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 011-52-624-14-10373 Wed., April 02, 2003 EAST CAPE, MAGDALENA BAY AND ZIHUATANEJO CONDITIONS EAST CAPE, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO IN GENERAL: Alaskan Pudge Klienkauf, visiting from Anchorage with her "Women's Angling" group, began with a more than shaky start on Sun. (3/30) when the wind came whistling down the gulf. It kept practically everyone pinned to the beach and those who weren't, wished they had been. On Mon., the wind quit and the fish began to bite. Her group accounted for good showings of dorado, jacks and sierra for one boat and the other ended up with two marlin, dorado and sierra. Yesterday (4/1), while it was a long ride (35 miles), the tuna roundup they found made it all worthwhile. A school of yellowfin half the size of a football field surrounded the boat and didn't seem to want to leave. Our guide Jeff Solis tied a purple and gold tuna buster that must have looked like a piece of pepperoni pizza to the tuna the way they sucked it up. Three anglers, double-digit tuna with few sardina available to use for chum is impressive Here is the hot fly: http://www.bajafly.com/solispurple.gif Back on the beach, what a difference a day without wind makes! Ladyfish, jacks and a few roosters were spotted within casting distance along with sierra, which had been among the missing for a while. Here is a story from a Canadian publication about California tackle manufacturer Steve Abel's trip last year to Magdalena Bay I thought you'd find interesting. His is similar to our trip, except that he uses a long-range boat with18 anglers instead of the 4 we take on our Flyrod Marlin 101 series. http://www.nationalpost.com/search/site/story.asp?id=CAF1FD5B-E622-4694-B3CD -485B779BDC53 AIR & SEA - Water temperature 68-75 Air temperature 68°-81° Humidity about 53% Wind Calm Conditions Partly Cloudy Visibility 15 miles Sunrise 6:07 a.m. MST Sunset 6:33 p.m. MST Today New Apr. 9 First Quarter Apr.16 Full Apr. 23 Last Quarter May.1 New · OFFSHORE: Tuna a long way, marlin and dorado closer in, mostly singles on the dorado but good sized some up to 40 pounds this week. · INSHORE: Look for the birds and bait for some fast paced action for dorado, jacks and roosters. · BEACH: The whole beach looks like it is ready to explode. Just add sardina and it is going to get silly. BILLFISH - Remarkably good for this time of year. A couple of shots a day for those who are interested. YELLOWFIN TUNA - Slowed a click the latter part of the week, but don't bypass the porpoise if you see them. DORADO - Bigger ones offshore and quite a few found around the boat mooring lines in the last few days. ROOSTERFISH - It is definitely an early show this year JACK CREVALLE - Plenty of 15 pounders to stretch out your backing. BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK - Same neighborhood as everything else. Look for the sardina schools and pelicans diving. PARGO AND CABRILLA - Work the rocky points with chartreuse Clouser for best results. SIERRA - No sooner do I think they are gone and they show back up. Bring on the cerviche. MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO Wed., April 02, 2003 IN GENERAL: Let's begin offshore, There are scattered reports of both dorado and tuna being found west of the entrada . . . and good-sized ones at that. Watch for the bird schools as you go through the entrada and you may get a yellowtail or two or at least a sierra. Meanwhile, back up in the esteros, snook are on the prowl. Look for deep holes along the channels. You never know what you will find lurking there . . . hopefully, a hungry snook or maybe a leopard grouper. Water Temperature 65-70 Air Temperature 68-°72° Humidity 74% Wind Calm Conditions Mostly Cloudy Visibility 3 miles Sunrise 6:14 a.m. MST Sunset 6:42 p.m. MST Today New Apr. 9 First Quarter Apr.16 Full Apr. 23 Last Quarter May.1 New YELLOWTAIL - Look for the bird schools out at the entrada. CORVINA - Still the go-to fish if all else fails. SNOOK - Deep holes, hungry snook, need I say more. HALIBUT - Try any of the sandy beaches with a chartreuse Clouser. SIERRA - Spread out throughout the open bay.