Baja / Mainland Salt Report

QUICK LIMITS OF YELLOWTAIL IN BAHIA ASUNCION Baja and Mainland ROBIN WADE Salt Report ROBINN WADE / WONEWS STAFF WRITERPublished: Aug 26, 2008

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BAHIA ASUNCION--Just south of Guerrero Negro, the sleepy little town of Bahia Asuncion was awakened by the sounds of fiestas, a tournament and buzzing reels, as the tuna bite was on. Shari Bondy said it was a very busy week with traditional fiestas, lasting four days. “The events were well attended and the weather was perfect. There were horse, dinghy, car, and dirt bike races, a rodeo, a fair with rides and games, two live bands for dances every night and a big fishing derby,” she said. Created in part, to educate Baja commercial fishermen about conservation and encourage them to turn away from commercial fishing and towards recreational sport fishing, the International Governors Cup Tournament paid its second visit here. “There were around 25 boats entered and dozens of shore fisherman with categories for kids, teens and adults,” Bondy said. The open water yellowtail category was won by a Guerrero Negro fisherman with a 34-pound fish, second place went to a local amigo, third place was won by an American from San Quentin, and fourth place was won by Barb Mason of Bondy’s  Team Sirena, with a 24.2-pound yellowtail. “Our good amigos Barb Mason and Tim Young from Vernon, British Columbia joined my husband, Juan, for the derby. Mason was our team representative who claimed the big check of $10,000 pesos. She was the first woman ever to enter this tournament here and the first Canadian. They vowed to be back next year to win first place,” Bondy said.   Finally, Bondy said, the yellowtail bite came on here and bigger fish started to move in. “The water is around 77 degrees and very clear, perfect for spear fishing, and fishing in general,” she said. “The tuna are so hungry they are even taking scampi but their favorite is a white with red head Rapala,” Bondy said. With tuna close in, just off the islands, Bondy said they made for quick limits. “We are so glad to be finally be eating sashimi and sushi again.” Halibut and croaker were also being caught, just off the beaches as well. In other Baja fishing action:      -- SAN JOSE DEL CABO (LOS CABOS): Eric Brictson of Gordo’s Pangas said the weather in southern Baja is becoming more tropical and humid with each passing week. High temperatures were averaging 90 to 95 degrees, but the 80 percent humidity made it feel much warmer than that. There were thunder showers daily in the mountainous areas just north of San José del Cabo, and by the weeks end, it began raining along the coast as well,  helping to cool temperatures some. “Water temperatures ranged from 82 to 88 degrees and blue water was found very close to shore. All this may change after the next few days though, as a tropical storm is approaching,” Brictson said. Strong southern current continued, but were not as consistently powerful as in past weeks, which made for better opportunities and options for anglers wishing to target larger bottom species,” he said. Sportfishing fleets fished in all different directions, from the Pacific, straight out of Cabo San Lucas, Chileno, Palmilla, Gordo Banks, and north to Vinorama. “The action started to heat up over the last few days, with sailfish, striped, black, and blue marlin all present in local waters. “ Over this recent full moon period many larger marlin were hooked into. Trolling with live skipjack or bolito accounted for the majority of the marlin strikes around the Gordo Banks area,” Brictson said. Several black and blue marlin weighing 300 to 450 pounds were reportedly landed and many others were lost after extended battles. Dorado and yellowfin tuna action increased throughout the region. Larger dorado were prevalent on the Pacific and more schooling sized dorado were in the direction of the Sea of Cortez. “During the past couple of days, many charters reported catching and releasing up to 20 dorado, striking on trolled lures and various baits,” he said. Yellowfin tuna were found in the same areas and by the same methods, though most of them football-sized fish, under 15 pounds. “Larger tuna of 60 to 90 pounds were found associated with porpoise. “ On Wednesday they came in as close as 3 or 4 miles from Palmilla Point, it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time.   When the currents allowed, anglers had opportunities to drop baits over the rock piles for a chance at hooking into a dogtooth snapper, huachinango (red snapper), cabrilla, or grouper. “Some fish were taken on yo-yo jigs as well, but the problem was that there were too many big skipjack that were also striking on the same jigs.” Brictson said there was still a chance at catching a nice roosterfish though it’s getting late in the season, but for the few charters that did try trolling baits close along the sandy beach stretches, they hooked and landed roosters up to, and exceeding pounds. On Wednesday one local panguero from La Playita caught a 40-pound wahoo that hit on a small 3-inch hoochie lure that he was using to target batfish, he also lost another wahoo strike, and hopefully, this is a sign that wahoo will become active on the local banks. “Surf fishing action near the Puerto Los Cabos rock jetties heated up as well, with several snook up to 20 pounds reported and tripletail of 10 to 20 pounds were also striking during the twilight hours on fresh cut mullet. Also some small and medium sized jack crevalle and roosterfish provided action from the shore,” Brictson said. The combined panga fleets launching from La Playita/Puerto Los Cabos sent out approximately 48 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of 1 blue marlin, 1 black marlin, 2 striped marlin, 7 sailfish, 6 hammerhead shark, 1 wahoo, 188 dorado, 89 yellowfin tuna, 19 dogtooth snapper, 15 cabrilla, 3 grouper, 34 huachinango, 13 jack crevalle, 22 roosterfish, 4 sierra and 28 triggerfish. Sardinas supplies remained plentiful and there is also a mix of mullet and caballito available. -- CABO SAN LUCAS: Larry Edwards from Cortez Yacht Charters said fishing really picked up this past week for the Gaviota Sportfishing and Fish Cabo fleets and best of all, was that it did so, just outside the entrance to the Cabo Bay. “High boat for the week was the Gaviota VII, reporting 9 stripers for five fishing days, followed by the Fish Cabo I, which reported 6 stripers and 4 sailfish for six days of fishing. “ Overall combined fish counts for the past 38 fishing days resulted in 38 stripers, 35 of which were able to be released, 7 released sailfish, 30 dorado, 1 cabrilla, and 78 yellowfin tuna. Brictson said the best fishing area had been at the Jaime Bank, early in the week and as the week progressed, it was just outside the outer Cabo Bay area, maybe just a mile or so from the Arch. “Live bait was best for the billfish and the yellowfin did best on the tuna feathers and cedar plugs.” Captain George Landrum of Fly Hooker Sportfishing found action on the striped marlin and yellowfin tuna (see related story this week).  “For boats fishing outside the 1,000-fathom curve a few blue marlin were found, most of them at the southern edge around the knuckle and the doughnut. Striped marlin were found closer to shore on the Cortez side from Punta Colorado to Gray Rock from one to five miles out, as well as off the rocky points on the Pacific side of the Cape,” Landrum said. Lures were the name of the game as few of the larger fish fell for slow-trolled bonito or skipjack, and the striped marlin did not seem to have much desire for caballito. “Lures trolled just a bit on the speedy side of normal worked better, striped marlin bit at 8 or 9 knots while the blues bit at 10 to 12 knots.   -- EAST CAPE: Gary Graham of Baja on the Fly reported large numbers of small football-sized tuna were being taken up and down the coastline from Las Arenas to Cabo Pulmo. “It has caused a shortage of wasabi to go with the sashimi being served in the hotel bars at happy hour,” he said jokingly.   Dorado action was either big or little, depending on who was talking. “Basically for the ones catching numbers of them, the size is small. If you find the bigger ones, you are lucky to catch one or two,” Graham said. Few billfish were collected this week with the exception of sails which had moved into the warmer water. “Unfortunately the warmer water has caused a needlefish bloom, They are as thick as pelicans on a bait ball, and they are a downright nuisance snatching anything that hits the water,” he said. Water temperatures may cool off though as the area had rain on Saturday, with more expected over the next few days. Graham said there were still lots of smaller roosters and jacks up and down the beach but with the hot weather, early morning, and late afternoon beach fishing made the most sense. “There were a few sight casting opportunities to be had by fly anglers with patient, and don’t overlook the schools of pompano slowly swimming up and down the beach. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish the difference between a school of baitfish and the pompano, the ones you are looking for, look like submerged dinner plates flashing in the sun.”      Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort’s Ana Lizeth Velazquez reported that 25 boats went out with a total of 86 anglers on-board. Water temperatures ranged from 81 digress to 87 degrees, and the thermostat reached the century mark. “Our fleet headed up north to the Pescadero area, were the hot water was, and then moved to La Rivera, were they also had a very good luck,” Velazquez said.   Offshore fishing she said was good for mostly sails in the billfish family, but dorado were hiding. “The tuna brought some fun to the boast as well,” Velazquez said. Velazquez said the fleet’s count included 3 blues, of which 2 were released, 5 striped marlin with 3 released, 9 out of 10 sailfish released, 9 dorado, 118 tuna, 6 roosterfish, 10 jack crevalle, and 5 amberjack. Reporting for Van Wormer Resorts, Eddie Dalmau said dorado and tuna were the species of the week once again for their fleets.  “Many anglers are hitting the tuna schools which were located about 8 miles from Punta Colorada to the south and near Punta Pescadero to the north,” Dalmau said. Dorado were found just about every where you looked. “My co-worker Dusty Burns is currently fishing out of Hotel Palmas De Cortez and he reported to me that they got into a school of tuna about 8 miles east of Punta Colorada. After getting their fill of tuna, they went closer to shore and landed 5 dorado right in front of Punta Colorada. The tuna were in the 20-pound range and the dorado were in the 25- to 35-pound range,” Dalmau said. Burns also mentioned that most of the other boats that went out these past few days were bring in limits of both tuna and or dorado. “The billfish are still around with a few blue marlin, but there are plenty of striped marlin and sailfish. The best spot this week for the billfish was a few miles directly out of Palmas De Cortez. Burns said that one angler landed a 260-pound blue marlin yesterday just about seven miles out from Palmas De Cortez,” Dalmau said.    Local angler, Torrance Eddy, reporting to baja@Wonews.com said he puts his lures out as soon as his boat is on the water because he knows that fish here can be found anywhere and everywhere. “I went fishing yesterday and didn't catch much but one of the fish I did catch was noteworthy. I left the beach closest to the Los Barriles Pemex gas station a little before 8 am and headed up the coast staying about 1 mile offshore. I went in close to shore near the San Bartolo arroyo and caught a small skipjack and a small needlefish. About 200 yards southeast of the Punta Pescadero point, I decided to change lures for a run toward Rancho Leonero and while reeling in on of the lures, was hit by a fish and it was, of all things, a small sierra. It was my impression that sierra are only caught here from October thru April, so, now I know better,” Eddy said. Later that day, he said he told a friend of his sierra catch and his friend said an angler caught several just a day or two before. -- ENSENADA: Sergio’s Sportfishing Center reporting for two boat days of fishing and a total of 17 anglers, had 11 yellowtail, 27 dorado, 8 albacore, 14 lingcod, and 7 rockcod. Ivan Villarino, reporting for his Vonny Fleet, said that the air temperatures ranged from 66 to 74 degrees, with a surface water temperature reading of 62 degrees. “We started out with clouds but then saw mostly sunny days,” Villarino said. “Simon Avalos and his father Art Avalos from Rosemead Ca. fished on the Vonny I with Beto this week on an afternoon run for halibut,” he said. They managed limits of halibut, one of which weighed 27 pounds on a drift. -- LA PAZ: Reporting for his Tailhunter International Fleet, Jonathan Roldan said   water is and has been a great 85 to 88 degrees on the surface. “Air temperatures are in the upper 90's each day but we have had our seasonal tropical rain showers in the afternoons,” he said. “The great tuna bite our Las Arenas fleet has experienced has tapered off. Actually the problem could very well be the bait as we have a ton of it,” Roldan said. The tuna they found dropped from about 10 per boat/day to about 1 to 4 fish per boat per day and generally were caught at the north and south ends of Cerralvo Island. “Football-sized yellowfin ranged from about 8-17 pounds, punctuated by flurries of bonito, skipjack and the occasional wahoo, marlin or sailfish.” Roosterfish, he said were sometimes turned to on a few days when the boats would go with light tackle for the inshore roosters, catching and releasing most fish. For his La Paz fleet, Roldan said fish were also picky. “It was pretty much so-so fishing with a few highlighted spikes. Most boats got only 1 to 4 dorado on the average, with a few nice bulls. However, it seemed one or two boats each day would find a hot spot and get limits in short order.” “This week there was no room for error. Often, I'd talk to the guys coming back to the beach and they'd tell me they ‘only got 2 fish.’ Of course, they'd be disappointed, but the captain would tell me they ‘They lost five.’ You've got to be on your game as sometimes there are no second chances,” he said. Walter Phillips of Baja Pirates said when the winds let up; their anglers were able to connect on some nice sized dorado. On the days the dorado fishing grounds were readily accessible, the fish were of good quality, like the one caught by Gordon Case of Los Gatos, CA. “Captain Memo, of the Baja Pirates Fishing Fleet, assisted Mr. Case during his capture of this great 40-pound bull dorado that he battled for over 28 minutes,” Phillips said. Case won the fight, during which the fish also provided him and his sons, Butch and David Case, a great show. “Mid-week the weather allowed a group to fish out further from the islands and they scored well. David Cornella of Laguna Niguel and his son hit the mother load and brought in limits of dorado and yellowfin tuna,” Phillips said. -- LORETO: Dorado fishing here appears to have slowed considerably in the last couple of days, according to Don Bear, a part-time resident here. Bear reported to baja@Wonews.com, that the massive schools that were around through last Sunday have suddenly gone AWOL. “On Monday and Wednesday, outings on my boat with Capitan Paulino Martinez to the areas that had been holding the schools produced 21 dorado to 25 pounds and 1 sailfish (tagged and released). But extensive trolling was necessary to find the fish in ones and twos.” Bear said other pangas and boats he observed were doing the same. Water temperatures averaged 86 and 87 degrees at the San Bruno bajo and 88 to 89 degrees at the area locally known as the Bajo de Boyas. “Although we purposely avoided them, sailfish were present in large numbers at both bajos, in fact, we broke off two of them in order to return to the search for dorado,” Bear said.   Mackerel and jurelitos have been harder to come by, taking up to 40 minutes to produce 30 or 40. Sardinas, however, were abundant just outside the marina. “Yesterday, in two casts of the net Paulino had hundreds of them,” Bear said. -- MAGDALENA BAY: Reporting for Magbay Outfitters and Baja on the Fly, Bob Hoyt said the volume of dorado, yellowtail and striped marlin continues to increase. “I’m not seeing many birds or bait but definitely more fish every day,” he said. Ken Kramer landed striped marlin, dorado, and yellowtail while fishing from Cabo Lazero up toward Thetis Bank. “Roman Shidel, and his son Roman, Jr. were visiting from France, they fished with Sergio on the Mar Gato. The bottom fishing was pretty good, producing assorted rockfish along with 4 grouper up to 60 pounds,” Hoyt said. With offshore temperatures climbing up into the 80’s and calm blue water offshore, the Esteros took a back seat.   Readers: To have your reports included in the Baja report, send photos and e-mails to baja@wonews.com. CABO TUNA TIME: Yellowfin tuna to 130 pounds under the porpoise  CABO SAN LUCAS -- Captain George Landrum of Cabo-based Fly Hooker Sportfishing  said yellowfin tuna off Cabo were found in the larger sizes, to 130 pounds, under the porpoise. That’s good news for teams entering the 10th annual Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot slated for Nov. 5-8 (www.loscabostunajackpot.com has all the details and charter operations to book boats from). “Our boats a brought in yellowfin tuna to 130 pounds and I heard of larger fish caught as well. Multiple hookups were not uncommon for boats that were on the fish first thing in the morning, and the larger fish, in almost every instance, were caught on live bait,” he said. Landrum said the first fish were caught on lures but once the first hookup occurred, live bait pitched back into the pattern and free-spooled for about 30 seconds got hit fairly quickly. “For boats coming up on a school that had already been worked by a couple of other boats, finding the direction the fish were traveling and dropping down a live bait to 100 feet and waiting for the fish worked fairly well. Based on reports for both captains and anglers, this technique worked about half of the time,” he said. The tuna were evenly scattered between due south at the 1,000-fathom line, to west of the Golden Gate Banks. The key was to find the right pod of porpoise. There were decent fish caught and the average was around 30 pounds. MAINLAND MEXICO FISHING REPORT Mazatlan sails back up, as are the tuna and dorado MAZATLAN—The numbers for sailfish came back up out of Mazatlan with boats releasing 2 and 3 sailfish per boat day but the good news didn’t stop there, as numbers of dorado and yellowfin tuna were also on-board. Dorado averaged 25 to 30 pounds. Reporting for the Aries Sportfishing Fleet, Larry Edwards said he had received an excellent fish report, reflecting in very good fishing throughout the week with the boats releasing 2 and 3 sailfish per boat day. “The billfish have been between 18 to 22 miles west of the marina and are being hooked on rigged mullet and artificials,” Edwards said. With the sailfish action just a couple miles west of the current break, anglers looking to mix up their sailfish action, headed over to the current breaks for some dorado action.   “I just got off the phone with Geronimo Cevallos, the GM for the Marina El Cid and the Aries Sportfishing Fleet in Mazatlan. He said besides the great sailfish bite, right now, it's very easy to find limits fishing for dorado, with almost all of the fish in the 20-plus-pound category,” Edwards said.   The boats are trolling ballyhoo along the current line, according to Edwards, about eight miles south of the Marina El Cid, with the water a deep blue on the offshore side, and dirty green on the inside.   “Cevallos said the current line has all of the rain run-off and debris from the ongoing summer rains and the dorado have banked up against the line,” added that an angler can catch and release dorado all day long fishing the break. Also in the mix were 5 blue marlin, (3 releases) with fish that all weighed between 200 and 250 pounds. In other mainland Mexico fishing action: --- CANCUN: Larry Edwards of Cortez Yacht Charters said another smorgasbord week; reflected by 15 days of fishing; saw good catches (54) of giant Atlantic barracuda, 4 mutton snapper, 8 red snapper, 7 triggerfish, 1 dorado, 3 bonito, and 1 king mackerel. “The weather around Puerto Morelos included a good mix of sun and clouds, with air temperatures ranging from 77 degrees at night to 98 degrees, for daytime highs,” Edwards said. Edwards reported that all of the fish are being taken on ballyhoo, rigged with either colored skirts or naturals. — IXTAPA-ZIHUATANEJO: Reporting for Baja on the Fly, Ed Kunze said with the full moon late this last week, the area experienced the normal slow down in the action. “The blue water is still close to the beach, with all conditions leading to excellent fishing, if the moon phase would just cooperate,” Kunze said.   However, a 1 to 2 sailfish per boat per day average is still not all that bad. The dorado and tuna are still a no show.   “Inshore, the rains have been holding off and the water is clear. It is an ideal situation for roosters, and they are responding. There is excellent action on the roosterfish, and very good action on large jack crevalle to about 20 pounds,” he said. Readers: To have your reports included in the Mexico report, send photos and e-mails to baja@wonews.com.