Baja sportfishing flights to Isla Cedros for yellowtail and island adventure

Mexico Fishing News, June 22, 2009

BAJA COASTAL FISHING REPORTS

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BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO: Jose Angel Pacheco of Cedros Outdoor Adventures reported on a 2009 season fly-down charter trip to Isla Cedros off the central Baja Pacific coast, where anglers Barney Gatlin and Ricardo Barbera of Piru, Calif., fished aboard a local panga for good action on sheephead, calico bass, bonito, and many yellowtail.

"Our trip began north of the border as we enjoyed the scenic toll-road to Ensenada and then flew to Cedros Island," Pacheco said. "After the 2-hour flight, we enjoyed a quick lunch and were ready to fish for the rest of the day.

"Our panga was a new 28-footer, driven by the owner, Capt. Lalo Mata and his son Javier.

"Near arroyo Limantour on the east coast of Isla Cedros, we got a couple of nice yellowtail of 36 and 27 pounds and a 4-pound calico bass."

The next day's fishing was at Bajo de San Agustin on the southwest side of Isla Cedros for sheephead and calico bass, and then along the island's east coast for bonito, whitefish, calico bass, and 2 yellowtail to 20 pounds.

"We used Rapalas provided by the local tackle store on the island," Pacheco said. "This small store has hand-selected tackle that is known to work locally."

The third day of fishing produced steady action on about 4 yellowtail per hour to over 25 pounds, and about 80 pounds of fillets were kept for the flight back to Ensenada and the van ride to San Diego. Dinner that evening featured yellowtail plus locally caught abalone.

"On Monday, June 15, 2009, our plane departed the island at 9 a.m., taking our frozen or refrigerated fish on the plane along with some happy anglers," Pacheco said.

Isla Cedros fishing area weather was mostly clear and favorable, with some morning fog and water temperatures of 60 to 65 degrees.

"The west and south sides of the island were easy to navigate and fish," Pacheco said. "The calico bass are biting freely in the kelp beds and the yellowtail are moving around the island. Our best catches were off the eastern shore of the island and not far from the town of Cedros."

Cedros Outdoor Adventures had space available for the island fishing trip of July 3-6, 2009. Information, info@cedrosoutdooradventures.com, 619-793-5419.

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 said his Ensenada charter pangas fishing near rocks at the tip of Punta Banda found good early summer action for mixed species including larger calico bass to 8 pounds. "They fished the outcroppings," Villarino said. "They caught nice calicos with anchovies and squid on dropper loops. Plenty of good taco meat." Vonny's Fleet anglers coming back to the beach with good counts of calico bass, lingcod to 10 pounds, red rockcod, treefish, and mixed species included Rick Martinez of San Diego, Calif., Jay Johnson of Ensenada, Brian Foley of Ensenada, and Chuck Beck.

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Steve Ross of the Ensenada boat Bad Dog out of Marina Coral reported on an outing with Gail Ross, Joseph Carter, and Juan Lu, for heavy lifting on Humboldt giant squid to 35 pounds hooked about 500 deep, and then a long offshore run out to about 80 miles for the boat's first albacore of the year, a single fish hooked on the morning of June 13, 2009, in clear blue water at 63 degrees.

In early morning squid fishing, Ross said, "We headed for 'the gap,' with the up and down bottom structure, until I found the 900-foot deep canyon. The Humboldt Squid were hovering at 500 feet. In about 10 minutes Joseph got hooked up to a freight train and surrendered to putting the rod butt in a rod holder and letting the swell raise his squid. It must have taken him 20 minutes to get this 35 pounder onto the deck and we continued to a deck count of six."

After running out about 80 miles, the Bad Dog found albacore swimming at 500 to 1,000 feet deep and began trolling. "I began trolling Bob Vanian's 976BITE numbers and found a concentration of albacore," Ross said. "The whole screen was full of albacore. I metered no anchovy or sardine. As I worked onto the high spots, the fish began to thin out, so I headed west and at 0700 an albacore inhaled a black feather rigged in a daisy chain of 7 lures, all black. This fish got packed in 20 bags of ice."

Ross noted rough sea conditions building during the day.

"Bahia de Todos Santos had very green, 59-degree water," he said. "The wind started around 10 a.m. and never stopped getting stronger as the day progressed.

"Nothing like being 90 miles offshore with white caps, increasing swells, and the intervals getting shorter.

"We began our return home, as the wind blew huge amounts of water onto our Eisenglass, blurring our vision. As the day turned into dark, I maintained our heading with 2 other boats on my radar screen.

"Everything got mysterious as the clouds took out the moonlight and we progressed at 9 knots, crashing through swells I never saw. I was glued to the radar with the Punta Banda rocks as my destination.

"I had two alarms ringing. Juan Lu pulled up the floor boards and checked around. The gauges indicated that the engine temperature was normal, so we continued on.

"The boat behind me didn't return my call and cinched up tight on my radar to the rear of us. The guy on our right began cruising closer and closer, with no answer on the radio either.

"We arrived in our slip at precisely midnight. Two hours later, I found myself in my trailer with legs that could barely carry me one more step, taking a shower, and lights out."

ENSENADA, MEXICO: Stan Pianko of Chula Vista, Calif., reported on a run aboard his boat Que Mas from Ensenada's Marina Coral to the 238 spot for Mexico sportfishing limits of yellowtail in 63-degree water. "Some bonita schools were breaking top water 100 yards across," Pianko said. "It's looking real fishy this year. Every paddy held fish."

SAN QUINTIN FISHING REPORTS

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SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Richard Hollo of Bloomington, Calif., reported on 3 days of fishing out of San Quintin aboard his boat, with Capt. Hector of Pedro's Pangas guiding for 2 days and catches including a steady pick of lingcod, salmon grouper, and rockcods at the 6 spot, no results while looking for kelp paddies offshore, and several nice halibut inside Bahia de San Quintin caught by trip partner Pete Heringer.

Water temperatures at the 6 spot averaged a cool 57 degrees. "We dropped jigs for a few hours and pulled up some nice lings, salmon grouper, and rock cod," Hollo said. "We moved around quite a bit as the fishing was a little slow, but we had a steady morning."

Several sessions inside the bay produced halibut to about 9 pounds in water at about 62 degrees. "I explained to Hector how halibut hit and what they feel like on the hook," Hollo said. "On the third drift, he lifted the rod to a heavy bend and boated a 9-pound halibut on his first trip to San Quintin."

Hollo noted bait sometimes hard to catch in the bay. "We tried our new cruising method for bait, running around the bay at 5 to 6 knots and dropping the sabikis any time we saw a ball of bait on the fish finder," Hollo said. "This proved to be a very effective method and we caught several dozen baits in a half-hour."

Sunday afternoon brought tough sea conditions as well as strong wind even inside Bahia de San Quintin. "The swells were approaching 5-foot as we turned towards the boca," Hollo said. "The bar crossing was uneventful, but the wind had picked up to 25 knots and the tide was ripping in. It was the worst I have seen, but aside from being uncomfortable, the transit was uneventful."

Hollo noted good taco opportunities during his Baja trip and no problems during the drive to San Quintin.

"We had dinner at El Cliente on the north end of town and got 7 awesome shrimp tacos for 80 pesos. less than 85 cents each," he said. "Gas was $2.16 per gallon in San Quintin and our double room at the Old Mill was only $32 per night. The exchange rate was 13.5 to 1 while pulling cash from the ATM.

"It appears that the U.S. is pumping support into Baja in the form of new Dodge pickups and Hummers equipped with M60 machine guns and 40mm rocket launchers. The Mexican military is definitely geared up to deal with the drug runners. We also encountered military check points at 2 of the 3 toll booths on the return trip, but had absolutely no issues. As usual, the soldiers were pleasant and kind, and they looked us over but sent us through with little delay. The wait at the border was about an hour-and-a-half on this trip."

SAN QUINTIN, MEXICO: Pete Hillis of Pedro's Pangas reported calming weather conditions after 4 days of wind at San Quintin. Capt. Miguel of the charter boat Coyote took clients out for a catch of larger rockcods, lingcod, and 1 yellowtail at the 240 spot. Private boats reported halibut and yellowtail caught at Isla San Martin.

CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORTS

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CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 22 outings by Gaviota Fleet and the Cabo charter boats Fish Cabo, Fish Cabo I, and Tuna Time, with a catch including released fish of: 1 blue marlin, 10 striped marlin, 1 wahoo, 40 dorado, and 24 yellowfin tuna. "The blue marlin, landed by Roberto Marquez Jr., son of the owner of Fish Cabo Fleet, was our first of the season," Edwards said. "It was taken just outside the Cabeza de Ballena drop-off and could not be released. It was about 170 pounds."

Cabo San Lucas fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the high-90s, with water temperatures at 81 to 82 degrees. The 2009 season's first tropical storm was expected to pass south of Baja with winds of up to about 40 m.p.h.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Jim Dillon of Salvador's Sportfishing reported on 11 outings by the Cabo San Lucas charter boats El Budster, El Budster I, and El Budster II, with a catch including released fish of: 7 striped marlin, 2 yellowfin tuna of 15 pounds, 12 dorado of 15 to 40 pounds, and 1 jack crevalle of 25 pounds.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: Ramon Druck of the Cabo San Lucas charter sportfishing super panga Cheer's reported on 3 outings during the week with a total of 8 anglers, for a catch including released fish of: 6 sierra of 5 to 6 pounds, 1 amberjack of 3 pounds, 1 yellowtail of 2 pounds, 8 dorado of 7 to 50 pounds, 1 striped marlin, 2 roosterfish of 8 pounds, and 1 hammerhead shark of 16 pounds. The Cheer's fished along Cabo's Pacific-side beaches and outwards to about 4 miles in water temperatures of 76 to 81 degrees.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: George Landrum of Fly Hooker Sportfishing at Cabo San Lucas reported summer weather and air temperatures to 102 degrees, with mostly clear skies and no rain during the week. Cabo San Lucas fishing area water temperatures were at 67 to 68 degrees on the Pacific side, 73 to 75 degrees straight south, and 81 to 84 degrees on the Cortez side, with swells building from the southwest and some high surf on Cortez-side beaches.

CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO: For the fishing week ending June 10, 2009, Tracy Ehrenberg of Pisces Fleet Sportfishing reported few anglers present at Cabo San Lucas, but 79 percent of charters releasing striped marlin, for a total of 45 fish, several wahoo caught to more than 70 pounds, 42 percent landing dorado, and no tuna reported. Cabo San Lucas fishing area weather was clear in the 90s, with some chop on the Pacific side, as Pisces Fleet boats fished mostly on the Cortez side from Chileno to Destiladeras.

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 44 combined La Playita fleet pangas fishing out of San Jose del Cabo's Puerto Los Cabos marina, with a catch including released fish of: 55 dorado, 28 roosterfish, 21 assorted snappers, 18 jack crevalle, 17 wahoo of 20 to 40 pounds, 13 amberjack, 12 bonito, 8 striped marlin, 8 cabrilla, 7 yellowfin tuna, 4 sierra, 3 island jack, 3 sailfish, 2 golden jack, and 3 yellowtail.

San Jose del Cabo fishing area weather was in summer mode, with a tropical storm developing far to the south off Manzanillo, high humidity, and some rain in the forecast, as water temperatures as high as 88 degrees were found northeast of Punta Gorda.

Most La Playita fleet pangas fished up the Cortez-side from the Gordo Banks to Vinorama. Sardina baits were scarce, but mullet and caballito were plentiful.

Brictson noted a black marlin estimated at nearly 500 pounds lost on the Outer Gordo Bank by panga Capt. Jesus Pino and his brother Capt. Chame Pino on another panga.

"After fighting the monster for 6 hours they had it right at the panga," Brictson said. "It went back down deep. They applied maximum pressure in a win or lose deal and had it back to the boat, but then the line broke right at the knot. The fish lived to fight another day."

EAST CAPE FISHING REPORTS

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EAST CAPE, MEXICO: For the East Cape fishing week ending June 11, 2009, Chris Moyers of East Cape Smoke House reported on 169 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 490 anglers and a catch including released fish of: 52 striped marlin, 3 sailfish, 303 dorado, 26 yellowfin tuna, 13 wahoo, and 40 roosterfish. East Cape fishing area weather was in the mid-90s, with water temperatures of 77 to 87 degrees.

"East Cape has yet to really hit any stride with regard to the fishing," Moyers said. "The catch rate just about doubled, but it was so dismal the previous week that we’re still on the slow side. Things also remain mighty slow down here in terms of visitors so there is plenty of room at all East Cape resorts."

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: For the week ending June 11, 2009, Felipe Valdez of Buena Vista Beach Resort reported on 25 boats, with 48 anglers and a catch including released fish of: 2 blue marlin, 11 striped marlin, 2 sailfish, 60 dorado, 1 wahoo, 3 roosterfish, 29 snappers, and 7 cabrilla. East Cape fishing area weather was in the high-80s, with water temperatures of 75 to 82 degrees.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Andy Atchley of Imperial Beach, Calif., reported on 4 days of East Cape fishing out of Hotel Punta Colorada for a catch with trip partner Kit Kyburg aboard the charter boat Tres Amigos of: 20 dorado, 4 roosterfish, 1 wahoo, and a good spread of other fish species including yellowfin tuna, pompano, pargo, cabrilla, dog snapper, and black skipjack. The Tres Amigos fished mostly off Cabo Pulmo and southwards to the Los Frailes area with Capt. Chuy.

EAST CAPE, MEXICO: Simon Cazaly of East Cape's Vista Sea Sport diving service reported a whale shark sighted at Ensenada de los Muertos south of La Paz during a dive trip guided by Capt. Chuy Cota.

"Chuy reported the whale shark seen during a snorkeling tour," Cazaly said. "Everyone on board enjoyed time in the water with this gentle giant. It was a juvenile, maybe 15 feet in length."

East Cape diving conditions at the Cabo Pulmo coral reef were superb, with water temperatures at 77 to 81 degrees and 100-plus feet of visibility.

Sea life sightings included schooling bigeye jacks, yellow snapper, dog snapper, cabrilla, golden grouper, and groups of diamond stingrays numbering in the hundreds.

LA PAZ FISHING REPORTS

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LA PAZ, MEXICO: Gerardo Hernandez of Tortuga Sportfishing at La Paz reported continued summer-like fishing conditions during the week, with air temperatures in the mid-90s, some clouds at sunrise, and no winds. A distant tropical depression was present in the Pacific Ocean far to the south.

Fishing for Tortuga pangas south of La Paz continued very good for dorado of 40 to 50 pounds caught at the buoys, plus dog snapper to 40 pounds, wahoo, and some tuna at the south end of Isla Cerralvo.

"Generally, everything is going great with the fishing," Hernandez said. "We have plenty of bait for our daily fishing and the fishermen are happy."

LA PAZ, MEXICO: Jerry Davis of San Diego, Calif., reported on 3 days of fishing by his group at La Paz with Baja Pirates for excellent action on dorado the first day, excellent action on roosterfish the second day, and then a big drop offshore on the third day as winds pushed weed paddies down.

"The first day of fishing between Las Arenas and Isla Cerralvo produced many dorado to 50 pounds caught on live bait and trolling," Davis said. "And the second day we got into a feeding frenzy of pez gallo south of Ensenada de los Muertos with about roosterfish 40 landed and released.

"But on the third day out, the sargasso had blown out and we only landed 2 small dorado. The Baja Pirates crew and support was very good."

Davis' group, also including Tim Emory and Bob Sutke, fished with Baja Pirates' Capt. Israel on the Las Arenas side and with Capt. Juan Carlos out of Pichilingue on the La Paz side.

Davis noted the Hotel Los Arcos closed during his trip. "We found out that the Hotel Los Arcos has been shut down for 7 months because of a strike," he said. "We visited Jonathan Roldan’s Tailhunter cantina and restaurant on the malecon and found the help very friendly."

La Paz fishing area sea conditions were calm with light winds.

LA PAZ, MEXICO: Gary Evans reported on a panga outing by his brother Bill Evans of La Paz that produced a very large dorado at the Las Arenas shark buoys. "He and his friend Saul got into some monster dorado," Evans said. "He was slow-trolling sardinas when his big boy hit. He did not have a scale to get an accurate measurement, but estimates from the panga captain put it at way above 50 pounds."

LORETO FISHING REPORTS

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LORETO, MEXICO: Pam Bolles of Loreto's Baja Big Fish Company reported continued good dorado action for local boats as the official beginning of the summer season approached. "It has just gotten better, and the dorado have increased in size," Bolles said. "Expect them to run to over 40 pounds." Loreto boats were still running out up to 40 miles for dorado, but dorado to about 15 pounds were also being found just 3 to 5 miles off Isla Coronado.

Dorado-attracting sargassum weed paddies were increasing in number offshore. "We are still seeing sargasso growing on the rocks," Bolles said. "When it breaks its anchor, it will float to the surface and it piles up on the beaches and rocky shorelines. As the season progresses, the weather and currents change to carry the sargasso out to sea. A lack of sargasso is still being reported offshore, but there is sargasso closer to the shorelines, and a lot is continuing to grow below the surface. I'm hoping this will gradually break off and we'll see sargasso paddies offshore in late summer.

"There is so much sargasso in front of Loreto's waterfront right now, I'm thinking of going snorkeling with scissors."

Also present in Loreto fishing waters were Humboldt giant squid being used for bait and lazing schools of sailfish and marlin on the surface.

LORETO, MEXICO: Bill Erhardt of Loreto reported continued action on dorado into the mid-30 pound range plus some very good days for billfish and other boats with summer season yellowtail.

Three outings by Erhardt's boat Soledad produced a catch including released fish of: 14 dorado to 38 pounds, and 8 sailfish. "None of the dorado were caught under structure," Erhardt said. "All of them were either mixed with schooling billfish or caught on blind strikes while trolling marlin feathers.

"The billfish bite that I had almost written off last week also produced some terrific days, interspersed with days of slow to nada.

"At least half the billfish I have caught on marlin feathers recently in the bite north of town have been hooked outside of the mouth as the billfish tried to 'kill' the lure by swatting it with its bill. With the abundant natural bait in the water it is not surprising that the fish are not falling over themselves trying to eat my plastic."

Loreto fishing area sea conditions were generally good, with some whitecaps, clean blue water offshore, and water temperatures to 86 degrees in areas fished by the Soledad. Few sargassum weed paddies were seen offshore.

SAN FELIPE FISHING REPORTS

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SAN FELIPE, MEXICO: Tom Ward of The Longfin Tackle Store reported on a 6-day Midriff Islands fishing trip by the Tony Reyes Fishing Tours panga mothership Tony Reyes, returning to San Felipe on June 12, 2009, with charter master Jim Mitchell and a catch of: 420 yellowtail of 15 to 26 pounds, 266 cabrilla of 6 to 14 pounds, 361 spotted bay bass of 3 to 4 pounds, 6 sheephead of 5 to 12 pounds, 39 whitefish of 3 pounds, 30 pargo of 6 to 17 pounds, and 97 miscellaneous fish of 3 to 15 pounds.

Catalina Meders of the Title Company Bookstore at San Felipe reported "beauteous" weather last week in the low-80s.

"June is one of those months when almost everyone has gone and when the weather is really nice. Not many people know that," Meders said. "This year, June has been particularly fabulous, so we lucky few have all this tranquility to ourselves."

Big tourist crowds were expected at San Felipe for the Fourth of July holiday. "We do need that," Meders said. "Tourist flow is slowly picking up, at least for towns away from the border, according to reports I've heard. Let's think positive thoughts that this trend will continue."

ROCKY POINT (PUERTO PENASCO) FISHING REPORTS

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ROCKY POINT, MEXICO: Art Pina of Tucson, Ariz., reported windy conditions for his boat Big Daddy during the Rocky Point fishing tournament held June 13-14, 2009.

"The wind was gusting to 35 m.p.h., not what you want to see," Pina said.

"On Saturday, we all met at Safe Marina and waited, and by 7 a.m. we got word that the tournament had been postponed.

"At noon, by vote we all came to the agreement that it would be a one day tournament held on Sunday.

"On Sunday it was calm winds out of the east so we all got started. Shawn Gustafson and Louie Xourafas were on my boat Big Daddy,

"Fishing next to us was the boat Reel Hard. At 7 a.m. they said they had already been broken off 5 times, but we could not buy a bite.

About 11 a.m., I decided to go south to one of my favorite spots. We traveled 35 miles at 30 m.p.h. in a head sea that was not very comfortable,

"Twenty minutes after arriving, we had a triple hookup,

"My line parted, Shawn brought his nice leopard grouper to the boat bit clean off to the gills, and Louie brought up a 52-pound gulf grouper.

"Louie caught another gulf grouper, 48 pounds, and then Shawn hooked up with a 42 pounder.

"At 4 p.m., we headed to the marina for the weigh-in. There were lots of people and the first place fish was 88 pounds."

ROCKY POINT, MEXICO: Mike Auditore of Phoenix, Ariz., reported on an outing from Rocky Point aboard his boat El Gato Blanco for a catch with trip partner Lloyd Robinette of Casa Grande, Ariz., that included 2 grouper of about 85 and 100 pounds.

"Both of them hit a live sandbass," Auditore said. "We fished several reefs south and east of Rocky Point and traveled over 100 miles that day. There was a tournament that day which unfortunately we did not enter."

Rocky Point fishing area weather was very bumpy, with white caps and water temperatures averaging 76 degrees.

SAN CARLOS (SONORA) FISHING REPORTS

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SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: Bryan Replogle of Team Margarita Sportfishing reported mixed results during the week. "Some boats struck out while others struck it rich," Replogle said. "A dead whale provided hot action for many San Carlos boats and some were able to find a few fish under frigates, longlines, or just luck."

Good action was found at Isla Tortuga as a Team Margarita Sportfishing boat landed 2 sailfish on 4 hookups in waters to the south, and other boats reported sierra, bonita, and bottom fish. For the previous week, Team Margarita Sportfishing reported variable action, but with good numbers of larger dorado topped by a 59 pounder.

SAN CARLOS, MEXICO: For the fishing week ending June 13, 2009, Jon Jen Charters of San Carlos reported charter trip results including a total of 3 outings by the boats Jon Jen with Capt. Roberto and Jon Jen II with Capt. Able for a combined catch of 8 dorado to 27 pounds, and 1 sailfish. "If you want to catch fish, you have to get out there 24 to 42 miles, but we did hear of some peanuts in close, so that's a good sign," Jon Jen said.

MAZATLAN FISHING REPORTS

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MAZATLAN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 13 Aries Fleet charter boats out of Mazatlan's Marina El Cid, with a catch including released fish at the local shark buoys of: unlimited dorado for all anglers including numerous releases. Just 2 boats ran offshore, for a catch including released fish of: 12 dorado, and 3 sailfish.

"I just can't overemphasize this annual Mazatlan dorado bite," Edwards said. "These trips are as good as it gets for anyone fishing light tackle or fly fishing."

Mazatlan fishing area weather was mostly cloudy in the low-90s, with generally calm seas and water temperatures stable inshore and offshore at about 86 degrees.

Aries Fleet boats fished mostly for dorado at the shark buoys, using any kind of bait or lure. "If it moves, it gets bit," Edwards said.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO FISHING REPORTS

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IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported some sailfish caught as close as 2 miles out of Zihuatanejo Bay, but no tuna or marlin found.

"Rainbow runner are biting together with dorado at White Rocks," Edwards said, "and roosterfish are gaining momentum at the mouth of Rio Valentin, 15 miles south of Zihuatanejo. The roosters are mixed with jacks in deeper water, and the Z-Wing downriggers are working well."

Very few boats fished at Ixtapa Zihuatanejo as tourist traffic remained light. "With so few boats fishing, it's more difficult to track the fish," Edwards said.

Ixtapa fishing area weather was mostly cloudy at 90 degrees, with very good sea conditions and water temperatures at 87 to 88 degrees. Live bait supplies were good.

IXTAPA ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO: Ed Kunze, reporting for Baja On The Fly, said blue water at 84 degrees moved in to just a few miles off the beach. "But the surprise is that most of the sailfish are being caught only about a mile out, in water that's not so clear," Kunze said.

Ixtapa fishing area charter boats averaged about 1 or 2 sailfish per outing.

"Those numbers are misleading," Kunze said. "Most boats have already zipped past the fish within minutes of leaving Zihuatanejo Bay."

Roosterfish action continued good, as Capt. Adolfo of the charter panga Dos Hermanos checked in with 3 gallos plus 2 dorado for angler Jay Eshbach, and Capt. Santiago of the panga Gitana found 3 sailfish and 3 dorado for anglers Ben and Austin Gaffney of North Carolina.

CANCUN FISHING REPORTS

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CANCUN, MEXICO: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters reported on 7 half-day outings and 1 full day outing by the El Cid Caribe sportfishing fleet at Puerto Morelos near Cancun, with a catch including released fish of: 1 blue marlin, 5 peto or king mackerel, 3 dorado, 7 triggerfish, 2 Atlantic barracuda, and 7 red snapper. Cancun fishing area weather was partly cloudy in the low-90s, with high humidity, light winds, and water temperatures stable at 84 degrees.

Panga fishing at Isla Cedros

CEDROS ISLAND PANGA FISHING--Ricardo Barbera, left, Barney Gatlin, and Cedros Island panga Capt. Ricardo Aguilar, right, found good yellowtail action near the village at the south end of Isla Cedros, off Baja's central Pacific coast. Barbera and Gatlin had flown to Isla Cedros on an all-inclusive charter trip arranged by Cedros Outdoor Adventures. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOSE ANGEL PACHECO.

Sea turtle graveyard at Magdalena Bay 1

Sea turtle graveyard at Magdalena Bay 2

Sea turtle graveyard at Magdalena Bay 3

Sea turtle graveyard at Magdalena Bay 4

Dead sea turtle at Magdalena Bay

MAGDALENA BAY SEA TURTLE GRAVEYARD--Sam Bekish's trip to visit the Pacific side of Baja's Isla Magdalena produced an eerie discovery of an estimated 1,000 sea turtle skeletons left on the beach at this spot. During Bekish's walk of approximately 2 kilometers along the beach, he found 2 or 3 other locations with turtle remains arranged in similar fashion. Bekish made the trip to the island with Capt. Ruben of Puerto Lopez Mateos on May 28, 2009. Said Bill Erhardt of the discovery, "They rode ATVs south on the east side of the island to Devil's Bend. They walked west across the island to the Pacific at what Ruben thought was about the narrowest point. Sam thinks they were about 10 kilometers south of Puerto Lopez Mateos at that point. Sea turtles are among the most common by-catch in the nets of commercial fishermen who ply the fertile waters off the Baja Pacific coast. When seiners are working along the coast, bloated corpses dot the seascape and pile up by the thousands along the shoreline of the peninsula and the barrier islands. On Isla Magdalena, anonymous visitors have arranged the tortuga corpses into graveyards in a silent memorial to the victims of this tragic carnage. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SAM BEKISH AND BILL ERHARDT.

First albacore of season caught by the Bad Dog, Ensenada

SEASON'S FIRST ALBACORE--Steve Ross, right, made a run out of Ensenada's Marina Coral on June 13, 2009, aboard his boat Bad Dog, with anglers Joseph Carter, left, Gail Ross, and Juan Lu, for the boat's first albacore of the season and a long ride back to the dock in tough sea conditions. PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVE ROSS.

Yellowtail caught off Ensenada

ENSENADA OFFSHORE YELLOWTAIL--Stan Pianko's boat Que Mas ran out to the 238 spot from Ensenada's Marina Coral for limits of quality yellowtail on kelp paddies in clean 63-degree water. PHOTO COURTESY OF STAN PIANKO.

Fishing at San Quintin 1

Fishing at San Quintin 2

Fishing at San Quintin 3

SAN QUINTIN FLATTIE FISHING--Richard Hollo's trailer boat trip to San Quintin with Pete Heringer found no action offshore but a steady pick of bottom fish at the 6 spot and halibut inside the bay. From top: Hollo with a big bucket of lingcod and a nice halibut; Heringer with a couple more flatties; and Capt. Hector, right, of Pedro's Pangas who guided Hollo's boat for 2 days. PHOTOS COURTESY OF RICHARD HOLLO.

Cabo San Lucas dorado 1

Cabo San Lucas dorado 2

CABO SAN LUCAS PANGA FISHING--The week's action for Capt. Ramon Druck and his charter clients aboard the Cabo San Lucas panga Cheer's included, from top, a striped marlin landed with angler Bill Salter; Sahara and Kaillin Parrow with 1 of 4 dorado landed during their trip; and a good-sized bull dorado hooked on Cabo's Pacific side. PHOTOS COURTESY OF RAMON DRUCK.

Dorado caught at San Jose del Cabo

A FEW GOOD FISH--Dorado caught last week in the Los Cabos fishing area were not numerous, but some good-sized specimens were caught, including this pair landed by Matt Mealiffe of Palo Alto, Calif. The dodos hit trolled bolito baits on the Iman Bank during panga fishing with Gordo Banks Pangas. PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIC BRICTSON.

Fishing at San Jose del Cabo 1

Fishing at San Jose del Cabo 2

Fishing at San Jose del Cabo 3

SAN JOSE DEL CABO FISHING--Scott Tregoning's group scored a nice list of first-ever species during their trip to San Jose del Cabo and 3 days of fishing with Gordo Banks Pangas' Capt. Chame and aboard the charter cruiser Anamav. Shown from top are: Scott and Tami Tregoning of Las Vegas, Nev., at Puerto Los Cabos marina with a rack of dorado; Tregoning with a striped marlin and Anamov's Capt. Joel Martin, right; and Al Tregoning of Chicago, Ill., with a 45-pound dorado caught with Capt. Chame. The group's combined 3-day catch including released fish was: 7 dorado, 1 marlin, 17 bonito, 3 roosterfish, 2 sierra, and 1 jack crevalle. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SCOTT TREGONING.

East cape graybar grunt

East Cape wahoo

East Cape jack crevalle

EAST CAPE BEACH & BOAT--Andy Atchley's group fishing at East Cape caught a nice spread of species during beach casting and aboard the Hotel Punta Colorada cruiser Tres Amigos. From top, Atchley with a graybar grunt at the Punta Arena lighthouse; Kit Kyburg, left, and Tres Amigos Capt. Chuy with Kyburg's first-ever wahoo; and a nice jack crevalle caught by Eric Von Herzen. PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANDY ATCHLEY.

Dorado caught at La Paz

LA PAZ BIGGIES--Derek Tomita and Ron Uchimiya fished at La Paz aboard a Tortuga Sportfishing panga for great results on dorado into the 50-pound class including these two trophies. PHOTO COURTESY OF GERARDO HERNANDEZ.

La Paz dorado

LAS ARENAS SIDE--Tim Emory, left, with a trophy dorado caught during panga fishing on the Las Arenas side of La Paz with Baja Pirates' Capt. Israel. Emory's group also got into excellent roosterfish action along the Baja coast south of Ensenada de los Muertos. PHOTO COURTESY OF JERRY DAVIS.

Large dorado caught at La Paz

DORADO MUY GRANDE--Bill Evans with a really nice dorado caught south of La Paz at the Las Arenas shark buoys. Evans' panguero estimated the big dodo at "way above 50-pounds," to which is brother Gary Evans added, "My brother is 5 feet 10 inches tall, so it gives you an idea of the size of the dorado." PHOTO COURTESY OF GARY EVANS.

Bill-hooked sailfish at Loreto

FOUL HOOKED LORETO SAILFISH--Billfish sated on natural bait will sometimes strike at a lure with their bills just to kill it, even if they don't intend to eat it. If the reel is free spooled while the billfish is "killing" the lure, the leader will often wrap around the bill and the hook will catch the fish outside of the mouth as happened with this sailfish caught Tuesday by Loreto fisherman Bill Erhardt while fishing in the on-again, off-again bite north of Loreto. PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL ERHARDT.

Calico bass caught at Ensenada

ENSENADA CALICO CASTING--Rick Martinez of San Diego, Calif., got into some good calico bass fishing at Ensenada's Punta Banda during panga fishing with Capt. Beto of Vonny's Fleet. Martinez and trip partner Jay Johnson tossed plastics at the rocks for calicos and also dropped bait deep for lingcod and treefish. PHOTO COURTESY OF IVAN VILLARINO.

Sailfish caught at Punta Chivato

MULEGE SUMMER--Drew Kittle of Washington, D.C., releases a Mulege fishing area sailfish during a mid-June outing from Punta Chivato aboard Ed Epifani's boat Nancy Karren. The sailfish was caught in 82-degree water about 2 miles off Punta Concepcion. PHOTO COURTESY OF ED EPIFANI.

Gulf grouper at Rocky Point 1

Gulf grouper at Rocky Point 2

ROCKY BOTTOM FISHING--Art Pina's boat Big Daddy fished in the recent Rocky Point annual tournament and caught some nice grouper but didn't finish in the money. Fishing aboard the Big Daddy were, from left, Shawn Gustafson, Pina, and Louis Xourafas. Below, in a photo submitted by Scott Pike, the tournament's winning fish. PHOTOS COURTESY OF ART PINA AND SCOTT PIKE.

Gulf grouper caught at Rocky Point

SHOULDA SIGNED UP!--Mike Auditore's boat scored these gulf grouper of 85 and 100 pounds during an outing that coincided with the recent fishing tournament at Rocky Point. The tournament's winning fish weighed 85 pounds, but Auditore wasn't entered. "We would have won first place and possibly second," he said. The big grouper hit live sandbass baits on reefs south and east of Rocky Point. PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE AUDITORE.

Ixtapa sailfish release

IXTAPA SAILS--Ixtapa Zihuatanejo first-timers Leigh Bingham and Chris Forgham fished with Capt. Cali, right, of the charter panga Vamonos I for release action on 3 of these sailfish plus some bonito in blue water about 12 to 15 miles out. PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL PHILLIPS.

Baja bottle and spark plug fishing rig

BAJA HIGH-TECH--The downfall of many a well-equipped gringo in Baja, this simple indigenous fishing gear will sometimes out-fish everyone on the beach or boat. "It’s true! The locals will out-fish you with a bottle for a reel and a sparkplug for a sinker," said Andy Atchley after his group's recent trip to East Cape. PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDY ATCHLEY.

BAJA MEXICO FISHING REPORT ARCHIVES AND FISH PICTURES