Yellowtail go big in Loreto sportfishing area;

Mixed marlin for Ixtapa boats

Mexico Fishing News, March 19, 2007

LORETO FISHING REPORTS

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LORETO, MEXICO: Bill Sumner of Las Vegas, Nev., reported on 4 days of fishing during the week with Ron Spencer of Temecula, Calif., and Capt. Ismael Murillo out of Loreto's Hotel Oasis for very good yellowtail action topped by 17 forkies on Wednesday and another 15 on Thursday, all in the 25 to 30-pound bracket.

"The fish were either released or given to Captain Ismael for his family," Sumner said. "It was an all-time personal best for both of us." The best bite was on live bait at the San Bruno bajo north of Loreto. "We counted about 15 boats in the area with about one-third locals and two-thirds gringo fishermen," Sumner said. "Surprisingly, not one yellowtail the whole trip was caught on iron, and it was not for lack of trying." BIG SPRING YELLOWTAIL GO OFF NORTH OF TOWN.

LORETO, MEXICO: Don Bear of Loreto reported results by Mexican commercial fishermen including Capt. Paulino Martinez, whose boat landed 30 yellowtail averaging about 30 pounds on flylined baits at San Bruno on Tuesday. On Thursday, Martinez fished alone at Isla Coronado for 5 yellowtail including 2 fish of 10 and 15 pounds plus 3 large ones, 5 cabrilla, 2 sierra, and 2 yellow snapper, all on trolled plugs. On Thursday, Martinez fished with sportfishing clients at San Bruno for 7 yellowtail of about 30 pounds, plus about 7 more lost, all on flylined bait. "Paulino said there must have been about 30 pangas spread out over the whole area, and all of them seemed to be catching fish," Bear said. Loreto fishing area weather was calm for the week at about 90 degrees.

LORETO, MEXICO: Patty Zapata of the Hotel Oasis said Loreto had excellent weather during the week and 8 pangas fished for good counts on yellowtail averaging about 24 pounds at the San Bruno reef. Fishing with Loreto Capts. Antonio Davis Castro, Abraham Fernández, Alfonso Susarrey, Ismael Murillo, Martín Perpuli, Servando Davis, Francisco "Chopy" Davis Murillo, and Francisco "Peludo" Martínez Castro were anglers: Mary Ann Altaffer, Burton and Steve Reist, Mike Briant, Nagel Scott, Nathan December, Mike Albuder, Dave Supple, James and David Matsburo, Mark Andermans, Bemarin Reist, and Michael Draper.

LORETO, MEXICO: Pam Bolles of Loreto's Baja Big Fish Company said, "We've had 9 glorious wind-free days with flat seas. Expect the good weather to last through the weekend. Since the winds have laid down we've been going further north. The larger yellowtail are preferring live mackerel, caballitos, or platano baits. We've been jigging for our own baits just off Isla Coronado. Along the shore lines and in the reefs expect to catch pargo, cabrilla, barracuda, and all kinds of jacks. There is no great roosterfish bite yet. The sierra mackerel this year are very numerous." Loreto water temperatures were at 65 to 70 degrees.

In other mainland Mexico and Baja fishing action this week:

ENSENADA FISHING REPORTS

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ENSENADA, MEXICO: Ivan Villarino of Vonny's Fleet reported a return of yellowtail to the fish counts for his beach launched pangas fishing at the tip of Ensenada's Punta Banda. Anglers John Stenmo, Natalie Freidberg and Julia Knoke fished with Capt. Beto on the charter panga Vonny I for 8 yellowtail on Friday, and Frank Huerta and his group caught 2 yellowtail plus bottom fish limits with Capt. Hector on the Vonny III. "This week we had good calm seas," Villarino said. "It was still bit a cool in the morning, but fishing was good." Ensenada fishing area weather over the weekend was partly cloudy and foggy in the low-60s, with 2 to 3-foot ocean swells, and the water temperature at 59 degrees.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Steve Ross of the boat Bad Dog at Ensenada's Marina Coral reported slow bottom fish action on Tuesday, but a big catch of about 30 Humboldt giant squid by his group. "It was nonstop squid action," Ross said. "The squid were about 40 pounds average with one at about 45 pounds. At one point the squid were metered from 9 feet under the Bad Dog to the ocean floor." BIG HUMBOLDT SQUID BITE.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Judy Ostberg of the boat Melody at Maria Coral said the boat was back in the water after a month of work at Baja Naval. The Melody fished out of Ensenada on Thursday for limits of salmon grouper and whitefish, plus a few quality red rockcod to 7 pounds at the Banda Bank. Ensenada fishing weather was flat calm with the water temperature at 59 degrees. "Beautiful day on the water," Ostberg said.

PUERTO SANTO TOMAS FISHING REPORTS

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PUERTO SANTO TOMAS, MEXICO: Dennis Spike of Coastal Kayak Fishing reported on a trip to Puerto Santo Tomas Resort with 15 kayak anglers fishing in wind 2 days for good results on lingcod, red rockcod, and calico bass. "Saturday's big fish was a 10-pound lingcod for Richard Bloem of West Covina," Spike said. Recent improvements at Puerto Santo Tomas Resort included a new launch ramp in operation on the south side of the point. "Pangas can now be launched at any tide and private boats 20 to 28 feet can be launched on the medium and high tides," Spike said. "The improvements at the resort are remarkable." KAYAK FISHING AND NEW RAMP AT PUERTO SANTO TOMAS RESORT.

ERENDIRA FISHING REPORTS

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ERENDIRA, MEXICO: Mike Steele of San Diego and his group made a Baja run to Castro's Camp at Erendira and fished with Capt. Euwaldo for limits of red rockcod, salmon grouper, lingcod, and mixed bottom species, plus some bonito on big surface boils. "We had enough fish by 1 p.m. and headed back to the barn," Steele said. "By the time we had our truck packed the fish were all filleted and cleaned and ready for ice. Now I remember why I keep going back there." EASY BAJA FISHING RUN TO CASTRO'S CAMP.

ERENDIRA, MEXICO: Fernando Castro of Castro's Camp reported 20 boats fishing off Erendira during the week, with catches including lots of large red rockcod, lingcod, mixed bottom species, and some barracuda. Erendira weather was very good during the week with light breezes from the northeast, very clean water in the main fishing area 7 miles from the coast, and the water temperature at 55 degrees.

SAN QUINTIN FISHING REPORTS

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SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Pete Hillis of San Quintin's Pedro's Pangas said winds and cold weather kept most boats off the water at the end of the week. "Out of all the landings, we only saw 4 boats launched all weekend," Hillis said. Boats that did fish reported limits of rockcod and a few lingcod.

BAJA COASTAL FISHING REPORTS

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BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: Syd Lindsay of San Lucas Cove said Baja Highway Mex 1 improvements included the new gas station open at Santa Rosalia. "I finally made it to the new Pemex gas station north of Santa Rosalia and everything looks good there, with a little store and new bathrooms," Lindsay said. "We are still waiting for the station at the Santa Rosalia marina to open. There is lots of road work being done between Santa Rosalia and Loreto with some open ditches in the vados. Drivers should be extra careful in these areas."

MAGDALENA BAY FISHING REPORTS

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MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said Charles Kittrell of Carmel, Calif., and his nephew loaded up with double-digit grouper, corvina, and spotted bay bass at the Puerto Lopez Mateos estero last week. At San Carlos, the whale watching panga fleet was working the entrada where some firecracker yellowtail and bonito were also caught under birds. Few boats fished offshore. Magdalena Bay fishing area weather was clear at 90 degrees, with the water temperature at 65 to 72 degrees.

CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORTS

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CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Mike Connolly of the Cabo San Lucas charter boat Falcon said striped marlin action was just so-so for boats that fished on the Pacific side last week. "It was a good day if you released 1 marlin, real good if you got 2," Connolly said. "The best bite seemed to alternate from the Golden Gate Bank to the Jaime Bank, perhaps due to fishing pressure. Some boats may look to the Cortez side soon." Top outings included the boat Valerie with 4 marlin at the Golden Gate Bank, the Bottom Line with 5 at the Gordo Banks, and the Falcon with a 300-pound class blue marlin lost about a mile outside the Jaime Bank. "It jumped 7 times and was heading toward the boat, like they sometimes do, when it tossed the jig," Connolly said. "They tend to get your full attention when they do that."

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Tracy Ehrenberg of Pisces Fleet said 58 percent of fleet boats released striped marlin for the week, and 80 percent landed all species combined. "These are good numbers, although in Cabo we are used to outstanding fishing year-round," Ehrenberg said. "Fishing is very good for this time of year. We have not experienced the March doldrums." Ehrenberg noted that the Mexican fisheries department has declared support for a noncommercial status for marlin. "If approved this will mean it will become illegal in Mexico to sell marlin even if caught 'incidentally,'" Ehrenberg said. LATE WINTER MARLIN FISHING AT THE TIP OF BAJA.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Grant Hartman of Baja Anglers reported warmer weather and an improvement in light tackle inshore fishing around Cabo San Lucas last week. "We are starting to catch cubera snappers in the surf," Hartman said. "The snapper fishing will only get better, as April, May and June are the prime months for cubera, mangrove, mutton, and colorado snappers. We are also catching smaller roosterfish on flies and spin gear, mostly less than 15 pounds. They are spread out all over the place, taking both live bait and flies well." Sierra were also in a good inshore bite, and some jack crevalle to over 30 pounds, yellowtail, African pompano, and ladyfish were caught. Cabo San Lucas fishing water temperatures averaged about 70 degrees.

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: 4 striped marlin, 5 yellowfin tuna of 25 to 35 pounds, and 6 dorado of 20 to 30 pounds.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Ramon Druck of the Cabo San Lucas charter sportfishing super panga Cheer's reported on 5 outings during the week, fishing locally and out to about 5 miles on both the Pacific and Sea of Cortez sides with a total of 10 anglers, for a catch including released fish of: 43 sierra to 12 pounds, 6 roosterfish to 6 pounds, and 3 skipjack. Anglers fishing aboard the Cheer's included Bruce Fox, Joan Fox, Al Domenis, Mario Domenis, John Jessup, Erwin Matulka, and Darrin Uden. Cabo San Lucas fishing weather on the Pacific side had some wind and clouds, with water temperatures of about 69 to 71 degrees. Sea of Cortez side weather was calm and warm with the water at 71 degrees.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 47 outings by Gaviota Fleet and the Cabo charter boats Fish Cabo and Fish Cabo I, with a catch including released fish of: 55 yellowfin tuna mostly of 10 to 25 pounds, 33 striped marlin, and 6 dorado. "Finally, after many weeks of near zero counts, the tuna have started to show a little," Edwards said. "The fish didn't seem to remain in the same spot for more than a day or two, causing boats to search far and wide on a daily basis." Cabo San Lucas fishing area weather was sunny at 90 degrees, with water temperatures on both sides of the arch ranging from 70 to 72 degrees.

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 78 combined La Playita fleet pangas fishing at Los Cabos off San Jose del Cabo, with a catch of: 1 Pacific fanfish, 19 yellowfin tuna, 28 hammerhead shark, 38 dorado, 38 amberjack, 240 pargo, 2 striped marlin, 1 wahoo, 135 sierra, 5 yellowtail, 18 pompano, 26 cabrilla, 8 grouper, and 28 surgeonfish. The very rare Pacific fanfish was found floating alive on the surface near the San Jose del Cabo estuary by Capt. Jesus Pino. The top 3 places in a local Governor's Cup fishing tournament were won by 2 grouper of 96 and 50 pounds and a mako shark of 53 pounds. PANGA FISHING REPORT FOR LOS CABOS.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: San Jose del Cabo species fishing specialist John Snow reported on 2 surf fishing sessions and 4 panga outings with Capt. Pata on the panga Salome, for a total of 146 specimens caught or observed and 47 species represented, including 4 new ones. "It was a diverse week with a good collection of various species," Snow said. "The fish of the week were probably the shorttail conger eel, the Panamic flounder, and the Mexican blenny."

EAST CAPE FISHING REPORTS

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EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said East Cape beach fishing picked up in good weather conditions. "Excellent weather produced good action for the small roosters," Graham said. "The jacks and pompano that were spotted had a case of lockjaw, but good sized croaker were hot for small Clousers retrieved slowly over the bottom." Offshore boats found improved fishing for marlin and dorado. East Cape fishing area weather was in the low-90s, with water temperatures at 65 to 72 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Gary Leeper, staying the winter at Martin Verdugo's Beach Resort, said, "The weather here on the East Cape is beautiful, to the high 80s, with no wind and water temps of 73 to 76. The best water is out 23 to 35 miles and limits of small to medium dorado are being brought in along with some small tuna." Striped marlin were scarce, but sierra plentiful inshore. "Bottom fishing is a question as we have had 3 shrimp bottom trawlers working the East Cape area for the last 5 days," Leeper said, "but I saw one panguero return yesterday with a full cooler."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: For the week ending March 8, 2007, Chris Moyers of East Cape Smoke House reported on 18 charter boats from combined fleets including Hotels Palmas de Cortez, Playa del Sol, Punta Colorada, Buena Vista Beach Resort, Rancho Leonero, and Martin Verdugo's Beach Resort, with 52 anglers and a catch including released fish of: 3 striped marlin, 32 dorado, and 15 sierra. East Cape fishing area weather was in the low-80s, with some wind and the water temperature at 64 to 73 degrees. "We'll look for things to start heating up in the next couple of weeks or so," Moyers said.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Simon Cazaly of the Vista Sea Sport East Cape diving service at Buena Vista reported the water temperature at about 70 degrees with 33 to 40-foot visibility on the Cabo Pulmo coral reef. "The diving here is just fantastic," Cazaly said. "I've dived in great locations around the world but what I've seen off the East Cape of Baja rivals anywhere. The sheer numbers of fish just blow you away." Sea life sightings during the week included sea turtle, whale shark, manta ray, yellowtail surgeonfish, Panamic porkfish, king and Cortez angelfish, puffers, porcupinefish, and enormous schools of bigeye jacks. "We were surrounded by masses of bigeye jacks," Cazaly said. "I'm talking hundreds of thousands, if not millions. It went really dark and I looked up and there was a torrent of fish overhead which kept streaming past for about 10 minutes."

LA PAZ FISHING REPORTS

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LA PAZ, MEXICO: Jonathan Roldan of Tailhunter International said calming winds, warming weather, and water temperatures in the mid-70s brought much improved pre-spring action for his pangas fishing the La Paz side last week. "It's still March and not only did we get our first marlin and sailfish, but both Isla Cerralvo and Isla Espiritu Santo kicked out the best yellowtail bite of the season," Roldan said. "Yellowtail came to chew at both Cerralvo and Espiritu Santo, a nice grade of 25 to 40-pound fish, and several in the 50-pound class took anglers to the rocks. We also had a great week on yellow snapper and smaller pargo to fill the ice chests." PRE-SPRING FISHING GOOD FOR LA PAZ BOATS.

LA PAZ, MEXICO: Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing reported air temperatures to 88 degrees on the Las Arenas side of La Paz last week with "absolutely calm conditions without wind." Pangas fished the north end of Isla Cerralvo for yellowtail and around Punta Perico for pargos of 30 to 35 pounds, sierra, cabrilla, and some surprise dorado of 25 to 30 pounds. Bait was located at Isla Cerralvo.

LA PAZ, MEXICO: Leonard Phillips of Baja Pirates Fleet said yellowtail fishing at Isla Espiritu Santo and El Bajo improved last week, with several fish over 40 pounds landed, plus 2 dorado, 1 sailfish, 1 striped marlin, and pargo and cabrilla to 15 pounds. "Welcome to warm water fishing in March," Phillips said. "Water temps and air temps have been going up. The north end of Espiritu Santo and El Bajo have been the successful fishing areas."

MULEGE FISHING REPORTS

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MULEGE, MEXICO: Marv Perrigo of Mulege said, "Yellowtail are showing up for the upcoming Mulege Spring Yellowtail Tournament scheduled for March 18th and 19th. Four yellowtail ranging from 20 to 30 pounds were caught by Bart Santos, proprietor of Bart's Jungle Jim's, and his son Ramundo on Sunday aboard John Dinning's boat Mi Mujer." Mulege yellowtail were hitting on deep live bait in 64-degree water.

SANTA ROSALIA FISHING REPORTS

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SANTA ROSALIA, MEXICO: Jim Anderson of San Lucas Cove reported Santa Rosalia fishing area water temperatures at 65 to 68 degrees, with perfect weather in the mid-80s, calm seas, and continued excellent yellowtail action on the Isla San Marcos bajos. "On Monday we started releasing fish to avoid going over the Mexican sportfishing limit of 5 fish per person," Anderson said. "We found that circle hooks greatly enhance the release process." Barracuda were very concentrated off Santa Rosalia. "On Thursday we witnessed one of the biggest boils I have ever seen, with birds diving over an area the size of a football field," Anderson said. "Barracuda by the thousands, if not millions, were feeding on small bait fish they had driven up to the surface." Yellowtail fishing was slower at the end of the week as tidal currents decreased to a near standstill.

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

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BAHIA DE LOS ANGELES, MEXICO: Abraham Vazquez of Bahia de los Angeles' Camp Gec ko reported good, clear, light-wind weather in the mid-80s and water temperatures about 5 degrees warmer than normal for the early spring season. Yellowtail fishing was good at Bajo Guadalupe north of town. "Since the water is warm the yellowtail are even taking Rapalas on the surface," Vazquez said. Construction continued on the new boulevard through the village and the power line being brought in from Punta Prieta on Baja's Highway Mex 1.

SAN FELIPE FISHING REPORTS

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SAN FELIPE, MEXICO: Catalina Meders of the Title Company Bookstore overlooking Bahia de San Felipe reported hot pre-spring weather to 105 degrees on Friday, with big crowds of Spring Break visitors in town. "The streets are alive with young, hard bodies wearing as little as legally possible," Meders said. Author Alec Wilkinson's new book, The Happiest Man In The World, was scheduled for arrival in two weeks. The book is about the life of David Pearlman, also known as Poppa Neutrino, and his seagoing raft adventures. Pearlman built a raft at San Felipe last year for a trip down the Sea of Cortez that was canceled. "Whatever you think of Poppa himself, it must be admitted that his story is fascinating," Meders said. HOT WEATHER AND SPRING BREAK CROWDS.

SAN CARLOS (SONORA) FISHING REPORTS

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SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: Fernando Almada of Catch-22 Sportfishing at San Carlos reported good yellowtail action last week at Isla San Pedro Nolasco and Punta San Antonio for a total of 34 yellowtail to 31.7 pounds in 4 outings. "On Wednesday, Capt. Gerardo, myself and 2 friends went fishing on the Catch-22 Rubina, Almada said. "We had a great day and the water was flat. We caught 10 yellowtail and 1 cabrilla. Speed jigs were the ticket for us."

SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: Lalo Munoz of San Carlos reported on an outing aboard his boat Sueltame with fishing partner Jason Henalt on Wednesday for 8 yellowtail in 67-degree water at Isla San Pedro Nolasco. "With beautiful flat seas, we saw whales everywhere," Munoz said. "There were only a few boats. The water clarity was a little green. My buddy hooked up first on a homemade jig. I switched from a blue-and-white Salas 6X to his homemade jig and we ended up with a double hookup."

SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: For the previous week, John Hilderbrand of Jon Jen Charters reported San Carlos fishing area water temperatures warming at 64 degrees, with up-and-down action at Isla San Pedro Nolasco. "Only one day was really good at the island, and a couple of boats caught their limits," Hilderbrand said. "The rest of the week, no fish."

MAZATLAN FISHING REPORTS

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MAZATLAN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 26 Aries Fleet offshore boats fishing out of Marina El Cid, with a catch including released fish of: 14 yellowfin tuna to 81 pounds, 2 mako shark, 5 dorado, 1 sailfish, and 8 striped marlin. Ten inshore boats had a catch of: 11 jack crevalle, 1 corvina, 19 pargo, 1 barracuda, 95 mojarra, and 29 triggerfish. Mazatla n fishing area weather was sunny in the mid-80s, with calm seas and water temperatures at 70 to 71 degrees. Offshore boats fished in all directions.

PUERTO VALLARTA FISHING REPORTS

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PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Danny Quinonez of PV Marlin Sportfishing said, "Plenty of sailfish and dorado are out there on the longer trips to Roca Corbeteña and El Banco. We are still anxiously awaiting the arrival of the striped marlin. They usually come in sometime in March." The PV Marlin Sportfishing charter boat Lorena also fished short trips inside Bahia de Banderas for good results on jack crevalle and mixed snappers. "And you never know when you might hook into a big amberjack," Quinonez said. "We have been getting some nice amberjacks at El Morro."

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO FISHING REPORTS

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IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters said, "This week saw the best marlin bite of the year. The combined fleet averaged 15 marlin per day, a combination of blue and striped marlin. The outlook for this month and next month appears to be very good. April has historically been a very good time for the biggest yellowfin tuna of the season."

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Ed Kunze, reporting for Baja On The Fly, said the Ixtapa Zihuatanejo sportfishing fleet continued to score good counts on blue marlin last week. "Every boat in the fleet is getting at least a shot at a blue marlin," Kunze said. "The 20-boat Ixtapa fishing fleet is averaging at least 8 blue marlin landed per day. On Tuesday, 11 blue marlin were caught." Sailfish counts declined as boats switched to trolling large black skipjack baits. Capt. Margarito landed 2 blue marlin at 230 and 300 pounds with angler Sandy Week. Capt. Adan on the charter panga Gitana II had 3 blue marlin of 120 to 480 pounds for the week. Ixtapa Zihuatanejo fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the mid-90s, with water temperatures of 80 to 84 degrees.

CANCUN FISHING REPORTS

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CANCUN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 18 charters by the El Cid Caribe fleet at Puerto Morelos near Cancun, with a catch including released fish of: 1 sailfish, 4 dorado, 6 sierra, 4 tuna, 6 amberjack, 5 cubera snapper to 40 pounds, 6 Atlantic barracuda, 2 grouper, and 28 king mackerel mostly of 15 to 20 pounds. Cancun fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the high-80s, with light winds and stable water temperatures at 81 degrees. "Skirted ballyhoo baits continue to work well," Edwards said. "This fishing area offers a daily smorgasbord, and you never know what might come up next."

MEXICO COASTAL FISHING REPORTS

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MEXICO: Jeff Klassen of Jeff Klassen Sport Fishing reported on his new Mexic an fishing location on the Costalegre near Barra de Navidad. "The sailfish bite has picked up some," Klassen said. "There are lots of skippies, barrilete around, and ample opportunity for blue marlin, mostly in the 175 to 200-pound range. The cheaper hotel and budget pangas are bragging about tuna catches of 20 or more. Yes, skipjacks are a tuna family fish, but they are not considered by most as a 'tuna' when it comes to sportfishing. There have been pretty good concentrations of 30 to 50-pound yellowfin tuna around, but they are spread out and you have to listen to the radio. Dorado fishing has been up and down. Inshore there are roosterfish, large jacks, and large needlefish around rocky areas."

Loreto Mexico Fishing Photo 1

BIG YELLOWTAIL BITE--Bill Sumner, left, fished out of Loreto's Hotel Oasis with fishing partner Ron Spencer and Capt. Ismael Murillo, right, during 4 days of good yellowtail action topped by 32 big ones of 25 to 30 pounds caught in 2 outings at the San Bruno bajo. "There were virtually none of the usual small schoolies that we would have expected for March," Sumner said. PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL SUMNER.

Loreto Mexico Fishing Photo 2 Loreto Mexico Fishing Photo 3

LOTSA LORETO FORKIES--Loreto's late winter yellowtail bite has been building for several weeks, with the larger fish coming from locations north of town. With a good catch from the first week of March scored with the Hotel Oasis' Capt. Francisco Martinez were anglers Steven Lemos Jr., Chris Lemos, and Rick Gallier. At right, fishing on Friday with Capt. Martínez at the San Bruno reef were Steve and Burton Reist. PHOTOS COURTESY OF PATTY ZAPATA.

Ensenada Mexico Squid Fishing Photo 1

ENSENADA SQUIRTERS--Brian Lam, left, and Edward Chang fished out of Ensenada's Marina Coral aboard Steve Ross' boat Bad Dog for a big catch of bottom fish and these Humboldt giant squid found in a wide-open bite that extended from the surface to the bottom. PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVE ROSS.

Ensenada Mexico Fishing Photo 1

ENSENADA YELLOWTAIL GURU--Capt. Beto Zamora, left, of Vonny's Fleet led his clients to more great panga catches of yellowtail last week at Ensenada's Punta Banda. Scoring 8 forkies with "Old Eagle Eyes" on Friday were, from left, Natalie Freidberg, Julia Knoke, and John Stenmo, all of Los Angeles. PHOTO COURTESY OF IVAN VILLARINO.

Castro's Camp Mexico Fishing Photo 1

CASTRO'S WHITEFISH--Ben Arellano of San Diego fished in the cool Baja Pacific coast marine layer at Castro's Camp south of Ensenada last week for a great catch of mixed bottom fish including ocean whitefish like this one. Arellano fished with Mike Steele's Outcasts Fishing Club group. PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE STEELE.

Cabo San Lucas Mexico Fishing Photo 1

LIGHT SPINNING SNAPPER--Fred Paddock and his wife Susan fished at Cabo San Lucas with Baja Anglers last week and landed this impressive dog snapper with light spinning gear aboard the charter boat Flying Fish IV with Capt. Arturo Ozuna, left. At right, Tim Driscol, left, with a 30-pound class jack crevalle caught on light tackle with Baja Angler's Grant Hartman, right. Driscol fished at Cabo aboard the charter boat Flying Fish III. PHOTOS COURTESY OF GRANT HARTMAN.

Cabo San Lucas Mexico Fishing Photo 3

CABO INSHORE ROOSTERS--Good numbers of smaller roosterfish are present now in Cabo San Lucas waters. Lisa Chambens fished Thursday on the Cortez side aboard the charter panga Cheer's for a catch of 4 roosters and a skipjack with Capt. Ramon Druck. At right, Erwin Matulka and Darrin Uden got 2 roosterfish aboard the Cheer's while fishing on Cabo's Pacific side Friday. PHOTOS COURTESY OF RAMON DRUCK.

Pacific Fanfish Mexico Fish Photo 1

RARE BAJA FANFISH--This extremely rare Pacific fanfish, Pteraclis aesticola, was found damaged and just barely alive on the surface in 40 feet of water off the San Jose del Cabo estuary, about noon on March 16, 2007, by Gordo Banks Pangas Capt. Jesus Pino aboard the super panga Katie. The water temperature was 71 degrees. "This was the first one any of our guys had ever seen," said Gordo Banks Pangas' Eric Brictson. It was only the third known collection of a Pacific fanfish in Mexican waters. The fanfish is more abundant in the Indian Ocean and on the west coast of Australia. PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIC BRICTSON.

San Jose del Cabo Mexico Fishing Photo 1

BAJA SUR SPECIES--San Jose del Cabo species fishing specialist John Snow had a good week for a total of 47 species caught, including this Panamic flounder, left, and shorttail conger eel. Snow fished 6 times at Los Cabos, from beach and the panga Salome. PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOHN SNOW.

La Paz Mexico Fishing Photo 1

BAJA PANGA WATERS--La Paz late winter weather flattened out and warmed to 88 degrees last week as Daniel Melendez of Garden Grove, Calif., fished the Las Arenas side with Capt. Jorge Lucero of Tortuga Sportfishing. Melendez scored a good catch of winter dorado and mixed snappers including this nice pargo lisa. PHOTO COURTESY OF GERARDO HERNANDEZ.

Mulege Mexico Fishing Photo 1

MULEGE TOURNAMENT TUNE-UP--Bart Santos, left, and his son Ramundo Santos of Bart's Jungle Jim's at Mulege show off some quality yellowtail caught recently during tune-up fishing for this week's Mulege Spring Yellowtail Tournament. They fished aboard John Dinning's boat Mi Mujer. PHOTO COURTESY OF MARV PERRIGO.

San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico Fishing Photo 1

ISLA SAN PEDRO NOLASCO--Lalo Munoz of San Carlos, Sonora, fished in green Cortez Midriff waters on his boat Sueltame at Isla San Pedro Nolasco last week with Jason Henalt for a great catch of 8 yellowtail, mostly on homemade jigs. PHOTO COURTESY OF LALO MUNOZ.

San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico Fishing Photo 2

SAN CARLOS YELLOWTAIL--Fernando Almada, second from right, of Catch-22 Sportfishing at San Carlos, Sonora, shows off a catch of yellowtail aboard the charter boat Catch-22 Rubina from Isla San Pedro Nolasco and Punta San Antonio on Wednesday. Almada fished with anglers, from left, Luis Fernando Liogon, Pepe Ramirez, and Gerardo Fausto. PHOTO COURTESY OF FERNANDO ALMADA.

Ixtapa Mexico Fishing Photo 1

IXTAPA BLUE MARLIN--Boats fishing at Ixtapa Zihuatanejo have had several weeks of good blue marlin action this winter. John Torre, left, fished aboard the charter boat Gitana II with Capt. Adan Valdovinos, right, earlier this month for this nice 225 pounder that was injured during the fight and could not be released. PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL PHILLIPS.

Mexico Fishing Photo 1

BAJA "PROFESSIONAL OVERSPIN"--Yellowtail were hitting hard on Baja's Isla San Marcos bajos last week as Jim Anderson of San Lucas Cove got this impressive "professional overspin" aboard his Moosea boat. "This is what happens when the big yellowtail are boiling and you hook another rod when casting," Anderson said. "This may be created by very high levels of adrenaline." PHOTO COURTESY OF JIM ANDERSON.

BAJA MEXICO FISHING REPORT ARCHIVES AND FISH PICTURES