CaptGeo
Junior Nomad
Posts: 95
Registered: 10-12-2011
Location: Cabo San Lucas Mexico
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Cabo Bite Report
FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
http://captgeo.wordpress.com/
Cabo Fish Report
October 29-November 4, 2012
WEATHER: It was a pleasure this week to be out and about in Cabo as our daytime highs never seemed to top the mid 90's. That was the middle of the
day and even then there was so little humidity it did not feel hot. At night we got into the mid 70's, not cool enough for a sweater but perfect for
walking around. As a matter of fact, this week was perfect for hanging at the beach, getting out on the golf course or spending time on the water.
With clear skies all week long plenty of visitors were able to work on their tans as well.
WATER: The Pacific side of the Cape had swells at 2-5 feet all week long, and with light breezes from the northwest most of the week there was some
slight chop late in the day, but never anything uncomfortable. The water between San Jaime and Golden Gate Banks averaged 82 degrees while the water
right along the beach was several degrees warmer. On the Cortez side the water was several degrees warmer at 85 degrees at the beginning of the week
and dropping an average of ½ to 1 degree at the end of the week. With swells at small to non-existent the water was almost like glass with light
wind riffles until Saturday. On Saturday the wind changed direction and started coming from the East. This gave a bit of chop to the water but with
the small swells it was nothing to worry about. As the week went on the currents pushed the warmer water from the Cortez side across the tip of the
Cape and it's influence was starting to be felt directly off of the Cape, which had been a continuation of the Pacific side early in the week.
BAIT: Caballito and Mullet could be had at $3 each, but the number of Mullet seem to be dropping off. Once the water cools a few more degrees there
should be a few Mackerel showing up as well. There were Sardinas at $25 a bucket and you could get frozen horse Bally-hoo at $3 each.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: The number of Striped Marlin caught this week was not impressive, my guess is that about 20% of the boats managed to get a billfish. A few
boats managed to get their anglers into two fish, but they were the exception. Most of the action seemed to happen on the Pacific side right in the
transition zone between the warm and slightly cooler water off of the beach, but there were also fish found on the Cortez side at the 95 Spot and the
1150, though those fish were more likely to just look at a lure or bait than eat. There are still a few Sailfish around as well, but once again they
are not in the numbers we were seeing a month ago. I did not hear of any large Blue or Black Marlin being caught this week, but there were several
small ones reported released, and I did see several small Blues brought into the main dock area.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: There has been a very good bite on football sized Yellowfin tuna from 8 to 15 pounds near shore between Grey Rock and Palmilla this
week. These Yellowfin are mixed in with “White” Skipjack in the same size range and have offered anglers great action all morning long as long as the
Sardinas chum lasts. With these Skipjack being good eating, unlike the “Black” Skipjack (with the three black spots at the base of the pectoral fin)
there has been plenty of good eating fish available. For larger Yellowfin almost the only other option was working the grounds at the Gorda Banks.
There were not a large number of fish caught every day, but there were quality fish. Putting in the time while drifting live baits or slow trolling a
down-rigger or chunking cut bait and Sardinas sometimes resulted in a cow Yellowfin over 200 pounds. Offshore the action was extremely slow as the
pods of porpoise that were found tended not to have any fish associated with them. There were a few exceptions, but the fish were not large ones,
mainly in the 20-30 pound class. I guess you can figure out where most of the boats in this weeks Tuna tournament are going to be fishing, huh?
DORADO: Good one week and not the next, then good again, what can we say? The Dorado action this week was very good with almost everyone wanting
them coming in with limits. There was a lot of consistent, but scattered action along the Pacific coastline as boats worked their way from the arch
all the way to Todo Santos. One fish here, two fish there, and so on until a limit was had. A few boats were able to find floating debris offshore
and filled limits working one spot, but most boats on the Pacific had to cover ground. On the Cortez side, boats that were working the Yellowfin and
Skipjack just off the beach also had some good Dorado action as the chumming attracted these fish as well. It seems that the fish found on the
Pacific side were slightly larger averaging 15 pounds while the fish with the tuna were averaging 10 pounds.
WAHOO: Wahoo action was sporadic this week, unlike the action last week. A few fish were caught, and the heavy chumming by boats fishing tuna
brought Wahoo as well as the Dorado into the area. There were a few baits cut off that the anglers never knew had been touched as the razor toothed
fish swiftly sliced through the light mono leader, but still a few were landed. Boats trolling Rapallas and Marauders did fair as they worked the
drop-offs along the beach and pulled them over the high spots, but a lot of time was spent for just a few fish overall.
INSHORE: You can almost consider the Yellowfin, Skipjack and Dorado bite as inshore fishing since the main concentration was in less than 300 feet of
water, and since it has been so good, few of the Pangas did any fishing right on the beach. Those that did found a few smaller sized Roosterfish,
plenty of Needle-fish, a scattering of Jack Crevalle but not a lot of anything else. I did hear of a few Sierra being caught, but not any large
numbers.
FISH RECIPE: Check the blog for this weeks recipe!
NOTES: The big news this week is the Yamaha/Western Outdoor News Tuna Tournament. It is only $800 to enter so it is affordable to everyone, which has
made it known as the Blue-Collar or Working Mans tournament. There are jackpots, drawings, prizes and parties galore. Registration is on Wednesday
with the fishing taking place on Thursday and Friday with the awards ceremony on Saturday. You can get more information at the official website, www.loscabostunajackpot.com. It makes for a hectic week, and it's lots of fun. I have know teams to put together enough money to enter and
never fish or plan to fish, they just want a chance to win the prizes and attend the parties! I will give the results in next weeks report if you
want to check it out. This weeks report was written to the music of violinist Alex Dupue and guitarist Miguel De Hoyos on their album “Underground
Whispers in A”. Google these guys and check out the music! Until next week, tight lines!
And as always, George writes this report
and posts it on Sunday morning. So if you
can't wait, click the "FOLLOW" on the top of the
page! You will know whenever something new is posted!
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9010
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
Member Is Offline
Mood: Inquisitive
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I wonder if the "white" skipjack is what we refer to as Mexican bonita over here. Very similar appearance to the black skipjack (barrilete), including
spots but they have pronounced teeth and the flesh is cream to pinkish.
Just had some of the bonita for lunch, prepared like spicy scallops in a handroll. Raw, with mayo and Sriracha, sushi rice and wrapped in nori.
EXCELLENT!!!! The Mexican bonita has the texture of the farm raised hamachi sold at sushi bars, but with a bit more flavor, due to the higher oil
content than hamachi.
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