Los Cabos Fishing Report – April 20, 2015

April 19, 2015 163_Craig_SueCatch (1024x694)

Crowds of tourists are lighter now that spring break has wound down, the visitors that are arriving to Los Cabos are enjoying great all around weather conditions, ideal climate now, scattered cloud cover, though plenty of sunshine, high temperatures around 85 degrees. With the exception of last weekend, when on Sunday the wind blew heavily out of the north, since then days have been much calmer, still unpredictable from day to day this time of year.

Ocean water temperatures fluctuated from 72 to 76 degrees throughout most of the region, swells were moderate and supplies of sardinas were sufficient, being netted by the commercial fleet near San Luis. Anglers found the most consistent action from areas near Vinorama, San Luis and Iman Bank. Last Saturday there was a wide open bite reported from the Tule area, just north of Vinorama, this is a longer than normal run for local charter fleets, though the action was centered very close to shore. Yellowfin tuna in the 30 pound class was the mainstay of daily catches, though there were dorado and wahoo mixed in. Drift fishing with sardinas for bait was the most productive technique. The very next day, on Sunday, high winds made conditions extremely difficult and also stirred up the sea, slowing the bite for a couple of days. Then the action improved by mid-week, before tapering off once again later in the week. Definitely an up and down deal, though conditions remain favorable and anything could happen on any given day.

More striped marlin are being seen around the Iman Bank and other nearby grounds, as well as a handful of larger dorado, wahoo action was elusive, though these speedsters are holding on local fishing grounds and with warming weather could go on a big bite at any time. Not much consistent bottom action being found, not many anglers were even trying the Gordo Banks, where yellowtail had previously found schooling down deep, this action was sporadic and most anglers opted to travel further north in search of better opportunities for tuna, wahoo and dorado.

Inshore there were sierra, roosterfish and jack crevalle, no big numbers, as spring progresses we expect to see improved inshore action soon as spring progresses.

Have not heard of any great reports coming from the East Cape or outside of Cabo San Lucas, best bite appears to be out of the San Jose del Cabo area, which can be normal for this time frame.

Rebuilding efforts of the panga dock area out of Puerto Los Cabos Marina continue to progress, though more priority seems to be put towards fancying up the fillet station areas and perimeter of the parking areas, not towards actually rebuilding loading ramps, connecting docks, bathroom facility, lighting and fresh water wash down options for all of the moored pangas. Street work in the La Playita village area surrounding the docks continue at a snail’s pace, with no detour signs in place and this makes work conveniences limited. We do all hope that this project is someday completed, as the new tropical storm season is just around the corner.

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: 85 yellowfin tuna, 9 striped marlin, 11 wahoo, 58 dorado, 17 sierra, 32 Eastern Pacific bonito, 16 cabrilla, 8 pompano, 14 roosterfish, 5 amberjack, 16 jack crevalle, 22 pargo, 22 yellow snapper and 105 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric

GORDO BANKS PANGAS

Eric Brictson / Operator

619 488-1859

Los Cabos (624) 142-1147

e-mail:gordobanks@yahoo.com

WWW.GORDOBANKS.COM

Los Cabos Fishing Report – April 14, 2015

April 14, 2015 164_JesseRodriguez

Spring break vacation period is now coming to a close, this has been a busy time in Los Cabos, with everyone enjoying the pristine conditions, perfect 85 degree temperatures now, felling a bit tropical, light winds, perfect conditions for all of the available outdoor activities.

Anglers found ideal ocean conditions, light swells, moderate variable afternoon breezes, with water temperatures ranging from 74 to 77 degrees, occasional swift currents, blue water being found within a couple miles of shore and a variety of gamefish now in local waters.  Most consistent fishing grounds were from the Gordo Banks and north towards Vinorama. Recent catches have included striped marlin, dorado, wahoo, yellowfin tuna, bonito, roosterfish, skipjack, pargo, cabrilla and jack crevalle. Sardinas have once again been found schooling near San Luis, commercial bait netters worked hard for limited supplies, other bait option were caballito, chihuil and ballyhoo. Many species now in the area, though the action varied from day to day and the fish needed to be worked for. Best action proved to be encountered while using various baits.

Dorado were not numerous, though some larger sized fish are now being accoutered for, some bulls to 30 pounds were brought in. Some of these dorado were found very close to shore. Most of the roosterfish now being found were along the stretch from Puerto Los Cabos Marina towards Punta Gorda and weighed less than fifteen pounds. Schools of large sized jack crevalle found close to shore as well, some up to 30 pounds. Not many sierra now being located. The Eastern Pacific bonito were one of the more prevalent species now present on the various high spots, these fish ranged up to ten pounds.

The highlight of the week was that with sardinas once again obtainable, the yellowfin tuna action rebounded near Vinorama, even though this preferred bait was not overly abundant, anglers were accounting for decent catches on yellowfin weighing in the 25 lb. to 35 lb. class. The tuna were striking on both dead and live sardinas, while drift fishing with lighter weight leaders of 30/40 lb. Charters fishing this spot were accounting for anywhere from one to eight tuna, all quality sized fish. This spot is very close to shore and aggressive triggerfish are biting here as well. Wahoo have been hanging around these same grounds, some days more active than others, striking best on sardinas while targeting tuna, or on rigged ballyhoo and a handful on Rapalas. Many of the wahoo caught were smaller sized 15 to 25 lb. fish, though there was one wahoo this past week that was in the 80 lb. class and another one close to fifty pounds.

The few yellowtail that have been in the area have been coming from the Outer Gordo Banks, these fish all ranged in the 20 to 35 lb. class, striking most readily on live chihuil, a few hit on dead bait, though this was a hit or miss bite and there was not much else in the meantime being found on these grounds, besides some skipjack and bonito, though striped marlin were found near these grounds.

Humpback whales are still in the area, though in fewer numbers, they were seen feeding aggressive on some unidentified food source on the Gordo Banks, apparently filling up before starting their journey to their northern summer feeding grounds.

Not much bottom action this past week, some snapper, pargo, bonito, amberjack, but no consistent bite and most anglers opted to try for the tuna or wahoo.

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:

280 yellowfin tuna, 15 striped marlin, 38 wahoo, 28 dorado, 9 sierra, 90 Eastern Pacific bonito, 23 cabrilla, 16 roosterfish, 10 amberjack, 21 yellowtail, 12 jack crevalle, 28 misc. pargo 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

Los Cabos Fishing Report – April 5, 2015

April 5, 2015 165_Reina

Easter Week is officially here, very busy time for the local residents and visitors alike. This is traditionally the time when family and friends gather, pack up provisions and flock to all of the available beaches to enjoy themselves during this holiday period. Weather conditions are absolutely ideal, clear sunny skies, with high temperatures nearing the 90 degree mark, winds and swells very moderate, very comfortable conditions for anglers.

With many fishing crew members now on extended camping excursions, also just not that many sport anglers now arriving in town, fleets have had light schedules this week. Later this month, warming weather patterns will offer sportfishing charters more opportunities and crowds of anglers will increase.

The larger swell that pushed through the region last week, has resided now, though this surge was strong enough to scatter the schools of sardinas which had been congregating near Vinorama, these preferred baitfish have now moved away from this beach stretch and we will wait patiently for the schools to return as conditions settle. In the meantime charters have been using the available caballito, chihuil, skipjack or ballyhoo for baitfish options. Ocean temperatures have ranging from 73 to 76 degrees and this is a warming trend which expect will continue. There were reports of schooling bolito on the offshore fishing grounds, this is also a great sign, as this food source will surely attract more gamefish.

Transition periods can create inconsistent and unpredictable fishing action. We had seen great action during previous weeks, unusual fall type action during the winter season. There was good action for yellowfin tuna in the 20 to 30 lb. class, then the dorado and wahoo also moved in and got in on the action, then the quality sized yellowtail started to take up the slack on the Gordo Banks, now things have changed more to bottom structure species as the surface bite has faded out for the time being. With the exception of striped marlin, which are being found straight outside of San Jose del Cabo and on the grounds to the north, not much else being found offshore now.

Local fleets have been fishing the areas from Palmilla, to the Gordo Banks and north to La Fortuna, Iman, San Luis and Vinorama. Action has been spread out, using available bait and a mix of yo-yo type jigs, anglers found species such as skipjack, bonito, pargo, snapper, amberjack and triggerfish. Most common catches were bonito, skipjack and small red snapper. The area of San Luis has held a nicer grade of red snapper, though the sea lions have been a major nuisance, as they have been relentless in stealing and majority of all fish that were being hooked up. No very little yellowtail action to speak of, a few more amberjack started to appear, up to 35 lb. No larger grouper to report, but there are some nice leopard grouper up to 15 lb., including one golden phase specimen that was taken on Thursday off of the Gordo Banks. There was also a lot of conversation about a 500 lb. mako shark that was patrolling these same banks, going from boat to boat, daring anglers to try and throw a bait its direction, no one opted to try and battle this monster.

Inshore there have been hog sized jack crevalle, as well as roosterfish, mostly smaller fish, a few pargo Colorado close to shore, sierra have been around, but not in numbers you would normally find a this time.

Still quite a few whales being seen daily, these mammals must be about ready to head north soon.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 53 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of:
14 striped marlin, 5 wahoo, 9 dorado, 25 sierra, 98 Eastern Pacific bonito, 16 cabrilla, 1 golden leopard grouper (cabrilla), 185 huachinango (red snapper), 18 roosterfish, 15 amberjack, 5 yellowtail, 26 jack crevalle, 18 barred pargo, 44 triggerfish and 16 yellow snapper.

Good fishing, Eric


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

Los Cabos Fishing Report – March 29. 2015

March 29, 2015 166_MartinCatch (1024x614)

The spring season is a great time of year to enjoy all that the Los Cabos Area has to offer. The climate is now ideal, lots of sunshine, low temperatures in the 60s and highs in the upper 80s. Winds can still be a bit unpredictable, though the persistent northerly winds are not nearly as relentless as during the winter months. Ocean conditions were improved, after going through a cooling trend and having clarity fluctuate. Now anglers are reporting very clean water and temperatures averaging 74 to 75 degrees. Still heavy concentrations of whales being seen, though with the progressively warming days, we expect that these whales will be migrating back north soon.

Fishing action has been changing from week to week, not an overabundance of billfish being found offshore now, no large concentrations of baitfish for these fish to feed on. Only a scattering of striped marlin, these fish had been found mainly 20 some miles offshore, but this past week we have seen marlin moving much closer to shore, traveling in the warmer clean currents, searching for a food source. Except around the certain high spots where skipjack have dominated the food chain. Bait sellers have been working hard to net sardinas in the surf zone near Vinorama, most days they were able to find sufficient supplies, though there were a few days where the combination of higher swells and early morning low tides made for dangerous navigation and resulted in limited bait resources.

It truly has been an unusual new season, changing rapidly, going from wide open yellowfin tuna action, then a complete dead drop off, then the yellowtail broke loose on
the Gordo Banks, then this fell off and the action once again was on the San Luis Bank for yellowfin tuna and this week surprisingly good action for wahoo, who would figure that during the month of March we would be seeing more wahoo than sierra, which is the species of mackerel that we regularly find during this time. This year we have seen mixed up migrations for various bait and gamefish species, much better action for yellowfin tuna that we normally find during February and March, now with wahoo being another bonus catch. The yellowfin tuna are striking on sardinas near San Luis, ranging in size from 20 to 35 lb. Also a few dorado in the mix, we did see one bull of over 30 lb. brought in, that was an exception though, the majority of the dorado were smaller in size.

Last week it was the yellowtail that saved the day, now we are hooking the elusive wahoo, many on sardinas while using straight monofilament being targeted for the tuna, hard to entice a strike if usual the more visible wire leader material. Some wahoo were also hooked into while trolling with chihuil, caballito, ballyhoo or Rapalas. The average sized wahoo were in the 10 to 20 lb. a few smaller and a handful of larger fish, these fish are definitely a bonus, while other species were hard to find, the wahoo is a popular fish and can be hard to find even when they are in season, now they are biting, even though this is not the normal time of year when we would expect to find them.

Bottom fish action has not been dependable, though anglers targeting this action did find mixed success for snapper, bonito, pargo, cabrilla and yellowtail.

Inshore there has not been any consistent bite, not many sierra, considering this is now peak season for them, only small schools of roosterfish being found, most of these smaller sized, found along the stretch just south of Punta Gorda and towards the marina jetties.

Will be interesting to see what happens this coming week, nothing would surprise us at this stage, we have seen a lot of unusual patterns this year.

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:
5 striped marlin, 64 wahoo, 31 dorado, 55 yellowfin tuna, 18 sierra, 74 Eastern Pacific bonito, 17 cabrilla, 22 huachinango, 9 roosterfish, 18 yellowtail, 9 barred pargo and 14 yellow snapper.

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

Bud Light Baja Sur 500 – April 15-19

If you’re a fan of off-road racing, you’re probably familiar with Bud Light-sponsored events, including Logo-Budlight-FONDO-SPLASHthe Imperial Valley 250 in California and the Bud Light SCORE Baja 1000 in British Columbia. The British Columbia event is now in its 48th year. If you enjoy going to these races, why not add one more to your list this year? From April 15-19, 2015, the inaugural Bud Light Baja Sur 500 is scheduled to take place.

This event has already garnered attention from many major news outlets in the racing community. There are classes for a variety of vehicles, including motorcycles, trucks, and ATVs. The route, which can be viewed in its entirety at

http://score-international.com/baja-sur-500-schedule/ will span from Cabo San Lucas to Loreto, so spectators can stake a spot anywhere to see the action.

While some entrants, including popular driver Clyde Stacy, have already entered the Baja Sur 500, late entries will be accepted until 5 PM on April 17 (the evening before the big race). If you’re interested in competing, contact the SCORE International office for all of the pertinent information. Even if you don’t want to be a participant in this year’s race, it is a must-attend event for all off-road racing enthusiasts.

The team at Los Cabos Villas would love to help you plan your vacation. We are excited about this new annual addition to the Los Cabos calendar and look forward to working with you and your family every year. We can help you find a Cabo San Lucas vacation rental that is near the race route or one that is secluded from the hustle and bustle. No matter what you are looking for, we can help you find the ideal holiday property in the Los Cabos region. People from 15 US states and five other nations have already entered the Bud Light Baja Sur 500. We are excited to hear from you too!

Los Cabos Fishing Report – March 22 – 2015

March 22, 2015 167_MeasonYellowtail

We are now officially starting the spring season and progressively warming conditions are feeling actually a bit tropical. Crazy unpredictable patterns this past week, over the last weekend we saw thunderstorms develop and on Sunday there was a couple of inches of rainfall measured that fell in a matter of an hour, accompanied by heavy thunder and lightning. There was also hail storms that were associated with these thunderstorms and ice accumulated on the ground, giving people a rare chance to create ice balls. Strange to have hail falling one moment, then tropical conditions later on the same day, there were also water spouts reportedly seen offshore on the fishing grounds at the start of the week.

Last weekend the great bite for yellowfin tuna and dorado became very tough and scattered, with only a few fish being accounted for, charters were lucky to catch a few fish in combination during a morning trip. This dire situation included inshore, bottom and offshore action, things had gone from very good to slim pickings just like that. Hard to say for what reason, though the rapidly changing weather patterns and scarcity of sardinas were certainly a contributing factors. The commercial fleet were having to fight higher surf conditions along the rocky shoreline near Vinorama where the schools of sardinas were holding and on some days were not able to get any. Other bait options for anglers were caballito, ballyhoo, skipjack and chihuil. Bait situation can become tough at times, availability had been steady, now things are a bit more scattered, day to day as to what might be available..

With the weather settling back down and fleets scouting out any new opportunities, on Friday the season’s first big bite on yellowtail developed, this was on the Outer Gordo Bank, where anglers were hooking into a quality grade of yellowtail while using various from of whole and cut baits, even chunks of ballyhoo were working. These powerful jacks were all running in the 25 to 35 lb. range and testing angler’s strength, many hook ups were lost to cut lines, as these fish are known for heading directly for the rocks as soon as they feel pressure of being hooked. Some boats ended up catching as many as 5,6,7 or even more yellows.

The main species off the bottom rock piles has been the bonito, a few snapper, cabrilla, amberjack and triggerfish. Though for a few days there, the bonito did not even want to bite. There were reports of red crabs being abundant near Cerralvo Island, this created a feeding frenzy for red snapper, when these pelagic red crabs drift with the currents to the surface action can be wide open, but this can also create a situation where the gamefish only want to gorge on these red crabs and nothing else and if they do not happen to come to the surface there is no way to gather them for use as snapper bait. New season now, anything can happen from day to day, week to week, the persistent gusty northern winds seem to be tapering way down and with spring feeling now in the air we should start to see calmer and more consistent weather patterns.

Lots of whales still in the area, but with this warming trend we will probably see these mammals start to migrate back towards there northern summer feeding grounds.

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: 2 striped marlin, 4 wahoo, 24 dorado, 18 yellowfin tuna, 26 sierra, 185 Eastern Pacific bonito, 7 amberjack, 16 cabrilla, 23 huachinango, 11 roosterfish, 66 yellowtail, 15 barred pargo, 16 yellow snapper 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

Los Cabos Fishing Report – 3-14-2015

March 14, 2015 168_Tuna_Dorado

The month of March is when transition time begins, seasonal changes are very unpredictable, some years we can see warmer conditions arrive early, that could be occurring now, as weather patterns could not be more favorable at the present time, clear sunny skies, highs in the low 80’s and light winds. The first wave of Spring Break vacationers are now arriving in the Los Cabos area, this coincides with the annual San Jose del Cabo traditional fiestas which start this week, popular events such as the government sponsored fishing tournament out of Puerto Los Cabos Marina and the Off Road Races at the Luis Sandoval track will both be held on Sunday. Efforts on rebuilding the panga basin of the marina have been intense for the past month and things are certainly looking much improved and completion seems to be within sight. Then the chief engineers can draw plans for even a larger project, which is reconstructing the north jetty so that a repeat of 2014 will not happen again.

Anglers reported a complete turnaround in the fishing action, as last week conditions had been cool and the action slowed to nearly a standstill. Now, with this warming trend the yellowfin tuna and dorado bite has really improved. Local fleets have been finding great action near the San Luis Bank, with live sardinas being readily available from the commercial pangeros, who are finding these baitfish schooling inshore near Vinorama. Drift fishing over the bottom structure in about 150 feet of water with fly lined baits has producing good numbers of yellowfin tuna in the 20 to 30 pound range. Dorado have been roaming around on the same grounds, most of these fish are running in the 10 to 15 lb. class. Even a few wahoo in the mix, with some 15 to 25 lb. wahoo landed while using straight mono leaders targeted for the tuna and dorado. Other wahoo also were taken on trolled lures, as well as on the Pacific side of Cabo San Lucas.

Sierra action seemed to have slowed some, maybe the warmer 74 degree current is a factor. Bottom drops over rocky structure have produced sporadic action for bonito, a variety of pargo species, cabrilla and triggerfish. Not much going on in the way of yellowtail, though reports from Southern California of epic yellowtail action on large sized fish has been almost unprecedented, possibly another el Nino in the works.

Striped marlin have continued to be spread out, though the Pacific produced more catches than in the direction of the Sea of Cortez, unpredictable as to what is going to happen this season, bait migrations are shifting according to ocean temperatures as well.

The annual migration of whales is now in full swing, scores of humpback and gray sightings. We were all reminded this week of the power that these mammals have, earlier in the week tragedy struck on a tour boat out of Cabo San Lucas, when they accidently collided with a whale and one passenger was killed in the event, a Canadian woman. These magnetic animals are wild and must be given space. Our condolences go out to everyone involved in this accident.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 66 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of:
1 striped marlin, 8 wahoo, 88 dorado, 215 yellowfin tuna, 18 sierra, 95 Eastern Pacific bonito, 8 amberjack, 22 cabrilla, 16 huachinango, 8 roosterfish, 18 barred pargo, 24 yellow snapper triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric


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

Los Cabos Fishing Report – March 8. 2015

March 8, 2015 169_LarryChambers

We are seeing fairly good sized crowds of tourists visiting the Los Cabos area now, though not a great percentage of these people were interested in sportfishing. So fleets were not all that busy, though with the new month arriving, we all know that spring break is just around the corner and even greater numbers of visitors will be arriving. This time frame is a time of transition, when we start to have warmer days, up into 80s, scattered cloud cover at times, fluctuating winds, often picking up stronger later in the day. Can feel like late spring one day and then be a bit cooler the next, even feeling a bit wintry early in the morning.

Every season can be a little different, it does feel like the worst of the north winds are now over, we have seen signs of marine cloud layer developing, cooler ocean currents meeting with warmer land masses can cause this. Throughout most of the region ocean temperatures are averaging 74 degrees, up to 76 degrees outside of Cabo San Lucas, near the Jaime Bank. This is still several degrees warmer than what we normally might expect to have at this time. Baitfish migration, as well as striped marlin action seems to be affected. No mackerel or sardinetas now being found, these are one of the main food sources for the striped marlin. No concentrations of squid either, so if there is not the sustainable food source, the fish will scattered and be on the move, searching. Water clarity had been good for the most part.

Sardinas continue to be found schooling close to shore near Vinorama, a long run for the bait suppliers, not worth their while unless a certain numbers of charters are going to need this resource, on other days the low tides and increased swell activity made it a tough go for netting any of these baitfish, which were in close proximity to the rocky outcroppings. The majority of days though the sardinas were available, other option were caballito.

The all-around fishing action was less consistent this past week constantly changing conditions have things a bit unsettled, we are optimistic conditions will begin to stabilize soon and this should help put things back on the right track. Most local charters are fishing areas from the Gordo Banks, to Cardon, La Fortuna and as far as Vinorama.

Inshore sierra action became more hit of miss, this had been a sure bet bite in previous weeks. A few smaller sized roosterfish were found close to shore as well, particularly near Punta Gorda and the La Laguna area. These jacks were striking best on slow trolled bait, same for the sierra. Bottom action had been showing some promising signs, with more red snapper, yellow snapper, cabrilla and even some nice amberjack and yellowtail. But, then as weather changed the bite all dropped off, best bet now is either close to shore or over the various rock piles. No surface action now for yellowfin tuna or dorado, only a handful of small dorado being encountered. The Eastern Pacific bonito had been a mainstay recently, providing the most consistent action, with some bonito to over 10 pounds being accoutered for. This bite dropped off to a standstill and all we can do is wait for things to improve.

Off of Cerralvo Island towards the East Cape. We had heard of reports of out of season wahoo activity, the same things happened for one super panga out of La Playita earlier in the week, one boat landed six wahoo up to 25 pounds from an area just north of Vinorama, this was an isolated incident, as no one else reported getting into the action, which was kind of a fluke and also out of normal range for local charter fleets. Of course the next day these wahoo did not decided to bite. It just proves that anything can possibly happen on any given day.

Still many whales in the area, as these mammals have been entertaining people that are based on land and ones boats.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 67 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of:
3 striped marlin, 6 yellowtail,  6 wahoo, 21 dorado, 34 sierra, 120 Eastern Pacific bonito, 11 amberjack, 14 cabrilla, 15 huachinango, 24 roosterfish, 22 yellow snapper, 1 thrasher shark and 45 triggerfish.

Good fishing, Eric


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

Los Cabos Fishing Report – March 1, 2015

March 1, 2015 170_JaimeYork

As the month of February comes to an end we have seen unpredictable crazy weather patterns continue. This week has been more like we would expect at this time, cooler currents, off colored ocean conditions, variable winds, predominately from the north. Though the climate has been very comfortable, lows in the mid-50s and high temperatures about 80 degrees, with plenty of sunshine. Whale watching is now at its peak, as scores of whale sightings are being spotting on any given day throughout the region.

Anglers encountered changing conditions and this meant tough times when looking for yellowfin tuna or dorado, those species have scattered and now we are finding more of the cooler water species as we would expect during the winter season. Catches have included bonito, sierra, roosterfish, pargo, red snapper, cabrilla, grouper, yellowtail, skipjack, triggerfish and others. The Eastern Pacific bonito has been one of the more abundant fish, striking off the high spots north of Punta Gorda on both sardinas and yo-yo jigs, average size is about 5 lb, some going as large as 12 lb. Good fighting fish and excellent eating, similar to tuna or even albacore. Supplies of sardinas were a bit harder to find, mainly because of the early low tides and the rocky areas where the schools of baitfish are now concentrated. They are finding some live sardinas, but supplies are not what they have been as in previous weeks.

A handful of nice yellowtail are just starting to show up, all of the fish landed have been in the 25 to 30 lb. class, from the Gordo Banks to San Luis Bank, these jacks should start showing in greater numbers. Live bait off the bottom and yo-yo jigs have both worked. A few sharks on the same grounds to deal with. Also the ongoing sea lion problem. The all-around bottom action is improving, we are now seeing red snapper (huchinango), barred pargo, yellow snapper, leopard grouper, pinta cabrilla, flag cabrilla, bonito and triggerfish.

Sierra have continued to be the main species running close to shore, most of these fish are averaging in the 2 to 5 pound range, though we saw one 15 lb. trophy brought in this week, also a couple of others near the ten pound mark. A few roosterfish in the mix, mostly smaller sized juvenile fish. Slow trolling with sardinas have proved the best bet for these fish.

Billfish action has been slow, a few scattered striped marlin, no feeding frenzies, as offshore bait schools have been hard to find, no concentrations, we expect the coming months will bring more consistent offshore action. There has been a lack of mackerel this season so far.

We have seen significant progress on rebuilding efforts of the panga dock area in Puerto Los Cabos Marina, in another month or so we are hoping things will be much improved. Local road crews in La Playita had dug up and closed the main access road, beginning work on the final long overdue pavement section from the Marine Group to Hotel El Ganzo, planned to install new drainage, water pipe work etc… Though the crew completely abandoned all efforts of this project and have left us with an embarrassing mess. Someone has got to step in and fix this situation. Another disaster is the gill and drift net operations going on in local waters, reports of netters filling pangas with thousands of pounds of so called protected species such as juvenile roosterfish, this just does not make any sense at all, where are the authority’s priorities, is there any thought at all about the state of the future fishery?

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 96 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of: 4 striped marlin, 5 yellowtail, 18 dorado, 1 yellowfin tuna, 235 sierra, 310 Eastern Pacific bonito, 9 amberjack, 55 cabrilla, 58 huachiango, 12 roosterfish, 35 yellow snapper, 12 hammerhead shark and 80 skipjack.

Good fishing, Eric


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

Los Cabos Fishing Report – 2-22-2015

February 22, 2015 171_Chuck_Christine - Copy
 
Last weekend a weather front sept in from the south, on Friday there were scattered thunderstorms through the afternoon, though nothing really developed from this system, after forecasts were calling for rain through Monday, it never happened, mainly just cloud cover and winds, which created choppy ocean conditions. Water temperatures are ranging from 72 to 75 degrees, slightly higher than what we usually see this time of year. Fishing action slowed over the weekend, mainly due to the weather condition factor.

The new week started off great, with increased numbers of anglers enjoying the weather as it settled down, with clear skies and high temperatures in the upper 80s. Calm ocean conditions and immediately the fishing action picked back up. Anglers were finding decent supplies of live sardinas from the commercial fleet near Vinorama. Center of the most consistent bite was found near La Fortuna and the Iman Bank. This is where yellowfin tuna, averaging 15 to 30 lb. were found schooling, a bit line shy and finicky, striking best on lighter size leaders on fly lined baits. Mixed in with the yellowfin were black skipjack, white tuna and Eastern Pacific Bonito. A handful of larger tuna from 75 lb. to 100 lb. were also reported. This has been an incredible bonus for anglers visiting during the month of February, normally a tough time to find any tuna action locally.

Dorado were still more numerous on the Pacific grounds, though they have been found closer to shore at times off of San Jose del Cabo grounds. A few nicer sized dorado to over 20 pounds were weighed in. A few wahoo were landed as well, blind strikes on lures, as well as on baits being targeted for the tuna action. Strange season, anything could happen on any day. Bottom action has been slow to pick up and become consistent, a lot has depended on the current, some days it has been just too swift to even get down and hold the bottom, but at times when currents did slack there were some nice fish found, including cabrilla, grouper, snapper, pargo, amberjack and bonito. We saw one 50 lb. amberjack, a couple of yellowtail, but still no numbers on these jacks. Anglers were using yo-yo jigs and various whole and cut baits for the bottom action, which has been found on the same fishing grounds as where the yellowfin tuna action is.

Billfish action was slow, scattered fish being encountered anywhere from three to twenty miles offshore, no concentrations or feeding frenzies to speak of. There were reports of swordfish sightings off of the 1150 spot, so these prized gladiators will be sought after for serious offshore enthusiasts.

Great time for whale watching now, with both humpbacks and grays in the area, there were also whale shark sightings reported.
Sierra have continue to dominate the inshore action, averaging 2 to 4 pounds, sardinas have been the bait of choice for this early morning bite.

The combined panga fleets launching out of La Playita, Puerto Los Cabos Marina sent out approximately 91 charters for the week, with anglers reporting a fish count of:
5 striped marlin, 2 yellowtail, 385 yellowfin tuna, 4 wahoo, 88 dorado, 145 sierra, 56 bonito, 18 white tuna, 19 amberjack, 26 cabrilla, 35 huachiango, 30 yellow snapper and 450 skipjack.

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