Loreto fishing boats converge on San Bruno
as yellowtail go on an early spring rip

Mexico Fishing News, March 30, 2009

LORETO FISHING REPORTS

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LORETO, MEXICO: Bill Erhardt of Loreto reported excellent yellowtail fishing for his boat Soledad at the San Bruno reef about 15 miles north of the downtown marina, with one run producing 10 fish to 31 pounds by early afternoon amid a crowd of local boats.

"Up to 50 boats were soaking mackerel over the reef on calm days," Erhardt said. "Everybody was catching fish. The terrific bite attracted most of the fishing fleet out of Loreto."

Fishing aboard the Soledad were Erhardt's nephew Morgan Erhardt, along with Will Clouser and Shannon Ross of Oregon. "We joined the party, armed with a combination of greenback and Spanish mackerel baits jigged up at Islas Coronados," Erhardt said. "There were about 25 other private boats and pangas fishing the reef that day, and we all did about the same."

Loreto fishing area surface water temperatures were peaking out in the low-70s during the heat of the midday sun.

LORETO, MEXICO: Pam Bolles of Loreto's Baja Big Fish Company reported very good pre-spawn yellowtail fishing at San Bruno, with fish at Isla Coronado rejecting her mackerel as they fed on very small spring sardinas, but fish at San Bruno hitting well on her grunion baits.

"We arrived at noon at San Bruno and were one of about 40 local boats," Bolles said. "In 2 hours time I caught 5 yellowtail and farmed another so I had my Mexican limit.

"We saw yellowtail feeding at Isla Coronado, but they didn't want the mackerel we had. Thousands and thousands of tiny juvenile sardinas are schooling off Coronado and that's why we're not catching sardinas inside the marina.

"At San Bruno, the yellowtail were hitting on grunions tied onto a heavy leader about 3 meters long, then to a swivel, and then a sliding 2-ounce weight on the main line. They're hitting deep and immediately going down vertical for the rocks.

"The females are full of eggs that look to be ready to spawn around the next full moon phase."

Loreto fishing area weather was generally very windy from the north, as Bolles also noted good numbers of fishing reservations coming in. "We will be having a busy summer, and I hope everyone else will too," she said.

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 good run of surface yellowtail hooked at Punta Banda on the Ensenada-made aluminum jigs, as 2 pangas fishing on Thursday and Friday returned with 8 yellowtail of 22 to 28 pounds plus Mexico fishing limits on bonita and some mixed bottom fish. "This was a good week," Villarino said. "They tossed the aluminum jigs for the bonita to 10 pounds.

Anglers fishing at Ensenada on Vonny's Fleet's beach launched pangas included Mark and Mathew Low of Canada, and Jay Johnson of Ensenada's Barra Arenosa neighborhood, who took his daughter Diana and granddaughter Beth Hollfield out with Capt. Beto on the charter panga Vonny I for 5 yellowtail, all hooked by casting aluminum jigs with 40-pound test line. "Not bad for the Johnson crew," Villarino said.

Local Ensenada fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the high-50s, with light breezes, 2-foot ocean swells, and the water temperature at the tip of Punta Banda averaging 57 degrees.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Steve Ross of the Ensenada boat Bad Dog at Marina Coral reported on an outing for a good bite of bonito at 9 to 11 pounds found outside Isla Todos Santos, a massive concentration of Humboldt giant squid found 900 feet deep north of the Banda Bank, and about a dozen mixed bottom fish in slow action on the bank itself to end the day.

Fishing in water at 59.1 degrees at the north end of the Banda Bank, Ross said, "As I approached 1,300 feet of water, the familiar long blue line appeared on my fish finder at 900 feet. We put on our favorite ProMar Ahi 1000 Giant Squid jigs and began tug of wars with 40 pounders for 2 hours. We drifted 3 miles and they never let up. There are miles and miles of them in this water column. A week ago this area was devoid of them, but now it is full of them. What's interesting about this species is that we always catch them in the same weights, never a big one or a small one."

Earlier, the Bad Dog found a hot bonito bite in 58.2-degree water about a mile off Isla Todos Santos. "There were bonito all over the place in a vast area of water," Ross said. "It was double jig strikes for several hours of trolling around. They were absolutely inhaling the lures. The only signs of these fish were marks on top of the water. The water was off color and there was very little wind and swell. We were outside of the surf spot called 'Chickens' at 31.48 116.49 in 330 feet of water. We left them biting."

Ross also noted good numbers of whales present in the area, and an encounter with numerous mola mola or ocean sunfish. "A pack of juvenile mola molas came right up to the boat while we were drifting," Ross said, "probably 12 of them. They were all very curious of us and got a close look at Bad Dog's newly painted underside."

ERENDIRA FISHING REPORTS

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ERENDIRA, MEXICO: Tere Castro of Castro's Camp south of Ensenada reported just a few boats fishing per week for the past few months, but many reservations coming in for the spring and summer seasons. "We've already booked some weekends from May to June, so I recommend reservations," Castro said.

Baja coastal fishing water off Erendira was at 56 degrees, with good sea conditions and action improving for mixed rockcods, whitefish, bass, lingcod, a few halibut, and some bonita of 11 to 13 pounds.

SAN QUINTIN FISHING REPORTS

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SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Pete Hillis of Pedro's Pangas reported few anglers present in the San Quintin fishing area, but the few boats that did fish loading up on mixed rockcods, lingcod, and ocean whitefish. San Quintin fishing area weather was very cool in the evenings, but warming daily to the low-70s by noon.

For the previous fishing week ending March 20, 2009, Hillis reported boats coming in with mixed rockcods and lingcod, but no yellowtail. "The yellowtail seem to have completely disappeared," Hillis said. "It might be due to on-and-off winds at San Quintin, and rough seas."

Anglers catching Mexico fishing limits of mixed species during the week included King Harbor Yacht Club members Mickey Tague of Las Vegas, Nev., and Ed Armstrong and Charles Beck of Los Angeles, Calif.

BAJA COASTAL FISHING REPORTS

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BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: Mike Borden of El Cajon, Calif., reported on a fly -down trip to meet his boat Fish Magnet at Isla Cedros off the Baja north Pacific coast for 2 days of fishing local high spots with his Capt. Luis Palomino and a local guide provided by Cedros Outdoor Adventures for very good action on up to about 35 large mixed rockcod per day, plus 1 yellowtail at 13 pounds and a large bonito at about 10 pounds.

"Everyone had a blast because of the calm weather and consistent pick on bottom fish," Borden said. "

"We found a lot of mackerel in large schools south of the island and off the salt plant. We went to the southwest side of the island where we didn’t find any top water action so we tried fishing deep. Cedros is plugged with whitefish. Some are giant and the locals fish them this time of the year with traps.

"We didn’t try for any more bonita because the one about 10 pounds and was going to be enough for sushi. I suspect Rapalas or running and gunning for the bonita would have scored a lot of fish. They were moving around pretty quick with birds on them.

Borden noted very good mixed bottom fish action found at 260 to 320 feet deep. "There isn’t much structure in the deeper water, but when you find a lump virtually every one is covered up with reds," he said. "We lost a few fish that destroyed the cod rigs and might have been bigger fish."

MAGDALENA BAY FISHING REPORTS

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MAGDALENA BAY, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly reported some early spring dorado and football yellowfin tuna seen by local boats at buoys offshore of Magdalena Bay. "As early as it is, some dorado and tuna are showing," Graham said.

The San Carlos entrada continued with smaller yellowtail and sierra, and smaller halibut were found on most of the sandy flats around the bay.

The Magdalena Bay mangrove channels produced surface action for corvina in the area from San Carlos north to Puerto Lopez Mateos.

Magdalena Bay fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the low-80s, with water temperatures at 67 to 73 degrees.

CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORTS

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CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported a sudden and sharp slowdown in striped marlin fishing for Cabo San Lucas boats.

Thirty-five outings by Gaviota Fleet and the Cabo San Lucas charter boats Fish Cabo, Fish Cabo I, and Tuna Time, with a catch including released fish of: 1 striped marlin, 54 dorado, 10 yellowtail, 16 sierra, and 12 yellowfin tuna.

"Where did they go?," Edwards said. "This has been perhaps the most dramatic fishing flip-flop in the recent history of Cabo San Lucas. "One could safely say the 2009 billfish bonanza is officially over."

As striped marlin action disappeared, some boats resorted to fishing for inshore species in an effort to find some kind of action for their clients, Edwards said.

Cabo San Lucas fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the mid-80s, with variable water temperatures on the Pacific-side banks averaging about 70 to 71 degrees, and up to about 74 degrees at Punta Gorda on the Cortez side.

Live bait supplies at the Cabo San Lucas marina were adequate, but live bait was no longer available on the Golden Gate Bank fishing grounds as Cabo San Lucas sportfishing boats searched for fish in all directions. "Best fishing area? None!" Edwards said. "The fish are scattered far and wide."

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Ramon Druck of the Cabo San Lucas charter sportfishing super panga Cheer's reported on a very good local inshore fishing trip with 2 anglers, for a catch including released fish of: 14 yellowtail of about 8 pounds, 8 sierra of 4 to 5 pounds, 6 small bonito, and 4 roosterfish of 4 to 6 pounds. The Cheer's fished with trolled Rapalas along Cabo's Pacific-side beaches up to Faro Viejo in water temperatures of 70 to 71 degrees and mostly good sea conditions with some wind. Anglers fishing aboard the Cheer's included Daniel Hall and Lon Baley of Malin, Ore.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Durance Lowendick of Marlin Masters Sportfishing said some boats were still landing 1 to 3 striped marlin per day but overall action was slower on the Pacific-side Golden Gate Bank. "A band of mid-60 degree water pushed in, shutting down an absolutely incredible sustained bite that had been going on since September," Lowendick said. Some dorado were caught mixed in with scattered striped marlin on the Pacific-side Jaime Bank and the Cortez-side Gordo Bank. "Warmer water is pushing toward the Los Cabos sea mounts," Lowendick said. "We hope to see a pick-up in fishing in the next few days."

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Jim Dillon of Salvador's Sportfishing reported on 4 outings by the Cabo San Lucas charter boats El Budster, El Budster I, and El Budster II, with a catch from local fishing locations extending up to the Gordo Banks on the Cortez side, including released fish, of: 1 striped marlin lost, 4 dorado of 20 to 25 pounds, 12 yellowtail of 18 to 20 pounds, 10 sierra mackerel of 3 to 5 pounds, and 6 yellowtail of 15 to 18 pounds.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: For the fishing week ending March 22, 2009, George Landrum of Fly Hooker Sportfishing at Cabo San Lucas reported cooler upwellings along the south end of the Baja Pacific coast at 65 to 67 degrees, with 60 to 70 degrees on the Jaime Bank, and 75-degree water about 20 miles out. Cabo San Lucas boats fishing the Golden Gate Bank averaged 1 or 2 releases per day in slowing action. We may have seen the last of the red-hot striped marlin bite for this season," Landrum said. "The marlin have moved off the bank along with the bait that was holding there. Now we will most likely be doing the normal fishing by casting live bait in front of tailing marlin as they move through the Cabo San Lucas area."

Offshore yellowfin tuna continued slow, and dorado averaging about 12 pounds continued to be caught in warmer water on the Cortez side.

Sierra and yellowtail of 8 to 10 pounds led inshore fish counts, as most Cabo boats targeting sierra scored Mexico sportfishing limits.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: For the fishing week ending March 18, 2009, Tracy Ehrenberg of Pisces Fleet Sportfishing reported striped marlin still present in good numbers but less active on the Pacific banks as 74 percent of Pisces boats released marlin, 19 percent caught dorado, and tuna were reported "very slow." Overall fish counts were led by abundant sierra mackerel with some boats landing over 30.

"Getting the marlin to take bait is an issue," Ehrenberg said. "There is a lot of bait in the water. Marlin are not overly interested in taking what is offered by anglers. Some Cabo San Lucas captains say that it is marlin breeding time, but there are no studies to back this up.

"The most abundant fish this week was the humble sierra, or Spanish mackerel, ideal for kids, or a lot of fun on spinning tackle or a fly rod"

Several mako shark were also caught by Pisces boats, mostly smaller juveniles, but including one shark at 120 pounds.

Cabo San Lucas fishing area weather was partly cloudy, with some days of wind and choppy sea conditions, and the water temperature averaging 68 to 70 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 out of San Jose del Cabo's Puerto Los Cabos marina, with a catch including released fish of: 202 sierra, 182 dorado of mostly 5 to 20 pounds, 63 roosterfish, 54 bonito, 28 yellowtail, 26 amberjack, 25 red snapper, 16 cabrilla, and 16 jack crevalle, 5 hammerhead shark, 3 yellowfin tuna, and 1 striped marlin.

San Jose del Cabo fishing area weather was mostly clear in the mid-80s, with tourist crowds continuing lighter than normal, ocean currents unpredictably variable, and water temperatures averaging 68 to 75 degrees, as La Playita pangas fished mostly near sardina bait fish concentrations along the Baja coastline.

"The fleets searched in all directions, but the most consistent fishing has actually been fairly close to shore," Brictson said. "Sardinas continue to school along rocky beaches from Punta Palmilla to Chileno Bay."

Brictson noted early signs of the hoped for annual spring surface bite of huachinango or true red snapper, as they feed on pelagic red crabs rising to the surface off San Jose del Cabo. "It is the time of year that red crabs migrate into San Jose del Cabo waters and masses of snapper go into a feeding frenzy," he said. "Some anglers reported seeing large schools of red snapper near the San Luis Bank, but they did not want to strike. A handful of these huachinango did hit iron jigs off of the bottom."

SAN JOSE DEL CABO, MEXICO: San Jose del Cabo species fishing specialist John Snow reported windy conditions and green water for pangas launching at La Playita. Five outings aboard the panga Salome with Capt. Pata produced 106 fish of 22 species, including 4 fortune jacks. Seven local surf fishing sessions produced 31 fish of only 8 species.

Overall, fish species diversity was low for the trip, but new species caught or collected included the lampfish, Benthosema panamense, about 6 cm long, that was found in a bait net inside the Puerto Los Cabos marina.

"What makes this collection of interest is that lampfish, which have the ability to generate light, are supposed to be a deep water species that spend their nights near the surface eating plankton and then slowly sink to depths of up to a mile during daylight," Snow said.

Another new species, a 12.6-inch Cortez halibut, or Cortez flounder, Paralichthys aestuarius, was collected during a trip to visit the commercial Mexican fishermen of Todos Santos on the Pacific side.

Overall, catches and collections of fauna from panga and beach at San Jose del Cabo included: balloonfish, banded wrasse, barred serrano, blue and gold snapper, bridled sand perch, California scorpionfish, Cortez flounder, deepwater sea fan, finescale triggerfish, flag cabrilla, fortune jack, giant hawkfish, giant Mexican needlefish, goldeneyed tilefish, greater sand perch, green jack, lampfish, leopard grouper, Mexican night sergeant, mojarra grunt, ocean whitefish, orangeside triggerfish, Pacific creolefish, Pacific moonfish, Pacific porgy, paloma pompano, Panamic graysby, Panamic sergeant major, popeye catalufa, red snapper, slate pencil urchin, speckled flounder, speckled flounder, spottail grunt, spotted Pacific scorpionfish, striped bonito, and threadfin bass.

Snow noted live bait difficult to obtain from the commercial pangueros at San Jose del Cabo. "The only bait we could get was 'old' and had been maintained in a bait cage and therefore did not survive the bait tank well," he said. "So we pushed off on 4 of the 5 days with the knowledge that with no live bait it would be a tough challenge to put fish in the box. Bottom fishing remained mostly nonproducing even though we did manage 106 fish, all caught on yo-yo iron."

EAST CAPE FISHING REPORTS

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EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Gary Graham of Baja On The Fly said fishing at East Cape during the week was led by inshore action for a few quality yellowtail caught north from El Cardonal to Punta Arena de La Ventana, and sierra concentrated north from Punta Pescadero to El Cardonal. Some jacks and roosterfish was also reported in warmer water temperatures at 67 to 73 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Jeff deBrown of East Cape's The Reel Baja fly fishing guide service reported local weather in the mid-80s, with some days of wind mixed with calmer periods, and water temperatures at 68 to 73 degrees.

Beach fishing produced good action on sierra and quality roosterfish, and local boats found some dorado about 6 to 10 miles off Punta Pescadero to the north. Some marlin were seen but not feeding actively.

"We still have sierra in the East Cape area," deBrown said. "They have thinned out some, but you can still find sierra in good concentrations at the lighthouse, in front of Buena Vista, and up toward Punta Pescadero."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Andy Atchley of Imperial Beach, Calif., reported on a week of beach fishing with spinning gear at Hotel Punta Colorada and south of Punta Arena for a catch of jack crevalle, sierra, and ladyfish. "They were feeding on the smallest of bait," Atchley said. "Roosterfish were also seen, but had no interest in the lures offered."

Atchley noted whales breeching all week long, and offshore boats coming in with good counts of dorado and some skipjack tuna.

East Cape fishing area weather was breezy, with both air and water temperatures in the low-70s.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Simon Cazaly of East Cape's Vista Sea Sport diving service reported flat seas and very good diving at the Cabo Pulmo coral reef. "We were able to look down on El Bajo from the panga," Cazaly said. "That's not a usual occurrence at this time of year."

East Cape sea life sightings during Vista Sea Sport trips included good numbers of yellowtail surgeonfish, plus diamond stingray, volumes of yellow snapper and Panamic porkfish, many gulf grouper, and occasional dog snapper, golden grouper, leopard grouper, and guitarfish.

"My divers were rapturous in their praise," Cazaly said. "They had never seen such variety and huge numbers of fish. Our skipper, Capt. Juan Diego Romero took us over to see the mantas leaping in their thousands. Everyone was lost for words. We sat in total silence without another person in sight for miles around, only at Cabo Pulmo!"

On another dive at El Cantil, Cazaly's divers had an encounter with a bull shark about 6 or 7 feet long.

"On 3 occasions he came in close to check us out," Cazaly said. "My divers were truly buzzing as they gulped down the air from their tanks. We also found an octopus hiding in a small hole on top of the reef. Its curious eye peered out at us. It flashed its colors to warn us to back off, so respectfully we did just that."

LA PAZ FISHING REPORTS

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LA PAZ, MEXICO: Torrance Eddy of Buena Vista at East Cape reported on a trip to fish for 2 days 20 miles north of La Paz off Islas Partida and Espiritu Santo, for fair action on trolled Rebel and Rapala lures and a catch including sierra and white bonito, or skipjack tuna.

"The fishing was fair for sierra while trolling 5.5 and 4.5-inch Rebel blue Fastracks as well as a small green mackerel Rapala X-Rap," Eddy said. "My friend, Grant Cooper, and I experienced 2 consecutive doubles. On the first we boated 2 nice sierra. On the next double a few minutes later, we caught a sierra and a white bonito."

LA PAZ, MEXICO: Jonathan Roldan of Tailhunter International reported yellowtail action up-and-down as pangas dodged some windy days and targeted sierra, cabrilla, and mixed species along the Baja coast. "We still got some yellowtail," Roldan said, "but we know we'd have done better if we could have done a little more hunting. There's a nice bite going on and we know they are here. We just can't get on them every day.

"When winds came up hard, it was impossible to stay on the spots without getting blown off.

"Nevertheless, there were some good schools of sierra inshore, and using Rapalas in the rougher water along the rocks produced nice catches of cabrilla."

Live bait supplies were adequate under sunny skies, with air temperatures in the mid-80s.

LA PAZ, MEXICO: Gary Evans reported on a 4-hour day north out of La Paz by his brother Bill Evans for a catch of 2 yellowtail of 40 and 45 pounds and 2 bonito over 20 pounds at the El Bajo offshore high spot east of Isla Espiritu Santo.

"He fished on his boat Caleb," Evans said. "The yellowtail were caught on drifted live mackerel. Bill just retired and is living in La Paz now. He named his boat Caleb after his dog, which just passed after 15 years." La Paz northern water temperatures were warming to just over 70 degrees.

LA PAZ, MEXICO: Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing reported sunny skies and pleasant air temperatures in the 80s, but some wind for his charter pangas fishing on La Paz' Las Arenas side.

Fishing at the north end of Isla Cerralvo continued to produce yellowtail, and the south end of the island had larger cabrilla.

Pangas working the Baja coast near Punta Perico and Las Arenas caught good numbers of sierra. Punta Perico produced good-sized pargo lisa and dog snapper.

Fewer dorado were seen at the buoys.

SAN CARLOS (SONORA) FISHING REPORTS

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SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: Bryan Replogle of San Carlos reported larger yellowtail close to town, as other catches during the week included a surprise 40-pound white seabass, and "every cast" kayak fishing inside the bay at Isla Raza. "Large yellowtail have been caught and many lost off Punta Lobo, better known as Haystack, just out from the town of Miramar near Guaymas," Replogle said. "The bait fish had the screen lit up red from top to bottom. We were surprised by the white seabass. I think my friend was scared to gaff it!"

San Carlos fishing area water temperatures were cooler at 62 to 65 degrees.

Earlier, Jon Jen Charters at San Carlos reported spring water temperatures warming through the mid-60s with fishing generally sluggish, but good numbers of fish seen and some speared during trips with diving clients. "There are still fish everywhere, with tons of bait, and the fish are getting ready to spawn," Jon Jen said. "I heard from one of our captains that a Guaymas panguero come in with 1,100 kilos of dorado last week. That's a lot of fish on a handline. Right. I will not get started on that subject. Hopefully, with education, things will change."

MAZATLAN FISHING REPORTS

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MAZATLAN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 25 Aries Fleet offshore charter boats out of Mazatlan's Marina El Cid, with a catch including released fish of: 13 striped marlin, 1 yellowfin tuna, 8 dorado, and 1 mako shark.

Eleven inshore super pangas had a catch of: 1 striped marlin, 14 baqueta, 1 mako shark, 64 pargo, 4 barracuda, 10 mojarra, 79 roncachos, 29 triggerfish, and 225 loras.

Mazatlan fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the mid-80s, with mostly calm seas and water temperatures at 73 degrees inshore and 76 degrees offshore, as offshore boats fished about 20 miles southwest of the marina.

PUERTO VALLARTA FISHING REPORTS

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PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO: Danny Osuna of Marla's Sportfishing reported on another long offshore run by the charter boat Marla for very good action on yellowfin tuna including 1 cow class tuna at 220 pounds and 28 other tuna of 60 to 110 pounds.

After fishing with anglers Todd Fresser and fishing partner "Kevin" from Santa Cruz, Calif. and Marla's crewman Roberto Osuna, Danny said, "We made a nice overnight trip to target the offshore cows, a really nice run over 70 miles out. We found thousands of tuna feeding around the 1,000-fathom drop-off from Isla Maria Magdalena.

"It was unreal to see so much life out there! It's crazy! The tuna were feeding on red crabs in the morning and small sardinas late in the afternoon. They were taking the cabbies wide-open."

Inshore Puerto Vallarta fishing was also good, as Marla's Capt. Alonso Osuna made 2 trips to Islas Marietas for a catch including released fish of: 6 roosterfish, 3 amberjack, 4 pargo, and 5 shots on large bull shark. "The fishing is great, but charters are slow at Puerto Vallarta," Danny Osuna said.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO FISHING REPORTS

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IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Reporting for Baja On The Fly, Ed Kunze of Ixtapa Zihuatanejo said offshore fishing slowed to about 1 or 2 sailfish per boat as 80-degree blue water moved out to about the 12-mile mark. No tuna were reported by the Ixtapa sportfishing fleet, dorado were sparse, and blue marlin counts were also lower.

"But one highlight of the fishing week is that jack crevalle have really turned on big time," Kunze said, as Capt. Adolfo of the charter panga Dos Hermanos reported sierra plus big jacks of 20 to 25 pounds crashing on bait about half-a-mile outside the surf line. "These jack crevalle are very hard fighting fish," Kunze said, "excellent on light gear or the fly rods."

Ixtapa fishing area weather was clear and calm at 90 degrees, with water temperatures of 78 to 83 degrees.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported good numbers of mixed sailfish, blue marlin, black marlin, and striped marlin present in the Ixtapa fishing area, but the overall bite slower. "As Temo Verboonen described it, the fish got lazy," Edwards said. Inshore fishing continued good for jack crevalle and mixed species.

Ixtapa fishing area weather was clear at 90 degrees, with water temperatures at 82 to 83 degrees, as boats fished in clear blue water starting at about 10 miles out.

CANCUN FISHING REPORTS

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CANCUN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 12 outings by the El Cid Caribe sportfishing fleet at Puerto Morelos near Cancun, with a catch including released fish of: 6 sailfish, 13 peto or king mackerel, 1 barracuda, 1 amberjack, 1 shark, and 6 dorado. Cancun fishing area weather was partly cloudy and windy in the high-80s, with some boat cancellations, several days of port closures, and water temperatures at 79 to 80 degrees.

"The sailfish bite has started for the season and the only downside has been the heavy winds over the past couple of weeks," Edwards said "When weather permitted, charters had some fine opportunities. We are just waiting for a break in these March winds."

Yellowtail caught at San Bruno.

ISLAND PHOTO STOP--Pam Bolles of Loreto's Baja Big Fish Company and son Enzl stop at Isla Coronado for photos of their quality yellowtail hooked in a hot pre-spawn bite north of town at San Bruno. PHOTO COURTESY OF PAM BOLLES.

Yellowtail caught at Loreto.

SPRING BREAK LORETO YELLOWTAIL--Shannon Ross, Will Clouser, and Morgan Erhardt, visiting Loreto from Oregon, fished a terrific yellowtail bite at San Bruno Reef north of town on Sunday with Loreto resident Bill Erhardt and scored 10 nice 'tails to 31 pounds. PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL ERHARDT.

Humboldt squid and bottom fish caught at Ensenada.

SQUID, BONITO, AND BOTTOM FISH--Steve Ross' boat Bad Dog caught surface bonito, some vermillion rockfish to 4 pounds, and good numbers of cookie-cutter Humboldt giant squid at 40 pounds hooked in a dense layer 900 feet deep that went on for miles near the Banda Bank. Fishing aboard the Bad Dog were, from left, Capt. Juan Lu, Ski "Un Bwana" Plikaytus, and Ross. PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVE ROSS.

Yellowtail caught at Ensenada.

ALUMINUM JIG PROS--Jay Johnson, left, of Ensenada, his daughter Beth Hollfield, and granddaughter Diana fished exclusively with the locally made aluminum jigs for a great catch of yellowtail with Capt. Beto "Eagle Eyes" Zamora, center rear, of the Vonny's Fleet panga sportfishing service. PHOTO COURTESY OF IVAN VILLARINO.

Bottom fish caught at Isla Cedros.

CEDROS BOTTOM BIGGIES--Quality bottom fish found by Mike Borden, center, during fishing around Isla Cedros aboard his boat Fish Magnet, with Capt. Palomino, left, and Jeff Berlin, right. PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE BORDEN.

Unknown pufferfish caught at San Lucas Cove.

Kayak fishing at Juncalito 1.

Kayak fishing at Juncalito 2.

WHAT IS IT?--Dan Wilson of Junction City, Ore., and his wife Polly, caught 2 of these unidentified pufferfish with big spots on their bellies while kayak fishing in late February out of San Lucas Cove near Santa Rosalia. "They both hit trolled lures," Wilson said, "and we decided to turn them loose. We haven't been able to identify them. We had a great trip and enjoyed some great fishing when the wind would let us." Lower photos, the Wilsons during a stop at Juncalito south of Loreto. PHOTO COURTESY OF DAN WILSON.

Roosterfish caught at Cabo San Lucas.

Dock at Cabo San Lucas.

BIG CABO PANGA FISHING DAY--Lon Baley, upper photo, and Daniel Hall, had a great day of local fishing at Cabo San Lucas with a catch including released fish with Capt. Ramon Druck on the charter panga Cheer's of about 32 mixed yellowtail, sierra, bonito, and roosterfish. PHOTOS COURTESY OF RAMON DRUCK.

Cabo San Lucas boats fishing at the Golden Gate Bank.

BIG MARLIN YEAR--In the 2009 winter season's final week of super-hot striped marlin fishing on Cabo San Lucas' Pacific-side Golden Gate Bank, the Pisces Fleet Sportfishing charter boats Tracy Ann, right, and Valerie, get into the closely packed action. The photo was taken from Mike Connolly's Pisces Fleet boat Falcon. PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE CONNOLLY.

Yellowtail caught at San Jose del Cabo.

TIP O' BAJA--Michael Brady of Pasadena, Calif., fished just off the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula for a catch including this nice 27-pound yellowtail hooked as he jigged off San Jose del Cabo's Punta Palmilla with Capt. Jesus Pino of the Gordo Banks Pangas charter boat Katie. PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIC BRICTSON.

Lampfish collected at San Jose del Cabo.

Cortez halibut collected at San Jose del Cabo.

Unknown fish species collected at San Jose del Cabo.

Unknown fish species collected at San Jose del Cabo 2.

Panama lightfish collected at San Jose del Cabo.

Unknown fish species collected at San Jose del Cabo 3.

LOS CABOS ROGUES' GALLERY--Fish caught during species specialist John Snow's recent panga and surf outings at San Jose del Cabo included, from top: a very rare lampfish that is usually found a great depths, a Cortez halibut that has been rarely photographed, an unknown species that keyed out as a Tonkin weakfish but will require more study, a fish that may be either a type of sand grunt or a species new to science, a probable Panama lightfish that was previously unphotographed, and a rare type of croaker so far unidentified. PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOHN SNOW.

Rooserfish caught at East Cape.

EAST CAPE INSHORE ROOSTERS--Christian Motta, left, and Rick Angelo with a pair of quality roosterfish hooked at East Cape while fishing with Jeff deBrown of The Reel Baja fishing guide service. PHOTO COURTESY OF JEFF DEBROWN.

Sierra caught at East Cape.

EAST CAPE SURF FISHING--Andy Atchley's 5 days of surf fishing around East Cape's Hotel Punta Colorada produced catches of jacks, sierra, and ladyfish, all feeding on small, very small, bait fish. PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANDY ATCHLEY.

Yellowtail caught at La Paz.

Yellowtail fishing at La Paz.

EL BAJO BIGGIES--Fishing in flat-out beautiful sea conditions, Bill Evans scored 2 quality yellowtail of 40 and 45 pounds during a quick 4-hour day at La Paz' El Bajo northern high spot. Evans fished out of La Paz aboard his boat Caleb. PHOTOS COURTESY OF GARY EVANS AND JONATHAN ROLDAN.

Amberjack caught at La Paz.

ISLAND AMBERJACK--Capt. Martin Lucero of Tortuga Sportfishing at La Paz with an amberjack caught at Isla Cerralvo, as Las Arenas side pangas fished mostly along the Baja shore, but snuck out to the island during breaks in the March wind. PHOTO COURTESY OF GERARDO HERNANDEZ.

White seabass caught at San Carlos, Sonora.

SAN CARLOS SURPRISE--Angler "Anthony" thought he saw a big fish near his kayak while fishing around the bay at San Carlos, Sonora, and later came up with this surprise white seabass, a species not common along Mexico's mainland coast, especially one this big. "He said a big one came up his kayak and tried to eat a fish that he was bringing in," said Bryan Replogle of San Carlos. PHOTO COURTESY OF BRYAN REPLOGLE.

Mangrove fishing at Mazatlan.

MAZATLAN MANGROVE CHARTER--Catches in the shallow lagoons around the Teacapan estuary south of Mazatlan including red snapper, yellow snapper, black snapper, jack crevalle, mojarra, and corvina. Anglers Keith Hall, Chriss Zimmer, Mike Hall, and Tony Valdes fished at Teacapan aboard the Flota Bibi Fleet charter boat Isla de Pajaros. PHOTO COURTESY OF TADEO HERNANDEZ.

220 pound tuna caught at Puerto Vallarta.

Yellowfin tuna caught at Puerto Vallarta.

TUNA AT 70 MILES--Capt. Danny Osuna's Puerto Vallarta charter boat Marla ran out about 70 miles to find hot action for 28 tuna of 60 to 110 pounds plus a 220-pound cow. The Marla found green water at 77.5 degrees with tuna feeding on pelagic red crabs, small sardinas, and other small bait, but hitting caballito baits willingly. PHOTOS COURTESY OF DANNY OSUNA.

Unidentified billfish species caught at Ixtapa Zihuatanejo.

Unidentified billfish at Ixtapa Zihuatanejo.

WHAT IS IT?--This unusual billfish was reported by Ed Kunze as caught this week off Ixtapa Zihuatanejo by the boat Aleta Negra out of Marina Ixtapa. "It sure looks like a white marlin, but we do not have them here in the Pacific," Kunze said. This billfish, has a much longer bill than a normal shortbilled spearfish, and it's dorsal fin tapers rearward, unlike the spearfish's dorsal fin which gets higher before it reaches the tail. The white marlin's dorsal fin peaks much higher in front than with this fish. The dorsal fin of this fish extends rearward much further than with a striped, blue, or black marlin, but it is much lower than a sailfish's. Lower photo, an earlier photo of a similar billfish also caught at Ixtapa Zihuatanejo. PHOTOS COURTESY OF ED KUNZE AND PAUL PHILLIPS.

Tony Reyes Sr. and Curt Collier at Long Beach Fred Hall Show.

MOTHERSHIP GUYS--San Felipe panga mothership angler Curt Collier, left, attended the recent Fred Hall Show in Long Beach and met up with the old man himself, Tony Reyes Sr., of Tony Reyes Fishing Tours. At work in their Longfin Tackle booth at the show, Capt. Tony Reyes Jr. can be seen at the right edge of the photo. The legendary Reyes family mothership service operates 2 Midriff islands boats, the Jose Andres and the Tony Reyes. PHOTO COURTESY OF CURT COLLIER.

BAJA MEXICO FISHING REPORT ARCHIVES AND FISH PICTURES

Loreto fishing boats converge on San Bruno as yellowtail go on an early spring rip