Jack's Back
Endless Season Update April 25, 2010
REPORT #1212 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
It was tough fly fishing last week, but there were a few jacks to be found
Sardina disappeared, wind kicked up and offshore action slowed and fish behaved lethargically this past week. Mark Rayor reported that his brother did
manage to land a few billfish even though most of them seemed to be disinterested in even the liveliest of baits.
Mark said, "We have only been getting one opportunity a day and have been lucky enough to make the most of it. Seems like the last several days the
fish have popped up for a short time during slack tide. When it happens you better be ready or your day is done. My brother found one that took a
green jack…go figure!"
Women's Flyfishing's® Cecilia “Pudge” Kleinkauf, Anchorage, AK, had tough fishing for their week but did catch a few nice-sized fish. which included a
few roosters and jack.
Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Yellowtail and white sea bass in the 20 to 30 pound class were still going off at Cabo San Lazaro. Bait was plentiful in the Esteros and the sierra
along with the cabrilla, grouper and corvina are having a field day feeding on them.
Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 80° blue water is still holding at 12 miles, which is historically very unusual for April. But since the migratory fish don't know the
"historical" difference, the fishing within the normal 'day-charter' distance of about 20 miles is very poor for the average charter.
Incredible action can be had, but at the magic numbers of 40 to 50 miles. There are lots of blue marlin, sailfish, and yellowfin tuna right over the
near vertical drop from 6,000 feet to 14,000 feet. (Just check out Google Earth if you don't believe me about the depths.)
This trench, called the Middle America Trench, extends from a bit north of us, down to Costa Rica, a distance of 1,700 miles, with depths at times of
over 21,000 feet.
It is a virtual highway for pelagic species like marlin, yellowfin tuna, and sailfish. This is where our local commercial pangueros, in a single
engine open panga, go every day to make their living.
Mike Bulkley, owner of the super panga Huntress, with Francisco as the captain, told me the clients do not want to pay the extra gas money and time it
takes to get to the 45 mile mark.
They read the daily charter rate on the internet, and expect the captain to take them to Hawaii, if that is where the fish are, and be back in
Zihuatanejo at the end of the day.
Rather than try and explain to a client to pay extra fuel for a trip of a lifetime, the Huntress has had very satisfied clients by going inshore and
catching a lot of small game fish on light line. After which, Francisco, has been taking the clients to Ixtapa Island for lunch with their fresh
caught fish, a little snorkeling, and water sports before returning to the pier, without having to stop for gas in Hawaii.
Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, is very optimistic (read promoter), but then what can you expect from the very best captain in this port. He is
getting a few roosters off the beach, with several sailfish and striped marlin in the blue water, when nobody else is getting them. Of course, he did
not tell me where he got them, but his clients are very satisfied…Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582
Cabo San Lucas
There were a few more striped marlin found this week and most of them were on the Sea of Cortez side in the calmer water. There was a small
concentration of them mid-week up off of Red Hill about two miles from the beach. Not many, but enough were caught to make it worth the effort.
There were a few blue and black marlin released this week as well from the same area, although the fish were not large ones, averaging 250 pounds. I
heard that there was a swordfish caught in the area of the 95 spot early in the week as well, but saw no pictures of the fish.
A few yellowfin were found in the vicinity of the Golden Gate Banks by boats brave enough to confront the seas early in the mornings before the winds
started to whip things up. The bite lasted for two days, but the guys kept things kind of quiet and not many boats heard the exact area. The fish
were just a little larger than footballs but the boats lucky enough to find them came in with a dozen or so.
Only a few dorado this week, but those that were caught were nice fish averaging 20 pounds. Almost every one that I heard of was caught in the Sea of
Cortez, and the farther to the north you went the better your chances were. The warmer water gave you a better shot at them.
There were a few wahoo caught but they were incidental catches while boats were fishing for marlin. The wahoo were all nice ones in the 40 pound
class, and were caught off the Westin, the Gordo Banks and Punta Gordo.
Inshore fishing was red hot for a couple of days with a good concentration of amberjack just off the beach. There were quite a few people fly fishing
this week and if they were able to get sardina for chum they were doing well on sierra with a few small roosterfish, as well as the amberjack.
Conventional fishermen were doing very well on sierra using small swimming plugs from three to five inches in length with a small wire bite tippet.
There were some decent red snapper as well, on the Pacific side up in the rocks, but it was a case of being in the right place at the right time,
mainly early in the morning before the winds started to whip it up...…George and Mary Landrum
Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191
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