April 19-25, 2010
Weather: In an almost mirror image of last weeks weather, this week started out with overcast skies and no wind. On Tuesday the wind started to kick up as the skies cleared a bit and then it really blew, a fairly steady 15-20 knots with gusts to 25 knots for the rest of the week and then on Friday evening it died back down so we had perfect weather for the weekend. Our highs were in the mid to high 80's and our lows were in the mid 60's.
Water: Due to the steady winds the Pacific side of the Cape was very uncomfortable for most of the boats this week but a few braved the rough water and found the temperatures to be quite a bit cooler than expected and the current and wind brought the cold water in. There was a patch of cold water along the beach up in the area of Los Arcos where it dropped as low as 65 degrees, and this band of cold water ran just off the beach out for about ½ mile for most of the week, steadily dropping in temperature over the course of time, starting the week at 70 degrees and ending the week at 65 degrees. The water warmed up a couple of degrees off the beach out to a distance of about 15 miles, then warmed yet another two degrees past there. Just off the Cape itself and up into the Sea of Cortez the water was quite a bit warmer at an average of 75 degrees up to Punta Gorda, and slightly warmer north of there. Surface conditions on the Sea of Cortez were better in the morning but still felt a heavy wind effect in the afternoons all week long.
Bait: This week was a repeat of last week as there were Pacific Green-backed Mackerel and Caballito at the normal $3 per bait and up in the Palmilla area a few boats were selling small Sardinas for $25 a scoop, but tough to find most of the week due to rough water.
FISHING
Billfish: There were a few more Striped Marlin found this week and most of them were on the Sea of Cortez side in the calmer water. There seemed to be a small concentration of them mid-week up off of Red Hill about two miles off the beach, and scattered in the same area. Not many were caught but there were enough of them to make it worth the effort. There were a few Blue and Black marlin released this week as well, from the same area although the fish were not large ones, averaging 250 pounds. I heard that there was a Swordfish caught in the area of the 95 spot early in the week as well, but saw no pictures of the fish. With the wind finally dying down there is a chance that more Striped Marlin may show on the Pacific side of the cape.
Yellowfin Tuna: There were a few fish found in the vicinity of the Golden Gate Banks by boats brave enough to confront the seas early in the mornings before the winds really started to whip things up. The bite lasted for two days but the guys kept things kind of quiet and not many boats heard the exact area. The fish were just a little larger than footballs but the bite was good if you found them with most boats coming in with a dozen or so. There were a few other fish found as well, but as was the case last week, many of them were caught as blind strikes, with no porpoise in the area. I would hazard a guess that less than 10% of the boats came in with Yellowfin Tuna this week.
Dorado: There were not many Dorado found this week but those that were caught were nice fish averaging 20 pounds. Almost every one that I heard of was caught in the Sea of Cortez, and the farther to the north you went the better your chances were. Pretty much the warmer water gave you a better shot at them. Once again though, the catch ratios were low, less than 10% success with Dorado.
Wahoo: There were a few fish caught this week but they were incidental catches while boats were fishing for Marlin. A few guys went out with Wahoo as a target and there were a few bites, but the fishing was not wide open as they moon is not perfect right now. The fish that were caught were all nice ones in the 40 pound class, and were caught in the Sea of Cortez off of the Westin, the Gorda Banks and Punta Gorda.
Inshore: Inshore fishing was the way to go for action this week. There was a good concentration of Amberjack just off the beach and the fishing as red hot for a couple of days. Unfortunately, as happens with some guys, they got greedy and there were pangas that were keeping 30 fish per trip, and none of the fish were larger than 25 pounds, sigh. We had quite a few people fly fishing this week and if they were able to get Sardinas for chum they were doing well on Sierra with a few small Roosterfish in the mix, as well as the Amberjack. Conventional fishermen were doing very well on the Sierra using small swimming plugs from three to five inches in length with a small wire bite tippet. There were some decent red snapper as well, on the Pacific side up in the rocks, but it was a case of being in the right place at the right time, mainly early in the morning before the winds started to whip it up.
Notes: Its getting better out there, slowly, but getting better. My hope is that by the middle of next month things will be really going off for us and the fishing should be great as the water slowly warms up. Meanwhile, we are taking advantage of the inshore fishery for our fun and meat needs, and going offshore for our trophy fish. For all of those who have written to me requesting more information on the Galapagos trip I just finished, I should have a short story of the adventure as well as some pictures to go with it finished in the next week. I have you on file and will e-mail it to you when I am done. If you have not requested the story and info, drop me a line and I will put you on the list. By the way, Cabo Wabo's 20th anniversary bash was this weekend and I didn't get to go, not that I really care for the Red Rocker, but he has a new group called "Chickenfoot" and his lead guitarist is one of my favorites, Joe Satriani. Oh well, I've got CD's to listen to, so that's what I'll do now! Oh, after a beach walk with the dog!
Until next week, Tight lines!