Cabo Bite Report Capt George Landrum Fly Hooker Sportfishing [email protected] www.flyhooker.com CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT MARCH 14-20, 2004 WEATHER: Once again the week started out a bit cloudy then cleared up at the end. It also warmed up quite a bit! Today is the first day of spring and it feels like the middle of summer as we had temperatures in the high 90’s yesterday. Our night time lows have risen to the high 60’s as well and we have put away the comforters and plugged in the floor fans. The humidity has stayed fairly low so we don’t have the muggy feeling we will get later in the summer, all in all it has been a great week for good weather! WATER: The cold water this week remained on the Pacific side of the Cape with the water temps staying in the mid to high 60’s out to a distance of 15 to 25 miles. On the Cortez side, the water was 72 to 75 degrees out to 30 miles and very blue. Once past that, the temps dropped to 71 and the color turned green. Of course all the fish have been in the warmer blue water! No strong temp breaks this week, at least close enough for us to fish. The winds have been light and that has meant great surface conditions, little swell and even less chop. BAIT: Almost all the bait this week was small Caballito and they were the normal $2 per bait. FISHING: BILLFISH: Finally! The water on the Cortez side warmed up to 72 degrees and turned blue and all of a sudden the Striped Marlin started to show up again! There have been a lot of fish showing up just inside and to the north of the 95 spot. It was not uncommon at the end of the week to see at least a dozen Marlin on the surface at the end of the week, and there were times when over two dozen were spotted during the course of a trip. Just because you see them does not mean they are going to eat though! Dark colored lures and live bait were the best bets and almost all the fish were found on the Cortez side. YELLOWFIN TUNA: As the Marlin showed up and the moon got small, the Tuna became harder to find, at least the nicer sized fish. Most of the fish being caught were footballs in the 6 to 12 pound size but there were occasions when the school fish popped up and crashed the lures. I did not hear of many of the large fish caught this week though, nothing over 100 pounds. The larger fish (#45-#80) were found on the Pacific side out around 20+ miles and were associated with Porpoise. On the Cortez side the fish were much smaller and still associated with the Porpoise. Best bets were small dark colored feathers. DORADO: A dead Whale was found on Wednesday, just past the 95 spot and that was the source for most of the Dorado action this week. Almost every boat that worked the carcass on Wednesday, and those that were able to find it again on Thursday were able to get at least a few Dorado in the boat, and they were pretty nice fish as well. Other than that, the action was sparse and scattered. Most of it was on the Cortez side as that was where the warmer water has been. Live bait and bright colored lures were the keys to getting one of these great eating fish in the boat. WAHOO: Still few are far between, there were some caught this week off of the banks on the Inner and Outer Gorda. A few were found out in the open as well, but we are just waiting for the next full moon. INSHORE: The Sierra bite continued to improve and the fish have increased in average size. A lot of the Pangas were able to get into fish in the 10 pound class. One of the secrets to a good Sierra catch this week appeared to be getting the lures (Rapallas or hootchies) down 15 feet or so. A planer on a handline with a release clip sure did the trick for a few folks. Small Roosterfish have been appearing now and then as well as some Amberjack. NOTES: The warm water has moved in and the fishing has improved. Our fingers are crossed that it continues to do so. Lets hope that the lights we are seeing a mile or two offshore at night are just bait fishermen and not longliners setting lines at night, or we may be in for a long, slow season. The Whale sightings are tapering off, not quite as many as there were last month. My music for the weeks report was the incomparable Patsy Cline on the MCA 1988 release “12 Greatest Hits”. I rarely suggest a website for folks to check out, but I think I may start doing that as well. As my choice this week, may I suggest that anyone who plays, or aspires to play any type of guitar, from beginner to professional, look at www.guitarnoise.com Until next week, tight line and good music! "Fly Hooker" Daily Catch Reports Capt. George Landrum "Fly Hooker" Sportfishing [email protected] www.flyhooker.com WEEKLY FISH COUNT STRIPED MARLIN: ONE FISH RELEASED (#140) YELLOWFIN TUNA: ELEVEN FISH KEPT (#8-#45) DORADO: TWO FISH KEPT (#25) “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 14 MARCH, 2004 Our friends Dave Reese (and family) and Hayden Knott (and family) are in town again and Dave and Hayden went out on the “Fly Hooker” today. Last year Dave did not have very much luck, nor did he the time before. Thank goodness they caught fish today, Dave was beginning to think that the problem was him! Juan and Manuel went a bit to the south this morning and at a distance of 22 miles found the fish. They were the first boat there and that really helped as the later boats to the Porpoise did not have any luck at all. Dave caught the largest Yellowfin and it was estimated at #45. That was the second fish he reeled in and he was pretty tired in the arms after that one. Hayden got more fish, three in all. All the fish were between #25 and #45, a very nice total. Dave and Hayden both said it was a great day on the water and we were invited to dinner to share the results. Thanks guys, we love you a lot and really look forward to your visits! And Dave, Juan wanted me to thank you again for the insulated coffee mugs! “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 17 MARCH, 2004 Today we had the William Cook party on the “Fly Hooker” and thank goodness the fishing has picked up! Juan and Manuel worked the area outside the 95 spot and ended up doing pretty good. One of the reasons was finding a dead whale out there. They were not the first boat to the spot, and Juan said they did not stay long as it was a little crazy, but they did manage to pickup two out of three Dorado that bit. Live bait was the key as the Dorado were feeding on the little fish picking at the carcass. Both Dorado were in the #25 range. After leaving they got into porpoise that they worked for well over an hour and ended up catching 4 small football Yellowfin Tuna. The next item on the agenda was a Marlin and it took a bit longer to take care of that request, but when things are going well...hey! One Striped Marlin baited, hooked and fought to the boat for the placement of a tag and then released. The fish was estimated at #140 and the fight took 35 minutes. A great day and the water conditions were perfect! “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 18 MARCH, 2004 Today was booked two days ago while talking with some folks while sitting at Tanga-Tanga eating one of the great cheeseburgers they sell there. Dan, Kim, Paul and Patty only wanted to go for a half day, just a chance to get out on the water with a chance to get dinner as well. Juan and Manuel worked the same area as yesterday for Tuna and were able to get two little guys into the boat, just enough for dinner. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed themselves, and that is what it’s all about, right? “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 20 MARCH, 2004 Rob Callahan and his family along with his friend and family were on The “Fly Hooker” today. They were really hoping for some action on fish for the kids, and Jan and Manuel tried to get into Porpoise, but were only able to find Whales. Juan said they saw over 20 Striped Marlin during the trip and had lure strikes from two of them, but the fish did not stick. They also had one fish that tried to eat the live bait tossed at it, but apparently the hook turned back into the bait and the Marlin failed to hook up. The fish were out there, but just not really hungry. Perhaps tomorrow will be better? Lets keep our fingers crossed!