REPORT FROM GARY GRAHAM'S BAJA ON THE FLY: PROVIDING QUALITY SALTWATER FLY-FISHING 365 DAYS A YEAR IN BAJA FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: [email protected]; USA toll-free (800) 919-2252; Mexico 011-52-614-14-10373 Wed., Oct. 16, 2002 EAST CAPE, MAGDALENA BAY AND ZIHUATANEJO FISHING CONDITIONS EAST CAPE, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO IN GENERAL: Tuna are still a long ride and may or may not even bite if you find them. Back closer to home, the sailfish are back at it and there are a few dorado to be had if you find the right school. With the North Wind churning thing up over the weekend, things needed a day to get back to normal and by yesterday (10/15) things were picking up. AIR & SEA - Seems like the North Wind gets fired up every weekend and then calms down on Mon. after everyone leaves. One of the local clubs postponed their annual tourney because of weather and, yep, you guessed it, flat calm the next day. Temperature 97° F / 73° F Humidity 70% Wind Calm Conditions Clear Sunrise 7:14 AM MDT Sunset 6:56 PM MDT Oct 21 Full Oct 29 Last Quarter Nov 4 New Nov 11 First Quarter Water Temps in the mid- 80's offshore. · OFFSHORE: Lots of boats get sucked out for the tuna and are missing some pretty decent billfish action closer to shore. · INSHORE: Action was spotty for most of the week with a few decent catches of dorado, small roosters and jacks. Small See Thru Deceivers with olive backs were the hot fly this week. · BEACH: As last reported, the ladyfish bite was, in the words of Don Sloan, as good as it gets. Then it got better. Sloan, one of our guides, hooked a ladyfish that a 20-pound rooster took away from him and ran down the beach 25-yards before he spit it. Then, as Don was retrieving his fly, Bubba picked up the small See Thru Deceiver and headed lickety-split in the other direction down the beach. Don set the hook and the fight was on. Unfortunately it was on his 8-weight and he was a tad under-gunned. Two hours later, after looking at the spool of the 8-weight twice, the 16-pound Fluorocarbon leader parted and Don said goodbye to what he described as the rooster of a lifetime. (He estimated it to be 50+ pounds.) BILLFISH - Fair to good. YELLOWFIN TUNA - Mas a Menos (more or less). DORADO - They have been tough on the fly this week. ROOSTERFISH - Fair for everything from rats to Bubba. JACK CREVALLE - Mostly smaller ones, the largest we saw this week was under 10 pounds BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK - Schools throughout Las Palmas Bay all the way to Las Fralies PARGO AND CABRILLA - Lots of smaller ones around the sticks at the arroyo next to Scott Glenn’s. SIERRA - No takers this week. MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO Wed., Oct. 16, 2002 IN GENERAL: I can’t believe it’s time, but we are on our way to Magdalena Bay on the go-around trip. From all the reports, we should find the bigger tuna between Las Arenas and Las Frailes and the blues just around the corner from Cabo. Should be interesting, since we will be going right through the Bisbee Tournament fleet on our second or third day. Reports about the offshore at Magdalena Bay continue to be encouraging and I will probably run all night to get there. Most of the marlin reported are closer to Cabo San Lazaro than on the Thetis. Still, the dorado thing going on at the entrada as well. Up in the esteros the snook continued to bite with a few caught in the 10-pound range. Water Temperature 72 - 79 Temperature 80° F - 69 °F Humidity 79% Wind Calm with some wind in the afternoon Conditions Clear Sunrise 7:24 AM MDT Sunset 7:03 PM MDT Oct 21 Full Oct 29 Last Quarter Nov 4 New Nov 11 First Quarter YELLOWTAIL - Everyone was busy with the dorado bite. CORVINA - A few smaller fish spread out throughout the bay. Pier at San Carlos and the bridge are your best bet. SNOOK - Bite continued this week with fair catches at Devil's Curve. HALIBUT - Sandy beaches the best SIERRA - No one targeting them this week. ZIHUATANEJO, MAINLAND MEXICO REPORT BY BAJA ON THE FLY’S ED KUNZE Wed, October 16, 2002 Water Temperature 72 - 79 Temperature 90° F - 77 °F Humidity 79% Wind Calm with some wind in the afternoon Conditions Mostly Cloudy (BKN) : 25000 ft Sunrise 6:38 AM MDT Sunset 6:27 PM MDT Oct 21 Full Oct 29 Last Quarter Nov 4 New Nov 11 First Quarter IN GENERAL: The blue water is at the 9-mile mark and the seas are very calm. Sailfish action has been excellent this last week, and the inshore species have been decent. Terry, Cheryl, and 17-year-old Brian Melin, from the Big Bear area, California, fished with Captain Pepino and me on the Whisky II. By 10:30, we caught 9 sailfish and two 15- pound dorado on conventional gear. We then fished a half-day on the panga Gitana and caught two 20- and 25-pound roosterfish and a 20-pound jack crevalle. Santiago, on the Gitana, also had a decent trip for his client Ed Duncan of Ohio when they released 6 sailfish on conventional gear. Santiago is currently rated as the number three captain in the world for this year’s competition for billfish releases.