September 22, 2018

This week was shut down for sport fishing by Monday afternoon due to a broad low pressure Topical system that slowly followed a path directly towards the Southern Baja Peninsula, north through the Gulf of Californian, drenching mainland Mexico and then in the South Western U.S. states. Hard to predict what a particular low pressure system might develop into, this latest storm left more rainfall than anything else, certain locations received as much as 15 inches of rain and there was moderate to heavy flooding to deal with. There were some isolated wind gusts to over 40 mph, for the most part the wind was more like 20 mph with. persistent rainfall, very intense at times. The Port was shut down form Monday afternoon until Thursday morning, though most fleets did not start back operations until Friday. So this was a shortened week.

Once back operating, fleets dealt with slightly off colored water conditions and some strong currents. Put as ocean conditions settled down, water temperature was back averaging close to 84 to 85 degrees, lots of yellowfin tuna were being seen on these grounds, the tuna were mostly in the 50 lb. to 80 lb. range, but at times were very shy in taking any hooked offerings from anglers, through with persistence anglers could catch two or three during a morning trip. This action was all on bait, with live, or dead sardinas, strips of squid and some on live chihuil, which were not a sure bet trying to catch. So despite the yellowfin tuna action being sporadic and a bit finicky, this was still the best opportunity presently for catching quality gamefish. On Friday a private sport fisher out of Puerto Los Cabos reported landing a yellowfin tuna off of the Gordo Banks that was estimated at 280 lb. This is the first real super cow we have heard about from these grounds this season.

Other action was limited, some bottom action on the same grounds, but not a sure bet option, highlights were a handful of grouper and dogtooth snapper, these fish were hanging around the high spots, though trying to hook and turn these fish away from the rocks was a completely different story in itself, even on locked down 80 lb. tackle these fish will quickly terminate the battle by cutting lines off.

Only an occasional dorado being seen, a few reports of missed wahoo strikes or free jumping fish seen, this time of year we have minimal variety. Coming up in the fall season we do anticipate a great season, looking forward to more wahoo and dorado showing back up in the daily fish counts.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 35 charters for this storm shortened week. Anglers reported a fish count of: 2  striped marlin, 1 sailfish, 2 blue marlin, 3 dorado, 58 yellowfin tuna, 17 bonito, 6 red snapper, 3 dogtooth snapper, 4 cabrilla and 18 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

https://cabosanlucasblog.info/3053-2/

Los Cabos Fishing Report – September 16, 2018

September 16, 2018 

We are starting to see the first wave of early fall anglers arriving, still only moderate numbers, but more people than we have seen in recent weeks. This is now the four year anniversary of when Hurricane Odile devastated the Los Cabos area. This week the weather has been calm, last week we saw some isolated unpredictable thundershowers that did bring some fairly heavy rainfall amounts in some areas. No new storms that we see presently on the forecast, but tropical systems can develop rapidly this time of year, another few weeks of the normal storm season, so we will be watching closely. Meanwhile the Philippines is now enduring the battering of a Super Typhon and the East Coast of the United Sates is dealing with Hurricane Florence. All is quiet in the Eastern Pacific at this time. Winds were very light this week, swells were moderate, supplies of sardinas were sufficient and anglers were enjoying great ocean conditions, though days were still very warm and humidity is high, as it normally is during the month of September.

Anglers were using both sardinas and strips of squid, some chihuil also now being caught for bait as well. Yellowfin tuna were found from the Gordo Banks to Iman and San Luis. Smaller football tuna mainly being found on the Gordo Banks, though on Iman and San Luis the yellowfin tuna were avenging 50 to 70 lb. Finicky at times, lots of patience and persistence needed, drift fishing while chumming, dealing with lots of triggerfish and needlefish stealing baits. At times tuna could be seen boiling and jumping out of the water, but proved to have lock jaw, but then would go on the bite sporadically, some days early, sometimes much later in the day. Anglers were doing well to land one, two or three of these quality tuna.

Only a few dorado being found, most of these were under ten pounds, most of these a bit closer to shore than where the tuna were schooling. Wahoo were very few and far between, though every few days we heard about someone catching one. Only a few small roosterfish found close to shore. Off the bottom we did not see any consistent action, though a couple of nice cabrilla in the 40 to 50 pound class were accounted for. A handful of red snapper, bonito and a couple of dogtooth snapper in the 20 to 30 lb. range.

Heard of great striped marlin action on the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas, our local grounds produced scattered billfish action for sailfish, striped and blue marlin.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 62 charters for this week. Anglers reported a fish count of: 9  striped marlin, 3 sailfish, 2 blue marlin, 3 wahoo, 14 dorado, 105 yellowfin tuna, 16 bonito, 2 barred pargo, 14 red snapper, 2 dogtooth snapper, 12 cabrilla and 75 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

Los Cabos Fishing Report – September 9, 2018

September 9, 2018

Light crowds of tourists now, will not be long before the busy fall season begins. Tropical storm season is in the peak period now, when historically the most Hurricanes have formed and also made landfall on the Southern Baja Peninsula. At this time there are no new systems threatening, Hurricane Olivia has headed far off on a westerly track heading for possible landfall in Hawaii. The next Eastern Pacific storm will be named Paul, hard to predict the weather more than a few days in advance this time of year. On Wednesday we did have some isolated heavy rainfall, but only in small areas, not widespread. This is the time of year when forecast call for almost daily scattered thundershowers, more often these form over the hills in the afternoon, but they are always very unpredictable as exactly where and when they happen. Ocean temperatures are warming, up into the 85 to 87 degree range. Swells were moderate for this time of year. Winds were gusting more than last week, mainly after mid-day.

Schooling sardinas were once again found in closer range, now off the San Jose Estuary. Slabs of squids were also a main bait source being used. Most productive area where local fleets are now fishing have been from the Gordo Banks to Iman and San Luis Banks. Yellowfin tuna remained the most common gamefish species being found. Sizes of the tuna have ranged from 10 lb. to 90 lb. Higher numbers of the larger grade of fish were found near Iman and San Luis Banks, but a handful of the nicer yellowfin were also found on the Gordo Banks. Gordo was producing a lot of the smaller sized tuna as well, while Iman and San Luis there were mainly larger sized fish being hooked into. The bite was sporadic, some day’s early, other days late, other day’s finicky, typical tuna fishing. The best method was to have both sardinas and squid, drift fishing while chumming. A few anglers reported success catching chihuil baitfish and slow trolling them, though these baitfish proved difficult and time consuming to try and catch. Anglers seriously targeting the tuna were accounting for an average of one to three of the nicer sized fish, when targeting the smaller tuna, often they were able to catch quick limits of five fish per person.

Very few dorado were seen this past week, we heard of reports of good numbers of these fish being found in the San Diego area, maybe this is where they all are, last season the better dorado action locally was later in the fall and through December, that might be the same pattern this season. Very few wahoo were reported this week, an occasional fish on the troll, but nothing consistent and no particular time of day either.

Bottom action was limited to a few bonito, cabrilla, red snapper, pargo and triggerfish. Not much inshore action seen, not the time of year for that.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 50 charters for this week. Anglers reported a fish count of: 2 black marlin, 3  striped marlin, 2 sailfish, 4 dorado, 3 wahoo, 112 yellowfin tuna, 9 bonito, 5 yellow snapper, 3 barred pargo, 10 red snapper, 7 cabrilla (leopard grouper), and 24 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

Los Cabos Fishing Report September 2, 2018

September 2, 2018 

Light crowds of visitors now arriving, many families are now busy preparing for the start of the new school semesters, also waiting for cooler weather and for the tropical storm season to pass. At this time we are seeing a flare up of tropical storm development, we have Hurricanes Miriam and Norman, now farther off to the west, not impacting land, but increasing local humidity, now forming to the south we will have Olivia and Paul within the next week, looks like Paul might be the system the comes closest to land. Forecast do call for some scattered thundershowers in the coming week. More moisture is needed, but everyone is hoping that we do not see any damaging high winds, the next several weeks is when all eyes will be focused on the tropical weather forecasts.

Anglers were finding sardinas a bit harder to find, these schooling baitfish had been found off the northern shoreline near Vinorama, then off of the San Jose del Cabo Estuary and now they are finding them off of Chileno. This means bait netters are back tracking south, then back towards the marina in order to supply the sportfishing fleet, which have been fishing in the direction of the Gordo Banks, La Fortuna, Iman and San Luis Banks. Other bait option continue to be slabs of squid, also some skipjack, bolito and chihuil be found on the offshore grounds and used for slow trolling.

Main species being found were the yellowfin tuna, hitting on the strips of squid and sardinas, ranging in sizes from footballs, up to 80 pounds. Fish were finicky, some days being more active early, other days later in the day, moving around to the various spots, trying to find some cooperative fish. Catches ranged from one or two yellowfin, up to ten. Matter of being on the right sport, at the right time and having sufficient supplies of bait. This is normally the time of year where we see the largest of cow sized yellowfin tuna start to lurk around the local high spots. There were a couple of reports in recent days of large fish being lost after extended battles on the grounds near the Gordo Banks, presumably these were thought to be big tuna. The same Gordo Banks is now producing some action for larger marlin, including one fish landed mid-week from a 22 ft. panga that was an estimated 500 lb. black marlin. Best chances for these larger marlin is to slow troll larger sized baits, lots of patience is needed, but rewards can be high.

Only an occasional dorado being found, most of these under 15 lb. found fairly close to shore. Water is now clear and blue within one mile of shore, ocean currents are warming, now averaging 82 to 86 degrees. Moderate swells, could be increasing with all of the storm activity to the south, will depend on how close these system pass off of the Southern Baja Peninsula.

Limited bottom action, a few snapper, bonito, cabrilla, amberjack, but most charters are targeting the finicky tuna, which has proved to be the best bet for getting a nice amount of fresh fillets.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 51 charters for this week. Anglers reported a fish count of: 1 dogtooth snapper, 1 black marlin, 3 sailfish, 2 striped marlin, 18 dorado, 108 yellowfin tuna, 12 bonito, 6 yellow snapper, 5 barred pargo, 3 amberjack, 8 red snapper, 11 cabrilla (leopard grouper), 6 roosterfish and 32 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

Iron Discipline Meet Golden Views in the Los Cabos 70.3

For most of us, it sounds like a sure way to ruin a perfect day in paradise: start with a strenuous 1.2 mile swim, take a not so leisurely bike ride for 56 miles, then run like your life depended on it for 13.1 more miles. And, if you’re lucky, thousands of people will be chasing you.

For those hale and hearty souls with a more rugged disposition, an iron constitution if you will, it sounds exactly like the perfect day in paradise.

 It, of course, is the Ironman Los Cabos 70.3, the numerical aspect of which refers to the total amount of miles covered. That total, incidentally, is only half of what is required for a traditional triathlon.

The Ironman (or Ironwoman as the case may be) lifestyle began under the tropic Hawaiian sun in the late 1970s, when a debate started between members of regional swim and running clubs about which sport produced fitter athletes. A U.S. Navy officer threw a monkey wrench into the dispute by noting it was a cyclist who had the highest recorded “oxygen uptake”, and…well, you can see where this is going.

Hawaii birthed the idea and the first race, held in Oahu in 1978. The 50th and final U.S. state remains an important stop for Ironman, hosting the annual world championship in Kailua-Kona. The difference today is that it is just one of many locations around the globe. Over three dozen Ironman triathlons were held in 2018, on six different continents. The 70.3 races have proved even more popular. At last count, there were more than 80 taking place annually (including the one in Los Cabos), although in a break from the 140.6 triathlon tradition, the 70.3 world championship is held in a different international location each year.

When the first Ironman race was run in Los Cabos in 2013, it was as a traditional (140.6 mile) triathlon under the sponsorship of the Ford Motor Company. With that inaugural race in March 2013, Los Cabos became the second location in Mexico–after Cancun–to host the Ironman series, unveiling a rigorous course that included a swim leg in the protected waters off Punta Palmilla, a bicycle leg that featured several back-and-forth trips between cape cities Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo, and a full-length marathon that concluded in front of City Hall in San Jose del Cabo.

As the managing director of the Ironman race operations, Steve Meckfessel, noted at the time: “This is truly a spectacular addition to the Ironman circuit. The vitality of Los Cabos’ natural beauty combined with the challenging course that our team has laid out really sets Ironman Los Cabos apart.”

He was right on many counts. The race course was rich in natural beauty and spectacular views, and it proved popular immediately…with both locals and visitors. However, as one might imagine with a race of such epic size and scope, logistics can and have been an issue. Traffic problems accompanied the first few races, but after a seasonal move from spring to autumn, and a slimmed down 70.3 version with a faster, flatter course layout, Ironman finally seems to have hit its stride in Los Cabos.

This year’s Ironman Los Cabos 70.3 is scheduled for Nov. 4, 2018. In addition to pride and $50,000 in prize money, the half-triathlon offers 30 coveted qualifying spots for the 2019 Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Messenia, Greece.

Registration is still open, but time is running out for those who want to raise their fitness from “very good” to “potential race finisher” or “potential winner” in the grueling Ironman series event.

by Chris Sands

For more information about events, activities and villa rentals in Los Cabos, call us TOLL FREE at 1-888-655-4548, visit www.LosCabosVillas.com, or email us at Info@LosCabosVillas.com.

 Chris Sands is co-founder of CaboVivo, co-writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook, Editor at Baja.Ca, and a contributor to Forbes, USA Today and Cabo Living, as well as other websites and publications. 

 Photo courtesy of Ironman Los Cabos 70.3.

Upcoming Event Calendar

September

Día de la Independencia (Independence Day) – Sep. 16

October

Sammy Hagar Birthday Bashes at Cabo Wabo Cantina – Oct. 9, 11, 13

Los Cabos Billfish Tournament – Oct. 14 – 18

Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore Fishing Tournament – Oct. 18 – 21

Bisbee’s Black & Blue Fishing Tournament – Oct. 23 – 27

25th Baja Ha-Ha Cruisers Rally – Oct. 28 – Nov. 10

Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) – Oct. 31 – Nov. 2

November

Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) – Oct. 31 – Nov. 2

Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

Life Luxe Jazz Experience at Pueblo Bonito Pacifica – Nov. 1 – 4

IRONMAN 70.3 Latin American Tri Club Championship – Nov. 4

Adidas Golf Invitational at Cabo del Sol – Nov. 6 – 11

WON Tuna Jackpot – Nov. 7 – 10

SCORE Baja 1000 – Nov. 14 – 18

Día de la Revolución (Revolution Day) – Nov. 20

Día de Acción de Gracias (Thanksgiving) – Nov. 22

 December

Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Dec. 6, 13, 20, 27

Virgin of Guadalupe Feast Day – Dec. 12

Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) – Dec. 24

Navidad (Christmas) – Dec. 25

Nochevieja (New Year’s Eve) – Dec. 31

January 2019

Día de los Tres Reyes Magos – Jan. 6

Los Cabos Pro-Am at Cabo del Sol – Jan. 14 – 18

February

Día del Amor y la Amistad (Valentine’s Day) – Feb. 14

March

Cabo Collegiate at Querencia – March 3 – 5

Los Cabos Fishing Report – August 26, 2018

August 26, 2018 

As Hurricane Lane is presently dangerously close to the Hawaii Islands, conditions locally in Los Cabos have remained calm, with no new tropical storm systems seen developing at this time. We still have another full five weeks of the normal tropical storm season, we are all hoping that no major storms approach Baja. Weather continues to be very warm, increased humidity as well, some afternoon rain squalls to the north of San Jose del Cabo, normal pattern for this latter part of summer. Minimal wind, primarily only slight afternoon breezes, moderate swells, always need to be careful along the shoreline during these summer months.

With continued reports of great fishing action coming out of Southern California for bluefin tuna, yellowtail, white seabass and as a result crowds are lighter than normal now in Los Cabos. Local fleets are now mainly concentrating their efforts on fishing grounds from the Gordo Banks, Iman and San Luis Banks. Anglers were using slabs of squid, sardinas, as well as skipjack and small tuna for baits. Iman and San Luis was the best place to find a nicer grade of yellowfin tuna, everyday these grounds are producing tuna to over 70 lb. No huge numbers, fish were also finicky and shy with the ever present boat pressure, but with patience and consistent drifting and chumming over these high spots there were good chances of hooking into yellowfin. The Gordo Banks produced mainly a smaller grade of tuna up to about 12. Lb. It is the time of year that we normally see the cow sized tuna appear on these famous grounds.

The Gordo Banks and on the grounds near Iman, there were several black marlin catches reported this week, these fish were hooked into while slow trolling larger rigged baits, the white skipjack proved especially effective, the fish that were landed weighed in the 200 to 300 lb. range.

Only a scattering of mostly smaller sized dorado were being found. Over last weekend and at the start of this week, there were wahoo being hooked into while trolling Rapalas and other lures on the normal grounds from Iman to San Luis, a handful of charters got into this action, with a couple of wahoo landed and others lost, these fish were in the 15 to 40 lb. class. As the week progressed this action faded out as some anglers did target this action but could not entice any strikes. The ocean temperature warmed this week, back up into the 81 to 87 degree range, too warm of water often will make species such as wahoo more lethargic, less active.

Bottom action was limited, most anglers were opting to target other surface species, though a few dogtooth snapper and amberjack were reported, as well as some red snapper, bonito, yellowfin snapper and cabrilla. Best chance for these fish was early in the day, using various baits, as well as opportunities using yo-yo jigs.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 57 charters for this week. Anglers reported a fish count of: 3 dogtooth snapper, 3 black marlin, 2 sailfish, 17 dorado, 7 wahoo, 96 yellowfin tuna, 14 bonito, 8 yellow snapper, 6 amberjack, 17 red snapper, 9 cabrilla (leopard grouper), 3 roosterfish and 42 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

Los Cabos Fishing Report – August 19, 2018

August 19, 2018

Last week we had a series of tropical storms develop and head off to the west, T.S. storm John did leave several inches of rain in our region, but no serious damage was felt. Things quieted way down this week, only Hurricane Lane is brewing now and is already far off to the west with no chance of making impact on the Baja Peninsula. There are still another six weeks or so for the Eastern Pacific storm season, we are all hoping that no major storms make direct landfall. Light to moderate crowds are now visiting the Los Cabos area, be prepared for warm and humid weather that is the normal pattern this time of year. There is now some heavier swell activity, be careful along the beach stretches, also more wind this week, swirling around from different directions, but it settled down over the weekend, never did keep the sportfishing fleets from reaching their normal grounds.

Anglers were using strips of squid and also this week the sardinas rebounded and on most days there were chances at obtaining the sardinas from fleets that found these schooling baitfish farther to the north, they were meeting charters on the fishing grounds. Always a better option to have both the squid and sardinas if possible, particularly when drift fishing for yellowfin tuna.

Yellowfin tuna was the most common gamefish being found, main area was centered on the Iman Bank, but some charters were scouting out the grounds such as San Luis and the Gordo Banks with mixed success. Drift fish while chumming was the most productive technique, others did well slow trolling chihuil baits, but they proved harder to obtain, also if you happened to jig up a bolito that was almost a guaranteed strike. Sizes on the yellowfin ranged from small footballs up to 80 lb., average daily catches varied from one or two, up to five or six, mixed in were bonito and skipjack. These tuna were still a bit finicky, striking best on 40 or 50 lb. leaders. There were some hungry aggressive sea lions getting their share of hooked up fish. The silky shark problem has diminished for the time being.

Very few dorado this past week, also noting to report on wahoo either. Bottom action was limited due to swift current, misc. snappers, pargo, amberjack, cabrilla, but no numbers to speak of, the highlight were a couple of nice 30 to 40 lb. class dogtooth snapper. These larger snapper were taken on the same tuna grounds while drift fishing baits near the surface.

Billfish was spotty and mainly found 10 miles or more offshore, a scattering of blue marlin hook ups while trolling lures, with a couple landed and released in the 200 lb. range, did hear of 300 b. blues caught out of Cab San Lucas, also we heard of at least one large black marlin that was hooked up near the Gordo Banks. A few sailfish and striped marlin also being encountered.

Inshore roosterfish and jack action has pretty stalled out, not much going on that and the schools of mullet have vanished as well, this is the normal pattern for these species, inshore always slows way down the later part of August and into the fall season.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 61 charters for this week. Anglers reported a fish count of: 2 dogtooth snapper, 2 sailfish, 2 striped marlin, 2 blue marlin, 15 dorado, 1 wahoo, 118 yellowfin tuna, 32 bonito, 3 surgeon fish, 7 yellow snapper, 4 amberjack, 13 red snapper,5 cabrilla (leopard grouper) 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

Adidas Golf Invitational Tees It Up in Los Cabos This November

If you’re a golfer, or indeed a sports enthusiast of any kind, you know the name Adidas. The Germany based shoe and clothing company is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe̶ –indeed, one of the largest in the world–with an athlete sponsorship roster that includes golf professionals like Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose and Paula Creamer.

Of course, in addition to sponsoring athletes, Adidas also sponsors sporting events. Like the Adidas Golf Invitational, for example, which tees it up in Los Cabos this November.

If you’re a Los Cabos based golfer, or indeed anyone who visits the area regularly, you probably know about this tournament. Just not by this name.

Formerly the TaylorMade Invitational, and more recently the Jim Flick Invitational–when it was named in honor of Jim Flick, a PGA professional and golf instructor who during a half-century long career taught golf in 23 countries and worked with pros like Tom Lehman and Jack Nicklaus–this annual competition is actually one of the longest running and most prestigious golf tournaments in Los Cabos.

And just to be clear: Adidas has been on board from the very beginning. The company acquired TaylorMade in 1997, just before the initial tournament in Los Cabos. This is just the first year Adidas has put their name in the title.

Despite the multiple name changes over the years, the tournament format has remained fairly consistent: a prom-am setup with the pros competing over 72-holes of stroke play ($100,000 is on the line in 2018), and foursomes (featuring one professional and three amateurs) battling in handicap-adjusted best ball play for prizes and glory.

Cabo del Sol’s Ocean and Desert Courses once again provide the backdrop, and a spectacular one at that. The Jack Nicklaus’ designed Ocean Course has been showered with accolades since it opened in 1994. Ranked in the top 100 in the world for 15 years running by GOLF Magazine, the Ocean Course hugs the coastline, offering stunning mountain, desert and Sea of Cortez views before concluding with what Nicklaus himself has called “the three finest finishing holes in golf.”

Although lacking the same accolades as its Ocean neighbor, Tom Weiskopf’s Desert loop also offers an unforgettable golfing experience, and is certainly worthy of sharing the Cabo del Sol imprimatur.  The scenically sculpted layout is currently rated as the 6th best course in Mexico, and was included among Golf Week’s 50 top courses in Mexico and the Caribbean for 2017.

Given the world-class conditions, it’s easy to see why Adidas refers to the tournament week as “the best week of the year.”

The 2018 Adidas Golf Invitational is scheduled for November 6 – 11, and will build on the momentum of recent outings with a new Tuesday Shoot-Out, an alternate shot competition featuring an additional $7,500 purse for the pros.

For those handicapping the event, the 2016 Jim Flick Invitational was won by Michael Block; and in the team category by the foursome of Jason Marciniec, Alan Marthinsen, Chris Raftis and Bill Sarris. Kramer Hickok triumphed in 2o17, with a 20 under par score that included a blazing 66 in the final round. He bested the defending champion, Block, by five strokes, and another former champion, Bob Sowards, by six. Block redeemed himself, however, with a share of the team title, assisted by Adam Hopp, Rich Rutherford and Robert Jackson.

Jack Nicklaus was honored with the first ever Jim Flick Trophy in 2016, an appropriate selection given the relationship between Nicklaus and Flick–they founded the Nicklaus-Flick Golf Schools together–as well as Nicklaus’ unrivaled status as 18-time major champion, and his contributions to Los Cabos golf.

Nicklaus effectively put Los Cabos on the golfing map in the early 1990s with spectacular layouts at Palmilla, Eldorado and Cabo del Sol; and has since built upon this legacy with the magnificent Quivira, challenging Campestre, and a newly completed 18-hole course at Puerto Los Cabos. His son Jackie accepted the trophy on his behalf.

91-year-old Bob Toski, a long-time golf pro and instructor, received the Jim Flick Trophy in 2017. There’s no word as yet on the honoree for 2018, but the tournament will continue its relationship with the Military Warriors Support Foundation, again helping to raise money to provide a combat wounded veteran a mortgage free home.

For more information about events, activities and villa rentals in Los Cabos, call us TOLL FREE at 1-888-655-4548, visit www.LosCabosVillas.com, or email us at Info@LosCabosVillas.com .

Photo courtesy of the Jim Flick Invitational.

Upcoming Event Calendar

August

Los Cabos Open of Tennis – July 30 – Aug. 4

Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore Fishing Tournament – Jul. 31 – Aug. 4

East Cape Gold Cup Wahoo Jackpot Fishing Tournament – Aug. 25

September

Día de la Independencia (Independence Day) – Sep. 16

October

Sammy Hagar Birthday Bashes at Cabo Wabo Cantina – Oct. 9, 11, 13

Los Cabos Billfish Tournament – Oct. 14 – 18

Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore Fishing Tournament – Oct. 18 – 21

Bisbee’s Black & Blue Fishing Tournament – Oct. 23 – 27

25th Baja Ha-Ha Cruisers Rally – Oct. 28 – Nov. 10

Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) – Oct. 31 – Nov. 2

November

Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) – Oct. 31 – Nov. 2

Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

Life Luxe Jazz Experience at Pueblo Bonito Pacifica – Nov. 1 – 4

IRONMAN 70.3 Latin American Tri Club Championship – Nov. 4

Adidas Golf Invitational at Cabo del Sol – Nov. 6 – 11

WON Tuna Jackpot – Nov. 7 – 10

SCORE Baja 1000 – Nov. 14 – 18

Día de la Revolución (Revolution Day) – Nov. 20

Día de Acción de Gracias (Thanksgiving) – Nov. 22

December

Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Dec. 6, 13, 20, 27

Virgin of Guadalupe Feast Day – Dec. 12

Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) – Dec. 24

Navidad (Christmas) – Dec. 25

Nochevieja (New Year’s Eve) – Dec. 31

January 2019

Día de los Tres Reyes Magos – Jan. 6

Los Cabos Pro-Am at Cabo del Sol – Jan. 14 – 18

February

Día del Amor y la Amistad (Valentine’s Day) – Feb. 14

March

Cabo Collegiate at Querencia – March 3 – 5

 

Los Cabos Fishing Report – August 12, 2018

August 12, 2018

This past week was a very active time for tropical storm development. At one point early in the week there were four named systems tracking on westerly paths, in the direction off the Pacific. There was Hurricane Hector, a category four storm that ended up passing very close to Hawaii, there was Hurricane Kristy that stayed far enough off to the west of the Baja Peninsula and made no impact, then there was Ileana and John, they somewhat joined together and did pass within a couple hundred miles of the Southern Baja, bringing high oceans swells, several inches of rainfall, some isolated locations reported more, winds were not too strong, some 40 mph gusts, all Port activity was closed for a couple of days. The streets in Cabo San Lucas were flooded, but also are now quickly being cleaned up, basically very minimal damage and minor power outages were reported.

Schools of sardinas which had remained plentiful throughout most of the summer season were now scattered and for the most part unobtainable. Local fleets are now using slabs of squid, chunk bait of skipjack, some caballito and ballyhoo. This is the normal bait source for this latter part of the summer. Ocean water temperature is now in the 80 to 84 degree range.

The main center of fishing activity has been around the Iman Bank. Highlight has been the yellowfin tuna, drift fishing with strips of squid, or at times sardinas, when obtainable, this produced quality grade of yellowfin tuna up to 80 lb. No huge numbers, but nice quality, some lucky anglers had as many as four or five tuna, others were fortunate to land one, very strong fish and best chance of enticing a strike was on lighter leaders, which meant long fight times and higher percentage of lost fish.

Few dorado seen in recent days, in small schools of ones or twos, fish up to 15 lb. found mainly on the same grounds as were the tuna or billfish. A couple of wahoo also reported, on trolled Rapalas, yo-yo jigs and incidentally on strip bait while targeting tuna. Bottom action was spotty, some of the Eastern Pacific bonito, a few red snapper, cabrilla, yellow snapper, dogtooth snapper, amberjack and triggerfish.

Billfish action was spread out, a couple of sailfish, striped marlin and blue marlin being found, better action for this seemed to be towards Cabo San Lucas and out around the 1150 spot.

Inshore action usually slows down during this later period of summer, a chance at jack crevalle or late season roosterfish if you can obtain the preferred mullet baitfish.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 68 charters for this shortened week. Anglers reported a fish count of: 1 dogtooth snapper, 1 sailfish, 2 striped marlin, 2 wahoo, 15 dorado, 86 yellowfin tuna, 52 bonito, 9 yellow snapper, 3 amberjack, 8 red snapper, 9 cabrilla (leopard grouper), 1 dogtooth snapper 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

Bisbee’s 2018 Tournament Season Off to a Record Breaking Start

Bisbee’s seems to be breaking records with each new event. 

The 2017 East Cape Offshore–the first of Bisbee’s annual trio of Los Cabos based fishing tournaments–was an unprecedented success, with 136 billfish boated in the 3-day event, and a record spread of teams (11 of 64) claiming a share of over half a million dollars in prize money.

The 2018 tournament, which wrapped up last weekend, once again set records: this time for the largest amount of prize money…a whopping $657,125. Over 360 anglers on 62 teams competed in the three-day event, and qualifying catches were brought in on all three days, the first time that’s happened in tournament history. Fifty-five black and blue marlin were caught, and a record tying 11 teams shared in the prize money, with Booze Brothers’ prize check for $166,064 taking top honors.

The success of this year’s ECO is bittersweet, given the passing of tournament founder Bob Bisbee on June 14th. But one can only imagine that man who started it all in 1981–when a modest six teams competed in the first Black & Blue for $10,000 in money–is smiling at the way new records are being shattered at each succeeding tournament event.

And the best is yet to come.

The East Cape Offshore, for all its glory, is merely a prelude to Bisbee’s marquee annual events:  the Los Cabos Offshore and Black & Blue marlin fishing tournaments, held each October in Cabo San Lucas.

The Black & Blue gets star billing, of course. Not only is it the oldest of Bisbee’s trio of tournaments in the Los Cabos municipality, it is also the most lucrative, living up to its hype as “the world’s richest fishing tournament” and “the Super Bowl of sportfishing.” The 2006 payout of $4,165,960 remains the largest in sport fishing history, and no one complained about last year’s kitty of $3.255,750.

Cabo San Lucas in October is the place and time where skilled anglers can become millionaires overnight. In 2016, Julio Fernandez’s team aboard Quiteña pocketed a cool $2,183,000 for bagging a bruising 534 lb. black marlin. In 2017, the largest number of qualifying fish in the history of the tournament were bagged, with over 11,000 pounds of fish donated to Hope for Los Cabos, generating an estimated 33,747 meals for locals in need. Ten Brothers team led the way in terms of prize money, taking home $961,518 and some change.

This year’s Black & Blue is slated to take place October 23rd to 27th, with registration on the first day, an awards ceremony on the last, and three days of fishing in between. Those visiting the Land’s End city during the event can watch daily drama as fish are weighed on the marina boardwalk in front of Puerto Paraiso. The drama is a little more intense, however, if you happen to be the one who caught the fish! Registration remains $5,000 per team, or $71,500 across the board for all jackpots and challenges.

The Los Cabos Offshore serves as a warm-up–it is affectionately known as “Little Bisbee’s,” to differentiate it from the Black & Blue, or “Big Bisbee’s”–and kicks off the biggest nine days of the year on the Cabo San Lucas sporting calendar. Scheduled for October 18th to 21st, the LCO is thought of as a friendlier, more charity focused tournament than the high-dollar main event that follows.

Based on the way things have been going, expect a record amount of money to be paid out to both anglers and deserving charities.

Bisbee’s is on a hot streak, and that bodes well for everyone….everyone except the fish, that is.

For more information about events, activities and villa rentals in Los Cabos, call us TOLL FREE at 1-888-655-4548, visit www.LosCabosVillas.com, or email us at Info@LosCabosVillas.com .

Photo courtesy of Bisbee’s Black & Blue Marlin Tournaments.

Upcoming Event Calendar

July

Stars and Stripes Golf & Fishing Tournament – June 28 – July 1

28th Annual Feria de la Pitahaya in Miraflores – July 13 – 15

East Cape Dorado Shootout Fishing Tournament – Jul. 21

12th Annual Mango Festival in Todos Santos – July 15, 22, 27 – 31

Los Cabos Open of Tennis – July 30 – Aug. 4

Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore Fishing Tournament – Jul. 31 – Aug. 4

August

Los Cabos Open of Tennis – July 30 – Aug. 4

Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore Fishing Tournament – Jul. 31 – Aug. 4

East Cape Gold Cup Wahoo Jackpot Fishing Tournament – Aug. 25

September

Día de la Independencia (Independence Day) – Sep. 16

October

Sammy Hagar Birthday Bashes at Cabo Wabo Cantina – Oct. 9, 11, 13

Los Cabos Billfish Tournament – Oct. 14 – 18

Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore Fishing Tournament – Oct. 18 – 21

Bisbee’s Black & Blue Fishing Tournament – Oct. 23 – 27

25th Baja Ha-Ha Cruisers Rally – Oct. 28 – Nov. 10

Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) – Oct. 31 – Nov. 2

November

Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) – Oct. 31 – Nov. 2

Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29

Life Luxe Jazz Experience at Pueblo Bonito Pacifica – Nov. 1 – 4

IRONMAN 70.3 Latin American Tri Club Championship – Nov. 4

Adidas Golf Invitational at Cabo del Sol – Nov. 6 – 11

WON Tuna Jackpot – Nov. 7 – 10

SCORE Baja 1000 – Nov. 14 – 18

Día de la Revolución (Revolution Day) – Nov. 20

Día de Acción de Gracias (Thanksgiving) – Nov. 22

December

Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Dec. 6, 13, 20, 27

Virgin of Guadalupe Feast Day – Dec. 12

Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) – Dec. 24

Navidad (Christmas) – Dec. 25

Nochevieja (New Year’s Eve) – Dec. 31

January 2019

Día de los Tres Reyes Magos – Jan. 6

Los Cabos Pro-Am at Cabo del Sol – Jan. 14 – 18

February

Día del Amor y la Amistad (Valentine’s Day) – Feb. 14

March

Cabo Collegiate at Querencia – March 3 – 5