BajaBruno
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Cold Fishing Water in the South
It looks like the warm water is still pretty far offshore for the Loreto to Cabo anglers and that cold plume is covering the whole East Cape area.
http://www.terrafin.com/sstview/samples/freesobaja.htm
Anyone from Loreto south having any success? Location, species, technique? Help a brother angler, fellows! Don Alley? BackNineDan? Comitan? Bill
Erhardt?
Christopher Bruno, Elk Grove, CA.
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Don Alley
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Loreto: The cold green inshore water is one problem. Another has been a bit of wind making it a little bumpy outside. It calmed down for a few days
but this morning it was windy and cloudy. SST shows the warmer water starts at least 35 miles out from Loreto. Those who venture out to the warmer
water either get nothing, or an incidental fish or two, or find fair numbers of small ones, or maybe get lucky and get a good fish on the troll.
Inshore is scratchy for other than needlefish, ladyfish and triggers, but there are a few fish around. I'd fish for roosters, using larger bait to
discourage the small needlefish. And if you want to bottom fish there are still yellowtail around.
Some billfish around but I'm not hearing a lot about them either.
I'm on the beach again; last night the mechanic removed the faulty alternator from my brand new outboard. Dang! But maybe it will be fixed today. Fast
housecall service.
Next week looks like flatter water. I'm hoping that with the flatter water there will be less upwelling and inshore waters will warm, and offshore
water will move in closer.
But you know, best bet looks like hopping on a boat out of San Diego for limits of nice sized albacore.
Also, a dorado was caught offshore of Eureka, California a few days ago.
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backninedan
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Bruno, I was out yesterday and vouch for what Don is saying. We went east of punta lobos about 15 miles and found no dorado, we returned to punta
lobos and fished for cabrilla, roosters, triggers and anything else we could scare up. Water was in the 75 to 78 degree range. There are some dorado
to be had, but its a tough hunt right now. We just need some warmer water so they will move in.
We have enjoyed the cooler temps though, didnt even need the AC last night, that may be a first for us at this time of year.
Don, sorry to hear about your motor, hope your back out there soon.
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toneart
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The upside to cool water in the SOC is that it doesn't attract hurricanes like the hot water did last year. Who knows if it will last, but I hope you
can catch some fish, if not a lot.
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Russ
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Also true up here. But this cool water sure makes sleeping nice at night with the breeze/wind. No fan. Can't remember that happening this time of
year.
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Don Alley
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We're back in business, motor's fixed, but probably won't go out until Monday. Inshore somewhere, maybe look for some skipjack.
We went and visited the tournament-of-the-week and the biggest dorado was 16 lbs, I think, and fishing was described as poor. The rough water eased
during the day though. Biggest fish brought in was a yellowtail from an undisclosed location.
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dp
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Don,
How do you catch skipjack? Are they good to eat, or just good fighters?
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Don Alley
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| Quote: | Originally posted by dp
Don,
How do you catch skipjack? Are they good to eat, or just good fighters? |
Didn't you mean to say "are they good fighters, or just good to eat?"
The local skipjack are a black skipjack, aka barrilete or bonito. The meat is a dark maroon and I don't think you want to eat it. No one targets them,
except maybe some fly fishers and other catch and release types.
I think they are a fine gamefish. They can kick your but if you use 20lb tackle. Sometimes found in schools in surface feeding frenzies. Offshore in
deep water, sometimes close to shore along the deeper water off of reefs and rocky points. Can be caught trolling tuna feathers. They like live bait
too, and will hit cast jigs. Many run 8-12 lbs.
Most fishermen here will not fish for them.
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dp
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Your right, I just want a good fight. If they are anything like any of the other jacks, they have to be a blast to catch. I just am a little worried
that the dorado may not be cooperating when we are down there the 17th through the 27th. I'm sure we'll get a few, but if the action isn't hot, we
will be looking for other targets.
A few triggers and cabrilla, and we'll have all we can eat. After that, we'll just be looking for a good fun fight.
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805gregg
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I fished out of Zihuatanejo and cought a few Bonita, I asked the captain about bleeding them, he said no. We proceeded to Ixtapa Island where the
captain cooked the Bonita, I went swimming so didn't see how they were cooked, but I'll tell you what it was delicious, if I didn't know it was
Bonita, I wouldn't have believed it.
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Don Alley
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There is some confusion around here with skipjack/barrilete/bonito/black skipjack.
Wish I had photos.
All are members of the tuna family, not jacks.
According to the literature I have, pacific bonito do not occur in the Sea of Cortez north of La Paz.
Oceanic skipjack have horizontal dark stripes on their bellies. I have not caught one locally.
Black skipjack do not have the horizontal stripes, instead small faint patches of black, like the beginnings of those stripes, at the forward end of
their bellies.
Both the black and oceanic skipjack are called barrilete. Locally black skipjack are often called bonito. I think they look more like a bonito than an
oceanic skipjack. They do have the pulsating pull on a rod of the oceanic skipjack.
Bonito: Good to eat? Depends who you talk to. Try smoked. I used to bbq them, not so good.
Oceanic skipjack: Good for catfood, also good for sushi. Salads? Depends who you talk to.
Black Skipjack: I don't know anyone who likes to eat them. And I know people who like jack crevalle, roosterfish and bullseye puffers (poisonous).
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toneart
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Don Alley
There is some confusion around here with skipjack/barrilete/bonito/black skipjack.
Wish I had photos.
All are members of the tuna family, not jacks.
According to the literature I have, pacific bonito do not occur in the Sea of Cortez north of La Paz.
Oceanic skipjack have horizontal dark stripes on their bellies. I have not caught one locally.
Black skipjack do not have the horizontal stripes, instead small faint patches of black, like the beginnings of those stripes, at the forward end of
their bellies.
Both the black and oceanic skipjack are called barrilete. Locally black skipjack are often called bonito. I think they look more like a bonito than an
oceanic skipjack. They do have the pulsating pull on a rod of the oceanic skipjack.
Bonito: Good to eat? Depends who you talk to. Try smoked. I used to bbq them, not so good.
Oceanic skipjack: Good for catfood, also good for sushi. Salads? Depends who you talk to.
Black Skipjack: I don't know anyone who likes to eat them. And I know people who like jack crevalle, roosterfish and bullseye puffers (poisonous).
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Don,
Isn't Yellowtail considered a Jackfish? And if so, is that in the Skipjack family? I too am confused.
I am amused by your signature line, "He who laughs last thinks slowest." You may want to consider an exception to that rule if eating puffers is
involved.
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msteve1014
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yellowtail are jacks, like amberjack. skipjack tuna, (does that make it easier to keep straight?), are related to tuna and bonito, not jacks. Mike
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Don Alley
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Family scrombridae contains the tuna-type fish: tunas, bonitos, mackerels, skipjacks, wahoo, kingfish and sierras are examples. They have small
finlets in front of their tails, dorsal and ventral.
Family Carangidae, jacks, pompanos, and jack mackerels. Yellowtail (jurel), jack crevalle(toro), bigeye, trevally, amberjack, Mexican lookdown and
pompanos are examples.
I often see yellowtail called Yellow Tail and Yellowtail tuna. It's a jack.
Roosterfish: Often listed as a jack, but more recent works list it in its own family, Nematistiidae.
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Cypress
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Is the Sea of Cortez pelagic fishery in the early stages of collapse?  Where are
the Dorado , Yellow tail, tuna, and all the rest? Catch reports aren't painting a pretty picture.
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Osprey
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White meat Bonita, with big teeth, are called Kawakawa. 805gregg, that's probably what you ate. The meat is pink, cooks up kinda tan color, is
edible but not for everyday, yum, yum tablefare. Lots of em around here from time to time -- just put your fingers in their mouths -- have teeth,
will travel. They look just like the other tunas with the nasty red/purple meat.
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Osprey
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Cypress, you must not be reading the fishing posts, the ones about Shark Norma 029 -- one more time! "The current law has put 3300 boats with permits
in the Sea of Cortez with 1.5 million extra hooks baited and hauled as many times a day as is possible. Grab your calculator podna."
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Cypress
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Won't take long.
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BajaBruno
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Thanks for all the input, fellows.
Here are a couple of good fish ID sites, particular to Baja:
Gene Kira's page with a detailed description of each fish: http://www.mexfish.com/fish/fish.htm
East Cape Sportfishing's page (this also has some Spanish translations): http://www.eastcape.org/FishID.html
I like catching skipjack and I never turn down a school of them. They are reliable and fight well. They love a green pearly jig cast into the school
and let drop a ways before retrieving it, but if it only has a tail hook, they will always foul hook.
Belly strips from these guys are reported to be good added to a large trolling feather, but on the few times I've tried that, I have had little
success. Maybe I just don't do it enough.
The big sportfishers use them bridled as primary bait for marlin, but I don't want to catch anything that would call that a meal! My tackle is too
light and my patience too limited for anything that big. I'd rather have four 50 pounders than one 500 pounder any day.
Keep up the reports. The La Paz fleet reported today that last week was lousy fishing and blamed water temps. I'd be interested to know what was
happening about 50 NM south east of Loreto, since the water was very warm there. I doubt many pleasure boats make it to that area. Maybe the
long-liners are doing well there.
Christopher Bruno, Elk Grove, CA.
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