EAST CAPE AND MAGDALENA BAY FISHING CONDITIONS REPORT FROM GARY GRAHAM'S BAJA ON THE FLY: PROVIDING QUALITY SALTWATER FLY-FISHING 365 DAYS A YEAR IN BAJA - THE ONLY ORVIS EXPEDITION COMPANY IN BAJA - Wed., May 29, 2002 EAST CAPE, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO IN GENERAL: Lori Ann Murphy, http://www.reel-women.com/ and her band of Sister Anglers came to Baja looking for adventure and they weren’t disappointed. All of them went home with stories of dreams realized and big fish. Lynn Decker, Salt Lake City, Ut., after five close calls, managed to realize her dream of landing a rooster from the beach, nailing not one but two on back-to-back casts. Katy Schwartz, Denver, Colo., went head-to-head with a 40-pound amberjack and found out why the Mexicans call them pez fuerte. After an epic 30-minute battle, her Orvis Trident rod exploded into more pieces than anyone cared to count. No shy shrinking violet, Katy grabbed another rod and hooked another large amberjack that she landed in less than an hour. Not bad for someone who had only fished with a flyrod three times previously . . . and that was in fresh water. There are many stories like that with this group and the guides and I all hated to see this enthusiastic and fun group depart. They are already planning next year’s trip and we can’t wait. AIR & SEA - Calm seas with just enough breeze in the afternoon to keep things cool. High clouds and haze Hi 90° Lo 71° Wind: 10-mph easterly in afternoon Humidity: 78% Visibility: 15 Water Temps 79-81 . OFFSHORE: Marlin fishing has been good and it is close – only a few miles outside of La Ribera. So far, there are no shark buoys to attract the dorado, so it is pretty much a few here and there. Tues. (5/28) a few boats ran all the way down below Los Frailes and found large schools of dorado. They were mostly in the smaller-to-schoolies class. . INSHORE: Huge schools of large skipjack on the surface that we could slide up to and sight cast to kept everyone’s rod bent for as long as they wanted. Some of the skipjack were 15-plus. Closer to the beach, plenty of smaller roosters, ladyfish and jacks to cast to, several larger rooster were hooked but not landed. (And where have you heard that before?) . BEACH: Not much sardinia to be found anywhere along the beach. Normally this time of year we are seeing large schools. However, we are seeing plenty of mullet and that is what the big roosters and jacks are feeding on so you need to adjust your flies accordingly and use larger sparsely-tied deceiver patterns that are seven or eight inches in length. BILLFISH - Action was hot and heavy in the early part of the day in front of La Ribera, a few blues are beginning to show up as well as the sailfish. YELLOWFIN TUNA - There are few mixed in with the skipjack DORADO - Best report was down at Los Vinoramas below Las Frailes; however it is just too long a boat ride. ROOSTERFISH - Rooster Alley, Bartle beach all holding some large fish. The arroyo next to Scott Glenn’s house is producing a few as well. Look for all the dead trees in the water. JACK CREVALLE - In all the same spots as the roosters. BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK - Outside La Ribera a few miles there are acres of them. PARGO AND CABRILLA - Caught a few on the reef in front of Rancho Leonero. SIERRA -La Ribera produced a few this week, mixed in with jacks and roosters Catch of the Week Photo: http://www.bajafly.com/weeklycatch.htm MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO Wed., May 29, 2002 IN GENERAL: Very light pressure this week with few fishermen in town. Action was fair up in the stock spots in the esteros. Both Baja Deep Divers and Clousers in chartreuse and white seemed to work best. Smaller snook, corvina, pargo and a few leopard grouper were the extent of the catch this week. AIR & SEA: High clouds and some wind in the afternoons Air Temperature 65 - 75 Water Temperature 60 - 66. YELLOWTAIL - Either the entrada or the entrance to Santa Maria Bay are the best bets right now. CORVINA - Try the pier or the bridge at the entrance to town. SNOOK - Several rumors of fair catches up above Lopez Mateos. HALIBUT - Sandy beaches as usual. SIERRA - A few outside of Belchers on the current rips. Catch of the Week Photo: http://www.bajafly.com/weeklycatchmagbay.htm