Cabo San Lucas Fishing Report for Nov 23-30, 2003 Capt. George Landrum "Fly Hooker" Sportfishing [email protected] www.flyhooker.com CABO FISH REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 23 TO NOVEMBER 29, 2003 WEATHER: The weather was great all week long! We had slightly overcast skies at the beginning of the week but they had cleared completely by the weekend. Our low temperature was in the mid to low 60’s while the highs may have reached the mid 90’s but for the most part stayed in the high 80’s. Light winds, clear skies and great temperatures, one of the reasons we love this time of year! WATER: Surface conditions were great all week with low, rolling swells that may have reached three feet in height. The light breeze kept things from getting glassy and was just enough to make it comfortable. Our water temperatures on the Pacific side stayed in the 77-78 degree range up to the Golden Gate bank, where it reached to 80 degrees. On the Cortez side the water was the same with the warm spots being on the 1150 spot and the Gorda bank. There was no defined temperature break within reach of us. BAIT: A mix of Caballito and Mackerel with a few Sardinas being found as well. The bigger baits were the normal $2 per and the Sardinas were running $20 a bucket. FISHING: BILLFISH: Just as was the case last week, this week the bite on Marlin seemed concentrated on the ledge off the lighthouse on the Pacific side or on a slight color break that ran from 3-5 miles off shore in the same area. The bite was definitely tide related and in between the change lures worked better than bait. As the tide changed, dropping down live bait , halfway to the bottom, seemed to produce a number of fish while the jig bite dropped off. A few Blue Marlin were caught this week, but they have become a bit of a rarity as the water cools down. YELLOWFIN TUNA: There is no doubt that the Yellowfin Tuna were the fish of the week. The bite was excellent for the beginning and middle of the week and the fish ranged from 8 miles to 30 miles out. All the fish found were associated with Porpoise, and some of the fish were big. One client of ours caught a #140 on live bait after catching and releasing a couple of 5 pound fish in the same pod of Porpoise. The majority of the fish were in the 15-25 pound range but there were quite a number of them that were running 40-60 pounds as well. It seemed that the larger fish had a preference for live bait or larger lures in dark colors while the smaller fish were striking feathers, hootchies and cedar plugs. And of course, just as we got used to the bite and started talking it up, it seemed to die! Why does that happen? On the weekend there were still Porpoise everywhere but the Tuna , when they did come up, did not stay up. We will keep our fingers crossed that things change back as quickly as they first changed! DORADO: Not a lot to say about the Dorado this week. There were fish caught but the bite was not very steady or consistent. Those boats having luck with Dorado were either the first to a floating piece of debris or caught them while fishing for something else. The fish that were caught were not extremely large either, with most of them in the 20-30 pound class. The Pacific side, close to home and to shore had a few more fish show than elsewhere, but that may have been because of the number of boats concentrated there working the Marlin bite. WAHOO: There was no consistency to the Wahoo this week, but there were fish caught. We had clients catch fish of 76 and 45 pounds, but they were blind strikes. That 76 pound fish sure looked good coming in the boat! Rigged Ballyhoo worked well as did lures in green/black or blue/black. INSHORE: There was almost no inshore bite this week as all the action moved just outside. NOTES: Good weather, good fishing, good water conditions, well, what am I supposed to do? Guess I have to go fishing! As soon as this report is finished and I finish my cup of coffee, I am out of here. I have only one client on the boat today and he has invited me to come along. Ouch, don’t twist my arm so hard! I am sure we will get fish and see Whales, Porpoise and Turtles. Oh my goodness, am I ever glad I live here! Until next week, tight lines! "Fly Hooker" Daily Catch Reports for Nov 23-30, 2003 Capt. George Landrum "Fly Hooker" Sportfishing [email protected] www.flyhooker.com WEEKLY FISH COUNT Striped Marlin: 1 Tagged and released at #160 1 kept at #100 (bleeding badly) Yellowfin Tuna: 23 kept between #15-#20 2 kept at #35 4 kept at #40 2 kept at #50-#60 Wahoo: 1 kept at #76 1 kept at #45 “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 23, 2003 My cup just runs over this week as I have been invited out almost every day. Today Bob Deeter is back in town, along with his lovely wife Paula and his two daughters. Just Bob is fishing today and he will be going again on Friday. Since he is by himself, he has invited me to go with him on the boat today. Since all my “honey Do’s” are done, I am going! Bob loved the Wahoo he got last trip and now his goal for this trip is to beat the 25 pound fish he caught last month. I told him that the moon is not quite right, but he is fishing two days with us and four days on another boat (we were already booked) so thinks he has a good chance of getting a large Wahoo. Juan and Juan 2 took us out this morning and we went straight south of the Arch, cruising out to 12 miles before putting the lines in the water. I noticed on the way out that we still had some vibration on the port side when we were traveling, but it was not as bad as before we did the work yesterday. The lures went in the water and on the stinger line off the bridge I put out a rigged Ballyhoo with a black and green skirted jet head in front of it. Not 15 minutes after the lures went in the water, that rod got a strike. The fish came off, but almost right away it came back and bit again. Juan 2 set the hook hard and handed the rod down. Bob got in the chair and started working the fish. No jumps, and the first run was a long one. Maybe....as the fish got closer to the boat after the second run, I saw the signs, the rod tip jumped up and down as the fish shook it’s head, a Wahoo for sure! As Bob worked the fish closer we knew for sure when the long shape started to flash down deep! Bob kept the rod tip down and worked the fish closer, Juan 2 got hold of the small diameter wire leader then placed the gaff right in back of the pectoral fin area and we hit it on the head with the bat. In the boat and high fives all around! The fish measured 67 inches from the tip of the nose to the fork of the tail and weighed 76 pounds on our scale, a very nice Wahoo in any ones book! Well, if all the requests for fish were that easy to take care of! Bob had a monster smile on his face all the rest of the trip. A little later we got to an area where there were already five other boats working. Lots of Porpoise, maybe 40 Frigate birds and lots of Boobies and terns working. On our first pass we hooked up to three Bonita, and as the guys reeled them in, I dropped back a Mackerel. As the last Bonita came into the boat I got a hit on the Mackerel. About 10 minutes later we gaffed a Yellowfin of about 35 pounds! Another pass and another Bonita, which we released. Another pass and a smaller Yellowfin of about 12 pounds. By then the fish were feeling the pressure from all the other boats that had arrived and the bite turned off. We worked our way back tot he Marina and when we came in we were flying the Wahoo flag and two white Tuna flags! Bob said it was one of the best trips ever, as he was able to get the big Wahoo he had wanted, gotten Tuna for smoking and ”had not seen a stinkin’ Marlin all day”. Yep, I have to agree Bob, it was a great day! Let’s hope that Friday is as good for you! “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 24 NOVEMBER, 2003 Our good friend Bill Gowder is in town for a couple of days and is fishing with us today and golfing tomorrow. He is also having Ken Mattney at “High 5” lures make a bunch of custom ones up to take to our friend John Eads in Guam. Bill will drop them off, fish a day on John’s 31 Bertram, the “Lucky Strike”, and them return home to the Philippines. Meanwhile, I get to fish with him! Like I said yesterday, my cup runs over! Juan and Manuel took off and we again went straight south of the Arch, only today we stopped just eight miles out. We slowed down to check why the stern bilge pump was not working and found that the switch had failed. A quick fix and we put the lures, or should I say lure, in the water. I had just finished rigging another Ballyhoo for the stinger rod, Juan had set out a medium black/green “High 5” straight runner on the short rigger and was getting ready to set the long rigger when the short rigger popped loose and the line started to scream out! This was at 7:05 in the morning! Bill was on the rod in a flash and after a hard fight with lots of jumps and thrashings had the fish near the boat. The fish made another run. And another one. And one more. Then it tired out and we were able to get it close enough to check it out. I had the tag stick ready but as we leadered the fish we could see it bleeding heavily from the gills. The trailing hook had gotten him deep so we went ahead and boated him. A nice start to the day and it was only 7:50, and we had a Striped Marlin estimated at #100 already. A few minutes later we spotted a tail on the surface and tossed a live bait but there was no interest from the fish. At about 11 am we got to an area where two boats were working. There were about 7 Frigate birds there as well as a few Porpoise and the boats had been catching Tuna. Just as we arrived, one of the boats landed a fish, then blasted right through the school as they ran for home. That put the fish down and we did not see any other action until we got back to the are 8 miles out where we got the Marlin this morning. Then, Manuel spotted another Striped Marlin tailing, Juan tossed a bait, and...once again no interest was shown. Juan reeled in the bait, we resumed trolling and there was another tail! Again, a repeat, with no interest shown by the fish. Bait back in the boat, resume trolling and not 3 minutes later a hard strike on the long rigger lure! I grabbed the rod, the fish came out of the water (Bill said around #200) and as I set the hook the fish threw the lure! Oh well, just not my day! We had a great time, caught a nice Marlin and had a good ride. Thanks for inviting me Bill, I hope you have a great time golfing tomorrow! “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 25 NOVEMBER, 2003 Our friend Ed Weiss and his wife Paula are back in town and Ed reserved today, Thursday and Saturday for fishing on the “Fly Hooker”. We met last night and he informed us that he would not be fishing on Saturday so we just have him today and Thursday. If todays fishing was any indication, he needs that extra day of rest! Juan and Manuel went to the south of the Arch again today, and they were able to get into the Yellowfin Tuna. I think that Ed angled most of the fish, and they included one Yellowfin of about #60, one about #50 and seven others between #15 and #20. The #50 was the toughest fight as the fish had been snagged at the pectoral fin and Ed had to fight it in from the side! The water was rough and Ed’s bone spurs in his shoulders were bothering him, so they came in at 12:30. A bunch of other boats came in early as well due to the water conditions. Ed was happy with the day’s results and said that the day off between the fishing days is really needed for him! Thanks Ed, we will see you Thursday morning! “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 26, 2003 Joanne and Steve Coutrakis booked the “Fly Hooker” for today and they are fishing with two other couples. I did get a chance to meet everyone this morning but as bad as I am at names, the rest of them have vanished from my memory. Guess I will never be a politician or timeshare salesman! They came in early so I have only the events as related to me by Juan and Manuel, but it seems that they did fairly well. When they left this morning I remember Joanne telling me that they would like for everyone to get a chance to catch a Marlin, saying that as a bit of a joke, but knowing that it sometimes happens. It did not happen this trip however. They did get into the porpoise about 15 miles out and had a great time catching Yellowfin Tuna. Four of the fish went between #40 and #50, the other 11 fish were in the #20 range. With everyone tired of reeling in fish and with the wind starting to pick up, they decided to come in early. Thanks folks, we are glad you had a good time and had plenty of fish to fill the cooler with! “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 27 NOVEMBER, 2003 This was the last scheduled fishing day for Ed and Paula Weiss, and Ed was still looking for his Marlin. He had recovered from the fishing on Wednesday and is ready to go at it again. Juan and Manuel headed out tot he south and ran across three different Porpoise pods within 6 miles of the arch. They could see Tuna in the Porpoise but could not get anything to bite. Knowing that the focus was on Marlin, they did not work the Porpoise for long, but continued to work just offshore, since that appeared to be where the Marlin had been the last few days, all within 8 miles of the Cape. It was not a wide open bite by any means, but Ed did get to fight, tag and release a Striped Marlin estimated at #160. They also had shots at two other fish that came up on the lures and struck, took line then threw the hooks. Not a bad day, the water was nice and there was action. Ed finally got the Marlin! Thanks Ed and Paula, we look forward to having you aboard the “Fly Hooker” on you next trip! “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 28, 2003 Our friend Tim McGee is back in town and has a few friends staying at his house with him. Hey George, is the boat available this week? Sure Tim, come on down to the dock on Friday morning and we will get you out! No problem and off they go. It is the first time for a few folks, but they are determined to catch fish. Juan and Manuel end up 27 miles out, chasing Porpoise and they get six or seven Tuna out of them, the biggest one around 35 pounds and the rest just a little smaller. Tim just happens to be standing next to a rod when a fish strikes and he had a choice of handing either the rod or his beer to the person next to him, so of course he passed over the beer and took up the rod. He was wearing his fighting belt and it took him a very short time before he had the Wahoo, estimated at 40-45 pounds, to the boat for gaffing. The young man on the trip caught the biggest Tuna, and it was his first fish ever. Tim told me that the swells were around three feet and there was no wind chop, so conditions were great! Glad to hear it, and glad you guys had a good time! Thanks Tim! “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 29 NOVEMBER, 2003 Ron and Chris, who fished several days ago with Big John, are fishing with us again today. They have invited Walter and his wife Debbie to fish with them. Ron and Chris had tried to fish another boat we had arranged for them on the 27th but there were problems and the trip did not go at all as planned, there were boat problems and no fish caught. We had our fingers crossed this morning that Chris would finally be able to feel a pull at the end of the line. Walter has some experience at big game fishing. Around six years ago he caught a #600+ Blue Marlin here in Cabo. Now that he has his trophy fish, he just wants meat. The same with Chris and Ron so Juan and his brother Juan take off to target Tuna. They worked their way out 17 miles to the south before turning to the north-west, towards the San Jaime bank. Lots of Whales, lots of Porpoise, but no fish. Not one strike all day. The water conditions were perfect, the boat ride was nice, but it was supposed to be a fishing trip! Chris got the blame, of course. New guy, not one strike two trips in a row...don’t take it personally Chris, but there just might be something to it. How good is your golf game? Other than no fish, it was a great day on the water. I’m sorry guys, I hope that next time you go the bite is better. Until next week, Tight lines!