Dorado? ..fishing maps.. and gps waypoints.

Well, for those of us who are into fishing, the dorado season is fast approaching. In particular for me...that stretch of water between the ports of Loreto and Sta. Rosalia. The water temps are climbing...it was 77 out there a few days back. Sargasso is floating more and more. A couple flying fish here and there.

The feisty dorado are already being caught near Cabo and the reports are that they are being seen further north every day...our own 'running of the bulls!'

In my own experience I have caught them as early as March 15th and as late as December 14th.

So fishermen, just when do you think the first dorado will be caught ...in close-in waters, not those 50 miles runs straight out - from Loreto to Sta. Rosalia?

This is just a fun thing, so remember...Life is way too serious to be taken seriously.



[Edited on 4-17-2007 by Pompano]

there was some "noise" about dorados yesterday on the vhf but i missed the complete conversation...

it was on the spanish channel

Someone will go out 50 miles soon and get the first Loreto dorado, but the real season will be weeks later. SST shows warmer water way offshore.

There are a few sailfish and marlin in the area now.

Boy there are some nice weed paddies out there!

Edit:
Oh, I should guess....Loreto marina, April 25th.
How about who catches it?

Guess: Bill E or Capt. Eulogio.

[Edited on 4-13-2007 by Don Alley]

Was out Wednesday all around Carmen and Danzante and the water temp never reached 70. Like to know where you find that 77.

Good reflections on the dorado, Skeet. You have spent the time gaining that knowledge, I know. Me, too.

I like to go out by running from the Bay down to Ille del Fonso, stopping to throw out a Mirrolure just before Pta. Teresa for a dinner cabrilla..just in case we get the dorado skunk flag. Then we take a heading towards Guaymas and throw out some feathers.

While trolling along at a good clip, say 10-12 knots, we will run a zig-zag course NNE (45degrees) for about 2-3 hours. Of course, all this time we are looking for chumlines, slicks, tidal rifts, paddies, birds (frigates!), flying fish and a friendly fish-god.

If we go more than 25 miles offshore it's time to steer north for 20 miles or so..then and angle back in towards the east side of Tortuga Island near Sta. Rosalia. From there we would troll and watch the signs until reaching the yellowtail grounds off San Marcos and Pta. Chivato. All good water if the dorado are in...and if not, then we have that cabrilla on ice or will pick up a yellowtail on the last leg.

What kind of fishing do you have in your neck of the woods in Texas? Whatever it may be, have fun and good luck.


[Edited on 4-14-2007 by Pompano]

Whenever they want!

OK Dan I know I showed you the Andres equation:

The truth = (What Andres says) / 3 but true!

He went way out just like Don describes (but this time didn't run outta gas ) and caught "three" dorado over two days, he says. No doubt that he caught one or two but who wants to go way the hell out there for one fish when we can enjoy this great Yellowtail fishing we have now! pretty easy limits of 30-40 pounders, boats coming back loaded!! Summer will come soon enough.

a general fishing map for you...

Getting just a wee bit off-track here for a sec..then back to your best guess on dorado catch date.

Skeet's and other's recollections about where to fish prompted me to make some map notes for any boat owners who miight care to try their luck in the Mulege area...which my buddies and I have fished for 35 years and know quite well. You can bet I have left lures on every pile of rocks from San Marcos to Pulpito.

Also, if you are wondering about what lure or setup to use for fishing, you might give these a try:

Cabrilla....use a firetiger* Mirrolure tied directly to line..no snaps, etc. Troll in 25 - 50 ft. at 6-8mph about 125-150 feet back. (*although my biggest ever was on 'hot pink.') Or cast your favorite iron along the rocky points. My dinner favorite.

Pintos...nothing like a good 4 ounce iron to get down there..200ft plus...quicky on a calm day. They will pick it up going down in the last 10 feet. These are delicious.

Yellowtail...live bait flylining seems to work really well. Or..use a 2-3 oz egg sliding sinker on the nose and send to bottom. 200-275ft= normal depths for us.

Dorado...fast troll a feather that causes some surface ruckus..make it skip now and then...change speed and direction often..upwind, downwind..colors change daily. Live bait, cut bait, green macks, squid, it all works.

The Map:

If you are new to our area and would like to go out fishing in your own boat, try these general areas for cabrilla, yellowtail, snapper, pintos, etc. Otherwise, hire one of our local expert guides..they will get you on the fish.

The same help could be presented by local fishermen for the Loreto, La Paz, and Cape areas, I suppose. Kind of a general guide as to where boater owners can go to find certain targeted fish...please note 'general' guide. There is something satisfying about finding fish on your own.

Key to map guide:

RED = yellowtail (seasonal - late fall to spring)
YELLOW = bottomfish (mostly pintos, but some grays, huachinangos, grouper, etc)
BLACK/BROWN = cabrilla, snapper
GREEN = dorado (early season)

Welcome aboard, idleguy.

Good to hear you are a neighbor. Stop over for a visit and we can yak about fishing and shoot the bull. I will introduce you to some other old liars...er, fishermen.

Here are some old photos that will interest you... a near-deserted Burros Beach, 1975, from the rock paintings across the highway. and from the top of the hill separating our beaches. I almost built a house up there on the high flat point. We dubbed it Roger's Rookery amongst ourselves. Harrison Evans of Mulege owned the whole hill and we discussed building a road...which quickly became too difficult. But wow, what a view!



[Edited on 4-15-2007 by Pompano]

some info that may help get you a nice dinner...

I just read Don Alley's request on Skeet's thread, 'Loreto area maps', for any gps waypoints Skeet might have laying around...but, like me, I am sure Skeet did not have any gps equipment in those early days.

But I do nowadays. And have had it since the technology came along. Maybe Skeet will tell us if he did, too?

Anyway, that got me to thinking that it would be helpful to share some locations of 'fairly-predictable' areas for a fish dinner. Fishing is fishing, so nothing is ever gauranteed, but I have always caught some fish at these spots..and hope you will too. So, if you have a gps, then here's some co-ordinates that will hopefully take you to the fish.

These will be mostly reefs and rock piles in the area from San Marcos Island to Pta. Teresa (Sta. Rosalia to San Nicolas village). These are mainly reef fish, not the pelagics. You can expect to catch these...maybe!...Grouper, cabrilla, pinto, snapper, parrotfish, pargo, trigger, etc...all good eaters.

Off Pt. Conception for pintos, graysby, and maybe some cabrilla:
N 26^52.997
W111^44.809
depth = 225ft. (rock pile)
4 oz. iron to bottom..hit immediately.

South of Pt. Conception for cabrilla:
N 26^43. 946'
W 111^36. 934'
depth = stay in 35-50ft. toss iron or troll lures (rocky flats)

Pt. Terasa: cabrilla, snapper, barred pargo, roosterfish
N 26^42. 924'
W 111^35. 053'
depth = 28-50ft
troll with Mirrolure (shore points)

Offshore Pta. Chivato: Wild shot for yellowtail: (these are roamers, so this is just generally a good place to start)
N 27^05. 869'
W 111^55. 002'
depth = 200-250ft.
live bait on bottom or flyline

North of San Marcos seal rocks: Good for yellows, cabrilla...sometimes sharks and seals.
N26^16. 262'
W112^05. 818'
depth = hump at 150' over deeper.
troll, live bait flyline and bottom, toss iron....watch for boils


Now, if you get lost in the fog or it's a dark lonely night...these are co-ords for getting back safely to the Mulege estuary:

Mulege:
N 26^54. 038'
W 111^57. 155'
Note...go slow when entering Mulege estuary...watch your depth to the ramp on portside (left).

Tight lines!

[Edited on 4-17-2007 by Pompano]

At one time those "#'s" were closely guarded secrets, worth their weight in gold and only divulged under extreme duress.

No big secret anymore, Cypress...we all know these spots.

Times have changed a lot, Cypress. It's a big ocean and there is room for all of us. Besides, any angler around these parts can tell you where to go to fish...but you still have to catch 'em. When we were commercial fishing salmon in Bristol Bay, you could not have tortured us enough to divulge our good co-ords back then...we even had our own 'windtalkers' for the vhf's...Innuit crewmembers. I really haven't felt the need to keep any fishing information a secret in the SOC since the day I first wet a line here..the more shared, the better. After all, it's only fishing..

Now if you were to ask me where my prized and very loose slot machine is in Mesquite, NV. ..I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you.

Pompano,About those loose slots?

Attached is a picture of one of four dorado I caught this afternoon in the canyon ENE of Loreto. Yesterday, fishing the canyon due east of town I caught and released my first marlin of the year, a striper around 100 lbs. The dorado may or may not be the first caught out of Loreto this year, Andres' fish stories notwithstanding, but I know that my marlin was not the first. That distinction goes, I think, to Bill Klaser and his son-in-law Rick Ramirez who caught two stripers a couple of weeks ago fishing on Bill's Cabo. The ambitious little dorado took marlin lures. After a photo op. I sent them on north with my best wishes. Pomp, they should be off Mulege around the 27th. You are welcome to all of these little peanuts that you want, but be advised that when the big bulls start making their way north in a couple of weeks we will make our best effort to pick them all off, one by one, before they make it past Isla Ildephonso

April 19 Loreto Striper