East Cape
2011 Winter week 4; Wind remains the theme again this week that coupled with very few visitors wanting to fish. There were a few boats out on Sunday so we delayed the report until after they returned. Their outriggers were bare when they returned. Also heard from a couple of locals that in desperation had run all the way to Bahia de Sueño (Muertos) for zip…zilch…nada.
On top of that there was cloud cover plus cooler sea temps seemed to be exclamation point on the idea of fishing an hour or two from the beach and spending the rest of the morning catching up on chores.
Current East Cape Weather http://tiny.cc/EastCapeWeather303
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Yellowtail continue to be there for the taking if anyone cared. Whales, whales and more whales that seems to be what is getting the most attention. So far it hasn't sounded like a banner year. Judging from the So. Cal reports of a good number being spotted heading south whale watching season should begin to spike soon.
Current Magdalena Bay Weather http://tiny.cc/MagBayWeather150
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
The 80º water is getting kind of confusing as to where to find the fish. If you find the concentrations, you do excellent. If you don't find the fish in the pockets of clean water, you get skunked. The Terrafin Satellite chlorophyll charts make this very clear. The chart shows clean water at the 100 fathom line and about 6 miles out. This holds true to the south, with clean water going for miles. But, straight out in front of Ixtapa, the water turns off colored again at about 16 miles. Plus, a large area of green water seems to be pushing down from the north.
And all this holds up with what we are experiencing this week. Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, found a concentration of sailfish releasing 6 one day, and then going back and releasing another 6 for his clients. But, Martin, on the Gaviota, released 6 one day, went back two days later and got Zip. It just seems to be feast or famine.
Santiago on the super panga Gitana made a long run for tuna. He found them too; but at 59 miles and darn close to where the ocean drops off the earth. They got a dozen yellowfin tuna between 20 and 40 pounds. He told me this morning at the pier they actually ended up at 72 miles when they were done.
But, again, going back to the Terrafin Photo, the 60 mile mark is just at the back edge of the off colored water. The tuna were in the clean water.
There were not many reports on the inshore this week, but Adolfo did tell me he was going north today because there were a lot of sierras up there, small to medium sized jack crevalle (4-10 pounds) and a few small roosters (6-12 pounds). These all translate to a lot of fun with light tackle or a fly rod....Ed Kunze
Current Zihuatanejo Weather http://tiny.cc/zihuatanejo582
Cabo San Lucas
Striped marlin season, which we have been hoping would improve, is beginning to look like a bust. Normally by this time of year the bait has reached at least the Finger Banks, a good 50 miles to the north, and we would be seeing action on the Golden Gate Bank, but so far there has been nothing there. It looks as if the past four years were an anomaly and are not going to repeat soon. Instead of almost being able to guarantee a fish during a trip, the hook-up ratio has begun to be around 10%. There was a report of a local fleet boat hooking up to a small Blue Marlin this week, and also reports of several Swordfish being caught.
Long runs for a small chance at medium sized yellowfin were reported by captains that tried for them this week. A few of the private boats reported runs as far as 70+ miles out. Going that far out occasionally resulted in fish to 50 pounds, but it was not a sure thing, and that sure is a long way to go on a guess, or a wing and a prayer as it may be. There were scattered pods of Dolphin found between 5 and 18 miles out on both the southern and southwestern directions, but not all of them held fish, and sometimes when they did the fish just would not bite.
Dorado continue to be scarce with cooling water. There are still a few being caught, not no numbers of them. A great catch this past week would have been two fish, most boats were lucky if they got one. Most of the ones that were found were found either very close to the beach on the Cortez side or 30+ miles to the south.
For some reason even the inshore bite was off this week, and boats that had been doing well on the "go-to" Sierra were having a difficult time getting more than a dozen fish in the boat. The key to getting even that many was reported to be live sardina. A few of the Pangas tried way up the beach on the Pacific side and reported the algae bloom had brushed the shore line 20+ miles in that direction as well. For the boats staying closer to home, an occasional yellowtail, and lots of small bonito provided the bulk of the action, roosterfish were noticeably absent close to home, but there were reports of a few decent sized fish showing up in the surf around Palmilla Point..…George and Mary Landrum
Current Cabo Weather http://tiny.cc/cabo191
