Whew! Another Near Miss in Baja
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
September 18, 2004. Report covers the period Sat.-Fri. (9/11-9/17)
EAST CAPE, MAGDALENA BAY, ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO; AND SAN JOSE, GUATEMALA CONDITIONS
EAST CAPE
IN GENERAL: Here comes Javier, there goes Javier. Whew! We are ? way through September and unlike Florida the storms keep going on past. Sailfish and
tuna continued to be the hot topic with some fatties in the tuna department including one 200+ that left one angler with arms two inches longer and a
suitcase full of smoked fillets. Nope, it was not caught on a fly. Back inshore the dorado hung out inside of six miles from Punta Pescadero to the
Lighthouse. Beach action slowed this week - not from a lack of fish but a shortage of anglers.
AIR & SEA -
Water temperature 80-89
Air temperature 74-98
Humidity about 79%
Wind: 12 mph from the SSE
Conditions: Scattered Clouds 22000 ft
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:06 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:18 p.m. MDT
Sept. 21, First Quarter; Sep 28, Full; Oct. 6, Last Quarter, Oct. 14, New
+ OFFSHORE: Sails and Tuna counts just keep on inching upward. Enough billfish shots to merit keeping the 12wt locked and loaded.
+ INSHORE: Not far, plenty and a few quality sized dorado that make it a tough decision on which rod to chose, 8wt or 12wt.
+ BEACH: Hang out at the arroyo, mid day and the roster parade will blow you away.
BILLFISH ? Plenty of tales about sails this week.
YELLOWFIN TUNA ? Be careful, there are some gorillas under the porpoise that will change your 12wt from a 4 piece to a 6 piece.
DORADO ? Close and plentiful.
ROOSTERFISH\JACK CREVALLE ? Look for bait schools from La Ribera to Punta Colorada. Find them and you find a mixed bag including jacks, roosters and
ladyfish.
BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK ? Still can be found in the same zone as the dorado.
PARGO AND CABRILLA ? Rocky outcropping are the best right now.
SIERRA ? Bait receivers at La Ribera the best bet.
MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
IN GENERAL: With Tropical Storm Javier marching up the west coast of Baja everyone here in San Carlos is hoping that it either fizzles out or travels
on up the coast. With the unsettled conditions few boats were venturing outside and inside the esteros only produced fair action.
Water Temperature 67-78
Air Temperature 74-83
Humidity 80%
Wind Calm
Conditions: Scattered Clouds
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 7:14 a.m. MDT
Sunset 7:26 p.m. MDT
Sept. 21, First Quarter; Sep 28, Full; Oct. 6, Last Quarter, Oct. 14, New
YELLOWTAIL ? Before the weather deteriorated underneath the bird schools was producing the best action.
CORVINA ? Bridge, pier and Devil?s curve were holding a few fish with an occasional five pounder
SNOOK ? Some of the smaller variety and a few mystery bites.
HALIBUT ? Punta Belcher still holding a few.
SIERRA ? A few mixed in the bird schools at the entrada.
ZIHUATANEJO, MAINLAND MEXICO
IN GENERAL: There has not been much change in the last few weeks for fishing. The 80? blue water has moved out to about 6 miles due to a few
rainstorms we got in the last couple of days.
There is still a very distinct lack of fishermen, but this is normal for this time of the year. Each boat fishing the blue water is getting at least a
couple of sailfish a day. A few dorado are starting to show, and with last night's rainstorm recording 5 inches in my gauge, the flows out of the
river should push enough debris out to hold the dorado here. The dorado action should really pick up in the next couple of weeks.
However, the high river flows do have a drawback. The silty water tends to hug the coast line and is shutting down the outstanding roosterfish bite we
have had for several months now. The roosters are still there, it is just very difficult to get them to see the baits in the dirty water. Hookless
teasers skimming the surface on my kite rig seem to be the best bet to find the roosters right now. A 60 foot cast with a fly, and it is an instant
hookup.
There is still outstanding jack crevalle action inside Zihuatanejo Bay. Felipe, on the panga Yellowfin took a tour around the bay this morning to
drain the water from his panga by pulling the plug. As he was motoring along, he felt he might as well troll a Rapalla. It paid off. In less than 20
minutes he had drained his boat of water, and had an 18 pound jack on the deck.
Ed Kunze
Water Temperature 80-84
Air Temperature 78-87
Humidity 62%
Wind East 6 mph
Conditions: T - Storms
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:34 a.m. CDT
Sunset 7:45 p.m. CDT
Sept. 21, First Quarter; Sep 28, Full; Oct. 6, Last Quarter, Oct. 14, New
Baja on the Fly's Zihuatanejo report by Ed Kunze
SAN JOSE, GUATEMALA
Unsettled weather persisted this week as everyone put the finishing touches on preparations for the official season beginning in October. The few
boats out this week found some pods of sailfish outside of thirty miles.
Water Temperature 75-82
Air Temperature 78-82
Humidity 94 %
Wind ENE 6 mph
Conditions: T - Storms
Visibility 7 miles
Sunrise 5:52 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:01 p.m. CST
Sept. 21, First Quarter; Sep 28, Full; Oct. 6, Last Quarter, Oct. 14, New
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