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Los Cabos Fishing Report – May 24-2015

May 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment

May 23, 2015 158_tunawahoo

Now starting the final week of the month of May, weather conditions continue to be very pleasant, warming days, highs around 85 degrees, moderate breezes and light swells, all combine to create comfortable ocean conditions for visiting anglers. Crowds are much lighter than we would expect for this time frame, many anglers who regularly fish out of the panga area of Puerto Los Cabos Marina are waiting for rebuilding efforts to be completed, progress is moving along, though priorities are not aimed towards repairing the damaged docks, so far crews are only working on all of the other surrounding infrastructure, people are having to park or be dropped off out on the far perimeter and carry supplies much longer distances than pre-Odile days.

There have not been any sardinas available for the past several weeks, anglers have been relying on what available baitfish that are being found in the marina area, mainly caballito and some moonfish, also ballyhoo. Other charters are spending time catching chihuil and some people had success on strips of giant squid that they purchased ahead of time from local super markets. Ocean temperatures has been ranging from 74 to 77 degrees and blue water is being found within several miles of shore.

Striped marlin has been the most common species found offshore, straight offshore of San Jose del Cabo, anywhere from 3 to 15 miles from shore, concentrations of stripers are being found, free jumping and at times feeding on balled up bait sources. At times the marlin proved very finicky, though with persistence anglers were hooking up, many boats accounted for one or two marlin, while other seen many fish, but could not entice any strikes, with so much food on the fishing grounds, the marlin would just not be hungry at times. Only an occasional dorado being encountered, this is the time where we do expect to start seeing more larger sized dorado move into the area.

Wahoo were fairly active throughout this past week, most of the time found near shore, off of Palmilla and north to Cardon and La Fortuna, anglers using lures and baits were accounted for as many as two or three wahoo in their combined catches, weights ranged up to 40 lb. Many wahoo could be seen following baits as they were being trolled slowly, but they would be shy at actually striking, lighter leaders proved to be an advantage. Encouraging to have so many wahoo being reportedly sighted, even though the numbers of fish actually landed have been limited. Something could happen at any time now to trigger a wide open bite for these fish.

Yellowfin tuna bite was limited to just one or two tuna here or there, many of these hit of strips of squid, some were hooked on small hoochies and other on chihuil or caballito, sizes averaged 20 to 40 lb. Lots of yellowfin in the area, but these fish are just not that eager to strike on what the anglers are able to offer.

After having some excellent bottom action last week, this week has been a different story, one factor being the swift current that has been running, this will put the fish off the bite faster than anything. A handful of amberjack, cabrilla, yellow snapper and triggerfish were accounted for, no significant numbers though, with the areas of La Fortuna and Iman being the best bet for this. If the currents slacks on any given day this action can produce some quality catches.

Along the shore only a few sierra being encountered, some larger sized roosterfish are now moving in, we saw roosterfish up to 40 lb. landed and of course there are jack crevalle in the mix as well. In the coming weeks we expect increased numbers of larger roosterfish to continue to move through our area, mid-June is normally the peak season for these prized gamefish.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 58 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of:  30 striped marlin, 14 yellowfin tuna, 27 wahoo, 18 dorado, 15 amberjack, 22 huachinango (red snapper), 15 cabrilla, 22 yellow snapper and 16 bonito.

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, Fishing Tagged With: , , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report – May 18-2015

May 19, 2015 by Leave a Comment

May 18, 2015 159_GaryCatch

As summer season nears, we are started to feel progressively warmer days, actually the climate is ideal now, as evenings do still cool off comfortably and daytime highs are averaging about 85 degrees. Unpredictable winds blowing from the north and then switching from the south have stirred up conditions some and limited some of the options for anglers.

Swells have been higher once again, making surfers very happy, but not helping the bait netters any, as there are still no signs of any sardinas being found in local waters. There continue to be caballito and now moonfish are also appearing in the marina channel, ballyhoo has been another available bait option. Ocean temperature has been in the 74 to 76 degree range throughout most of the region. Currents have fluctuated, raging at times and completely slacking on other occasions. Hard to predict from day to day, as is normal for this time frame. Not much action being reported on the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas or out of the East Cape, this is normally a good time for that area. Hard to say what factors might be causing this situation. Lack of sardinas is a normal scenario when southern swells arrive and it is normal to be relying on large sized baitfish at this time. In the coming weeks the fishing action will depend a lot on what weather patterns do.

Striped marlin has been really the only action found offshore, recently they have been found from 3 to 12 miles from shore. There are good numbers of these billfish now in the area, many can be seen free jumping, tailing on the surface and also feeding on balled up bait schools, including squid, which apparently are plentiful. The marlin are striking on rigged ballyhoo, caballito and other available baitfish. At times they have proved finicky, as they are filling up on natural bait sources and not much interested in anything else. Though with persistence many charters are reported one, two or three marlin per outing, best bite has been late morning and into the afternoon.

Dorado have continued to be scarce, only an occasional fish being encountered, no large schools of these fish now. Wahoo are holding on the ledges north or Punta Gorda, to Vinorama, these fish are striking best on slow trolled baits, most of these fish are ranging in sizes up to 30 pounds. Some charters accounted for up to five wahoo, though the majority were fortunate to land one or two of these elusive and tricky speedsters. Many yellowfin tuna could be seen breezing on these same fishing grounds, especially around the Iman Bank, but with no sardinas now available, these tuna have been hard to entice, a handful of yellowfin in the 25 to 40 lb. class were accounted for, these fish hit on live chihuil or caballito.

When the weather allowed, anglers found much improved action off of the bottom structure, from La Fortuna, Iman and San Luis Bank, a variety of quality species were taken, leopard grouper, including at least one of the rare golden phase variety, yellow snapper, bonito, huachinango (red snapper), grouper and amberjack. Grouper to 40 pounds and amberjack weighing to over 60 pounds were accounted for. Most of this bottom action was found in relatively shallow water and the fish hit on whole and cut baits, not much on yo-yo jigs recently.

With the recent larger swell activity there was not much going on close to shore recently, as swells reside we do expect to see more roosterfish activity, maybe even some dogtooth snapper will start to move in.

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:  18 striped marlin, 11 yellowfin tuna, 19 wahoo, 14 dorado, 24 amberjack, 16 huachinango (red snapper) , 23 cabrilla, 1 golden phased leopard grouper, 3 broomtail grouper, 2 gulf grouper, 48 yellow snapper, 18 bonito and 28 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 Fishing, Cabo San Lucas Blog, Fishing Tagged With: , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report – May 10, 2015 – Happy Mothers Day !

May 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment

May 10, 2015 160_60LBWahoo (614x1024)– Happy Mother’s Day!

Surprisingly light crowds now, considering this is usually a popular time for visiting tourists. Large swells pounded the region through last weekend, same swell that caused major flood damage to resorts located further south on mainland Mexico. Conditions have settled now, light breezes, increasingly warm days, feeling semi tropical, great time of year, climate is ideal, this is before the heat of the summer.

Sportfishing fleets were fishing in all different directions, main action found offshore was for striped marlin, good numbers of fish seen throughout the zone, anywhere from a few miles out to fifteen miles or so have been productive areas. The marlin have been feeding on an abundance of squid which are now on local fishing grounds, at times, with all of this natural bait available, the stripers became more finicky of striking on any other offerings. Though many were striking on various lures, rigged ballyhoo and caballito baits. Average weighs ranged from 90 to 120 lb. Still some thrasher sharks being hooked into on the same grounds.

Dorado were surprisingly scarce, just a handful of fish found scattered from inshore to offshore, most smaller sized fish, with a few exceptions. Water conditions are improving once again, recent swell and winds contributed to pushing in dirty greenish currents, with conditions now rebounding and water temperatures averaging 74 to 76 degrees, anything could happen on any given day. On the Pacific there were water temperatures as low as 70 degrees reported, warmest grounds were in the direction of the Sea of Cortez and Los Frailes.

Anglers were scratching away at a variety of structure species, while waiting for surface action to improve. Most common fish were huachinango, of the true Pacific Red snapper, leopard grouper, yellow snapper, triggerfish and bonito. Though this action was not consistent, best bet for enticing the red snapper were being found while using red crabs for bait, which were only available on a very limited basis. Other whole and cut bait were being used, as well as yo-yo jigs. No sardinas have been found now for the past couple of weeks, ballyhoo are being used for trolling, and caballito have been readily available in the Marina channel through the commercial fleet.

We had not seen any yellowfin tuna action at all for some 12 days, though on Wednesday and Thursday limited numbers of yellowfin were accounted for by charters trolling with caballito off of the Cardon area. These fish were all in the 25 to 40 lb. range, anglers were fortunate to land one or two of these fish. Wahoo made a strong showing on the same spot as where the tuna were encountered, though many more wahoo were lost than were actually landed. As clarity improves and the days continue on the warming trend we expect action to turn on in the coming weeks. This is the time of year, when there can be great action found from inshore, offshore and off of the structure.

Inshore fishing was hit or miss now, some roosterfish, most of them smaller sized, jack crevalle, powerful fighters, some as large as 25 lb. Not many sierra now, season is getting late for them and the lack of sardinas is not helping to find these fish. Within the next several weeks is when we do normally begin to see larger sized roosterfish move in, particularly as their mullet food source migrate into local waters.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 58 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of:

17 striped marlin, 15 yellowfin tuna, 7 wahoo, 18 dorado, 10 sierra, 18 jack crevalle, 8 roosterfish, 5 amberjack, 49 huachinango (red snapper) , 26 cabrilla,  2 broomtail grouper, 18 whitefish, 20 yellow snapper, 12 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, Fishing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report – April 27, 2015

April 27, 2015 by Leave a Comment

April 27, 2015 162_tunacatch (1024x681)

With weather conditions now ideal, hard to say why crowds of visiting tourists remain light, the climate is perfect, mostly clear sunny skies, with high temperatures up to 85 degrees. Winds fluctuated, calm through most of the week, increasing late week.

The bite for yellowfin tuna and wahoo was the highlight for local San Jose del Cabo fleets, also there was much improved action for striped marlin found on local fishing grounds. Supplies of sardinas were being netted near San Luis, though in recent days the commercial pangeros found less quantities compared to previous weeks, these batfish have been the bait of choice for the yellowfin tuna. Quality yellowfin ranging from 25 to 50 pounds have been testing the limits of angler’s light to medium equipment. The most productive grounds have switched from north of Vinorama, back south to the Iman Bank, but beware of the pesky sea lions, who have been getting more than their share of hooked tuna. With some larger sized tuna now in the mix another option for bait has been chihuil, which of course all gamefish will feed on, particularly wahoo. Some wahoo hit on ballyhoo or trolled Rapalas, but many more were taken on either chihuil or sardinas, sizes ranged up to 40 lb. The action for the tuna changed more towards later in the morning, early through mid- week was very good, Friday the north wind picked up and all around action was limited.

Dorado were not as numerous, though a handful of fish have been accounted for, no particular area seemed to be better than the other and most dorado hooked into were in the 5 to 10 lb. class, with the exception of a few fish larger to 30 lb. Striped marlin action was centered around the 1150 spot, with fish coming up on the lure spread and rigged ballyhoo. Stripers were also seen frequently on the same grounds where tuna and wahoo were found.

Not much along the shore now, roosterfish were harder to find this past week and sierra action was spotty as well. Bottom action improved some, anglers fishing the same grounds where tuna and wahoo were found near the surface, found a mix of species such as amberjack, pargo, bonito, cabrilla and plenty of triggerfish. Most of these action was on various whole and cut bait, not much going on while using the yo-yo’s. Yellowtail action was not reported, though not many people were trying the Outer Gordo Banks where these fish were previous found holding down in the cooler depths. With surface water temperature now ranging 74 to 77 degrees, this is a bit warmer than what would be ideal for yellowtail, so best chances would most likely be down deep where currents are cooler.

 

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 78 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 3 surgeonfish, 32 striped marlin, 44 wahoo, 33 dorado, 176 yellowfin tuna, 22 sierra,  14 jack crevalle, 7 roosterfish, 6 pompano, 20 amberjack, 65 various pargo/snapper species, 120 bonito and 110 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 Fishing, Cabo San Lucas Blog, Fishing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report – April 20, 2015

April 19, 2015 by Leave a Comment

April 19, 2015 163_Craig_SueCatch (1024x694)

Crowds of tourists are lighter now that spring break has wound down, the visitors that are arriving to Los Cabos are enjoying great all around weather conditions, ideal climate now, scattered cloud cover, though plenty of sunshine, high temperatures around 85 degrees. With the exception of last weekend, when on Sunday the wind blew heavily out of the north, since then days have been much calmer, still unpredictable from day to day this time of year.

Ocean water temperatures fluctuated from 72 to 76 degrees throughout most of the region, swells were moderate and supplies of sardinas were sufficient, being netted by the commercial fleet near San Luis. Anglers found the most consistent action from areas near Vinorama, San Luis and Iman Bank. Last Saturday there was a wide open bite reported from the Tule area, just north of Vinorama, this is a longer than normal run for local charter fleets, though the action was centered very close to shore. Yellowfin tuna in the 30 pound class was the mainstay of daily catches, though there were dorado and wahoo mixed in. Drift fishing with sardinas for bait was the most productive technique. The very next day, on Sunday, high winds made conditions extremely difficult and also stirred up the sea, slowing the bite for a couple of days. Then the action improved by mid-week, before tapering off once again later in the week. Definitely an up and down deal, though conditions remain favorable and anything could happen on any given day.

More striped marlin are being seen around the Iman Bank and other nearby grounds, as well as a handful of larger dorado, wahoo action was elusive, though these speedsters are holding on local fishing grounds and with warming weather could go on a big bite at any time. Not much consistent bottom action being found, not many anglers were even trying the Gordo Banks, where yellowtail had previously found schooling down deep, this action was sporadic and most anglers opted to travel further north in search of better opportunities for tuna, wahoo and dorado.

Inshore there were sierra, roosterfish and jack crevalle, no big numbers, as spring progresses we expect to see improved inshore action soon as spring progresses.

Have not heard of any great reports coming from the East Cape or outside of Cabo San Lucas, best bite appears to be out of the San Jose del Cabo area, which can be normal for this time frame.

Rebuilding efforts of the panga dock area out of Puerto Los Cabos Marina continue to progress, though more priority seems to be put towards fancying up the fillet station areas and perimeter of the parking areas, not towards actually rebuilding loading ramps, connecting docks, bathroom facility, lighting and fresh water wash down options for all of the moored pangas. Street work in the La Playita village area surrounding the docks continue at a snail’s pace, with no detour signs in place and this makes work conveniences limited. We do all hope that this project is someday completed, as the new tropical storm season is just around the corner.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 77 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 85 yellowfin tuna, 9 striped marlin, 11 wahoo, 58 dorado, 17 sierra, 32 Eastern Pacific bonito, 16 cabrilla, 8 pompano, 14 roosterfish, 5 amberjack, 16 jack crevalle, 22 pargo, 22 yellow snapper and 105 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, Fishing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report – April 14, 2015

April 14, 2015 by Leave a Comment

April 14, 2015 164_JesseRodriguez

Spring break vacation period is now coming to a close, this has been a busy time in Los Cabos, with everyone enjoying the pristine conditions, perfect 85 degree temperatures now, felling a bit tropical, light winds, perfect conditions for all of the available outdoor activities.

Anglers found ideal ocean conditions, light swells, moderate variable afternoon breezes, with water temperatures ranging from 74 to 77 degrees, occasional swift currents, blue water being found within a couple miles of shore and a variety of gamefish now in local waters.  Most consistent fishing grounds were from the Gordo Banks and north towards Vinorama. Recent catches have included striped marlin, dorado, wahoo, yellowfin tuna, bonito, roosterfish, skipjack, pargo, cabrilla and jack crevalle. Sardinas have once again been found schooling near San Luis, commercial bait netters worked hard for limited supplies, other bait option were caballito, chihuil and ballyhoo. Many species now in the area, though the action varied from day to day and the fish needed to be worked for. Best action proved to be encountered while using various baits.

Dorado were not numerous, though some larger sized fish are now being accoutered for, some bulls to 30 pounds were brought in. Some of these dorado were found very close to shore. Most of the roosterfish now being found were along the stretch from Puerto Los Cabos Marina towards Punta Gorda and weighed less than fifteen pounds. Schools of large sized jack crevalle found close to shore as well, some up to 30 pounds. Not many sierra now being located. The Eastern Pacific bonito were one of the more prevalent species now present on the various high spots, these fish ranged up to ten pounds.

The highlight of the week was that with sardinas once again obtainable, the yellowfin tuna action rebounded near Vinorama, even though this preferred bait was not overly abundant, anglers were accounting for decent catches on yellowfin weighing in the 25 lb. to 35 lb. class. The tuna were striking on both dead and live sardinas, while drift fishing with lighter weight leaders of 30/40 lb. Charters fishing this spot were accounting for anywhere from one to eight tuna, all quality sized fish. This spot is very close to shore and aggressive triggerfish are biting here as well. Wahoo have been hanging around these same grounds, some days more active than others, striking best on sardinas while targeting tuna, or on rigged ballyhoo and a handful on Rapalas. Many of the wahoo caught were smaller sized 15 to 25 lb. fish, though there was one wahoo this past week that was in the 80 lb. class and another one close to fifty pounds.

The few yellowtail that have been in the area have been coming from the Outer Gordo Banks, these fish all ranged in the 20 to 35 lb. class, striking most readily on live chihuil, a few hit on dead bait, though this was a hit or miss bite and there was not much else in the meantime being found on these grounds, besides some skipjack and bonito, though striped marlin were found near these grounds.

Humpback whales are still in the area, though in fewer numbers, they were seen feeding aggressive on some unidentified food source on the Gordo Banks, apparently filling up before starting their journey to their northern summer feeding grounds.

Not much bottom action this past week, some snapper, pargo, bonito, amberjack, but no consistent bite and most anglers opted to try for the tuna or wahoo.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 74 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of:

280 yellowfin tuna, 15 striped marlin, 38 wahoo, 28 dorado, 9 sierra, 90 Eastern Pacific bonito, 23 cabrilla, 16 roosterfish, 10 amberjack, 21 yellowtail, 12 jack crevalle, 28 misc. pargo and 55 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, Fishing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report – April 5, 2015

April 5, 2015 by 1 Comment

April 5, 2015 165_Reina

Easter Week is officially here, very busy time for the local residents and visitors alike. This is traditionally the time when family and friends gather, pack up provisions and flock to all of the available beaches to enjoy themselves during this holiday period. Weather conditions are absolutely ideal, clear sunny skies, with high temperatures nearing the 90 degree mark, winds and swells very moderate, very comfortable conditions for anglers.

With many fishing crew members now on extended camping excursions, also just not that many sport anglers now arriving in town, fleets have had light schedules this week. Later this month, warming weather patterns will offer sportfishing charters more opportunities and crowds of anglers will increase.

The larger swell that pushed through the region last week, has resided now, though this surge was strong enough to scatter the schools of sardinas which had been congregating near Vinorama, these preferred baitfish have now moved away from this beach stretch and we will wait patiently for the schools to return as conditions settle. In the meantime charters have been using the available caballito, chihuil, skipjack or ballyhoo for baitfish options. Ocean temperatures have ranging from 73 to 76 degrees and this is a warming trend which expect will continue. There were reports of schooling bolito on the offshore fishing grounds, this is also a great sign, as this food source will surely attract more gamefish.

Transition periods can create inconsistent and unpredictable fishing action. We had seen great action during previous weeks, unusual fall type action during the winter season. There was good action for yellowfin tuna in the 20 to 30 lb. class, then the dorado and wahoo also moved in and got in on the action, then the quality sized yellowtail started to take up the slack on the Gordo Banks, now things have changed more to bottom structure species as the surface bite has faded out for the time being. With the exception of striped marlin, which are being found straight outside of San Jose del Cabo and on the grounds to the north, not much else being found offshore now.

Local fleets have been fishing the areas from Palmilla, to the Gordo Banks and north to La Fortuna, Iman, San Luis and Vinorama. Action has been spread out, using available bait and a mix of yo-yo type jigs, anglers found species such as skipjack, bonito, pargo, snapper, amberjack and triggerfish. Most common catches were bonito, skipjack and small red snapper. The area of San Luis has held a nicer grade of red snapper, though the sea lions have been a major nuisance, as they have been relentless in stealing and majority of all fish that were being hooked up. No very little yellowtail action to speak of, a few more amberjack started to appear, up to 35 lb. No larger grouper to report, but there are some nice leopard grouper up to 15 lb., including one golden phase specimen that was taken on Thursday off of the Gordo Banks. There was also a lot of conversation about a 500 lb. mako shark that was patrolling these same banks, going from boat to boat, daring anglers to try and throw a bait its direction, no one opted to try and battle this monster.

Inshore there have been hog sized jack crevalle, as well as roosterfish, mostly smaller fish, a few pargo Colorado close to shore, sierra have been around, but not in numbers you would normally find a this time.

Still quite a few whales being seen daily, these mammals must be about ready to head north soon.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 53 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of:
14 striped marlin, 5 wahoo, 9 dorado, 25 sierra, 98 Eastern Pacific bonito, 16 cabrilla, 1 golden leopard grouper (cabrilla), 185 huachinango (red snapper), 18 roosterfish, 15 amberjack, 5 yellowtail, 26 jack crevalle, 18 barred pargo, 44 triggerfish and 16 yellow 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, Fishing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report – March 29. 2015

March 29, 2015 by Leave a Comment

March 29, 2015 166_MartinCatch (1024x614)

The spring season is a great time of year to enjoy all that the Los Cabos Area has to offer. The climate is now ideal, lots of sunshine, low temperatures in the 60s and highs in the upper 80s. Winds can still be a bit unpredictable, though the persistent northerly winds are not nearly as relentless as during the winter months. Ocean conditions were improved, after going through a cooling trend and having clarity fluctuate. Now anglers are reporting very clean water and temperatures averaging 74 to 75 degrees. Still heavy concentrations of whales being seen, though with the progressively warming days, we expect that these whales will be migrating back north soon.

Fishing action has been changing from week to week, not an overabundance of billfish being found offshore now, no large concentrations of baitfish for these fish to feed on. Only a scattering of striped marlin, these fish had been found mainly 20 some miles offshore, but this past week we have seen marlin moving much closer to shore, traveling in the warmer clean currents, searching for a food source. Except around the certain high spots where skipjack have dominated the food chain. Bait sellers have been working hard to net sardinas in the surf zone near Vinorama, most days they were able to find sufficient supplies, though there were a few days where the combination of higher swells and early morning low tides made for dangerous navigation and resulted in limited bait resources.

It truly has been an unusual new season, changing rapidly, going from wide open yellowfin tuna action, then a complete dead drop off, then the yellowtail broke loose on
the Gordo Banks, then this fell off and the action once again was on the San Luis Bank for yellowfin tuna and this week surprisingly good action for wahoo, who would figure that during the month of March we would be seeing more wahoo than sierra, which is the species of mackerel that we regularly find during this time. This year we have seen mixed up migrations for various bait and gamefish species, much better action for yellowfin tuna that we normally find during February and March, now with wahoo being another bonus catch. The yellowfin tuna are striking on sardinas near San Luis, ranging in size from 20 to 35 lb. Also a few dorado in the mix, we did see one bull of over 30 lb. brought in, that was an exception though, the majority of the dorado were smaller in size.

Last week it was the yellowtail that saved the day, now we are hooking the elusive wahoo, many on sardinas while using straight monofilament being targeted for the tuna, hard to entice a strike if usual the more visible wire leader material. Some wahoo were also hooked into while trolling with chihuil, caballito, ballyhoo or Rapalas. The average sized wahoo were in the 10 to 20 lb. a few smaller and a handful of larger fish, these fish are definitely a bonus, while other species were hard to find, the wahoo is a popular fish and can be hard to find even when they are in season, now they are biting, even though this is not the normal time of year when we would expect to find them.

Bottom fish action has not been dependable, though anglers targeting this action did find mixed success for snapper, bonito, pargo, cabrilla and yellowtail.

Inshore there has not been any consistent bite, not many sierra, considering this is now peak season for them, only small schools of roosterfish being found, most of these smaller sized, found along the stretch just south of Punta Gorda and towards the marina jetties.

Will be interesting to see what happens this coming week, nothing would surprise us at this stage, we have seen a lot of unusual patterns this year.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 62 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of:
5 striped marlin, 64 wahoo, 31 dorado, 55 yellowfin tuna, 18 sierra, 74 Eastern Pacific bonito, 17 cabrilla, 22 huachinango, 9 roosterfish, 18 yellowtail, 9 barred pargo and 14 yellow 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, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report – March 22 – 2015

March 22, 2015 by Leave a Comment

March 22, 2015 167_MeasonYellowtail

We are now officially starting the spring season and progressively warming conditions are feeling actually a bit tropical. Crazy unpredictable patterns this past week, over the last weekend we saw thunderstorms develop and on Sunday there was a couple of inches of rainfall measured that fell in a matter of an hour, accompanied by heavy thunder and lightning. There was also hail storms that were associated with these thunderstorms and ice accumulated on the ground, giving people a rare chance to create ice balls. Strange to have hail falling one moment, then tropical conditions later on the same day, there were also water spouts reportedly seen offshore on the fishing grounds at the start of the week.

Last weekend the great bite for yellowfin tuna and dorado became very tough and scattered, with only a few fish being accounted for, charters were lucky to catch a few fish in combination during a morning trip. This dire situation included inshore, bottom and offshore action, things had gone from very good to slim pickings just like that. Hard to say for what reason, though the rapidly changing weather patterns and scarcity of sardinas were certainly a contributing factors. The commercial fleet were having to fight higher surf conditions along the rocky shoreline near Vinorama where the schools of sardinas were holding and on some days were not able to get any. Other bait options for anglers were caballito, ballyhoo, skipjack and chihuil. Bait situation can become tough at times, availability had been steady, now things are a bit more scattered, day to day as to what might be available..

With the weather settling back down and fleets scouting out any new opportunities, on Friday the season’s first big bite on yellowtail developed, this was on the Outer Gordo Bank, where anglers were hooking into a quality grade of yellowtail while using various from of whole and cut baits, even chunks of ballyhoo were working. These powerful jacks were all running in the 25 to 35 lb. range and testing angler’s strength, many hook ups were lost to cut lines, as these fish are known for heading directly for the rocks as soon as they feel pressure of being hooked. Some boats ended up catching as many as 5,6,7 or even more yellows.

The main species off the bottom rock piles has been the bonito, a few snapper, cabrilla, amberjack and triggerfish. Though for a few days there, the bonito did not even want to bite. There were reports of red crabs being abundant near Cerralvo Island, this created a feeding frenzy for red snapper, when these pelagic red crabs drift with the currents to the surface action can be wide open, but this can also create a situation where the gamefish only want to gorge on these red crabs and nothing else and if they do not happen to come to the surface there is no way to gather them for use as snapper bait. New season now, anything can happen from day to day, week to week, the persistent gusty northern winds seem to be tapering way down and with spring feeling now in the air we should start to see calmer and more consistent weather patterns.

Lots of whales still in the area, but with this warming trend we will probably see these mammals start to migrate back towards there northern summer feeding grounds.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 74 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 2 striped marlin, 4 wahoo, 24 dorado, 18 yellowfin tuna, 26 sierra, 185 Eastern Pacific bonito, 7 amberjack, 16 cabrilla, 23 huachinango, 11 roosterfish, 66 yellowtail, 15 barred pargo, 16 yellow snapper and 55 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, Fishing Tagged With: , , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report – 3-14-2015

March 14, 2015 by Leave a Comment

March 14, 2015 168_Tuna_Dorado

The month of March is when transition time begins, seasonal changes are very unpredictable, some years we can see warmer conditions arrive early, that could be occurring now, as weather patterns could not be more favorable at the present time, clear sunny skies, highs in the low 80’s and light winds. The first wave of Spring Break vacationers are now arriving in the Los Cabos area, this coincides with the annual San Jose del Cabo traditional fiestas which start this week, popular events such as the government sponsored fishing tournament out of Puerto Los Cabos Marina and the Off Road Races at the Luis Sandoval track will both be held on Sunday. Efforts on rebuilding the panga basin of the marina have been intense for the past month and things are certainly looking much improved and completion seems to be within sight. Then the chief engineers can draw plans for even a larger project, which is reconstructing the north jetty so that a repeat of 2014 will not happen again.

Anglers reported a complete turnaround in the fishing action, as last week conditions had been cool and the action slowed to nearly a standstill. Now, with this warming trend the yellowfin tuna and dorado bite has really improved. Local fleets have been finding great action near the San Luis Bank, with live sardinas being readily available from the commercial pangeros, who are finding these baitfish schooling inshore near Vinorama. Drift fishing over the bottom structure in about 150 feet of water with fly lined baits has producing good numbers of yellowfin tuna in the 20 to 30 pound range. Dorado have been roaming around on the same grounds, most of these fish are running in the 10 to 15 lb. class. Even a few wahoo in the mix, with some 15 to 25 lb. wahoo landed while using straight mono leaders targeted for the tuna and dorado. Other wahoo also were taken on trolled lures, as well as on the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas.

Sierra action seemed to have slowed some, maybe the warmer 74 degree current is a factor. Bottom drops over rocky structure have produced sporadic action for bonito, a variety of pargo species, cabrilla and triggerfish. Not much going on in the way of yellowtail, though reports from Southern California of epic yellowtail action on large sized fish has been almost unprecedented, possibly another el Nino in the works.

Striped marlin have continued to be spread out, though the Pacific produced more catches than in the direction of the Sea of Cortez, unpredictable as to what is going to happen this season, bait migrations are shifting according to ocean temperatures as well.

The annual migration of whales is now in full swing, scores of humpback and gray sightings. We were all reminded this week of the power that these mammals have, earlier in the week tragedy struck on a tour boat out of Cabo San Lucas, when they accidently collided with a whale and one passenger was killed in the event, a Canadian woman. These magnetic animals are wild and must be given space. Our condolences go out to everyone involved in this accident.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 66 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of:
1 striped marlin, 8 wahoo, 88 dorado, 215 yellowfin tuna, 18 sierra, 95 Eastern Pacific bonito, 8 amberjack, 22 cabrilla, 16 huachinango, 8 roosterfish, 18 barred pargo, 24 yellow snapper 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 Fishing, Cabo San Lucas Blog, Fishing Tagged With: , , ,
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