Cabo Bite Report Capt George Landrum Fly Hooker Sportfishing [email protected] www.flyhooker.com CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 15-21, 2003-04 WEATHER: The spring winds arrived on Wednesday, heralding the arrival of a overcast that did not end up reaching us until Sunday. We were hoping that they would pass us by but they finally caught up to us. It started to blow around 11 in the morning, and blew at a good 20 knots. A steady wind until after sunset, then a light breeze. No clouds were over us this week so at least it was sunny, but the hottest we saw it get was around 80 degrees. Our coldest night was down in the mid 50’s, cold but still comfortable. It’s just that with the wind blowing at sunset you have to have a windbreaker or light sweater in order to not get chilled (at least I do, but then I haven’t been living where it’s below freezing all day!). When we woke up Sunday morning it was mostly cloudy and not a breath of wind to be felt. WATER: Before the wind started to blow in the middle of the week the surface conditions were great, very light chop and small swells. We had a band of cool water just off the shore on the Pacific side and during the week the warm water moved in. Now the California current has kicked in again (we had a 2.5 knot south current on Friday) and we are getting the cool water next to the beach again. On the Sea of Cortez side this cool water has extended up to the Gorda Banks. Cool water as in 68 degrees. The warm water is now to the south of us and we have seen some in the 74 degree range but most has been around 72 degrees. At least it’s near to us, just as close as 5 miles at times, fluctuating between there and 12 miles south. With the spring winds kicking in, it’s a good thing that this warmer water is close, you don’t have to get beat up for very long on the way back in! BAIT: Caballito at the usual $2 per bait and some Sardinas available if you go up the coast towards San Jose to find the net boats.. FISHING BILLFISH: One week fish, next week scales! The Striped Marlin bite had been picking up the week before but seemed to stabalize, then drop off judging from the number of blue flags being flown by the returning boats. Early in the week the fish were fairly close, out around 5 to 15 miles. There were not a lot of them, but most boats were seeing 3 or 4 every trip and getting at least one of them to bite. Live bait was the key and they were being picky, wanting smaller baits. At the end of the week the fish had almost disappeared, and there were very few flags being flown. Perhaps the current and water conditions had a lot to do with it, it is hard to see tailing fish when there is chop everywhere you look! YELLOWFIN TUNA: This week the Yellowfin stayed in first place as fish of the week. In almost a repeat of last week report on the Tuna, there was a good bite on the San Jaime Banks and on the temperature break between the San Jaime and the Golden Gate. A couple of boats came in with fish in the #150-#200 range. They were the lucky ones! The “average” large Yellowfin were 40-60 pounds with a lot of football 10-15 pounders in there. Big fish on big lures and live bait, smaller fish on hootchies and feathers. The nice thing was that the fish have moved closer to Cabo, again, this may be due to the current change. A good concentration of fish have been found to the south of the Cape within easy cruising distance. Pods of Porpoise have shown where the fish are for the first boats out there, and the concentration of boats have shown the late comers! We sure were glad there were fish close to home, because when the wind started to kick up you didn’t want to be facing a 20 mile ride back in the slop. DORADO: That strong California current brought with it some kelp, broken loose from it’s roots up in the north. There were small stringers, full plants and occasional small paddies found on the Pacific side of the Cape, all close in, less than 5 miles off shore. Well, Dorado like to hang around floating objects, and those boats that found the right kelp did well on Dorado to 25 pounds, sometimes able to get as many as a dozen fish off of one spot. Of course, most of the kelp found did not have any fish under it, but if you wanted Dorado this week, that is what you looked for. There were a few larger fish caught in the open water, fish that went as large as 50 pounds, but they were few and far between. The bigger fish were mostly caught on lures pulled for Marlin, and the best method for getting the paddy fish was to use strips of bait. WAHOO: There were a few good fish caught but not as many as we expected. That may have been due to the rough conditions off on the Pacific side at the Golden Gate and San Jaime Banks. Those that were reported were found off of the lighthouse on the Pacific side between there and Cristobal by boats looking for the kelp and Dorado, as well as a few from the Cortez side around Punta Ballena. The fish ranged from 15 to 40 pounds. IN SHORE: The Sierra seemed to have all but disappeared from the Pacific side of the Cape, but there are reports of good action on the larger sizes, from 8 pounds up, up around the Punta Gordo on the Cortez. While the Sierra have gone somewhere else, the Red Snapper, or Pargo bite, really took off for the Pangas who were in the right spot. The best catch I saw for one trip was one Sierra that weighed about 6 pounds and 8 Pargo ranging between 15 and 30 pounds. Action on the Pacific side was pretty much limited to very early morning, before the wind kicked in. NOTES: Lots and lots of whales this week. Humpbacks and Gray’s all over the place. Marlin bite dropped off, Tuna bite picked up, water conditions sketchy at the end of the week. A tip for those wanting to fish here, decide what you want to fish for, then stick with it! A lot of people come here wanting to catch a Marlin and say to the crews, “All we want is Marlin”. Then after two or three hours with little action they tell the crew that ”Now we want to go for Tuna”. The problem here is that there is often a large distance between the areas where the two species are being caught and after spending almost half the day trying for one species there is not time to go for something else. My suggestion is either stick with what you are looking for or else let the crew decide where to go, one of my favorite things to do is tell the crew “I just want to catch fish”, and Marlin is all right if we come across one. An apology for those of you who tried to get to Brian Flynn’s web site last week, the correct address is http:brianflynband.com , no www. in front of it, use a search engine! This week I had a chance to listen and talk with the musicians of the band “KD and the Buzz” as they played at the “Tanga-Tanga” bar on Tuesday. Great blues and rock! Kevin Daniels plays the rhythm guitar, sax and vocals, Gill Mendoza is lead guitar, Antonio Toledo is on Drums, Fabian Mendez is the bass player and Dave “Doc” Larsen played the harmonica. Most of these guys have been here a long time and their names may be familiar to long time visitors. Most of them used to play under the group name “Dos Juevos” It was their music I played in my head as I wrote this report, specially Kevin’s rendition of Joe Cockers “Unchain My Heart”. Thanks for the music guys, I look forward to next week. For those of you who just care about the fishing, good luck and tight lines! Fly Hooker Daily Catch Report Capt. George Landrum "Fly Hooker" Sportfishing [email protected] www.flyhooker.com WEEKLY FISH COUNT STRIPED MARLIN: TWO FISH TAGGD AND RELEASED (#110, #120) YELLOWFIN TUNA: THREE FISH KEPT (#40, #15, #10) “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 15 FEBRUARY, 2004 Garret Ferris and Bob were out today for their third and last day of fishing. Craig and Mike were not fishing today. Since it was Craig who got the Marlin yesterday, someone else had a shot today. Bob was the lucky angler as they were able to toss bait at three fish and get one of them to hook up! It was around 30 minutes before the fish was to the boat and it reportedly did a lot of jumping for them. Philipe was able to tag and release the fish. Thanks for the good times guys, we are glad your trips were successful! “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 16 FEBRUARY, 2004 Today was supposed to be James Bodin and his friend Mike fishing the “Fly Hooker”. They did a lot of research before they booked the boat and were really looking forward to the trip with Juan and Manuel. Unfortunately we had a problem shortly after getting the engines warmed up and had a leak in the stbd. transmission oil cooler. It was not something that could be fixed right then and there so we asked James if they wanted us to find another boat for them or wanted the deposit back. Well, they had come a long way to catch a Marlin so we started to look for another boat. It was a busy day for charters but we were able to come up with another boat for them. It was one we had used once before and our clients had good luck with them, but this time their performance apparently left a lot to be desired. It was a late start, not getting out until 7:30 and they worked the area around the 95 spot for most of the morning. No luck so they tried closer to home where the current had forced the cool water up against the warmer water, and still had no luck. The Tuna bite had been 30 miles off shore so it was not possible to go out there in the time remaining. Sorry guys, but that is fishing, you can’t catch fish sitting on the beach. We tried our best to make you happy. “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 17 FEBRUARY, 2004 Craig Schlagbaum was our angler today and he has fished here in Cabo for a long time. He said he is always trying out different boats, looking for crews that work well and he can be happy with. He and his wife went out on Monday with another company and had a 40 mile ride to the south, and had no strikes at all. At 11 this morning it was beginning to look like another day of just riding a boat and then it happened, a nice Dorado of about 35 pounds jumped on one of the lures. A quick fight and dinner was in the fish box. Right after that a Striped Marlin was seen on the surface and a bait tossed. Hook up! The fight was quick, only 12 minutes, but that is because Craig knows what he is doing with a reel! One Striped Marlin estimated at #120, one #35 dorado, not bad for the day. Craig was very happy and said he would contact us again for his next trip to Cabo. Juan and Manuel were one of the best, if not the best, crews he had fished with here. “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 19 FEBRUARY, 2004 I do not know the names of the guy and his two young daughters that fished the “Fly Hooker” today. It was literally a last minute charter. They usually fish another boat on our dock, but it had mechanical problems (Boy, do I know how that can be!) and Manuel was there on our boat. The owner contacted us at home and then the folks left at 10 am for a four hour trip, hopefully to find Sierra or some inshore fish for the girls to fight. Manuel and Philip ended up bottom fishing as the Sierra bite was not happening and the girls got Puffer Fish and Silver Snapper, plus they had a blast feeding the Pelicans on the way back in. “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 14 FEBRUARY, 2004 Norm Sugg, Gilbert, Paul, Benny and Benny’s son Mike were our anglers today. They are from “Construction Solutions” in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The guys got off to a late start due to lingering (in some cases still existing) “Tequilla Flu”. The wind was blowing a bit this morning so the water was just a little choppy. Juan and Manuel went due south for 9 miles where a lot of boats were working porpoise for Yellowfin Tuna. I am not sure if it was Benny or Mike who was so happy when he caught the 10 pound Bonito, but it was “The biggest fish I have ever caught!”. Well, it was the biggest until he hooked into the #40 Yellowfin Tuna! That fish was designated as “dinner” and there were two other smaller Yellowfin that were given to Juan and Manuel. Juan said that they lost another nice Yellowfin as well. The wind started to howl around 10 am and it was a long, rough trip back. Most of the boats were in by 1 PM, as we were. Tomorrow is another day and things are likely to be different. Norm, Gilbert and Paul are fishing tomorrow so check in with us next week to see how they do! Until then, Tight Lines!