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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 – January 12, 2015

January 12, 2015 by Leave a Comment

January 11, 2015 184_Matt

After one week of colder weather patterns we have now seen the winds calm down and a return to pristine conditions, clear skies and warm sunshine, with highs of 80 degrees. Incredibly ideal, considering the freezing forecast across much of United States and Canada. Crowds are relatively light now, as is normal right after the holiday season, great time to visit, airfares have dropped and the Los Cabos area has made impressive rebuilding headway, most areas are now back to normal, pre-hurricane status.

The colder currents pushing in the last couple of weeks have dropped ocean water temperatures into the 74 to 77 degree range, which would still be considered warmer than average by several degrees for this time frame. The cooler currents also brought in greenish colored water, which in turn scattered the pelagic gamefish, but now conditions are rebounding and opened up more options for anglers.

Anglers are using sardinas to fish close to shore and are catching good numbers of sierra, ranging to as large as eight pounds, these sierra were also striking on trolled hoochies and Rapalas. These fish, in the mackerel family, do prefer the cooler water. A mix of shallow water structure species are now becoming more prevalent as well, pargo, of several varieties, cabrilla, triggerfish, pompano, island jack, porgy, bonito, mero hawkfish, even sheephead, as well as and others, all very good eating fish, striking on various baits, as well as jigs.

Dorado were very scattered, but handful are being accounted for every day, most were under 15 pounds. Only a few smaller sized wahoo were reported, these were found in the direction of Cabo San Lucas. Yellowfin tuna had become very scarce during the windy days, but in recent days we have seen some nice yellowfin being accounted for from the Inner Gordo Bank, as well as from areas further north, near Vinorama. These tuna ranged in the 20 to 50 pound class, nice for winter time fish. Anglers were using sardinas, strips of squid and chunks of skipjack to entice these tuna. No great numbers, but there was a chance at catching several.

The striped marlin action continued off of San Jose del Cabo, anywhere from 3 to 6 miles offshore is where most of this action was taking place, concentrations of baitfish have been attracting the billfish and anglers were trolling and drift fishing with live baits, as well as casting into feeding fish when the opportunities arose.

If the weather conditions how it is at this time, we could all be in for some great winter action, hard to predict, but last year we had warm water all winter and chances are this season might be the same.

Many more whales are now arriving for their winter stay in the Southern Baja region, other attractions included manta rays, seas lions and porpoise.

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: 18 striped marlin, 3 wahoo, 27 dorado, 24 bonito, 15 white skipjack, 49 yellowfin tuna,140 sierra, 13 roosterfish, 1 sheephead, 15 porgy, 4 hawkfish, 65 various pargo, 8 island jack, 7 amberjack, 22 cabrilla 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 Fishing, Cabo San Lucas Blog, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing Tagged With: , , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report

December 28, 2014 by Leave a Comment

December 28, 2014 179_Murray

Winter season has officially started and this past week we witnessed a change in weather patterns, cooler air blowing in from the north, ocean water temperatures dropping to an average of 77 degrees, off colored currents contributed to some scratchy fishing action, even though schooling yellowfin tuna, wahoo, dorado and striped marlin were seen on local grounds, getting them to bite was another story. Fish became more finicky as water conditions turned over, though this is not such a drastic change that we anticipate not having the action rebound as this latest weather front pass through.

Many families are now visiting for the Holiday Season, though not as many serious anglers at this time, most of them have already visited during the more favorable fall season. Though ocean water temperatures are now on a cooling trend, currents are still warmer than normal for this time frame and we are optimistic that anglers will enjoy great winter time action. At this time there are a wide variety of species in the area, though no particular type of fish are dominating the bite from day to day.

Bait suppliers are netting sardinas now from Red Hill and south towards Chileno, a bit more scattered than they had been, though with patience there have been sufficient supplies. Offshore of San Jose there were now schooling baitfish such as sardineta and a few mackerel moving onto the normal winter grounds. This attracted good numbers of striped marlin, though off colored conditions have scattered this action in recent days.

Yellowfin tuna and various skipjack, as well as some dorado and wahoo are rounding out the action for the majority of charters, no great numbers, but there are some quality catches being accounted for. Most consistent grounds have been from Punta Gorda and towards Vinorama. Though north winds have become a factor on these northern grounds. When the tuna did decide to come up and feed, anglers were able to hook into a handful of these yellowfin, average sizes were in the 10 to 20 lb. class. Same for the dorado and wahoo, most of these fish were less than 25 lb., though we did see one impressive 80 lb. wahoo accounted for, taken on a dead bait of Punta Gorda.

Inshore there were quite a few sierra found, though not many people have been targeting these fish, as there were chances of catching larger more sought after species without having to travel more than a few miles from shore. Bottom action is just starting to show signs of coming to life, one day last week some red crabs were found on the surface, these made great baits for red snapper, but have not been seen again, though some of these fish are striking on yo-yo jigs and other baitfish. Also some amberjack, cabrilla, triggerfish, bonito and pargo in the mix. We expect more of these rocky structure species to move into shallower waters, though to really be able to concentrate on this style of fishing you need the weather to cooperate and for the north winds to settle down.

Sea lions continue to be a pesky problem, waiting to ambush anglers hooked fish before they can be brought to gaff. Whales are slow to show in masses so far, we expect to see the larger concentrations of these mammals to appear in the coming weeks.

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: 13 striped marlin, 48 dorado, 18 wahoo, 14 white skipjack, 124 yellowfin tuna, 22 bonito,

64 sierra, 10 roosterfish, 35 misc. pargo/snapper species, 1 island jack, 180 black skipjack, 17 amberjack and 25 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

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Bisbees World Famous Marlin Tournaments Start Now October 18-25

October 17, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Bisbees World Famous Los Cabos Offshore Tournament starts tomorrow Saturday October 18, http://www.bisbees.com/ The Black and Blue Marlin Tournament starts Tuesday October 22-25 Los Cabos Real Estate Los Cabos Info Guide

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Los Cabos Fishing Report

September 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment

September 14, 2014 190_Amber_TommyStevens

For the past month we have watched Tropical Storm systems develop on a weekly basis. After enjoying clear and calm conditions ever since the passing of Hurricane Norbert, at the present time we are watching the development of Tropical Storm Odile, moving at a mere two miles per hour, some 250 miles south of Manzanillo. Forecasters have been more cautious in predicting exactly what this storm will do. It looks like the Southern Baja Peninsula might become lucky one more time, if Odile does follow a more northwesterly track as it gains strength to category two or higher before weakening over cooler waters. Either way we do expect to see Red Flag closed Port conditions on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, surely more rain, hopefully no high winds.

Crowds of visitors continued to be moderate, as many people have stayed away due to frequent stormy forecasts. This is how the month of September goes, very tropical time of year and unpredictable from day to day.

Anglers were enjoying great wide open yellowfin tuna action since ocean conditions have calmed down. Sardinas continue to school near the rocks of the marina jetty and this has been the bait of choice for getting into the hot tuna action, hard to say how long this resource will remain plentiful.

Yellowfin tuna are now being found in various locations, over structure, such as La Fortuna, Iman and the Gordo Banks. The fish are coming up feeding on the sardinas, ranging in weights from 10 to 25 lb, to 40 to 80 lb and on up to 300 pounds. All sizes of yellowfin tuna in the area, most common catches were in the 15 to 60 pound range. The best chance at the hooking into a monster cow still seemed to be around the Gordo Banks, on Thursday a trio of local La Playita pangeros went on an afternoon trip and landed a 298 pound yellowfin while using 60 pound gear, so these cows are definitely lurking, just not in the numbers of the other smaller grade of tuna near La Fortuna or Iman Banks.

Several varieties of skipjack are now in the mix with the yellowfin tuna, also good numbers of wahoo on these same fishing grounds. Most of the wahoo landed were in the 10 to 30 pounds class, a few larger. Many hook ups were lost, as anglers were having wahoo strikes while they were using mono leaders targeting tuna. The wahoo were striking trolled Rapalas or skirted lures as well, just unpredictable as to when or where you might take a ‘hoo strike. Dorado were scattered and when found they were more often juvenile sized

An occasional sailfish of striped or blue marlin were hooked while anglers were on the tuna grounds, no large concentrations of billfish being seen. Plenty of food fish in the area now, so you figure there would be some large gamefish predators nearby. Not much bottom fishing being attempted now, with the surface action being so productive. One commercial pangeros out of La Playita did haul in two gulf groupers one day while using heavy hand line,  both fish weighed over 120 lbs. Lots of triggerfish and an occasional dogtooth snapper. With water temperatures now in the upper 80s, many species that live near rocky structure will head deeper to find cooler and richer in oxygen habitat.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 58 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of: 8 sailfish, 620 yellowfin tuna, 450 skipjack, 36 dorado, 6 dogtooth snapper, 8 rainbow runners, 12 cabrilla, 15 wahoo and 8 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 Fishing, Cabo San Lucas Blog, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing Tagged With: , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report

September 7, 2014 by 1 Comment

September 7, 2014 191_280 lbTuna

Last week we saw the nearby passing of Hurricane Marie and then conditions settled down very nice for one week, before this latest storm Hurricane Norbert formed. This newest system is slower moving and has followed a path bringing it much closer to the Southern Baja Peninsula. Heavy storm swells pushing 20 feet high have once again shut down all Port activity, Red Flag most likely until at least Sunday morning. Marie was a monster storm of category five strength, fortunately staying further offshore, while Norbert is presently a category one Hurricane, packing 90 mph sustained winds. Expected to parallel the Pacific coast, just offshore and follow a northerly track. Flood damage and related wind damage has been the main consequences felt from this latest storm. This is the time of year that we do frequently see these tropical storm systems develop, we have had enough rain for now, everyone is ready for Norbert to pass and have conditions dry out.

Hard to say what will happen with the fishing action, after Hurricane Marie passed, the fishing picked up strongly, with sardinas being available for bait, found around the Marina Jetty, anglers found good action for yellowfin tuna, ranging in sizes to over 60 pounds. The fishing grounds from the Gordo Banks to Iman all producing action. Dorado were more scattered, small schools encountered sporadically. Most of the dorado found were smaller in size.

A few wahoo were also in the mix, weighing up to 40 pounds, found on the same local grounds. Incredible reports of one 50 pound wahoo being landed off of Orange County, Southern California, this is one crazy season. This could be one of those seasons that the Los Cabos area enjoys incredible fall and winter action. In the mean time we are dealing with back to back storm conditions, which is unfortunate for vacationers caught in the midst of storm conditions.

Not much bottom action now, a handful of dogtooth snapper, some rainbow runners, a lone yellowtail, a few cabrilla and various skipjack and bonito species. Scattered billfish action as well, more sailfish than anything else, a few black and blue marlin hook ups reported.

We are looking forward to calmer conditions and getting back to normal operations. The next few weeks can be a very unpredictable time, tropical weather patterns can develop quickly. Following forecast closely and taking precaution to protect personal interests.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 40 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of:
2 blue marlin, 9 sailfish, 215 yellowfin tuna, 250 skipjack,1 yellowtail, 15 rainbow runners,
7 cabrilla, 46 dorado, 7 wahoo and 8 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 Fishing, Cabo San Lucas Blog, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing Tagged With: , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report

August 31, 2014 by Leave a Comment

August 31, 2014 192_Tino

The week started off with weather changes on Sunday, the arrival of high swells created by Hurricane Marie, this forced closure of all water activities for three days. Swells generated by this powerful category five hurricane reached its peak on Sunday evening and through Monday, nearing 20 ft. high, causing some erosion problems, but overall everyone felt fortunate that this storm system stayed several hundred miles off to the west and did not cause much damage. Isolated thundershowers were recorded, heavy downpours at times, lightening strikes, with some power outages. Schools were all closed on Monday as a precaution

Skies are now clear and sportfishing fleets are back in operation. Just before the swell arrived, on Saturday, the fishing action had improved and the season’s first super cow sized yellowfin tuna was weighed in late that same day, just before the Port was closed the following morning. The tuna was caught by a group of three La Playita pangeros, they were trolling a larger sized live skipjack for bait on the Outer Gordo Bank and after a two hour battle landed the monster, which officially weighed in at 335 lb. So the cows have returned and since the reopening of the port there have been several more landed, mainly by the hard core La Playita pangeros, several very large fish were lost after extended battles.  Sardinas were found schooling again around the Puerto Los Cabos Marina Jetty and these baitfish were the bait of choice for the better chances of all around action.

Fleets reported finding mixed sizes of yellowfin tuna off of Santa Maria, Red Hill, Gordo Banks and Iman. The Iman was producing football sized yellowfin and another grade of tuna in the 40 to 70 pound class, a bit finicky, hitting best on lighter tackle, then the problem is fighting heavier fish that are hooked on too light of tackle. The chance at the cows has been on the Gordo Banks, with fish reportedly holding on both the Inner and Outer Gordo Banks. Heavy dive boat pressure has been a negative factor on the Gordo Banks.

The majority of the dorado that are now being encountered are smaller juvenile sized fish, most of them females, which should actually be released and given a chance to mature and spawn in order to help maintain a quality fishery. A major problem is getting the people interested in thinking about the future, instead of the mentality of what they can get for today. Officials would be smart to enforce a temporary closure of all dorado fishing until a later date in the Fall.

An occasional wahoo being reported, but there was more activity from these fish before the recent storm passed through. Billfish action has been spread out as well. Best bet has been to target the yellowfin of varying sizes. Not much reported off the bottom, an occasional dogtooth snapper or cabrilla. No inshore action to speak of, as is normal for late summer.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 47 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of:
1 striped marlin, 4 sailfish, 170 yellowfin tuna, 20 bonito, 8 cabrilla, 76 dorado, 2 wahoo and 4 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 Fishing, Cabo San Lucas Blog, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing Tagged With: , , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report

August 10, 2014 by Leave a Comment

August 10, 2014 195_Ty_Gary_Purvis

Southern Baja California official kicks off Tournament season with the Bisbee event out of East Cape now going on. Weather patterns remain very tropical, no new storm systems threatening at this time, though forecasts have anticipated scattered thundershowers throughout this week, so far we have seen little moisture fall near the the coast, though over the mountainous terrain they have received more and at times some serious hard rainfall with lightning and thunder, though in isolated areas. Very warm temperatures persist, though we have felt slight relief with increased cloudiness and breezes from the south, off the Pacific.

Swells increased some and then dropped off just as quickly. Ocean water temperatures are now averaging in the upper 80’s throughout the region. Water clarity varied, southern breezes will push in off colored currents, though for the most part blue water has been found within a few miles of shore, which is normal for the summer season.

Bait situation has consisted of limited amounts of sardinas, these schooling baitfish are just moving back in to the Puerto Los Cabos Marina jetty area, small juvenile sized, but have been the ticket to getting into a local yellowfin tuna bite that has developed off of Red Hill and Palmilla, football sized tuna, found close to shore, striking on the live fly lined baits. Hard to say how long this bait resource will hold up, they should actually close this zone from commercial netting of these baitfish, in order to give them a chance to mature, spawn and reproduce, a lot easier said than done, when anglers are relying on these baitfish to provide them action for larger gamefish and particularly when these inshore tuna do want to hit on any other offering besides these small sardinas..

The bite for the larger grade of yellowfin tuna continues far to the north, near Los Frailes, not within range of a normal charter from San Jose del Cabo, actually closer for the East Cape fleets, though a handful of charters from the San Jose are making the long trek, be prepared for gas surcharges if wanting to fish those grounds, where tuna ranging up to 50 pounds have been accounted for. Limited sardinas being offered and more charters were looking for slabs of giant squid, sold at times in local super markets.

Dorado schools were scattered, mostly small sized fish, lots of females, good practice to always release these juvenile dorado to give them a chance to mature, reportedly these popular gamefish are one of the more rapidly growing fish, gaining five pounds per month.
This past week these fish became scarcer, though at times were found in schools, striking on lures and various baits. Wahoo remain in the area, though often become more sluggish in such warm ocean conditions, every day we are seeing one or two of these speedsters mixed in the fish counts. Trolled lures accounted for more of the wahoo strikes, though a handful were hooked into for anglers using chunk or whole baits.

Bottom action remain slow, an occasional snapper, cabrilla, amberjack, with more triggerfish than anything else. A few dogtooth snapper found off the rock piles, deep water grouper and snapper keeping commercial fleet busy, rapid currents making this a tough option for drift fishing. Best chance at hooking into fish while using yo-yo style jigs has been very early in the morning, after the sun comes up this action completely comes to a standstill.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 69 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of:
1 blue marlin, 6 striped marlin, 9 sailfish, 175 yellowfin tuna, 6 cabrilla, 12 jack crevalle, 36 dorado, 11 wahoo, 3 dogtooth snapper, 11 red snapper, 4 amberjack,10 bonito 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 Fishing, Cabo San Lucas Blog, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing Tagged With: , ,

Bisbees East Cape Offshore Fishing Tournament 2014

August 9, 2014 by Leave a Comment

August 8, 2014, East Cape, Baja California Sur: Bisbees East Cape

Hector Guilarro picked the perfect time to catch his first marlin. On the afternoon of the last day of the 2014 East Cape Offshore Tournament, Guilarro and his team aboard Nautahorse, a 40 Cabo Express, boated a 323-pound blue after a brief battle. As the only qualifying marlin recorded for the three-day event, that fish is worth $396,705, sweeping all three daily jackpots and the top tournament marlin prize. Capt. Mick Thompson is the Nautahorse skipper.

“We were fishing on Gordo Bank and the fight only took 10 minutes on 80-pound tackle. It ate a Pakula lure, a Mick Special,” Thompson said with a laugh after the weight was announced. Guilarro lives in Guadalajara, Mexico and the boat is based in Puerto Los Cabos.

The other big winner for Friday was Manual Cadena, fishing aboard Pocoyos, a 28-foot Pursuit. Cadena used a bait skirted with a pink and blue squid skirt to whip a 45.7-pound dorado. That turned out to be the largest dorado of the tournament and will earn a substantial payout since no dorado were weighed on Thursday. As a result, the previous day’s dorado jackpot rolled over to Friday.

Tony Talamantes on Borracho recorded the only other qualifying fish on Friday. Talamantes’ dorado weighed 38.5 pounds, which turned out to be the third largest fish in that game fish category.

In order to qualify, blue or black marlin must weigh at least 300 pounds. The minimum sizes for tuna and dorado are 40 and 30 pounds, respectively. Teams compete for cash prizes in the base entry divisions, as well as optional daily jackpots.

“We expected to weigh more fish this week after moving the tournament back into August,” said Tournament Director Wayne Bisbee. “But it’s been a very weird season so far, weather-wise here in Baja. Some blame El Nino and the warmer water and others say it’s because of the approaching full moon. Only the fish gods know for sure. But I’m happy Nautahorse found one and we can give away a really big check tomorrow night at the awards banquet.”

The 2014 ECO concludes Saturday night with a traditional Mexican feast hosted by Hotel Buena Vista Resort, on the beach overlooking the Sea of Cortez. The festivities will be illuminated by natural light. From the full moon, of course.

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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: , , , ,
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