Pompano
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Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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Pompano Fish Report 4
Pompano Fish Report 4
My two visiting friends from the US were anxious to get in some fishing and after reading Don Alley's recent dorado catch on Nomads, we were set to
find out if any do-dos had made it up towards Mulege yet.
The Plan:
We met with some other fishermen and discussed this over a few...er, many..well a whole bunch..of Pacificos and decided to take two boats with 4 guys
each and go .. in search of. (Even though the night before the moon did not hold water.... )
We would fish yellowtail and cabrilla at some locations on the way south to Pta. Teresa, then head straight out into the Cortez towards the mainland
looking for dorado and marlin arrivals. We all know about the warm water current that flows NNE from Ille Delfonso towards San Carlos, then bends
back towards Tortuga way to the north, having caught many early bulls there in the past.
If there are any dorado around they should be in this stretch of water.
The Action:
Our plan going well, we make bait early off Mulege estuary and head south towards Pta. Teresa..checking out a couple of yellowtail hotspots along the
way, using both deep and shallow live-bait. The water was flat, barely a swell and no wind to speak of. Water temp was a steady 73. Now dorado like
it around 78 plus, but we were still way too far inshore and knew the warm current was many miles yet offshore, so we were not too concerned about the
cold water.
Our boat did not produce any yellowtail action at our first stop, but our buddy-boat, Mi Mujere, boated one about 18 lbs. We moved on down towards
Pta. Teresa to some deep rock piles we had found a few years back and marked as waypoints..good bottomfish producers. These were 240-250ft piles
around a 280ft basin.
We sent down 2 weighted live-bait rigs, plus a couple yo-yos. The iron produced a few nice pintos while the live bait was totally ignored. We put
4-5 nice fish in the cooler, but nothing big, just good eaters...gold spotted bass (pintos).
I had just unhooked one nice pinto into the fishbox and sent my blue-white iron back to the bottom ...and right away got a powerful hookup...and just
as quickly it was off...damn. Then our skipper’s rod bent over and Gary Bendix was into something bigger than your everyday pinto...maybe a big
cabrilla? The fish took a couple runs towards the rocks below but Gary stopped him before he got too near. A few minutes later he brought a nice
broomtail grouper to the boat...we guess-timated it at about 30lbs. A nice fish.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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the iron...
..a good producer.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Pompano
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Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
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The end...
Now it was time to head out east and find that warmer water with some dorado...and maybe a marlin or two. We ran out about 15 miles but could find no
warmer water, so we angled NNE for another 15 miles or so...but the temps never got above 73.5 degrees...too cold.
Well, it was worth a try, but we knew when to call it a day for the dorado...they just don’t live in cold water.
We headed back to Mulege, stopping to check out a couple nice bird boils in Mulege Bay. We tossed some iron to the boil and it produced a nice bonus
catch of plate-sized snappers. We took 3 for lunch, having kept the broomtail grouper for our planned dinner Friday night and headed for the ramp.
No dorado...no marlin. Yet....and there is always tomorrow.
[Edited on 4-28-2007 by Pompano]
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Cypress
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Thanks for the pictures and the report.
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Don Alley
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Posts: 1997
Registered: 12-4-2003
Location: Loreto
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Nice grouper!
Thanks for the report!
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Pescador
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Pompano, that is a really nice fish. I think it is a Sawtail Grouper, Garropa Aserrata and not a Broomtail. Check out the pictures on Mike's website
to see several examples of the same fish http://www.islasanmarcos.com
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Bajalero
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Posts: 316
Registered: 11-24-2003
Location: todos santos/ rcho san diego
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Pompano
Now it was time to head out east and find that warmer water with some dorado...and maybe a marlin or two. We ran out about 15 miles but could find no
warmer water, so we angled NNE for another 15 miles or so...but the temps never got above 73.5 degrees...too cold.
Well, it was worth a try, but we knew when to call it a day for the dorado...they just don’t live in cold water.
We headed back to Mulege, stopping to check out a couple nice bird boils in Mulege Bay. We tossed some iron to the boil and it produced a nice bonus
catch of plate-sized snappers. We took 3 for lunch, having kept the broomtail grouper for our planned dinner Friday night and headed for the ramp.
No dorado...no marlin. Yet....and there is always tomorrow. |
Pompano , I'm trying to remeber what the Mexicans call those snappers. Not moharra , not huachinango , ???
Do you or anyone else know?
.
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Alan
Super Nomad
Posts: 1626
Registered: 4-6-2005
Location: Yucaipa, CA/La Paz
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You are killing me with these reports!!!!
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 11-15-2004
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Alan
You are killing me with these reports!!!! |
DITTO !!!
I'm glad someone is having fun !
Boy, I can't wait to grow up and retire !! 
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Roberto
Banned
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Registered: 9-5-2003
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Pompano
Now it was time to head out east and find that warmer water with some dorado...and maybe a marlin or two. We ran out about 15 miles but could find no
warmer water, so we angled NNE for another 15 miles or so...but the temps never got above 73.5 degrees...too cold.
Well, it was worth a try, but we knew when to call it a day for the dorado...they just don’t live in cold water.
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I know this is true in the Cortez. However, in the San Diego area, Dorado are often found and caught in water colder than that. I have caught them in
70 degree water - water above 72 is pretty rare up here.
I have a theory that ties water conditions to temperature that MAY explain some of this. Dorado are sight hunters. They need clear water to be able to
see well enough to hunt, and they need to eat a lot due to their growth rate and level of activity.
Water in the Cortez rarely gets as blue (if ever) as offshore in the Pacific, and when it does get close, water temps are pretty high. This may be due
to algal growth, plankton, etc. In other words, blue, clear water is typically low in nutrients and THIS is what I believe the real key to the Dorado
is - water temp is related but a secondary phenomenon.
Opinions?
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Cameron
Nomad
Posts: 117
Registered: 10-12-2004
Location: Todos Santos / Seattle WA
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Mood: Thirsty!
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Fish...
| Quote: |
Pompano , I'm trying to remeber what the Mexicans call those snappers. Not moharra , not huachinango , ???
Do you or anyone else know?
. |
Snapper in Baja??? In BCS they call the (Dog-Tooth) Snappers "Pargo" unless I'm wrong... Cameron
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Don Alley
Super Nomad
Posts: 1997
Registered: 12-4-2003
Location: Loreto
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RE: water temp and clarity
I think you are right, Roberto. Terrafin SST has Chlorophyll pics too. The corelation between temp and clarity and chlorophyll (algae) is close. And
it does explain the cooler water temps in the Pacific that still hold dorado.
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toneart
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 7-23-2006
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Mood: Skeptical
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No Dorado yet in Mulege area, but two friends did catch a big Marlin four days ago. Since their policy is catch and release, they fought the fish
until it finally got within about 30 feet of the boat and it released itself by sawing through the line.
I told them, ¨No camera, no picture....must be BS.¨ That´s just me trying to pee them off, good naturedly of course.  I do believe them. Dorado can´t be too far behind.
I went out yesterday trolling for Yellowtail and got skunked.
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