Summer Starts to Sizzle Big Time
REPORT FROM GARY GRAHAM'S BAJA ON THE FLY:
PROVIDING QUALITY SALTWATER FLY-FISHING 365 DAYS A YEAR SOUTH OF THE BORDER.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: bajafly@bajafly.com; USA toll-free (800)
919-2252; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Sat., May 29, 2004. Report covers the period Sat.-Fri. (5/22-5/28)
EAST CAPE, MAGDALENA BAY, ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO; AND SAN JOSE, GUATEMALA CONDITIONS
EAST CAPE, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
IN GENERAL: Wed. (5/26), all five of the Gikkas party (Isabel and Alan Gikkas, and 3-year old Alysa, Novato, Calif.; Diane and Al Williams, Corte
Madera, Calif.) headed out looking for marlin on light tackle. They had plenty of it with 4 hooked and one landed. We saw at least 2 dozen and a few
would have been an easy shot with the fly. Yes, we even took Alysa to where she could catch a few bottom fish.
Scott Nobles and Bill Bruling, Chicago, are a couple of young guys who were experiencing saltwater for the first time. It only took a few minutes and
the ladyfish, sierra and roosters were busting all around us right in front of the spa, just as I was explaining to the group how difficult roosters
could be. Scott set some sort of record by hooking a rooster on his second cast. They really caught on to the retrieve and hook-setting techniques
and we continued to hook and land good numbers of fish all day. It was a classic Sea of Cortez kind of day ? roosters, jacks, ladies, trumpets,
needles, and sierra. Scott fought a jack crevalle for almost an hour while mantas and sea lions surfaced all around us. They loved it!
Dentist John Grim, Del Mar, Calif., and his buddy Phil arrived Thurs. night and were anxious to get on the water. Every day is different and yesterday
(5/28) I saw more roosters come up to the teaser than any other trip so far. Unfortunately, they were also as picky as I've ever seen them . . . and
that's picky! They did manage to boat some ladyfish and I saw at least two good rooster eats on the fly that were blown. Like most new-comers, they
missed some great opportunities ? management, hook setting, etc., before they began to get the hang of it. There was so much rooster action that we
spent the entire day in the same area. I'd say we had about 50 come up on the teasers.
- East Cape report by Baja on the Fly guide John Dickenson
Hotels full! Fish feeding! Welcome to summer and take a moment to reflect on all of those who have sacrificed so much to allow us to live in freedom.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend.
AIR & SEA -
Water temperature 70-82
Air temperature 73-80
Humidity about 37%
Wind: 6 mph from the South
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 12 miles
Sunrise 6:33 a.m. MST
Sunset 7:59 p.m. MST
June 2, Full, June 9 Last Quarter, June 17 New, June 27 First Quarter
? OFFSHORE: Plenty of action to satisfy everyone. Billfish, tuna (fat ones) and dorado are all out there waiting for your fly.
? INSHORE: Rock solid action, enough variety to satisfy most dedicated lifetime list keepers.
? BEACH: It is Showtime. June is one of our favorite months for the beach and if the last couple of weeks are any indication the next few weeks
should be a barnburner.
BILLFISH ? Numbers keep creeping up every week.
YELLOWFIN TUNA ? They are here and its not football season, these are fatties will make you wish for a 12wt.
DORADO ? School?s out and the schoolies are in.
ROOSTERFISH\ JACK CREVALLE ? Bubba?s cruising, hens scratching, toros charging. See you on the beach.
BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK ? Kind of fell through the cracks with all the other action.
PARGO AND CABRILLA ? Occasionally finding them on the surface feeding and when you do, its bare knuckles all the way.
SIERRA ? No smiles here, your favorite rooster fly, no wire, gone @##$%^&*(.
MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
IN GENERAL: Cold and windy most of the week the esteros only yielded a few corvina and spotted bay bass. The ride out to the entrada was long and not
very productive with little action on the surface to be found. There were rumors of a good sierra bite down in the southern end of the bay under the
bird schools.
Water Temperature 64-70
Air Temperature 66-75
Humidity 73%
Wind 2 mph from the NNW
Conditions Scattered Clouds
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 6:39 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:07 p.m. MST
June 2, Full, June 9 Last Quarter, June 17 New, June 27 First Quarter
YELLOWTAIL ? No action to be found this week.
CORVINA ? Poppers and white deceivers kept them coming.
SNOOK ? Still missing.
HALIBUT ? You can always find a few in shallow water along the sandy beaches.
SIERRA ? South end of the bay was the place to be.
ZIHUATANEJO, MAINLAND MEXICO
IN GENERAL: The water is warming up and the blue water is only about 6 miles off the beach. As expected for this time of the year, the fishing is
also improving. Almost all species are being taken on a regular basis, even though it can not be considered "wide open" for any single one.
The blue marlin action has decreased a little from the previous 3 weeks, but we are still getting our fair share of shots.
Sailfish are averaging about 2 to 3 fish per day per boat. The yellowfin tuna are spotty, but anything from football-size to about 60-pounds are
giving the anglers who find the schools about 2 to 4 per boat.
The roosterfish action is getting stronger every day and we are getting the fish along the beaches to both the north and the south. I guided Butch
Cooley of Butch Cooley's Worldwide Hunting and Fishing outfitters of Seattle, on the panga ?Isamar? with Captain Martin at the controls. We had 3
chances at the roosters, hooked and released two of them. The fish were all in the 25-pound class. We also got a small 5 pound dorado right in the
surf line while looking for the roosters.
Butch's group, with me guiding a few of them, also fished 7 more days on the cruiser ?Yellowfin II? with Captain Ruben. Rounding out the group was
wife Laurie and friend Isabelle Caraway. Isabelle was the high angler with 10 sails and 1 marlin released. Not only is Isabelle 70 years young, but
this was her very first blue water fishing experience.
They raised a total of 27 sails and 5 marlin, catching 20 of the 27 sails. The best action was in the latter part of the week, indicating things are
going to get better.
Phil Burton, of London, England, fished two days with Santiago on the panga ?Gitana.? The first day saw 6 sailfish released and 2 tuna in the 25-pound
class. The second day produced 1 small blue marlin released (estimated at about 200 pounds), 2 sailfish released, and 4 football tuna of about 12
pounds.
Water Temperature 72-78
Air Temperature 78-89
Humidity 83%
Wind Calm
Conditions Scattered Clouds 15,000 ft
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:10 a.m. CST
Sunset 8:16 p.m. CST
June 2, Full, June 9 Last Quarter, June 17 New, June 27 First Quarter
Baja on the Fly's Zihuatanejo report by Ed Kunze
SAN JOSE, GUATEMALA
IN GENERAL: The action continues to hold up with great numbers for this time of year, despite the rains which have appeared every night. The boats
that have gone out are averaging 16 of 23 releases on sails, and some boats have a much higher average. The action on dorado is still very good, with
some impressively large ones coming in.
Water Temperature 79-85
Air Temperature 80-82
Humidity 94 %
Wind Calm.
Conditions Chance of T-storms
Visibility 14 miles
Sunrise 5:34 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:27 p.m. CST
June 2, Full, June 9 Last Quarter, June 17 New, June 27 First Quarter
Baja on the Fly's Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa M. McFarlin.
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