Green Flashes and Billfish Babies EAST CAPE, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO WED., DEC. 5, 2001 .. IN GENERAL: Pretty good to very good, depending on who you speak with. All the hotel boat skippers are singing songs of success, primarily to the north. They report that the dorado, skipjack, and bonito have been congregating between Punta Pescedero and Punta Pedico. The tuna and a few marlin are to the south along with some sierra, jacks, and amberjack mixed in. .. OFFSHORE: Depending on wind and sea conditions dorado flags are flying. When the winds blow and the water kicks up, things are tougher. It is, after all, nearly winter. The tuna bite has been fair to strong to the south. There are a fair number of marlin for this time of year. .. INSHORE: Working from a panga you can expect good action with small- to medium-sized roosters at the first arroyo north of Los Barriles. There are some of the other species mixed in as well, but roosters predominate. Also try the La Rivera area. .. BEACH: Try the arroyo north of Los Barriles to Punta Pescadero. If fishing to the south, we suggest you try directly in front of Hotel Rancho Leonero. There have been a few good-sized roosters and some ladyfish. If looking for sierra, try in front of La Rivera. The numbers are increasing daily. AIR & SEA: Air temperature low 80s to mid 80s and very pleasant. Wind is beginning to become a problem. When it backs off, things are just great. When it howls, better head for the nearest margarita. BILLFISH - The numbers are fair for this time of year. YELLOWFIN TUNA - Right now they’re from La Rivera to the lighthouse. As usual, they’re up one minute and breezing past you the next. DORADO - Day by day. The numbers have increased in the past week. Look a little further north. As always, floating structure and buoys are a good bet. ROOSTERFISH - Lots of smaller fish with the occasional Papa Grande along the shore at the arroyo north of Los Barriles up to Punta Pescadero. There are some very nice fish showing occasionally at Hotel Leonero and in front of La Rivera. JACK CREVALLE - The jacks are in and out. A school will storm the beach one second and be gone the next. The numbers are not strong yet. BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK – Hard to find. PARGO AND CABRILLA - Rocky points are holding a few quality pargo, with good fishing at Rancho Leonero. Several quality fish reported down by Punta Colorado. MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO WED., DEC. 5, 2001 .. IN GENERAL: Fri. (11/30) morning when we left the overnight anchorage at Belchers, the wind was blowing out of the east and the Pacific appeared in a grumpy mood. The further out we went, however, the better it got and about an hour after we began, Hugh Levine, an attorney from San Francisco, and Dave Gilbertson, Bozeman, Mont., both were hooked up to their first striped marlin of the trip. The average number of fish raised for the entire trip was in the double digits with everyone landing at least two billfish. A few wahoo, dorado, tuna, sierra, yellowtail and skipjack made for a busy week. It seemed like an omen that we had three of the legendary green flashes at sunset. Three of our 2002 trips are already sold out and we have scattered additional bookings for the other three. If you are in any way considering marlin on a fly, call our office for the latest availability for next year. AIR & SEA: Cool mornings, warm days and jackets at night. When the winds blow, it can be a little bumpy, but all-in-all it has be be considered near perfect. In the mangroves, it's still T-shirts and shorts. MARLIN - More fish being seen each day. DORADO - Near Thetis Bank produced some fair action. TUNA - A few schools still up on the Thetis Bank YELLOWTAIL - Lots of firecrackers from Punta Hughes to Cabo Lazzero in a 100 feet of water. CORVINA - Everybody reported good catches this week, Devil's Curve, power plant and the bridge all produced. SNOOK - Good catches with the largest being 17 pounds. HALIBUT - Several caught on sand beach at Santa Maria Bay. SIERRA - Good catches near the entrance to Santa Maria Bay. My new book, "The No Nonsense Guide to Fly Fishing Magdalena Bay," is now available and makes a great Holiday gift. Get your First Edition autographed copy at: http://secure-shopping-cart.com/bajafly/cart/index.html Catch of the Week Photo: http://www.bajafly.com/weeklycatch.html Gary Graham, Baja on the Fly, [email protected], www.bajafly.com 800-919-2252.