures, 3 Striped Marlin, two on live bait weighing from 130 to 160 lbs, all released, and one 20 lb. Dorado. The Stripers were on the move. As the 69 degree water moved in, the Stripers moved out. Find the 72 degree water, and you find the Stripers. Action was mixed between the Cortez and the Pacific. Weather was also mixed with air temperatures bouncing from the low 60s to the mid 80s and bright sunshine to cloudy skies.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: HOTEL SOLMAR SUITES, Cabo San Lucas, February 16, 2001, Renee Santa Cruz, Reservations Tel 800-344-3349. Fishing at Cabo this week matched the weather pattern--cooling down, according to Solmar Sportfishing Fleet manager Rene Santa Cruz, as temperature of both air and water surface hovered at 70 degrees much of the week.

"The bright moonlight from a full-moon, didn't help fishing either," Santa Cruz said, with night-feeding billfish contributing to some boats cruising back to port with no flags flying. Solmar's fleet count was 37 striped marlin (30 released), 43 dorado, 22 tuna, 6 roosters, 1 wahoo, and 1 mako shark, and a large number of sierra. "Not a Cabo San Lucas week," Santa Cruz said. Most of the action that did occur for the fleet was on the Pacific side, from El Arco north to the Lighthouse, and from 4 to 15 miles offshore.

Bill Nigstrom, St. Paul, MN, was Pescadero Numero Uno for the fleet with his catch of a 200 pound striped marlin; he fished on the 42' Solmar VIII, Feb. 14, and used live bait on 50 pound line. Nigstrom's fish was an early bird, caught at 8:30 a.m. only 2 miles off the Lighthouse.

Lenny Hirsh, San Francisco, CA, on Solmar's 31' Bertram "Torito," helped the fleet count with his 130 pound striped marlin, caught with live bait a few miles off the Lighthouse. This fish, and 8 yellowfin were taken between 9 to 11 a.m. Leonard Hirsh (this one from Newtown Square, PA, on his first deep sea outing on the 33' Sheriff, caught his first striped marlin at 8 a.m., and 5 miles off the Solmar Hotel; his bait was live mackerel, which he also used to land 2 dorado as a follow-up.

Others who escaped the "boat ride" indignity included Gerry Friesen, San Diego, CA, a fishing virgin who caught and released 2 stripers in the 120 pound range, on the 26' Galeon III; one was taken off Whale Head, and the other 3 miles off Solmar Hotel. Nolan Clark, Mer Rouge, LA, caught his 110 pound striper and 2 dorado on the 29' Locomotion, only 2 miles off the Old Lighthouse.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: FLY HOOKER SPORT FISHING, Cabo San Lucas, February 18, 2001, Capt. George & Mary Landrum, Reservations Tel 011-52-117-01271; 011-52-114-87452. WEATHER: The weather this week has returned to the abnormal! Clear and sunny one day, cool and cloudy the next. Windy one day and none the next. Sure makes it difficult to plan ahead! For the most part we had sunny skies this week. The temperatures ranged from the high 50s to the mid 80s. All in all it was pretty good conditions, especially when you compare it to 10 degrees in Watertown, South Dakota! Hi guys! There was no rain or snow here this week; it was so nice I have thought about moving here (wait! I DID move here!).

WATER: Conditions on the Pacific side have been a bit on the choppy side all week, occasionally getting a bit uncomfortable. Near shore temperatures have been about 70 degrees to 68 degrees out to about 5 miles and the water has been just a bit off color. Blue water is out past the five-mile mark but it has stayed cool, down in the 68-66 degree range. The Sea of Cortez side has had almost identical conditions except for less choppy conditions and the blue water coming closer to shore. There has been a large area of warm water from 25-40 miles due south where the temperatures have climbed up as high as 74 degrees at times.

BAIT: There has been a mix of Caballito and Mackerel available at $2 per bait and I have had no word on the availability of Sardines here in Cabo San Lucas.

BILLFISH: Sad news here folks, the bite really dropped off this past week. Boats flying Marlin flags were the exception rather than the rule every day. A few boats did have flags flying and I talked to some of the anglers coming off those boats. If they were lucky they had seen three or four Marlin and one had eaten the bait. Apparently many of the Captains had flown a release and Marlin flag if they had jumped a fish off. Boats that concentrated the whole day on deep dropping live bait off the lighthouse caught a few fish, but for every boat that caught a Marlin that way there were three that had no luck. Sure hope it gets better soon, I just ordered another 80 Billfish foundation tags!

YELLOWFIN TUNA: These fish have been found in the warmer waters out 25 to 40 miles south. Most of the fish have been mixed in with the Porpoise and are football 10-25 pounders. There have been quite a few found in the 60 to 90 pound class also. The majority of them have been taken on cedar plugs and feathers but boats using slow trolled live bait are fooling a few.

DORADO: Dorado were the highlight of the week for many boats and you did not have to go far to find them. As a matter of fact, the Pangas who were working the surf breaks for Roosterfish had some of the best luck. Most of the fish were found using lures and just a few were caught on live bait. On a good trip a boat might come in with from five to seven Dorado but the average was two or three in the 15-30 pound class. Few fish were found offshore, unlike last week when the dead whale focused the attention 30 miles out.

WAHOO: We saw a few of these fish caught this week, but by no means in any numbers. Most were open water fish found by accident by boats looking for Marlin and Tuna. Sizes ranged from 15 to 35 pounds.

INSHORE: Dorado kept things going close in and there was no problem for the boats using light tackle to find the small Roosterfish, Sierra and Skipjack. Some nice 20-30 pound Jacks were caught on a regular basis and the bottom fishing for Snapper and Grouper is starting to perk up a bit. If the water clears up perhaps the bite will get real good and if the water cools a bit we may have more Yellowtail show up.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: FLY HOOKER SPECIAL REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 13, 2001

Scott and Shannon Schulte arrived in Cabo at 10:30 this morning and were on the Fly Hooker at 11 a.m. Scott had booked the boat and we made arrangements to meet at the main dock when their cruise ship started to unload. This was a first for us and kept us to a very tight schedule. They had to be back at the main dock no later than 5:15 as the last shuttle to the cruise ship left at 5:30. With six hours of time for fishing the area that could be covered would be fairly limited. That was not too bad however as the target for the trip was Striped Marlin. Scott really hoped for Shannon to have a chance to fight one! Luck was not on their side however and the trip was a bust. The catch rates have been low this week and we hope it picks up soon. Thanks Scott, we hope the rest of your cruise is a great experience. Until next time, Tight Lines!

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: FLY HOOKER SPECIAL REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 14, 2001

Gene and Todd from Park City, Utah, were aboard the Fly Hooker today and just wanted to catch a lot of fish. The fishing in the immediate area has been slow for the past few days so Juan and Manuel headed up the Sea of Cortez towards Gordo Banks. Some nice Tuna have been coming from the area and everyone was hoping they were still there. Juan did spot some Yellowfin in the 80 pound range breaking water but was unable to get anything to bite. They were able to boat a nice Dorado between 20 and 30 pounds in size. Todd was sleeping at the time so Gene got the chance to be the angler on this fish. At least they had nice fresh fillets for dinner. They are going on a Panga tomorrow so we hope the fishing inshore is good for them. Good luck and Tight Lines guys, and thanks for inviting me to go along!

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: FLY HOOKER SPECIAL REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 15, 2001

Bill Lewis was supposed to go fishing on the Fly Hooker today with his wife and 15-year-old son George but they are ill. The family flew in yesterday so Bill is going by himself today. He also has Saturday booked so we are hoping the family is feeling better by then. Bill has been going big game fishing every year for 20 years and has yet to catch a Marlin. That is to be the target for the two days booked. Today Juan and Manuel headed the boat out to the Pacific side just off the lighthouse. Due to choppy and occasional rough waters the first 4 hours were spent trolling lures. They had one Marlin hooked up on the bridge rod. He was attracted to a custom made "Hi-5" lure in purple/silver/black (made in Cabo!) and Bill was able to keep him on for about 20 seconds. On the third jump the fish managed to get slack in the line and throw the hook! The water settled down about 10:30 and they tried slow trolling live baits the rest of the day. In the early morning the water was a bit green but the color improved as the day went on. The one Marlin was the only billfish for the day but they did catch a few nice sized (15-20 pound) Tuna. We will keep our fingers and toes crossed for Saturday. Until then, Tight Lines from Mary, George, Juan and Manuel, the Fly Hooker crew.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: FLY HOOKER SPECIAL REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 17, 2001

No report as the boat did not go out today. Once in a while things on a boat break and this morning it was time for the starter on the starboard engine to give up the ghost. We were able to get Bill on another boat with a good crew and equipment but perhaps it was just not meant to be this trip. No Marlin again! We are sorry Bill and really hope that you are able to get that fish on your next trip!

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: FLY HOOKER SPECIAL REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 18, 2001

John and Michael Burke are brothers and love to fish! They are on the Fly Hooker today and want to catch fish. Yesterday there were Tuna found 32 miles south of Cabo so that is the target for this trip. The Tuna were found mixed with Porpoise and while most of the fish had been football 20 pound size there had been a few in the 60-90 pound range. Juan and Manuel got good fresh bait and were underway out of the Marina by 6:45. At a distance of 25 miles they started running into the Porpoise pods and the trolling began. Apparently the warm water eddy moved closer overnight! There were about 10 boats working the area and the fishing was hard. Everyone worked the area and tried different methods hoping that someone would find a secret for the fish. John and Michael ended up getting 5 Tuna in the box and three more were lost close to the boat before they threw in the towel and decided to look somewhere else. The decision was made to head towards the cape and see if they could get a Marlin. Just off the lighthouse they were able to find three Marlin and toss baits to all of them but none were hungry. That was it for the day and the guys came in and took Tuna fillets for dinner and to have smoked. Thanks guys, you were great and Juan and Manuel loved having you aboard! Until next time, Tight Lines!

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: JEFF KLASSEN SPORT FISHING, Cabo San Lucas, February 20, 2001, Jeff Klassen, Reservations Tel 360-402-3474. Man Gene... I still haven't been able to complete the last chapter of my book. If I could sit down for 1 week. I have been so fargin busy. I'll be sitting down to the typewriter tonight. Everybody's been giving me @#$% for the last week, but I've had to get set up for the Fred Hall Show.

Hey folks, there's fish to be had from shore! I'm not kidding, there's all kinds of stuff, and way early. There are still Roosterfish all along the Pacific side from Terrasol Beach up to Migrino and beyond. Most of these fish are between 10 and 15 pounds, but several 30 pounders have been spotted crashing in on the odd bait-fish. There's also been some pretty good activity along both sides, and nice fish too, to 25 pounds or better. The usual top-water stuff should be used for these fish. There are still concentrations of Sierra mackerel, but it's been somewhat spotty. Cabo Del Sol has been pretty good for them as well as along the Pedregal. The big news is that there are already pargo present, along the Pacific-side points. Both Cubera and Colorado snappers have been caught already, a full 2 months earlier than usual. Although the reports I've been getting have been on fish caught from pangas, they could certainly be caught from shore. I'd try the points from Cristobal northward. Schools of Ladyfish have also been encountered, particularly from Playita eastward. Whoooo Doggie, this could be a great season coming up!

Pangas have been getting into some Yellowtail and Almaco jack as well. Almacos are what people mistakenly call Pacific amberjack. The Almaco looks almost the same as an amberjack, bar across the face and all, but have a somewhat broader body. These two fish are also early. They can be caught around land's end rocks, jigging irons and by dropping whole live or dead bait down to the bottom, in about 100 feet of water.

Everybody's bitching about the offshore fishing at the moment, as if it's something new to be slower this time of year. Everyone's blaming this last full moon, water and air temperatures and cool winds for the decline in fishing. Well, no ____! Hey folks, this is the time of year when the water and the air is at it's coldest. Cabo is still in North America and does have seasons just like the rest of the continent. It's the same thing every year; you can almost set your watch by it. February and March are ALWAYS the slowest months for Cabo fishing, even though it's still better than a lot of other places. Right now, the Striped marlin bite is somewhat flaccid, with boats getting one, if they're lucky, maybe getting a second one. Definitely have live bait with you, as most being caught now are surface fish, spotted tailing along the top. The Dorado bite is only a tad better than the Striper bite and are picked up on the troll, while looking for marlin. They're not schooling up in any real numbers at the moment. There have been several pockets of tuna showing up, mainly straight on out from the marina entrance, between, 18 and 25 miles out. There were also schools surfacing near the Jaime banks. All tuna were between 15 and 30 pounds. Somebody emailed me a photo of a "50 pounder," which was more like 25 pounds. Hey, if they think it was bigger, who am I to burst their bubble. Oops, I might have just done that! Several swordfish have been spotted, as well as the odd Mako shark. This is also somewhat early for these two fish. What am I saying with all of this? Now is NOT the time to haul the coolers down, expecting to load up with one fish or another. There's a bit of everything, not a lot of anything. Go down with an open mind and you,ll have a good time. This should continue throughout March.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO (LOS CABOS) FISHING REPORTS

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SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: GORDO BANKS PANGAS, San Jose del Cabo, February 18, 2001, Eric Brictson, Reservations 800-408-1199; Fax 619-447-4098; 011-52-114-21147. We are now in the midst of the coolest month of the year, where average high temperature are 75 degrees and unpredictable winds from the north can cause havoc. So far anglers have continued to have very respectable overall catches despite the wintry weather. Actually there has been substantial wind that has been blowing on and off, especially since the passing of the last full moon, but it has not been as strong as it can be sometimes and generally the panga fleets have been able to find protected waters where they could comfortably fish and that produced species such as dorado, yellowfin tuna, skipjack, amberjack, sierra, roosterfish, jack crevalle, sailfish, striped marlin and even mako shark.

The live bait situation out of San Jose became a bit more difficult in recent days for sardinas, it is time for the commercial pangueros to scout out new areas, because where they had been netting the bait at Cardon, they have now all but scattered and only small schools remain.

Striped marlin sightings continue to increase in the waters around the Gordo Banks but with the lack of larger live bait, like mackerel or caballito it has made it difficult for the San Jose pangas to target the marlin. The cruiser fleets from Cabo San Lucas did have access to the right bait and of course they reported much better action for the billfish. Despite the bait problem several stripers were landed from the La Playita pangas, hooked while drift fishing with sardinas for tuna, the marlin ranged from 120 to 150 pounds. Also a couple of sailfish were hooked into, which is somewhat unusual at this time of year.

Yellowfin tuna continue to be the main target species for the panga fleets and since the full moon, a week ago the bite has slowed down from where it was at, another factor was that the water temperature was down to an average of 68 to 70 degrees due to cool north winds. With it being harder to find the live sardinas that also contributed to less action, because the majority of fish that are being hooked have been on live bait. Despite the numbers of fish actually landed per boat being down, the variety of fish was excellent and the size of some of the yellowfin tuna taken was impressive. The most productive spots have been the Gordo Banks, Cardon and Punta Gorda, with the average tuna weighing about 25 pounds and a few of the largest topping the scales near the 90 pound mark. Anglers did have success using both live sardinas and chunk bait, but trolling artificial lures did not prove to be that affective. Pangas were accounting for anywhere from 1 or 2 tuna, up to 8 or 10, depending on the particular day and location.

The numbers of dorado now in the fish counts continue to fall off, just as the water temperature has, but they are being found daily mixed in the same areas as the tuna, at the rate of 1 fish for every couple of boats.

Along the shoreline roosterfish, sierra and jack crevalle were providing anglers with good light tackle opportunities. The numbers of fish were not great but it was consistent enough to keep most people busy. Average sierra was running about 3 or 4 pounds, while some of the larger roosters and jacks were close to twenty pounds. Bottom fishing was another option on the days that the wind slacked and a mix of amberjack, pargo and cabrilla were found while working yo-yo style jigs up off the rocky bottom structure of spots like La Fortuna and Iman. Most of these species were averaging under 15 pounds but reports of larger fish breaking lines were told. Good Fishing.

LA PAZ FISHING REPORTS

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LA PAZ, MEXICO: JONATHAN ROLDAN'S TAILHUNTER ADVENTURE SERVICES, La Paz, February 22, 2001, Jonathan Roldan, Tel 626-333-3355; Fax 626-333-0115; Pager 323-349-8111; Message Pager 877-310-7734. Hola, Amigos! Rather typical weather patterns at the moment in La Paz land, Pescadores, but fishing still remains good to excellent. It's a pretty simple formula actually. When the winds blow like they did around Friday or Saturday, you stay close in ...like just inside of Muertos Bay which is pretty sheltered. In that case, it's yellowtail rodeo time! Still got a great snap of the forkies going on. As per my previous reports, it seems that the toad yellows have moved into the smaller schools... or maybe just ate them like fish sticks for breakfast! Our normal size yellowtail had been the fun 10-20 pounder that we were having a blast with. Well, this past week or so, there are more of the 30-35 pound fish making it back to the beach and ALOT of stories of fish that broke guys off in the rocks even though Muertos doesn't have alot of structure in it. Most of this bite is just about where the rocky promontory beyond the old building is then tapers to the sandy bottom that Muertos Bay is known for. Since the water is max 20-25 feet, it doesn't take long for a big (or even small) yellow to lay your line across the rocks and ZINGPOWIE... you're done! Go tie on another hook!

On the other side, if the wind is NOT blowing like last Sunday, the guys that are tired of the yellows have jammed to the south side of the island to hammer the tuna population. Nothing big, but great sized footballs to 25 pounds with limits to near limits of the tuna all on live bait. No one has reported any wahoo, but that doesn't mean much. No one is trolling for them opting instead to go for the sure thing to fish the bait for the tuna or yellowtail. Likewise for the other species that we usually see about now. The East Side of Cerralvo could be plugged with big pargo and no one is fishing them simply because no one wants to make the longer run when the fishing is so good close to home.

By the way, still have a single or double spot for my fishing soiree April 17-21 fishing the Las Arenas area for pargo, cabrilla and big yellowtail. Got a good group. If you're interested or know someone, let me know ASAP. You'll get my personal instruction and attention! If you need fishing, diving, adventure or hotel reservations, give a shout!

LA PAZ, MEXICO: HOTEL LAS ARENAS, Punta Arena de la Ventana, February 22, 2001, Linda Glassman-Davis, Reservations 888-644-7376. Nothing much this week, sorry. We'll have some great stuff as occupancy picks up. Saludos... Linda

LORETO FISHING REPORTS

ALL ARTICLES, REPORTS AND FISHING INFORMATION FOR LORETO

LORETO, MEXICO: VILLAS DE LORETO, Loreto, February 22, 2001, Wendy Wilchynski, Reservations Tel/Fax 011-52-113-50586. We are very busy with kayakers right now and it has been windy so the fishermen have not been out either! Take care and pray for NO WIND!!!! Bye for now, Wendy.

LORETO, MEXICO: ARTURO'S SPORT FISHING, Loreto, February 22, 2001, Arturo Susarrey, Reservations Tel 011-52-113-50766; Fax 011-52-113-50022. ¡Hola Amigos! Finally the winds are down and the last 3 days have been good, warm and nice with a temperature 75 degrees and water temperature 70 degrees. One more time the best spot to fish Yellowtail and Cabrilla at Loreto is El Pulpito. Close to this place we have a fishing camp, this time of the year is comfortable when not affected by the winds. They are going out every morning and afternoon, that's why they have been catching more Yellowtails and Cabrillas lately. For those who like the adventure we have created this kind of base camp equipped with everything you'll need for comfort while you´ll be right there in the fishing area. If you are interested to know more about it contact us.

LORETO, MEXICO: EL FUERTE SPORT FISHING, Puerto Escondido, February 21, 2001, Ty Miller, Reservations Tel 714-775-6658; Fax: 714-755-3501; Loreto 011-52-113-30863. Hola Amigos. Once again the Northerly winds have put a slight damper on things and are making it a little difficult to fish the yellowtail that are starting to show. I can feel some impatience in the air with the local fishermen here wondering when this wind is going to let up. Typically it blows for three to five days and then lays down for a couple of days, but that hasn't been the case this year so far. Today it finally laid down so we may get in on some of the action and find out what is really happening out there. We will look forward to giving you a full report when we arrive. Bait has moved to the Deep Bait Hole with the Green and Spanish macks suspending from top to bottom. Bite starts at sunrise. Well, wind has definitely been the news here lately and personally I am getting a little tired of it. Let's hope we can get this behind us soon so we can go stroke some yellows! Hasta!

Air Temp, 81. Water Temp, 61. Winds, laid down 2/19. Seastate calm.

MULEGE FISHING REPORTS

ALL ARTICLES, REPORTS AND FISHING INFORMATION FOR MULEGE

MULEGE, MEXICO: GALERIA SIRENA @ ECOMUNDO, Mulegé, February 22, 2001, Becky Aparicio reporting from the shore of Bahía Concepción. Hi Gene. The weather is finally getting Baja lovely. All hotels, panga fishermen, tour guides, etc. are "todos listos" to show off Mulegé. I'm giving gourd making classes manana and the next day FEb. 21, 22, and Roy is working on a major sports happening March 14 at EcoMundo. A wide world of sports horseshoe tournament, bocci ball and volleyball extravaganza.

The local Rotary club had a very successful Pig Race fund raiser and only the little piggie losers were sad. I guess they make them into weiner snacks or something. The Serenidad hotel is now hosting the twice a week cruise boat (Cruise West?) pork feed to the cruise guests. While they are porking out the crew plays volleyball at Playa Escondida in a serious tourney, with a rather interesting trophy up for grabs. I'll try to get a pic for you, it is very unique. Roy and I sometimes participate so you can imagine the caliber of play!

I was out paddling this early a.m. and went out to Isla Luz and discovered that pelican nesting is going on in earnest on this spot rather than Isla Pelicano in front of us. As I cruised around I spotted four snowy egrets, a Louisiana Heron, blue herons and nests, brown pelicans, their nests and a few fuzzy white baby pelicans, dozens of yellow legged western gulls and wonderful osprey nest on the light pole. Also frigate birds were perched on rocks. What a joy! I'll report on bird maternity happenings, periodically.

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Jonathan Roldan sends this photo of a "Baja Mystery Cactus." Where is this plant?

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Fish Stories Dept.-- Many think that 2000 was the best Baja fishing year in recent memory, especially for dorado in the south. From Peter Langstraat, this photo of his fishing partner, Hans van den Berg, with a 58-pound dorado caught on November 8, 2000. Says Peter, "During the fabulous season of last year many big bull dorado were being caught regularly anywhere between Isla Cerralvo and Cabo Frailes."

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Summer Memories Dept.-- Trout and Raychel Traubman with a nice plate of homemade yellowtail sushi. Says Trout, "Can't wait 'till June!" Looks, good, Trout!

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From roving Baja photographer Mitchell Rose: Lighthouse at San Jose del Cabo.

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Reel Easy Sportfishing clients Alan & Becky Kocan of Stillwater, Oklahoma and Jim & Markie Pringle of North Carolina fished the El Chilito Feb. 5th and the Sea u Later Feb. 7th.

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From roving Baja photographer Mitchell Rose: La Pinta Hotel.

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Fred Nelson and his fishing partner Mike hold up the 65 pound tuna that they landed while they were fishing with skipper Jesus on the Gordo Banks. The big yellowfin tuna hit on a piece of chunk bait.

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Larry Martin who was visiting from Minneapolis went out by himself with skipper Niko and had more than enough action, with these nice yellowfin tuna, the two largest weighed 70 and 62 pounds respectably.

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Scott Haggee, Robb Bell, who are both from Oregon, and Peter Larson from Chicago teamed up to land these quality tuna, the largest was a 86 pound yellowfin tuna. They were with skipper Tony of the Gordo Banks Pangas fleet.

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From roving Baja photographer Mitchell Rose: Damiana Restuarant, San Jose del Cabo.

BAJA MEXICO FISHING REPORT ARCHIVES AND FISH PICTURES

East Cape fishing was for scattered winter dorado

Mexico Fishing News, February 22, 2001

EAST CAPE FISHING REPORTS

In other mainland Mexico and Baja fishing action this week:

ENSENADA FISHING REPORTS

SAN QUINTIN FISHING REPORTS

MAGDALENA BAY FISHING REPORTS

CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORTS

SAN JOSE DEL CABO (LOS CABOS) FISHING REPORTS

LA PAZ FISHING REPORTS

LORETO FISHING REPORTS

MULEGE FISHING REPORTS