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Los Cabos Fishing Report – July 12, 2015

July 12, 2015 by Leave a Comment

July 12, 2015 151_MelyTuna

As school sessions end for the summer break we are now seeing more family vacationers arrive in Los Cabos, they have been greeted with calm, warm and humid patterns this past week. Distance tropical low pressure areas off to the west have created more tropical conditions, though winds have been light and skies very clear, moderate swells and clear blue water being found close to shore. Only rainfall reported has been to the north of San Jose del Cabo, near Miraflores and Santiago, vegetation is lush green in this region, compared to the parched desert landscape south of the airport, this is the normal pattern July through September, while coastal rainfall is more often associated with storm systems from the south, not like local thunderstorms that develop over the mountains north of San Jose del Cabo.

Ocean water temperatures have risen up to 85 degrees in areas, clear blue water for the most part, varying currents, raging at times, fleets are fishing over a wide span, searching for more productive waters. Billfish action slowed, warmer water can make striped marlin very sluggish and the majority of these stripers migrate towards California during the summer. A handful of sailfish are now moving in, and there have been blue marlin hook ups as well, though these fish are very scattered and not very active at this time. The offshore fishing grounds are holding schools of bolito and this past week we have seen more and more small football sized yellowfin tuna arrive, they are usually a good indicator for attracting large predators such as black and blue marlin. On the local Gordo Banks, this action usually peaks during the months of August, September and October.

Dorado are even more scattered than the billfish are, only an occasional fish being encountered, mixed sizes up to 20 lb., striking mainly in open water on lures, this is the time of year where we normally see larger concentrations of these popular gamefish. Wahoo have been elusive as well, but everyday a few of these speedsters have been accounted for off of the spots ranging from Red Hill, La Fortuna, to Iman Bank. The majority of the wahoo strikes were taken on trolled Rapalas.

Panga fleets out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina, continue to target early morning action on the San Luis Bank for red snapper (huachinango), anglers working yo-yo jigs off of the structure were hooking into quality snapper weighing in 6 to 12 lb. class. This bite has tapered off compared to the past couple of weeks, though there is still a good chance at landing four or five of these snapper, with the only real productive time being early in the morning, after the sun starts to rise these fish shut down and most charters will then scout out other options offshore or inshore.

This season we have seem very limited activity for dogtooth snapper along the rocky shoreline, only an accessional story being told, most of them involving massive strikes that results in broken lines. The main action being targeted along the shoreline now has been for roosterfish, though this action became more difficult the past week, water clarity was crystal clear in many stretches and this can make these fish spooky. Anglers that went further north near Vinorama did report great action on larger sized roosterfish, apparently they witnessed some truly epic feeding frenzy activity.

An unusual catch was made by a commercial pangero the other day as he was returning into the marina channel area and was slow motoring, while leaving a moonfish out on a line, he hooked and landed a 30 lb. snook, all in front of local crowd hanging at the La Playita fillet stations, not an everyday catch.

The past couple of days we have seen some sardinas being found and then sold by the bait suppliers to charters operating in the direction of Iman Bank, these baitfish were found along the beach north of Vinorama, smaller in size, but are the first sardinas we have seen in at least two months and were being used to catch good numbers of smaller sized yellowfin tuna, most in the 5 to 8 lb. range, though a few tuna in the 30, 40 to 50 lb. range were also landed, some of these on yo-yo jigs or strips of squid. It is now the time of year where we see larger yellowfin moving on to the local Banks such as the Gordo Banks, Iman and San Luis. Last year there was a flurry of big tuna action in early August, time will tell what happens this season.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 75 charters, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 5 sailfish,14 striped marlin, 16 dorado, 17 wahoo, 135 yellowfin tuna, 3 amberjack, 8 cabrilla, 14 yellow snapper, 12 jack crevalle, 24 bonito, 24 roosterfish and 105 huachinango (red snapper).

Good fishing, Eric

—

GORDO BANKS PANGAS

Eric Brictson / Operator

619 488-1859

Los Cabos (624) 142-1147

e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com

WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

Filed Under: Cabo San Lucas Blog, Cabo San Lucas Fishing, Fishing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report – 11-23-2014

November 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment

November 23, 2014 184_Matt

After a series of late season tropical storm fronts developing, this past week we saw weather patterns return to the more prevalent Fall conditions. Early morning chill, offshore breeze early in the day, shifting to variable winds predominately from the north. Ocean water temperatures were still holding 80/81 degrees, we expect that cooler current will gradually swept into the region. All in all the climate is ideal now, while much of the U.S. has endured record early cold waves, we are still wearing shorts in the warm 80 degree sunshine. Crowds have been lighter than you would expect for this time of year, but actually businesses have been much busier than in previous weeks, so it is nice to see the activity.

Live bait supplies seemed to have rebounded some after recent shortages, sardinas, caballito and some ballyhoo have been available. Skipjack, bolito and chihuil have been other baitfish options, though never a guarantee they will cooperate on the fishing grounds. Fishing action has been spread out from the Pacific to the grounds north of Punta Gorda, no real temperature break being found anywhere. Most San Jose del Cabo charters are now fishing in the direction of the Sea of Cortez, there had been a bite going on for smaller sized tuna, dorado and wahoo off of Santa Maria and Chileno , but this action became more inconsistent through the week and fleets were finding better chances in the vicinity of the Iman Bank.

Anglers found sporadic action for yellowfin tuna, at times in feeding frenzies, other times  not biting until later, though other days early action was best, areas close off of La Fortuna and Punta Gorda also were holding the schooling yellowfin tuna. One key was having the sardinas for bait. These tuna averaged 10 to 20 pounds, various skipjack were mixed with them. An occasional much larger tuna, weighing from 60 to over 200 pounds, was being accounted for, no big numbers though, Gordo Banks was the best bet at trying to find the larger grade of yellowfin. These fish were all hitting on various baits, either live, dead or chunk. They were not being taken on lures.

Most of the wahoo were striking on baits, as compared to on lures, you never know with these elusive spooky fish, they are very unpredictable. Many small wahoo under ten pounds were in the area, particularly closer to Cabo San Lucas, though there were quite a few fish in the 20 to 40 pound class and then an occasional larger specimen over 50 pounds also being reported. Most of this wahoo action was from Punta Gorda and further north.

More dorado are now being encountered off of San José del Cabo grounds, though the majority have been smaller sized fish, remember to release these juvenile fish, so that they can mature and reproduce, helping to maintain the future fishery. More sierra now moving inshore, always a sign of cooling currents to come.

Off the bottom rock piles there have been a handful of dogtooth snapper, amberjack, pargo, cabrilla and bonito found, though this has not been consistent and with increasing late morning winds from the north, this has not been a practical option at times. Billfish became even more scattered, probably the best bet would in the direction of the Pacific banks. With the warm ocean temperatures and plentiful schools of skipjack, there are still chances of the black and blue marlin hanging throughout the present year.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 205 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 4 striped marlin, 115 wahoo, 590 yellowfin tuna, 310 dorado, 22 bonito, 150 skipjack, 23 cabrilla, 5 amberjack, 28 sierra, 15 jack crevalle, 2 roosterfish, 14 pargo and 6 dogtooth snapper.

Good fishing, Eric

—
GORDO BANKS PANGAS
Eric Brictson / Operator
619 488-1859
Los Cabos (624) 142-1147
e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com
WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

Filed Under: Cabo San Lucas Blog, Cabo San Lucas Fishing, Fishing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report

November 17, 2014 by Leave a Comment

November 16, 2014 185_WalterWahoo

The first week of November we saw late season Hurricane Vance develop and pass a couple hundred of miles to the southeast of Cabo San Lucas, increasing ocean swells and bringing some scattered rain showers, never really amounted to much, one day of charters were cancelled. This week there was another low pressure storm system passing from the south, moving eastward. This system never resulted in much, but did create rough choppy ocean conditions during the first two three days of the week. Now conditions have settled down for the first time in a couple of weeks and anglers are enjoying comfortable days on the water.

Crowds increased during the past couple of weeks, busy times now, which is normal during the weeks before Thanksgiving. Ocean water temperatures still warm for this late in the season, averaging 82 to 84 degrees, this could mean that we will have exotic species in local water through the rest of the year.

As we anticipated, bait supplies were more limited after the big surge in charter pressure and during local tournaments, which put even increased stress on bait schools. There have been sardinas available most days, as well as some caballito, ballyhoo were a bit harder to find, the fishing grounds held skipjack, bolito and chihuil, which were also being used for whole and cut bait. Fishing on the areas north of San Jose del Cabo were more productive for a variety of gamefish while using various baitfish, compared to on trolled lures. Though always a bonus to have some wahoo type lures such as Rapala X-Rap or skirted lead heads for your personal arsenal. Chihuil baitfish have not been easy to come by, but have proved to a bait of choice for wahoo and a few larger grade yellowfin tuna.

The yellowfin tuna action has been more sporadic since the passing of the recent full moon, tuna ranging from 10 to 258 lb. were landed this past week, chance at the bigger cows was still best on the Gordo Banks, though very few of the larger tuna are actually being hooked into. Better action for the smaller 10 to 30 lb. class fish was encountered around the Iman Bank. Crazy bite though, one day the Outer Gordo would be best, then the action would switch to Iman or back to the Inner Gordo Bank. Lots of bonito and various skipjacks mixed on the same grounds.

Best bet for finding wahoo has been near the Iman Bank, either on live caballito and chihuil or on trolled lures, more so on the live bait this past week, a few were hooked on yo-yo jigs. Sizes on the wahoo ranging from small sierra sized models, up towards 60 pounds. Dorado made a rebound this past week, as we saw increased numbers of fish in the 10 to 25 pound range, one day early in the week there was a section of a floating dock found and it was holding schooling dorado, tuna, wahoo and even sharks, the whole food chain., of course the next day no one located the same debris. Schools of dorado were also found north of Punta Gorda, it appears the fish are returning from the Pacific, in the direction of the Sea of Cortez.

Bottom action showed signs of improvement with the calmer days, a handful of cabrilla, snapper, triggerfish and at least one 35 lb. yellowtail was accounted for off of the Gordo Banks. Inshore there were jack crevalle, sierra and a few smaller sized roosterfish.

Billfish bite slowed compared to last week, a few striped marlin were scattered around, though we heard of more numbers on the Pacific.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 138 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 3 striped marlin, 72 wahoo, 315 yellowfin tuna, 135 dorado, 28 bonito, 380 skipjack, 18 cabrilla, 1 yellowtail, 18 sierra, 14 jack crevalle, 4 roosterfish, 18 whitefish and 30 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric

GORDO BANKS PANGAS
Eric Brictson / Operator
619 488-1859
Los Cabos (624) 142-1147
e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com
WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

Filed Under: Cabo San Lucas Blog, Cabo San Lucas Fishing, Fishing Tagged With: , , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report

August 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment

August 3, 2014 196_ED_TunaCatch

The last week of July was uneventful as far as any tropical storm threatening land, there was the formation of Hurricane Hernan, which quickly weakened to a depression as it passed within 300 miles of Cabo San Lucas, ocean swells did increase for a few days, surfers were happy, no winds to speak of, no rainfall either, definitely increased humidity, with heat index in the triple digits. Now we have distant Tropical Storm Iselle that is gaining some strength, though way to far to cause any impact on the Baja Peninsula.

This next week there are forecasts for scattered thundershowers, it is that time of year, where weather patterns become increasingly tropical. With recent moisture accumulated, the local landscape is rapidly transforming from the parched desert to lush greenery. Ocean water temperature have been averaging in the upper 80’s, strong currents sweeping through, moderate swells, overall great conditions for anglers, remember to bring plenty of liquids to keep hydrated.

No source for sardinas this past week, very limited sized schools of these baitfish were found in local waters, anglers have been using ballyhoo and a mix of live moonfish and caballito. Some anglers are bringing slabs of squid purchased from local super markets as an additional option for trying to entice the yellowfin tuna, there have been plentiful skipjack and some bolito on the fishing grounds, which are commonly used as bait during the summer months. Anglers found a mix of species, most common catch were dorado, with average sizes ranging 5 to 15 lb. with a handful of much larger bulls encountered, including at least one reported 50 pound fish. The dorado were striking on about any type of medium sized lure or baitfish, once the schools were located.

Yellowfin tuna action slowed way down from the previous week when live sardinas were found north near Los Frailes. This week numbers of the yellowfin were limited, some football sized models striking on hoochies type lures between Iman and San Luis Banks and a handful of tuna to 40 lb. were accounted for north of Vinorama, hitting on limited sources of sardinas, dead or alive, also skipjack used for chunk bait worked for some people. Mid week there reports of yellowfin tuna found traveling with large porpoise pods, off of Chileno to straight outside of San Jose Del Cabo, these fish were in the 10 to 50 lb. class.

There was good action for billfish, more striped marlin than other species, though also sailfish and blue marlin were lurking, as well as possibilities of a black marlin. Anything can happen this time of year, just as weather conditions can change quickly, so can the fishing action from day to day, known as a period of big weather and big fish.

A few more wahoo were hitting the docks this past week, from on the offshore grounds, 10 plus miles out, to inshore areas such as Iman, La Fortuna to Vinorama, has produced wahoo to 50 lb. in recent days, striking on rigged ballyhoo, as well as rapalas.

Not much bottom action now, a few bonito, various snappers (pargo), an occasional cabrilla, swift current on some days made this option that much more challenging.

Local commercial panga fleets reported a great bite on yellowtail, just outside of the Gordo Banks, holding in cooler depths of 350 feet of water, all 30 pound class fish, very few sportfishing boats were trying this because of the extreme depths and currents, hand lining pangeros had the advantage for this bite.

Only limited inshore action for roosterfish, these prized fighting jacks are still in the area though, a couple of fifty pound specimens were reportedly landed and released in recent days.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 88 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of:
13 striped marlin, 9 sailfish, 21yellowfin tuna, 8 yellowtail, 11 cabrilla, 14 jack crevalle, 124 dorado, 15 wahoo, 2 dogtooth snapper, 16 yellow snapper, 5 amberjack,18 bonito and 12 roosterfish.

Good fishing, Eric

—
GORDO BANKS PANGAS
Eric Brictson / Operator
619 488-1859
Los Cabos (624) 142-1147
e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com
WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

Filed Under: Cabo San Lucas Blog, Cabo San Lucas Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing Tagged With: , , , ,

Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report

July 27, 2014 by Leave a Comment

July 27, 2014 197_Katy_Steve_Holm_Tuna

We are now in the later part of the month of July, this is always a warm time of year, very humid, muggy, days are long and tropical weather can rapidly change overnight. Crowds are a bit below average this month, perhaps the great fishing now being found off of Sothern California is a factor, as many anglers are taking advantage of their local bite, where yellowtail, bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna and yellowtail are all providing epic action.

This past week the highlight for the San Jose del Cabo sportfishing fleet was the yellowfin tuna bite that developed north of Vinormama, some 20 to 25 miles north of Puerto Los Cabos Marina, a bit further than what normal panga or local cruiser charters travel on a regular basis. We could see fuel surcharges soon, if this continues. This is the same fishing grounds where the East Cape fleet has been concentrated on and they are located closer to these grounds than Cabo fleets. The key has been the availability of live sardinas, which are being found schooling near Los Frailes. Anglers were drift fishing with these baits and hooking into yellowfin tuna in the 25 to 45 lb. class. This area where the fleet is finding these fish is very close to shore, so close that triggerfish are thick and skipjack are also out numbering the tuna. With persistence and the proper baitfish, charters were able to land, one to five of these yellowfin per morning. Rigging with forty pound main line spliced to 40 or 50 lb. fluorocarbon leader material has been the most productive technique.

Dorado have been found more spread out, the majority being juvenile sized fish, but there are some much larger fish mixed in, bulls weighing up to 50 lb. were reported, though no big numbers, trolling larger baitfish such as bolito was one method than was producing a larger grade of dorado.

Open water trolling saw a mix of billfish, actually last week there was sailfish, striped, black and blue marlin caught from local waters, again no big numbers, but these gamefish are present and an offshore grand slam could happen on any given day.

Ocean conditions are very warm, averaging 85 to 87 degrees, even warmer further offshore, this is the time of year where charters do not need to travel very far offshore to find pelagic gamefish species. Winds were relatively mild most days, with the exception of Thursday, when a tropical squall flared up, moving in from the east and closing charter operations for the morning, not before many charters had already launching into what appeared to be moderate conditions, only to have the breeze switch and turn this squall into a major situation for an hour or two, all boats had to return as quickly as possible to the Marina, but seas became extremely rough quickly, wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph, accompanied by driving tropical storm force thunder showers. Everyone did return safely, storm system passed on through and by mid day, skies were sunny again. Lengthy local power outages, wind and minor flood damage was reported. The landscape will surely turn tropical green from this deluge.

Not much bottom action reported some early morning pargo, bonito, cabrilla action on yo-yo jigs, but nothing red hot. Only an occasional roosterfish or jack crevalle found along the shoreline, no signs of much mullet activity to attract the inshore gamefish, getting late in the season now, it appears that we might not see the large schools of mullet as we would normally expect. Last season we witnessed one of the best roosterfish bites on record and this season has been the complete reverse.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 63 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of:
1 black marlin, 2 blue marlin, 4 striped marlin, 8 sailfish, 48 yellowfin tuna, 6 amberjack, 5 cabrilla, 4 jack crevalle, 58 dorado, 3 wahoo,1 dogtooth snapper, 10 bonito, 230 black skipjack and 2 roosterfish.

Good fishing, Eric

—
GORDO BANKS PANGAS
Eric Brictson / Operator
619 488-1859
Los Cabos (624) 142-1147
e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com
WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

Filed Under: Cabo San Lucas Blog, Cabo San Lucas Fishing, Fishing Tagged With: , , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report – Tuna Time!

July 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment

July 13, 2014  199_230Tuna

Light crowds of tourists have been enjoying recent tropical weather patterns, which are now the normal pattern for the rest of the summer. No new storm systems at this time, though there have been scattered tropical cloud formations and some isolated thunder showers in the foot hills, very humid, with light breezes this past week.

Ocean conditions became cloudy and off colored closer to shore due to prior swells that pushed through the region, now seas are settling down again and clarity has improved closer to shore. Anglers were finding a mix of caballito, moonfish, as well as ballyhoo available for bait. Another bait option in recent days were live sardinas being delivered to the fishing of San Luis and Vinormama, by commercial pangeros based out of Los Frailes, this is a great sign, as local fleets have not been able to obtain any sardinas for a long time, in fact for the entire 2014 season, up until this week. This is a limited resource and still a long distance to go for bait, who knows how long this will last, large swells will scatter inshore baitfish schools in a hurry.

San Jose del Cabo fleets have been concentrating their efforts on the grounds to the north of Punta Gorda, namely Iman, San Luis and Vinorama Banks, this is where they have found the most productive all around action. Early in the day anglers found decent action on species such as bonito, red snapper, skipjack, a few amberjack and cabrilla, yo-yo jigs and various baits all produced.

The same areas held schooling dorado, most of which were small juvenile sized fish, only an occasional bull to 15 pounds or more reported. Every few days we hear of someone having a wahoo strike, but definitely no numbers or particular spot. Yellowfin tuna are slowly moving into the region, sizes have ranged from footballs to Cows of over 200 pounds. With sardinas now being available, for the time being at least, there have been more chances at enticing the tuna, which are holding on the grounds from Iman to Vinormama. So far just a handful are being caught , most are nice fish though of 20 to 40 lb., the larger Cow sized tuna are striking on slow trolled bolito, which are being jigged up early in the day on the same banks. More large tuna were hooked and lost than actually landed, So far the largest brought into La Playita was a 230 pound fish last weekend in the inaugural Hook Up Tournament.

There has been a mix of sailfish, striped and blue marlin, again no big numbers, but these billfish are present and being hooked into everyday. The way the conditions are shaping up, warm blue water in the 80s, with congregations of bolito and flying fish being reported offshore, this is always a favorable sign that anything could happen on any given day.

Inshore action was more limited, scattered action on roosterfish to 40 lb., though only a fish or two here or there, more jack crevalle than roosters, nothing like the numbers we witnessed last season. A handful of dogtooth snapper have been hanging around the rock outcroppings, these fish will test the stoutest tackle to the limits.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 60 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 7 sailfish, 2 blue marlin, 9 striped marlin, 2 wahoo, 14 yellowfin tuna, 174 dorado, 38 pargo (red snapper),12 cabrilla, 8 amberjack, 26 jack crevalle, 16 roosterfish, 3 dogtooth snapper, 34 bonito and 22 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric

—
GORDO BANKS PANGAS
Eric Brictson / Operator
619 488-1859
Los Cabos (624) 142-1147
e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com
WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

Filed Under: Cabo San Lucas Blog, Cabo San Lucas Fishing, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing Tagged With: , ,

Los Cabos Billfish Tournament – October 14-18

June 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment

The Los Cabos region is famed for its amazing fishing. This is why fishermen and fisherwomen from around the world flock to the area for fishing tournaments all year billfish Tournamentlong. On October 14-18, fishing aficionados will gather for the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament.

There is no time like the present to book your Cabo San Lucas or San Jose del Cabo vacation rental for this exciting event! The event itself is three days long and the top three teams will ultimately receive a payout. You can also register for optional marlin, tuna, wahoo, and dorado jackpots if you wish. The Billfish Tournament is not one of the cheapest events in Los Cabos, with a base entry fee of $5,000 per team (up to 6 anglers may be on each team), but it is one of the most popular.

If you are on a budget, you may want to consider not paying the tournament’s base entry fee, but paying $1,000 to be in the daily billfish release jackpot or $1,500 to be in the daily tuna, wahoo, dorado jackpot. One of the best things about the Los Cabos Billfish Tournament is that there is a competition option for everyone, regardless of financial restraints or skill level. http://www.marlinmag.com/los-cabos-billfish-tournament/los-cabos-billfish-tournament-rules-2014

The Billfish Tournament officially begins at 6:15 on the morning of October 15. The kick-off party and Captain’s Meeting, though, will be held the evening before at the Playa Grande Resort Beachside Terrace. Thus, it is important to schedule your trip so you arrive in Los Cabos early in the day on October 14! The final event of the long weekend is the competition’s awards ceremony on October 18. You won’t have a dull moment during your trip; many anglers even decide to extend their vacations so they can continue to explore the Los Cabos area after the Billfish Tournament concludes.

If you think that this tournament sounds like fun, start planning your trip as soon as possible! A Los Cabos Vacation Rentals villa reservations specialist will be happy to help you prepare for your fishing holiday. Just go to www.LosCabosVillas.com .
You can download a registration form for the 2014 Billfish Tournament online (http://www.marlinmag.com/los-cabos-billfish-tournament/register). The coordinators have tried to make it as easy as possible for anglers to sign-up early for this year’s event. We hope to see you in Los Cabos in the fall!

Filed Under: Cabo Fishing, Cabo San Lucas Blog, Cabo San Lucas Fishing, Cabo Vacation Rentals, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing Tagged With: , , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report

April 27, 2014 by Leave a Comment

April 27, 2014 208_DaveMartin

With spring break now officially over, crowds of visitors have lighted up, weather patterns have continued to warm, feeling increasingly tropical this past week, early morning clouds, then plenty of sunshine and high temperatures now into the upper 80s. Ocean water temperatures are ranging 76 to 79 degrees, from Cabo San Lucas to Loss Frailes, no significant temperature breaks seen. Winds have still been somewhat unpredictable, though this week has been much more settled than last, recent trend has been that the south winds are kicking up mid day, early mornings have been very comfortable.

No news of any new resources for sardinas, available baitfish have been moonfish, various jacks and fresh brined ballyhoo. There were reports of more flying fishing now being seen in the warming currents, always a favorable sign, water clarity has rapidly improved as well, clean blue water was now found within a half mile of shore.

Early in the week the billfish action was predominately found further offshore, though that quickly changed, as striped marlin moved in within less than one mile from shore, straight out in front of the Puerto Los Cabos Marina, these fish were readily striking on trolled ballyhoo and also hitting on live baits being drifted down deep. Most of these stripers were weighing in the 80 to 120 pound range. Locals are continuing to exploit these marlin, catching them as if they were just part of an hugely abundant, never ending resource and then selling them on the black market, as local authorities turn their heads the other direction, supposedly these billfish are a protected species, preserved for sport fishing, apparently there is no priority in enforcing such laws.

Dorado were spread out, more often in limited numbers, most anglers were fortunate to land one, occasional exceptions of schools of these fish encountered, sizes ranged up to 25 pounds, trolling various live or rigged baits was most productive. Wahoo were also in the area, but only a handful were actually landed each day, most of them from areas north of Punta Gorda, striking on various baitfish, more so than on artificial lures, sizes ranged to 35 pounds. With the way the ocean conditions are shaping up, anything could happen on any given day, as we are seeing optimal conditions now, favorable for a variety of gamefish.

Most of the local panga charters are either targeting the close by billfish action, or heading north towards the San Luis Bank, where they are targeting a variety of structure species, working yo-yo jigs off the high spots, as well as trolling surface baits or lures for dorado, or chance at a wahoo, marlin were on these grounds as well. We are not seeing any yellowfin tuna action to report. The closest we are really getting to tuna now is with the Eastern Pacific Bonito, which despite the warmer waters are still be caught in fair numbers, striking best early in the day, these bonito are showing signs of slowing down, they are more of a cold water species. Other bottom action included pargo (various species), amberjack and cabrilla. With the rapidly warming waters we have not seen much in the way of yellowtail. More amberjack arre starting to appear though. Sea lions continue to be aggressively feeding on these same fishing grounds, at times making it nearly impossible to land fish, these mammals know where the fish are schooling and they also know how much easier they are to catch when they are hooked on a line and be reeled towards the surface, this is like a game of cat and mouse for these sea lions.

Surprisingly there were still reports of some incredible whale activity, now well past due time that these mammals should be half way through their northern migration.

Inshore action included sierra, roosterfish and jack crevalle, though this action was a bit sporadic from day to day, surely would be better if there were sardinas available for chumming, especially for the sierra, which are proficient at slicing the larger bait fish in half.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 85 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of:  48 striped marlin, 13 wahoo, 15 amberjack, 23 huachinago, 24 cabrilla, 14 jack crevalle, 18 sierra, 47 dorado, 230 bonito and 26 roosterfish.

Good fishing, Eric

—
GORDO BANKS PANGAS
Eric Brictson / Operator
619 488-1859
Los Cabos (624) 142-1147
e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com
WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

Filed Under: Cabo San Lucas Blog, Cabo San Lucas Fishing, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing Tagged With: , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report

April 6, 2014 by Leave a Comment

April 5, 2014 211_NathanYellowtail

Spring break tourist activity seemed to have slowed some, even though the actual local Easter Holiday week does not begin until mid month. Weather has been nearly perfect, highs in the low 80s, there has been scattered cloud cover, burning off as the days progressed. Winds were moderate, mostly from the east and switching from the south, ocean temperature now averaged in the 70 to 75 degree range, a slight drop from last week, but still warmer than normal for early April. Quite a few whale sightings continue, despite this now being late season for these mammals, the majority have already began their northern migration.

Offshore , anglers found hit or miss action for the billfish, spread out, no concentrations of baitfish to attract any big numbers of striped marlin, fish were found further offshore some days and then as close as two miles to shore on others, clarity of water varied with the flowing currents. Dorado were found every day, though only in small groups, more of these fish were within several miles of shore, this is where half beak schools (ballyhoo) have been schooling. Weights averaged 10 to 15 pounds.

No yellowfin tuna to speak of, except an odd fish up to 30 pounds, being hooked into while working high spots with yo-yo jigs, from Iman to San Luis Bank. The most common catch were the Eastern Pacific bonito, striking readily on the iron jigs, ranging 3 to 10 lb. There was more porpoise activity now being seen offshore, though not many yellowfin were being reported. Early morning proved to be the best time for fishing over the rock piles, mixed in with the feisty bonito, were a handful of quality snapper, amberjack and cabrilla. Yellowtail action has been very spotty, most of the fish we have seen were nice 25 to 35 lb. A couple of these hogs were even hooked into while drifting live baits just outside of the Marina Jetty entrance.

This whole year has been abnormal, with warmer winter weather and ocean water temperature, enough so, where tropical pelagic species such as wahoo and dorado have remained in local waters throughout the winter and into the spring. Everyday there have been reports of wahoo being either hooked into, seen free swimming, or actually landed, most of this wahoo action was found from Punta Gorda and north along the ledges, towards Vinormama. A couple of fifty pound plus wahoo were accounted for, most of the ‘hoo landed were in the 20 to 30 pound class.

Close to shore there were lots of powerful jack crevalle moving in, also some juvenile sized roosterfish and sierra. This action could be wide open with sardinas, but none of these smaller baitfish have been available in recent months, with the main bait source now being either live caballito or rigged ballyhoo. We did see one 12 pound snook caught right off of the panga dock area, this fish hit on a live bait.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 84 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of:  6 striped marlin, 9 wahoo, 6 yellowfin tuna, 8 yellowtail, 17 amberjack, 80 dorado, 28 jack crevalle, 48 sierra, 22 roosterfish, 580 bonito, 15 cabrilla and 32 misc. pargo.

Good fishing, Eric

—
GORDO BANKS PANGAS
Eric Brictson / Operator
619 488-1859
Los Cabos (624) 142-1147
e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com
WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

Filed Under: Cabo Fishing, Cabo San Lucas Blog, Cabo San Lucas Fishing, Cabo Vacation, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing Tagged With: , , ,

Cabo Fishing Report

March 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment

March 30, 2014 212_Wahoo

Vacationing tourists continue to arrive in soaring numbers, as spring break season is now in full swing. Weather has been very pleasant, prevalent winds were gusting early in the week, with ocean conditions being quite comfortable late week. Ocean water temperatures were ranging in the upper 70s towards the Gordo Banks and further north, while currents were in the lower 70s on the Pacific grounds. Day time highs were in the low 80s, feeling a bit more like summer than spring. Whales are vanishing from the area rapidly, headed on their long migration towards the rich feeding grounds of the Bering Sea.

The striped marlin action off of the San Jose del Cabo area started back up with a flurry, feeding marlin were seen in concentrations, anywhere from 2 to 8 miles from shore, moving quickly at times, seen free jumping and tailing on the surface as well. Striking on lures as well as live caballito or rigged ballyhoo, many charters reported having multiple chances for stripers per outing. With inshore and bottom action being sporadic, much of the week anglers found that there was actually a better chance at finding marlin than any of the other smaller gamefish closer to shore.

There was a variety of other species now in local water, though it seemed that none of them were really abundant, or consistently biting on a day to day basis. Yellowtail were occasionally being hooked into on the various rocky high spots, some of these jacks were found close to shore on the ordinary roosterfish and sierra grounds. Yellows were holding on the Outer Gordo Bank, though only handful of people are landing them, all nicer sized 30 to 35 lb. fish, just no consistent action and many hammerhead sharks to sort through. Rounding out the fish counts were, cabrilla, pargo, amberjack, bonito, dorado, sierra and wahoo, all being reported daily in limited numbers.

Wahoo are being seen in schools off of Punta Gordo and to La Fortuna, though are finicky, striking baits, yo-yo’s and trolled jigs when they became aggressively in the mood for striking, strange do even have these fish hanging around at this time of year, this is a result of the warmer than usual water temperatures. Dorado are being encountered in smaller sized schools, the majority of this action closer to shore, rather than on the offshore grounds, sizes averaged 5 to 20 pounds.

Bottom action has never really turned into a steady productive option this season, the action for surface species proved more consistent than were the reef dwellers. We would normally expect to see a trend develop in the coming weeks, of less wind, warming days and more options for anglers off the structure and inshore stretches. Nice time of year coming, ideal weather, not too warm and not too cool.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 91 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of:  33 striped marlin, 17 wahoo, 3 mako shark, 4 yellowfin tuna, 12 yellowtail, 15 amberjack, 84 dorado, 15 jack crevalle, 28 sierra, 42 roosterfish, 95 bonito, 18 cabrilla and 14 hammerhead sharks (released).

Good fishing, Eric

—
GORDO BANKS PANGAS
Eric Brictson / Operator
619 488-1859
Los Cabos (624) 142-1147
e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com
WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

Filed Under: Cabo Fishing, Cabo San Lucas Blog, Cabo San Lucas Fishing, Cabo San Lucas Vacation Rentals, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing, Los Cabos Vacation Rentals Tagged With: , ,
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