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Los Cabos Fishing Report – January 15, 2017
January 15, 2017 
As we progress into the New Year we have seen many tourists arriving, most of them to escape frigid northern winter season temperatures and to relax in Los Cabos’s pleasant climate. With daytime highs nearing 80 degrees and mostly sunny skies, this is a great choice for a quick getaway trip. Not many anglers in town now, though often these vacationers are looking for outdoor activities and many do decide to go fishing on late notice. With the annual whale migration now peaking, this is also another reason to get out on the water and see what the area has to offer.
The north winds were light throughout the week, swells were minimal, though there were strong currents running, pushing in cooler water temperatures, as currents are now in the 70 to 74 degree range, we expect this cooling trend to continue throughout the next month. Sportfishing fleets are fishing in different directions now, trying to find the best possible all around action. We finally can say that some schools of sardinas are appearing off of Palmilla Point in recent days, this is favorable news, these baitfish have been absent from local waters for over one year, we hope that this is sign that we will see this bait source rebound, fragile fishery that needs to be cautiously protected. Lots of mackerel also being found on the normal bait grounds, mixed with sardinetas. Slabs of squid and caballito are also being offered by commercial bait vendors, so the overall bait situation is better at this time, hopefully this will be a trend throughout the season.
This is another transition period, where we see warmer water species start to move out of the area and others that prefer cooler waters begin to move in. It appears that the El Nino current of the past couple of years is vanishing and we will see more normal patterns for the coming months. In recent days we have seen sporadic action for a variety of fish, many of them smaller sized structure species, being found in the same area where anglers are still targeting yellowfin tuna, most consistent places have been off of Punta Gorda to the Iman Bank, though things have changed from day to day, cooler waters, strong currents, off colored greenish at times, all normal patterns for this time of year. Some day’s action was early, other days late, and on other days the fish did not seem to cooperate at all. Most of the yellowfin tuna landed were in the 15 to 30 lb. range, we heard of the big cow sized yellowfin landed off of the Finger Bank on the Pacific last week, but that is a long range charter in order to reach those grounds.
Dorado were a bit more numerous this past week, though the majority of them were smaller sized female fish that in reality should be released to help this species have a chance to rebound. We are heard reports about an occasional dorado to 20 lb., but these were an exception. Wahoo were almost nonexistent this past week, a few reported lost strikes, but did not see any landed, these fish will be heading south soon, if most of them have not already done so.
Best bottom action now was for red snapper (huachinango), with Punta Gorda being the most productive spot for this action. Snapper up to ten pounds were striking on various baits near the same place where late season tuna were schooling. Only a few leopard grouper, yellow snapper or other pargo species in the mix. Of course there have been decent numbers of triggerfish.
Billfish are mainly on the Pacific Banks now, even though we are seeing congregations of mackerel off of San Jose del Cabo, very few striped marlin have moved in the direction of the Sea of Cortez. With the food source at hand, anything could happen on any given day. With sardinas now appearing we are hoping to have chances at having a good season for inshore sierra as well. Roosterfish action seems to come to a halt with the cooling waters.
The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 68 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 5 striped marlin, 64 yellowfin tuna, 32 dorado, 6 bonito, 16 yellow snapper,11 leopard grouper, 150 huachinango, 25 tijareta, 16 sierra, 2 yellowtail,1 sheepshead, 2 amberjack 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
Art, Culture and Magic: Festival Season in Todos Santos
There is a special kind of light in Todos Santos: not just the warm sunshine that bathes all of Baja 
California Sur in a golden glow some 330 days a year; but the kind of light that seems to hint at something just beyond the known world.
It was this light, among other things, that convinced painter Charles Stewart and his wife Mary Lou to move to the Pacific Coast pueblo magico (a government designation that means, literally, “magical town”) in 1985, the first of a now thriving colony of artists to do so.
A wealthy sugar capital during the 19th century, Todos Santos is now a popular day trip destination for Los Cabos travelers – it’s only about 45 minutes by car from Cabo San Lucas – thanks to its distinctive blend of bohemian chic, stately red-brick buildings and world-class surfing.
This light shines at all times, but is never brighter than during the first few months of each new year, when Todos Santos hosts a series of cultural festivals celebrating art, film, music and literature.
Tropic of Cancer Concert Series: Former R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck pioneered the jam culture in Todos Santos with his annual music festival at landmark Hotel California and the main plaza, but for political reasons Buck is on hiatus and his music festival has morphed into a brand new event. This year, bands and performers such as La Santa Cecilia, Langhorne Slim, Las Cafeteras, Joan Osborne, The Autumn Defense, The Jag, Cordovas, Daniel Donato and Matt Haeck will inaugurate the Tropic of Cancer series at Hotel California and other local venues from Jan. 12 – 21.
Todos Santos Writers’ Workshop: Best known for its painters, Todos Santos has also been a congenial community for writers. The 4th annual writers’ workshop returns to the atmospheric Casa Dracula Feb. 5 – 11, and will feature seminars and workshops, speakers, publishing roundtables and other literary pursuits.
Todos Santos Art Festival/Open Studios Tour: All proceeds from this popular event, in which the town’s painters, sculptors, jewelers and other artists throw open the doors of their studios to the public, go to benefit art programs for local children. The 8th annual Open Studios Tour takes place the weekend of Feb. 11 – 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at art spaces throughout the historic downtown area.
Todos Santos Film Festival: This annual showcase for Mexican and Latin American films is based at the historic Teatro-Cine Manuel Marquez de Leon, a landmark WWII era movie theater that fronts the plaza principal. The 14th edition of this cinematic celebration returns March 1 – 5, however the screening schedule has not yet been announced.
Photo courtesy of Michael Kull.
New Year’s Resolutions for Los Cabos Bound Travelers
For many people, one of the first acts of any New Year – right after chewing a couple of aspirin to chase 
away the Champagne hangover – is to sit down and compile a list of resolutions, the bulk of which are geared towards self-improvement and an enhanced quality of life.
If you’re shivering while you read this, the first enhancement should involve a plane ticket to Los Cabos, where daytimes temperatures hover around 80 degrees, and the only things covered in ice are cervezas.
After the flight lands and you’ve traded in your parka for a pair of flip flops, here are three other resolutions you might want to consider.
Catch a Giant Fish…or Swim With One
Cabo San Lucas was built on big-game sport fishing, and local charter boasts stay busy chasing abundant dorado, wahoo and striped marlin during the winter season. Those unimpressed by bill and game fish can travel to Baja California Sur’s capital city, La Paz, to swim with 20-ton whale sharks, the world’s largest fish. Many of the world’s largest mammals are also within splash range, thanks to whale watching excursions that bring visitors up-close-and-personal with breaching humpbacks.
Drink Champagne and Watch the Sun Set Over Land’s End
Los Cabos’ famed Arch is one of many evocatively shaped granite monuments at Land’s End, the half mile headland that marks the southernmost point of the Baja California peninsula. Watching the sun descend in a blaze of red beyond Land’s End is one of the great local pastimes…best enjoyed from the Taittinger Champagne Terrace at Sunset da Mona Lisa, a scenically situated dinner specialist that the New York Times has called one of the five most romantic restaurants on earth.
Play One of the World’s Best Golf Courses
Los Cabos now boasts 15 completed golf courses, the majority of which were designed by major champions like Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Davis Love III and Tom Weiskopf. Nicklaus has designed six local loops himself, including a breathtaking Ocean Course at Cabo del Sol. The Ocean Course, along with Love’s Dunes Course at Diamante and Tom Fazio’s gorgeous layout at Querencia, are currently ranked among the 100 greatest courses in the world by Golf Digest.
Party Like a Rock Star
Those unclear on the concept should start at Cabo Wabo, the bar founded by Sammy Hagar and his former Van Halen bandmates in 1990. If waboritas (margaritas made with the bar’s signature tequila) and live music don’t quite do the trick, head to one of the two local Rock & Brews, the cantina chain founded by KISS stars Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, where the operating ethos is “I want to rock and roll all night…and party every day.”
Live Like a Movie Star
Hollywood royalty aren’t the only ones living in the luxury villas that cling to the hillsides in Cabo San Lucas’ most exclusive neighborhood. Moderately priced villa rentals make Pedregal accessible and affordable for many travelers. Hence the saying: “You don’t have to be a king or queen to live like one.”
Potential Links:
Get Rich or Let Fly Tryin’ – Fishing Los Cabos Tournaments 2016
Los Cabos Pro-Am Golf Tournament Tees Off Again in January 2017
Why Villa Rentals are the Gold Standard for Los Cabos Getaways 2016-17
Tiger Woods Opens Second Golf Course in Cabo San Lucas
The first golf course design from legendary player Tiger Woods was El Cardonal in Cabo San Lucas, an 
old-school, So-Cal parkland style course that opened at Diamante in 2014. A few weeks ago, the 14-time major champion returned to the private 1,500 acre Pacific Coast luxury community, this time for the unveiling of his new par 3, dubbed Oasis Short Course.
Woods and former baseball star Roger Clemens were both on hand for the inaugural round at Oasis, along with a select group of Diamante members, local VIPs, and top Mexican golfers.
Distances at the truncated 12-hole layout range from 41 to 143 yards, and thus are perfect for young golfers, as well as recreational players looking for a more relaxed experience than that offered by some of the region’s more difficult courses; including The Dunes, the Davis Love III designed links course that put Diamante on the map in 2009.
“I learned how to play on a short par 3 course in Long Beach, California,” Woods said while explaining his rationale for the design at Oasis. “When I was a kid, a 100-yard hole for me at Heartwell Golf Course was a driver and a 7-iron, so I can relate to the challenges faced by younger players.”
Oasis is the 15th golf course to open in Los Cabos. Three of these, or a whopping 20 percent, are currently ranked among the 100 best in the world by Golf Digest: The Dunes Course; Tom Fazio’s gorgeous layout at Querencia, and Jack Nicklaus’ Ocean Course at Cabo del Sol, which the “Golden Bear” once referred to as “the best golf property I’ve ever seen.”
No wonder the region was recently declared the Latin American and Caribbean Golf Destination of the Year for 2017 by the IAGTO (the International Association of Golf Tour Operators).
Incredibly, even more world-class courses are in the works for Baja California Sur’s premier getaway destination. New layouts from major champions Greg Norman and Fred Couples are currently in development, and Woods and Diamante are in the planning stages for a third course at the exclusive coastal property.
Like The Dunes and El Cardonal, the Oasis Short Course is open only to Diamante members and their guests.
Photo courtesy of the Los Cabos Tourism Board.
Los Cabos Fishing Report – December 24, 2016
December 24, 2016 
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Crowds of vacationers were arriving throughout the week in the Los Cabos area to enjoy the Holiday Season south of the border. Many were doing so to escape the frigid cold temperatures sweeping across northern territories. Weather conditions were definitely cooperating, as the persistent northern winds finally calmed down, clear sunny skies, with daytime highs in the 80s, feeling more like spring time than winter. The area was bustling with tourists and many families were reserving sportfishing charters as one of their preferred activities.
Ocean water temperatures were holding in the 74 to 76 degree range, still warmer than usual for this time frame, with the winds residing for a few days now, this has given the chance for clarity to improve and blue water was being found fairly close to shore. Bait supplies remained steady for caballito and strips of squid continue to be used for drift fishing, while targeting the yellowfin tuna action. The majority of the charters launching out of San Jose del Cabo area were fishing areas from Punta Gorda, Gordo Banks, Cardon and Iman Bank. Through much of the week the most productive place proved to be close to shore off of Punta Gorda.
All around action was a bit spotty, some days the bite would be early, some days late. Most common species caught was yellowfin tuna in the 10 to 30 lb. class, no huge numbers, but some charters were fortunate to land five or more tuna per trip. Caballito and the strips of squid was the main method that showed best results. There were a few larger yellowfin tuna still lurking late into the season around the Gordo Banks, but these fish were more finicky than the tuna found closer to shore. Not a tremendous variety of species now, only a few dorado being found, most of these closer to shore as well, the majority smaller size, though we saw a handful of dorado in the 20 lb. range. Wahoo are still hanging around the region, though not many were being landed, they did not seem eager to strike on the normal type of lures or trap hooked baits, though many anglers told stories of having wahoo cut lines that were rigged with lighter mono leaders, which were needed to entice the line shy yellowfin.
Where the tuna action was centered close to shore there were various species of pargo and snapper mixed in, as well as the ever present triggerfish. The commercial fleet were doing well targeting the red snapper with fresh shrimp heads that were able to obtain from shrimp trawlers which were passing through the area while on their way back to their home ports.
While we heard of more striped marlin action being found on the Pacific Banks, we did not see much action for billfish off of San Jose del Cabo, only an occasional striper of sailfish. No signs of any sardina schools and this seems to be hurting any inshore fishing opportunities for sierra or roosterfish. Though a few decent sized roosterfish were hooked into off the beach stretches while trolling with caballito.
After seeing whales earlier in the month starting to appear, recently they have been very few and far between, late to arrive for their annual migration.
The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 105 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 1 sailfish, 2 striped marlin, 235 yellowfin tuna, 26 dorado, 6 wahoo, 12 bonito, 3 grouper, 3 pompano, 32 yellow snapper, 8 leopard grouper, 140 huachinango, 35 tijareta, 12 sierra, 8 rainbow runner, 4 barred pargo, 16 roosterfish and 160 triggerfish.
Good fishing, Eric
—
GORDO BANKS PANGAS
Eric Brictson / Operator
619 488-1859
Los Cabos (624) 142-1147
e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com
Baja’s Lords & Ladies of the Wind
“To every thing there is a season.” 
This Biblical quote may not apply to fishing in Los Cabos – where the game fish bite year round – but it certainly applies to every other Baja based water sport. Spring is the best time to swim with whale sharks; summer brings big-time surf competitions to the Sea of Cortez; autumn offers optimal diving temperatures and visibility; and winter is when whale watching and wind sports take center stage.
Each winter, from mid-November through mid-March, powerful El Norte winds blow down the Sea of Cortez, creating perfect wind and kite surfing conditions along certain coastal areas of Baja California Sur. The height of the “breezy season” occurs in January, when the world’s fastest wind and water riders flock to picturesque East Cape communities like Los Barriles and the more northerly La Ventana.
Los Barriles hosts the region’s most illustrious, and only royalty creating sporting event: The Lord of the Wind Showdown. The competition for aspiring nobles is sponsored by the local Rotary Club, and features multiple days of world-class kiteboarding in categories like slalom and big air, with the overall winners – in the interests of inclusivity, both a Lord and Lady of the Wind are now crowned – walking away with thousands of dollars in prize money. Admission is free for spectators, who will also want to check out affiliated events like the traditional Tamales Cook-Off.
La Ventana, a small coastal community southeast of La Paz that was founded in the 1940s by a former pearl diver, hosts its own high-flying wind sports contest. The elevation-focused event promises cash and everlasting glory to the best participating windsurfers, kite boarders and stand up paddle boarders, and also raises money for local schools.
The 7th annual Lord of the Wind Showdown is scheduled for Jan. 17 – 22, 2017; the La Ventana Classic for Jan. 25 – 29. For more information, visit www.lordofthewindbaja.com or www.laventanaclassic.com.
Call 1-888-655-4548 Now for the Best Values in Los Cabos Vacation Rentals.
Photo courtesy of Lord of the Wind Baja.
Holidays and Seasonal Celebrations in Mexico
The Christmas season is a time of both celebration and devout observances in Mexico, just as it is in the 
U.S and many other countries.
But Mexico has its own unique seasonal traditions and festivities, and also recognizes many secular and religious holidays throughout the year that are unknown or less celebrated elsewhere.
A passing knowledge of these major Mexican holidays is useful for visitors to Los Cabos, not only because of the opportunities for interesting glimpses into local and national culture, but because it helps to explain many things that may at first glance seem inexplicable: like why the banks are closed on a Tuesday, for example, or why hotel rooms are suddenly in short supply in the middle of April.
December 16 – 24
The nine days prior to Christmas are known as Las Posadas in Mexico, and remember the journey of Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem with ritual reenactments of their admittance to various inns (posada means inn in Spanish). The final day of the Posadas, Christmas Eve, is known in Mexico as Nochebuena. Families typically attend midnight mass before enjoying a large dinner and opening Christmas gifts.
December 31
Although Champagne toasts and midnight fireworks are as common in Mexico for New Year’s Eve as they are in the U.S., some of the other traditions are quite a bit different. It is customary in Mexico, for example, to eat 12 grapes as the clock strikes midnight in order to ensure good fortune for each of the individual months in the upcoming year. Many Mexicans also wear brightly colored undergarments, with each hue representative of different desires for the New Year: red for love, green for money, yellow for happiness, etc.
January 6
Three Kings Day (or El Dia de los Tres Reyes Magos)–which celebrates the wise men who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant Jesus–is an afterthought in the U.S. for all but the most ardent Catholics. In Mexico, it’s virtually a second Christmas, with more feasting and additional presents for children. There is a special bread for this day called Rosca de Reyes, and the person who first finds the plastic figure of Jesus buried inside the bread is expcected to provide the tamales for the party on Candlemas, Februrary 2nd.
April 9 – 16
Semana Santa, known in English as Holy Week, is the week before Easter, and one of the busiest travel weeks in Mexico. Government offices close, students are on break, and families flock to all the traditional resort destinations, including Los Cabos. Easter, by the way, falls on April 16 in 2017.
May 5
Cinco de Mayo is sometimes confused with Mexican Independence Day, which is in fact the most important of Mexico’s secular celebrations. Cinco de Mayo remembers the victory of Mexicans over invading French forces as the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, and is not a major holiday in Mexico. Its major popularity, ironically, is in the U.S., where the day seems to be an excuse for tacos and margaritas. In Mexico, no excuses are needed!
September 16
Mexican Independence Day commemorates Miguel Hidalgo’s Grito de Dolores in 1810. The grito was a “cry of freedom” issued on the evening of the 15th and again the following day in the small village of Dolores in Guanajuato, and proved the instigating factor in Mexico’s successful war for independence from Spain. Public officials throughout the country reenact the grito at 11 p.m. on September 15, with festivities following throughout the next day. In Los Cabos, parades are held in cape cities Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.
November 20
The Mexican Revolution of 1910 was triggered when Porfirio Diaz, who had ruled the country with an iron fist for over 30 years, imprisoned an opponent in an upcoming presidential election named Francisco Madero. Madero’s subsequent Plan of San Luis Potosi called for Mexicans to rebel and rise up on November 20th. The rest, from Pancho Villa to Emiliano Zapata, is history.
Photo courtesy of Casa Dorada.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM LOS CABOS VACATION RENTALS AND LOS CABOS REAL ESTATE
www.LosCabosRealEstate.Pro
