Dorado going bananas for Loreto fishing boats

Mexico Fishing News, July 3, 2006

LORETO FISHING REPORTS

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LORETO, MEXICO: June's simmering dorado bite in waters close to Loreto ripped wide-open last week as boats scored almost guaranteed limits just a few miles off Isla Coronado.

Patty Zapata of Loreto's Hotel Oasis reported very good and very steady dorado fishing all week long as a big flotilla of pangas pounded an area about 5 to 8 miles east of the island in flat seas and water temperatures of 86 to 89 degrees. A total of 88 panga outings turned in a combined count including released fish of 316 dorado of 15 to 48 pounds, plus sailfish, cabrilla, and triggerfish. "Loreto sportfishing this week was very good with plenty of dorados for everyone," Zapata said. EXCELLENT LORETO DORADO FISHING.

LORETO, MEXICO: Don Bear of Loreto said, "Dorado fishing broke wide-open this week. With the possible exception of Tuesday, every panga that sought them came home with limits of dorado, many of which were in the 30 to 40-pound range." Most of the dorado were 10 to 20 pounds, Bear said, and by the end of the week they were concentrated just north and east of Isla Coronado, only about 20 miles from Loreto. "In most cases, more than limits were caught with the excess released," Bear said. "In the aftermath of last week's confiscations, everyone is religiously observing bag limits." One late week outing on Bear's boat with Capt. Andres Cota produced catch-and-release action on 35 dorado, all taken in 3 locations within 30 miles of town. "Given last year's disastrous dorado season, yesterday's experience was especially welcome. Optimism is clearly evident among the locals," Bear said.

LORETO, MEXICO: Bill Erhardt of Loreto reported water temperatures spiking to as high as 90 degrees as bait anglers did well on dorado, but slow fishing with his artificial lures. Four outings with artificials produced only 3 marlin and 2 dorado for Erhardt's boat. "Twice, I returned home skunked," he said, although 2 of his outings produced first-ever marlin for Preston Wells and Ed Lowery. "Not a very productive week by Loreto standards," Erhardt said, "but two very pleased guys caught their first marlins ever."

LORETO, MEXICO: Earlier, Pam Bolles of Baja Big Fish Company said dorado action was steadily improving in flat water conditions with good weed paddy concentrations, and sailfish and marlin were also plentiful. "The billfish remain very abundant. In fact they're thick in many locations and you can be sure to get one or more if you're targeting them," Bolles said. "The sailfish have been large this year with 135 pounds very common and 150 pounders pretty frequent too." Yellowfin tuna were reported present but more than 50 miles out. Loreto water temperatures were at 74 to 84 degrees. LORETO MARLIN, SAILFISH, AND DORADO.

In other mainland Mexico and Baja fishing action this week:

ENSENADA FISHING REPORTS

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ENSENADA, MEXICO: Memo Gomez of El Dorado Sportfishing reported on a Friday run with 1 angler by the charter panga El Dorado to the El Farito area 3 miles from Ensenada on a heading of 270 degrees, fishing in 30-foot deep water at 66.5 degrees for very good action on calico bass limits, barracuda, and 1 white seabass. Ensenada fishing area weather was sunny and very calm.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Ivan Villarino of Vonny's Fleet reported limits on calico bass, barracuda, and bottom fish for all pangas fishing at the tip of Ensenada's Punta Banda, plus a couple of white seabass landed by anglers Jay Johnson and Dennis McMorris. Other anglers fishing with Capts. Beto on the Vonny I and Capt. Hector on the Vonny III included Brian Foley, Paul Antonian and his fishing partner Hutch, Jorge Taylor, Abril Alenjandra, Julieta Martinez, and Felicitas Curiel. Ensenada sportfishing area weather was mostly sunny over the weekend, in the high 70s, with ocean swells of 2 to 3 feet and water temperatures at Punta Banda averaging 64 degrees.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: John Matz of Agoura Hills, Calif., and his father fished on a panga with Capt. Vicente of Vonny's Fleet on Thursday, finding good weather and sea conditions at the tip of Ensenada's Punta Banda, but no yellowtail, and a catch of: 12 sugar bass, and 1 large bonita. "The bait was plastics, frozen squid and anchovies," Matz said. "We had great conditions and the captain worked very hard."

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Sammy Susarrey of Lily Fleet reported on skippering a private boat run to the San Jose reef on Saturday for an excellent catch of red rockcod. The water temperature at San Jose reef was 66.7 degrees, and Susarrey said Mike Richardson's receiver had very good anchovy bait. The Lily Fleet charter boat Tamara also fished out of Ensenada at the 450 spot and caught 6 yellowtail of 15 pounds and another 3 lost on kelp paddies. "They also saw a lot of bluefin tuna breaking on the surface but they didn't bite," Susarrey said. The water temperature at the 450 spot was 67 degrees.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Sergio Susarrey of Sergio's Ensenada Sportfishing Center reported on 136 anglers fishing aboard the charter boats Ensenada Clipper, Shirlee-too, Shirlee, Cazador, Quest, and Clipper II, with a catch of: 34 yellowtail, 294 bonito, 64 barracuda, 4 calico bass, 1 sandbass, 1 white seabass, 2 yellowfin tuna, 6 bluefin tuna, 4 albacore, 61 lingcod, 46 rockcod, 5 whitefish, 3 salmon grouper, 8 cowcod, and 19 red rockcod.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Earlier, Emerald Argonza of Matador Sportfishing said the Ensenada charter panga Matador was fishing again after annual maintenance. A family group fished at the 238 spot for a catch with Capt. David Silva of: 3 yellowtail of 28 to 30 pounds, 3 bluefin tuna of 30 to 35 pounds, and 5 bonita. "Considering that they were as young as 8 years old this family rocks!" Argonza said. An earlier run to the 238 spot by the Matador produced a catch of: 1 albacore, 8 yellowtail, and 1 calico bass of 5 pounds. Ensenada fishing area seas were calm with water temperatures of 65 to 68 degrees. ENSENADA 238 SPOT FISHING.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: For the previous weekend, Steve Ross of the Ensenada boat Bad Dog out of Marina Coral reported on a run 50 miles offshore for a catch of 4 albacore to 24 pounds and 2 bonita, in blue, 66-degree water. "There were many boats both American and Mexican," Ross said. "We counted 32 out of San Diego alone. Gordo's Live Bait has been providing very large sardines to 7 inches."

ERENDIRA FISHING REPORTS

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ERENDIRA, MEXICO: Fernando Castro of Castro's Camp reported 34 boats fishing out of Erendira for the week, with some days booked to capacity and fishing very good for limits of red rockcod, whitefish, lingcod, very large calico bass, and some bonita, barracuda, and yellowtail on the surface, plus 6 white seabass. "The surface action was much better this week," Castro said. "We're seeing even more bait in the water now." Erendira weather was mostly calm and sunny at 80 degrees, with the water a clear blue in the main fishing areas at 63 to 65 degrees.

ERENDIRA, MEXICO: Chris Kugel of San Diego fished off Punta Colonet with Capt. Ubaldo of Castro's Camp for a catch in 125 to 140 feet of water including red rockcod and a 30-pound halibut. Erendira sportfishing area sea conditions were mostly flat, with some light winds and showers, and other boats out of Castro's Camp were doing well on bottom fish plus some yellowtail seen and some bonita caught. Kugel said his boat passed a rare leatherback sea turtle estimated at 600 to 700 pounds in weight on the way back from Colonet to Castro's Camp. FISHING WITH CAPT. UBALDO.

SAN QUINTIN FISHING REPORTS

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SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Gene Allshouse of San Quintin Sportfishing said, "The yellowtail bite has been wide-open and they are just about everywhere. It is possibly the best bite I have ever seen in some 30-plus years. Almost all boats are catching limits, a lot over 30 pounds. It is awesome fishing." White seabass were also caught off El Pabellon and Isla San Martin.

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Fresia Garcia of Don Eddie's Landing reported many schools of yellowtail of 14 to 32 pounds around Isla San Martin with limits for all anglers, plus lots of bonito, mostly released. "Bait and squid concentrations are attracting the big fish," Garcia said. "Five boats out of Don Eddie's caught 80 yellowtail and we're not even counting the bonitas." San Quintin weather was at 80 degrees, with ocean swells of 4 to 5 feet and water temperatures at 63 degrees.

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Pete Hillis of Pedro's Pangas said white seabass were showing up for his boats. Capt. Chabba on the charter boat Garron reported 6 white seabass of 35 to 45 pounds on Sunday at Socorro. Capt. Hector took the charter boat Rommy to Isla San Martin and scored 1 white seabass plus 15 yellowtail of 15 to 22 pounds. "There is still great rockcod fishing and all the calico and sandbass you could want," Hillis said, "but we will probably be concentrating on Socorro in the next few days to see if the white seabass hold steady."

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Dominic Chi of Fullerton, Calif., and his family group of 4 anglers including first-timer cousin Tim from Seattle, fished 2 days with Capt. Bear Garcia on the San Quintin charter boat Fany 4, for a catch of 46 yellowtail of 13 to 25 pounds, 7 bonita to 15 pounds, and 3 barracuda. Another 12 yellowtail were lost, Chi said, as they fished in 70 to 80 feet of water at Isla San Martin, on blue-white, blue-chrome, and scrambled egg jigs including the Shimano butterfly jigs. "We got back to the dock by noon the second day," Chi said. "Twenty-eight yellowtail. Tim had an awesome time catching his first yellowtail."

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Paul Lopez, of El Centro, his family, and a group of friends fished on the charter boats Gorron and Coyote out of Pedro's Pangas for a 3-outing catch at Isla San Martin of: 8 yellowtail of 12 to 20 pounds, including a yellowtail landed by Lopez' 7-year-old son Juan Pablo, and lots of big bonito and rockfish. A previous outing on another boat misfired when the captain refused to leave the bay. Lopez said. "They ended up just fishing in the bay and caught some small fish. That's why my friends Fred and Breen switched to the Coyote the second day." YELLOWTAIL AT ISLA SAN MARTIN WITH PEDRO'S PANGAS.

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: For the previous week, Kelly Catian of K&M Offshore Sportfishing reported on an epic session for calico bass at the Sacramento Reef and Isla Geronimo, finding wide-open action for 5 to 7-pound bass, plus some bass to 9 and 9.5 pounds. "We were amazed at the amount of structure," Catian said. "What we found at Sacramento Reef was what we were really looking for, toad calicos crashing through the kelp after our jigs! We had up to 20 fish in trail. We caught and released over 90 calicos. This area is going to be insane for white seabass as soon as it warms up." Water temperatures at the Sacramento Reef were at 58 degrees.

BAJA COASTAL FISHING REPORTS

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BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: Rick Fisher of San Marcos and the Vagabundos del Mar Boat and Travel Club reported on participating in the club's 40th anniversary Sea of Cortez cruise to commemorate the first Midriff crossing made with Ray Cannon, one of the founders of the club and the first Baja editor of Western Outdoor News. Fisher's 24-foot boat overnighted and cruised from Bahia de los Angeles down the Baja coast as far as San Francisquito, while other club members when as far as Loreto. "It was quite an adventure crossing the Sea of Cortez in our little boats," Fisher said. "We put 250 miles on the water and caught 10 different species of fish." VAGBUNDOS DEL MAR 40TH ANNIVERSARY MIDRIFF CRUISE.

BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: Amy Williams of Laguna Niguel, Calif., her husband Ray Williams, and dog, Pup, made a Baja fishing and camping trip to Punta Arena de la Ventana south of La Paz, camping on the beach near the lighthouse and fishing outwards to Isla Cerralvo for a catch including wahoo to 70 pounds and dorado to 50 pounds. "In the 13 years we have made this Baja trip, this was the best weather and the warmest, clearest water by far," Williams said. Punta Arena de la Ventana weather was in the mid-90s, with water temperatures in the low-80s. FISHING AND CAMPING AT PUNTA ARENA DE LA VENTANA.

MAGDALENA BAY FISHING REPORTS

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MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said Magdalena Bay weather was windless in the high-70s, with water temperatures at 61 to 66 degrees and improving fishing action for yellowtail, bonito, barracuda, and skipjack caught 10 to 15 miles outside the Puerto Lopez Mateos boca. In the Magdalena Bay mangrove channels, grouper, corvina, halibut, and spotted bay bass were the best bet, Graham said.

CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORTS

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CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Tommy Garcia of Cabo Magic reported on 115 charter boats, with a catch including released fish of: 36 striped marlin, 1 black marlin, 1 blue marlin 129 yellowfin tuna, 66 dorado, 6 wahoo, 24 roosterfish, 16 sierra, and 8 boats with no luck.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 56 outings by Gaviota Fleet and the Cabo San Lucas charter boats Fish Cabo and Fish Cabo I, with a catch including released fish of: 38 striped marlin, 1 blue marlin, 19 dorado, 3 wahoo, 12 roosterfish, and 17 yellowfin tuna. CABO FISHING REPORT.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Jim Dillon of Salvador's Sportfishing reported on 10 outings by the Cabo San Lucas charter boats El Budster, El Budster I, and El Budster II, with a catch including released fish of: 8 striped marlin, 34 yellowfin tuna of 20 to 30 pounds, and 9 dorado of 20 to 40 pounds.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Jorge Narro of Pisces Fleet reported 60 percent of charters releasing billfish during the week, 20 percent landing yellowfin tuna, 37 percent with dorado, and 86 percent with all species combined. A total of 68 billfish were caught by Pisces boats during the week and 62 of them were released.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: George Landrum of Fly Hooker Sportfishing said Cabo San Lucas sportfishing weather was into the low-100s, with sea surface water temperatures up to 86 degrees on the Cortez side and near 90 degrees up toward East Cape. Warm water blue marlin and black marlin were showing regularly, with good numbers of striped marlin still mixed in. "The key for catching striped marlin has been to get below the warm surface layer," Landrum said. "There were a lot of lazy fish seen on the surface. It paid off to drop a couple of live ones down on top of the bait balls, mostly around 50 to 60 feet. Boats doing this were able of catch 3 or 4 fish a day if they concentrated on it."

SAN JOSE DEL CABO (LOS CABOS) FISHING REPORTS

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SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Eric Brictson of Gordo Banks Pangas reported on 77 combined La Playita fleet charter pangas fishing off San Jose del Cabo, with a catch of: 32 striped marlin, 5 yellowfin tuna, 24 dorado, 16 roosterfish, 64 bonita, 12 hammerhead shark, 15 sierra, 14 amberjack, 8 jack crevalle, 34 yellowtail snapper, 22 barred pargo, 12 cabrilla, and 14 dog snapper. San Jose del Cabo fishing area water temperatures were warming at 82 to 84 degrees, and action for the week included a good flurry of huachinango at the San Luis Bank, and a 230-pound yellowfin tuna landed and a large black marlin lost in the same area. SAN JOSE DEL CABO PANGA FISHING.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Bob Lewis of San Jose del Cabo reported warm, clear water and fishing in the Los Cabos area with his son Austin Lewis "gone crazy" last week. "What a difference a couple of weeks make," Lewis said. A trip to fish at Los Frailes on a panga with Capt. Jose Roberto produced 9 yellowfin tuna of 12 to 18 pounds in 45 minutes. "We were on the beach by 9 a.m., all done with a cooler full of tuna fillets." Another outing out of Cabo San Lucas on Lewis' boat Dos Gueros scored on a bull dorado of 18.5 kilos, in near 85-degree water less than 2 miles out of the Cabo marina, plus marlin seen but not biting. Other fish seen included a large blue marlin, wahoo, tuna, and large huachinango caught by boats yo-yoing at San Jose del Cabo. "Time to get down here and go fishing!" Lewis said.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Species fishing specialist John Snow of San Jose del Cabo reported on 3 surf fishing sessions and 4 panga outings with Capt. Pata of the charter boat Salomé, with a catch of 28 fish species, including 1 new species, a 32-inch fortune jack, and the rarely seen giant sand stargazer. San Jose del Cabo weather was mostly hot and windless, with water temperatures warming into the low-80s.

EAST CAPE FISHING REPORTS

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EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Axel Valdez of Buena Vista Beach Resort reported on 132 East Cape boats, with 402 anglers and a catch including released fish of: 2 blue marlin, 55 striped marlin, 7 sailfish, 91 dorado, 400 yellowfin tuna, 1 wahoo, 4 roosterfish, 1 shark, 27 snapper, 3 jack crevalle, 1 amberjack, 3 bonito, 2 pompano, 62 triggerfish, 4 cabrilla, and 6 skipjack tuna. Most fleet boats fished south from Punta Arena to Meganos Blancos. "The best week for tuna yet," Valdez said. "Anyone looking for tuna this week would have been quite happy."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Bill Burkett of Los Barriles and the boat Fat Cat said 21 boats competed in the annual East Cape Anglers July fishing tournament on July 1, 2006. "Although the bite was far from wide-open, the teams managed to release 18 marlin, 3 dorado, and 1 yellowfin tuna," Burkett said. The winning boats were: first place, Bill Collector, 3 marlin released; second place, Gotcha', 3 marlin released; and third place, Beerman, 2 marlin released.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Tami Gaussoin of Rancho Buena Vista reported on 48 boats, with a catch including released fish of: 43 striped marlin, 4 sailfish, 33 dorado, 10 roosterfish, 136 yellowfin tuna, 58 jack crevalle, 10 pargo, and 10 shark.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: At Martin Verdugo's Beach Resort, Marisol Verdugo said all boats were busy during the week, and they had excellent action for yellowfin tuna in good numbers and sizes. Dorado fishing was only fair, but some striped marlin and blue marlin were caught off La Ribera.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: John Ireland of Rancho Leonero reported very warm water temperatures to 88 degrees and fishing close in for striped marlin just a couple of miles out. "We even had a marlin hookup this week at the Rancho Leonero mooring buoys," Ireland said. "Huge schools of bait are holding the billfish within 2 to 3 miles off East Cape beaches." Inshore fishing was good on beaches from La Ribera to Las Barracas for roosterfish, jacks, and pompano, and tuna continued to be caught 20 to 25 miles off Cabo Pulmo. East Cape fishing area weather was mostly calm in the mid-90s. GOOD EAST CAPE FISHING IN WARM WATER.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said East Cape beach fishing was mostly for ladyfish, pompano, and a few pargo. "There is plenty of both sardina and mullet bait tight to the beach from Scott Glenn's house all the way to Bartle Beach," Graham said. "We're still seeing some roosterfish, but they seemed to have lockjaw this week." East Cape sportfishing area weather was clear in the high-90s, with water temperatures of 74 to 85 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Russ Fritz of La Ribera reported very warm 88-degree water temperatures and good close-in fishing found during a couple of outings by his panga Soplado. "I still don't have the big boat in the water, as the fish are sooooo close," Fritz said. "The panga is so easy to use and way cheaper on gas." On a run to an area about 13 miles off the Punta Arena lighthouse, Fritz' daughter-in-law Sonya landed a dorado that bottomed out a 50-pound scale. The dorado were mixed with marlin under a huge sea turtle. "The lazy striped marlin got beat to each bait by the dorado," Fritz said. "There are large squid everywhere, dead ones even washing up on the beach. They baited 9 marlin, who were too full of squid to eat a sardine." Another run in 88.5-degree water by the Soplado produced 2 yellowfin tuna plus a first-ever striped marlin off Cabo Pulmo for Barry Robinson of St. Lucie, Fla.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Eddie Dalmau of Van Wormer Resorts reported on 993 anglers, with a catch including released fish of: 10 blue marlin, 320 striped marlin, 15 sailfish, 1,461 yellowfin tuna, 172 dorado, 63 roosterfish, 48 pargo, and 68 cabrilla.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Ash Pickering of the Vista Sea Sport dive service at Buena Vista said visibility at the Cabo Pulmo coral reef marine park varied from 30 to 80 feet last week, with a water temperature at the surface of 83 degrees and a thermocline at 35 feet giving a water temperature of 75 degrees on the bottom. Sea life sightings in the park included mating moray eels, snappers, grunts, goatfish, rays, barracudas, porkfish, and some tiger shark, bull shark, and whitetip shark.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Paul Oldaker of Steamboat Springs, Colo., said he saw the catching of a fish at East Cape similar to the unusual marlin reported by Chip Shapley the previous week, with a long bill similar to a striped marlin's and a dorsal fin that is higher and longer than a marlin's but lower than a sailfish's. "In 2000 I was aboard the super panga Mosca I with Capt. Juan Garcia, Buenavista," Oldaker said. "Mike Croft caught a similar but bigger fish. He sent a photo in to Sportfishing Magazine's Fish Facts column. They said 'striped marlin' since it was caught in the Pacific, but coined the term spearmarlin. I do not think it was a striped marlin. It was something different."

LA PAZ FISHING REPORTS

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LA PAZ, MEXICO: Jonathan Roldan of Tailhunter International reported hot, humid weather and warm water fish showing up including big blue and black marlin. "Blue and black marlin have come to prowl, with a number of hookups on surprised anglers who thought they were fishing light tackle for dorado only to find themselves suddenly hooked to 500-pound billfish," Roldan said. Dorado were also very active on the La Paz side from El Bajo to the north end of Isla Cerralvo, with many fish in the 30 to 50-pound class hooked on sargassum weed lines. On the Las Arenas side, yellowfin tuna were mixed with dorado, marlin, roosterfish, and both mullet snapper and dog snapper in the rocks.

LA PAZ, MEXICO: David Gassman of Truckee, Calif., reported slow offshore and inshore fishing for 4 days out of the Las Arenas side last week, finding a few roosterfish on trolled baits, a couple of 20-pound class yellowfin tuna, and a few dorado to 12 pounds. Other boats in Gassman's group had a good overall week, he said, landing tuna, dorado to 45 pounds, sailfish, striped marlin, pargo, mullet snapper, African pompano, and jack crevalle. LAS ARENAS SIDE PANGA FISHING.

BAJA PIRATES' CATCH (Right)--Derek Simpson, shown at the Pichilingue marina, and fishing partner Dave DePasquale fished on the La Paz side with Baja Pirates Fleet and got into a hot bite on dorado into the 50-pound class plus wahoo to 70 pounds. PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVE DEPASQUALE.

LA PAZ, MEXICO: Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing said summer air temperatures were at 95 degrees on the Las Arenas side of La Paz last week, with calm seas, and fewer large dorado seen, but more dorado in the 12 to 15-pound class. Overall fishing action was slower and the best catches were made around Boca del Alamo and out at Isla Cerralvo were dorado, marlin, roosterfish, and sardina baits were found. Some days, sailfish and yellowfin tuna were also seen. Water temperatures in the main fishing areas were at 84 to 86 degrees.

LA PAZ, MEXICO: David Lester of Temecula, Calif., reported on 4 days of fishing by his Pez Gringos group on both the La Paz and Las Arenas sides with Tailhunter International, for some marlin action exceptionally close to shore and very good fishing for dorado. "Jonathan Roldan runs a great operation," Lester said. "On the Las Arenas side, we found many schools of marlin literally on the beach. Two-hundred yards off shore near Punta Perico we had 8 marlin show up behind the boat. The sardinas tossed overboard were immediately gulped up like freshwater bass pushing shad. I have never seen anything like it." The Pez Gringos also scored on 34 dorado of 10 to 22 pounds, plus an estimated 77-pound roosterfish caught by Joe Bishop, and a "miracle" 1-for-8 pargo of 44 pounds pulled from the rocks by Lester. GOOD LA PAZ FISHING WITH TAILHUNTER INTERNATIONAL.

PEZ GRINGOS ACTION (right)--Lenny Salazar of the "Pez Gringos" group fished on the Las Arenas side south of La Paz with Tailhunter International and hit a variety of fish including this nice dorado and football tuna. PHOTO COURTESY OF JONATHAN ROLDAN.

LA PAZ, MEXICO: Leonard Phillips of Baja Pirates Fleet said "dorado fishing has been fantastic" on the La Paz side. Boats fishing mostly around Punta Coyote scored on bull dorado over 40 pounds plus a 50-pound class dorado landed by Calvin Mays. Other top catches included a 70-pound class wahoo by Joel Lucas and other big dorado by anglers Derek Simpson and Dave DePasquale. La Paz side weather was mostly calm in the mid-90s, with water temperatures in the high-70s.

LA PAZ, MEXICO: David DePasquale of Victorville, Calif., and Derek Simpson fished on the La Paz side with Capt. Ibon of Baja Pirates Fleet and DePasquale said, "We nailed the dorado!" DePasquale said they fished at Isla Espiritu Santo and were into the action almost immediately. "With a light breeze on the water we headed straight for the Island," he said. "It wasn't more than 10 minutes before we saw birds hitting the water and the bite was on! We had plenty of double hookups and schools of dorado in the 10 to 25-pound range were all over the boat. I have lived in Hawaii for 8 years and never had as much solid action on dorado."

SANTA ROSALIA FISHING REPORTS

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SANTA ROSALIA, MEXICO: Syd Lindsay of San Lucas Cove reported "slim pickin's" on angler visits to the Santa Rosalia area last week, but inshore and yellowtail action steady for boats still fishing. "We have only 6 fishermen and 2 boats here in camp," Lindsay said. "My friend Dave Clark from Oregon caught a 37-pound gulf grouper and a nice yellowtail on the 110 bajo and the other boat caught yellowtail on the 240 bajo." Dorado were also caught north of Isla San Marcos. Lindsay also noted that the Santa Rosalia Pemex station was pumping with 2 new pumps brought from the new station still under construction. "The bottom line is the new pumps are right on the mark and are supposed to be tamper proof," Lindsay said. "There are still some short lines, but at least things are better now."

BAHIA DE LOS ANGELES (L.A. BAY) FISHING REPORTS

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BAHIA DE LOS ANGELES, MEXICO: Barry Webber of Valencia, Calif., flew into Punta San Francisquito with Don Tschirhart and they fished 2 days on a panga with Capt. Juan for a catch of: 9 yellowtail of 15 to 40 pounds, 1 sheephead, 3 cabrilla, and unlimited large Humboldt squid. Webber said San Francisquito weather was very hot and humid, 92 degrees at 7 a.m., and so humid that he had to clear the windshield of dew for the flight out. The resort cabañas and airstrip were in normal operation, but many bees were present. FLY-IN TRIP TO SAN FRANCISQUITO.

FLY-DOWN FORKIES (Right)--Don Tschirhart, left, and Barry Weber flew down to Punta San Francisquito south of Bahia de los Angeles and they got into a big catch of Midriff yellowtail plus unlimited Humboldt squid while fishing with Capt. Juan out of the resort. PHOTO COURTESY OF BARRY WEBBER.

BAHIA DE LOS ANGELES, MEXICO: Peter Lamy of Garden Grove and his 25-angler "King of the Cage" group fished 3 days on 8 pangas and 3 private boats at Bahia de los Angeles for good yellowtail and mixed species action. "The guys found a good steady pick at the fish," Lamy said. "The only problem was the big squid that would move in and attack the jigs." Overall, the group's 25 anglers averaged about 150 yellowtail and 100 bottom fish per day at Smith Island, Coronadito, and out at Isla Angel de la Guarda. GOOD BAHIA DE LOS ANGELES YELLOWTAIL TRIP.

BAHIA DE LOS ANGELES, MEXICO: Ed Duitsman of Hinkley, Calif., reported on run to Bahia de los Angeles with his 23-foot boat Daycare, launching at Guillermo's for 10 days on the boat with his sons, John, 13, Brian, 9, and Cory, 5. Fishing was good for yellowtail, including one session that produced 22 fish in 2 hours. "I've been fishing this area for 20 years and this trip was as good as ever!" Duitsman said. "We caught yellowtail every day between 5 and 35 pounds. Slow trolling live mackerel and watching for birds and then casting blue-and-white iron at the boils was a sure thing. The highlight for me was watching these kids fight 30-plus pound yellowtail. I got a lot of it on video!" Bahia de los Angeles fishing area water temperatures were at 65 degrees at Isla Angel de la Guarda, and 70 degrees at Smith Island. Species observed or caught during Duitsman's trip included: whales, dolphins, seals, yellowtail, cabrilla, bass, bonita, triggerfish, sculpin, halibut, stingrays, pufferfish, mackerel, flying fish, parrotfish, clownfish, lizardfish, white seabass, croaker, perch, telephonefish, grouper, golden grouper, giant squid, jellyfish and many other fish or creatures that could not be identified.

SAN FELIPE FISHING REPORTS

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SAN FELIPE, MEXICO: Andrea Velez of Baja Sportfishing, Inc., reported on Midriff Islands trips by the panga motherships Erik and Andrea Lynn, returning to San Felipe on June 29, 2006, with a catch of: Erik: 26 anglers; 289 yellowtail; 138 cabrilla; 83 pargo; and 354 miscellaneous fish. Andrea Lynn: 29 anglers; 343 yellowtail; 210 cabrilla; 92 pargo; 6 white seabass; 1 grouper of 62 pounds; and 480 miscellaneous fish. The 125-foot Andrea Lynn, on its maiden voyage with the Velez fleet, departed from Rocky Point and fished at Ensenada Grande, San Luis Gonzaga, Salva Tierra, and the Golden Reef.

SAN FELIPE, MEXICO: Kil Song of New Jersey reported on a Midriff Islands trip with 20 East Coast anglers on the panga mothership Erik, returning to San Felipe on June 23, 2006, and boarding a charter bus for their trip back to San Diego. Song said the group caught quality yellowtail and a highlight of the trip for him was in trying Japanese-style knife jigs and jigging techniques on Baja fish, even though the knife jigs proved to be less productive than the Salas 6X Jr. and Diamond Jigs usually used. "I tried some Japanese knife jigs but I switched over to other small jigs as other guys got hit on Salas 6X Jr. or Diamond jigs and I didn't," Song said. "One of the most interesting observations of the trip is how Louis, my guide, jigged. He cranked as fast as he could while moving the rod up and down very rapidly with his left hand. That is exactly how Japanese guys make short jerk jigging." MIDRIFF JIGGING TRIP ON THE MOTHERSHIP ERIK.

FORTY YEARS OF MOTHERSHIPS (Right)--Tony Guillian, a 40-year veteran of San Felipe panga mothership fishing, takes a break during a trip by the Tony Reyes Fishing Tours boat Jose Andres. Guillian's many wild and humorous stories about fishing the motherships in the old Baja days includes an airplane flight with Tony Reyes to La Paz. The landing gear had a flat tire in the air, Guillian says, and Tony climbed out and reinflated the tire while they were still flying so they could make a safe landing. PHOTO COURTESY OF KAT HAMMONTRE.

SAN CARLOS (SONORA) FISHING REPORTS

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SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: Bill Molden of San Carlos reported dorado "spread out in all quadrants" last week. "Dorado are schooled up for the most part and are still very small," Molden said. "There have been reports of spotty yellowfin tuna action, but they are few and far between and of the football variety." Billfish were also scattered and elusive. San Carlos weather was hot and muggy, with good sea conditions and water temperatures at 85 to 86 degrees.

SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: Steve Calvert of Catch-22 Sportfishing said his boats reported dorado caught about 8 miles out of San Carlos on a heading of 180 degrees. "The size is still small to medium, but improving," Calvert said. "Lots of fun on light tackle and flyrods." Good numbers of billfish were in the area but not biting, with only 1 sailfish released in 2 days of fishing. Earlier, the charter boat Catch-22 Pez Vela reported football tuna 28 miles out on a heading of 210 degrees.

MAZATLAN FISHING REPORTS

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MAZATLAN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported unlimited dorado limits for all boats targeting them at Mazatlan last week. "We had another easy limit dorado fishing week," Edwards said. "The dorado were concentrated heavily at the shark buoys 18 miles out. This is truly fun fishing at it's best and you can catch and release dorado all day long." Thirty-four offshore outings by Aries Fleet produced a catch including released fish of: 2 blue marlin, 23 striped marlin, 12 sailfish, 24 yellowfin tuna, and dorado limits. Sixteen inshore super pangas had a catch including released fish of: 5 roosterfish, and dorado limits. Mazatlan weather was mostly calm in the low-90s, with stable water temperatures at 87 degrees. UNLIMITED DORADO AT MAZATLAN.

PUERTO VALLARTA FISHING REPORTS

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PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Danny Osuna of Marla's Sportfishing said his Puerto Vallarta charter boat Marla II landed a 220-pound yellowfin tuna for angler Tony Barulich, fishing in 88-degree water at Roca Corbeteña. Abundant black skipjack baits were in the area and were very easy to catch. "You can make all the skipjack baits you need in seconds," Osuna said. "These fish are nailing the skippies really good." Other catches during the week included blue marlin and black marlin into the 400-pound class, dorado, rainbow runner, and many pargos. "Capt. Scott Osuna from the Marla III also did really well this week," Osuna said. "We figure next week is going to be excellent for the big boys at Puerto Vallarta." COW TUNA FOR MARLA'S AT ROCA CORBETENA.

PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Capt. Manny Ocaranza of Puerto Vallarta reported on the first outing by his new boat, the Pacifico, running out to El Banco and scoring on 5 yellowfin tuna of 50 to 124 pounds. The Pacifico was in great shape after a cruise south from San Diego, Ocaranza said, and carries a certified Scalemaster II scale. During the Pacifico's first outing another big fish was broken off after 90 minutes on 80-pound line. "The moral of that story is if your gear can't get the fish in the boat in 90 minutes, then your gear isn't big enough," Ocaranza said. Info: 310-755-8135, Manny@FishPacifico.com. NEW PUERTO VALLARTA BOAT.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO FISHING REPORTS

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IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Stan Lushinsky of Ixtapa Sportfishing Charters reported on 10 inshore and offshore outings by the Ixtapa Zihuatanejo charter boats Dos Hermanos, Dos Hermanos II, Gran Jefe, La Bamba, and Ilusion, with a catch including released fish of: 14 sailfish, 13 chula, 40 bonito, 6 roosterfish, 7 jacks, and several rainbow runner. Ixtapa fishing area weather was improved and both offshore and inshore fishing action picked up during the week. Ixtapa Zihuatanejo weather was calm in the high-90s. The best offshore fishing was at 10 to 15 miles out.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Ed Kunze, reporting for Baja On The Fly, said offshore water temperatures averaged a very warm 88 degrees last week. "This has kept the tuna and marlin out of here," Kunze said, "but is very favorable for the sailfish. Dorado, even though they have yet to show, also like these warmer water temperatures." Capt. Adolpho of the charter panga Dos Hermanos reported outstanding roosterfish action for about 6 roosterfish per day of 30 to 45 pounds. "His best day was 8 roosterfish," Kunze said. "He caught them about 14 miles north of Zihuatanejo, along the Pantla beach area." Ixtapa Zihuatanejo sportfishing area weather was in the mid-80s with some thunderstorm activity and water temperatures of 78 to 84 degrees. About 15 boats per day were fishing.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Kunze also noted that large yellowfin tuna are probably present farther out. "We have a great tuna fishery here, but nobody takes advantage of it," he said. "Right now, the tuna are probably at 50 miles and no one will travel that far. One of the main problems is our lack of live bait. If we had a volume of live bait, other than our 6 to 8-inch goggle eyes, that could fill a live well and be used for chum, the fishing would be outstanding. It only takes about two-dozen goggle eyes to fill a small live well on a panga, and that is used for hook bait only. Nothing is used for chum. I have tried chunking with cut-up skipjack, but the tuna schools are under the porpoise and moving fast. It takes a scoop or two sardines or anchovies to get their attention..

CANCUN FISHING REPORTS

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CANCUN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on the El Cid Caribe Fleet at Puerto Morelos near Cancun, with 10 boats fishing during the week and a catch including released fish of: 2 blue marlin, 1 white marlin, 1 sailfish, 5 dorado, 9 barracuda, and 1 grouper. Cancun fishing area weather was hot and humid in the low-90s, with water temperatures stable at 83 to 84 degrees. BLUE AND WHITE MARLIN FOR EL CID CARIBE FLEET.

Loreto Photo 1

BIG ONES TOO--Dorado of all sizes showed up in Loreto's hot bite last week and angler Mr. Aguillard hooked this hefty bull about 8 miles east of Isla Coronado with the Hotel Oasis' Capt. Francisco Martinez. PHOTO COURTESY OF PATTY ZAPATA.

Loreto Photo 2

STAR QUALITY--Bill Erhardt's daughter Catherine Erhardt with a starfish found by the Juncalito rock while snorkeling after a morning of fishing for dorado and marlin out of Loreto. Photo courtesy of Bill Erhardt.

Ensenada Fishing Photo 1

YELLOW AND WHITE--Jay Johnson, right, fished on a Vonny's Fleet panga with Capt. Beto Zamora and lucked out with a nice white seabass, plus a yellowtail and limits of calico bass and lingcod. PHOTO COURTESY OF IVAN VILLARINO.

Castro's Camp Fishing Photo 1 Castro's Camp Fishing Photo 2

CASTRO'S SUMMER FISHING--Showing off some quality bonito and the first white seabass of the season for Castro's Camp boats fishing at Erendira south of Ensenada are, from left, Luigi Moreno of El Monte, and Dean and Alan Reade of Fallbrook. They fished on the Castro's Camp boat Doña Ramona with Capt. Oscar Barrios. The 25.7-pound white seabass was caught by Alan Reede while fishing about 120 feet deep. PHOTO COURTESY OF FERNANDO CASTRO.

BIG CASTRO'S FLATTIE (Right)--Chris Kugel, left, Capt. Ubaldo, and a fillet helper, with a nice catch of bottom fish out of Castro's Camp at Erendira, including Kugel's 30-pound halibut caught about 125 to 140 feet deep. The action for the day also included the sighting of a rare leatherback sea turtle. PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS KUGEL.

San Quintin Fishing Photo 1 San Quintin Fishing Photo 2

FORKIE HEAVEN--Dominic Chi's group got into San Quintin's red-hot yellowtail run with Capt. Bear on the charter boat Fany 4 and they bagged a haul of 46 yellowtail in 2 days. PHOTO COURTESY OF DOMINIC CHI.

CALICO BASS ATTACK! (Right)--Kelly Catian of K&M Offshore Sportfishing at San Quintin with a real nice calico bass, one of over 90 caught during a wild bite at the Sacramento Reef in water at about 58 degrees. PHOTO COURTESY OF KELLY CATIAN.

San Quintin Fishing Photo 3

SORE YELLOWTAIL ARMS!--Seven-year-old Juan Pablo Lopez of El Centro, Calif., fished at San Quintin with his father Paul Lopez, and Juan Pablo landed this yellowtail at Isla San Martin. Said dad, "I held the rod a few times so he could shake out his arms and hands but he did 99 percent of the work. He is turning into the A-1 angler his dad once was." PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL LOPEZ.

Punta Arena de la Ventana Fishing Photo 1

SOUTH SIDE SKINNY--Ray Williams and his group camped and fished out of Punta Arena de la Ventana south of La Paz and their catch out towards Isla Cerralvo included dorado to 50 pounds and this 70-pound wahoo caught by Williams on Mike McClune's boat the Oso Loco. At right, the Williams' camp at Punta Arena de la Ventana with their adopted Mexican dog, Pup. PHOTOS COURTESY AMY WILLIAMS.

Midriff Islands Fishing Photo 1

REMOTE ISLANDS FORKIES--Rick Fisher and Bob Kenniston with some Isla Partida yellowtail during their small boat cruise in the Sea of Cortez Midriff Area with the Vagabundos del Mar Boat & Travel Club. At right, their 24-foot boat AlleyJack at Isla Partida. PHOTOS COURTESY OF RICK FISHER.

Cabo San Lucas Fishing Photo 1

FOOTBALL MAGIC--Whitney Winkler of Monroe, La., shows off a football tuna that accompanied 3 striped marlin released during an outing on the Cabo San Lucas charter boat Cabo Magic with her dad Scott and brother Devin last week. PHOTO COURTESY OF LORI GARCIA.

Los Cabos Fishing Photo 1

LOS CABOS ACTION--Bob Lewis of San Jose del Cabo and his son Austin Lewis fished from Los Frailes to Cabo San Lucas last week and found good action for yellowfin tuna and this nice 18.5-kilo dorado caught in 85-degree water about 2 miles out of the Cabo marina. PHOTO COURTESY OF BOB LEWIS.

East Cape Fishing Photo 1

SONYA GOT A BIGGIE--Russ Fritz's son, Dan, right, and daughter-in-law Sonya fished on Fritz's panga Soplado out of East Cape's La Ribera, and Sonya hooked this massive dorado about 13 miles east of the Punta Arena lighthouse. It bottomed out a 50-pound scale. PHOTO COURTESY OF RUSS FRITZ.

East Cape Diving Photo 1

NEW EAST CAPE DIVERS--Student divers being certified by Vista Sea Sport at East Cape make a safety stop at the Cabo Pulmo coral reef marine park last week. PHOTO COURTESY OF ASH PICKERING.

East Cape Fishing Photo 2

EAST CAPE TUNA TIME--Anglers, from left, Charlie Lewis, Donald Jackson, and Richard Dailey made their annual East Cape trip and and got into the big tuna bite this year on the charter boat Yanet out of Buena Vista Beach Resort. PHOTO COURTESY OF AXEL VALDEZ.

La Paz Fishing Photo 1 La Paz Fishing Photo 2

LA PAZ BULL--Tortuga Sportfishing's Capt. Jorge Lucero, left, with a nice bull dorado caught on the Las Arenas side of La Paz for angler Matthew Holden. PHOTO COURTESY OF GERARDO HERNANDEZ.

La Paz Fishing Photo 3 La Paz Fishing Photo 4

ROOSTERS AT LAS ARENAS--Fishermen's Fleet's Capt. Enrique Lucero with a nice roosterfish caught by Pat Kralj, right, of Lafayette, Calif., while fishing the Las Arenas side south of La Paz. PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID GASSMAN.

La Paz Fishing Photo 5

PEZ GRINGOS--David Lester's "Pez Gringos" group fished on both sides of the hill at La Paz with Tailhunter International and found great action for dorado and striped marlin very close to shore. Said Lester, "Two-hundred yards off shore near Punta Perico we had 8 marlin show up behind the boat." PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID LESTER.

San Francisquito Fishing Photo 1

YELLOWTAIL COUNTRY--Brant Crenshaw's boat Redneck rests in calm waters full of yellowtail and squid at Punta San Francisquito, south of Bahia de los Angeles in the Sea of Cortez Midriff Area. Shown in this photo looking north is the Punta San Francisquito resort, landing strip, and the anchorage at Caleta San Francisquito on the north side of the point. PHOTO COURTESY OF ROGER CRENSHAW.

Bahia de las Angeles Fishing Photo 1

QUALITY L.A. BAY YELLOWS--Mike Brown of Temecula fished at Bahia de los Angeles with Peter Lamy's 25-angler "King of the Cage" group and he hooked this 40-pound class yellowtail with a slow-trolled live mackerel. Their group averaged about 150 yellowtail per day plus bottom fish. PHOTO COURTESY OF PETER LAMY.

Bahia de las Angeles Fishing Photo 3

BOYS AT THE BAY--Dad Ed Duitsman and his three sons, John, 13, Brian, 9, Cory, 5, loaded up on yellowtail and memories during a 10-day cruise out of Bahia de los Angeles on Duitsman's 24-foot boat Daycare. During one hot session they scored 22 yellowtail in 2 hours. PHOTO COURTESY OF ED DUITSMAN.

San Felipe Fishing Photo 1 San Felipe Fishing Photo 2

SCARY SQUID SIGHT!--A Humboldt squid comes out of the water as it attacks a Braid Slammer jig during Kil Song's Midriff Islands trip aboard the San Felipe panga mothership Erik. At right, Song takes a good ink hit, but subdues this Humboldt squid. PHOTOS COURTESY OF KIL SONG.

San Felipe Fishing Photo 3 San Felipe Fishing Photo 4

DON'T LOOK UP!--The top of Tom Watson's head proves to be a temporarily comfortable perch for a Midriff Islands booby during a fishing trip aboard the Tony Reyes Fishing Tours San Felipe panga mothership Jose Andres. PHOTO COURTESY OF KAT HAMMONTRE.

Puerto Vallarta Fishing Photo 1

CORBETENA COW--Tony Barulich of California fished at Puerto Vallarta's Roca Corbeteña with Capt. Danny Osuna on the charter boat Marla II and landed this 220-pound yellowfin tuna on a skipjack bait. Puerto Vallarta seas were flat at 88 degrees. PHOTO COURTESY OF DANNY OSUNA.

PACIFICO AT VALLARTA (right)--Capt. Manny Ocaranza's new charter boat Pacifico scored three nice yellowfin tuna to 122 pounds on its maiden voyage out of Puerto Vallarta. Info: 310-755-8135, Manny@FishPacifico.com. PHOTO COURTESY OF MANNY OCARANZA.

Baja Fishing Photo 1

BEAUTIFUL BAJA--Tim O'Brien of the Bluefish Bed & Breakfast at Harwich Center, Cape Cod, Mass., caught this beautiful Baja moment while camping and fishing at San Lucas Cove just south of Santa Rosalia. PHOTO COURTESY OF TIM O'BRIEN.

BAJA MEXICO FISHING REPORT ARCHIVES AND FISH PICTURES