BajaNomad

San Marcos Island?

fishbuck - 4-30-2009 at 05:36 PM

Anybody know anything? I want to go there and catch yellowtail.

Russ - 4-30-2009 at 05:56 PM

Here's the latest report I've seen: http://www.bloodydecks.com/forums/baja-mexico-fishing-report...

fishbuck - 4-30-2009 at 06:07 PM

Ya, I saw it. Lots of talk but not much info. Thanks though.:)

Salsa - 4-30-2009 at 07:22 PM

Contact Mike Kasner at

http://www.islasanmarcos.com/Contactpage.html

Don

cantinflas - 4-30-2009 at 07:51 PM

San Marcos Mike is the man! But it's Mike Kanzler. He will get you fish.

fishbuck - 5-1-2009 at 02:01 AM

Okay, I'm still hungry for info about San Marcos Island.
I looked at the website and it's nice but almost no useable info.
I emailed Mike K but nothing yet.
But I have decided that this is the right place to fish in Mayo.
Last year in May, I flew commercial to La Paz, rented a car, a beer at the Cortez Club, and drove to La Ventana.
I love La Ventana!
The next morning I got picked-up by Luceros brother and we drove to Muertos Bay. As we got close to the bay the wind started to blow. By the time we got there the palms were bending over in the wind. I thought for sure we wouldn't go.
But Lucero told me to jump in. The wind was fierce and it was cold. I sat on the floor of the panga as low as I could get. Didn't help. In a few minutes I was soaked.
It was one of those mornings when I was wondering if I really liked fishing.
We bought bait from a bait panga and beat our way over to the island.
I fished for a good while and finally caught some bonita. It was something.
Miraculously, it actually got warmer and the wind laid down. I finally got warmed up enough that I put on my snorkel and mask and dove a little at Cerravo.
I got back in the boat and we went out to the shark bouys. Trolled live bait and... bingo. Dorado.
Caught a few fair size ones and that was it.
When we were there we saw a guy fly fishing for Dorado. That looked like fun!
I traded him one of the Bonito I caught. He gave me a live bait about mackeral size. Silver with yellow stripes.
We hauled over to the Lighthouse and started slow trolling the beach.
It was a little hot by then and I got a little sleepy just trolling back and forth. I was in free spool and I must have let out a bunch of line. I had my thumb on the spool and I woke up with line burning out. I'm bit! In gear and take in some slack and... Bam!
My first Roosterfish! A big one!

[Edited on 5-1-2009 by fishbuck]

San Marcos Island

Pompano - 5-1-2009 at 04:23 AM

fishbuck, the yellowtail bite is still okay at San Marcos Island. I just talked to some local fishing buddies yesterday and they all reported good fishing off the north and east of San Marcos. Nice sized jurel still in thier regular haunts. Making bait pre-dawn would still be your best chance, but tossing iron to the boils, if any occur, would definetely get you some action.

If fishing out of Mulege and you need a guide, I would recommend Alex at the Serinadad, or Mateo near the ramp. Lots of good fishermen, guides, and tips at San Lucas RV park, San Bruno or Punta Chivato also, if you fish from there.

Check with the fellows at Jungle Jim's in Mulege for some good..and friendly..advice on fishing San Marcos and other areas. Fishermen gather there from 4-6 pm. You will get some current reports and info. There is a dorado tournament scheduled there, too. The last 2 days of May.

I'm heading north in a few hours and can't go fishing, but I would be glad to take you out and show you what we have around this area after I return. I've fished 'a little bit' between Punta Pulpito and Tiberon. We were on Jorge's Reef and the 210' off San Marcos about April 22nd and did very well. The surface boils were like old times. You should have no trouble getting a nice yellow.

Note: The waters offshore are warming very fast right now. Keep your eyes open for flying fish, circling frigage birds, and greyhounding dorado!

Have fun & Tight lines!

JUREL - flyline Marcos 4-22-09.jpg - 36kB

losfrailes - 5-1-2009 at 08:09 AM

From San Lucas Cove, there is another excellent guide available besides San Marcos Mike, (Mike Kanzler).

His name is Francisco Meza, runs a well equipped panga and does a really fine job.

He can be called at 01152-615-160-1031. If no answer, call Wayne Davy at 01152-615-160-1009 and he will ge the message to Francisco.

The run time to San Marcos Island from San Lucas Cove will make all the difference between using guides from Mulege.

bajaumpaw - 5-1-2009 at 04:54 PM

I'm fishing with Mateo, out of Mulege, in the morning heading to San Marcos for some yellowtail action. I'll post a report tomorrow night of what we caught.

Cypress - 5-1-2009 at 06:24 PM

bajaumpaw, Will be looking foreward to your report.:tumble:

fishbuck - 5-1-2009 at 07:05 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by bajaumpaw
I'm fishing with Mateo, out of Mulege, in the morning heading to San Marcos for some yellowtail action. I'll post a report tomorrow night of what we caught.


Es muy bien! My guess is you'll catch a few for sure.
Please let us know! :coolup:

Pescador - 5-1-2009 at 07:28 PM

I have been fishing that area for the last 10 years and there is no doubt that San Marcos Mike is the man but he is now having to spend a lot of time up north for "his other life". I am sorry but unless you are staying in Mulege, the guys from Mulege just do not understand the reef and the fishing areas like Mike, Fransisco, or Rigo Ojeda. Mike also has a friend by the Name of Danny "El Piojo Loco" (Crazy flea) that will take people out in Mike's boat when Mike is out of town. Fransisco is working as an instructor at the Tech College in Santa Rosalia so is not always available during school times. Rigo is probably the best fisherman of all if you have your own boat and lives in San Bruno. His Cell phone is011-52-1615-104-9850.
Rigo caught 24 two days ago and nailed 16 today and all were over 25 lbs. He and Fransisco are fishing together tomorrow so the yellowtail are going to be in serious trouble. This is a world class fishery but you really need to be on top of the whole situation from knowing exactly where and how to make your bait, how deep the fish are holding, what is the current, when are the tides most active, do they prefer moving bait or still, should the sliding sinker be right on the nose or pinned away from the hook, or should you be using no weight at all and flylining. etc. etc., are they on the 110, 190, 55, 220, panga reef, rancho, or Tortuga island.

losfrailes - 5-1-2009 at 07:38 PM

Rigos phone is a cellular. In order to reach him you must dial 044-615-104-9850.

And Pescador is right on. The three locals mentioned, are by far the most knowledgeable fishermen in the area.

Hook - 5-1-2009 at 09:54 PM

We've grown rather tired of YT over here. Dorado are within 20 miles; billfish, too, if you fish for them.

We boated 4 dorado today and release two. Both keepers were about 37 inches long.

Radio propagation has been amazing lately. We are talking to boats at Pta. Lobos on Carmen, the north end of San Jose and Los Frailes. They are catching larger dorado and the occasional YFT.

[Edited on 5-2-2009 by Hook]

fishbuck - 5-1-2009 at 10:43 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Hook
We've grown rather tired of YT over here. Dorado are within 20 miles; billfish, too, if you fish for them.

We boated 4 dorado today and release two. Both keepers were about 37 inches long.

Radio propagation has been amazing lately. We are talking to boats at Pta. Lobos on Carmen, the north end of San Jose and Los Frailes. They are catching larger dorado and the occasional YFT.

[Edited on 5-2-2009 by Hook]


I could never grow tired of catching yellowtail!
I haven't fished the spots you mention but I think that is east cape.
My goal right now is to find the closest SOC yellowtail to where I live, Costa Mesa Ca.
I'm actually waiting for the fish to get to BOLA. But that's at least 1 more month.
So I'm thinking San Marcos Island right now.
I caught my last 2 yellowfin tuna in B. Asuncion with Juan Arce in December. About 1 mile from the beach. It was beautiful!

Hook - 5-2-2009 at 05:59 AM

I should have said we are getting tired of EATING yellowtail. Just not that good an eating of a fish.

capt. mike - 5-2-2009 at 07:18 AM

never get tired of properly smoked YT, but yeah - grilled, baked etc....boring after a while.
give me dodos for good eats 24/7.

san marcos is a pain in the arse to get to from mulege by boat. its the ride back that gets to you.

if i lived there i'd trailer to san lucas or hire a local boat.

bajaumpaw - 5-2-2009 at 02:43 PM

Went to San Marcos today from Mulege. Thankfully, the sea was calm because it was a long way there and back. Definitely, go out of San Lucas Cove or Santa Rosalia. Lots of boats on the North end but no one was catching any YT. We fished there for 3 hours this morning from 8 - 11 and caught 1 Pinto Bass and 1 Sea Bass. We had 2 good hookups with probably Grouper but no gotta them in the boat. We were fishing with live bait. There was an outgoing tide this morning which might have added to our skunk on YT. The guides at Mulege that fished south out of Mulege didn't have any luck either. A bad day fishing is still better than a good day on the Houston ship channel!!!! My guide, Mateo, said that he and the other guides out of Mulege rarely go to San Marcos. Too far.

Paladin - 5-3-2009 at 10:45 AM

This thread is of special interst to me since this area is currently my #1 dream place to spend lots of time.

Any thoughts on the difference between San Bruno and San Lucas Cove would be sincerely appreciated.

Pescador - 5-4-2009 at 07:39 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by bajaumpaw
Went to San Marcos today from Mulege. Thankfully, the sea was calm because it was a long way there and back. Definitely, go out of San Lucas Cove or Santa Rosalia. Lots of boats on the North end but no one was catching any YT. We fished there for 3 hours this morning from 8 - 11 and caught 1 Pinto Bass and 1 Sea Bass. We had 2 good hookups with probably Grouper but no gotta them in the boat. We were fishing with live bait. There was an outgoing tide this morning which might have added to our skunk on YT. The guides at Mulege that fished south out of Mulege didn't have any luck either. A bad day fishing is still better than a good day on the Houston ship channel!!!! My guide, Mateo, said that he and the other guides out of Mulege rarely go to San Marcos. Too far.


Actually the bite was fairly early and then came on again later in the afternoon. Rigo caught 8 and Fransisco had a few more to add to the pot.
The tides were not in your favor and will be really flat with no water movement until around the 11th then it should be great through around the 14 or 15th, then flat till the 21-22 and then really good through the 28th. Saturday the 2nd was a marginal day and unless I had nothing else to do, I probably would not have gone out that particular day.
From what I hear from Rigo, the good fishing came very early before you were able to get there and then came on again very late in the afternoon after all the boats had left.
I don't know what you were using for line but 50# is the absolute minimum there. If you had hookups it was probably a yellowtail and not a grouper.

fishbuck - 5-4-2009 at 03:58 PM

When you say early like graylight early? And 50lb minimum with the drag buttoned down tight. Is it a bottom bite or surface bite?

Pescador - 5-4-2009 at 05:09 PM

If the fish are in 190 ft or better, you can usually get by with 40 lb on flyline but make sure your drags are correctly tuned and adjusted. I have had a 35 lb yellow take me from surface to 250 feet in a very short time but due to the angle I was able to start getting line back. On my yo-yo rigs, I use 50# and have the drags tightened to 25-26 but I have the fish coming from the bottom when he hits so he is moving in my direction. When I am fishing with a slider and am close to the bottom, especially in the area of what is called the 110 which means it is 110 feet to the bottom which is lined with sharp coral, rocks and all kinds of junk, I use 80 lb JB hollow spectra with 60 lb Trilene big game mono on the end. There is a shallow reef where the fish sometimes hang out and I hit that with 80 lb big Game with the drags hammered down completely and over the years have developed a technique that allows me to land a fairly good percentage of the fish hooked there.
These are usually big fish and they know just exactly where to find the reef and how to cut you off. When I fish the pacific side I generally use 20 lb. but not here. It is fun to see the guys who are newbies on the reef come in with 20 or 30 lb string, but it is stupid to hook fish and leave a long section of line and a hook hanging from the fish's mouth. Some of those guys listen after hooking and maiming a dozen fish or so, some never do learn and continue damaging the population in the interest of looking cool.
Yes, early bite is first light which means that you need to have bait made really early and be on the reef by the time it is light enough to see.

fishbuck - 5-4-2009 at 05:20 PM

Ya, I am primarily a blue water Pacific fisherman looking for surface fish.
I've learned the hard way that doesn't work well for SOC bottom yellows. So I'm trying to adjust.:coolup:

24baja - 5-4-2009 at 05:59 PM

Fishbuck,

We are going to BOLA 5-24 to 6-4 the Yellowtails are usually in the area during that time frame, I will try to send you a note and let you know if we have any luck. Connie

fishbuck - 5-4-2009 at 06:19 PM

Ya BOLA is better! (Only because it's closer). I 've been waiting to hear of a Yellowtail bite at San Fransiquito. Usually happens before BOLA.

bajaumpaw - 5-5-2009 at 04:42 PM

I went back to SM today with Rigo out of San Bruno as my guide. We left the dock at 5:45 am. The bite was early. We caught 4 YT and 1 nice Cabrillo. My catch was a YT in the 30 - 35# range. It was my first YT so it was a blast to get that thing in the boat. We are having a fish fry in Mulege on Thur night so if you smell the fish, bring some beer over and have a piece. Rigo is a fine fisherman and a fun guy to go out with. If you need to know anymore about Rigo or how we fished, U2U me. Many thanks to losfrailes for helping me set this trip up.

fishbuck - 5-5-2009 at 04:44 PM

Thanks for the report!. I'm thinking San Bruno is the place to fish from for sure.
Glad you caught a nice fish!:cool:

Cypress - 5-5-2009 at 04:49 PM

Yea, Those light-liners do more harm than good. A decent fish wiil break 'em off most of the time.:(

fishbuck - 5-5-2009 at 04:49 PM

Can you tell a little more about the bite. On bait? Jigs? On the bottom? Line test used?

bajaumpaw - 5-5-2009 at 05:08 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by fishbuck
Can you tell a little more about the bite. On bait? Jigs? On the bottom? Line test used?


We caught them with live bait (mackeral). We did not use any weights. We hooked the bait through the dorsel fin on top and let the bait pull line out as fast as he could. We used this method for all the areas that we fished. We did move around quite often. Rigo has a knack for watching the horizon for what's hitting the sardines below usually a flock of birds and whether it is YT or barracuda. If it is YT, he would position his boat so that the YT would move toward us and then it was a matter of whether they were hungry for our bait or not. We used 60# mono with a #6 hook.

fishbuck - 5-5-2009 at 05:18 PM

"Flylining" live bait is my favorite way to fish! 60lb test line is very heavy but I guess that's what the use there.
Thanks!

Pescador - 5-6-2009 at 03:31 PM

I talked to Rigo on the phone and he had glowing reports about how much fun you guys had out there. When we fish together, which is very often, since he is one of my best friends, we always have a contest to see who can put the most fish in the boat. It goes back and forth like that all the time, but I would not want to fish there without the advantage of my Furuno Sonar, Garmin GPS, Tide Charts, Bouyweather projections, etc., etc., but Rigo just goes out with a panga and a great deal of knowledge. One day he said I was off of the mark on a GPS spot and I did not believe him since the GPS was showing that we were right on (he uses triangulation) and sure enough about that time I got a message that they were repositioning and when they reset the signal, we were off by the amount that Rigo had said. But he does like going out with me with all the equipment and he has been a real fast study on how to use all the electronics.

Telephone numbers:
From the US: 011-52-1-615-104-9850
In Mexico: 044-615-104-9850

[Edited on 5-6-2009 by Pescador]

fishbuck - 5-6-2009 at 03:53 PM

Yep! Rigo sounds like the right guy to fish with.:cool:

[Edited on 5-6-2009 by fishbuck]

fishbuck - 5-6-2009 at 06:17 PM

Found this little article about San Bruno.

With prior experience at the Hotel Serenidad in Mulegé and Punta Chivato, Alberto Carrillo runs the first and only hotel in town. The new Hotel Costa Serena (tel. 615/153-9022, US$35) has half a dozen air-conditioned rooms in a single story building facing the sandy beach. Each room is individually appointed with antique furnishings and named for one of Alberto’s uncles. White bathrobes are a plus. Alberto was also building the first restaurant in town, and his nephew offers panga tours to Isla San Marcos.

Anybody know if this little hotel is still open?

[Edited on 5-7-2009 by fishbuck]

bajaumpaw - 5-7-2009 at 09:23 AM

Rigo told me you were the #2 fisherman in this area. He then smiled and said "Rigo is #1". We did have a good time on the water and I got to meet and have lunch with his whole family. Made for a fun trip to this area.
Quote:
Originally posted by Pescador
I talked to Rigo on the phone and he had glowing reports about how much fun you guys had out there. When we fish together, which is very often, since he is one of my best friends, we always have a contest to see who can put the most fish in the boat. It goes back and forth like that all the time, but I would not want to fish there without the advantage of my Furuno Sonar, Garmin GPS, Tide Charts, Bouyweather projections, etc., etc., but Rigo just goes out with a panga and a great deal of knowledge. One day he said I was off of the mark on a GPS spot and I did not believe him since the GPS was showing that we were right on (he uses triangulation) and sure enough about that time I got a message that they were repositioning and when they reset the signal, we were off by the amount that Rigo had said. But he does like going out with me with all the equipment and he has been a real fast study on how to use all the electronics.

Telephone numbers:
From the US: 011-52-1-615-104-9850
In Mexico: 044-615-104-9850

[Edited on 5-6-2009 by Pescador]

fishbuck - 5-7-2009 at 04:25 PM

I'm liking San Bruno/San Marcos Island more and more. Seems kind of like B. Asuncion used to be before it got discovered.;D

Pescador - 5-7-2009 at 07:11 PM

Adelberto still has the hotel called La Serena. It is not the fanciest hotel in the world but is very popular with visiting fishermen. We usually put our guests up there as it is walking distance from our house. The restaurant has opened a few times but seems to have trouble getting going, even though the location on the water front is beautiful.
Last year the fishing on the other side of the peninsula (Abreojos, La Bocana, and Asuncion) were the hot ticket from mid summer through almost December. The good yellowtail bite on the SOC side usually starts around Thanksgiving and goes through May. It varies from year to year.

fishbuck - 5-7-2009 at 08:04 PM

I might have missed the yellowtail at San Marcos this year. I'm surprised it drops off so early. But I'm still trying to get my trip going for this month.
But ya, I caught my last to fish at B. Asuncion in December last year. 2 nice Yellowfin and a few firecracker yellowtail. There were still some nice yellowtail but we couldn't find them that day.
There is always someplace perfect in Baja at cetain times of the year and I think San Marcos might be one of them.
My guess is that San Marcos will be good for a few more weeks and then the fish should start to show at San Fransquito in early-mid June and BOLA by July.
After that I'll fish at my place in San Quintin. Last year's summer bite was great.
And then B. Asuncion in late summer-fall.