Tuna, Roosters, Dorado, Billfish and Oh, My! REPORT FROM GARY GRAHAM'S BAJA ON THE FLY: PROVIDING QUALITY SALTWATER FLY-FISHING 365 DAYS A YEAR SOUTH OF THE BORDER. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: [email protected] USA toll-free (800) 919-2252; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373 Sept. 25, 2004. Report covers the period Sat.-Fri. (9/18-9/24) EAST CAPE, MAGDALENA BAY, ZIHUATANEJO, MEXICO; AND SAN JOSE, GUATEMALA CONDITIONS EAST CAPE IN GENERAL: No weird weather, no worries as the dorado continue play close to shore. A bit further out, plenty of tuna in the 20 - 35 pound range to put a bend in your stick. Be careful. Every once and a while a slug will show up and turn the party into work. Most of our clients wimped out after the dorado/tuna dance and seemed to be more interested in the pool and margaritas than the billfish. AIR & SEA - Water temperature 79-88 Air temperature 74-91 Humidity about 63% Wind: SSW 2 mph Conditions: Scattered Clouds Visibility 10 miles Sunrise 7:08 a.m. MDT Sunset 7:11 p.m. MDT Sept. 28, Full; Oct. 6, Last Quarter; Oct. 14, New; Oct. 20, First Quarter. + OFFSHORE: Most of the buzz was about the tuna, with the billfish taking a distant second. + INSHORE: Dorado dominated close to shore with a few skipjack, jacks and an occasional rooster. + BEACH: Roosters appeared along Bartle Beach, but seemed to be doing more cruising than biting. BILLFISH – Sails dropped off a tad, but the blues turned on filling the gap. YELLOWFIN TUNA – Enough to wear you out before noon. DORADO – Getting larger, but still within a few miles of shore. ROOSTERFISH\JACK CREVALLE – Plenty to look at along Bartle attracted by the mullet schools moving up and down the beach. BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK – Find the right school and you may come up with some in the double digit class. PARGO AND CABRILLA – Lots of locals fishing on the beach at night, can’t make up my mind if the fish are biting or they just want to cool off. SIERRA – Not enough to rig with wire. MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO IN GENERAL: By mid-week the wind had quit and it got hot. Dorado and marlin have begun to arrive in significant numbers close to the entrada. Try a heading of 230 – 240 degrees and you should find the action at about 15 miles. With the flaky weather earlier in the week plus shrimp season, no one was fishing the esteros. Water Temperature 67-78 Air Temperature 74-83 Humidity 80% Wind Calm Conditions: Scattered Clouds Visibility 3 miles Sunrise 7:14 a.m. MDT Sunset 7:26 p.m. MDT Sept. 28, Full; Oct. 6, Last Quarter; Oct. 14, New; Oct. 20, First Quarter. YELLOWTAIL – Bird schools near the entrada to a few miles offshore will get in the neighborhood. CORVINA – Try a popper at the bridge or the pier. SNOOK – Still waiting for the larger variety to get going. HALIBUT – Sandy beach, shallow water and olive Clouser should be a winner. SIERRA – A few mixed in the bird schools at the entrada. ZIHUATANEJO, MAINLAND MEXICO IN GENERAL: The 80º blue water is still holding 5 miles off the beach. Recent rain storms this last week have created very well defined current lines holding debris washed out of the rivers. These current lines have been holding a lot of 25 to 35 pound dorado. Adolpho, on the panga “Dos Hermanos,” released 4 sailfish yesterday, and took 4 very nice dorado. He also told me the roosterfish have slowed a little on the beaches, but he had managed 4 this last week in two days of fishing. He feels very confident the bite will pick up again once the shoreline turbidity cleans up. The average for sailfish is about 2 fish per boat per day. Between 5 and 7 miles the school sized tuna (about 15 to 20 pounds), have been giving us a lot of action. They have been there several days now, and do not appear to be moving. Water Temperature 80-83 Air Temperature 78-84 Humidity 62% Wind North 2 mph Conditions: T - Storms Visibility 10 miles Sunrise 7:35 a.m. CDT Sunset 7:39 p.m. CDT Sept. 28, Full; Oct. 6, Last Quarter; Oct. 14, New; Oct. 20, First Quarter. Baja on the Fly's Zihuatanejo report by Ed Kunze SAN JOSE, GUATEMALA Calm seas, packs of sailfish charging the teasers, double digit catches, fantasy??? Not hardly; the season is just around the corner and we can’t wait. Water Temperature 75-82 Air Temperature 78-84 Humidity 94 % Wind SE 4 mph Conditions: T-Storms Visibility 7 miles Sunrise 5:52 a.m. CST Sunset 5:56 p.m. CST Sept. 28, Full; Oct. 6, Last Quarter; Oct. 14, New; Oct. 20, First Quarter.