Cabo Fishing Report Capt. George A. Landrum Fly Hooker Sportfishing [email protected] www.flyhooker.com CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 5-11, 2001 WEATHER: We started the week with a bit of cloud cover that lifted in a day and now at the end of the week we had it move back in. In between it was pretty sunny every day and the temperatures stayed in the 80’s daytime and the 70’s at night. As is normal here we had no rain. The wind was very light in the beginning of the week but the day before the Tuna Tournament it switched and came from the east and blew at around 10-12 knots all day. On the 8th it had returned to the normal NW direction. (The Sky Is Crying; Sonny Boy Williamson from his CD “Keep It To Ourselves”) WATER: Pretty darn good conditions all week long. Once you got waayy out there it got a bit on the wild side but for the most part the conditions were great out to about 20 miles. The Sea of Cortez has remained the hot area temperature wise all week long and the normal surface reading has been in the 85-87 range. This warm (almost hot) water has wrapped clear around the Cape and extends way up the Pacific past Todos Santos. As soon as it wraps past the Cape the temps drop by a few degrees. This band extended out to the westernmost part of San Jaime bank at the beginning of the week and butted up against very cool water, in the 77 degree range. During the week it has gone westward past the banks and is now about 6 miles further west. (Kind Hearted Woman; George Thorogood and The Destroyers from the self titled CD) BAIT: Wow, once again I think that I am just going to start saying “ditto” in this spot. Caballito at $2 per bait and Sardinas at $25 a scoop here in Cabo, less per scoop in San Jose. (I’m A Real Kingfisher; Paul James from his CD “Acoustic Blues”) FISHING: BILLFISH: We are still seeing Blue Marlin and Striped Marlin on a regular basis. There was a Blue caught during the Tuna Tournament that would have won the Bisbee if caught several weeks earlier. Most of the bites have been on lures as very few boats this week were tossing bait at the tailing Striped Marlin. Everyone was honing their techniques for the W.O.N. Tuna Tournament. You only needed to go a few miles out to get the Marlin, the water was a perfect blue and the right temp. for the larger Blue and Black Marlin. Lots of Tailing Striped Marlin were seen close in also. (Oreo Cookie Blues; Lonnie Mack with Stevie Ray Vaughan from Lonnie Mack’s CD “Strike Like Lightning”) YELLOWFIN TUNA: Target fish of the week due to the Tournament. The biggest fish this year weighed 156 pounds, the second place fish was 151 and third was 149. All these fish were caught on lures among Porpoise, and all of them were caught on the temperature break 40 miles to the southwest of the Cape. Gordo Banks punched out just a couple of fish as did the San Jaime. One of the problems on both of these normally productive spots was the presence of Purse Seiners. San Jaime had a purser on top setting for three days before the tournament and there was no federal enforcement of the 50 mile regulation. The same thing happened on the Gordo the day before the tournament. Just today a plugged seiner was watched as it chugged up the Sea of Cortez past the Cape. If the Federales don’t get cracking and start enforcing the laws there won’t be many fish left soon! OK, enough of the soap box. There were quite a number of medium sized Tuna caught in the porpoise, but as usual, the first boat to find them had the best shot. A large number of footballs were found as well. (Bad Girl Blues; Johnny Winter from his CD “Third Degree”) DORADO: We saw a large number of good sized fish weighed in for the side jackpot in the tournament and most of these were just meeting the 40 pound minimum weight. Lots of fish in the smaller size were found but they were debris associated fish. The little peanut fish are still around also and they account for a large number of the Dorado flags that were seen. (Blues For Robert Jr.; Ronnie Earl from the CD “ Surrounded By Love” ) WAHOO: The largest Wahoo was 69 pounds and I saw a few more that were well over 40 pounds brought in. One of the reasons for the large number was the large number of boats working the banks for Tuna. The like the same areas and the same techniques work for them both. Top areas for the Hoo’s were the Jaime Banks and Golden Gate. Marauder plugs in Black and in Orange worked well and a number of fish were caught by boats using chunks, but most of the ones hooked up that way cut off quickly. (Mr. Luck; John Hammond, self titled CD) IN-NEARSHORE: This is a repeat of last weeks conditions and species. There was very little change this week except for the slowly increasing catch of Grouper and Snapper. (I’ll Always Be In Love With You; Jimmy Witherspoon from his CD “Spoon’s Blues”) NOTES: Jay Bush, owner and Captain of the 46’ Bertram “Stimulator” struck gold again! This time it was as combination Captain/Angler during the Tuna Tournament. His boat had the largest Tuna at 154 pounds. For those of you following the tournaments, he was also the Captain aboard his boat when winning the “Bisbee” with a Blue Marlin weighing 518 pounds. Congratulations Jay! Written to the blues! The disc is a compilation of acoustic blues recording titled “A Celebration of Blues” released in 1996 by the St-Clair Entertainment Group. Hey folks, until next week, I hope the fishing is great wherever you may be or go and hope there is Music to get you through the times when you are not fishing! Until next week, Tight Lines and great tunes! "Fly Hooker" Daily Catch Report “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 2 NOVEMBER 2001 The next to last day of fishing for the Ronchetti fishing team involved Glenn, Uncle John and Dave aboard the “Fly Hooker”. Tom and the remainder of the team fished another boat. If it had been a competition then the “Fly Hooker” would have won! Not by the number of fish but the other team did not even have a strike. At least Glenn and company had a fish today. I believe it was Dave who had the honors to tag and release a nice Striped Marlin of about 130 pounds. They had another Striped Marlin strike a lure and briefly hooked up a Blue Marlin estimated at 250 pounds. All the action that they had was lure action, nothing on live bait. Good action but not quite the quantity that we had hoped for, we just have to keep our fingers crossed that tomorrow is better! Until then, Tight Lines! “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 6 NOVEMBER 2001 Glenn lost the fish today and it’s all his fault, at least according to Pops and John. He had a shot at a Blue (?) Marlin and was not able to react in time to get the fish hooked up solidly. One Dorado was caught and it provided a very nice dinner at “Felix’s” where they did it up a couple of different ways. John was the angler who landed a fish today. Hey, the action remained slow this week and the boat was not in the right place at the right time. It happens sometime. We really enjoyed having the Ronchetti’s and friends here again and look forward to seeing them in the future as well. Fingers crossed that the fishing is better next time.! Until then, Tight Lines and fishy dreams! “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORTS FOR 9 NOVEMBER 2001 This report is a bit sad and difficult to write. We shut the boat down for charters on the 7th in order to make sure the boat was ready for the Tuna Tournament on the 8th and 9th. We had the port head replaced and all other mechanical equipment checked out. The boat was test run and refueled the afternoon of the 7th. Our team for the Tuna Tournament was the same team we had last year, firemen from San Diego, team name “Frozen Dogs”. If you remember, they were the team that came in 45 minutes late with the 237 pound Yellowfin Tuna that would have won the Tournament if the throttle cable on the starboard engine had not snapped. Not wanting any mechanical problems this year we had the guy take everything apart and checked. With the port head replaced and a spare cable on board we figured we were set. So much for the dreams. On the morning o the 8th the port engine would not start! The bendix gear was shot and we had to scramble to find another boat for the team to fish on. We got a 42 foot boat and we knew the deckhand so knew that the “Frozen Dogs” would be in good hands. We saw them off with our rods and reels on board (hey, we were ready for this, new line, knots, swivels) and the tune we heard on their return was a sad one. If only.....it was two weeks earlier and they had been entered in the Bisbee!! A group effort bested a Blue Marlin that hit the Main Dock scales at 570 pounds, 52 pounds larger than the Bisbee winning fish. They also caught a Dorado, but it was not large enough to meet the 40 pound minimum weight. Well, the starter was replaced on the “Fly Hooker” and we were ready to go on the 9th. Juan and Manuel headed out to the Cabrillo Seamount, the same area where they were lucky to tangle with the big fish From last year. Unfortunately the conditions were not right and all they got for the long trip was one small Yellowfin of about 20 pounds., I am so sorry guys, I hope your luck runs better in future tournaments. Fingers crossed for you and thanks for the memories! Until next time, Tight Lines! “FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 10 NOVEMBER 2001 Ed Sweeny and his wife Nancy and their friends Pete and Doris were looking forward to some good fishing action today and they got what they were looking for in the catch and release of a Striped Marlin estimated at 120 pounds. Pete was the lucky angler and it took him about 35 minutes to best the fighter. They saw several other fish during the trip but none of them stayed up long enough to toss a bait to and none of them struck lures. Thanks folks, and we hope you enjoy your next day of fishing here in Cabo! Until Next week, Tight Lines from ,George, Mary Juan and Mnauel, the “Fly Hooker” Crew