24 FISH SPECIES CAUGHT DURING LOS CABOS OUTINGS

July 3, 2004, John Snow, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico Surf and Panga Species Fishing:

Executive Summary: Seven, one to one and half hour, San Jose del Cabo surf trips with excellent results in the predawn hours and no success late afternoon. The major catch were beautiful Cortez Grunts (large and feisty) and the finicky Sergeant Majors. Four, six to seven hour, San Jose del Cabo panga trips with Captain Pata which were exceedingly slow by normal standards. There were virtually no Gringos fishing and those that were had had very limited catches. The highlight of the week were two giant roosterfish, both in the neighborhood of 50 pounds.

Overall came in contact with 24 individual species with nothing new (with the exception of a Humboldt Squid which washed up on the beach. San Jose del Cabo weather from a temperature perspective varied from “roasty toasty” to manageable. Wind was not a factor on three of the four days on The Sea. San Jose del Cabo water temperature was an excellent 80 degrees (an 8-degree improvement in three weeks). Major targeted game species count from four days of Panga fishing: Dorado – 2; Leopard Grouper – 1, Red Snapper – 1 and Roosterfish - 2. And like Bugs would say “that’s all folks!” I would rate this as the poorest week that I have experienced in five years topping my experiences just three weeks prior.

San Jose del Cabo, June 22 - 29, 2004:

Species, Executive Summary – 24 24 known and 0 new

Balloonfish (Fish Number 54) Cabrilla, Flag (Fish Number 61) Chub, Cortez (Fish Number 23) Dorado (Fish Number 82) Graybar Grunt (Fish Number 83) Grouper, Leopard, Spotted (Fish Number 58) Grunt, Burrito (Fish Number 1) Grunt, Cortez (Fish Number 76) *Herring, Flatiron (Fish Number 19) *Herring, Yellowfin (Fish Number 10) Mackerel, Bullet (Fish Number 93) *Mullet, White (Fish Number 21) Pacific Porgy (Fish Number 2) Pompano, Gafftopsail (Fish Number 24) Puffer, Baloonfish (Fish Number 54) Puffer, Guinea Fowl (Fish Number 20) Puffer, Spotted Porcupinefish (Fish Number 46) Rooster Fish (Fish Number 51) Sergeant Major, Panamic (Fish Number 41) Skipjack (Fish Number 79) Snapper, Blue and Gold (Fish Number 73) Snapper, Red (Fish Number 16) Triggerfish, Finescale (Fish Number 9) Triggerfish, Orangeside (Fish Number 26)

*Collected in the bait tank.

Part I, San Jose del Cabo Surf Report, 100% Catch and Release.

Day 1, San Jose del Cabo, June 22, 2004:

Fishing one and one half hour before sunset at Km 20, Cabo Real, San Jose del Cabo, large pounding surf, low tide, water temperature 80-degrees, utilizing a fish finder rig – 15-pound test, 0.5-oz barrel sinker, swivel, 15 pound test and size 6, Mustad 92553 hook with cut Squid. Skunked.

Day 2, San Jose del Cabo, June 25, 2004:

Fishing two hours at sunrise at Km 20, Cabo Real, San Jose del Cabo, nominal manageable surf, low tide, water temperature 80-degrees, utilizing a fish finder rig – 15-pound test, 0.5-oz barrel sinker, swivel, 15 pound test and size 6, Mustad 92553 hook with cut Squid. Catch was omni-present early with the grunts stopping about 1 hour after sunrise: seven, Sergeant Majors, to 6 inches and six Cortez Grunts, all about 10 inches and about 1 pound.

Fishing one hour before sunset at Km 12, Twin Dolphins, San Jose del Cabo, nominal manageable surf, falling tide, water temperature 80-degrees, utilizing a fish finder rig – 15-pound test, 0.5-oz barrel sinker, swivel, 15 pound test and size 6, Mustad 92553 hook with cut Squid. Catch was modest: two, Sergeant Majors, to 6 inches and one Burrito Grunt, 10 inches and about 1.5 pounds.

Day 3, San Jose del Cabo, June 27, 2004:

Fishing two hours at sunrise at Km 20, Cabo Real, San Jose del Cabo, enormous surf with seven foot crashing waves, falling tide, water temperature 80-degrees, utilizing a fish finder rig – 15-pound test, 0.5-oz barrel sinker, swivel, 15 pound test and size 6, Mustad 92553 hook with cut Squid. Catch was omni-present early with the grunts stopping about 1 hour after sunrise: eight Cortez Grunts, all about 10 inches and 1 pounds, two Sergeant Majors, to 6 inches and one Greybar Grunt, 5 inches.

Fishing one hour before sunset at Km 10, Cabo del Sol, San Jose del Cabo, large rolling surf, falling tide, water temperature 80-degrees, utilizing a fish finder rig – 15-pound test, 0.5-oz barrel sinker, swivel, 15 pound test and size 6, Mustad 92553 hook with cut Squid. Skunked.

Day 4, San Jose del Cabo, June 28, 2004:

Fishing two hours at sunrise at Km 20, Cabo Real, San Jose del Cabo, large but manageable surf, falling tide, water temperature 80-degrees, utilizing a fish finder rig – 15-pound test, 0.5-oz barrel sinker, swivel, 15 pound test and size 6, Mustad 92553 hook. I forgot my cut Squid and had to catch and fish with Lightfoot Sallys. Catch was slow and took a different approach. Catch was “different” and was as follows: two Baloonfish, to 1.5 pounds, one Cortez Chub, 14 inches and 4 pounds, one Guinea Fowl Puffer, 1 pound, one Sergeant Major, 6 inches.

Fishing two hours before sunset at Km 12, Twin Dolphins, San Jose del Cabo, nominal manageable surf, falling tide, water temperature 80-degrees, utilizing a fish finder rig – 15-pound test, 0.5-oz barrel sinker, swivel, 15 pound test and size 6, Mustad 92553 hook with cut Squid. Catch was slow to non-existent: one Gafftopsail Pompano, 5 inches and one, Orangeside Triggerfish, 10 inches.

Part II. Fishing with Captain Pata, Panga Solome, La Playita, San Jose del Cabo. La Playita Sport Fishing was slow with news widespread that fishing was slow. Only a handful of Gringos present.

Day 1, San Jose del Cabo, June 23, 2004:

Fishing for six hours with Captain Pata. Ocean had a modest El Norte pushing up significant waves gradually decreasing throughout the morning. Excellent supply of live mullet but no live sardines available. Water a quality 80-degrees of pristine blue color in most places. Fished an area 10 to 25 miles north of La Playita. Style was a blend of flylined mullet or bottom fishing with cut clams, cut mullet or cut squid (two drop loops, size 2/0, Mustad 92553 hooks with 30-pound main line, swivel and 40-pound shock leader). Catch can be summarized as “slow” as follows: one Dorado, 10 pounds, one Leopard Grouper, 10 pounds, two Pacific Porgy, to four pounds, one Finescale Triggerfish, 5 pounds. Miscellaneous: Nada observed.

Day 2, San Jose del Cabo, June 24, 2004:

Fishing for six hours with Captain Pata. Ocean was flat early then a building modest El Norte pushing up waves gradually decreasing throughout the morning. Excellent supply of live mullet but and a limited number of live sardines available. Water a quality 80-degrees of pristine blue color in most places. Fished an area 10 to 25 miles north of La Playita, San Jose del Cabo, including a brief (not productive stop) and the inner Gordo Bank. Style was a blend of trolled feathers, flylined mullet or sardines and bottom fishing with cut clams or cut squid (two drop loops, size 2/0, Mustad 92553 hooks with 30-pound main line, swivel and 40-pound shock leader). Catch can be summarized as “slow” with only one fish in the box as of 11 a.m. as follows: one Baloonfish, 5 pounds (includes four pounds of water), two Bullet Mackerel , 2 pounds each, one Dorado, 10 pounds, one Roosterfish, 53 pounds, one Skipjack, 5 pounds, one Gold and Yellow Snapper, 1 pound, six Yellowside Triggerfish (all catch and release) to 2 pounds. Miscellaneous: a fining Marlin which had no interest in us.

Day 3, San Jose del Cabo, June 26, 2004:

Fishing for six hours with Captain Pata. Ocean was flat calm with a brutal boiling sun above. Excellent supply of live mullet and live sardines available. Water a quality 80-degrees of pristine blue color in most places. Fished an area 10 to 25 miles north of La Playita including a brief (not productive stop) and the inner Gordo Bank. Style was a blend of trolled feathers (unproductive) flylined mullet (unproductive) or sardines (unproductive) and bottom fishing with live sardines (unproductive) cut squid (two drop loops, size 2/0, Mustad 92553 hooks with 30-pound main line, swivel and 40-pound shock leader) or yo-yo iron. Catch can be summarized as “dismal” with only two fish in the box: a Red Snapper, 10 pounds, four Yellowside Triggerfish (all catch and release) to 2 pounds and one Finescale Triggerfish, 3 pounds. Miscellaneous: a variety of things including Manta Ray mating and large schools of bonito working at about 50 foot depth. We got into a school of Purple Surgeonfish with Bared Pargo, Sierra, Yellow Snapper, and Finescale Triggerfish working below and they all left well fed on our chum. Miscellaneous: large mating Manta Rays frolicking on the surface.

Day 4, San Jose del Cabo, June 29, 2004:

Fishing for six hours with Captain Pata. Ocean was flat calm. Excellent supply of live mullet and live sardines available but the two are not compatible in the same bait take so major losses of sardines occur. Fished an area 15 miles north of La Playita. Style was a blend of trolled feathers, flylined mullet or sardines (non-productive) and bottom fishing with a cut squid on one hook and a live sardine on the other (two drop loops, size 2/0, Mustad 92553 hooks with 30-pound main line, swivel and 40-pound shock leader). Catch can be summarized as “exceeding slow” as follows: one Flag Cabrilla, 2 pounds, one Dorado, 10 pounds, one Roosterfish, 50 pounds, and one Finescale Triggerfish, 3 pounds. Miscellaneous: large mating Manta Rays frolicking on the surface.

June 28, 2004, John Snow, using Sally Lightfoot Crabs for bait at San Jose del Cabo:

Got to the beach at 0 dark 30 with no bait! Now what coach? Went for Lightfoot Sally verus a 30 minute round trip hike. The bite changed 100% to puffers - three fish of two types, one Sergeant Major and one large Cortez Chub. The key here in I learned today via trail and error is to collect the small crabs (ones without the claws) and send them out whole if possible with a size 4 hook. Action will be brisk and how they sort out the meat from the shell is beyond comprehension. And so... I need to start a collection of frozen Lightfoots since they remain brutal to catch but I am learning on the job.

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