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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.

Filed Under: Bisbees Fishing, Fishing, Los Cabos Fishing Tagged With: , , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report

August 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment

August 3, 2014 196_ED_TunaCatch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Good fishing, Eric

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

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

Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report

July 27, 2014 by Leave a Comment

July 27, 2014 197_Katy_Steve_Holm_Tuna

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Good fishing, Eric

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

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

Los Cabos Fishing Report

July 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment

July 20, 2014 198_ChipHouske

The summer season continues to progress along, crowds of visitors remain at moderate levels, weather patterns are becoming increasingly more humid and tropical, presently we have no new tropical storms that have developed off of mainland Mexico, where ocean water temperatures are ripe for development and we are seeing local thunderstorms arise practical each afternoon over the foothills and north of the International Airport.

Oceans swells have resided, winds have been variable, some days gusting from the east and then the south. Overall the fishing action was scattered and spotty from day to day. Very strong southern current sweeping through, this will put baitfish down and cause fish to go into the lock jaw mode. Water temperatures are ranging from 85 degrees and even warmer throughout the region, definitely no talk of the water being too cold now, in fact it is the opposite, warmer than what would be considered ideal.

San Jose del Cabo charters are finding the most productive grounds to be north of Punta Gorda, from Iman to Vinorama and further towards Los Frailes. In the Puerto Los Cabos Marina channel area los carnaderos (bait fishermen) are finding caballito and moonfish, ballyhoo have been another option. There have been schools of sardinas moving into the Los Frailes region the past couple of weeks and they are being vigilantly watched over by locals and authorities alike. Limited amounts of these prized evasive baitfish, which have been absent from local waters for over six months, are now being netted and hauled by commercial pangeros towards the Vinorama grounds, a handful of San Jose del Cabo charters have obtained these baits and are using them to entice the yellowfin tuna which have been schooling with black skipjack within a couple miles of shore north of Vinorama. The tuna are quality fish, averaging 30 to 40 pounds, these fish were coming up to chummed sardinas sporadically and there were many more skipjack than tuna being hooked into, in fact in these shallow waters the triggerfish were aggressive and had to be dealt with as well. This sardina situation is very limited and day to day as to when there might be a complete shut down by authorities. The handful of charters making the long run and being able to secure sardinas did accountant for one, two, three and in some cases even more of the yellowfin, having to battle a couple of dozen skipjack in the mean time.

There were several stories of large sized hammerhead sharks, up to ten feet long, having followed in hooked tuna and then taking advantage of an easy meal at the fishermen’s loss. Dorado were found on the same grounds as well, most of them were smaller sized, though a few larger bulls up to 40 lb. were mixed in. On occasion anglers ran across large schools of juvenile dorado, this would be great fly rod catch and release action.

Off the bottom, the strong current made for very fast drift fishing with limited results, only a few snapper, triggerfish, amberjack, bonito and cabrilla being accounted for, this was a early morning bite on yo-yo jigs and bait and dependant on fluctuating currents.

Billfish action included blue and striped marlin, as well as sailfish, no numbers to speak of, scattered action, found by trolling lures and bait, within several miles of shore, do not have to venture far offshore this time of year, though with swell and current activity, inshore clarity can become murky, usually within several miles anglers can find blue water conditions.

Inshore there was spotty action for roosterfish, jack crevalle and a few dogtooth snapper, though with the lack of schooling mullet along the shoreline, this bite has been sub par, considering this is peak season for these mentioned species.

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:
34 yellowfin tuna, 5 sailfish, 8 striped marlin, 8 amberjack, 9 cabrilla, 13 jack crevalle, 155 dorado, 2 dogtooth snapper, 16 bonito, 350 black skipjack and 6 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 Tagged With: , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report – Tuna Time!

July 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment

July 13, 2014  199_230Tuna

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Good fishing, Eric

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

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

Los Cabos Fishing Report

July 6, 2014 by Leave a Comment

July 4, 2014 200_Tuna_Yuko

Light crowds of visitors have been greeted by tropical weather patterns as we start the new month of July. Very humid conditions now, created by the recent development of Tropical Storm Douglas, which followed a path off to the northwest. This system brought scattered moderate to heavy thundershowers across Southern Baja on Thursday morning, many outdoor activities were cancelled, including local sportfishing charters, though by mid-day skies had cleared and presently the forecast appears more favorable. This is now the season where it is hard to predict the weather more than a couple of days ahead of time.

Swells increased with this distant tropical disturbance, but diminished as the storm’s distance away increased. Ocean conditions were calm, with a rolling swell, no wind to speak of in recent days.  Water temperatures were 80 degrees or warmer throughout the region and clean blue water was found close to shore.

Anglers were able to find a mix of caballito, moonfish, as well as some mullet on most days and there was reports of sardinas now schooling in the vicinity of Los Frailes and further north, so that is an optimistic sign.  Most common species being found out of the San Jose del Cabo area have been school sized dorado, at times very abundant and other days a bit more scattered. Majority of these dorado were juvenile sized, particularly the ones found close to shore, a handful of larger dorado up to 20 pounds have been encountered further offshore. Anglers were having good success on the schooling fish while trolling with hoochie type lures and strip baits.

Only an occasional yellowfin tuna accounted for out of Puerto Los Cabos, though charters making the long haul from the East Cape, where they have been able to find live sardinas, have found decent action on tuna in the 15 to 30 pound class near the San Luis Bank, these fish want the sardinas and have been hard to entice on anything else.

Roosterfish were found patrolling the shoreline, though the action has been hit or miss, recent trend showed these jacks more active early in the day, so far we have not seen the epic bite that there was last season. Jack crevalle were numerous along the shoreline and a few sierra were found as well. Surf fishing anglers have reported some quality sized snook to over 40 pounds during the last few week period, these prized fish hit on various baitfish as well as a variety of artificial casting lures.

Near Iman, to the San Luis and Vinorama high spots there was good action early in the morning for red snapper (huachinango), with a mix of some amberjack, cabrilla, bonito and triggerfish. Anglers did well early in the day on yo-yo jigs, as well as drift fish whole and cut baits, though this action tampered way off as the sun rose higher in the sky. This was time when most charters were shifting attention to trolling offshore waters for possible dorado and billfish. There was a mix of sailfish, striped and blue marlin now on local grounds, though not in any significant numbers, as more bolito and skipjack begin to congregate on the local fishing grounds we expect action to become more consistent.

Still have not seen any big inshore run of dogtooth snapper, sporadic action only, though this is the month when this action can be at its best, before moving to offshore structure later on in the summer.

Local panga charter fleets launching out of Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 46 charters for the week, with anglers accountjng for a fish count of:  3 sailfish, 4 striped marlin, 3 yellowfin tuna, 26 bonito, 55 red snapper (huachinango), 13 amberjack, 18  roosterfish, 3 sierra, 225 dorado (many juveniles released), 10 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

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

Los Cabos Fishing Report

June 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment

June 13, 2014 201_JanetRedar

Last week we saw a cold Pacific current sweep in as far north as Los Frailes, this dropped ocean water temperatures down into the 68 degree range, relentless south winds contributed to turning the water a greenish color and scattered the fishing action to few and very far between. The climate was a very pleasant though, as the cool Pacific air was refreshing. Now once again we have had a complete turnaround of conditions, with the months second major Hurricane forming, Cristina developed off the mainland and is presently following a path which will bring the system within a few hundred miles of the Southern Baja Peninsula. This has pushed ocean temperatures back up to 82 degrees, clean blue water close to shore and high swells of 8 to 10 feet. Coinciding with the full moon, there was a very high surge on the evening tide. Looks like this is all the impact we will feel, high humidity, some increasing late afternoon southern wind and a small chance of isolated showers, high swells are forecast to taper off starting on Saturday.

So we do have great water conditions now, though swells are high and the current is swift, still making for spread out sporadic action. Though there were encouraging signs in the past couple of days, a variety of fish are in the area and we have seen the roosterfish bite pick back up after having come to a standstill, anglers trolling with caballito and moonfish had great action on roosterfish to 50 pounds along the beach stretches north of Punta Gorda. After this swell resides it should be a great time to target the inshore dogtooth snapper action. We have noticed more mullet activity along the shore, this attracts more of the inshore gamefish and this is big amberjack season as well. A handful of very impressive fish were landed by beach anglers in recent days, including snook weighing 45 pounds and a few halibut, as large as 30 pounds, not a common local catch, but the way this whole year has been, nothing is out of the question. Beach anglers were using mullet and various casting lures for this action.

Dorado became more active with the warmer waters, though not being found in big numbers, there are some nice sized bulls in the area, one dorado pushing fifty pounds was reported and we saw several others in the 20 to 30 pound class. Dorado were encountered close to shore, as well as offshore, striking lures and bait. Marlin bite was more scattered, no real concentrations now, though they are being seen throughout the zone, not always hungry, we have heard that the striped marlin bite off the East Cape now is very good, though they are having a hard time finding other species in that area, only roosterfish and marlin.

Yellowfin tuna are making a presence on the outside of Cabo San Lucas, traveling with porpoise and also tuna in the 20 to 40 pound range are hanging around north of Punta Gorda, several were hooked into on rapalas and slow trolling larger baits.

Bottom action came to halt with the persistent windy conditions, but as this pattern settled anglers were returning to that option, only limited success on snapper, cabrilla or amberjack, a few yellowtail in the 30 pound range were accounted off of the Gordo Banks in the cold water, yo-yo jigs off the bottom was the method that produced these yellows, that was a one day deal though.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 91 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of:
5 yellowtail, 19 yellowfin tuna, 3 striped marlin, 1 halibut, 18 amberjack,14 cabrilla, 8 sierra, 16 jack crevalle, 44 dorado, 6 dogtooth snapper, 66 bonito and 22 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: , , , , ,

Los Cabos Fishing Report

June 8, 2014 by Leave a Comment

June 9, 2014 202_JasenSmithDorado

We are in the later part of the spring season, with moderate sized crowds of tourists now visiting, this is always the time when families are busy finishing school semesters, preparing for graduations, summer adventures, etc. Local weather patterns made a complete circle this past week. We had just seen the season’s first Hurricane form to the south of Cabo San Lucas, Amanda, this system pushed tropical humid air over the Southern Baja, stormy conditions which never amounted to much, besides some higher ocean swells, in recent days we are feeling strong southerly winds push cooler Pacific air and ocean currents in the direction of the Sea of Cortez. There is much marine moisture, creating morning clouds, being swept away by gusting winds later in the day.

Ocean water temperature in the past couple of days has plummeted from 80 plus degrees, to 72 degrees throughout the inshore region from Cabo San Lucas to Los Frailes, some 10 to 15 miles offshore of Vinorama to La Frailes is where the 80 degree temperature break is now lurking. This colder current is a dirty greenish color as well, unfavorable conditions contributed to scattered much of the baitfish and gamefish from this zone. As conditions settle, conditions will rebound, as this is the time of year where things can change quickly overnight.

There are many species of gamefish that have been encountered in local waters this spring, though none of the species have been particularly abundant, with the exception of the offshore action for the striped marlin, which at times was very close to shore, then further out, this action has been very consistent for nearly two months, just tapering off this past week, as food sources migrate so do the gamefish. Sailfish, thrasher shark and scattered dorado were also found on these same billfish grounds. No big schools of dorado, mostly solitary fish, a couple of bulls up to 40 pounds were accounted for this week, this is now the season for the larger bulls.

Before the ocean water turned over and became greenish throughout the inshore zone, we were seeing a handful of yellowfin tuna and wahoo in the fish counts, most of these fish were taken while trolling the grounds from San Luis to Vinormama, some fish weighing near fifty pounds were landed. We should see this action return as the ocean conditions clean. The activity will be determined by what exactly happens with these strong Pacific currents, something we deal with every year at this time.

Roosterfish are dominating the inshore scene, fish to over fifty pounds were landed this week, trolling with live moonfish has been the ticket to taking a monstrous strike. Changing conditions slowed this action and pushed it further to the north, but surely will shift back our direction soon enough. Still waiting to see schools of mullet move in along local beach stretches, their migration is late this year, last year we never saw mass abundance of mullet, though it sure was an epic year for big numbers of larger sized roosterfish, these are prized fighting, unique gamefish, not known for eating quality, with limited habitat, should be protected, caught and released with care, in order to mature, reproduce and fight another day.

Bottom action has produced mixed success and recent winds had shut that option down, though there have been some impressive specimens of dogtooth snapper, amberjack and cabrilla accounted for, spotty limited numbers though, drift fishing with bait or working the yo-yo jigs were best options.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 82 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of:  2 thrasher shark, 8 yellowfin tuna, 9 striped marlin, 5 sailfish, 7 wahoo, 10 amberjack,13 cabrilla, 12 sierra, 24 dorado, 8 dogtooth snapper, 25 bonito and 88 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, Fishing, Los Cabos Travel Info Tagged With: , , , ,

Los Cabos Billfish Tournament – October 14-18

June 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report

June 1, 2014 by Leave a Comment

June 1, 2014 203_JesusTuna

The Eastern Pacific Tropical Storm season officially began May 15 and this past week Hurricane Amanda formed off of mainland Mexico, rapidly becoming the most intense May cyclone ever recorded in the Eastern Pacific. Amanda was immense, almost reaching category five strength. Luckily this storm stayed south of the Baja Peninsula and weakened, it is now a remnant low. This system brought humid tropical conditions, much outer storm band cloud cover, some isolated showers, ocean swells were as high as 6 to 8 feet, but the main impact felt in the Los Cabos area was just the high humidity, warmer tropical weather. Winds were light and ocean conditions were very pleasant in recent days.

Ocean currents were averaging 76 to 80 degrees, with the warmer water now found in the direction of the Sea of Cortez, off of San Jose del Cabo and towards Los Frailes. There are reports of more skipjack and schooling bolito found on the offshore grounds, we have not seen the larger concentrations of mullet along the shoreline yet, we are now in the season where this inshore activity can break wide open on any given day. Moonfish, caballito and ballyhoo have been the most common baitfish available from local bait sources.

This weekend there is the traditional holiday of “Dia de la Marina” this has always been one of the grandest celebrated events for the locals of the La Playita community, this year’s event will include, the crowning of the princess, late night dances and fishing tournaments for off the shore anglers, as well as from boats. Good luck finding a parking spot though, continued development has made this small location much more congested.

Offshore action remained very good for striped marlin, the grounds straight off of San Jose del Cabo, from 10 to 17 miles has been the most productive zone recently, marlin were found tailing on the surface, free jumping and at times feeding, these fish have been feeding on squid and have been moving accordingly, following this abundant food source. Many charters accounted for multiple marlin days, stripers were weighing up to 140 pounds. Mixed in were thrasher sharks, readily striking on the same moonfish and jacks for bait, even on rigged ballyhoo, these sharks have made a strong showing this season, many were being hooked into on the same billfish grounds, most of them were weighing in the 80 to 120 pound range.

More dorado were appearing n the fish counts, some nicer sized fish up to 25 pounds, these fish were still scattered, some charters finding several fish and other never seeing one. Smaller schooling dorado were showing up on the banks to the north, small juvenile sized dorado that should be released with care so that they are able to reach maturity and maintain healthy fish stocks.

Yellowfin tuna have been reportedly seen in different areas, most of these were small to medium sized fish, but more often than not these fish were not eager to strike. Only a scattering of yellowfin tuna were being accounted for, most of these striking trolled rapalas or hoochies, weights ranged to 30 pounds, but this was just for one fish here or there. Same deal for wahoo, these elusive gamefish are in the area, but actually hooking and landing one is a harder proposition, most of the wahoo we heard about were from areas north of Punta Gorda, weights ranged to over 40 pounds.

Roosterfish dominated the inshore action, big roosters are now patrolling the shoreline, sizes to over 50 pounds were caught and released throughout this past week, no significant wide open numbers, but charters targeting these jacks reported having multiple chances at predominately larger size fish.

Anglers working the bottom structure had mixed success, accounting for limited numbers of amberjack, dogtooth snapper, cabrilla, grouper and bonito. A few nice snapper and ambers were landed, but these fish had to be worked for, many other stories of heavy fish that were lost after reaching the rocky outcroppings and cutting lines, no fooling around when hooking into one of these brutes, immediately the hook up turns into a tug of war battle.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 94 charters for this past week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of:
11 thrasher shark, 8 hammerhead shark, 34 yellowfin tuna, 41 striped marlin, 12 wahoo, 3 sailfish,24 amberjack,8 grouper,15 cabrilla, 6 sierra, 105 dorado, 9 dogtooth snapper, 40 bonito and 125 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: , , ,
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