ANGLERS FIND SOME GOOD FISHING ACTION DESPITE WINTRY WEATHER

Feb. 6, 2005, Rick Barber, Mulege, Mexico Fishing Report:

We had some pretty interesting fishing weather this week in Mulege. Monday through Wednesday was very windy and the seas were too lumpy to venture forth. Although Thursday was a bit iffy, a few fishermen went out to try their luck (skill?). I guess they got stir crazy and decided that getting a little wet was better than nothing. Actually, a few of them, especially the Mulege commercial pangueros caught some fish, mostly at San Marcos but, also, at Punta Chivato and Isla Santa Inez.

The usual Mulege sport fishing gang was involved. Marty Robinson, Tom and Marge Leach, Tom and Patty Higgenbotham, John Haberman, and John Dinning. Marty, trolling with MirrOlures (what else is new?), nailed some very nice "cabrilla" and yellowtail near Isla Santa Inez and Punta Chivato.

The rest of the gang, in general, tried live bait and managed to boat a few nice 'tails, at Punta Chivato, the "210," and at San Marcos.

Marcos, a local guide, took a party of three out fishing, and scored seven beautiful yellowtail, all well over 30 pounds. I always like to see the local guides score well because it gives the area such a good name. That's also why I like to send my first-time visitors out with San Marcos Mike Kanzler. By the time I get them back, they're beat up and don't need any more fish. That way, when we "normal" people don't score big-time, they, and I, don't feel so badly!!!

Friday was supposed to be a beautiful day according to BuoyWeather.com, so I went out fishing in my 15-foot Bayrunner, Barquito. The day actually started off a bit lumpy and I had to run at significantly reduced speed out to Isla Santa Inez. Once there, however, I ran into schools (herds, pods, whatever) of leopard grouper churning the surface in a feeding frenzy. It didn't last too long. However, but I managed to pull two nice fish out of one school. They weighed in at 10 and 14 pounds. I tried to get a couple more but the second grouper took me under a rock and, by the time I worked him out from under it, the action was over for the morning.

I saw a lot of guys fishing the "210" but, since I didn't have any live bait, I ran over to Punta Chivato to continue trolling. I ran into a couple of friends from Mulege who were also trolling but they reported poor conditions. One, in fact, was heading back to Santa Inez.

The 62-degree water had flattened out to almost perfection so I trolled for an hour or so trying to raise some yellowtail or another grouper or two, but to no avail. There was a lot of grass in the area and I finally got tired of cleaning my lures so headed back to Inez to see if I could find a late bite. No such luck so, having enough fish in the boat for a few meals, I returned to Mulege.

The trip back to Mulege was interesting in that I saw a large pod of finback whales in the area. As I was returning, I got into a right-of-way situation with one behemoth! Fifteen feet vs. 65 feet or so is like taking a knife to a gunfight so I throttled down and let it pass in front of me. Good choice, Rick!

Mulege got a HUGE thunder, lightning and rainstorm Friday night and early Saturday morning, so very few went out due to the marginal conditions. Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday... 'nuff said.

(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.