East Cape's Cool, Zihuatanejo Hot
REPORT FROM GARY GRAHAM'S BAJA ON THE FLY:
PROVIDING QUALITY SALTWATER FLY-FISHING 365 DAYS A YEAR IN BAJA FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: bajafly@usa.net; USA toll-free (800) 919-2252; Mexico
011-52-624-14-10373
Thurs., Dec. 18, 2003, Report covers the period Sat.-Thurs. (12/11 - 12/18)
EAST CAPE, MAGDALENA BAY, ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO; AND IZTAPA, GUATEMALA CONDITIONS
EAST CAPE, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
IN GENERAL: Windy and cool seems like the needle is stuck on the record. With few guest at any of the hotels, most of the boats stayed close to home.
AIR & SEA -
Water temperature 67?-72?
Air temperature 59? - 77?
Humidity about 55%
Wind NW at 13 mph
Conditions Partly Cloudy (FEW) : 20,000 feet
Visibility 12 miles
Sunrise 6:53 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:36 p.m. MST
Dec. 23 New, Dec. 30 First Quarter Jan. 7 Full, Jan. 14 Last Quarter
o OFFSHORE: Heard of a billfish or two and an occasional dorado for very few trips.
o INSHORE: Tin boat fleet is managing to get out early and score of a few sierra.
o BEACH: When the wind backs off early morning in the gray is best
BILLFISH ? A few home guard still around.
YELLOWFIN TUNA ? Only a memory for now.
DORADO ? Pretty slow.
ROOSTERFISH ? La Ribera early best bet.
JACK CREVALLE - A few small fish at La Ribera and out toward Punta Colorada.
BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK - A few closer to shore, but difficult to find.
PARGO AND CABRILLA - Quiet.
SIERRA - Gray light just at dawn is best.
MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
IN GENERAL: All of the action centered on the esteros and there was little new to report outside. Most of the yachts have headed to greener pastures
leaving the locals to search for the hot bite outside.
Water Temperature 66?-73?
Air Temperature 68?- 78?
Humidity 76%
Wind NNE 11 mph
Conditions Scattered Clouds.
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:05 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:40 p.m. MST
Dec. 23 New, Dec. 30 First Quarter Jan. 7 Full, Jan. 14 Last Quarter
YELLOWTAIL ? Reports of a few at the entrada in deeper water.
CORVINA - They just keep on biting
SNOOK ? Fair to good action near Devil?s Curve on the northwest side of the channel.
HALIBUT ? Still enough to make fishing the sandy beaches worthwhile.
SIERRA ? Out toward the Entrada near Belchers.
ZIHUATANEJO, MAINLAND MEXICO
IN GENERAL: The 80? blue water has moved off the beach to about 10 miles. The main action for sailfish is taking place about 14- to 18-miles out. A
very nice bonus is the mature dorado are starting to show in good numbers.
Fly-fishing client Butch Cooley, of Seattle, fished two more days with us and we raised 8 sailfish each day. On the fly, he hooked an average of 3
fish a day.
Steve Miller of Albuquerque, had a tough day with Captain Martin and me on the panga ?Isamar? when the S/E winds blew and dropped the barometer. The
winds were not over 10 knots, but it shut down the fishing for the one day. As conditions stabilized on the next day, we raised 4 sailfish and hooked
3. Steve also made a great cast to a 32-pound dorado. The dorado ended up as dinner for all of us. All fish were caught on the fly and using IGFA
rules.
Jason Cook, of Carson City, Nevada fished on the panga ?Gitana? with Santiaga. They released 9 sailfish in two days.
Captain Adolpho on the panga ?Dos Hermanos? told me this morning the roosterfish action has slowed down, but he did manage a huge rooster of 80-pounds
on conventional gear yesterday. They then got into "mucho" jacks running to 25-pounds. The rooster and jacks are crashing on bait just off the surf
line about 8 miles north of Zihuatanejo Bay. Adolpho also reports a lot of sierras are rounding out the day for his clients.
Water Temperature 79?-86?
Air Temperature 71? - 81?
Humidity 83%
Wind Calm
Conditions Haze Smoke
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:10 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:14 p.m. CST
Dec. 23 New, Dec. 30 First Quarter Jan. 7 Full, Jan. 14 Last Quarter
Baja on the Fly's Zihuatanejo report by Ed Kunze
IZTAPA, GUATEMALA
IN GENERAL: As we get closer to the peak part of the sail-fishing season, the daily averages are going up. This week we had 13 boats out in 5 days
of fishing. They were able to average 17 releases out of 24 shots on sailfish, with the high boat for the week releasing 39 of 52. There was also
one lone marlin released. By Guatemala's standard the action is starting to get good, and compared with other locations the numbers are incredible!
It is still a pretty good run to the action, but it is worth it. For those wanting to try fly-fishing for the first time, Guatemala offers enough
opportunities that you will look like a pro by day?s end. Action on dorado and tuna is spotty, but consistently available. Inshore, there were no
boats out. Stay tuned for better release numbers as we get into the first couple of months of 2004.
Water Temperature 80?-85?
Air Temperature 78?-82?
Humidity 73%
Wind Calm
Conditions Clear
Visibility
Sunrise 6:20 a.m. CST
Sunset 5:39 p.m. CST
Dec. 23 New, Dec. 30 First Quarter Jan. 7 Full, Jan. 14 Last Quarter
Baja on the Fly's Guatemala report by Brian Barragy and Lissa M. McFarlin.
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