FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
gmlandrum@hotmail.com
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
September 29-October 5, 2008
WEATHER: It seems to be cooling a little bit every day, maybe a degree less in the morning every other day. As of this morning our low was 80 degrees, down from 84 last week. This week was mostly sunny with lows of 80 degrees and daytime highs of right around 96-97 degrees.
WATER: Surface conditions on both sides of the Cape remained the same as last week. The water everywhere was almost glassy on a few days with the Pacific side having small swells at 1-3 feet with gentle winds from the northwest. On the Cortez side it was just flat with a bit of wind ripple. Water temperatures on the Cortez side up around Punta Gorda were in the 87-88-degree range while just off the arch and on the Pacific side of the cape the water was a little cooler at 85-86 degrees. Outside of the San Jaime Bank the water dropped to 83-84 degrees. It was blue water everywhere you went.
BAIT: Caballito and Mullet were available at the normal $3 each but on a few days they were a bit harder to get. Boats going up the Pacific side were stopping at the Golden Gate Bank to make bait as there were some small, scattered schools of Mackerel down deep.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: One of our clients this week ended up fighting a Blue Marlin for 4 ½ hours before getting the tail-wrapped fish to the boat. It came in on a short rigger lure and the guys dropped a live bait back to it, thinking it was a Striped Marlin. The battle took place on a fairly light bait rod and since the fish died, they took it to the weigh station. It was a nice Blue of 376 pounds! There were a few others caught this week as well, but the big noise around the docks has been the influx of Striped Marlin. Last week it was looking real good but you had to go 50 miles for double digits, this week the Golden Gate Bank started to turn on and the run was much shorter. Boats working the Pacific side between the lighthouse and the inside of the Golden Gate were hooking two or three fish per trip while trolling and casting to tailing fish or fish raised on the lures. Boats working the Golden Gate were dropping bait deep and drifting across the high spot or running to birds dropping down on fish. The problem with running to the birds was the large numbers of whales and dolphin. The Gate was producing double digit catches with one boat getting a three-day total of 33 Striped Marlin as well as several sailfish. The Finger Bank really started popping this week as well, but the fish were not right at the finger, instead the concentration seemed to be five or six miles to the north, just around the flats at the wrist. Talk about double digit fishing, one of the fleet boats reported releasing 45 Striped Marlin in one day! I hope it keeps up for a while.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: There were some Tuna out there but they were scattered. Most of the action on larger fish switched directions with the area around the Cabrillo Seamount on the Cortez side producing fish in the 50-60 pound class for a few boats that checked the area out. The Pacific side outside of the San Jaime Bank still produced fish in the 15-40 pound class under pods of dolphin. In both areas live bait produced the larger fish with small dark colored lures working on the smaller fish. When the fish became shy and the bite slowed, switching out to small pink hootchies tied directly to the line, let out 150-200 feet and jigged with sharp pulses while slow trolling worked.
DORADO: There are still decent numbers of Dorado out there but it was not the fish of the week this week, instead the title went to Striped Marlin. The bite slowed on Dorado and the size seems to have dropped a bit as well with the average fish coming in at 12 pounds. There are still fish of 30 and 40 pounds being caught, but not in the numbers of the last few weeks. Another possible reason for the lower catches might be the Marlin action, with most boats concentrating on these fish. There was decent action on the Cortez side for Dorado as well with good reports coming from boats working the Punta Gorda area, fish averaging 15 pounds with four or five fish per trip.
WAHOO: I heard of one or two incidental fish being caught this week, but with the full moon coming on the 14th the bite right around then should be better.
INSHORE: Roosterfish action was still to be had if you were in the right place, at the right time, with the right bait. This week that meant the beach off of La Laguna on the Cortez side, right at the start of the drop off of high tide, and using live mullet. A few boats reported fish to 60 pounds with a lot of medium 20-35 pound fish as well. The best report I heard from one boat was 11 releases in a trip. Other inshore action was sparse as most of the Pangas worked off the beach for Dorado and Striped Marlin.
NOTES: I found a new best place to go for shrimp tacos, only 15 pesos each, but if I tell everybody it will get ruined, but if you ask me politely I'll tell you. I am going on a two night trip up the Cortez at the start of the week, snorkeling and diving, but I will be listening on the radio to boats fishing in the area and will let you know what I hear next week. Until then, tight lines!