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Los Cabos Fishing Report – June 18, 2017

June 18, 2017 by Leave a Comment

June 18, 2017

It is starting to feel more like summer with each passing week, though the climate is still very comfortable, high temperature near 90 degrees. Some scattered tropical clouds now appearing, there was a Tropical Storm Calvin last week off of the southern Mexican coast, did bring heavy rainfall to isolated areas, but here in Los Cabos we were not impacted at all from this system. Ocean swells have been light to moderate, water temperature are reaching 78 to 80 degrees in the direction of San Jose del Cabo and to the north, this is also where the clarity of the ocean has been the clearest, attracting more pelagic gamefish.

Just coming off the full moon phase from last week, conditions are settled down in the direction of the Sea of Cortez, though the Pacific has had more wind, with much cooler water temperatures and greener currents, not the deep blue waters being found north of Punta Gorda. Update on water clarity turning green after strong south sinds on Friday, this did slow down the action and now we will wait for conditions to rebound as winds reside.

Bait suppliers are mainly dealing caballito and mullet now, offshore grounds are seeing more bolito move in and some reports of chihuil also being present. All around action showed favorable improvement in recent days, still no huge numbers of any particular species, but always a great sign when we see billfish, yellowfin tuna, wahoo, dorado and roosterfish all being found on a daily basis. Most consistent grounds were from the Iman and San Luis Banks, north to Vinorama, this is where the water is clean and blue, with lots of baitfish schools present, which in turn means that the gamefish have more than enough natural food source to gorge themselves on and are not always hungry and aggressive in striking what anglers offer.

Yellowfin tuna are scattered throughout offshore grounds, though best chance at hooking into a 40 to 60 lb. yellowfin was in the vicinity of San Luis Bank and the bait of choice was either caballito or bolito, either while drift fishing or slow trolling. Other tuna in the 10 to 25 lb. range were randomly striking trolled Rapalas, hoochies, yo-yo jigs, etc. Though the better grade of tuna were striking mainly on the larger live baitfish. Though these fish were limited in numbers, with anglers very fortunate to land one or two of them.

.Inshore action is now dominated by roosterfish, with many fish in the 20 to 60 lb. class landed, as well as a handful of even larger fish reported. A bit sporadic as to where the best action might be found on any given day. Also mixed in are some jack crevalle to over 25 lb., as well as some late season sierra, a few nice sized fish close to ten pounds. Not much reported for inshore dogtooth snapper or amberjack, we are expected this annual bite to start up anytime, with schooling mullet now found along the shore line, this attracts larger gamefish.

The highlight of the week has to be the dorado action, after seeing very few of these popular gamefish for months, this week we finally saw more significant numbers, especially later in the week around the same San Luis and Iman Bank areas. Many charters were accounting for three or four dorado per outing, which would have been unheard of during previous weeks. Sizes were respectable as well, most of these dorado were in the 10 to 17 lb. range. These fish were striking best on slow trolled baits, but a percentage were also taken on lures. Wahoo are becoming more active as well, with many fish cutting mono leaders used while targeting tuna, some wahoo to 30 lb. were landed on caballito, as well as trolled Rapalas, many more wahoo were actually missed than were caught.

The main concentration of striped marlin was found around the 1150 spot further offshore, though marlin were also encountered near San Luis  and Iman Banks on some days. Also there were a couple of reports of swordfish sightings further offshore as well.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 77 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 8 striped marlin, 16 wahoo, 68 dorado, 3 amberjack, 5 pompano, 28 bonito, 58 yellowfin tuna, 14 yellow snapper, 12 barred pargo, 15 leopard grouper, 34 huachinango, 18 jack crevalle, 75 roosterfish, 22 sierra and 65 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric

—

GORDO BANKS PANGAS

Eric Brictson / Operator

619 488-1859

Los Cabos (624) 142-1147

e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com

WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

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Los Cabos Fishing Report – June 11, 2017

June 11, 2017 by Leave a Comment

June 11, 2017

As we move further towards the official start of the summer season the climate is progressively warming, though conditions remain very comfortable, with high temperatures averaging about 85 degrees, mild considering the time or year. Winds have been predominately from the Pacific, out of the southwest, in the direction of San Jose del Cabo and further north ocean conditions have been much calmer, this is also where the ocean temperatures are reaching up to 80 degrees, while on the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas the water temperatures are in the 67 to 70 degree range. So all of the fishing activity is now on the Sea of Cortez side of the Peninsula, from Chileno towards Vinorama. Very green water on the Pacific, with the cleanest blue water now found north of Punta Gorda and towards the San Luis Bank.

Bait supplies are mostly consisting now of caballito and mullet, only very limited amounts of sardinas are being netted, they commonly migrate elsewhere this time of year as the warmer currents move in. More schools of bolito are moving onto the offshore fishing grounds, always a very favorable sign, as they are a preferred food source for many gamefish.

The action for striped marlin was much improved this week, though now with the full moon phase these fish can become more finicky during daylight hours. One of the more productive spots was the 1150 area, with many charters reportedly having three or four hooks ups per outing, the stripers were coming up on trolling lures and rigged baits, as well as being spotted tailing on the surface and striking on dropped back baits, sizes ranged to 130 lb. The billfish were found spread out through the region, but not as numerous as they were on the grounds further offshore.

With the warmer water we are finally seeing some dorado appear, still no significant numbers, but at least they are showing up on a daily basis, most of them weighing in the 5 to 15 lb. range, there were a few reports of larger bulls hooked up and lost. Wahoo were also in the mix, anglers reported hooking into these speedsters while trolling various baits as well as on Rapalas, again no numbers, but a chance at a couple of fish, weights ranged from 20 to 35 lb.

Yellowfin tuna often become more picky during the full moon period, but they are definitely in the area, most of these fish are now concentrated from the San Luis to Vinorama areas, ranging from smaller footballs to over 60 lb. Best chance of hooking a nicer sized yellowfin  was while slow trolling with live caballito. The tuna were shy though and anglers were fortunate to land one or two, striking more frequently on lighter leaders

With the large influx of schooling mullet along the shorelines, this has brought in increased numbers of roosterfish, last week we saw a lot of fish in the 15 to 25 lb. class, but in recent days we have seen some much larger roosters, included an 80 lb. class fish that was successfully landed and carefully released.

Not all that much bottom fishing going on, as more anglers were now opting to targeting other available species. So far we have yet to see the amberjack and dogtooth appear close to shore over the rocky structure, but we are expecting that this action could happen at any given time, as this is the normal time frame in the coming weeks, with water temperatures now near 80 degrees, that means anything can happen at any time.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 62 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 13 striped marlin, 11 wahoo, 14 dorado, 1 amberjack, 8 pompano, 3 bonito, 38 yellowfin tuna, 9 yellow snapper, 4 barred pargo, 8 leopard grouper, 5 island jack, 12 surgeon fish, 26 huachinango, 15 jack crevalle, 55 roosterfish, 1 yellowtail, 12 sierra and 55 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric

—

GORDO BANKS PANGAS

Eric Brictson / Operator

619 488-1859

Los Cabos (624) 142-1147

e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com

WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

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

Summer Means Fishing Tournaments Galore in Los Cabos

June 7, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Bisbee’s trio of annual fishing tournaments in Los Cabos get plenty of attention, and with good reason. Not only have they set the standard for regional big game sport fishing competitions, they hand out the checks to prove it:  from the six figure payouts at the East Cape and Los Cabos Offshore to the million dollar plus windfalls that earned the Black & Blue its nickname as “the world’s richest fishing tournament.”

But despite their deserved fame, those are only a few of many fishing tournaments staged in Los Cabos during the late summer and early autumn months. Here are five more that every Baja bound angler should have marked on his or her calendar for 2017.

 21st Annual Stars & Stripes Golf & Fishing Tournament

Five days of world-class golf, fishing and entertainment are the lures, but the biggest payouts at this annual tournament in San Jose del Cabo are for charity. Over the last two decades, Stars & Stripes has raised over 23 million dollars for worthy causes. Hilton Los Cabos hosts again this year, with festivities scheduled from June 22 – 27. Mickey Thomas of Jefferson Starship and Kelly Hansen of Foreigner headline the visiting “Rock Star Collective.”

Ultimate Waterman’s Challenge

Fishing is only a part of this first ever challenge, and it’s not the kind you probably think. Former pro surfer Tim Curran and adventure company Mansa Vida are sponsoring this brand new contest, whose purpose is to identify and celebrate those with the all-around nautical mastery to be called “watermen” or “waterwomen.” Spearfishing is one of the competitive categories, along with swimming, surfing, stand up paddle boarding and prone paddling. The event will take place from July 12 – 17, and is hosted by The Cape: A Thompson Hotel, a boutique luxury property overlooking surf mecca Playa Monumentos.

 13th Annual East Cape Dorado Shoot Out

If you don’t own a brand new, fully loaded 4×4 pickup truck before the annual East Cape Dorado Shoot Out, you could when it’s all over. All you have to do is reel in the heaviest dorado on Saturday, July 15. Second place, third place and side jackpots are also on the line – last year they tallied over $80,000 – as are over $20,000 in raffle items. Dinner and live music accompany the post-tournament awards ceremony at Hotel Palmas de Cortez in Los Barriles.

 Señoritas Blue Water Classic

That’s right, the inaugural Señoritas Blue Water Classic is for ladies only! The organizers of this newly launched tournament on the East Cape feel women are a force to be reckoned with in the fishing world, and they aim to prove it by writing big checks to the distaff teams that haul in the largest marlin, tuna, wahoo and dorado. The event is scheduled for July 20 – 22, with final weigh-ins followed by an awards ceremony at the historic Hotel Buenavista Beach Resort.

 East Cape Gold Cup Wahoo Jackpot Tournament

Like the East Cape Dorado Shoot Out, the Gold Cup rules are pretty cut and dried. Catch the fattest wahoo on Saturday, August 26, and you’ll drive away in a brand new Volkswagen Golf with a bag full of dinero. Over $100,000 total in cash and prizes are on the line for this one, which like many of the summer events takes place on the Los Cabos municipality’s gorgeous East Cape. Traditional regional hotel brand Van Wormer Resorts is the host, with the awards ceremony to be held at Hotel Palmas de Cortez in Los Barriles.

Photo courtesy of Hotel Buenavista Beach Resort.

Call Los Cabos Vacation Rentals @ 1-888-655-4548 for Los Cabos Accomodations

 

 

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Los Cabos Fishing Report – June 4, 2017

June 4, 2017 by Leave a Comment

June 4, 2017

As we progressed into a new month, we did see an increase in visiting tourists, many school sessions are now finishing up and more families are now beginning to plan their vacations. Weather patterns continue to be slightly cooler than what would be normal for this time of year, we are feeling some marine moisture, with breezes coming from both the Pacific and the north keeping the climate very comfortable, though we all know that the heat of the summer will be arriving soon enough. Great time to visit now, ideal weather and crowds are moderate, the fishing action also seemed to be finally getting on the right track.

Ocean conditions varied greatly from the Pacific and in the direction of the Sea of Cortez, with Pacific water being very green and cold, as chilly as 65 degrees, while in the direction of San Jose del Cabo and towards Los Frailes, water temperature were into the upper 70s, even up to 80 degrees in areas, also water clarity was much better, clean blue water found within a couple of miles of shore. Bait supplies consisted of sardinas, caballito and now large schools of mullets are appearing along the local beach stretches, behind schedule this season, also reports of bolito and more skipjack schooling on the offshore fishing grounds. All this is very encouraging for a great month of fishing action to come.

Roosterfish action rebounded in full force in recent days, as the influx of baitfish has also attracted the greatest numbers of roosterfish that we have seen so far this season, hot spot was off of Cabo Real, as well as off of the many other of favored beaches. Anglers had best success while slow trolling mullet or caballito outside the surf zone, many roosterfish to over 30 lb. were landed and we expect in coming weeks that even much larger fish will arrive. Please remember that these prized fighting trophy fish should be released with proper care when at all possible, as these gamefish are not known for their eating qualities, but rather for their fighting stamina, we should all help preserve this unique fishery for future generations. Same inshore grounds are producing late season sierra to 8 lb. and some hog sized jack crevalle to 25 lb.. We expect that the dogtooth snapper will be more active along the rocky shoreline stretches in the coming weeks, now that their favored food supply of mullet has arrived.

This weekend is the traditional holiday of “Dia de la Marina”, always an event heavily celebrated out of the La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos area, with nightly dances, crowning of the princess, dorado tournament and many other events planned, be aware or the heavy crowds and very limited parking areas. Dorado are very scarce, but an occasional fish is being found, so the stakes will be wide open for any team that is fortunate to land any size of dorado. Surf fishing events are held as well, a couple of large snook were landed this week off the shore, as well as a few halibut, so the shore fishing action could be interesting.

Yellowfin tuna action is spread out, some fish being found on trolled lures in the direction of Cabo San Lucas and other action near San Luis to Vinorama. The bite had become very slow early in the week, but rebounded as the week progressed, drift fishing with sardinas, strips of squid or chunks of skipjack all produced, as well as slow trolled caballito, no big numbers, but quality fish averaging 30 to 50 lb. One larger yellowfin to over 100 lb. was reportedly taken by a local pangeros during a late afternoon trip. When targeting the tuna anglers were lucky to land a couple of these fish, with others possibly lost, though catching a couple of these was a great trip.

Shallow water bottom action was very good now for such exotic species as surgeon fish, island jack, yellow snapper, barred pargo and some leopard grouper, amberjack and plenty of triggerfish in the mix, not many large bottomfish now, but all very quality eating, great time to load up on some of the finest eating fillets.

Not many striped marlin being hooked up, though quite a few were being seen tailing on the surface, but were not aggressively striking lures or baits at this time, this action could break loose on any given day, because decent numbers of the striped marlin are in the area, from the 95 and 1150 spots, to closer to shore as well. Early in the week there was a lot of wind on these grounds to deal with.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 74 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 4 wahoo, 1 dorado, 26 yellowfin tuna, 6 amberjack, 32 yellow snapper, 18 barred pargo, 19 leopard grouper, 32 island jack, 84 surgeon fish, 16 huachinango, 3 African pompano, 18 jack crevalle, 3 dogtooth snapper, 75 roosterfish, 38 sierra and 85 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric

—

GORDO BANKS PANGAS

Eric Brictson / Operator

619 488-1859

Los Cabos (624) 142-1147

e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com

WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

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

Cabo Fishing Report – May 28, 2017

May 28, 2017 by Leave a Comment

May 27, 2017

Ideal weather patterns now, cool for this time of year, high temperatures in the lower 80s, great time to visit before the serious summer time heat arrives, also very light crowds now, normally the month of May is much busier, who knows what is up with the lack of visitors. Some south wind still to deal with, calmer ocean conditions in the direction of the Sea of Cortez, this is also where the warmer ocean currents are, ranging up to 77 degrees now, while on the Pacific it has been down to a chilly 68 degrees.

With the cooler climate, this delays seasonal transition periods further, until we have several weeks of calm and warmer temperatures we expect similar fishing reports. Billfish action has mainly been straight outside of Cabo San Lucas and towards Chileno, still hit or miss, but better than it had been, with most charters reporting at least a couple of opportunities per day. Dorado still very scarce, but there have been a few landed and other hook ups lost, same report for wahoo, though in recent days there were more wahoo strikes reported from areas near Chileno and Santa Maria, this is where the water was a bit warmer and clearer, one wahoo reportedly of 70 lb. was landed on Thursday.

Inshore action consisted of sporadic roosterfish action, one day these fish could be found trolling caballito or mullet outside of the surf line, though other days they could not be found at all, changing currents and baitfish movement may be factors. Still decent numbers of sierra being encountered, as well as a few jack crevalle. We need to see more mullet activity to really bring in the main run of roosterfish. Supplies of sardinas are now very limited, vanishing, more charters are starting to use chunk baits and strips of squid, particularly for the yellowfin tuna opportunities.

The yellowfin tuna action was concentrated from the Iman Banks, San Luis and Vinorama areas, drift fishing or slow trolling with various baits is how these tuna have been enticed, some days action was found early, other times later in the day, but the yellowfin are definitely holding on these grounds. No significant numbers, sometimes just one or two fish per charter, other anglers were more fortunate, landing a half of dozen, sizes ranging from 15 to 45 lb., with the majority of the tuna being in the 25 lb. to 35 lb. class.

The bottom action was a decent option now, since surface bite was somewhat limited, working various rock piles produced a mix of quality eating species, not many large fish, but all are excellent table fare. Most common were triggerfish, yellow snapper, barred pargo, leopard grouper, island jack, pompano and flag cabrilla. A few amberjack and a couple of grouper, one weighing about 80 lb.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 56 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 2 striped marlin, 2 wahoo, 2 dorado, 68 yellowfin tuna, 2 grouper, 3 amberjack, 25 yellow snapper, 16 barred pargo, 19 leopard grouper, 22 island jack, 1 sculpin,12 surgeonfish, 12 African pompano, 6 jack crevalle, 1 dogtooth snapper, 8 roosterfish, 24 sierra 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

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Bisbee’s Set for Another Season of Turning Fishermen into Millionaires

May 24, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Only one of Bisbee’s three annual Black & Blue Tournaments in Los Cabos actually turn fishermen into millionaires, but all three offer potential windfall profits while also showcasing some of the finest big-game sport fishing on the planet.

Here are the dates for anglers to target in 2017.

East Cape Offshore – August 1-5

Since premiering in 2000, Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore has become the signature fishing competition on the Los Cabos municipality’s gorgeous East Cape. Considered by many to be a throwback to the “good old days” of Baja fishing, the event rewards tuna and dorado catches as well as marlin, and is hosted by the Buena Vista Beach Resort in Buenavista. Over a half million dollars in prize money was distributed in 2016, including over $100,000 to the winners. Base entry is $1,500 per team, with an Early Bird registration deadline of June 30.

Los Cabos Offshore – October 19-22

Affectionately known as “Little Bisbee’s” to differentiate it from the “Big Bisbee’s” Black & Blue tournament that follows hard on its heels each October in Cabo San Lucas, the Los Cabos Offshore is nonetheless a significant payday for its winners:  over $772,000 was divvied up among overall and jackpot winners in 2016. The tournament is generally a more casual, charity focused affair than its “big brother,” and has been since it was added to the schedule in 2002. Primary beneficiaries of tournament largesse include a local orphanage, Casa Hogar.

Black & Blue – October 24-28

The granddaddy of them all; Bisbee’s has grown from a six-team event with $10,000 on the line in 1981, to what is now referred to…quite accurately…as “The World’s Richest Fishing Tournament,” with crowds of spectators gathering each afternoon during competition to see enormous game and billfish weighed out on the scales at Puerto Paraiso Mall on the Land’s End city’s marina boardwalk.

The overall payout of $4,165,960 in 2006 remains the largest in the history of the sport. Last year, Julio Fernandez and his Quiteña team bested 120 other boats by reeling in a 534 lb. black marlin, earning themselves a cool $2,183,000. Baja Cantina, dockside in Cabo San Lucas, remains the headquarters for the 37th edition, with the post tournament awards ceremony scheduled to take place at the affiliated Maria Corona restaurant.

August 31 is the deadline for the Early Bird drawing, which awards one free entry to the following year’s tournament. For registration information, visit www.bisbees.com.

Photo Courtesy of Bisbee’s Black & Blue Tournaments.

CALL 1-888-655-4548 FOR LOS CABOS VACATION RENTALS

 

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Los Cabos Fishing Report – May 21, 2017

May 21, 2017 by Leave a Comment

May 21, 2017

Late spring now, this past week was fairly quiet for the amount of visiting anglers we would expect to normally see, who knows what is creating the slack in tourism, we should see more activity the end of this month. Winds were finally weakening, after a couple of weeks of persistent south winds, as well as northerly’s at the same time, definitely still in the midst of crazy transition period. We need a couple weeks of hot and calm weather to get the fishing back on track. Recently the climate has been on the cool side,  with highs of 95 degrees, lows about 65 degrees, very ideal, comfortable climate for this time of year, surely it will become much warmer soon enough.

Ocean water temperatures have ranged from 70 degrees on the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas, to 76 degrees off of San Jose del Cabo and to the north, actually a couple of degrees warmer closer to shore than it is further offshore. Sardinas supplies are becoming more limited, even surf conditions have been light, this is normal for this time of so far. Sometimes patterns can be later than normal, this appears to be what is happening this season.

The striped marlin bite has never really become red hot this year, normally the month of May is the peak season for stripers off of San Jose del Cabo. At this time they are finding limited numbers of marlin scattered anywhere from four or five, to fifteen or more miles offshore. Anglers are finding occasional tailing fish that will readily take larger baitfish once encountered, some boats are having multiple chances per day. Only a rare report of any dorado strikes, should be soon that we start to see some nice dorado move into the area. Wahoo very and far between as well, an occasional strike reported, most of them incidental and not being successful for actually landing the fish.

Highlight this past week out of San Jose del Cabo was looking for the regenerated yellowfin tuna action between Iman Bank and Vinorama. Anglers were using what available sardinas they could obtain and some people were using chuck bait from skipjack with success as well. The bite was sporadic, most days the best chances were found early in the day, daily totals ranged from one or two fish per charter, up to a half of dozen, sizes were ranging from 15 lb. to 45 lb.., average size fish in the 30 to 40 lb. class, nice grade fish for this early in the season. Lots of yellowfin tuna are now on these grounds, but are finicky as they often can be, gorging on the available natural food source, also a problem with too many aggressive black skipjack and of course the ever present sea lions can be a factor as well.

Not all that much action reported off the bottom structure, a few leopard grouper, amberjack, yellow snapper and barred pargo, more triggerfish than anything else, a few pushing up to 8 lb. Inshore the hot roosterfish action tapered way down, but we should see it redevelop on any given day, also sierra are still patrolling the shore, now in the later part of their preferred winter colder water season.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 59 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 5 striped marlin, 1 wahoo, 96 yellowfin tuna, 5 amberjack, 13 yellow snapper, 8 barred pargo, 10 leopard grouper, 3 island jack, 8 huachinango, 1 dogtooth snapper, 1 surgeonfish,18 roosterfish, 38 sierra and 80 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric

—

GORDO BANKS PANGAS

Eric Brictson / Operator

619 488-1859

Los Cabos (624) 142-1147

e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com

WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

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

Los Cabos Fishing Report – May 14, 2017

May 14, 2017 by Leave a Comment

May 14, 2017

We are progressing steadily towards summer now, crowds of visiting tourists have been light, many families are now busy with finishing off school semesters, should see more numbers of people in the coming weeks when school sessions finish. The all-around climate has been nice, very comfortable, cool southern breezes have keep temperatures mild, highs near 85 degrees, lows down to 62 degrees, chilly for this time of year. The main factor this past week was the wind from the south, actually closing the Cabo San Lucas port on certain days, out of San Jose del Cabo conditions were calmer, though on the fishing grounds to the north, where the yellowfin tuna action was found the previous week, near Vinorama and Iman Banks, there were also gusty northerly winds creating rough conditions and currents were swift. So it was kind of like the washing machine effect, choppy from all different directions. These type of weather patterns keep the climate nice, but never help the fishing action to get on the right track. Another factor this week was also the full moon phase.

Offshore action remained slow, though this past week there was improved reports for striped marlin, from the 1150 spots to straight out from San Jose del Cabo and outside of the Gordo Bank’s. No significant numbers, but more activity than in the past couple of week. The month of May is usually one of the best times to find striped marlin on these local fishing grounds, so far this season this action has behind schedule to develop. Normally we see a flurry of wahoo action the first part of May, that has not happened yet either, only a few scattered wahoo were reported this past week, from the Gordo Banks to Iman Bank, these were taken while trolling Rapalas and other traditional skirted lures. Ocean temperatures are ranging 74 to 76 degrees throughout most of the zone, even the Pacific is warming back up, so as these recent swirling winds settle down and the moon darkens, we expect the action to improve. The clarity of the water actually improved in recent days, cleaner blue water was found within several miles of shore. We heard of some decent wahoo and yellowfin tuna action towards Los Frailes, still out of range for a normal day charter, boats from the East Cape were traveling a long ways south to get into some of that action.

Supplies of sardinas are diminishing, though they are still able to net some of these, the other type of clear sardinas are now more prevalent, they are not the same, do not stay alive in bait wells and are a lot softer, very hard to keep on a hook. Other bait sources included limited supplies of mullet and caballito.

Most charters this week were scratching out a few inshore species such as sierra, roosterfish and working bottom rock piles for some triggerfish, barred pargo, amberjack and cabrilla. One nice yellowtail was taken on a yo-yo jig off of the Gordo Banks. Slim fish counts overall. The yellowfin tuna action was put on hold due to the ocean conditions, a handful of tuna were landed, up to 35 lb. off of Iman Banks, but these fish were few and far between, the conditions made it very tough to affectively drift fish, the yellowfin are still in the area, at times they were seen up and feeding and then would disappear just as fast. A lot can happen from week to week, we expect as weather settles the action will definitely improve accordingly.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 58 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 3 striped marlin, 3 wahoo, 1 yellowtail, 18 yellowfin tuna, 22 amberjack, 24 yellow snapper, 14 barred pargo,  12 leopard grouper, 6 island jack, 12 mojarra, 2 African pompano, 10 huachinango, 16 roosterfish, 42 sierra, 5 bonito and 90 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric

—

GORDO BANKS PANGAS

Eric Brictson / Operator

619 488-1859

Los Cabos (624) 142-1147

e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com

WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

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

Los Cabos Fishing Report – May 7, 2017

May 7, 2017 by Leave a Comment

May 7, 2017

New month, this week we have the traditional holiday of Cinco de Mayo, not really a day they celebrate much in Baja, though local schools were out for the day, Southern California is the place that take this day seriously. Anyway, crowds of tourists were moderate, weather continues to warm up and most of the windy days are now past. Ocean conditions were very pleasant, southern swells were starting to increase, as they normally do this time of year. Water temperatures are averaging 75 degrees or more in the direction of San Jose del Cabo, while the Pacific remains cooler.

Supplies of sardinas off of the north side of the marina jetty are starting to thin out, also higher surf made it trickier for the netters. This is now the normal time when sardinas start to vanish and we see larger baitfish move in, such as moonfish, mullet and caballito, also should start to find bolito and more skipjack appearing on the offshore fishing grounds. Still in the midst of transition period, moving from spring to summer. Dictated by weather patterns, a lot can happen from day to day, week to week during this month.

Last week the exciting new action that developed was for roosterfish, fish to 30 lb. were found schooling off local beach stretches and were readily striking on slowly trolled baitfish. This was during a time when it was a bit windy out of the south and that made offshore opportunities tough, so it was good timing. Of course many people and charter operators themselves are killing way too many of these roosterfish, instead of practicing catch and release, this species is not known for their eating qualities, but instead for their beauty and fighting stamina, please remember to try and release them unharmed when you do have the opportunity. By this week this action had tapered way off, but surely should rebound as we near the month of June, which is peak season for roosterfish in our area.

Offshore billfish remained very spotty, though a few striped marlin are being found, also a handful of stories about blue marlin strikes being lost. This is the month when we normally see wide open action for striped marlin, so we are anticipating for this bite to improve very soon. A few stray wahoo were hooked into offshore on the marlin grounds, also at least one dorado we saw landed, so hopefully this is a sign that we will see more pelagic species arriving with the warming currents.

The yellowfin tuna action had faded out, but this week this action once again rebounded off of the northern grounds near Vinorama, within a mile or two of shore, drift fishing with sardinas was the most productive method, we did hear of some fish also taken on strips of squid. The bite was not off the map, but decent for this time of year, we saw boats catch from one or two yellowfin, up to ten fish per morning, sizes ranged from smaller footballs, up to over 40 lb., a lot of fish in the 30 lb. class. The problem towards the later part of the week was finding enough of the live sardinas to supply the entire fleet, the word had gotten out and everyone wanted to chase these tuna, since offshore was not all that productive.

Bottom action produced a mix of snapper, pargo, bonito, cabrilla and some amberjack to 30 lb., using both bait and yo-yo or butterfly type jigs, not huge numbers, but a few nice eating fish accounted for. Of course there were more triggerfish than anything else off of the shallow water rock piles, though we did have a few exotics, African pompano and island jack, which are some of the best eating fish available in these parts.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 78 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 4 striped marlin, 3 wahoo, 1 dorado, 210 yellowfin tuna, 15 amberjack, 26 yellow snapper, 5 barred pargo, 18 leopard grouper, 9 island jack, 4 African pompano, 18 huachinango, 130 roosterfish, 35 sierra, 12 bonito and 150 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric

—

GORDO BANKS PANGAS

Eric Brictson / Operator

619 488-1859

Los Cabos (624) 142-1147

e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com

WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

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

Los Cabos Fishing Report – April 30, 2017

April 30, 2017 by Leave a Comment

April 30, 2017

Moderate crowds now that spring break has passed, this week the annual event of the Norra 1000 off road rally race celebrating their 50 th  anniversary of running, arrived at their final destination of San Jose del Cabo on Thursday afternoon after five action packed stages, starting last Sunday from Ensenada, this was a fun event for everyone involved. Weather patterns are feeling more like summer in recent days, though early in the week there was some heavy fog marine layer to deal with for offshore operators, also later in the week there were swirling gusty winds pushing in from the Pacific Ocean water temperatures varied from up to 76 degree in the direction towards Vinorama and as chilly as 66 degrees on the Pacific. Still definitely in the midst of transition period.

Last week the main highlight for fishing action was the yellowfin tuna, which were striking on sardinas from the Iman to San Luis Banks. Now that action has slowed way down, problems with jack crevalle moving in, to many skipjack and wind chop that picked up early, at times lots of yellowfin were seen, but were finicky to strike, also diminishing supplies of sardinas. Still a chance at catching a couple of tuna in the 20 to 40 lb. class, though very spotty in recent days.

Striped marlin bite improved offshore of Palmilla, in the vicinity of the 1150 spot, some 15 plus miles offshore. Many charters were reported multiple chances for marlin, while trolling lures and rigged ballyhoo, there was a lack of live bait to help offshore now, no caballito to be found, that should improve soon. We should also start to see maybe some moonfish and mullet schools appearing in the marina area, which would help open up more baitfish options. No dorado or wahoo reported, though if weather does stabilize soon and more warm water pushes back in, anything could happen.

Snapper bite faded out, lack of red crabs for bait, a few cabrilla, amberjack, pompano, bonito and triggerfish were accounted for off the bottom, using yo-yo jigs and various available baits, had to work hard for handful of fish. Once again, we do expect this lull in activity to pick up soon as we get more consistent warmer weather conditions. This time of year can typically be like this, changing week to week, what is hot and what is not.

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: 9 striped marlin, 29 yellowfin tuna, 11 amberjack, 14 yellow snapper, 8 barred pargo, 16 leopard grouper, 5 pompano, 22 huachinango, 14 roosterfish, 19 sierra, 8 bonito and 210 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric

—

GORDO BANKS PANGAS

Eric Brictson / Operator

619 488-1859

Los Cabos (624) 142-1147

e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com

WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

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