Cabo San Lucas marlin fishing counts good as big weather nears;

Solid tuna action along Baja's Pacific coast

Mexico Fishing News, October 13, 2008

CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORTS

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CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 60 outings by Gaviota Fleet and the Cabo charter boats Fish Cabo, Fish Cabo I, and Tuna Time, with a catch including released fish of: 112 striped marlin, 103 dorado, 2 sailfish, and 23 yellowfin tuna.

"While the striped marlin numbers only reflect an average of a couple per day, many of the boats had 4 or 6-fish days," Edwards said. "Striped marlin action is rapidly moving into high gear on the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas." The week's top fleet boat was the Fish Cabo, with a catch including released fish that included 23 striped marlin and 11 dorado for 5 outings.

"The problem this week is Hurricane Norbert, which is expected to make landfall near Magdalena Bay on Saturday with winds of 115 to 130 m.p.h.," Edwards said. "Even though Magdalena Bay is 155 miles northwest of Cabo, these storms tend to cover an enormous swath of water. The next storm, Odile, is slated to become a hurricane and should arrive in the Cabo San Lucas fishing area next Wednesday to Thursday morning. Both storms will likely result in significant rainfall throughout lower Baja."

Cabo San Lucas fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the mid-90s, with seas still fishable, a building southwest swell, and water temperatures ranging from 86 to 88 degrees.

Most Cabo San Lucas sportfishing boats continued to fish with live bait at the Pacific-side Golden Gate Bank.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: For the week ending Oct. 5, 2008, George Landrum of Fly Hooker Sportfishing reported a tail-wrapped blue marlin of 376 pounds brought in after it died during the fight, and big striped marlin numbers coming closer to Cabo San Lucas.

"Last week you had to go 50 miles for double-digits," Landrum said, "but this week the Golden Gate Bank started to turn on and the run was much shorter. One boat got a 3-day total of 33 striped marlin as well as several sailfish."

Cabo San Lucas sportfishing boats running to the Finger Bank area farther north reported as many as 45 striped marlin released per day.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Jim Dillon of Salvador's Sportfishing reported on 13 outings by the Cabo San Lucas charter boats El Budster, El Budster I, and El Budster II, with a catch including released fish of: 13 striped marlin, 4 sailfish, 12 yellowfin tuna of 15 to 40 pounds, 26 dorado of 25 to 40 pounds, 1 boat with Mexico fishing limits of dorado of 15 to 25 pounds, and 1 wahoo of 40 pounds.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Ramon Druck of the Cabo San Lucas charter sportfishing panga Cheer's reported on an outing with anglers Curt Colley and Steve Danner of Washington State for a catch including released fish of: 9 dorado of 4 to 15 pounds, 3 other dorado lost, and a wahoo of about 40 pounds broken off. The Cheer's fished along Cabo San Lucas' Pacific side beaches and outwards to about a mile off Faro Viejo in very calm sea conditions. "The wahoo got away when we touched the leader and it broke," Druck said. "I haven't had many tourists this week. Today the port of Cabo San Lucas is closed to small boats less than 28 feet due to the coming storm. I'm hoping that the weather and business improve next week."

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: For the week ending Oct. 1, 2008, Tracy Ehrenberg of Pisces Fleet Sportfishing reported several blue marlin under 300 pounds landed and increasing early fall action for striped marlin on the Pacific side banks, including a 21 striper release day for the charter boat Rebecca at the Golden Gate Bank. "We are also starting to see the massing of striped marlin expected a bit later in the year at the Finger Bank and the Golden Gate Bank," Ehrenberg said. Overall, 75 percent of Pisces charters released billfish, 75 percent landed dorado of 15 to 30 pounds, 24 percent caught yellowfin tuna, and 99 percent scored on all fish species combined. Pisces Fleet staffer Adriana Moya fished in the San Jose del Cabo Governor's Cup tournament and landed an estimated 250-pound blue marlin. "Although blue marlin have not been plentiful at Cabo San Lucas, we did have 3 this week which is a good sign for the upcoming tournaments," Ehrenberg said. "However, none of these blue marlin would have made the tournament minimum weight requirement of 300 pounds."

Cabo San Lucas fishing area weather was hot in the high-90s, with mostly clear skies and water temperatures averaging 85 degrees.

In other mainland Mexico and Baja fishing action this week:

ENSENADA FISHING REPORTS

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ENSENADA, MEXICO: Steve Ross of the boat Bad Dog at Ensenada's Marina Coral reported on an overnight offshore run from the marina south to a spot about 20 miles off Punta Colonet aboard Tom McInally's boat Wide Open for a "wide-open" jig and kelp paddy session on yellowfin tuna of 25 to 35 pounds and yellowtail of 8 to 12 pounds, plus 1 mako shark, skipjack on the troll, and a slower bite for about 6 more tuna the following morning.

"We departed Marina Coral on Friday night, heading for the hot tuna bite reported by Bob Vanian's 976BITE," Ross said, "and we purchased a tankful of small green mackerel at Mike's receivers.

"At daybreak, southwest of Punta Colonet, we set out a pattern of 5 lures, a Moldcraft 'Lil Bird' followed by 4 inline 7-Strand TCF 100s, a very small tuna lure, and trailing, a 7-Strand TCF300, now out of production, which is a heavy headed tuna clone lure. All the lures were in 'midnight' color.

"We had our first double jig strike and shortly thereafter found our one-and-only kelp paddy of the day at GPS 30.50 116.39 where 976BITE had reported a boat catching limits of yellowfin tuna the day before. Another huge assistance was Jeff Gammon's SST Terrafin Charts and Chlorophyll Charts which clearly defined the area.

"We went into a 4-hour bait stop. The yellowfin tuna were so thick on our chum trail that I went to my lift pole and boated a nice 25 pounder.

"We all caught our Mexican limits of yellowfin tuna and yellowtail.

"When the bite died down, we returned to trolling and we began catching skipjack which we released.

"We moored for the night in the still waters near the protective rocks of the point and the panga fishermen.

"We couldn't have had such a successful trip without the guidance from 976BITE and Terrafin Charts."

Baja coastal fishing weather off Punta Colonet had light winds to 10 knots, swells to 5 feet, and blue water at 68 degrees.

Ross also noted that he probably would not fish in the weekend's Baja California-sponsored fishing tournament at Ensenada due to rough weather forecast for the area. "The weather forecasts for Ensenada are stating that the winds will blow up to 20 knots with seas up to 7 feet, and the surf should rise to 20 footers as well," Ross said. "We bought tickets to the Torneo de Pesca Deportiva but will have to eat them. I will leave the ocean to the younger more brave pescadores."

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Ivan Villarino of Vonny's Fleet said his charter pangas fishing at the tip of Ensenada's scored steady Mexican sportfishing limits on red rockcod, Johnny bass, salmon grouper, calico bass, lots of bonita to 9 pounds for the fish smoker, and a 16-pound yellowtail landed by George Chew early in the week while fishing with Capt. Beto on the Vonny I. "George limited out fishing at the point 75 to 100 feet deep," Villarino said. "He fished with anchovies and squid on dropper loops. On the aluminum jigs, they landed some fat bonita, and then the yellowtail hit on the last throw. Not bad."

Jay Johnson of Ensenada's Barra Arenosa neighborhood got into a hot bite of bonito with Capt. Beto and also did well on mixed bottom fish at 100 to 200 feet deep.

Other anglers fishing with Vonny's Fleet during the week included Brian "Calico" Foley of Campo La Joya, who loaded up on red rockcod.

Local Ensenada fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the mid-70s, with light winds, ocean swells at 2 to 4 feet, and the water temperature at the tip of Punta Banda averaging 60 degrees.

ERENDIRA FISHING REPORTS

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ERENDIRA, MEXICO: Tere Castro of Castro's Camp at Erendira south of Ensenada reported 17 boats fishing during the week, with about 70 anglers, and fish counts led by mixed rockcods, ocean whitefish, plus red snapper and cowcod to 12 pounds caught at deeper fishing locations about 14 miles out.

Baja coastal fishing water temperatures off Erendira averaged a warm 67 to 69 degrees. "The water has been very clean and calm, and the weather has been very good," Castro said. "It has been a little bit too hot. We have also had some bonita and a few yellowtail."

Anglers fishing at Castro's Camp during the week included Jim Maurtiz of Oceanside, Calif., who went out with Capt. Ublado, the Bakersfield, Calif., group of Stan Newman, Jim Merrill, Bruce Merrill, and Eric Merrill, who fished with Capt. Jorge, and Rudy Soto, Ralph Burnette, and Roy Trejo, all of Carlsbad, Calif.

BAJA COASTAL FISHING REPORTS

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BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: Shari Bondy of Baja Bed & Breakfast at Bahia Asuncion reported steady Mexican sportfishing limits by Capt. Juan Arce of Arce Bros. Sportfishing for yellowtail and yellowfin tuna that were moving in closer to shore around Punta San Pablo. "The big tuna boats have been working near here all week," Bondy said. "Juan has been limiting out nearly every day. The tuna are preferring the cedar plugs but they are getting scarce."

Baja coastal fishing weather was mostly calm, with light winds and good water clarity. "The water is so clear you can see the yellowtail chase the lures," Bondy said.

Kayak anglers at Bahia Asuncion reported good catches of big calico bass and yellowtail at nearby Isla Asuncion. Beach anglers caught calico bass, bonito, yellowtail, and croaker.

Bondy also noted that Baja Bed & Breakfast has opened its new "Campo Sirena" RV and camping area with bathroom, shower, wireless internet, water, lending library, electricity, and an RV dump station.

Activities at Baja Bed & Breakfast included lobster dinners from the new commercial lobster season and the gathering of local pitahaya cactus fruits. "We can make pitahaya Margaritas with our stuffed tuna!" Bondy said.

BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: Juanchys Aguilar of La Bocana on Baja's central Pacific coast reported on a 9-boat fleet that made sportfishing trips during the week with American anglers for a total week's catch including released fish of: 252 yellowfin tuna of 25 to 32 pounds, 29 wahoo of 35 to 65 pounds, 61 dorado of 20 to 45 pounds, 25 bonito, 6 medium-sized sierra, and 211 yellowtail of 12 to 25 pounds. "We're fishing for wahoo at a bank called the '25' located 3 miles north of the Polaris," Aguilar said. "The water is very clear, and there is little wind."

Yellowfin tuna were caught in clear water just 5.5 miles from the La Bocana boca, and yellowtail were caught 1 to 2 miles from the village.

"The last 3 weeks of fishing have been super excellent at La Bocana," Aguilar said.

BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: For the previous week, Les Heil of Baja Bocana Bed & Breakfast at La Bocana reported on a run with a neighbor to the 25 bank located 20 miles northwest of the boca for a catch of 6 small tuna, 1 dorado, and 6 wahoo of 30 to 40 pounds. "We stopped after 8 hookups on the wahoo, as I didn't want to kill any more of those majestic fish," Heil said.

MAGDALENA BAY FISHING REPORTS

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MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO: Bill Erhardt of Loreto reported on a fishing trip from Magdalena Bay aboard his trailer boat Soledad for his Mexican sportfishing limit of 5 wahoo into the mid-30 pound range by 1 p.m., plus some yellowfin tuna of 15 to 20 pounds.

"I trailered my boat from Loreto to Puerto Lopez Mateos and fished outside Boca de Soledad to the Thetis Bank and the Ridge north," Erhardt said. "The schools of yellowfin tuna are large and hungry. I had 5 tuna in the boat in about 30 minutes before I stowed my lines and called it a day. I saw no marlin or dorado on the trip. "

Barry Wilkerson of Loreto also towed his boat to Magdalena Bay and fished 2 days including an overnight stop at Bahia Santa Marina for a catch with Bill Klaser of 6 wahoo.

Puerto Lopez Mateos' Capt. Ruben Duran reported 4 wahoo on Wednesday during fishing with 2 clients.

Offshore Magdalena Bay fishing area weather was good, with a slow swell at about 6 feet in advance of Hurricane Norbert, and with water temperatures at about 82 degrees.

MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said the Magdalena Bay fishing area and the nearby Baja Pacific coast were on watch for the approach of Hurricane Norbert, forecast to make landfall on Saturday. "Offshore fishing at Magdalena Bay remained good preceding the storm," Graham said. "Wahoo, a few small yellowtail, and yellowfin tuna were caught."

More sportfishing yachts were arriving daily in anticipation of the annual Magdalena Bay fall fish pileup. "They reported marlin from the Ridge down to the San Carlos entrada," Graham said.

Few boats fished inside the Magdalena Bay mangrove channels, as the catch included small sierra in open water plus corvina, leopard grouper, snappers, and some snook in the channels.

Magdalena Bay fishing area weather was mostly clear in the mid-90s, with water temperatures at 78 to 84 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 96 combined La Playita fleet pangas fishing out of San Jose del Cabo's Puerto Los Cabos marina, with a catch including released fish of: 236 yellowfin tuna, 194 dorado, 1 black marlin, 2 striped marlin, 6 sailfish, 2 wahoo, 14 dogtooth snapper, 25 barred pargo, 76 triggerfish, 35 red snapper, 3 amberjack, and 9 cabrilla.

San Jose del Cabo fishing area operations were being impacted by the expected Pacific-side passing of Hurricane Norbert, expected to make landfall near Magdalena Bay on Saturday, cross eastwards over the Baja peninsula, and dissipate over the Mexican mainland. "Most San Jose del Cabo charter operations shut down as of Thursday morning due to small craft advisories, 8-foot seas, and the possibility of rainfall," Brictson said. "This is most likely going to be the scenario at Los Cabos for the next couple of days." The next tropical disturbance coming up the Mexican coast, Odile, was following a similar course and was expected to pass by the tip of Baja during the following week.

San Jose del Cabo sportfishing pangas found more scattered action during the week, as an on-and-off bite produced some yellowfin tuna of 40 to 60 pounds on cut giant squid bait. Dorado were found in all directions and Mexican sportfishing limits of 2 dorado per angler were commonly caught while trolling lures and bait.

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: San Jose del Cabo species fishing specialist John Snow said the very large fish identification DVD database complied by Drs. Ross Robertson and Gerald Allen of the Smithsonian Institute in Panama has been made available online at Neotropicalfishes.org. The constantly updated database covers fish found in the eastern tropical Pacific ocean, including Baja California and the Mexican Pacific mainland coast. "This epic work originally came out on a CD and then on a DVD and is now available online," Snow said. "I have sent him photos of 72 different species and I am pleased to report that I now have 5 photos contained in the database. I also have 3 species caught at San Jose del Cabo pending for inclusion, the River Goby, Awaous banana, the Mexican Rockfish, Sebastes macdonaldi, and the Starry Rockfish, Sebastes constellatus. These are the first reports of the very common cold water rockfishes venturing into the Eastern Tropical Pacific."

EAST CAPE FISHING REPORTS

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EAST CAPE, MEXICO: For the week ending Oct. 2, 2008, Chris Moyers of East Cape Smoke House reported on 281 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 823 anglers and a catch including released fish of: 2 blue marlin, 14 striped marlin, 99 sailfish, 464 dorado, 199 yellowfin tuna, 6 wahoo, and 8 roosterfish. East Cape fishing area weather was in the mid-90s, with water temperatures at 83 to 91 degrees. "East Cape fishing was a bit slower this past week as the dorado bite took a big hit," Moyers said. "There are still a pretty good number of dorado coming in, but not nearly as many as there were. If Hurricane Norbert continues on its current predicted path, it looks like East Cape could get some wind and rain."

Moyers also noted the grand opening of Smokey's Grill & Cantina at Los Barriles, held Oct. 4, 2008. "We finally did it!" Moyers said. "We were busy all day and we had to kick people out at 10 p.m. because we did not have a permit to stay open later. Weve been busy ever since."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: For the fishing week ending Sept. 25, 2008, Moyers reported on 163 boats from the same fleets, with 486 anglers and a catch including released fish of: 5 blue marlin, 22 striped marlin, 56 sailfish, 469 dorado, 86 yellowfin tuna, and 1 wahoo.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: For the fishing week ending Sept. 18, 2008, Moyers reported on 181 boats from the same fleets, with 534 anglers and a catch including released fish of: 1 striped marlin, 22 sailfish, 280 dorado, 879 yellowfin tuna, 7 wahoo, 7 roosterfish, and 1 triggerfish.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said most East Cape sportfishing boats had been pulled from the water in anticipation of Hurricane Norbert crossing over the Baja peninsula about 100 miles to the north. East Cape and La Paz fishing area charters caught just a few sailfish and even fewer striped marlin during the week. "Last weeks La Paz Gold Cup tournament attracted 71 boats for the 2 fishing days of the event, with only 2 fish being caught and only 1 fish qualified at 214 pounds to win all the marbles," Graham said.

Dorado and yellowfin tuna fish counts were also down for the week.

"The best East Cape fishing action was inshore from La Ribera to Punta Colorada for pompano, roosterfish, bonito, and ladyfish," Graham said. "We found our best fishing near rocks on both sides of Hotel Punta Colorada."

East Cape fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the low-90s, with water temperatures at 76 to 87 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: For the fishing week ending Oct. 2, 2008, Eddie Dalmau of Van Wormer Resorts reported on 285 East Cape charter fishing boats from Hotels Palmas de Cortez, Playa del Sol, and Punta Colorada, with a catch including released fish of: 6 blue marlin, 24 striped marlin, 82 sailfish, 600 dorado, 126 yellowfin tuna, 18 roosterfish, 4 wahoo, 3 cabrilla, 76 pargo, 70 triggerfish, 10 bonita, and 65 squid. East Cape fishing area weather was in the mid-90s, with water temperatures at 78 to 85 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Earlier, Jeff deBrown of The Reel Baja fly fishing guide service at East Cape reported good sea conditions and beach fishing producing smaller roosterfish, ladyfish, and a few jacks. "We also have some larger roosterfish in the East Cape area," deBrown said, "but most of the shots for the big ones have been 'right place at the right time.'" East Cape fishing area weather was in the low-90s, with water temperatures of 73 to 86 degrees.

LORETO FISHING REPORTS

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LORETO, MEXICO: Bill Erhardt of Loreto reported slow action on 2 outings during the week aboard his boat Soledad, targeting wahoo specifically, and landing 1 wahoo of just over 20 pounds in water temperatures of 86 to 87 degrees found between Islas Catalana and Santa Cruz. "Although I trolled feathers both days for billfish or dorado, after I gave up on wahoo, I caught no other fish," Erhardt said. "There was much bait on the surface between the islands."

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

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BAHIA DE LOS ANGELES, MEXICO: Ed Duitsman of Hinkley, Calif., reported on a 5-day trailer boat fishing session at Bahia de los Angeles for lots of sharks hooked and broken off at Isla Angel de la Guarda, cabrilla caught in the rocks along the west side of the island, 1 whale shark seen in 15 feet of water south of the village, 2 dorado to 10 pounds caught trolling mackerel baits along the Baja coast at Punta Remedios, and a best day on the north side of Isla Smith for 9 yellowtail, lots of big bass, pargo, whitefish, sculpin, bonita to 10 pounds, and many more fish broken off.

"I spent a lot of this trip learning to scuba dive, " Duitsman said. "The best visibility was off the cliffs on the west side of La Guarda. It was a fantastic experience. I'd never seen so many cabrilla, and 2 of them in the golden phase. The visibility and fish were every bit as good as on my trip to Cancun in August. This is a lot closer and cheaper!" Also fishing at Bahia de los Angeles were John Duitsman and Dave Turner.

SAN CARLOS (SONORA) FISHING REPORTS

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SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: Jon Jen Charters at San Carlos reported slow going early in the week as 3 charters returned with a combined catch of 1 dorado and 1 sailfish, but sharply improved action later in the week as 2 charters landed a combined catch of 2 blue marlin and 6 dorado. "There are a lot more marlin and sailfish out there now, and it should be a good fishing week coming up," Jon Jen said.

MAZATLAN FISHING REPORTS

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MAZATLAN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 22 Aries Fleet offshore charter boats out of Mazatlan's Marina El Cid, with a catch including released fish of: 178 dorado including some to 55 pounds, 1 blue marlin, 10 sailfish, and 28 yellowfin tuna. Seven inshore super pangas had a catch of: easy Mexico fishing limits for dorado, 38 "permit," 1 red snapper, 5 yellowfin tuna, 15 pargo, 8 corvina, and 8 jack crevalle.

"Mexican limit fishing for dorado continues to be the order of the day at Mazatlan," Edwards said. "Billfish counts are still on the slow side, but that's due to the easy dorado fishing. Boats are not focusing on billfish unless requested by the client. Mazatlan inshore super pangas had another week of easy limit fishing and many releases on dorado."

Mazatlan fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the low-90s, with good sea conditions prior to the passage of storm Norbert, and water temperatures of 87 to 88 degrees.

El Cid Caribe Fleet boats targeted dorado on current break scum lines 10 to 12 miles out. "The dorado are butted up against the clean and dirty water," Edwards said. Ballyhoo baits worked best for dorado, but they were also hitting strip baits and artificials.

MAZATLAN, MEXICO: Tadeo Hernandez of Flota Bibi Fleet reported good fishing weather prior to the passage up the Mexican coast of Hurricane Norbert as boats fished with ballyhoo baits for catches led by dorado. "Mazatlan will probably have some rough seas on Saturday," Hernandez said. Anglers fishing with Flota Bibi Fleet during the week included Mickey Watts of North Carolina who landed 7 dorado to 31 pounds in release action aboard the charter boat Paty C. with Capt. Alex and first mate Alex Jr.

PUERTO VALLARTA FISHING REPORTS

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PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Merle Erickson of Chicago reported on 6 days of Puerto Vallarta offshore fishing with Capt. Danny Osuna of Marla's Sportfishing for a catch of near wide-open yellowfin tuna of 40 to 85 pounds hooked on chunk bait at El Banco, some 100-pound class tuna, a 180-pound tuna reported by the boat Fresh One, and a 205-pound tuna plus 16 smaller ones by Capt. Alonso Osuna on the charter boat Marla II.

"On some days the tuna will take fin baits and I got several fish on cabbies under a helium balloon," Erickson said. "Generally though, they are not biting the fin baits. Big tuna are not biting the skipjack much, if at all. The tuna are feeding on red crabs and the red skipjack chunks seem to mimic that food source.

"Some blue and black marlin are being caught, with some good-sized ones. Capt. Scott Osuna got a 600-pound class blue aboard the Arca de Noe. I released 2 small blues during my trip and pulled the hooks on blacks at 300 and 400 pounds.

"There's lots of action and gorgeous weather. The water is a beautiful blue and 85 degrees, and it's loaded with life. I'll be back in 3 weeks."

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO FISHING REPORTS

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IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters said the Ixtapa fishing area continued to have very few anglers present last week, as boats awaited the effects of tropical storm Odile as it came northwards up the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Capt. Temo Verboonen reported good sailfish counts for the few boats that did go out and one commercial super panga checked in with a 2-day catch of 24 dorado.

Inshore fishing was hampered by large waves and swells along the Mexican coast. "It's not safe at this time," Edwards said. "There is still lots of rain and the rivers are pouring dirty water into the ocean. The water doesn't clean up for nearly 10 miles from the beach."

Ixtapa Zihuatanejo fishing area weather was cloudy and humid in the low-90s, with lots of rain, rough seas, port closures, and water temperatures at 86 to 87 degrees.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Ed Kunze, reporting for Baja On The Fly, said local Capt. Martin of the charter boat Nautilus found good fishing as blue water was seen about 8 miles out. Commercial pangueros found yellowfin tuna about 45 miles out and some blue marlin and dorado were also caught. Angler Jason Baig fished 10 to 12 miles out with Capt. Margarito aboard the charter boat Gaby and returned to the dock at noon after action including 8 sailfish raised and 4 landed. Roosterfish were also present in good numbers up and down the coast. Ixtapa fishing area weather was at 90 degrees, with cloudy skies and water temperatures of 80 to 84 degrees.

CANCUN FISHING REPORTS

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CANCUN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 10 outings by the El Cid Caribe sportfishing fleet at Puerto Morelos near Cancun, with a catch including released fish of: 21 Atlantic barracuda, 7 king mackerel, 2 bonito, 1 jack crevalle, and 3 needlefish. The Cancun fishing area had cloudy skies, air temperatures to 90 degrees, humidity, and rain squalls.

"Cancun fishing this week has been a little more difficult than normal for no apparent reason," Edwards said. "The 4-hour trips are okay, but 6 to 8-hour trips allow the boat to try several different areas."

El Cid Caribe boats fished with ballyhoo baits including some rigged with skirts.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico fishing photo 1

EL ARCO DODOS--Local panga fishing at Cabo San Lucas produced good numbers of dorado along the beaches and outwards to about a mile. Anglers Curt Colley and Steve Danner scored on a total of 9 dodos to 15 pounds with Capt. Ramon Druck of the Cabo charter panga Cheer's. PHOTO COURTESY OF RAMON DRUCK.

Baja California, Mexico fishing photo 1

COLONET TUNA TIME--Tom McInally's boat Wide Open out of Ensenada's Marina Coral ran into a kelp paddy loaded with yellowtail and these yellowfin tuna of 25 to 35 pounds while fishing in blue 68-degree water about 20 miles off the Baja coast at Punta Colonet. With McInally, right, are Mike Kraus of the boat Black Jack, and Steve Ross of the Bad Dog. PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVE ROSS.

Ensenada, Mexico fishing photo 1

LUCKY ENSENADA FORKIE--George Chew caught a bunch of bonito at Ensenada while tossing aluminum jigs with Capt. Beto of Vonny's Fleet, and then hooked this nice 16-pound yellowtail with his last cast of the day. They also caught mixed bottom fish using anchovy and squid bait on dropper loops. PHOTO COURTESY OF IVAN VILLARINO.

Ensenada, Mexico fishing tournament poster 1

ENSENADA TOURNAMENT--The official poster of the Baja California state-sponsored fishing tournament at Ensenada with fishing scheduled on Oct. 11, 2008. POSTER COURTESY OF JULIO MEZA.

Erendira, Mexico fishing photo 1

Erendira, Mexico fishing photo 2

BAJA FILLET TABLE--Anglers, Ralph Burnette, Rudy Soto, and Roy Trejo fished at Castro's Camp south of Ensenada and loaded the fillet table with Capt. Jorge. Below, Stan Newman and Jim, Bruce, and Eric Merrill scored on yellowtail with Castro's Camp's Capt. Jorge, center. PHOTOS COURTESY OF TERE CASTRO.

Bahia Asuncion, Mexico fishing photo 1

Bahia Asuncion, Mexico campground photo 1

ASUNCION TUNA--Yellowfin tuna were caught close to shore at Bahia Asuncion. Anglers Jim and Jan fished with Capt. Juan Arce of Arce Bros. Sportfishing for this nice bucket o' sushi fish out of Baja Bed & Breakfast. Below, Baja Bed & Breakfast's new Campo Sirena fully-equipped camping and RV facility. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SHARI BONDY.

La Bocana, Mexico fishing photo 1

BAJA COASTAL WAHOO--Good wahoo action was found by sportfishing boats running out to the open Pacific from the west coast of Baja last week as Scott Goodman, Artur C. , and Joaquin Aguilar scored on this quartet of skinnies out of La Bocana. PHOTO COURTESY OF JUANCHYS AGUILAR.

La Bocana, Mexico fishing photo 2

La Bocana, Mexico fishing photo 3

BED & BREAKFAST WAHOO--Les Heil of Baja Bocana Bed & Breakfast and his neighbor Gary landed 6 tuna, 1 dorado, and 6 nice wahoo during a run out from the Laguna La Bocana boca last week. They fished aboard the Panga Extra about 20 miles northwest of the village. PHOTOS COURTESY OF LES HEIL.

Magdalena Bay, Mexico fishing photo 1

MAG BAY WAHOO LIMIT--Loreto resident Bill Erhardt fished solo on the Pacific Ocean out of Puerto Lopez Mateos at Magdalena Bay on Tuesday for his Mexican sportfishing limit of 5 wahoo. He also caught 5 yellowfin tuna between 15 and 20 pounds. PHOTO COURTESY OF GABRIEL VELAZQUEZ.

San Jose del Cabo, Mexico fishing photo 1

SAN JOSE DEL CABO PANGAS--Dennis Szgetti from Bend, Oreg., with a 50-pound yellowfin tuna that he caught while panga fishing on the Inner Gordo Bank with a strip of squid. This was one of 2 nice yellowfin Dennis landed while fishing on the 23-foot super panga Matrera with Gordo Banks Pangas. PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIC BRICTSON.

Baja California Sur, Mexico storm track graphic

STORMS ICUMEN IN--Hurricane Norbert, closely followed by Odile, was forecast to come ashore on Baja's Pacific coast on Saturday .

Isla Angel de la Guarda, Mexico diving photo 1

CLEAR MIDRIFF WATERS--Unusually good Midriff water clarity was found by Ed Duitsman's group during a run out of Bahia de los Angeles to Isla Angel de la Guarda. Duitsman called the Midriff underwater visibility, usually clouded from heavy plankton growth, as clear as Cancun and a lot closer and cheaper. PHOTO COURTESY OF ED DUITSMAN.

Mazatlan, Mexico fishing photo 1

DORADO AT MAZATLAN--Sportfishing boats at Mazatlan worked a good dorado bite last week as rough weather approached along the Mexican Pacific coast and angler Mickey Watts caught this 31 pounder plus 6 smaller dodos in release action aboard the Flota Bibi Fleet charter boat Paty C. with Capt. Alex. PHOTO COURTESY OF TADEO HERNANDEZ.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico marinas photo 1

WAITING FOR NORBERT--The scene at the Cabo San Lucas downtown marina as Hurricane Norbert approached the Baja coast on Friday evening. The storm was still forecast for landfall near Magdalena Bay about 10 a.m. on Saturday. Tracy Ehrenberg of Pisces Fleet said, "This photo was taken from my office. Still nothing." PHOTO COURTESY OF TRACY EHRENBERG.

BAJA MEXICO FISHING REPORT ARCHIVES AND FISH PICTURES