Klondike_Kid - 6-20-2008 at 05:54 PM
Not having made it down yet but preparing none-the-less for that event, I have been studying the progression of water temperature changes in the SOC
since the beginning of winter and trying to do some correlation to various fisheries based on the available fishing reports each week.
Obviously dorado like the warmer seas but what is the break point for temperature that they won't push into?
What temperatures do they prefer that produces the best populations available in an area?
And lastly, I see the Bay of Concepcion is showing in the mid 80's now. Do dorado ever enter into the bay in numbers that would make them a viable
fishery to go for?
Pescador - 6-20-2008 at 09:26 PM
Last winter we found a school of peanuts in 58 degree water at San Marcos Island in January, but that is a very rare occurence. Some years the magic
temp was 73, but 75-77 is better, I think, and it gets really good at 79-80. Temp breaks and current rips can be great and I use the chlorophyll maps
to see good areas that may be productive or at least worth exploring. Always keep your eyes open for floating junk as it is almost always productive.
I once knew a professional guide out of Los Muertos who did very well by creating small floating spots that he set up and maintained and he could put
customers on fish when no one else could get a bite.
As for Concepcion, I am sure someone will come on and talk about the big schools of dorado they found or saw, but I have never caught one there.
There are much better places to work that consistently hold fish.
Make sure you check http://www.mexfish.com every monday and get the latest reports.
By the way, the Alaska outdoor Journal was fantastic for getting us in the right area and on the fish when we were there last summer. Great site.
[Edited on 6-21-2008 by Pescador]
Klondike_Kid - 6-21-2008 at 01:10 AM
Thanks for the data and insight. (I'm taking notes~! Hmm, chlorophyll maps, make note to self.) I've read stories about boats encountering just a
single sheet of plywood floating along holding a half dozen nice dorado around it, taking a fish on every pass. The sargasso pads I've read about on
nomad sound like very exciting cover to target since they can hold a variety of species in the area. Can't wait for that first
encounter. I guess that's where a tuna tower comes in handy for spotting debris or tailing fish. Too bad NOAA can't provide daily hi res satellite
viewing of the sea to track those pads and debris rips. Spending a lot of 'net time researching terminal gear and what species it works on best.
Looks like about 2/3 of my saltwater tackle up here will work down there too. Roger on reading Mexfish reports as well as bajafly on here. All good
stuff for a cheechako. BTW, what is the equivalent name in spanish?
AOJ, yep, one man show it is. And even now as I spend 6-8 hours a day on updates as our season is just "heating up" my thoughts are constantly down in
Baja. Can't make it a full day without booting up Google Earth and surveying more terrain, beaches, towns and villages, etc. By the time I get there
it will be like I've been there for a while.
BTW, they are slaying the reds at the Russian. 40 mins to an hour for limits. Should be smokin' thru next Wednesday. Plenty of brownies roaming the
area too. Kings on the Kenai are hot....15 hrs per fish which is as good as you will ever see it. Might have to get out on Sunday when the guides are
off the river. Thanks for the kudos. Tight lines.
Osprey - 6-21-2008 at 06:52 AM
Klondike, where are you headed when you come down to fish?
Klondike_Kid - 6-21-2008 at 03:30 PM
I'm planning on joining up with a Vagabundos caravan out of Tecate I think around Jan. 12th. Its a seven day run to CSL where they turn you loose. I
feel for my first foray into Baja this would provide the fastest, safest orientation of the basic "the good, the bad, the ugly". 
It may just be me and the dog or I may commandeer some friends to join me and let
them fly out of CSL later. Plans are to bring a 16' inflatable with a 35-50hp 4 stroke to provide me a fishing and diving platform that is easy to put
in even on the beach. Probably have my Polaris 6x6 in the trailer too.
With the waters so cool at that time I think my best "first contact" with SOC fisheries would be to begin sampling at the Cabo end and working my way
up the coast as the season warms the waters and some of the blue water species begin to move north. The stretch from La Paz to Mulege appears to offer
a great number of access points to the water - for fishing and diving as well as many RV and camping operations, so quite a bit of my time will find
me in that region. (BTW, I plan to hire out some of the local panga guides in each new place as a way to contribute to the local economy and get a
grip on new fishing techniques and styles and give me some longer range than a rubber duck.)
But since this is just an expeditionary scouting trip (thru perhaps the end of March) my boat situation will eventually change. A 24' panga is
definitely on the shopping list as well as a liveaboard sized sailboat not too far in the future. I've been frugal all my life - NOW my philosophy is
I can't take it with me! 
Cypress - 6-21-2008 at 03:54 PM
Fishing in Baja., Been there, sad, unless you're running a 200 ft. gill net.
I'm not
going back.
Will do my fishing in the northern Gulf of Mexico under USA regs.
etc.
Klondike_Kid - 6-21-2008 at 04:14 PM
Your point is well taken. Having a science education background I've got a pretty good understanding of how many of our world's fisheries are impacted
by manmade factors, e.g. pollution, over fishing, climate changes, etc. And I have read some pretty bad reports related to the 'wild west' management
approach (or lack there of) by the Mexican government to establish and ENFORCE a strict management plan. Here in Alaska our F&G department is
recognized throughout the world as having the most success in maintaining fish stocks at numbers that were present to sport and commercial fishers
back in the 1970's. So I wince and cringe more than a little to see the direction the SOC management plan is headed. Some species that are reef
residents have been decimated by pistoleros with hooka rigs at night. All the more important for me to get down there soon before they begin calling
it the Dead Sea. Fisheries that thrive on vast numbers in their ranks, the tunas family, YT, and others don't survive well when their school numbers
are reduced below a certain point. Reproduction is affected, stress on the fish increases without the 'safety in numbers' factor, and just like the
buffalo and passenger pigeon who everyone said you could never see the end of, anything is possible.
As an Alaskan example, there are close to 300 gillnetter boats fishing Cook Inlet salmon this summer, fishing 150 fathoms of net each, plus several
hundred beach sites stretching the same nets out from the beach on anchors and pulley systems. And we expect 5.1 million sockeye to return...a typical
year. 3.6 million of that will be harvested by commercial and sportfishing. And so it continues. Its called management and something
the Mx government sorely needs to establish. They will pay dearly for it as we have seen in thousands of fisheries throughout the world where
overfishing, continuous year round fishing occurs. Some day Mexico will be an importer of fish food for their populations. They need to take some of
that oil money of theirs and establish a Fisheries Division with teeth and expertise to insure their future.
Cypress - 6-21-2008 at 05:23 PM
Klondike_Kid, 
Most folks down along the Sea Of Cortez don't really have a
clue. But, I'm thinking they're getting a hint.