Cabo San Lucas striped marlin take a rare vacation

Mexico Fishing News, April 11, 2001

CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORTS

ALL ARTICLES, REPORTS AND FISHING INFORMATION FOR CABO SAN LUCAS

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: PISCES FLEET, Cabo San Lucas, April 11, 2001, Tracy Ehrenberg, Reservations Tel 011-52-114-31288; Fax 011-52-114-30588. BILLFISH: Fishing was pretty much the same as it was last week, in other words very slow for billfish. In fact again, we only had one striped marlin this week, caught and released the last day of this report, as winds gusted to 35 mph in the early morning.

The extremely lucky angler was Allen Sansano from Sunnyvale, CA, fishing aboard "Rebecca" (our only boat to catch marlin last week also). Allen hooked up 12 miles out from Chileno, with the approx, 120 lb marlin taking a live mackerel; earlier in the day, this boat spotted a 400 lb plus swordfish, a little over 20 miles out from Palmilla, which they attempted to bait without success. Allen fished, Rebecca, one day before his marlin catch and did well to catch seven yellow fin tuna from 25 to 30 lbs. Checking back to 2000 and 1999, for this same week, we see that catches were about the same, going back several years (1992); we see that it was a good week for both marlin and surprisingly dorado up to 60 lbs. Pisces anglers had an eighty-five percent catch success rate this week, with nearly all of this number being small game.

OTHER SPECIES: Sierra is king of Cabo, crews not wanting to waste endless hours trolling for fish that probably weren't there, stuck closer in and targeted this tasty game fish. Using spinning and light tackle, (12 lb), boats averaged from 3 to 12 sierras, which are at peak size right now. There were some yellowfin tuna this week also, with the most caught being seven, aboard Rebecca, as mentioned above. We did have one nice 60 lb wahoo, aboard Libre mid-week, caught by Cliff Roy. Yellowtail were a welcome catch throughout the week, but were not numerous, getting up to 25 lbs. Jack crevalle, roosterfish and amberjack, were all caught inshore, in lesser numbers.

LOCATION: Redhill, Chileno and Palmilla. WEATHER CONDITIONS: Still pretty cold, though we did have two gorgeous days, Saturday and Sunday. Windy most days, seas on the rough side, April 10th was the worst day, with the Pacific a mass of whitecaps, calming by around 10.00 a.m. on the Cortez side. AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 66 F. BEST LURES: Live bait.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: PICANTE FLEET, Cabo San Lucas, April 9, 2001, Sergio Cortes, Reservations Tel 011-52-114-32474; Fax 011-52-114-35969. Fish available: Striped Marlin, Yellowfin Tuna, Dorado & Wahoo. Water temperature: 68-71. Air temperature: 90/55. Humidity: 68%. Wind: 12-14 Knots (Pacific), 10-12 Knots (Sea of Cortes). Fleet production (6 boats): 12 Yellowfin Tuna, 3 Dorado & 32 Sierra. Hot spots: Gordo Banks (Sea of Cortes). Luckiest boat: Picante Dream (35' CABO). Captain: Genaro Winkler. Angler: Larry Hudson. Production: 3 Yellowfin Tuna 25-30 lbs. & 7 Sierra.

The Sea of Cortes has the best fishing at the time, warm water ranging from 69F to 71 F. The Pacific Ocean remains very cold and not much action therefore. Striped Marlin fishing slowed down Lots of Yellowfin Tuna, all sizes and numbers. Few Dorado & Wahoo have been caught lately. Sierra has been caught and some Swordfish have been spotted also. Blue skies all day long, Mild intensity winds thoughout the day.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: FLY HOOKER SPORT FISHING, Cabo San Lucas, April 8, 2001, Capt. George & Mary Landrum, Reservations Tel 011-52-117-01271; 011-52-114-87452. We have finally gotten the nice weather that we have been praying for. The wind blew for the first two days this week and then it got warm and the wind disappeared. We have had sunny days all week and the daytime temperatures have been in the high 70's to high 80's, nighttime in the mid to low 70's. No rain this week but things are still looking pretty green down here.

If the nice weather continues maybe the warmer water will move in and the fishing closer to home will improve. We have still had cold water close in all week, with the temperatures close to home being in the 60-63 degree range. There was a large area of warm water on both the Pacific side and the Sea of Cortez side but you had to travel at least 40 miles out to get there. That was in the beginning of the week, as the days wore on the warm water began to move closer in, yesterday we were seeing 70 degree water as close as 28 miles on the Sea of Cortez. My normal Sea Temperature provider, Terrafin.com, has had satellite problems this past week and I have been unable to follow the movements of warm and cold water in areas we have not fished.

BAIT: We have had the normal availability, a mix of both Mackerel and Caballito at $2 per bait. There have been very few Sardinas available, you had to be the first boats out to get any this past week, when you did get them they were the usual Cabo price of $20 per scoop.

BILLFISH: It looks as if the Striped Marlin bite might pick up soon. With the warm water coming in closer, that will help a lot. We saw a few fish at the beginning of the week and as the weekend drew near, along with the full moon, there were more fish seen but fewer bites reported. Best results were had by boats pitching live bait to fish found on the surface. There were reports of a strong Striped Marlin bite up in the east-cape area but not a lot was happening here.

YELLOWFIN TUNA: The normally dependable Gordo banks area was suffering from very cold water and an occasional day of high winds this week and there were few reported Yellowfin from that area. Instead, most of the Tuna reported were coming from Porpoise pods located well to the southeast of Cabo, out in the warmer 70-degree water. Having to travel from 2 to 3 hours to get to the fish was a deterrent for most of the boats as was the fact that just because they were in one area on one day did not mean that they would be there the next. Most of the fish were football to 35 pounds. A few nicer ones in the 60-100 pound range were caught and there were reports of several that might have gone 200+ pounds reported hooked up. Boats using cedar plugs in both 6" and 9" size, feathers in green/yellow and Blue Mackerel Rapalas in the CD18 SS model had best results.

DORADO: A few scattered Dorado were reported close to shore on the Sea of Cortez side, but there were no concentrations found. The boats fishing near-shore for Yellowtail and Sierra caught the fish that were found. Average size was 8-10 pounds with an occasional fish to 20lbs.

WAHOO: No reported Wahoo for this week.

INSHORE: Everyone thought that the Yellowtail bite was going to take off when the cold water moved in, but it has been pretty much a hit and miss fishery this past week. Remember last week when I reported that the bite seemed to be concentrated on the tide change? Well, that changed this week and it seemed that there was no one time frame during the day when the fishing was better. Most inshore anglers were lucky to get a half-dozen Sierra, an Amberjack or two and possibly one or two Yellowtail during a half-day trip. There were good reports as far as Bonito and Skipjack fishing go and these fish provided a lot of action for people who were not looking to fill the cooler with fillets. They provided good action when using 12-20 pound test gear as some of the Bonito were going up to 15 pounds in size. Bottom fishing was scratchy but there were a few boats reporting decent catches of Triggerfish and Snapper, caught mostly on red crab.

NOTES: No, the Charter business is not for sale, just my house! We are not leaving Cabo but since we live here fulltime we were not able to get a U.S. Mortgage on the home. If you are interested it is 8 blocks from the marina, 2-bed, 2-bath, 1,800 sq. ft. 2 story 14 year old home with an existing bank trust in place. My equity is 30,000 with a balance due of 55,000 in 60 days. Or hey, offer me a loan! I'm willing to pay 12% on a 5-year simple interest loan and will place the lender on the trust as 1st beneficiary! Thank you, that just saved me from having to answer another 25 emails this week. Until next week, Tight Lines!

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: HOTEL SOLMAR SUITES, Cabo San Lucas, April 6, 2001, Renee Santa Cruz, Reservations Tel 800-344-3349. If last week was the Week of The Tuna, this week could be called the "Week of The Boat Ride"--for marlin and dorado, at least. At Solmar Sportfishing Fleet, manager Rene Santa Cruz said it was the first time in the fleet's 27 year history that both Dorado and billfish went unreported as caught and either boated or released.

The weather pattern at the Cape was clear and sunny most of the week, but with continuing winds and some choppy seas. The skies were slightly cloudy at week's end, but without the winds. Temperatures were generally at 70 degrees water surface, and 75 air.

"Some tuna were still being brought in 20 miles off Chileno, but striped marlin and Dorado virtually disappeared this week from all locations," according to Santa Cruz. Smaller game fish such as sierra and yellowtail, were more available 1 to 2 miles off shore from Santa Maria Bay on the Cortez, and around the tip to the Lighthouse on the Pacific.

Stan Dunn, Boulder, CO, took the Solmar II 20 miles out from Chileno, and returned with 8 yellowfin tuna in the 20-25 pound range. Gary Klein ventured 25 miles out from El Arco on Solmar's El Torito, and returned with 5 yellowfin up to 40 pounds.

Terry Anders, Greeley, CO, got his fishing in during early morning hours only 1 mile off Chileno, scoring with 14 sierra on the Solmar IX; at the other end of the swing around the Cape, John Kostidis,l Valparaiso, IN, boated a 45 pound blue shark on the Solmar II, and only one-half mile off the Lighthouse on the Pacific.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: BAJA ANGLERS, Cabo San Lucas, April 9, 2001, Grant Hartman, Reservations 888-588-3446. Hi Folks, Our inshore fishing continues to be very good, but it has slowed down over the last few days due to the full moon. As the moon continues to wane the fishing should jump back to normal. We are catching jacks, travelle, sierra and snapper right now along the surf line. These inshore fish are plentiful and great fun on the fly. Some roosterfish around, but most are on the shy side. The roosterfishing will pick up with peak season from late April through early June. Offshore fishing is very slow right now for striped marlin. The yellowfin tuna bite has been inconsistent with most boats fishing 20 -to 30 miles offshore.

The Pacific's been kinda windy and rough, but the sea of Cortez side has been like glass. Our luck is holding as most of the fish are on the sea of Cortez side. Water temperatures are in the mid 60's.

For those of you that want to try our great spring fishing for BIG roosterfish , jacks snapper, sierra, and other inshore species, better book now. My April, May, and June months are almost booked up. Half of May and the beginning of June are reserved by last years anglers alone.

DORADO--Cooler water has driven them into warmer water south. WAHOO--This summer! JACK CRAVELLE--The jack cravelle says the same for this week. Some very big jacks are hanging out in the surf line. Unfortunately they are more interested in reproducing right now, and the bite is kinda slow. TUNA--Yellowfin have dropped a notch or two. If you go way offshore and find the porpoise you might get into a few fish. MARLIN (Blues & Blacks)--Fishing for the big boys has stopped dead, not until next summer. STRIPED MARLIN--Real slow right now, but April through June are usually very good months. CUBERA SNAPPER--On the Pacific in the rocks. ROOSTERFISH--Slow for roosterfish, Late April through June is the hot time to catch big roosterfish. SHARKS--Seeing some blues and Mako's off the light house and on the Gordo banks. SKIPJACK & BONITO--We are catching some skipjack off the arch and whales head light house. SPANISH MACKEREL--Some days are red hot, and others are so-so.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: CHILI PUNTA FLEET, Cabo San Lucas, April 4, 2001, Fishmanmark, Reporting for Fishaholic Charters. The waters are cold for big game fishing right now but the inshore pangas are successful with sierra, red snapper, grouper and some rooster fish. The tuna are running in small schools about 15-25 miles out but even up to 40 to 50 miles out we are not finding the marlin. We do expect this to change as the weather calms down and we start getting more southerly flow as opposed to the northern weather patterns. I can see on the satellite that the southerly flow is slowly coming this way but it may take another few days and possibly up to a week. That does not mean that we will not be catching marlin until that time, it just means they will slowly be coming back in closer. If you are wanting to go marlin fishing, stay with a larger boat, 31' or bigger as they have the fuel capacity to get out there and back. The "and back" is the key to the equation here. Don't laugh, I have been out 28's where we got to the fishing grounds only to run out of diesel halfway back in. It isn't a big deal to the crew but not very fun for the angler. Keep watching here, I'll let you know as soon as the bite is back on for big game.

In other mainland Mexico and Baja fishing action this week:

ENSENADA FISHING REPORTS

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ENSENADA, MEXICO: LILY FLEET, Ensenada, April 7, 2001, Sammy Susarrey, Reservations Tel/Fax, 5 to 9 p.m., 011-52-617-46747; Cell 011-52-618-67485. Today we fished inside the bay. Chilly day and some wind from the south, but inside the Todos Santos channel and at the Todos Santos reef we got limits of barracuda that hit everything, jigs, live bait, scampis. Water temperature was 67 degrees. We also caught some miscellaneous fish. The barracuda averaged 4 to 5 pounds.

SAN QUINTIN FISHING REPORTS

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SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: PEDRO'S PANGAS, San Quintin, April 8, 2001, Pete Hillis, Reservations 888-568-2252. Hola from San Quintin. Air temperatures this weekend were cool, ranging in the low 60s. Seas were calm and like glass Friday and Saturday, but winds started to pick up early Sunday.

Fishing with us this week were Rick Chase, Ike Brusdiki, and Mike Lobsitz from Huntington Beach. They brought in yellowtail to 15 lbs., 2 large lingcod (topping out at 12 lbs.) and limits of reds. Also with us were Danny Park, Joshua Park, Sung Park, Peter Choi and Yung Choi of Los Angeles. Their group brought in yellowtail to 22 lbs., and limits of rock cod mixed in with a few lingcod. And rounding out the weekend was Jeremy James and his party of four from Anaheim. His party took in yellowtail to 13 lbs., with limits of rock cod and lingcod.

All fish were caught at the 15 fathom and the 240 spot using rapallas and blue/white jigs. We will be checking in with you again next week. Thanks.

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: SAN QUINTIN SPORTFISHING, San Quintin, April 9, 2001, Gene Allshouse, Reservations 011-526-165-9229. Howdy. The weather finally seems to be warming up and so is the fish bite. I had 4 boats out for the weekend and we got into a wide open Yellowtail bite at the 240 fathom. The fish were all in the 15 to 25 pound class and good fighters. The larger Rock Cod have also started biting as well as the White Fish at the 240 and the 15 fathom. The water temperature is still a little cold for the Albacore to show but, it should be warming up in the next couple of weeks with the warmer sunny weather. All in all were catching a nice variety of fish to fill up the old cooler and I hope to see you all here! --Gene

MAGDALENA BAY FISHING REPORTS

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MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO: BAJA ON THE FLY, San Carlos, April 7, 2001, Gary Graham, Reservations Tel 800-919-2252; Fax 760-746-7260. Temperatures: 76-degree high; low 61. TUNA--With all the red crabs you would think the action would be gangbusters. YELLOWTAIL--Use your shooting head and a Baja Deep Diver. Let the line sink for a week and you may get a grab from a hungry yellowtail with an attitude. CORVINA--The deeper channels throughout the esteros (estuaries) are your best bet. SNOOK--Try an outgoing tide and let your line sink and go with the current and hope the take is a snook and not a cabrilla. HALIBUT--For a no-brainer, find a sandy bottom and let your olive Clouser sink. Retrieve it very s-l-o-w-l-y and don't forget to strip strike on the take. QUICK COMMENT--This is that time of year when you never know what's going to try to take that $5 fly away from you. This time of year let your line sink and be swept back into the channel and then retrieve slowly for the best action.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO (LOS CABOS) FISHING REPORTS

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SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: GORDO BANKS PANGAS, San Jose del Cabo, April 8, 2001, Eric Brictson, Reservations 800-408-1199; Fax 619-447-4098; 011-52-114-21147. Water temperatures plummeted to the coolest levels of the year, with 64 to 68 being the average throughout the region. The clarity did improve, in the areas to the north of Punta Gorda blue water was found within a couple miles of shore. There was also some wind, first from the north and then switching from out of the south, which meant that conditions still have not settled. Sportfishing fleets searched for the best action, from far offshore to back along the beaches, the most consistent reports were coming from either working bottom structure or trolling the shoreline. With the southern swell of last week diminishing, live sardinas were once again readily available and was the bait of choice. Crowds of tourists were light and combined with the lack of larger gamefish being caught, angler interest was lagging. It seems like an annual tradition that during Easter vacation, along with all of the people taking time off to be with their families, the fish also become scattered and a challenge to catch. Though this week the action was mostly limited to bottom or inshore action there was great variety of medium gamefish found. The fishing grounds from Red Hill to La Fortuna is where the action proved to be most consistent.

The red crabs that had been so thick on the Gordo Banks thinned out and along with them the pargo catches became scarce. Yellowfin tuna had all but disappeared from the near shore waters and the only significant catches of tuna were reported from the cruiser fleet that found football sized fish mixed in with migrating schools of porpoise, but this was happening some 30 plus miles offshore and with how the ocean conditions were, was a hit or miss proposition. Dorado catches were limited to an occasional stray 10 to 15 pound fish and will most likely continue this way until warmer waters moves back in. The marlin bite off of San Jose was very weak and the larger boats that normally would be targeting the billfish could be seen fishing inshore, along side the smaller pangas.

Anglers were reporting decent daily catches on species like sierra, yellowtail, amberjack and cabrilla. The best sierra action was found off of Palmilla and Red Hill, trolling rapalas or preferably live sardinas was producing fish from 2 to 8 pounds. In the same areas, yellowtail in the 14 to 18 pound class were being taken, hitting on trolled rapalas, sardinas and yo-yo style lures, boats were averaging from 1 to 4 of these fish each day, combined with a half of dozen sierra, some amberjack and a few inshore pargo. Roosterfish up to 10 pounds were also found, but not in the numbers that they had been before the cooler current swept in. The schools of mullet which had been moving in off of La Playita and is the roosters' favorite diet spread out during the recent swell, but as springtime begins to warm up in the next few weeks they will be back, along with the big roosterfish. --Good Fishing

EAST CAPE FISHING REPORTS

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EAST CAPE, MEXICO: BAJA ON THE FLY, Buena Vista, April 7, 2001, Gary Graham, Reservations Tel 800-919-2252; Fax 760-746-7260. TEMPERATURES: High of 81 with a low of 59. STRIPED MARLIN--More being seen, but are not very aggressive. YELLOWFIN TUNA--Still hit or miss. The area between Cabo Pulmo and Las Frailles under the porpoise produced the best catches. DORADO--Slow. ROOSTERFISH--Wind yesterday slowed action down. JACK CREVALLE--A few fish up to 20 pounds are hanging out in front of the hotels when the wind isn't blowing. BARRILLETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK--A few of the boats found some in front of Las Frailes. PARGO AND CABRILLA--Fair near-shore action at Rancho Buena Vista, Punta Colorada or Cerro Verde. OFFSHORE: Boats are reporting more sightings with little action. INSHORE: Wind for the last two days slowed the action down. BEACH: A few small roosters, ladyfish, sierra and some fair-sized jacks early morning and late afternoon in front of the hotels. QUICK COMMENT--Just when we think the wind has gone away, it comes back with a vengeance and reminds us that there are some things we can't controlvYvonne and I are off this morning to Tucson, Ariz., to Orvis dealer Dry Creek Outfitters for a day of talking about Baja Saltwater Fly Fishing.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: EL CARDONAL'S HIDEAWAY, El Cardonal, April 5, 2001, Eddy, Reservations 011-52-114-10040. Hi Gene. Business is normal we are going to be super full for the next 3 weeks. I do not know if I told you about us being the only place where a fisher can sit in a float tube and catch lots of fish right in front of the hotel. We are the only ones in Baja to offer this service. We are also going to have tours in rental jeeps with a multi-linguistic guide. This program should start next month.

Right now the commercial fishermen with their pangas are killng all the red snappers that they can; up to 70 pangas at times between Los Barriles and us.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: RANCHO BUENA VISTA, Buena Vista, April 5, 2001, Tamara Moyeous, Reservations 800-258-8200. Hi Gene. The fishing season is picking up once again. There were a total of 14 boat trips for the week of April 1-6. There were 5 dorado, 2 rooster fish, 12 tuna, 6 bonita, 36 sierra, 8 jack crevale, 2 cabrilla, and 8 pargo, for a total of 87 fish.

One of our more frequent guests, Peter Blackman of Santa Monica, released a 120# striper on flourescent green & yellow feather made by JD's Big Game in Newport Beach. (He wanted to give a plug to his buddy John Daugherty.) Caught 2 dorado and tuna on cedar plugs fishing through the porpoise school. We are picking up so more reports will be forthcoming. Thanks a million. --Tami

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: HOTELS PALMAS DE CORTEZ, PLAYA DEL SOL, PUNTA COLORADA, East Cape, April 8, 2001, reported by Dave "Smokey" Manuel, East Cape Smokehouse, Hotel Reservations, 800-368-4334. What slim chance we had to see an increase in numbers this past weekend during the full moon and cool water temps was totally eliminated by "El Norte". The North wind blew hard on Friday, diminished only slightly on Saturday, then finally began to drop off by Sunday. Friday was the roughest day on the water during the weekend and the numbers were reflective with no Marlin caught and only a few Tuna found. The Marlin bite picked up a little on Saturday and Sunday, but it's still pretty slow folks. The only good thing I can say is most of the skippers I'm talking with tell me the numbers of Striped Marlin seen on a daily basis are good, they're just not biting. It's still the same problem of too much bait, mostly squid, for them to feed on. There continues to be a good supply of Sardines available daily, but large Marlin bait such as Mackeral or Caballitos have been more limited in numbers. Some skippers are using squid rigs to bring in squid to use as bait, but even this approach is producing limited numbers. It's gonna get better!!...stay tuned.

LA PAZ FISHING REPORTS

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LA PAZ, MEXICO: PIRATES FLEET, La Paz, April 5, 2001, Francisco Aguilar, Reservations, Reservations/Fax 011-52-112-57353. Nice week for fishing amigo's. This past week has been warm with only light breezes. Fishing for Pargo has been a little better with the schools starting to hit some baits. Yellowtails are still around but not in quite the numbers they have been but still in the 20-30 lb range. Some Large tuna are still in the area and we have seen them up to the 50-60 lb range. Also, the Cabrilla seem to be getting bigger and stronger. We are still playing with the Sierra and Bonita and in case you have never tasted sierra, well, you are missing some great eating white fish and there are still plenty of them. [Report compliments of Chili Punta--Editor]

LA PAZ, MEXICO: FISHERMEN'S FLEET, La Paz, April 5, 2001, David Jones, Hotel los Arcos, Reservations 011-52-112-21313; Fax 011-52-112-57334. Attention! Celebrity fisherfolk on board. Richard "The Bushiest" Casteneda, founding father and husband of Cass Tours, is down in La Paz with a hand picked squad of fish killin' commandoes. His "Bad Boys" fishing trip, a yearly event with stops in Loreto and La Paz, rolled into town on Tuesday, sort of like Ringling Bros., and began to fish today. Yellowtail to 20 pounds, Yellowfin to 31, Pargo Liso to 24, and Cabrilla to 8. Not a bad start to their stay. This catch was representative of the fishing this week. With good bait supplies, and weather starting to get really nice, the fishing has been good and improving. The Pargo Lisos at the island, which we thought had stopped feeding because of the yearly arrival of the dreaded "green water", have been going pretty wide open the last 4 days or so, even though the water still looks like an Irishman's cerveza on St. Patty's Day (incidentally, St. Patty's day was Kelly Ann Jones's 8th birthday, and she wishes all of her loyal subjects a very good day). Oh well, another "why aren't they bitin'?" theory shot to crap. And the Lisos are starting to school up as well, with occaisional sightings of "The Red Spot" these last few days. Things look good for the rest of the week, and I plan on seeing Richard on Friday.

LA PAZ, MEXICO: JONATHAN ROLDAN'S TAILHUNTER ADVENTURE SERVICES, La Paz, April 8, 2001, Jonathan Roldan, Tel 626-333-3355; Fax 626-333-0115; Pager 323-349-8111; Message Pager 877-310-7734. To all of you who called in last week on KFMB thanks. We had a great time. Sorry if some of you got left on hold by the switchboard operator and also something happened during the show and a number of callers got dropped off accidentally. It's amazing how fast 2 hours goes by, but there was alot of stuff going on and they want to have me back. It was great to be in the studio again and they do a great job there at Rod 'n' Reel Radio. It was a kick answering questions about diving and fishing in La Paz and Baja!

We had rather a slow start this week, but given the good fishing we have had these past few months, it's gonna be like that sometime. Wind and clouds moved in and the yellowtail and yellowfin tuna bite just dwindled away for a few days. However, we still got fish, but instead of the pelagics, it was mostly cabrilla, sierra and some smaller pargo. However, as the weather stabilized, the fishing also came back. Tuna in the 25-35 pound class bent some rods around Muertos as well as Punta Perrico with some fish pushing the 40 pound mark. Also a few more yellowtail started to poke up again as well. Nothing big inshore, but fun 10-12 pounders kept it interesting.

The bigger boys were up around Cerralvo, especially up the east side of the island with yellowtail up in that 35-40 pound class; 20 pound pargo; and some of the better cabrilla along the rocks near the SE side of the island just up from the lighthouse.

I'm getting a lot of questions about roosterfish, but nothing to report yet. Water is still too cold and bait hasn't moved into the areas yet, but we'll keep you posted.

One of my amigos, Mitch Chavira of San Diego has been a good pal; hardcore fisherman and long time reader of my fish reports. He's coming down in a few weeks for a personal assault on the Cerralvo Pargo. He asked if anyone has ever really caught a pargo. Good question!

You know, we're coming into the season and I know there are some guys who just have the knack of ripping on pargo, but you'll hear me and others tell you that they are the hardest fish in the area to catch. I tell my students that if you get maybe one pargo to the boat for every 10 hook ups, you're hitting home runs! The fish are large, mean and in a virtual no-man's land of rocks and coral. I've dove these areas and imagine a bottom 20 feet below the boat. Now stick in pinnacles and jagged stones that rise to within 2-3 feet of the surface pock marked with caves, holes and ridges! Now add to that a fish that looks like a Japanese koi in steroids with 5 times the attitude! This fish is skittish about taking heavy line and the rocks tear up anything less than 40 pounds like a sawblade through a stick and you've got a recipe for frustration.

I've personally had such a hard time with these fish that I answered Mitch's question by telling him that pargo were merely a "myth and a legend" proliferated by fishing brokers and guides like me to get guys to buy tackle and spend money on trips. All the photos are hoaxes like Loch Ness and Big Foot. Pargo do NOT exist. Remember how you used to tell a girl, "Wanna go watch the submarine races?" or "Let's go snipe hunting!" Well, us Baja fishing guides say, "Hey, Honey. . .wanna go catch a pargo?"

LORETO FISHING REPORTS

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LORETO, MEXICO: EL FUERTE SPORT FISHING, Puerto Escondido, April 5, 2001, Ty Miller, Reservations Tel 714-775-6658; Fax: 714-755-3501; Loreto 011-52-113-30863. Hola Pescadores. Gonna have to make this week's fish report short and sweet, amigos. It's been a busy week! Yellowtail have invaded the south reef (Las Burburjas) of Catalana and are now up on top taking the fly lined baits. Fish are all in the solid 30 pound class and a few Amberjacks pushing the 55 pound mark have also been mixing in. This last week we had a few slow days due to some strong west winds.

There has been some yellowtail taken off the local areas such as Punta Perico, but these areas are not holding anywhere near the numbers that are outside. No more signs of dorado at this time but we haven't been paying much attention to anything except customers with bent rods on the boat!

Bait out at the bump has slowed down due to the number of boats coming all the way from Loreto and blowing in on our spot. With all the boat activity, the Caballitos get a little nervous which slows down the bite. Today, bait was solid off Punta Baja with Green mack's everywhere so that takes a little pressure off the Caballitos for a while.

As you can see in this week's photos, we have had a lot of happy customers and the bite down at this end is still steady. For how long? Who knows! Right now it's as good as it gets down here for a yellowtail bite! Hasta!

Temp., 87. Water, 68. Winds, light from the west. Sea state,. flat.

LORETO, MEXICO: BAJA BIG FISH COMPANY, Loreto, April 6, 2001, Pam Bolles, Reservations Tel/Fax 011-52-113-50448. I'm so busy I can't even get a chance to update the fish report! Too much of a good thing I guess.

MULEGE FISHING REPORTS

ALL ARTICLES, REPORTS AND FISHING INFORMATION FOR MULEGE

MULEGE, MEXICO: GALERIA SIRENA & ECOMUNDO, Mulegé, April 7, 2001, Becky Aparicio reporting from the shore of Bahía Concepción. Hi Gene. We have really been busy. After Easter things shooould slow down. Graham Macintosh is down here right now and is giving a slide show at our place tomorrow. There is a new book out that uses Baja as its setting, a mystery novel called "Troubled Sea". Really good! The author will be at out place tomorrow as well. --Roy

SAN FELIPE FISHING REPORTS

ALL ARTICLES, REPORTS AND FISHING INFORMATION FOR SAN FELIPE

SAN FELIPE, MEXICO: SEA OF CORTEZ SPORTFISHING, 6-day Midriff Islands trip aboard the panga mothership, Celia Angelina, Bob Castellon, Reservations 626-333-9012; Fax 626-336-1966; San Felipe 011-52-657-71778, April 10, 2001. I'm calling by cell phone from the bridge of the Celia Angelina, we're anchored against the Mexican mainland, just a little north of Isla Tiburon. We're in a super wide open bite on cabrilla, nothing huge, mostly under 12 pounds, but wow!, they are hitting anything in the water. All you have to do is put something out there and you have a nice eating fish. Another strange thing is that we are catching wide open numbers of spotted bay bass that are huge (for bass), some of these things are almost as big as the cabrilla. No really big fish yet, because there is no bait on this side of the Cortez. Tonight, we are crossing over to San Francisquito for bait, and then we're coming back here for the big ones. Weather has been on and off, some wind, but today was beautiful... [cell phone reception cut off at this point--ed.]

Fish Photo 1

A NEW QUEEN FOR CABO: Tracy Eherenberg of Cabo San Lucas' well-known Pisces Fleet sent this photo of their new flagship. Says Tracy, "Hey guys, not a lot going on fishing wise, so here's a photo of our new addition, brand new 70 ft Hatteras "Salsa". There's nothing else like it in Cabo." See Pisces Fleet fishing report for this week in the Los Cabos section below.

Fish Photo 1

Gordo Banks Pangas client, Bob White from Portland, Oregon finally made his first trip to Baja and was not disappointed. This 17 pound yellowtail was just one of many quality fish that he caught during his visit.

Fish Photo 1

And here, local pangeros, Roberto and Chame, show off a couple of grouper that were taken on yo-yo style jigs off of La Fortuna.

Fish Photo 1

Hey! As Neil Kelly always said, "A fish is a fish." So, thanks to Gordo Banks Pangas' Eric Brictson for this great shot of a very important , very"little" Baja fish, a "sardina," whose service as live bait keeps many a charter fishing fleet in business.

Fish Photo 1

Jonathan, right, riding the air waves!

Fish Photo 1

Anyway, amigos, in case you don't know what I'm talking about, here's a photo. Have a good week!

Fish Photo 1

File photo of Bob Castellon's panga mothership, the Celia Angelina, at Isla Tiburon last season.

BAJA MEXICO FISHING REPORT ARCHIVES AND FISH PICTURES

Cabo San Lucas striped marlin take a rare vacation

Mexico Fishing News, April 11, 2001

CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORTS

In other mainland Mexico and Baja fishing action this week:

ENSENADA FISHING REPORTS

SAN QUINTIN FISHING REPORTS

MAGDALENA BAY FISHING REPORTS

SAN JOSE DEL CABO (LOS CABOS) FISHING REPORTS

EAST CAPE FISHING REPORTS

LA PAZ FISHING REPORTS

LORETO FISHING REPORTS

MULEGE FISHING REPORTS

SAN FELIPE FISHING REPORTS