PUNTA CONCEPCION AREA PRODUCES SOME DORADO FISHING FOR LOCAL ANGLERS

Oct. 1, 2004, Rick Barber, Mulege, Mexico Fishing:

Last Sunday (Sept. 25th) proved to be a good day to be on the water. Mulege weather was finally cooperating and so were the fish (the former more so than the later).

Drift fishing with sardines about four miles north of Punta Concepción proved to be a lot of fun but not too productive. I got bit numerous times but, for the most part, they were short strikes. Those Dorado seem to know just where the hook is buried and bit the bait in half just below the hook! The maddening part was that the water was so clear that I could watch them doing it! I finally filled my ice chest with some nice Cabrilla and Triggerfish which I caught off Pt. Concepción.

Three Mulege locals went out Monday and did well (that's a relative term this year) on Dorado. One, fishing Punta Chivato caught three DoDo's to about 25 lbs. Another, fishing off Pt. Concepción caught two more and my buddy Tom and his wife, fishing more to the south near the "slide", caught five. The fish are about half and half--half big and half small. The smaller ones, which are just big enough to make a perfect dinner for two, are either kept or returned, depending on the damage to the fish.

Many Mulege sportfishing boats during the week scored on the dorado with 1-2 fish per boat being the norm. Fishing with bait near Punta Chivato and trolling near Punta Concepción seem to be the more productive methods. I took my neighbor out trolling on Wednesday and had a very good day fishing . The weather and water were perfect so we went just outside the Point and we got two Dorado right away, one about 20 lbs. We then had a dry spell (except for one Skipjack) for about two hours trolling further south past the Mine and "Slide" areas so I returned to my favorite "triangle" area between the Point and Mulege. Got three more!!! We were using Zuker's with a Mexican Flag pattern on one side and a "Mean Joe Green" (black & purple) on the other. The Mean Joe got hit a bit more often but both lures proved productive. I did have a blue & white on for a while but nothing hit that one.

The rest of the week also proved to be cooperative weather-wise and many Mulege locals went out fishing or snorkeling as the water is still in the 80's. Jellyfish are tending to be a problem nowadays but there are some areas where they don't seem to be too prevalent. Claudia and Miguel, who own "The Tienda" in Mulege as well as a 26' Skipjack, are diving fanatics and will have the latest information on good spots to dive without getting hit too badly by the jellyfish. They also carry some fishing supplies in their store.

Now that more of the gringos are returning to Mulege and getting out on the water, we should see the fish counts improve. Two of the recent "returnees", Jim and Lynn Hall of Discovery Bay (near Stockton, CA), got to spend some time on the water on Friday and picked up a couple of nice Dorado just 3-4 miles off the Mulege lighthouse.

Local Mulege fishing guides have reported good Dorado counts all this week. Most are fishing the Punta Chivato or the Pt. Concepción areas to get their clients into the Dorado. Chivato has been producing the larger fish lately. The commercial calamari fishermen in that area have been reporting that their lights are bringing many huge Dorado to the surface at night.

I've had an invitation to go fishing with Mike Kanzler ("San Marcos Mike" or "Kid Jurel") at San Marcos as soon as the migrating Yellowtail come in. Although I've been out fishing in the same area as Mike, I've never actually fished with Mike in his boat. I'm looking forward to it. That guy is an encyclopedia of information on equipment and is unquestionably the expert on yellowtail fishing!

(See "Mexico Fishing News" online for current fishing reports, photos, weather, and water temperatures from Mulege and other major Mexican sportfishing areas. Vacation travel articles, fishing maps and seasonal calendars, and fishing related information for Mulege may be found at Mexfish.com's main Mulege page.