Dorado by the Score; Tuna, Roosters and Billfish
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., July 10, 2004. Report covers the period Sat.-Fri. (6/27-7/09)
EAST CAPE, MAGDALENA BAY, ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO; AND SAN JOSE, GUATEMALA CONDITIONS
EAST CAPE, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
IN GENERAL: Dave Kuykendall of Mill Creek, Wash., along with Linda Patterson finished up their whirlwind trip from the Pacific Northwest. Sorry, no
?bubba? event on their ATV day, but fighting a strong east wind they did manage to catch jacks and a halibut. Dave did have one take from a mid-teen
rooster that just didn?t work out. On their last panga day they redeemed themselves nicely with double digit dorado within spitting distance of Rancho
Leonero. The dorado were so close that Rancho Leonero manager Gary Barnes-Webb jumped into a panga and came out to join in the fray. Billfish, tuna,
dorado, and a few quality roosters made for another memorable week at East Cape.
I returned to Escondido mid-week and Yvonne and I will be in Downey for the Downey Fly Fishers meeting. It?s Tues., July 13, 2004 7 p.m. in Apollo
Park, 12458 Rives Ave., Downey, Calif. For more information, go to http://www.downeyflyfishers.org/
The topic is Saltwater Fly-Fishing Opportunities South of the Border, featuring fresh material from the 2004 season. If you?re anywhere within
double-haul distance of Downey you?re welcome to stop by and say hello.
AIR & SEA -
Water temperature 74-88
Air temperature 78-98
Humidity about 62%
Wind: Calm/some wind in the afternoon
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 15 miles
Sunrise 6:39 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:08 p.m. MDT
July 17 New, July 27 First Quarter, July 31, Full, Aug 9 Last Quarter
+ OFFSHORE: Blue marlin and sails began to pick up as summer gets rolling and the water temps continue to creep up. Stripes fell off a bit, while
the tuna were back on a roll. It was a fine line between offshore and inshore with dorado only a few miles off the beach.
+ INSHORE: Sardina seems to have taken up residence between Punta Colorada and the Lighthouse. Roosters, quality jacks, pompano all seem to be in
on the secret and the early morning bite has been great and consistent.
+ BEACH: Ladyfish, jacks and roosters dominated the action this week. Find the sardina or mullet schools and your rods bound to be bent sooner than
later.
BILLFISH ? Want a blue on the fly? More shots coming every day if you have the patience. Enough stripes and sails to fill in the gaps.
YELLOWFIN TUNA ? We even found a few football-sized Charlies under the shark buoys. Outside Punta Pescadero toward the 88 produced some fatties. The
other area is out from the Lighthouse 10+ miles.
DORADO ? The larger fish are outside in much smaller schools. Back closer to shore, bigger schools contained more fish, but not quite as large. Esual
Valdez, manager of Buenavista Beach Resort, three caught outside the Lighthouse that weighed between 40 and 50-pounds
ROOSTERFISH\JACK CREVALLE ? Roosters showed in front of the hotel as the boats came in. Discarded chum got them all excited and I did see a couple of
near misses on the fly.
BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK ? Just a few miles off the beach mixed in with the dorado.
PARGO AND CABRILLA ? Punta Colorada point was holding a few smaller ones this week.
SIERRA ?Only an incidental catch these days.
MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
IN GENERAL: The entrada (entrance to the ocean) continues to heat up with more yellows caught early morning there. Corvina, grouper and cabrilla are
up in the esteros (estuaries.)
Diana Hoyt called to report Captain Ruben Duran had scored big time on grouper to 30 pounds outside the Boca Soledad near Lopez Mateos. He also
reported a large black sea bass well over 100 pounds. Diana also reported that their new 17-foot Carolina skiff fishing the esteros surrounding Lopez
Mateos had found great fishing for corvina, leopard grouper and cabrilla.
Water Temperature 60-65
Air Temperature 73-80
Humidity 27%
Wind 4 mph from the NW
Conditions Scattered Clouds
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 6:43 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:19 p.m. MDT
July 17 New, July 27 First Quarter, July 31, Full, Aug 9 Last Quarter
YELLOWTAIL ? Catches seem to be improving at the entrada.
CORVINA ? Pretty consistent throughout the bay.
SNOOK ? Should be a barn burner when if finally gets going.
HALIBUT ? A given on sandy beaches with a slow retrieved weighted fly.
SIERRA ? Not targeted this week.
ZIHUATANEJO, MAINLAND MEXICO
IN GENERAL: The 80? blue water is still close inshore, but the sailfish fishing has tapered off some from the last couple of weeks. A lot of this can
probably be attributed to the moon phase. As we go into the dark phase, I am very certain the blue water fishing should pick up.
As it is, each boat has been releasing 1 or 2 sailfish a day, and the numbers of dorado hitting the dock are increasing.
Captain Cali and I were beach fishing yesterday (Fri.) out at Buena Vista. I was using my 10-weight and Cali had light tackle spin gear. We were
getting a lot green jacks, a few small jack crevalle, and an occasional barrilete. We watched Arturo on the panga ?Whisky III? work the back side of
the surf line with a couple of clients. Right in front of us they had a double on a pair of 45-pound roosters. They lifted them up for a photo, and
then released them.
In other words, the roosterfish action is still hot.
Water Temperature 80-89
Air Temperature 80-91
Humidity 74%
Wind 5 mph from the West
Conditions Thunder Storms
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:17 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:24 p.m. CDT
July 17 New, July 27 First Quarter, July 31, Full, Aug 9 Last Quarter
Baja on the Fly's Zihuatanejo report by Ed Kunze
SAN JOSE, GUATEMALA
IN GENERAL: Several boats ventured out last week, and they were after the abundant tuna. They ended up with lots of yellowfin tuna and even more
dorado. The blue water is back and has moved in close with the run being about 12-15 miles. The weather has been nice with cloudy conditions, but no
rain.
Water Temperature 79-85
Air Temperature 78-82
Humidity 84 %
Wind 5 mph from the East
T-Storms
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 5:41 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:35 p.m. CST
July 17 New, July 27 First Quarter, July 31, Full, Aug 9 Last Quarter
Baja on the Fly's Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa M. McFarlin.
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