CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT
Capt. George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
www.flyhooker.com
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
January 17-23. 2011
Weather: Cabo has been having typical winter weather as our nights have been in the 60 degree range, from 57 degrees to 64 degrees early in the morning, and the daytime highs ranging from 78 degrees to 86 degrees. It sure beats what I am experiencing here in OKC where we are seeing a range from 19 degrees to 56 degrees!
Water: Water temperatures have been between 68 and 71 degrees wherever you went this week. The slightly cooler water was closer to shore on both the Pacific side and the Cortez side. Once you reached the Banks on the Pacific side, or past the 1,000 fathom line to the south or the Cortez side the temperature went up to 70-71 degrees. Conditions on both sides were decent for fishing, without anyone getting blown out, but the swells were a bit larger on the Pacific side.
Bait: Caballito and Mullet were available at $3 per bait. There were decent sized Sardinas available as well if you were one of the fist out, and they were $25 a scoop.
FISHING
Billfish: Striped Marlin action was still extremely slow this past week, I don't know if it will pick up soon or not, but we all have our fingers crossed that whatever the reason for the slow action, it will correct itself soon. On the positive side, there are a few fish out there, and at least some of them are willing to bite if you get a bait in front of them. The fish that have been seen have been scattered around, from the inshore water on the Pacific side to the offshore water on the Cortez, and everywhere between. I believe that this means that the bait has been scattered as well because normally we will find concentrations of Marlin where the bait is at. No such luck on either count for us the past couple of months though, except for a few scattered days. On another positive note, there was a small Blue Marlin reported earlier in the week, one that was estimated at #180, so there is a chance at something else if you get lucky! Even with the scarcity of Marlin right now, the chances are 10% of getting a release on one, better than most places I know of!
Yellowfin Tuna: The tuna bite has been off and on again, one day here, the next day there, and occasionally nowhere! At the end of the week there were fish found at approximately 15 miles to the southwest, outside the 1,000 fathom curve below the San Jaime Bank. Not a lot of fish, but at least the boats that found them early got into some decent action. The fish have not been large, mostly footballs, but some in the 30 pound class have been mixed in there as well. Dark colored feathers have worked, but the best lures have been cedar plugs.
Dorado: With the cool water the Dorado have packed their bags and moved south. A few of them could not find their luggage and got hungry, so we did see a couple of flags this week.
Wahoo: Most of the Wahoo got free tickets to travel to warmer climes, getting discounts on seats by buying in bulk. That's my story and I am sticking to it. Only three of these speedsters were caught this week that I heard of, and all of them were early in the week when the full moon was up. All the other "Wahoo" flags I saw were for Sierra.
Inshore: Roosterfish close to the beach on the Pacific side past the lighthouse early in the week, as well as off the beach on the north side of Chileano on the Cortez side provided action. Also early in the week there was a good Amberjack bite off of almost all the points. The most common inshore catch was Sierra, and the bite was good on them for the boats that targeted these fish. Small hootchiesand "rapalla" style swimming plugs did well, but the best action occurred for the boats that were able to get Sardinas for bait early in the morning. A scattering of Yellowtail to ten pounds rounded up the inshore action this week.
Notes: I am in Oklahoma City visiting the family right now, and have been here since Thursday. Thanks to my wonderful wife I have been kept updated on the fishing action and what has been going on around town. The music for this report was the sound of my mom, dad and sis talking and cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Until next week, give your family a hug and enjoy your time with them! Tight lines!