CONTINUED BIG TUNA COUNTS FOR LA PLAYITA PANGAS

Sept. 17, 2006, Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas, La Playita, San Jose del Cabo fishing, Baja California Sur, Mexico:

Ocean fishing conditions at San Jose del Cabo remained favorable for most of the week, with relatively calm seas, a little breezy later in the afternoon, and water temperatures of 80 to 84 degrees.

In week's fishing the yellowfin tuna did not show any signs of slowing down, as anglers pretty caught as many as they wished and many decided to come in early. The tuna were readily striking sardinas and it did not take long at all to fill a fish box up. When the fishing is that good you might as well come back in and have your catch filleted and put on ice as soon as possible so that it can be in the best possible condition.

The combined sportfishing panga fleets launching out of La Playita sent out approximately 62 charters for the week, with a fish count of: 4 sailfish, 2 striped marlin, 95 dorado, 350 skipjack, 495 yellowfin tuna, 7 dogtooth snapper, 12 cabrilla and 30 miscellaneous bottom species.

Los Cabos anglers found excellent dorado action on the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas, finding quite a bit of storm debris that held good numbers of dodos, mostly medium sized fish in the 8 to 15 pound class, though a couple of monster bulls close to 50 pounds were also caught.

Billfish action off San Jose del Cabo was limited, but there was a mix of sailfish, striped and blue marlin being found.

There are still several weeks left of the period when tropical storms historically strike the Los Cabos sportfishing area. Crowds of tourists are now minimal, which is normal for this time of year. By October the area will be bustling with visitors.

The most consistent fishing action was located in the area towards the Sea of Cortez, from La Fortuna to the Iman Bank, this is where the large schools of yellowfin tuna have been concentrated for the past couple of months.

The tuna caught by La Playita charter fishing pangas were 20 to 30 pounds, and everyday there were some yellowfin up to 50 or 60 pounds found in the same schools.

There were also a handful of dorado found scattered in the same spots as the tuna, with most boats averaging 1 to 3 of them in their daily catches. A few dogtooth snapper up to 40 pounds were found off the bottom while fishing with strips of skipjack or tuna, but overall the bottom bite was not that consistent due to a strong current.

(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.