February 26, 2006 Anglers – This past week moderate crowds of tourists were being greeted with slightly cool weather conditions, though the skies were still clear and sunny, with high temperatures reaching into the upper 70s. For most of the week the wind was blowing out of the north at anywhere from 10 to 15 miles per hour and this made the for choppy ocean conditions for charter venturing in the direction of the Sea of Cortez. Water temperature ranged from 68 to 72 degrees throughout the region, with the warmest areas now found offshore of the San Jose del Cabo area. The live bait supplies remained steady for sardinas, caballito and mullet, but there was still a problem trying to find the preferred offshore bait of mackerel. The cruiser fleet reported steady action for striped marlin, with the fish now spreading out more into the Sea of Cortez, concentrations of the billfish were found from Chileno to Desteladera. The first part of the week was best, with some charters landing four or more stripers per trip, but through the weekend the bite became more difficult. The fish were found generally from 5 to 15 miles from shore and good numbers of them were spotted on the surface riding the swells, they were striking on lures and bait, with live bait accounting for the highest percentage of hook ups. Average sizes ranged from 100 to 150 pounds. The boats fishing offshore did not find much else besides marlin, with only a few dorado here and there accounted for and even less talk about any yellowfin tuna being encountered. The La Playita panga fleets found the most consistent action to be closer to shore, the areas from Cardon to San Luis was most productive, this is where good numbers of sierra up to five pounds were found, mixed in the same spots were various species of pargo, pompano, triggerfish, amberjack and cabrilla. Using sardinas for bait proved to be the best technique, as not much action was found trolling with rapalas or hoochies. Some anglers did do well with yo-yo jigs off the bottom, but that was when the wind briefly laid down enough for them to effectively work the rock piles. The San Luis Bank continued to attract massive schools of Mexican Bonito, and they were dominating the action, with anglers commonly reporting catches of 20 or more fish in the 3 to 8 pound class while using iron jigs, once the school was found they could be caught one after another in a hurry. This bite was in a location where the north wind created quite a chop, so most boats would fill up on the bonito quickly and then move closer to shore to target other species in the calmer waters. Whale watching continued to be at its peak, with big numbers of the mammals being seen on the same fishing grounds. The combined La Playita panga fleets sent out approximately 88 panga charters for the week, with anglers accounting for an overall catch of; 3 striped marlin, 4 hammerhead sharks, 6 dorado, 11 amberjack, 42 cabrilla, 155 pargo, 640 sierra, 82 triggerfish and 395 Mexican Bonito. Good Fishing, Eric