Cabo Fishing Report Capt. George Landrum "Fly Hooker" Sportfishing [email protected] www.flyhooker.com CABO SAN LUCAS FISHING REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 3-8 2001 WEATHER: Today it finally cooled off a bit and we had nighttime temperatures around 82 degrees. Early in the week the highs were getting into the 100 degree range and the nighttime temps were in the low 90’s to high 80’s. No air-conditioning needed last night! We had quite a few clouds this week as storms continued to pass well to the south. These clouds dropped a lot of rain in the Sierras but we only got a little bit here in Cabo. Our strongest downpour was Thursday afternoon and we had a bit of lightning and thunder to accompany it. (Possession) WATER: Early in the week the surface conditions were not too bad, but after mid-week the passing of bad weather to the south of us caused the swells to increase and the wind to shift. Both the Pacific and the Sea of Cortez experienced choppy conditions and the Pacific side became a bit rough. Water temperatures on the Pacific side averaged 80 degrees while that on the Sea of Cortez maintained about 3 to 4 degrees warmer. Near shore the water was a bit turbid and green. (Wait) BAIT: The usual $2 per bait and almost exclusively Caballito. Those wanting live baits for larger Blue or Black Marlin were able to catch small Skipjack Tuna just offshore. Sardinas were available to the boats running up to Gordo Banks and the price on them had gone up to $30 a scoop. (Plenty) FISHING: BILLFISH: Blue Marlin to #700 were caught this week, but most of them weighed 200-300#’s. There are still some Striped Marlin hanging around, mostly on the Pacific side of the Cape. The Blues are on the Cortez side and up the Pacific to the area of the lighthouse. That is not the only area they have been found but that is where the concentrations have been found. One nice thing about this week has been that they are not too far offshore, only around 2-8 miles! The Blues have been attracted to Lures and if not hooked on them, live bait dropped back has worked. Live bait for the Striped Marlin has been the ticket this week. Best lures have been blue/silver and the mean Joe green. (Good Enough) YELLOWFIN TUNA: My favorite fish to catch made a showing mid week 30 miles offshore mixed in with a large pod of Porpoise. I didn’t get a chance to work these fish but the boats that did were catching 2-6 per boat and the weights were ranging from 60-100 pounds. Cedar plugs were the ticket for the boats that were there. The fact that the water roughened up quite a bit the day they were found kept a lot of boats from working the area. Gordo Banks has continued to put out some nice Tuna and the best results have been by boats using Sardinas for bait. These fish have been averaging 15-20 pounds but a few are in the 40-60 pound class. An occasional larger fish was hooked up but due to the light line being used to get the strikes, these fish were lost. (Hold On) DORADO: Still the number one catch this week as well as last week, the average size has been around 10-12 pounds. Quite a few in the 25# plus category were caught and most of the very large fish, 50#+ were associated with floating debris. 6 inch feathers and jigs were the lure of choice for the schooling fish and once the larger fish showed up live bait worked very well. Most of the Dorado were found on the Pacific side of the Cape within 5 miles of shore. (Circle) WAHOO: Pretty much absent for the past week. (Elsewhere) INSHORE: Most of the inshore fishing was for Dorado this week. The large swells made working the surf line a bit dangerous and not many Roosterfish were caught due to that reason. Other inshore species were found scattered on the Cortez side of the cape but not in any quantity. (Fumbling Towards Ecstasy) NOTES: My musical selection for the week was Sarah McLachlan’s “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy”, 1993, Artista records. What a beautiful voice! Until Next Week, Tight Lines, Geroge Landrum “Fly Hooker” Sportfishing [email protected] www.flyhooker.com "Fly Hooker" Fishing Report Steve Rinaldi and his longtime friend Nelson Howard are here from Florida on a quest. Steve has been fishing offshore in Florida for 20 years and had never caught a Billfish! With his wife’s permission and his longtime fishing buddy at his side he arrived in Cabo to fullfill a dream. Flying in on the 3rd they had booked the “Fly Hooker” for the 4th and 5th and were flying back out on the 6th, all to make a dream come true! Unfortunately it was not the role of the “Fly Hooker” to make it possible. The morning of the 4th the fluids were checked prior to starting the engines and everything was fine. Once the equipment had a chance to warm up the transmissions were checked again and water was discovered in the port transmission! The oil cooler had a hole in a cooling tube and it could not be repaired until mid morning. Arrangements were quickly made to place Steve and Nelson on the neighboring boat and off they went. They fished the ledge off the Lighthouse on the Pacific side all morning and there was no action until around 9:30. A Blue Marlin appeared in the spread of lures and took a whack at the one run in the short outrigger position, but the fish did not hook up. A small live Tuna was dropped back into the pattern and the Marlin switched it’s attention to the easy meal! The hook was set and Steve was into the fish of his dreams! Nelson was the cheerleader and advisor as the battle took place. The Captain worked the clutch and throttle as the mate made sure the lines were cleared, the excess equipment put away and made the cockpit shipshape for the war that was about to be waged. Because a war it was by all accounts given to me, one that took place over a period of 3 hours and 56 minutes (thanks Nelson!). The fish made a jump very early in the fight and everyone got a good look at it. The Captain estimated it at 250#’s, the mate at 300#’s, but Nelson thought the fish would go 400#’s if it went an ounce. Steve was the picture of concentration as he worked the fish towards the boat and was able to bring him alongside in about 30 minutes. The flying gaff was ready and the mate took the leader. Nelson said that the mate looked nervous because the fish was still green and full of energy. The fish took off again and a short while later came up and started up a washing machine on the surface as she thrashed her head back and forth and went in tight circles. Sometime during that action, as Nelson began to think the Marlin was going to saw through the leader, the leader became entangled with the pectoral fin. The remainder of the fight lasted three hours as the fish was brought to the surface, the boat was backed down faster than Steve could reel and the fish went down again. It didn’t take long for a pattern to develop and Steve was asking Nelson what else he could do, or if he was doing anything wrong. Nelson kept encouraging Steve to hang in there, but Steve was beginning to fade. Steve is a diabetic and they had forgotten most of his food at the room in the morning in their haste and excitement to get fishing. Nelson, being the good friend that he is, shelled shrimp and popped them into Steves mouth during the fight so that he would have enough energy to finish. With an effort that was described as almost the finish of him, Steve was able to bring the fish to the side of the boat. With Nelson yelling “Stick It, stick it!” the mate struck with the flying gaff. The gaff struck a bit low on the fish and somehow the gaff rope was not tied off. One last gasp on the Marlins part and she was swimming again with the gaff stuck in her stomach and trailing the rope. That was the end of the war however, and minutes later the leader was taken for the last time and the fish pulled into the boat. The mate struck the Marlin on the skull several times with the aluminum bat and placed the board into the slots in the transom door. Did I say the war was over? Almost over is what I meant to say! The board touched the fish on the tail, while she still had blue color flushing along her sides. If you have caught Marlin before and brought one into the boat, you can probably guess what happened next! The Marlin went ballistic! The fighting chair was knocked off the pedestal as Steve scrambled onto the gunnel trying to get out of its way, the transom board went 15 feet into the air as the fish beat a tattoo on the back deck and began to work her way back out of the boat. The mate was trying to hold the beast in as the Captain came flying down off the bridge and began raining “Ichiro” blows on the fishes head with the aluminum bat! Now that was the end of the war! Back at the dock at 2:30 the pictures were taken and the fish weighed. Nelson was very close in his estimate, the final tally was 440#’s! Steve had fullfilled his dream and had gotten the fight of his life! Later he said he would have been happy with something a little smaller to start with but was not about to complain. Later at the hotel Nelson marinated some Marlin steaks in teriyaki, soy, ginger, garlic and olive oil and we had a finger lickin’ good feast, washed down with ice cold Pacifico’s. O.K., that was what happened yesterday. This morning the “Fly Hooker” was ready and eager to go. Juan and Manuel were very worried because how were they going to be able to beat the action that happened yesterday? Any fish that they caught today would be anti-climatic. Last night Nelson and Steve had decided that the Blue Marlin that Steve caught was enough Billfish action, and Nelson had all the meat he needed, filling two 100 quart coolers with Marlin rounds. Today they wanted to try and tangle with a little lighter game, perhaps some nice Tuna, Wahoo or Dorado. Steve also wanted to catch a small Roosterfish to take home. He has a friend that was going to make him a Japanese fish print of the rooster. We explained to them that it would be a 2 hour run out to the area the Yellowfin had been found in and they decided that they didn’t want to spend that long running. Instead the decided to try for Roosterfish first, off the Pacific side, then go for Wahoo or large Dorado. When they arrived off the beaches on the Pacific side it was found that the swell caused by both the Hurricane and the Tropical Storm to the southwest had made the inshore fishing unsafe. Working the offshore ledge they were able to get one very nice 50# Dorado, caught by Nelson. It struck a lure and he had it to the boat in 15 minutes. Steve had sworn not to touch a rod today, claiming he was still beat from the Marlin yesterday, but when the chance came he was able to get a Dorado that weighed about 35#’s to the boat and in the fish box. Four other Dorado in the 10-15 pound range were caught and they had a chance to toss a live bait to a Striped Marlin, but did not hook up (probably to Steve’s relief!). No Wahoo were found but boats that did make the 2 hour run out to the tuna came in with some nice 60# fish. Juan filleted the Dorado on the way in and there were enough fillets to top off the other (3rd!) 100 quart cooler the Nelson had brought. Remember me saying that Nelson had done up some grilled Marlin on the evening of the 4th? Well, at the end of this day he placed a 5-star, gourmet meal on the table using the fresh Dorado. Dorado Piccatta marinated with Butter, Oil, Chardonnay, Capers, Lime juice and Garlic! Steve fixed Kidney Beans with Rice and had chopped up and sauted some Poblano Chilies and Onion to mix in. Add a very nice green salad and we were in seventh heaven! After dinner, Churchill Cigars and glasses of “El Jimador” repasado Tequila! Once in a great while you find the type of people that make you feel at home and a friend right away. Steve and Nelson were that way with us and we were glad to have them as both clients and friends. We look forward to seeing both of them again, hopefully in the near future! Until then, Tight Lines from the “Fly Hooker” crew! “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 7 SEPTEMBER 2001 Mike Crawford and his buddy Rick were fishing on the “Fly Hooker” toady. All they wanted to do was catch some fish and have a good time. Rick has fished before and Mike has had the opportunity but was never able to make it out. They told us that they would like to be able to get a little fish to have for dinner, their wives were expecting them to come in with something! Juan and Manuel decided to head out to the Pacific side of the Cape, that is where the Dorado have been concentrated. Well, one of the reasons that Mike has not had a chance to actually get on the water is that most of the time arrangements have been made, the water has gotten too rough. With the wind and the swells the water was a bit large and uncomfortable today but the fish were there. In about an hours time they managed to get 8 Dorado. The largest was about 25#’s and the rest were between 10-15#’s. All these fish were caught on lures but there were several larger Dorado that Juan tried to tempt with live bait. Perhaps these fish had sore mouths already, but they wanted no part of the bait dropped back. With plenty of Dorado in the box they decided to head offshore a little farther and search for Marlin, Wahoo and Tuna. Juan said they saw no other fish for the rest of the day and with the water being a little rough, Mike and Rick decided to come in a bit early. Thanks guys, we are glad you caught fish and were happy with the trip. Maybe we will see you down here again next time you come, until then, Tight Lines! “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 8 SEPTEMBER 2001 Today we had Walter Tandu and three of his friends aboard the “Fly Hooker” for a trip that was to target Marlin. Juan and Manuel headed out to the pacific side of the Cape first thing as that was where all the larger fish have been found lately. At about 9:30 there was a strike on the rigger, just next to where Walter was sitting and he was on the rod right away. Juan yelled to him to “Strike, set the hook!” but it appeared that the fish was already hooked up. It happened to be on a Bleeding Mackerel Zuker 5.5 that Walter had rigged with 7/0 hooks. The fish did quite a number of acrobatic jumps and everyone got a good look at the fish. Juan estimated it at well over 300#’s and Manuel said at least 400#’s. A short while later the fish was able to toss the hook and swam away, a little scared but learning from the experience. In the same area a short while later Juan and Manuel spotted a 35 gallon can floating in the water and they proceeded to catch 8 or 9 Dorado to 25#’s off of it before the action was noticed by nearby boats. Shortly thereafter over ten boats were working the can and circumstances got a little tight. With dinner in the box they continued on the hunt for another Marlin, but it appeared that lady luck had only struck once today. Tomorrow they are going to fish Gordo Banks from a Panga out of San Jose and plan to target Tuna. I hope they have good luck and have a great time! Until next time, Tight Lines! George, Mary Juan and Manuel, The “Fly Hooker” Crew