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 Sat., May 03, 2003 Report covers the period Wed.-Fri. (4/29-5/2) EAST CAPE, MAGDALENA BAY AND ZIHUATANEJO CONDITIONS EAST CAPE, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO IN GENERAL: Yvonne and I are in Santa Barbara watching the rain pelting the parking lot. Why? Several months ago during a presentation for the Santa Barbara Fly Fishers that Mike Moropolis's arranged. John Henigan invited me to guest on his radio show California Fish Net on KEYT 1250 and today is the day. May has arrived and with it the official beginning of the 2003 season. All the players are on the stage and ready to perform. Striped marlin made it in the nick of time and the catch numbers tripled this week. The dorado catch just slightly edged out the tuna bite which continued at last week’s pace. While the tuna were basically the size of footballs, our clients thought they were fabulous. We had a group of six arrive from Las Vegas lead by Jeff Foutz on May 1 and if their first day is any indication, they must have had some Vegas luck stashed in their gear bag. The group split up – three hit the beach and two out of three landed their first roosters on the fly. Talk about a strong work ethic! Then they raced back to the hotel mid-morning (ignoring big roosters crashing bait within a few feet of shore) to submit a bid on a construction project back home. Once they finished their chore, it was back on the beach for a sundowner. That's what I call fish ’til you drop. The other half of the group had a good day catching the football tuna and a billfish from the "Dusty B," a Buenavista Beach Resort cruiser. AIR & SEA - Water temperature 70-74 Air temperature 70°-83° Humidity about 57% Wind South at 7 mph Conditions Scattered Clouds (SCT) : 21,900 ft Visibility 12 miles Sunrise 5:41 a.m. MST Sunset 6:46 p.m. MST May 1 New May 9 First Quarter May15 Full May 22 Last Quarter · OFFSHORE: Punta Pescadero is providing some good billfish action and even a few wahoo closer to the hotel. Head down La Ribera way and the tuna may mug you. · INSHORE: Roosters with shoulders are showing up at Punta Arena and back along the beach to Punta Colorada. · BEACH: La Ribera, Bartle Beach and Punta Arena are the neighborhoods to hang out in. BILLFISH - Counts tripled this week. What else can I say? YELLOWFIN TUNA - Perfect size for the flyrod and hungry! DORADO - Seems like more show up every week. ROOSTERFISH - Yep! JACK CREVALLE - Several varieties including green jack and the bigger jack crevalle. BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK - A few in front of La Ribera. PARGO AND CABRILLA - Starting to hear rumbles of some quality fish on a few of the rock reefs. SIERRA - Punta Colorada or La Ribera around the bait receivers. MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO Sat., May 03, 2003 Report covers the period Wed.-Fri. (4/29-5/2) IN GENERAL: Yellowtail for sure at Thetis, halibut in skinny water at Punta Belcher, corvina at the pier and power plant and maybe snook and pargo at Devil’s Curve. Water Temperature 60-66 Air Temperature 66°-75° Humidity 78% Wind NW at 2 mph Conditions Clear Visibility 3 miles Sunrise 5:46 a.m. MDST Sunset 6:57 p.m. MDST May 1 New May 9 First Quarter May15 Full May 22 Last Quarter YELLOWTAIL - Thetis seems to be the place, but that is a tough trip with the wind in the afternoon CORVINA - Try a holographic popper around the pilings at the pier. SNOOK - They are there, but few targeting them this week. HALIBUT - Shallow water along the sandy beaches at Punta Belcher producing some 10-pounders. SIERRA - Slow. ZIHUATANEJO, MAINLAND MEXICO Please note the date. We are only providing weekly (not twice-a-week) reports for this area. Sat., May 03, 2003 Report covers the period Wed.-Fri. (4/26-5/2) IN GENERAL: The yellowfin tuna action is still holding up with Luis Marciel getting his third 200-pounder in as many weeks. The 250-pound tuna, for client Bob Berg from Oklahoma, was the largest so far. Jim Wiemer fished with Santiago on the panga “Gitan” and got several smaller school-sized tuna. They fished for sailfish also, but did not have much luck. Santiago predicts a slow tournament thus weekend for the 150-boat field. Water Temperature 75º-80º Air Temperature 77°-84º Humidity 83% Wind Calm Conditions Haze Smoke Visibility 5 miles Sunrise 6:23 a.m. CST Sunset 7:02 p.m. CST Today First Quarter Apr.16 Full Apr. 23 Last Quarter May 1 New May 9 First Quarter For more Information on Baja on the Fly's Zihuatanejo trips, go to: http://www.bajafly.com/Zihuatanejo.htm -- Zihuatanejo Report by Baja on the Fly's Ed Kunze International Game Fish Association needs your support. If you are not already a member, please take the time to JOIN TODAY! http://www.bajafly.com/igfaapplication.htm