San Quintin white seabass action hot again;

Ixtapa fishing waters still roiled

Mexico Fishing News, September 10, 2007

SAN QUINTIN FISHING REPORTS

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SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: With southern Baja fishing making a fast rebound after a direct hit from Hurricane Henriette last week, Marita Melville of Don Eddie's Landing at San Quintin said action in northern waters also improved as high white seabass counts resumed after a weeklong break.

"We have had another great week for white seabass fishing at San Quintin," Melville said on Saturday. "Last week you were lucky to see a boat come in with white seabass, but this week has just been fabulous." Doug Whitt and his group found good action on croakers caught mainly near the point on Krocodiles tipped with live bait. "It seems to be working because boats are filling up with white seabass," Melville said.

Top outings included Capt. Oscar Catian of K&M Offshore Sportfishing with 11 white seabass to 68 pounds, Capt. Jaime Cervantes with 12 fish to 60 pounds, and Juan Cook with 25 white seabass to 64 pounds. San Quintin fishing area weather was windless and hot, with calm blue water at 68 degrees. Anglers fishing out of Don Eddie's Landing during the week included: Doug Whitt, Colin Dunn, David Frazier, Chriss Frommel, James Baine, Steve Olson, Deryl Rowell, Steve Holloway, and Mark Holloway. Melville also noted that the San Quintin area of Baja had some internet service outages during Labor Day week so some email messages were lost or delayed.

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Pete Hillis of Pedro's Pangas said San Quintin fishing area weather was good during the week with overcast mornings and sunny afternoons in the low-80s, as 20 boats fished out of Pedro's Pangas for consistent white seabass and yellowtail south of the bay at Socorro and good rockcod and lingcod counts at the 240 spot. "No boats went outside, due to the heavy and good bite on white seabass and yellowtail," Hillis said. Anglers scoring on white seabass into the 50-pound plus class included David Pollard, Wes Brooks, and Brian Zour with Capt. Gato on the charter boat Garron. Spearfishing by Tim Cole and Austin Smith produced 2 biggies at 50 and 53 pounds.

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: For the previous week, Brian Bunting of Huntington Beach, Calif., reported on an outing Wednesday with Capt. Hector "Lilo" Villavicencio of Pedro's Pangas for a catch including a "fish of a lifetime" white seabass in the 60-pound class hooked on a Krocodile in 40 feet of water about 2 miles south of the boca. "Capt. Hector nailed it with the gaff as a sea lion almost made off with my fish of a lifetime," Bunting said. Fishing at Ben's Rock also produced limits of assorted rockfish.

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 steady mixed bottom fish limits, bonito, and up to 3 yellowtail per boat into the 20-pound plus class for his pangas fishing at the tip of Ensenada' Punta Banda. "This week was good for yellowtail on the Vonny II with Capt. Vicente and the Vonny I with Capt. Beto," Villarino said. All yellowtail were caught on Rapala X-Rap plugs rather than the usual aluminum jigs. Anglers fishing during the week included Ray Burton, Richard Marriot, Rick Kubota, Brian Foley, Joan Foley, and Jay Johnson. Ensenada fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the low-70s, with light wind, ocean swells to 3 feet, and the local water temperature at Punta Banda averaging 64 degrees.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Sergio Susarrey of Sergio's Ensenada Sportfishing Center reported on 28 anglers fishing aboard the charter boats Quest, Shir-Lee, El Cazador, and 2 other 6-pack boats, with a catch of: 6 yellowtail, 25 bonito, 75 barracuda, 22 calico bass, 20 white seabass, 29 yellowfin tuna, 1 dorado, and 25 miscellaneous fish.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: John Migeot of Mission Viejo, Calif., reported on an outing Friday out of San Diego aboard Mike Rogallas' boat, fishing in increasing winds around the 425 spot between Ensenada and the Coronado Islands for 2 yellowtail of 18 pounds and 2 nice dorado of 18 and about 28 pounds. "We got great bait, but it cost us $50 a scoop for the cured stuff," Migeot said. "We spotted the one big dodo jumping just south of the 425. Trolled past it and zzzzz. She was huge. Jumping and flashing. I think she was the biggest female dorado I have seen boated. Great job Mike. Thanks for another fun day on the water." The larger dorado hit an orange-yellow-light blue tuna clone.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Antonio Sanchez of Tijuana reported on a trip to La Mision Beach between Tijuana and Ensenada on Sunday of Labor Day weekend, where he found less crowded beach conditions, clear water, and a practice release catch with his 3/8 inch atarraya circular casting net for several medium and small barred surf perch and some jacksmelt.

PUERTO SANTO TOMAS FISHING REPORTS

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PUERTO SANTO TOMAS, MEXICO: Sam Saenz of Puerto Santo Tomas Resort reported continued good surface fishing last week for bonita and barracuda plus yellowtail spotted but not hooked. Two pangas fished during the week with Capt. Marcos for full Mexican limits of mixed surface and bottom fish. Puerto Santo Tomas weather off the Baja coast south of Ensenada was calm in the mornings and windy in the afternoons. Anglers fishing out of Puerto Santo Tomas included Terry Fox of San Bernardino, Calif.

ERENDIRA FISHING REPORTS

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ERENDIRA, MEXICO: Tere Castro of Castro's Camp at Erendira reported 28 boats fishing in 65-degree water about 6 miles off the Baja coast last week, for very good summer action that included yellowtail, white seabass, and halibut, in addition to the usual heavy counts of mixed rockcods, lingcod, bonita, and barracuda. Erendira fishing area was very good.

BAJA COASTAL FISHING REPORTS

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BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: Shari Bondy of Baja Bed & Breakfast at Bahia Asuncion said local pangas were pulled early in the week due to big Pacific swells, but the central coast was spared as Hurricane Henriette passed well to the south. "Luckily, Henriette headed for warmer water and missed us completely," Bondy said. Bahia Asuncion fishing area weather settled down on Thursday, and Capt. Juan Arce Marron of Arce Bros. Sportfishing ran north 45 minutes to fish off Punta San Pablo with Zac Johnston of San Diego, Calif., for a catch of 6 yellowtail, plus lots of calico bass, bonita, and larger barracuda. "There were thousands of birds and lots of feed in the area and they had a terrific morning," Bondy said. "We are glad the yellowtail finally moved into our area again so we can stuff ourselves with sushi and sashimi with my secret sauce. Juan will be trying his luck again on Sunday." Bondy noted that her husband, Capt. Arce, now has 2 charter pangas available for fishing and diving as Arce Bros. Sportfishing. Baja Bed & Breakfast provides rooms and meal services for anglers visiting the Bahia Asuncion area. "We take good care of them," Bondy said. Information: bajabnb.com.

BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: Zac Johnston reported on his Bahia Asuncion outing with Capt. Arce on Thursday, saying, "The swell settled down a bit so we headed north and fished in front of San Pablo. We trolled Rapalas and caught 6 nice fish ranging from 25 to 45 pounds." Fishing at Isla San Roque also produced calico bass to 6 pounds. "There is bait everywhere and we could see bonita crashing the bait from San Pablo all the way back to Asuncion," Johnston said. Central Baja fishing area weather was in the mid-80s by afternoon, with water temperatures into the high-60s.

BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: Juanchys Aguilar of La Bocana on the Pacific Baja coast reported very good fishing last week for sportfishing anglers from the U.S. for yellowtail, medium and large dorado, bonito, calico bass, and some medium yellowfin tuna, with the action centered about 4 miles southwest of the boca for yellowtail, 7 miles out for dorado, and 12 to 13 miles out for tuna. Tuna action was spotty as only about a fourth of the boats going out found fish. Baja coastal fishing waters off La Bocana continued to have some red tide conditions, although the local commercial abalone, lobster, and oyster production has not been affected. Pacific Baja fishing water temperatures were at 72 degrees about 4 miles off the coast, with some days very windy from the southwest. "It's a very strange and rare year for weather," Aguilar said. Aguilar also noted that recent reports about boats not being available for sportfishing at La Bocana were the result of misunderstanding the fishermen involved. "A thousand pardons for that," Aguilar said. "We didn't understand."

BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: Derek Arneson of San Diego, Calif., reported on a Baja run with Armando Rodriguez of San Diego to La Bocana for 3 days of panga fishing with Capt. Juanchys Aguilar and a fourth day on a private Skipjack, for a total combined catch including released fish of about: 62 dorado, 10 yellowtail, lots of whitefish, and up to 50-plus calico bass per day. Offshore water was green at 73 degrees. Fishing inside Laguna La Bocana was slower than usual in cloudy water but still produced good counts of spotted bay bass. "Our top day was 31 dorado to 25 pounds and 4 yellowtail," Arneson said. "On our last day we tried a calico spot on the way in and had wide-open fishing with fish to 6 pounds. Thanks Juanchys and Joaquin Aguilar for making my vacation so enjoyable!"

BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: Arneson also warned Baja travelers about highway crime at the infamous Tijuana hot spot next to the river on the way south to the Ensenada toll road. Arneson said he narrowly escaped being robbed at 3 a.m. as he floorboarded his truck and drove past 2 men with drawn guns. Arneson's companion vehicle was not so lucky, as the driver and his passenger were robbed of everything "all the way down to their wedding rings." Arneson said, "Just as we were going up the steep hill along the border fence, I noticed that the other truck was getting pulled over. Seconds later a gray Ford Explorer with no plates pulled in front of my truck. Two men quickly got out of the car with guns drawn coming towards me. I quickly hit the gas and was able to get out of there. My father-in-law works in Tijuana for the PGR and according to him this is not an isolated incident in this area. This is happening way too much. It also happened to my sister-in-law's best friend 3 weeks ago, then my incident, then 4 surfers on the 31st, all on the same stretch of road. I still love Baja, just not Tijuana."

BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: Jim Burmeister of Vista, Calif., reported on a Baja run to Camalu with Bill Takakuwa, fishing on a panga 2 days with Capt. Lee Moreno for a catch including a total of about 25 assorted lingcod, sandbass, calico bass, and mixed bottom fish, but no targeted white seabass. "Lee Moreno had all 3 boats go out on both days," Burmeister said. "Two of the boats got a white seabass on Saturday, but none were caught on Sunday." The 2 croakers caught were about 30 and 50 pounds. Pangas fished close to shore in fog, chasing birds south of the launching beach and north of the hotel, up to about 2 miles out. "The fog made it hard to find the birds. The key to getting the white seabass is to find the bait balls, mackerel, and feeding birds, and the heavy morning fog made it hard," Burmeister said.

BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: Jim Weidler of Newport Beach, Calif., had more details on his flight to Isla Guadalupe off the Baja northern Pacific coast in mid-August to pick up a party of great white shark encounter observers. The support boat for the trip was John Lyddon's 72-foot Don Juan out of Newport Beach, with captain and photographer Jay Torre, crewman Mitch Breer, and great white shark specialist Scott Davis, of Monterey, Calif. "The sole purpose of this trip was to observe these magnificent creatures," Weidler said. "The sharks showed up very soon after the chum and bait hit the water and they never strayed far as long as there was a chum slick. In the photos, you can see a lot of the sharks scarred up pretty bad."

MAGDALENA BAY FISHING REPORTS

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MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said client Tom St. Pierre and his friend from Orangeville, Calif., fished offshore from Puerto Lopez Mateos and found good dorado and yellowtail action with Mag Bay Outfitters. Magdalena Bay fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the high-80s, with water temperatures at 64 to 76 degrees.

CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORTS

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CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: George Landrum of Fly Hooker Sportfishing reported Cabo San Lucas fishing area water temperatures about 8 degrees cooler immediately following Hurricane Henriette last week but conditions normalizing again by the weekend with live bait available at the marina and water temperatures back up to about 80 degrees. Fishing just before the storm produced wide-open striped marlin action just inside the Golden Gate Bank on the Pacific side as the charter boat Fly Hooker released 10 striped marlin and 1 blue marlin in about 4 hours. After the storm, bait balls were scattered but Landrum said, "It appears that the fish are still in the same area. A few boats were coming in flying 8 flags."

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Grant Hartman of Baja Anglers said Cabo San Lucas fishing took right off again after the passage of rough weather at midweek. "Usually after a storm it takes a week or so for things to get back to normal, but not so this time," Hartman said. "Right off the bat, the striped marlin were stacked up at the Golden Gate Bank. I was walking around the docks during most of the storm and I never felt myself in danger. Others were walking around as well and the gas stations and major supermarkets were open. The day after the storm, the airport opened up and the next day everyone was out fishing again."

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Jorge Narro of Pisces Fleet reported good fishing during a weather shortened week, with a 100 percent catch rate for all species combined, 94 percent for billfish, and 74 percent for dorado. Very few yellowfin tuna were caught. Top outings early in the week included and 8-release day on striped marlin for the charter boat Cabolero and a 9-release day for Bill Collector.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Tommy Garcia of Cabo Magic reported on 50 charters for the week, with a catch including released fish of: 80 striped marlin, 70 dorado, 11 yellowfin tuna, and 2 wahoo, plus big numbers of sierra.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: In a storm shortened fishing week, Capt. Ramon Druck of the Cabo San Lucas charter panga Cheer's reported on just 1 outing, with anglers fishing on Friday with live bait on the Cortez side out to about 4 miles for a catch of 4 dorado from small to 25 pounds. Cabo San Lucas fishing area weather at the end of the week was settling and sunny, with no large swells and the water temperature at 78 to 80 degrees. Fishing aboard the Cheer's were anglers Eulogio Vegagil of Mexico City, "Norberto" of Mazatlan, and Jorge Bastidas of Cabo San Lucas.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Jim Dillon of Salvador's Sportfishing said the Cabo San Lucas fishing area received some wind and rain as the port was closed 2 days during the week, but his boats suffered no damage and fishing resumed on Thursday. Dillon reported on 7 outings by the Cabo San Lucas charter boats El Budster, El Budster I, and El Budster II, with a catch including released fish of: 2 striped marlin, 3 boats with yellowfin tuna limits on fish of 15 to 30 pounds, 4 yellowfin tuna of 15 to 20 pounds, and 12 dorado of 25 to 40 pounds.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO (LOS CABOS) FISHING REPORTS

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SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Eric Brictson of Gordo Banks Pangas reported no San Jose del Cabo sportfishing panga outings out of La Playita Beach due to the passage of Hurricane Henriette, but some pangas did fish for food. "A handful of local pangueros did go out fishing," Brictson said. "They reported cooler and dirty water conditions, with not much surface action, but fair counts of bottom fish, including triggerfish, pargo and cabrilla. The current was strong and did not make it easy to fish the rock piles." San Jose del Cabo panga fleets were expected to resume charter trips over the weekend. Brictson said the storm's peak winds as it came ashore were at 80 to 90 m.p.h., with 7 to 14 inches of rain and storm surf of at least 16 feet. As usual the access road from La Playita to San Jose del Cabo was washed out and pangas were employed to ferry supplies from Punta Palmilla. "Perhaps by next year the new bridge crossing the San Jose del Cabo arroyo will finally be completed," Brictson said. "With the high-end development progressing in this area, people will need some way to reach their million dollar homes and yachts moored inside the marina. For the local residents that have endured year after year of inconveniences, this will finally be a way of getting back to their normal lives more rapidly following such floods."

Brictson also said the new jetties of the Puerto Los Cabos marina held up fine during the large surf conditions caused by the week's heavy tropical weather. "I just returned from the northern side of La Playita beach and all looks good, and there is even construction going on," Brictson said. The traditional panga launching beach area was "basically destroyed" by high surf and Brictson said, "We will have to put pressure on to finish our slips or let us use another area temporarily. Now we are waiting for the road to be repaired to town."

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Jim Tolbert of Baja Books & Maps in San Jose del Cabo reported minor damage from the week's rough tropical weather, with water still out but power and phone service restored by Friday. "We hope to be back up and running by Monday," Tolbert said.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: Todd Cameron of Long Beach, Calif., reported on 2 days of panga fishing with Capt. Antonio "Toño" Guluarte of Guluarte Fleet before the arrival of rough weather for a catch including released fish of: 9 dorado to 30 pounds, 4 yellow and red snappers to 12 pounds, 2 yellowfin tuna, 1 hammerhead shark of 40 pounds, and 2 grouper to 25 pounds.

EAST CAPE FISHING REPORTS

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EAST CAPE, MEXICO: John Ireland of Rancho Leonero said East Cape fishing area waters were cooler and clearing at 78 to 80 degrees after receiving about 14 to 17 inches of rain during the storm. "The dirty cooler water generated by the storm has, as expected, slowed down the fishing," Ireland said. "The water is cleaning and warming rapidly, so we expect the fishing will improve over the week." Cleaner water outside produced tuna under porpoise 40 to 50 miles off Los Frailes and inshore boats found lots of bait and some good action for roosterfish of 10 to 25 pounds despite the clouded water conditions. Billfish were still very picky, but were plentiful and already being hooked by about 50 percent of charters by the weekend.

Ireland said storm damage was very light. "We had only 3 windows broken in the whole hotel," Ireland said. "The storm passed directly overhead, but the winds were nowhere near as powerful as past storms. It was really a rain event. The rain was very steady and not torrential, so the erosion damage was light."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said the week's storm damage was minimal in the East Cape fishing area as heavy rains made a mess of some streets that were having new sewer pipes installed. Fishing after the storm was already reasonably good by the weekend for striped marlin, blue marlin, and yellowfin tuna off Punta Colorada. Dorado action was expected to pick up as the fish concentrated around debris washed into the sea from the arroyos. Beach action was still settling. "Don’t bother looking for much along the beach until later this week," Graham said. East Cape fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the low-90s, with water temperatures at 78 to 87 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Eddie Dalmau of Van Wormer Resorts said fleet boats from Hotels Palmas de Cortez, Playa del Sol, and Punta Colorada were unable to fish for 2 days due to the rough tropical weather. "This report also does not include Hotel Punta Colorada because they close every September during hurricane season," Dalmau said. Dalmau reported on 156 boats with a catch including released fish of: 3 blue marlin, 62 striped marlin 6 sailfish, 134 dorado, 238 yellowfin tuna, 12 roosterfish, 10 wahoo, 3 cabrilla, 6 pargo, and 12 triggerfish. East Cape fishing area weather was in the high-90s, with water temperatures at 75 to 85 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Jeff deBrown of The Reel Baja fly fishing guide service said storm damage was minimal in the East Cape fishing area last week. "We still have a good amount of water running in some of the arroyos. Power was back up and running yesterday," deBrown said. "We saw slight wind damage around town but nothing that can’t be fixed." Most East Cape sportfishing boats were being put back into the water by Friday.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: For the storm shortened week ending Sept. 6, 2007, Chris Moyers of East Cape Smoke House reported on 48 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 139 anglers and a catch including released fish of: 5 blue marlin, 36 striped marlin, 1 sailfish, 129 dorado, 73 yellowfin tuna, and 9 wahoo. East Cape fishing area weather was settling from very heavy winds and seas. "We came through Hurricane Henriette pretty much unscathed, save for some expected flooding," Moyers said. "Everyone down here on the East Cape is in cleanup mode but actually our spirits are high. As of now, the only problematic area is the arroyo just north of town. A four-wheel drive is still necessary to cross."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: For the previous week ending Aug. 30, 2007, Moyers reported on 298 charter boats, with 885 anglers and a catch including released fish of: 9 blue marlin, 144 striped marlin, 21 sailfish, 418 dorado, 368 yellowfin tuna, and 60 wahoo. East Cape fishing area weather was in the low-90s, with water temperatures of 80 to 88 degrees and a weather watch out for Tropical Storm Henriette still far to the south.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Torrance Eddy of Buena Vista said after the storm that East Cape boats were fishing again by Thursday and catching fish. "I saw about a dozen boats return to Hotel Palmas de Cortez yesterday and almost all flew dorado flags," Eddy said. "The storm's performance actually started at about midnight Monday when the rain started. The wind wasn't far behind. By 7 a.m. Tuesday it was blowing pretty hard from the northeast. By 10 a.m. the winds became very strong and peaked between 1 and 3 p.m. and had shifted to a direction from the southeast. At about 7 p.m., the rain and wind lessened noticeably and people actually went outside."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Just before the storm arrived, Eddy noted that his perfect dorado catching record with Jointed Rebel lures remained intact as he fished from his tin boat close to the beach and caught a 10-pound yellowfin tuna and a 15-pound dorado on a Rebel being trolled side-by-side with a cedar plug and a feather. "I went south inside a mile off the coast then made a left turn in the general direction of Punta Pescadero," Eddy said. "I was pulling a cedar plug, a big plastic dorado feather skimming the surface, and, you guessed it, a 4.5-inch Jointed Rebel Fastrac. The Fastrac caught both fish."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Simon Cazaly of the Vista Sea Sport diving service said good conditions prevailed at East Cape locations before the arrival of heavy tropical weather last week, with the water temperature at Punta Pescadero at 82 degrees and visibility at 40 to 45 feet. Sea life sightings included bigeye jack, large grouper, large green moray eel, diamond stingray, guitarfish, stone scorpionfish, zebra moray eel, and nudibranchs. The East Cape diving area was calm again over the weekend. "As I look outside now, the sea is flat, having calmed down after the high winds from earlier in the week and I can't wait to get back out there," Cazaly said.

LA PAZ FISHING REPORTS

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LA PAZ, MEXICO: Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing said the week's very rough weather for southern Baja areas including La Paz caused no serious damage other than the usual street flooding, and the city was returning to normal over the weekend. Fishing after the storm was slow at the end of the week in turbid, green water and reduced water temperatures. Tortuga pangas on the Las Arenas side were finding some dorado to 25 pounds and yellowfin tuna of 15 to 20 pounds off Punta Perico and south of Isla Cerralvo, where bait was also available. "We're just waiting for the water to clear up and the fishing to return to what it was just before the storm," Hernandez said. Anglers finding good action just before the storm arrived included Carrie, Jeremy, Reed, and Daniel Barnes of Los Angeles, who caught dorado to 50 pounds and a marlin that could not be released while fishing at the buoys with Tortuga's Capts. Rigo and Jorge Lucero.

LORETO FISHING REPORTS

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LORETO, MEXICO: Patty Zapata of the Hotel Oasis reported Loreto area weather too strong to fish in by Tuesday as south winds forced pangas back to the beach by 10 a.m. Pangas returned to the water in good weather on Friday and Saturday but found fishing still slow in settling conditions. For the week, 11 pangas fished out of the hotel for a combined catch including released fish of: 12 dorado of 11 to 24 pounds, 1 blue marlin of 198 pounds, 1 mullet snapper of 8 pounds, and 8 pinto bass or spotted cabrilla. Hotel Oasis pangas fished at Bajo San Bruno, Bajo Mercenarios, Bajo Punta Lobos, and around Isla Coronado. Anglers fishing with Loreto Capts. Francisco Martínez Jr., Francisco Martínez Sr., Martín Davis Castro, Ismael Murillo, Luciano Murillo, and Alfonso Susarrey included: Chuck Eggert, Chris Beck, Rob Gorr, Evan Fujinaga, Michael Mulry-Monti, Jeff Cecchin, Brian Murphy, Chuck Naas and Jeff Naas who caught the blue marlin on Tuesday, Thomas Tanita, Kenneth Rogers, Don Palmer, Daniel Palmer, Donald Gilliland, and Mark Abbott.

LORETO, MEXICO: Lynn Hamman of Loreto reported lots of wind and rain, and some street flooding, but no major damage from Hurricane Henriette's passage to the south. "Henriette never did do a direct hit to Loreto," Hamman said immediately after the storm. "All the streets are like rivers, especially the ones that are currently torn up. We never lost power or water, yet. This one was not as bad as Hurricane John last year. People are mopping up their homes."

SANTA ROSALIA FISHING REPORTS

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SANTA ROSALIA, MEXICO: For the previous week, Mike Kanzler of Isla San Marcos reported sauna-like weather in the Santa Rosalia fishing area, with air temperatures in the mid-90s, relative humidity at over 70 percent, and water temperatures to 86 degrees. Water visibility was cloudy at 15 to 25 feet inshore, and 30 to 60 feet outside. A fishing run to the 110 bajo was surprisingly good for yellowtail and both sawtail and gulf grouper with Kanzler's son Miguel and Carlos Garces of the island's COMSA gypsum mining company.

SANTA ROSALIA, MEXICO: Kanzler also reported an amazing encounter with 2 large oarfish during the trip back to the island, on Sept. 1, 2007. "En route to Isla San Marcos, about to pass the west lighthouse rocks heading back to the dock, I saw 2 things that appeared to be swimming toward the shallows," Kanzler said. "Two oarfish were just swimming in the shallows. One of the oarfish beached itself on a tide pool rock and the other swam behind it. The oarfish lives in the abyss and is rarely seen on the surface. Most specimens are found washed up on shore. They must come to the shallows to see the light of the sun, maybe for the first time, before they succumb. I did try to move one of the fish back out to deeper water, but to no avail. It was somewhat sad watching an episode like that take place. Then again maybe that is the ultimate plan. We're not to do anything and let things take their natural course." (Complete photo sequence at bottom of page.)

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

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BAHIA DE LOS ANGELES, MEXICO: Abraham Vazquez of Camp Gecko at Bahia de los Angeles reported no noticeable weather effect from Hurricane Henriette. "We did not get anything," Vazquez said. "No rain and no wind. You could see the clouds in the distance, but that was about it." Bahia de los Angeles fishing area weather was cooler at 90 degrees, with water temperatures at 81 to 84 degrees and good dorado action in blue water inside the bay, north of Isla Smith, and going northwards for larger fish at Punta Remedios. Yellowtail of 10 to 20 pounds were caught on Baja Guadalupe and south at Roca Bernabe. Bait fish were scarce in the bay, but whale shark were still present. The new electrical cables from Mex 1 were all the way into town and being extended to Punta la Gringa.

BAHIA DE LOS ANGELES, MEXICO: Mark Baker of Hemet, Calif., reported on 2 days of panga fishing together with his brother Bobby Baker and Nicole Venegas on a Casa Diaz panga with Capt. Gilberto for very good dorado action going northwards toward Punta Remedios and a catch of: 19 dorado to 25 pounds, 4 yellowtail, 4 gulf grouper, 5 bonita, and 1 cabrilla. "Just north of Remedios, Bob got a jig strike, our first-ever dorado at L.A. Bay," Baker said. "Nicole fished bait and, wham, she got her first dorado at Bahia. We got more on the troll. We got needlefish on the troll that we stripped for bait when we ran out. We would keep a dorado in the water and then there would be more and we would throw the strip bait on them. When you catch dorado at L.A. Bay it's something special. We've tried for years to get them there and came up empty. Not this time." Dorado were caught in warm water of at least 80 degrees at Punta Remedios very close to shore. "I would say 50 yards out and I would guess they were traveling north," Baker said. "The second day, they were another mile up from the previous day, but still close to shore." Only about 5 boats or less were fishing in the area.

BAHIA DE LOS ANGELES, MEXICO: Peter Lamy of Garden Grove, Calif., reported on an outing at Bahia de los Angeles on Terry Trebilcock's 28-foot boat with local Capt. Boroni for a catch of 3 yellowtail of 5 to 10 pounds, 1 grouper, and 1 dorado. "Fishing was very slow," Lamy said. "We fished the gap and back side of Isla Smith and outside the big island."

SAN FELIPE FISHING REPORTS

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SAN FELIPE, MEXICO: During a rough weather week on the southern Sea of Cortez, Tony Reyes of Tony Reyes Fishing Tours reported on 6-day Midriff Islands fishing trips by the panga motherships Jose Andres and Tony Reyes, returning to San Felipe on Sept. 6-7, 2007, with a catch of:

Tony Reyes: 21 yellowtail of 15 to 30 pounds, 77 cabrilla of 6 to 12 pounds, 20 pargos of 6 to 12 pounds, 256 spotted bay bass of 3 to 6 pounds, 27 dorado to 15 to 25 pounds, 1 white seabass of 15 pounds, 1 grouper of 45 pounds, and 5 sheephead of 10 pounds.

Jose Andres: 160 cabrilla of 10 to 16 pounds, 84 yellowtail of 12 to 24 pounds, 59 spotted bay bass, 28 Humboldt giant squid of 14 to 38 pounds, 8 shark of 35 to 70 pounds, 3 dorado of 14 to 18 pounds, 3 red snapper of 8 to 12 pounds, and 1 sheephead of 8 pounds.

For the previous week, the Tony Reyes reported: 300 yellowtail of 15 to 28 pounds, 50 cabrilla of 6 to 12 pounds, 7 pargos of 6 to 12 pounds, 84 spotted bay bass, 35 dorado of 15 to 30 pounds, 2 white seabass of 15 and 20 pounds, and 2 sheephead of 6 and 10 pounds.

ROCKY POINT (PUERTO PENASCO) FISHING REPORTS

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ROCKY POINT, MEXICO: Art Pina of Tucson, Ariz., reported on fishing out of Rocky Point over the Labor Day weekend aboard Mike Berry's boat as far out as the 51-mile reef for nothing on the bottom, but 5 peanut dorado plus a few skipjack and sierra caught on the troll in flat seas and water temperatures of 89 to 90 degrees. "Bait was nowhere to be found," Pina said. "It was extremely hot. The minute you stopped the boat you started melting. The seas were so flat you could see the dorado feeding. We also saw a number of whales and mantas. We even took a trip to Bird Island just for the boat ride."

SAN CARLOS (SONORA) FISHING REPORTS

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SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: John Hilderbrand of Jon Jen Charters reported the results of the San Carlos Labor Day Fishing Tournament, with 31 boats fishing 3 days for a combined catch including released fish of: 75 marlin, 46 sailfish, and 2 dorado. Almost all billfish were released. Winning boats were, in order, Primetime, Spending Nicely, and JonJen I and Predator tied for third place. San Carlos fishing area weather was calm and flat the first 2 days of the tournament, with some seas building the last day due to the effects of distant stormy conditions to the south. "Everyone enjoyed this beautiful tournament and our thanks to all the sponsors for a well organized and staffed event," Hilderbrand said.

PUERTO VALLARTA FISHING REPORTS

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PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Danny Gomez of Dhamar Sportfishing said Puerto Vallarta fishing action was very good offshore in clean blue water for yellowfin tuna and marlin at El Banco. The charter super panga Dhamar had few bookings for the week, but was expecting more anglers in September. Information: 011-52-329-295-5397, daniel_gomez1015@yahoo.com.mx.

PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: For the previous week, Josh Temple of Prime Time Adventures reported on an outing by the Puerto Vallarta charter boat Conquistador with angler Steve Danziger fishing in the Ujena Bikini Jam tournament for a 2-day catch including released fish of: 2 blue marlin on 4 hits, and 1 yellowfin tuna of 296.4 pounds. The Conquistador fished on structure west of Puerto Vallarta, Temple said, in 86 to 88-degree purple-blue water using caballito and skipjack baits. Temple also noted that charters trips on the Conquistador are booked for the foreseeable future.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO FISHING REPORTS

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IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Ed Kunze, reporting for Baja On The Fly, said the week's heavy rains of up to 9 inches in a 24-hour period kept near shore water cloudy and slowed the fishing last week at Ixtapa Zihuatanejo. "On Thursday, Capt. Santiago, on the panga Gitana went out 24 miles and still didn't find blue water, nor did he get a strike from any kind of a fish," Kunze said. On Sunday, the Gitana was heading out to the 1,000-fathom line at 30 miles. Commercial pangueros reported dorado at 30 to 35 miles. Inshore water was clearing but still murky. Ixtapa fishing area weather was partly cloudy at 90 degrees, with water temperatures of 80 to 84 degrees.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Stan Lushinsky of Ixtapa Sportfishing Charters said uncooperative weather restricted fishing at Ixtapa Zihuatanejo last week as offshore boats found sailfish sparse and Capt. Temo reported some dorado to 30 and 50 pounds, with the better action found outside the 17-mile mark. Inshore, Capt. Adolpho on the charter boat Dos Hermanos I contended with rain, high surf, and murky water, but managed 14 roosterfish in 4 days of fishing. Ixtapa fishing area weather was rainy, humid, and rough.

MEXICO COASTAL FISHING REPORTS

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MEXICO: Moderately strong Category 1 Hurricane Henriette made a last-minute swerve to the east and scored a direct hit on the tip of Baja, coming ashore between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo with moderately heavy rain and winds of about 75 to 85 m.p.h. at about noon on Sept. 4, 2007. The storm moved north over the tip of Baja, entered the Sea of Cortez just east of La Paz and dissipated over the Mexican mainland. Storm damage was relatively light in Baja California and affected parts of the mainland coast south of Guaymas.

MEXICO: Well-known Baja surf fishing guide Jeff Klassen, formerly of Cabo San Lucas, reported from his new headquarters at Melanque on the Mexican Pacific coast just north of Barra de Navidad that he'll have a new sportfishing operation and tackle store set up soon and will resume his weekly "Klassen Comments" fishing report. Klassen also noted that he expects his long-awaited Mexico sportfishing guidebook to be published in time for next year's Fred Hall Shows, with surf and offshore fishing information on Los Cabos, East Cape, La Paz, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo, Acapulco, and Zihuatanejo. "Our real fishing season here is October through May, so we're getting all geared up," Klassen said. "I started the book 7 years ago. Can you believe it's been that long?"

San Quintin Mexico White Seabass Fishing Photo 1

DON EDDIE'S BASSIN' TIME--It was a very good white seabass week for boats fishing out of San Quintin's Don Eddie's Landing. Shown with a great load of croakers and the Don Eddie's charter boat Sofia are staffers, from left, Juan, Pepe, Alonzo, Don Eddie Marquez, and charter sportfishing Capt. Juan Cook. Just visible on the far right, another load of big white seabass on the Don Eddie's fish rack. PHOTO COURTESY OF MARITA MELVILLE.

San Quintin Mexico White Seabass Fishing Photo 2

WITH CAPT. LILO--Brian Bunting landed this beautiful white seabass with San Quintin's Capt. Hector "Lilo" Villavicencio while fishing at the mouth of the bay out of Pedro's Pangas. Bunting hooked the big croaker on a Krocodile and almost lost it at gaff to a sea lion. PHOTO COURTESY OF BRIAN BUNTING.

Ensenada Mexico Yellowtail Fishing Photo 1

NO ALUMINUM JIGS--Usually, Jay Johnson of Ensenada, left, and panga Capt. Beto Zamora of Ensenada's Vonny's Fleet hook their yellowtail with Vonny's Fleet's locally made aluminum jigs, but this nice trio of forkies from 15 to 22 pounds were caught with Rapala X-Raps. Panga fishing at Punta Banda on Thursday also produced a good count of calico bass, red rockcod, and lingcod. PHOTO COURTESY OF IVAN VILLARINO.

Baja California Mexico Dorado Fishing Photo 1

BAJA COASTAL FISHING--Mike Rogalla with a beautiful Pacific northern Baja dorado caught aboard his boat while fishing south of the Coronado Islands during a trip last week that also produced 2 yellowtail and another dorado. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN MIGEOT.

Bahia Asuncion Mexico Fishing Photo 1

BAHIA ASUNCION SPORTFISHING--Zac Johnston, left, and Capt. Juan Arce Marron of Arce Bros. Sportfishing with part of their 6-yellowtail catch in panga action just north of Bahia Asuncion at Punta San Pablo. Arce and his wife Shari Bondy have sportfishing charters and accommodations available at Bahia Asuncion's Baja Bed & Breakfast. At right, two friendly representatives of Baja Bed & Breakfast's fish inspection committee check out the day's catch. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SHARI BONDY.

Bahia Asuncion Mexico Fishing Photo 3

PUNTA SAN PABLO--Capt. Juan Arce's new panga fishing service, Arce Bros. Sportfishing, takes clients out on Baja's semi-remote open Pacific coast at Bahia Asuncion. Here, Arce hoists a nice yellowtail caught at Punta San Pablo with Zac Johnston of San Diego, Calif. PHOTO COURTESY OF ZAC JOHNSTON.

La Bocana Mexico Fishing Photo 1

PACIFIC BAJA DORADO--Capt. Juanchys Aguilar of La Bocana on the semi-remote Pacific coast of Baja with a nice dorado caught during 3 days of fishing with Derek Arneson and Armando Rodriguez of San Diego that produced a release catch of up to 31 dorado per day in green 73-degree water. At right, Arneson with a calico bass caught in release action for up to 50-plus fish per day. PHOTOS COURTESY OF DEREK ARNESON.

Isla Guadalupe Mexico Great White Shark Encounter Photo 1

GUADALUPE GREAT WHITE ENCOUNTER--Great white sharks, some battle scarred, come close to the boat during a shark encounter trip last month at Isla Guadalupe by John Lyddon's boat Don Juan out of Newport Beach, Calif., with photos taken by the boat's captain and photographer Jay Torre. PHOTOS COURTESY OF JIM WEIDLER.

Cabo San Lucas Mexico Fishing Photo 1

CABO PANGA CHARTER--Capt. Ramon Druck, left, of the Caba San Lucas charter super panga Cheer's got blown out by weather most of last week, but managed this outing with clients from Mazatlan, Cabo, and Mexico City, for a catch of 4 local dorado. PHOTO COURTESY OF RAMON DRUCK.

Cabo San Lucas Mexico Fishing Photo 2

MAGIC CABO DAYS--Mitchell Campbell, right, of Canada, and Laura Campbell fished 3 days aboard the Cabo San Lucas charter boat Cabo Magic with Capt. Hector for a total catch including released fish of : 5 striped marlin, 2 blue marlin, 2 yellowfin tuna, and this nice dorado. At left is Cabo Magic first mate Carlos Garcia. PHOTO COURTESY OF LORI GARCIA.

Cabo San Lucas Mexico Fishing Photo 3

SPINNING ROD MARLIN--Kelli Mitchell, left, fished out of Cabo San Lucas with Baja Anglers' Grant Hartman aboard the charter boat Flying Fish IV and scored her first-ever striped marlin with a spinning rod and the bait-and-switch method. The outing at the Golden Gate Bank, together with Steve Mitchell, also produced a first-ever spinning rod marlin for Steve. "They cast their own baits, and hooked and fought their fish on light spinning gear," Hartman said. PHOTO COURTESY OF GRANT HARTMAN.

San Jose del Cabo Mexico Fishing Photo 1

LOS CABOS PANGA--Dianna Cooper of Long Beach, Calif., with Capt. Marcello of San Jose del Cabo's Guluarte Fleet Sportfishing and a nice bull dorado landed in 20 minutes on 30-pound line. At right, Todd Cameron, fishing just a day before the arrival of big tropical weather, landed the nice amberjack, plus red and yellow snappers, and a 25-pound grouper. PHOTOS COURTESY OF TODD CAMERON.

Puerto Los Cabo sMexico New Marina Photo 1

Puerto Los Cabo sMexico New Marina Photo 2

Puerto Los Cabo sMexico New Marina Photo 3

NEW BAJA MARINA--Boats are beginning to use the new Puerto Los Cabos marina at San Jose del Cabo's La Playita Beach. The marina's new rock jetties held up fine during recent Hurricane Henriette's direct hit with 75 m.p.h. winds. Middle, adjacent beach areas suffered erosion. Bottom, the marina's open entrance facing the sea. PHOTOS COURTESY OF ERIC BRICTSON.

East Cape Mexico Storm Photo 1

East Cape Mexico Fish Photo 1

STORMY EAST CAPE--It may not look like it, but that's East Cape's Buena Vista area out there, as seen from Torrance Eddy's house as it was being hit last week by Hurricane Henriette. Somewhere out there is Hotel Palmas de Cortez. Storm damage from the storm in southern Baja was light. Below, Eddy's Jointed Rebel caught dorado and yellowfin tuna, hooked from his East Cape tin boat about 12 hours before the arrival of strong tropical winds that shut down all fishing in the area. PHOTOS COURTESY OF TORRANCE EDDY.

East Cape Mexico Diving Photo 1

GROUP DIVE--At East Cape's Cabo Pulmo, Vista Sea Sport divers in late August were greeted with a nice collection local inhabitants including a black colored triggerfish, diamond stingray, several porcupine fishes, and more. At right, a sedna nudibranch amidst tubastrea coral at Cabo Pulmo. PHOTOS COURTESY OF NEIL PEAK.

La Paz Mexico Fishing Photo 1

CALM BEFORE HENRIETTE--In bright sun and calm weather, anglers Carrie, Jeremy, Reed, and Daniel Barnes of Los Angeles, Calif., enjoyed a great day of panga fishing with La Paz' Tortuga Sportfishing, just before the arrival of heavy tropical weather last week. They fished on the Las Arenas side buoys with Tortuga Capts. Rigo and Jorge Lucero. One marlin was also kept that died during the fight and could not be released. PHOTO COURTESY OF GERARDO HERNANDEZ.

Loreto Mexico Fishing Photo 1 Loreto Mexico Fishing Photo 2

LORETO DORADO--Chuck Eggert, left, and Chris Beck fished at Loreto before last week's rough weather arrived and scored on dorado to 18 pounds at Bajo Punta Lobos with the Hotel Oasis' Capt. Martín Davis Castro. At right, Chuck Naas and his son Jeff Nass teamed up on the rod to land this blue marlin that was hooked 5 miles east of Isla Coronado on Tuesday morning as they hurriedly trolled feathers back to the hotel in increasing southern winds from the approaching storm. They fished with the Hotel Oasis' Capt. Alfonso Susarrey. PHOTOS COURTESY OF PATTY ZAPATA.

Mulege Mexico Storm Photo 1

HENRIETTE DOES CHIVATO--In a photo taken last week, surf from distant Hurricane Henriette buries the famous launch ramp near the Hotel Punta Chivato south of Mulege. The storm's path was centered somewhere on the Sea of Cortez far to the south between La Paz and the Mexican mainland. PHOTO COURTESY OF JIM WEIDLER.

Santa Rosalia Mexico Fishing Photo 1

KID GARROPA--Miguel Kanzler lives on Isla San Marcos and fishes the Santa Rosalia area a lot with his well-known dad, Mike Kanzler, so he catches a lot of fish. But recently, he caught his first-ever gulf grouper, this beauty, while fishing with his dad at the 110 bajo north of the island. PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE KANZLER.

Bahia del los Angeles Mexico Fishing Photo 1

SINGLE DODO CATCH--Terry Trebilcock fished at Bahia de los Angeles on his boat with Peter Lamy of Garden Grove, Calif., and local Capt. Boroni for 3 yellowtail, 1 grouper, and just this 1 dorado, at Isla Smith and outside Isla Angel de la Guarda. Some boats did well on dorado last week by fishing north of town at Punta Remedios. PHOTO COURTESY OF PETER LAMY.

Bahia del los Angeles Mexico Dorado Fishing Photo 1

BAHIA DORADO--Mark Baker, left, Nicole Venegas, and Bobby Baker found great dorado action for 19 fish to 25 pounds during 2 days of fishing at Punta Remedios north of Bahia de los Angeles on a Casa Diaz panga with Capt. Gilberto. PHOTO COURTESY OF MARK BAKER.

Puerto Vallarta Mexico Tuna Fishing Photo 1

VALLARTA COW CATCHER--Steve Danziger, left, with Capt. Josh Temple of the Puerto Vallarta charter boat Conquistador and a 296.4-pound yellowfin tuna landed at the end of August during 2 days of fishing for the Ujena Bikini Jam tournament. The cow class tuna hit a live bait in purple-blue water at 86 to 88 degrees. PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOSH TEMPLE.

Mexico Storm Track Graphic

HENRIETTE COMES ASHORE--The storm hit Baja "right between the eyes" last week as it made landfall with 75-85 m.p.h. winds between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. NOAA GRAPHIC.

Santa Rosalia Mexico Live Oarfish Encounter Photo 1

Santa Rosalia Mexico Live Oarfish Encounter Photo 2

Santa Rosalia Mexico Live Oarfish Encounter Photo 3

Santa Rosalia Mexico Live Oarfish Encounter Photo 4

Santa Rosalia Mexico Live Oarfish Encounter Photo 5

AMAZING OARFISH ENCOUNTER--In one of the rarest and most amazing marine life encounters ever photographed, Mike Kanzler of Isla San Marcos in the Santa Rosalia area of Baja California recorded the final moments of life of 2 oarfish as they swam to the island and beached themselves on Sept. 1, 2007. Efforts to save one of the magnificent deep ocean fish were unsuccessful. From top, the oarfish are shown: swimming together off the north end of the island, approaching shore, reaching the rocks, thrashing the water furiously as they force themselves onto land, and at the boat landing dock on Isla San Marcos. PHOTOS COURTESY OF MIKE KANZLER.

BAJA MEXICO FISHING REPORT ARCHIVES AND FISH PICTURES