Baja Perfect!
Endless Season Update 07/16/2008
REPORT #1123 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
On again, off again winds continued to be a factor this week. It was windy for a day or two and then flat calm for a few.
Offshore action included striped marlin, a few blues and even a sailfish or two. Dorado action continued to be slow, with an
occasional big one showing up in the spread…some were over fifty pounds! There were plenty of football tuna with a 30 – 40
pounder just often enough to keep it interesting.
Inshore action provided the most consistent action of the week. Our clients, Tony Scoville and Steve Wherry, from Nashville,
TN, sent us the following report on his trip:
“You may have heard that the wind was a serious factor in the late morning and afternoon of our first two days; nevertheless, I
caught 4 roosterfish and a jack crevalle and my partners caught a roosterfish, a couple of pompano, a triggerfish and a ladyfish
in those conditions.
Our last day was Baja perfect -- calm seas, no chop, and the lightest of breeze. I caught a ladyfish, 6 or 7 roosterfish -- several
being real quality fish and in a heartstopping moment, barely missed a grande estimated at 40-50 lbs. During one release, my
Sage rod and reel went overboard, but Lance, without hesitation, dove over the side and retrieved it before it sank too far.”
Our trip to the East Cape, it was SENSATIONAL. Accommodations at Ranch Leonero were very nice and Lance Peterson
is in every respect a class act --- so professional, knowledgeable and a great person to spend time with.”
Tip: At the end of the retrieve, sweep your rod off to the side to accelerate the fly. If you have a follow, roll cast the
fly right back into the water and strip abruptly.
Water temperature 73-87
Air temperature 76-99
Humidity 40%
Wind: N 11 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:42 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:08 p.m. MDT
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Narciso Agúndez, Governor of Baja Sur, along with other dignitaries participated in the shotgun start for the 2008 International
Governor’s Cup Tournament, which was held last Saturday in Lopez Mateos. There were thirteen boats with thirty-five adults
and thirty children participating.
Diana Hoyt reported that Roddy Garcia, son of Captain Sergio Garcia, was the first place winner. Details to follow soon.
Offshore fishing heated up just in time for the tournament. Tuna, wahoo and dorado all came into the area with the warmer
water. Closer to shore the small yellowtail were thick.
The esteros produced plenty of small corvina from the recently completed pier for the kids with their parents helping them.
There were a few grouper but far from a bonanza.
Water temperature 60 - 76
Air temperature 79 -104
Humidity 48 %
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Mostly Sunny
Visibility 5 miles
Sunrise 6:44 a.m. MDT
Sunset 8:20 p.m. MDT
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The blue water is a short boat ride of 4 miles, and the game fish are only at 6 miles. However, the 12 boat fleet is only
averaging an average of 1 to 2 sailfish per boat. The yellowfin tuna did make a showing at 10 miles for a couple of days, and
fly fishing client David Schack of Harbor City, CA, got to experience a bit of the action from these hard fighting fish.
David was fishing with Martin on his new boat, the 35 foot Nautilus. Martin has traded in his panga, the Isamar, and has now
moved up the ladder. When the Nautilus got into position on a school of breaking tuna, David made a perfect cast, and the fly
was inhaled immediately. The "fight" elapsed a full 15 seconds. Just enough time to not only spool the 10wt outfit, but also
snap the rod in half. He was a bit under gunned.
Fishing a couple of days later, David got into decent action on smaller sized jack crevalle with Martin, and then they went out
for sailfish. The blue water raised 3 sails, but nothing ate the offering.
Ed Kunze
Water temperature 80 - 84
Air temperature 76-91
Humidity 55%
Wind: SSW 12 knots
Conditions: Thunderstorms
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:20 a.m. CDT
Sunset 8:25 p.m. CDT
Cabo San Lucas
BILLFISH: This was almost a repeat of last week’s report on marlin. It was a spotty week for Striped Marlin, a few boats
were able to get releases on one or two fish each, but many boats had trouble finding fish that were willing to eat. The best
results were had along the color change to the south of us, and artificial lures seemed to do a bit better than the live Caballito
did. I know of one boat that managed to catch a Blue Marlin that ended up weighing #350 on the API scales. The fish would
have been released except that it died about 10 minutes into the fight. The fish ended up being hand lined in for the last hour
as a dead weight. A few other blues were seen in the patterns in the same area, up outside the Punta Gorda area.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Once again there were yellowfin found, but not in large numbers and not close to home. Most of
the fish were in the 25-40 pound range and bit on live bait dropped in front of the moving schools, but a few decent fish were
caught with lures alongside the schools. The best colors were darker, in the black, blue and brown hues. Not many boats
brought in yellowfin, as it was a long run to get where they were, but if you managed to get into them, they were good quality
fish.
DORADO The dorado bite is beginning to pick up as the warm water returns to our area. Most boats were able to get
a strike or two on good quality fish ranging between 15-30 pounds with a few big girls in the 40-50 pound range. Hopefully
soon we will start to see more of the big ones. Best lures on the dorado have been bright colored straight runners run off of
the outriggers, or a stinger lure in bright colors with a rigged bait inside, run back about 150 feet or more. This lure and
position also resulted in some nice striped marlin as well.
INSHORE: Roosterfish were the inshore surface fish of the week this week with quality fish in the 20 pound class being
caught with sardinas on the Cortez side of the Cape. We had a couple of fly-fishermen work inshore on Friday and they
managed to release 6 of these fish on fly, and several others on conventional gear. Grouper were still biting for angler seeking
good eating fish, and the tips of the rocky points in water between 250 and 300 feet deep produced some of the nice fish.
Smaller live baits really helped get the quality fish here.
George & Mary Landrum
Water temperature 67 - 75
Air temperature 74 - 91
Humidity 41%
Wind: SSE 13 knots
Conditions: Partly Sunny
Visibility 13 miles
Sunrise 6:44 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:07 p.m. MST
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