YELLOWFIN TUNA LEAD THE COUNTS FOR LOS CABOS PANGAS

Dec. 24, 2005, Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas, La Playita, San Jose del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico:

The combined San Jose del Cabo panga fleets out of La Playita sent out approximately 62 sportfishing charters for the week with anglers reporting catches of: 4 sailfish, 2 wahoo, 9 striped marlin, 1 mako shark, 72 dorado, 310 yellowfin tuna, 190 skipjack, 12 amberjack, 8 dogtooth snapper, 22 cabrilla, 28 pargo, 130 sierra, 26 roosterfish and 16 jack crevalle.

San Jose del Cabo sportfishing area daytime highs were reaching 80 degrees. Mornings have been cooling down into low 60s. The winds have continued to be persistent from the north, though by midweek they did let up some and overall the ocean conditions were very good.

Fishing water temperatures at San Jose del Cabo fluctuated from 69 to 73 degrees and anglers were reported very respectable catches on the offshore fishing grounds for striped marlin, yellowfin tuna and dorado. Live bait supplies have been adequate for mackerel and sardinas, with the sardinas now being found along San Jose del Cabo beaches from Palmilla to the Hilton Hotel and they are now of much better size.

The billfish action continued to very hot on the Pacific. Striped marlin and even a few sailfish were also found inside the Sea of Cortez, but not as numerous as they were off the Pacific. Good numbers of whales were also providing an added attraction.

For the San Jose del Cabo charter fishing panga fleets, yellowfin tuna continued to be the most common catch. At the start of the week the bite was towards Cabo, off of the Finisterra, but later in the week the action switched back towards Iman and La Fortuna Banks and the fish were also larger in size. The San Jose del Cabo bite for tuna was on live or dead sardinas, with the fish ranging in size from 10 to 40 pounds. There were also plenty of hungry sea lions that proved to be a major nuisance and were getting more than their share of the yellowfin. Mixed in with the tuna were schools of both black skipjack and the good eating variety of white skipjack, most of them in the 6 to 10 pound range.

Dorado counts improved substantially over the weekend, as many San Jose del Cabo sportfishing boats reported catching anywhere from 3 to 5 dorado of the 6 to 15 pound variety. They were striking best on bait in the same areas as were the tuna, but would also hit trolled lures. A few larger bulls to 25 pounds were accounted for.

Inshore, schools of sierra were dominating the action at San Jose del Cabo. Most of them were weighing 2 to 4 pounds, striking hoochies, Rapalas and bait. Some small roosterfish and jack crevalle were rounding out the action along the shoreline.

Off the bottom anglers found a combination of dogtooth snapper, cabrilla, pargo and amberjack, but these species were not numerous and had to be worked for, they hit on a yo-yo jigs and a variety of whole and cut baits.

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