bajafly - 1-21-2006 at 11:28 AM
REPORT #994. ?Below the Border? Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
Endless Season Update 01/21/06
East Cape
Football . . . no I am not talking about the playoffs, but pigskin-size tuna. While the wind blew most of the week, (actually 6 out of 7 days) Lucky
Thursday (1/19) was flat calm and the fleet hammered the yellowfin tuna close to shore under the porpoise. It was the perfect opportunity for the
flyrodder if there had been any around to take advantage of the action. Amazingly, when the boats get out there are still a few dorado to be found.
On the beach, the wind waves left the water looking like a bad cup of cappuccino. How windy was it? The report was that ?one day it was too windy for
the windsurfers!? Now that?s windy! Mark Rayor of Vista Sea Sport reported great diving conditions on Thursday with good visibility, though the water
was a chilly 66 degrees.
Bring on the NFL
Baja on the Fly
Water temperature 66-73
Air temperature 52-75
Humidity 52%
Wind: NNW 13 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 8 miles
Sunrise 7:01 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:58 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
Jacks Are Better!
Even though the 80? blue water is only four miles off the beach, most boats averaged only one or two sailfish a day. Fly-fishers had it even rougher,
with only about one decent shot a day. But, the fish are here, and I fully expect things to change 100% next week.
A very notable couple of days were posted by Santiago on the panga ?Gitana.? Bill Gray and his wife, from South Carolina, fished two days with
Santiago and released 10 sailfish.
Four of our better inshore pangas made the 40 mile run south to Papanoa. Staying down there, they hammered the water for three days and only had two
roosterfish for their efforts. It is safe to say the roosters have left the area, and probably will not be back until May.
Adolpho, on the panga Dos ?Hermanos? fished about 12 miles north of Zihuatanejo, catching 27 large jack crevalle and five sierra for two days of
fishing. Adolpho told me it is an ideal situation for the fly-fisher. The jacks are slamming the popper teaser all the way back to the boat. His blue
water effort for three days produced five sailfish and one dorado.
Ed Kunze, Zihuatanejo
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 77 - 87
Humidity 66%
Wind S 4 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 8 miles
Sunrise 7:19 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:34 p.m. CST
San Jose, Guatemala
With the fleet spreading out and a few boats traveling out 40 miles ? most pulling the throttles back at 10 miles or less ? the fishing has not been
terrific this week. Single digits were the norm with very few exceptions. When the sails did appear in the pattern, they were pretty lethargic and
tough to get to take a fly. A few boats did locate a school of porpoise and did well on yellowfin tuna. While the fishing was not up to the usual
Guatemala standards, the weather was calm seas and clear skies.
Les Kagel
Water temperature 78 - 82
Air temperature 66- 84
Humidity 100%
Wind: SE 8 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 6 miles
Sunrise 6:31 a.m. CST
Sunset 5:57 p.m. CST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
More and more whales are arriving each week and both San Carlos and Lopez Mateos are more focused on whale watching than fishing. There was some
action for corvina at the pier in San Carlos as well as under the bridge at the entrance to San Carlos. The boats at Lopez Mateos have stayed close to
home and reported fair action for corvina, grouper and the ever-present spotted bay bass. Also, there?s a decent halibut bite in shallow near sandy
beaches.
Water temperature 68-73
Air temperature 68-73
Humidity 20%
Wind: WNW 6 mph
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 7:12 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:03 p.m. MST