Santa Rosalia, Mexico:
Beach Fishing On Isla San Marcos Was Excellent For Shortfin Corvina

July 24, 2004, Mike Kanzler, Isla San Marcos, Santa Rosalia, Baja California Sur, Mexico Fishing Report:

This week's fishing report has both the normal offshore and a special Isla San Marcos inshore/shore fishing section.

The weather for the week has been erratic to say the least. First part of the week was pretty normal 80-92 degrees, light southern breezes in the late afternoon.

Around Wednesday strong southeasterlies where present. Checking the NOAA satellite view, I noted there where large convection cells coming off the mainland, moving across the Cortez, as was the case for a period of the next three days, making for high wind and seas, just in this mid-Baja area, winds of 25-30+ knots and seas of 3-5 feet. Air temps dropped a bit to the low-mid 80s, plus a little rain fell, only getting the ground wet. Water temps 82-85 degrees with 25-60 feet of visibility.

Now today, the wind changed to northwest. Wish the weather would make up its mind.

All this made the fishing interesting to say the least. The fishing started on Sunday with the arrival of Alan Parker, plant manger for "Georgia Pacific" Tacoma, Wash., Division, and his two sons Eric, age 12, and Bradley, of Enumclaw, Wash. Because they got to the island around 12:00 p.m. we decided to go do a little snorkeling, went up to Cross de Santa Maria, four miles north of town on the west side of the island. Waters nice and warm, vis. pretty good, lots of colorful fish and I scored about one kilo of rock scallops for dinner.

The next day we made our bait up at Santa Rosalia marina and ran up north to Punta Prieta for some Dorado, which we did good on, utilizing fly-lined bait around sargasso paddies, taking limits of bulls 10-17 pounds, some of which where the first for Alan's two sons.

The following day we tried our luck on the reef off the north end of Isla San Marcos, a little slow, taking only one Gulf Grouper 25 pounds and three Dorado. We did lose one apparent yellowtail in the rocks, but that was all she wrote.

On Thursday, I had Gray Green and his buddy Bill Miller of Kingman, Ariz., out for a bit of high seas adventure.

The morning started out calm, as was the ride to the marina for bait. However, on the way to the fishing grounds all hell broke loose. Waves and winds made for an almost "turn back to camp," but we keep grinding on to the reef. Once there, on the first drop Gary got hooked up and landed a yellowtail of 23 pounds. With the water getting rougher and all of us getting wetter, we slipped into the channel along with the 8 trawlers to maybe catch some dorado, and did, only one. Even the channel didn't provide any lee from the wind, waves and wetness, so we packed it in for the trailer-park, oh well, maybe next time.

Inshore Report:

On Sunday my family was having a cookout on the point just a 1/2 mile from my house. Wanting to get some lunch around 11:30, I strolled down the path to the point with my shore fishing outfit knowing that at this time of year there's a real good chance to catch my favorite inshore fish, Shortfin Corvina!

Once there, I grabbed my son and proceeded to the rocky shore line to give it a shot, and on my first cast got bit! From the size of the big splash and head shake on the water, I started to panic, so I loosened up the drag so as not to pull the hook on the very soft mouth. After a 15-minute battle, taking it real easy, the fish swam into a tide pool. Almost 6 pounds! After that one, and a few more casts, my son got a nice fish of 4-1/2 pounds and 3 pounds. I picked up another one of 3 pound too, then stopped fishing to get some lunch.

In other inshore action, my wife, brother, sisters, and mother-in-law have still been catching good amounts of Barred Pargo and other assorted species close too home on cut bait.

The rest of the week was too windy to fish. I will try this coming one for sure.

Shortfin corvina caught at Isla San Marcos, Mexico

SON OF MIKE--Michael Kanzler (right) shows off some shortfin corvina caught with his dad, Mike Kanzler, by casting from shore near their home on Isla San Marcos. Photo courtesy Mike Kanzler.

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