09/24/2003 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., Sept. 24, 2003 Report covers the period Sat.-Tues. (9/20 - 9/23) EAST CAPE, MAGDALENA BAY, ZIHUATANEJO AND GUATEMALA CONDITIONS EAST CAPE, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO IN GENERAL: "The Internet Forecasters are predicting it will have little consequence locally here at East Cape,” we were told. So much for "high tech forecasting." Marty arrived at approximately 4 a.m. on Mon. (9/22) with plenty of rain and 100 mph winds. Details from East Cape are sketchy at best. Hotel boats fished on Sun., but were chased back by building seas and rain. Power and telephones are both down and out since the storm hit. Damage scorecard: - Marina de La Paz, 120 slips, is 95% destroyed. - Abaroa Marina, 40 slips, is destroyed. - Marina Palmira, 117 slips, and which has a big breakwater, is in excellent shape with very little damage to boats. - Several boats in Astilleros Dry Storage have been knocked over. - Cabo Isle Marina in Cabo San Lucas, 120 miles to the south, had strong winds and lots of rain, but no damage to boats. The town will be up and running again in a week. AIR & SEA - Water temperature 75°-87° Air temperature 80° - 86° Humidity about 90% Wind From the West Northwest at 6 mph Conditions Scattered Clouds (SCT) : 23,900 ft Visibility 8 miles Sunrise 7:08 a.m. MST Sunset 7:13 p.m. MST Sept 25 New Oct. 2 First Quarter Oct.10 Full Oct. 18 Last Quarter · OFFSHORE: Good before the storm, should snap back in a few days. · INSHORE: So much for water cleaning up. The needlefish can have it for now. · BEACH: Forget about it for a few days BILLFISH – Absent until further notice. YELLOWFIN TUNA – Marty won't faze them, I promise DORADO – Marty delivered plenty of flotsam, which translates to more cover, more dorado ROOSTERFISH – Wait until next week JACK CREVALLE – Same places as the roosters. BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK – Mixed in with the porpoise. PARGO AND CABRILLA – Not now. SIERRA - Don't bother, way too many needlefish! MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO Wed., Sept. 24, 2003 Report covers the period Sat.-Tues. (9/20 - 9/23) IN GENERAL: Fishing is great! That’s the answer I heard when I made my Tues. night call to pangero Enrique in Puerto San Carlos. What about Marty? I asked. “We had lots of rain and wind,” Enrique continued, “but Sunday we caught yellowtail, grouper and halibut at the entrada.” There were lots of dorado at the shark buoys about 7 miles out on a 240° heading from the entrada, out a bit further were lots of jumping marlin and 10 miles further were schools of tuna. Back in the bay, the focus continued on commercial fishing for shrimp. There was some flooding and damage at Lopez Mateos and Ciudad Constitucion. Water Temperature 69°-76° Air Temperature 71°-85° Humidity 92% Wind Calm Conditions Clear Visibility 3 miles Sunrise 7:14 a.m. MDST Sunset 7:25 p.m. MDST Sept. 25 New Oct. 2 First Quarter Oct.10 Full Oct. 18 Last Quarter YELLOWTAIL – Under the bird schools at the entrada CORVINA - Plenty to play with - either at Devil's Curve or near the pier. SNOOK - Must be hiding from Marty. HALIBUT - Continuing action for those who are interested. Plenty on the south side of Belchers in skinny water. SIERRA - A few under the bird schools. ZIHUATANEJO, MAINLAND MEXICO Please note the date. We are only providing weekly (not twice a week) reports for this area. Sat., Sept. 20, 2003 Report covers the period Sat.-Fri. (9/13 - 9/20) IN GENERAL: We have had "good news-bad news" these last three days. The bad news is we have had wind and about 6 inches of rain in the last 48 hours. Conditions have been just too miserable to fish, because of the limited visibility caused from all the silt and debris being washed out of the rivers. This will also shut down (for about a week) our excellent action for roosterfish and jack crevalle in the surf line. The good news is there have been tons of trees, plants, coconuts, etc. being washed out of the rivers making for some incredible bait holding current lines. In the next few days, as ocean conditions stabilize, the dorado, sailfish, and school-sized yellowfin tuna should be thick on these floating hotels. Water Temperature 75º-90º Air Temperature 81°-90º Humidity 79% Wind SE at 23 mph Conditions Mostly Cloudy (BKN) : 8,000 ft Visibility 10 miles Sunrise 7:34 a.m. CDST Sunset 7:43 p.m. CDST Sept 25 New Oct. 2 First Quarter Oct. 10 Full Oct. 18 Last Quarter For more Information on Baja on the Fly's Zihuatanejo trips, go to: http://www.bajafly.com/Zihuatanejo.htm Baja on the Fly's Zihuatanejo report by Ed Kunze IZTAPA, GUATEMALA Welcome to what we think is the Flyrod Sailfish Capital of the World! Starting with our next condition report, Iztapa, Guatemala, will be part of our ongoing up-to-date news. Located on the Pacific Coast, Iztapa is next to Mexico's southern border. It's approximately 2 hours from Miami, 3 hours from Houston, 3.5 hours from Atlanta and 4.5 hours from Los Angeles. Wed., Sept. 24, 2003 Report covers the period Sat.-Tue. (9/21 - 9/23) IN GENERAL: The fish are here, if you can get around the short rain squalls. Water color and temperature (84-85 degrees) are perfect, and the boats have been fishing about 30 miles out. With our season just beginning, in the past week only two boats have been fishing. One had double digit releases on sails, and both had marlin in the pattern, but could not connect. Sailfish are showing up a lot more frequently over the past couple of weeks with double digit days. Dorado are still being caught on most trips, but are more scarce than usual, which leaves more time for sails and marlin. There has been no inshore fishing activity the last week. We have been scouting snook areas, but the fishing is slow inshore. Anglers looking for a new challenge should note that Continental Airlines has been running specials the past two weeks on fares to Guatemala. Water Temperature 75º-90º Air Temperature 78°-84º Humidity 79% Wind SE at 8 mph Conditions Mostly Cloudy (BKN) : 20,000 ft Visibility Sunrise 5:52 a.m. CST Sunset 5:58 p.m. CST Sept 25 New Oct. 2 First Quarter Oct. 10 Full Oct. 18 Last Quarter For more Information on Baja on the Fly's Guatemala trips, go to: http://www.guatemalafly.com Baja on the Fly's Guatemala report by Brian Barragy