May 6, 2007
Anglers
Weather forecasters were having some difficulty predicting exactly what the wind would do, they were calling for mostly sunny skies with scattered clouds throughout the week and got that part correct, but the wind which they were calling for as being very slight, did pick up out of the north and at times made for choppy conditions offshore. It also switched from out of the south mid week and once again pushed in cooler water from the Pacific, but over the weekend water conditions were on the warming trend again. This seems to have been the same story for the past month, the water starts to clean and warm up and then we have set backs with cooler currents moving back in and scattering the fish in different directions. This past week there were great fluctuations of water temperatures, off of Cabo San Lucas there were areas that dipped down into the low 60s and further north off of the Gordo Banks to Vinorama region there were readings as high as 75 degrees. Conditions are more unstable at this time than they were during the same period last year, we do assume that within a couple of weeks the warming weather will help stabilize things and we will get back to our normal great all around springtime fishing.
With the more favorable water conditions now being in the direction of the Sea of Cortez, this is where the majority of the sportfishing fleets are now concentrating their efforts. Striped marlin remained the most common species found offshore, numbers were down this past week due to various factors, including the rapidly changing water temperatures and the full moon. In recent days fleets were traveling as far north as Los Frailes in search of action. Dorado numbers had increased last week, but once again were very limited. It was also the same story for yellowfin tuna, some fish were seen feeding around the Desteladera Bank, but they were not interested in biting on anything the anglers offered.
The local panga fleets continued to report excellent action on smaller gamefish close to shore and off of the rock piles. Various species of pargo (snapper), jacks, pompano, cabrilla, grouper, triggerfish, amberjack and sierra were the most common catches. Most of these fish were weighing in the 3 to 10 pound range, but several specimens up to 20 pounds were accounted for and at least one grouper of 65 pounds was reported. The areas close to shore off of Cardon and La Salina were particularly productive. A few larger roosterfish are now being reported, mainly single fish spotted chasing baitfish or sierra, we look for an increase in these popular gamefish towards the end of the month.
Whale sharks are now starting to appear on the local fishing grounds, particularly around the Gordo Banks, May and June is typically when these monstrous fish migrate through this area, feeding on the abundant pelagic red crabs and other crustaceans.
The combined panga fleets from La Playita sent out approximately 62 charters for the week, with anglers accounting for a fish count of: 4 striped marlin, 2 yellowfin tuna, 8 dorado, 496 various pargo, 36 cabrilla, 18 bonito, 188 sierra, 126 pompano, 8 golden jack, 144 triggerfish, 3 halibut and 15 amberjack.
Good fishing, Eric
