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Todos Santos Art Festival

January 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment

One of the best things about the Los Cabos area is the fact that a variety of wonderful towns are located just a short drive away.
A high percentage of tourists hotel-californiadecide to take short day trips during their Cabo vacations. No matter what you are interested in, you are sure to find something to do within a short distance of your Los Cabos vacation rental. A month from now, for instance, the 17th annual Todos Santos Arts Festival will be taking place. Beginning on February 1 and ending on February 8, this colorful festival is meant to be a celebration of all sorts of Mexican art, including the performing arts and artistic cultural traditions. Todos Santos is located less than an hour from the Los Cabos region, so you should easily be able to take part in the festival if your vacation is coming up soon!

Whether you are interested in seeing traditional Mexican dance performances or in searching for your very own piece of Mexican artwork in a gallery, you will have a wonderful time at this particular arts festival. Many local galleries host special exhibits that coincide with this Los Cabos area event. In fact, you might even see featured work done by some of Mexico’s most famous artisans. Paintings, drawings, sculptures, and glass ware are all available; you simply have to figure out which galleries have pieces that fit your style! In addition to shopping for artwork for your personal collection, you can watch performances by Mexican dance troupes and taste all types of foods that are native to the region. You can learn about all of the events that you can enjoy during the Todos Santos Arts Festival at http://www.todossantos.com.

This is just one Cabo event that you can enjoy during your time in this idyllic part of the world. Bookmark this blog and check back often to discover information about more exciting upcoming events in the Los Cabos area.

Filed Under: Cabo San Lucas Blog, Cabo San Lucas Vacation Rentals, Cabo Vacation Rentals, Los Cabos Infomation, Los Cabos Travel Info, Los Cabos Vacation Rentals, Mexico, Todos Santos Tagged With:

Cabo Fishing Report

December 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

December 22, 2013 826_TunaCatch
Anglers –

Crowds of tourists were light this past week, we do expect to see increased crowds during Christmas week. The weather has settled, winds were light and ocean conditions were great, air temperatures ranged from 60/80 degrees and ocean currents have now varied from 74 to 77 degrees. Clarity of the ocean fluctuated, having become greenish closer to shore, though conditions are still favorable for this late in the year.

Anglers found improved action for dorado in recent days, the majority of these fish have been found within a couple miles of shore, at times they were found in larger sized schools, with fish ranging to over 20 lb. Striking on caballito, ballyhoo and various trolled lures, many charters were rapidly limiting out once they did find where the fish were. Sardinas were not available at this time and caballito also became less plentiful with the passing of the full moon.

Inshore action produced roosterfish, sierra and jack crevalle. Most of the roosterfish are juvenile sized this time of year and should be released with care in order to grow to maturity. Sierra bite would be wide open if sardinas were readily available, though these scrappy fighters are striking on rapalas and hoochies type lures, best action being early in the morning at first light.

Billfish action was once again now centered on the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas, where good numbers of striped marlin are concentrated off of the old light house and the more distant banks. We should see schools of mackerel and sardinetas soon on local grounds, this is now the season when we start to find these baitfish schooling and attracting more gamefish into the region.

Whale season is now in full swing and these mammals are being sighted throughout the area. Increasing recreational dive tour operations have put additional pressure on the Gordo Banks and it is getting to the point where rod and reel anglers can hardly even have a reasonable chance on these grounds with so many scuba divers in the water at a given time. Additionally these boats are anchored up right near the high spot, this makes it difficult to drift fish in the manner accustomed for productive fishing on these banks. This is definitely a confliction of interests and it appears that this situation will likely become worse before any changes are made.

Many commercial drift netters have been seen in the area lately, it is a shame these boats are even allowed to operate in touristic zones. They are truly destructive, their main catch is dorado and marlin, both of which are supposedly protected sport fish only species, but are blatantly being commercially exploited as a by catch. It is time to seriously put some thought into protecting the future fishery and set priorities straight.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 56 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of: 4 striped marlin, 5 wahoo, 22 bonito, 11 cabrilla, 6 amberjack, 14 pargo, 23 sierra, 18 roosterfish, 175 dorado, 24 triggerfish and 16 yellowfin tuna.

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 Real Estate, Cabo San Lucas Blog, Cabo San Lucas Fishing, Cabo San Lucas Vacation Rentals, Cabo Vacation, Cabo Vacation Rentals, Cabo Vacation Villas, Cabo Villas, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing, Los Cabos Real Estate, Los Cabos Travel Info, Los Cabos Vacation Rentals Tagged With: , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report

December 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

827_Bob277LBDecember 15, 2013

Crowds of tourists were noticeably fewer this past week, with less than two weeks to go until Christmas, people are now occupied with preparations and other priorities. As much of Northern America has been enduring icy conditions, the climate in Southern Baja has been comfortable, mostly sunny skies with highs of 80 degrees. Northern winds increased in recent days and this made for choppy ocean conditions, though water temperatures are still averaged a bit warmer than normal at 76/78 degrees throughout the region. We do expect currents to cool more rapidly now, as this is the month with the shortest days of the year. More and more whales are now arriving from the north, these mammals will be in this area for the next several months.

Supplies of bait consisted of caballito, ballyhoo, squid slabs and some skipjack and chihuil offshore. Sardinas became scarce again as the north winds made this a difficult task, limiting the range of the commercial fleet. Sardinas have been very scattered this fall, when found have been juvenile sized, a combination of factors contributing to this situation.

Fishing was spread out in all directions, inshore, offshore and some bottom action, a lot depended on ocean conditions and available bait source, as to where anglers targeted on a given day. Catches ranged from a couple fish per boat, to over a dozen of combined species. There is a wide variety of fish now in the area, though most of them were caught in limited numbers. We have seen striped marlin, dorado, yellowfin tuna, wahoo, skipjack, bonito, amberjack, yellowtail, cabrilla, pargo, sierra, roosterfish, triggerfish and others.

We are seeing more commercial tuna pens being moved north offshore of San Jose del Cabo, being towed at 1 or 2 mph, from 10 to 20 miles offshore. Charters boats at times were fishing in proximity of these pens and were finding good numbers of small 4 to 8 lb. yellowfin tuna and a few dorado, mostly a long boat ride for smaller sized fish. The new trend of hauling tuna pens filled with bluefin tuna from north Baja grounds into the Sea of Cortez is causing some concern, because this will only increase the already heavy pressure on the local bait resources, because these penned tuna require tons of fresh bait. Same deal that has happened in Northern Baja, discussion is that perhaps they are relocating these pens because the bluefin are able to grow faster and with lengthier proportions in warmer water.

Besides finding some small tuna action while fishing near these slow moving tuna pens, anglers were not finding yellowfin elsewhere, the action on the Iman Bank became fruitless due to northern winds. The exception was on Thursday, when a few larger yellowfin tuna were hooked into on the Gordo Banks, the prize was a 277 lb. yellowfin tuna that was landed by Bob Deeter of Fort Brag, Ca. Deeter was drift fishing with a chunk of skipjack when he hooked into the early Christmas gift. Last weekend during a local tournament these were a pair of tuna over 100 pounds taken, 107 lb. and 130 lb., though for the past two weeks, no one had reported any big yellowfin action, getting late in the season now, though there definitely still is a chance, maybe someone will pull out another 300 lb. cow before the end of the month.

Anglers are now starting to make more attempts off the bottom structure when weather allowed, no big numbers of fish found, though a few nice amberjack, pargo, yellowtail and cabrilla were accounted for, it is the time of year where we will start doing more of this type of drift fishing over shallow water rocky areas, this can produce a variety of quality bottom dwellers, though it is also the type of fishing where it is best when the seas are not too rough.

Schools of sierra are now found close to shore, striking trolled rapalas and hoochies, though easier to entice with sardinas, which have not been available on a regular basis. Lots of roosterfish also found in certain inshore areas, mostly juvenile sized this time of year, though a few roosters over 20 pounds were reported.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 72 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of: 2 striped marlin, 9 wahoo, 24 bonito, 13 cabrilla, 2 yellowtail, 8 amberjack, 1 dogtooth snapper,115 sierra, 55 roosterfish, 65 dorado, 80 skipjack and 88 yellowfin tuna.

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, Cabo Vacation, Cabo Vacation Rentals, Cabo Vacation Villas, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing, Los Cabos Travel Info, Los Cabos Vacation Rentals Tagged With: , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report

December 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

December 8, 2013  828_Rick2

Despite being the week after Thanksgiving there are still good numbers of tourists in town, many simply looking for the warmer weather, as much of the northern territories are now enduring icy wintry conditions. Local weather has been great, mostly sunny days, some scattered cloud cover, highs averaging 80 degrees. Winds were now predominately blowing from the north, this past week the breeze was moderate and anglers enjoyed nice ocean conditions, this is the time of year when there are cycles of gusty winds which last several days. Los Cabos is situated on the Southern Peninsula, when offshore fishing grounds are blown out from too much wind, there can be other options found in more protected areas.

Sportfishing fleets are now fishing all of the normal grounds in various directions, ocean temperature is now steady throughout the region, from the Pacific banks to Los Frailes, averaging in the 78/79 degree range, no great temperature break, conditions are a bit warmer than normal, though we do expect to see a cooling trend as days now progressively become shorter. Bait supplies have varied a bit from day to day, caballito and sardinas have been available recently on a regular basis, sardinas have been found towards Los Frailes and the commercial fleet has been delivering them to panga charters on Iman to Vinorama. Other bait options included ballyhoo, slabs of squid, chihuil and skipjack. Overall the bait situation has improved.

San Jose del Cabo fleets have been fishing mainly on the grounds from Santa Maria, where there has been steady action for striped marlin, with dorado and a few wahoo mixed in, more numbers of charters were now heading in the direction of the Iman Bank, where the odds of finding yellowfin tuna were best, anglers were drift fishing with striped squid or sardinas, the tuna were averaging 10 to 20 pounds, striking more readily on lighter leaders, catches varied from one or two per boat, up to 15 fish, matter of being in the right place when the fish were in the feeding mood. On Thursday there was one 100 pound class yellowfin tuna landed off the Gordo Banks, first larger grade tuna we have heard about for the past couple of weeks, maybe a chance still at a cow. Dorado were found on these same grounds and scattered throughout the area, smaller sized schools, most of the fish were10 pounds or less, though there were exceptions of larger bulls landed. Trolling medium sized lures or larger sized baitfish was a productive technique for finding the dorado.

Wahoo are doing what they commonly do, remain elusive even during the supposedly peak season. These fish are definitely in the area, there are hook ups being reported daily, just no huge numbers or with any consistency, holding on the ledges, along drop offs, over structure, normally encountered in water depths from 100 to 200 feet. Trolling with rapalas, skirted lead heads and with rigged larger sized baitfish are what these fish will commonly strike on, rapid strikes, like no other, many lost strikes, happen so fast, either on or off. With the water temperatures now in the preferred range for wahoo we are optimistic that on any given day these fish could become more increasingly active. Anglers recently have been fortunate to lane one or two of these fish, the wahoo being brought in have been averaging in the 20 to 40 pound range.

Off the bottom structure, across the Iman Bank, anglers reported more success while dropping larger baitfish, caballito, skipjack or chihuil, near the bottom, there were amberjack, grouper and dogtooth snapper accounted for, no big numbers, but quality fish in the 30 to 60 pound class. A couple of yellowtail were reported by the commercial fleets fishing in deeper waters for snapper, these yellows were over 30 pounds, home guard fish, holding in the cooler depths. Several nice sized sierra were taken on the offshore banks, a bit out of their normal habitat closer to shore. Quite a few bonito now on the same grounds, mixed with yellowfin tuna and black skipjack, this is normally a sign of cooling waters, as sierra become plentiful along the beaches.

Many whales now being spotted, these whales are just showing in greater numbers, arriving from their northern grounds, we are also seeing other sea life, including manta rays, sea lions, turtles and lots of birds.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 135 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of: 11 striped marlin, 2 sailfish, 39 wahoo, 190 bonito, 15 cabrilla, 13 amberjack, 2 dogtooth snapper,45 sierra, 260 dorado and 445 yellowfin tuna.

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, Cabo San Lucas Blog, Cabo San Lucas Vacation Rentals, Cabo Vacation, Cabo Vacation Rentals, Cabo Vacation Villas, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing, Los Cabos Travel Info, Los Cabos Vacation Rentals Tagged With: , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report

December 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

829_KatyCavallinDecember 1, 2013

Thanksgiving vacationers visiting Los Cabos this week were greeted with pristine weather conditions. As much of the United States was being impacted by powerful storms, in Southern Baja the climate has been ideal, highs ranging 75/80 degrees, scattered early day cloud cover, with plenty of sunshine the rest of the day. Early in the week there were strong gusting winds whipping in from the north, this limited angler’s options for a few days, later in the week the winds resided and ocean conditions were much more comfortable.

Water temperatures were ranging from 76 degrees on the Pacific to 79/80 degrees off of San Jose del Cabo and towards Los Frailes. Live caballito and other jacks have been available, should not be long before we see schools of mackerel appearing on local grounds. Sardinas are starting to be found in closer proximity, but this is still a day to day situation on quantity and exactly where these baitfish are located. Squid and ballyhoo have been offered at the dock area, overall the bait situation has improved, with lighter pressure in coming weeks, this should give the resource a chance to rebound some.

The Iman Bank has been the most productive spot recently. There have been wahoo, dorado, yellowfin tuna and billfish all found on these banks. Most plentiful fish have been the tuna, these yellowfin are ranging from 10 to 20 pounds, anglers had best results while drift fishing with strips of cut squid or with sardinas, we are starting to see the commercial panga fleet from near Los Frailes traveling south to Iman Bank with supplies of freshly netted sardinas for sale, this proved to be the best bet for finding wide open surface action. Lots of bonito and skipjack were also schooling on the same local grounds. Roaming dorado were found scattered throughout the region, not in big numbers, most dorado were under 15 lb., though a handful of larger dorado were mixed in.

We are still in peak season for the elusive wahoo, so far these fish have not gone on any extended consistent wide open bite, though things appear to shaping up in the direction of some quality wahoo action in the coming weeks. Everyday these fish are being encountered in limited numbers, individual charters have landed up to several fish per morning, while loosing other strikes as well, most anglers were fortunate to land just one of these speedsters. Of the wahoo being brought in, weights have averaged 25 lb. to 45 lb. The majority of wahoo strikes recently have come on slow trolled baits, caballito or chihuil and there has been a recent trend of more wahoo hook ups being reported later in the morning, versus the traditional first daylight action.

Ocean temperatures have been on a slow cooling trend, we have seen conditions remain a couple of degrees warmer than would be expected during this time frame, we do expect to see temperatures continue to fall, as days are now progressively becoming shorter and with northerly winds becoming more frequent it will not be long before we experience transition time again. The annual migration of whales is now arriving in the first wave and will be peaking in the coming months, as these mammals arrive from their northern feeding grounds to give berth to their offspring in the subtropical waters of Southern Baja California.

With the offshore surface action continuing to be the most productive deal, we are not seeing much bottom action reported. Sierra action is now an inshore option for anglers having live sardinas.

Striped marlin action was wide open on certain areas, from the Pacific grounds, multiple catch days were common and also these schooling fish are now moving in the direction of San Jose del Cabo, marlin are being found within a couple miles of shore, striking on trolled lures and various baitfish, the late morning action has been most productive.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 138 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of: 23 striped marlin, 3 sailfish, 47 wahoo, 140 bonito, 10 cabrilla, 7 amberjack, 28 pargo, 22 sierra, 110 dorado and 610 yellowfin tuna.

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, Cabo Vacation Rentals, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing, Los Cabos Travel Info Tagged With: , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report

November 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment

November 24, 2013 830_GaryW_3
Anglers –

As we enter Thanksgiving Holiday week we are seeing a steady flow of tourists arriving, it has been a busy fall season, next week is typically when crowds will lighten, as many people will start preparing the Christmas Holiday season. Los Cabos weather has been pristine, highs of 80 degrees, with lows in the 60s, scattered cloud cover, but plenty of sunshine as well, very nice climate now, how you wish you could feel and enjoy year round. Winds are now prevalent from the north, though recently have been moderate and anglers were enjoying comfortable ocean conditions most days.

Sportfishing fleets were traveling in all directions, targeting the normal offshore fishing grounds, finding a mix of billfish, striped marlin, blue marlin and sailfish were all reported, with multiple billfish days reported from charters targeting the Pacific grounds. Water temperature are now on a cooling trend, down to 75 degrees on the Pacific and still averaging right about 80 degrees off of San Jose del Cabo and north towards Los Frailes.

Bait suppliers have been working overtime to obtain sufficient supplies and variety for the full load of charters. Sardinas were being hauled in from northern areas and were being sold by the bag, as brined fresh dead bait, also there were limited supplies of live sardinas just in recent days being offered. These baits have been working well for the for yellowfin tuna on the grounds off of La Fortuna and the Iman Bank, combined with strips of giant squid, also available at the dock in the morning, along with ballyhoo and caballito. Drift fishing while chumming and fly lining baits has been the most successful technique for finding yellowfin tuna in the 10 to 20 pound class, catches were a bit sporadic, some days fish would bite late and on others the action was best early. Light leaders of 25/30 lb. worked best. Catches ranged from a 2 or 3, up to 15 fish per boat. After last week’s new local record 386 lb. yellowfin was brought in, the action for the larger cow tuna on the Gordo Banks has been almost zero, surely a combination of factors are contributing to the slower action, cooling waters, heavy boat pressure, from pangas to large sportfishers, hungry sea lions, dive operations anchoring on high spot and ever increasing numbers of spear fishermen also concentrating on these same banks, this combined with the fact that we have just not seen as many numbers of these giant tuna this season.

Last weekend Wahoo Tournament out of La Playita was a success, a 54 lb. specimen won jackpot honors. This weekend there is a new inaugural tournament being held, Los Cabos Big Game. Anglers renting a charter boat can enter free of charge, with $25 K in prize money guarantee, sounds like a great deal. Anglers can enter one or both dates, participating charters can depart from Cabos San Lucas, Puerto Los Cabos or Buena Vista. Will be interesting to see how this goes, maybe next year with further advance notice in order to promote increased interest, this could be a popular format, with free entry, it is a no loose proposition, though the 7:30 a.m. departure time was not to the liking of anglers wishing to target the ever elusive wahoo.

Other action included drifting larger baits off the bottom structure for a chance at hooking into a grouper or amberjack, though numbers were not high, there were some impressive fish accounted for, amberjack to 40 lb. and grouper to 70 lb. Inshore this past week we have seen more sierra moving in, striking on trolled hoochies, as well as sardinas. A couple very nice sized sierra of 8 to 9 lb. were brought in.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 180 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of: 9 striped marlin, 6 sailfish, 55 wahoo, 125 bonito, 6 roosterfish, 15 cabrilla, 8 grouper, 32 sierra, 170 dorado and 410 yellowfin tuna.

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 Real Estate, Cabo San Lucas Blog, Cabo San Lucas Fishing, Cabo San Lucas Vacation Rentals, Cabo Vacation, Cabo Villas, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing, Los Cabos Infomation, Los Cabos Travel Info, Los Cabos Vacation Rentals Tagged With: , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report

November 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

November 10, 2013  832_LaurynLewis
Anglers –

Weather patterns in Southern Baja California can often be unpredictable and this past weekend we witnessed a surprise formation of a late season tropical storm develop off to the west, before shifting directions and heading east, passing just offshore of Cabo San Lucas on Sunday afternoon. Tropical Storm Sonia made landfall near Culiacan, Sinaloa and was then downgraded to a depression. This was an unusual event for this time of year, though not unprecedented; remember the monsoon rains 20 years ago on November 4, this drenched 25 inches of rainfall in 12 hours over San Jose del Cabo. This latest system did drop up to 2 to 3 inches of rainfall in isolated areas and there were steady winds of 30 mph plus, but this did not last long and as the storm quickly moved past conditions cleared rapidly. Ocean swells never did increase very much, winds apparently were not strong enough to generate high swells. Conditions became stormy through Sunday morning the local ports were officially closed to all smaller crafts and did not reopen until about 7 a.m. on Monday. This was an inconvenience to hundreds of anglers who were all set to go fishing on Sunday, this was an act of Mother Nature and we were all fortunate that this only shut down operations for one day.

The local climate has now settled and conditions are nearly perfect, sunny skies, temperatures ranging from lows in the upper 60s to highs of about 84 degrees. Breezes were now predominately blowing out of the north, ranging up to 15 mph. Ocean water temperatures were in 80/82 degree range throughout the region, not much variance. Baitfish were now in extremely high demand with so many numbers of charters to supply. Live caballito were available, sardinas were very limited, schools of these baitfish are now being found near Cabo San Lucas, only a percentage of charters were able to obtain these baits. Other options for anglers were slabs of squid for strip bait fishing and ballyhoo for troll rigging.

Local fleets were finding more consistent action on the fishing ground from Santa Maria to Vinorama, versus the grounds on the Pacific. Overall the action has been below normal standards, factors related to the relentless winds and lack of sardinas, strong currents and gamefish migration patterns all seem to play into this situation. We have seen signs of improvement the past couple of days, more dorado being encountered than other species, most of these fish under 15 lb., with an occasional bull up to 20 pounds. Charters were using a mix of trolled lures, as well as drift fishing and slow trolling various baits. Average catches ranged from 2 to 8 fish per boat. Wahoo were scarce this past week, though everyday a handful were accounted for. Areas near Iman to San Luis seemed to provide the best chances for wahoo, anglers trolling rapalas and live baits reported strikes, these fish have been averaging 25 to 50 pounds. We anticipate a full other month of wahoo action, as water temperatures are still in favorable range.

Yellowfin tuna action was not as consistent as would be expected, though these fish are schooling in several areas, winds have not helped, the lack of sardinas seems to be the main issue, but these factors can also change on a daily basis, just as the weather can. Squid has been available at the dock area most mornings and this has been used for chumming and strip bait fishing for the yellowfin tuna, as well as dorado and others, even billfish have been hooked into on these strips of squid. There are smaller grades of yellowfin on the Iman, San Luis and Vinorama grounds, these fish ranged 10 to 20 pounds, though most anglers were fortunate to hook into these tuna, they proved finicky this past week.

The larger yellowfin are congregated on the Gordo Banks, though they have not been nearly as numerous this season as they have been in recent years, though this is still the spot where you have the best chance at hooking into a cow. Everyday there are reports of a handful of larger tuna hook ups, many of which are lost after extended tug of war battles. Last cow we weighed for the local panga fleet area was a 314 lb. on Saturday, Nov. 2. We typically see these cow sized tuna stay in the area into the first half of December, water temperatures and food source seem to determine when these schooling fish migrate south.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 210 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of: 13 striped marlin, 11 sailfish, 16 wahoo, 32 bonito, 18 pargo, 12 rainbow runner, 20 triggerfish, 12 cabrilla, 22 sierra, 460 dorado and 145 yellowfin tuna.

Good fishing, Eric

—

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

Los Cabos Fishing Report

November 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment

November 3, 2013
Anglers –
833_Memo_314Tuna
Visitors to Los Cabos are enjoying exciting times, as we are now in the midst of the peak fall sportfishing season. The largest of all fishing tournaments, Bisbee’s Black and Blue, was held this past week and once again this event ended with the jackpot marlin being caught in the final moments on the last day and more exciting yet, the top two largest marlin were landed by women anglers.

Busy schedules now for all sportfishing fleets, though local weather has seen an unusual late Tropical Storm Sonia developing off to the southwest, this contributed to creating windy and choppy ocean conditions, which have plagued the region now for several days and is forecast to continue through the weekend and into next week. This storm front is an unfortunate situation for the hundreds of anglers who plan their annual trips during this period when you normally expect to find much calmer comfortable conditions. Despite the bum conditions people are keeping their spirits high, knowing that all this is out of everyone’s control, the luck of the draw, weather patterns are becoming harder to predict worldwide.

Fleets have been traveling in all directions, scouting out all of the possible fishing grounds within range, ocean water temperatures are now averaging about 84 degrees throughout the area, not much temperature variance, though we do expect that a cooling off trend will begin during this next week. Bait situation has been day to day, with very small sized sardinas being netted off rocky stretches near Santa Maria, there were caballito available and even some mackerel were offered earlier in the week, as well as ballyhoo and slabs of squid at the dock area. There were options of catching larger baitfish on the grounds, overall the bait resource has been sufficient, main problem now was dealing with the relentless north winds that were swirling from out of the southwest as well.

Anglers were finding a mix of dorado, yellowfin tuna, wahoo and billfish, none of which were especially numerous. With ocean temperatures holding warm this late, we are expecting the action to become more consistent after these weather patterns stabilize. Recently the action has been limited to an average of several fish in combination per charter, though there were exceptions for other anglers that happened to be at the right place.

The large yellowfin tuna are still on the Gordo Banks, everyday there have been a couple of hook ups reported, not many of these larger tuna were actually landed, tuna up to 141 lb. were accounted for by the local panga fleet, with others lost after extended battles. Smaller football sized yellowfin were found near Santa Maria and on the Gordo Banks or Iman Bank, though this action was sporadic and most boats that did land these fish would only catch a few fish. Dorado were mixed in, found in medium sized schools spread out, most of these fish were weighing less than fifteen pounds, with an occasional specimen to 20 pounds being reported. The main factor for fewer all around numbers of fish was the relentless winds which limited where boats could comfortable and practically concentrate their efforts.

Wahoo were hiding out most of the week, only a handful of these fish were landed, with other numerous strikes missed. This is now the time we expect to see these fish make their presence known. Once again, as this weather front passes through we do expect things to get back on track.

Not much bottom action was even attempted during these winds times, anglers found it hard enough to troll or drift fish the surface, let alone try to hold the bottom.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 205 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of: 2 black marlin, 4 blue marlin, 16 striped marlin, 18 sailfish, 13 wahoo, 4 amberjack,  14 bonito, 14 pargo, 2 surgeonfish , 35 triggerfish,10 cabrilla, 15 sierra, 260 dorado and 125 yellowfin tuna.

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, Cabo Vacation, Cabo Vacation Rentals, Cabo Vacation Villas, Cabo Villas, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing, Los Cabos Infomation, Los Cabos Real Estate, Los Cabos Travel Info, Los Cabos Vacation Rentals Tagged With: , , , , ,

Los Cabos – 2 Twin Cities That are Very Differant

November 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment

LOS CABOS, Mexico — “Cabo” generally is thought of as one destination at the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula, but in truth, there is no single “Cabo.”Lands End

What sits at the rocky, sun-baked meeting of the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California is Los Cabos, a region that incorporates two towns that couldn’t be more different — Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo — and a 20-mile ocean-hugging corridor between.

Its bounty of options makes Los Cabos a choose-your-own-adventure destination where the desert meets the beach.

Want to lounge on the sand by day and dance to “YMCA” at night while waiters pour cheap tequila down your throat? That happens on the crowded beaches of Cabo San Lucas. Prefer a classic Mexican meal followed by a stroll through art galleries amid Old World charm? There’s that too — in San Jose del Cabo.

A luxury beachfront stay for $2,000 a night can be had at resorts in the corridor, and then there is my favorite: a bounty of charming, $100-per-night stays with days spent tasting inexpensive, just-out-of-the-ocean ceviche and exploring undisturbed beaches.

In Los Cabos, widely considered to be one of the safest places in Mexico, it’s all within a 20-mile drive.

Cabo San Lucas

Any local will remind you that Cabo San Lucas was a sleepy fishing village 25 years ago. Today it is a land of beach, bars and bikinis, English, dollars and televisions lit with American sports. It is vacation personified.

Because tourism drives the economy, there also is an endless effort to separate tourists from their money. The offers of jewelry, tours and activities — snorkeling, diving, dune-buggy rides, camel rides, zip-lining, rides on water-propelled jet packs, boat rides to Cabo’s famous stone arch (do it) and world-class fishing — are endless and exhausting.

If you want to avoid the party, however, it can be done. I spent my last day in Cabo walking for nearly an hour in its marina area (other than the beach, it’s the center of the action) and out to a rocky outcropping jutting into the ocean across Cabo San Lucas Bay at the southern edge of the city. (Visitors usually take a 10-minute boat across the bay.)

People tend to follow people, so tourists gravitated toward a lovely strand there called Lover’s Beach. I found my own sliver of empty Cabo beach a couple of hundred yards away, where I ran headlong into the Gulf of California and was soon bobbing in the clear blue-green salt water, refreshed and alone.

After a boat ride back across the bay, I was amid the resorts and restaurants. The sun was setting, and the beach began to smell of grilled seafood as music seeped out from every restaurant, be it Frank Sinatra or a mariachi band taking on Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll.” The party was about to begin anew.

San Jose del Cabo

Twenty miles and a world away, there is a reason that San Jose is fundamentally different from its rowdier cousin: It is about 250 years older.

Modern San Jose took root in 1730, with construction of a Spanish mission. Though it had some hard years, about the time Cabo San Lucas became party central in the 1980s, San Jose experienced a rebirth of its own, albeit on an opposite track: art galleries, restaurants serving authentic dishes (like moles and chiles en nogada) and turning its one-way streets into charming cobblestone.

It’s a quiet town, but something interesting always seems to be happening. On a Monday night, it was a small drum circle gathered in the central square as a woman set up shop to sell tamales to a trickle of customers. The big draw comes Thursday nights during tourist season, when all the art galleries stay open deep into the night for the town’s weekly art walk.

Though not a classic beach destination, it is becoming more of one. In recent years, a marina was dug out of an old park in the beachfront La Playita neighborhood for tourism development. The first new hotel to open is El Ganzo (elganzo.com; rooms start at $179 per night until high season begins Dec. 20, then climb to $315 per night), a hip, stylish hotel embracing both the arts and the fact that it is not Cabo San Lucas. What you will get at El Ganzo: friendly service, a stunning rooftop infinity pool and a quiet, private beach. What you will not get at El Ganzo: waiters pouring tequila down anyone’s throat.

jbnoel@tribune.com

Filed Under: Cabo San Lucas, Cabo San Lucas Blog, Cabo San Lucas Vacation Rentals, Cabo Vacation, Cabo Vacation Rentals, Cabo Vacation Villas, Los Cabos Infomation, Los Cabos Travel Info, Los Cabos Vacation Rentals, San Jose del Cabo Tagged With: , , ,

Ladies Say: Show Me the Money

October 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment

It was ladies night on the big stage as the top honors in the 2013 Bisbee’s Black & Blue Marlin Tournament went to two female anglers. Linda Williams and her crew aboard II Final BB 2013Success captured first place overall team, the overall tournament jackpot, top captain award and daily jackpots up to the $2,000 level after boating a 774-pound blue marlin on the Friday. That fish also turned out to be the biggest of the week and the largest ever weighed by a lady angler in the history of the B&B. It earned a payout of $368,675 out of the $2.9 million in overall prize money available.

Martha McNabb and her Retriever team missed the top prize again (she had finished second previously), although she settled for the largest overall payout for the event. Her 525-pound blue marlin was worth $1,185,862. Retriever won second place overall, second place jackpot, top captain honors for Tony Araiza and daily jackpots for the first two days since no qualifiers were weighed on the first day.

Team Sooner Reelin’ captured third place overall with the only qualifying black marlin for the week, a 342-pounder reeled in by James Long. The Oklahoma team’s prize money totaled $34,762. Go Deep, with one of the five Japanese teams on board, claimed fourth place with a blue marlin weighing 323 pounds. Yugi Takagi and his team are returning to Japan with $9,270 in cash prizes.

The Black & Blue is an optional jackpot tournament and Sea Angel showed why betting across the board can be so lucrative. Austin Angel and his family team boated a 313-pound blue marlin on Friday, just 13 pounds over the minimum weight, yet they earned an overall payout of $966,680 for that fifth-place fish by entering in all the regular jackpot categories.

Team Titan, the first sailboat ever competing in the Black & Blue, hung on to win first place in the release division. Titan won $63,537 for three blue marlin releases based on time. Cojones was second ($21,993), while Reel Pain II came in third ($12,218) with three marlin releases apiece. Ironically, both Titan and Reel Pain II also boated undersized marlin on Friday when an additional release could have determined the final outcome.

In addition to handing out nearly $3 million in prize money Saturday evening, the Black & Blue gave away more than $200,000 to local and international humanitarian organizations, including Casa Hogar and Reel Life International. Silent and live auctions also generated additional funds for RLI and The Billfish Foundation.

The Black & Blue is the last event in the Bisbee’s Baja tournament series. The 2014 season begins next August with the East Cape Offshore at the Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort before shifting back to Cabo in October for the Los Cabos Offshore and the 2014 Black & Blue. Cabo Riviera is the presenting sponsor, with Baja Cantina, Wyndham Resort, Baja California Sur and Los Cabos Departments of Tourism, Puerto Paraiso Mall, Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort and numerous other benefactors adding their support.

There have been many dramatic wins throughout the Black & Blue’s 33-year history. But 2013 will always be remembered as the year of the lady angler. As Martha McNabb said before walking off the stage, “Chicks catch fish!”

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