CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT
Capt. George Landrum
Fly Hooker Sportfishing
www.flyhooker.com
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
January 31-February 6, 2011
Weather: I know that no one to the north is going to have much sympathy for us this week, but man, it has been cold here! Our early morning lows have been down to 48 degrees here in Cabo and a reported 43 degrees in San Jose. Combine that with strong winds on Thursday and Friday and we were freezing! Our daytime highs just touched 70 degrees those same days, but earlier and later in the week everything was about 8 degrees warmer.
Water: Lets start with surface conditions. We have had large swells all week long and when the wind started to blow on Wednesday afternoon we also had big whitecaps. While not unsafe, it was uncomfortable for most people. The wind has dies down now and the storms to the far north that pushed the swells up have passed so it looks like things are returning to normal. We are supposed to see the beginning of reduced swells, and spaced farther apart starting today. No for the temperature. On the Pacific side if you happened to travel to the finger banks you would have found 61 degree, green water. Between the inside of the Golden Gate Bank, the San Jaime and and the 95 Spot the water was cleaner than elsewhere and a bit warmer as well at 69 degrees. There were two warm spots of 71 degree water just off the lighthouse on the pacific side and just over the 1150 on the Cortez side of the Cape.
Bait: Caballito and Mullet were available at $3 per bait. There were decent sized Sardinas available as well if you were one of the first out, and they were $25 a scoop.
FISHING
Billfish: Well, things got a bit better but they still are not up to the nubers we had become used too. A few boats were getting bit by Striped Marlin this week, and some of them were able to release two a day, but most of the boats had a hard time finding any Marlin at all, and if they did something would go wrong, a reel freeze up, line break or the hook get thrown. The best action was on live bait and the best area was the warm spots off of the lighthouse and on the 1150. Some fish were being seen elsewhere, but not in any numbers, the listed places supplied the best chance this past week of getting hooked up.
Yellowfin Tuna: This weeks Tuna section is not much different than last weeks in the fact that it was a long run for most boats to get to the fish, still the best chances were 30 miles or more to the southwest. Most of the fish found were in the 15-25 pound class but there were a few that were over 100 pounds. The problem this week was the water conditions. Getting that far out was not a problem, but coming home was a really rough ride, and the water conditions made it tough to find the porpoise that the Tuna were associated with. There were small scattered schools elsewhere, mostly football sized fish, and these gave some of the anglers a bit of meat to take with them, but still nothing consistent. As the water calms down the fishing for Yellowfin should improve.
Dorado: I would pretty much give up on Dorado for the next few months. If any are caught they will be stray fish, the water is just too darn cold to hold them!
Wahoo: What hoo?
Inshore: The big swells made for uncomfortable inshore fishing this week, but at least there was some action taking place. While not there in great numbers, it was not uncommon for a boat to get a dozen or more Sierra ranging in size from three to six pounds. Toss in an occasional Yellowtail, a few bonito and once in a while an Amberjack and the action was steady, if not real fast. The best action seemed to be on live Sardinas, and if you did not have any the action became spotty. Fishing for these inshore fish took place on the Pacific side to the south of the lighthouse and all along the beaches on the Cortez side. The large swells kept most of the boats from going any farther up the Pacific coast.
Notes: My toes are cold and blue, even with socks on, so my music selection for the week was also the blues. Johnny Winter and B.B. King mixed it up for me this morning and kept me going as I sit here sipping my coffee and tapping my fingers. We still have whales out there folks, as I stood on the first tee at Cabo Real yesterday I saw one just off the beach in full breach mode, she must have jumped and cleared the water at least 5 times, really awesome to watch. Well, until next week, tight lines, and keep warm! By the way, if you are icefishing, what is the limit on cubes, and what is the limit on blocks?