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Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Capt. George Landrum
February 12, 2001
Cabo San Lucas - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fly Hooker Fish Report for Feb 5-11
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 5 FEB, 2001
This is the second day of fishing for Bill, Don, Pat and Rich. Having had a lot of fun with tuna yesterday, they decided to go for some inshore fishing with light tackle today. The water on the Pacific side was a little off color and the fishing was not exactly red hot, but they were able to catch and release 3 hard fighting Jack Crevalle of “huge” size according to the guys. Juan said the Jacks were about 20-25 lbs. If you have ever caught a jack of this size before you know how much fun they can be! They also caught 2 sierra and 8 Skipjack. With the fishing slow inshore and no roosterfish caught the decision was made to head offshore in search of a Marlin. About 3 miles out they had a Dorado hook up on Don’s 15 lb outfit. This Dorado was not a small one and don fought the fish for 45 minutes, receiving a steady stream of comments form everyone else on what he was doing wrong! The rod he was using was a 20 year old spinning 2- part rod and it performed very well until the end of the fight. As Juan finally was able to gaff the Dorado, the rod broke! As Don said afterwards, at least the rod died an honorable death. Juan got the fish in the boat just in time. One other Dorado was spotted following the fish, but it was not enticed to eat. They decided to continue working the area I hope of more Dorado, but that was it for the day. They are going to try again on Wednesday and I will let you know how it goes then. Until tomorrow, Tight Lines from the “Fly Hooker” Crew.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR FEB 6, 2001
Margaret O’Brien booked the “Fly Hooker” for a day of Marlin fishing. Margaret runs a tackle shop in New Jersey, and she invited a couple who are customers, and in Cabo at the same time to join her. Her son Robert was also suppose to join in the adventure, but was called home to San Diego by his boss at the restaurant where Robert is the Head Chef. So with Margaret, Pam and Mark aboard, they decided to go out and have fun, try different methods and be happy with whatever happened, in the meantime praying for marlin! Knowing that the tuna been biting early they decided to try for them first. Out 18 miles they found porpoise with tuna mixed in. Working the fish hard, they began to hook up. Mark somehow managed to loose the first two but they ended up with 5 Yellowfin tuna from 15-25 lbs. Pam caught the biggest one and was very proud of it. The bite slowed down and they left the fish to see if they could find some larger ones. They looked for an hour with no success and Mark told Juan and Manuel that they would not mind trying some inshore fishing. The pointed the “Fly Hooker” towards shore and put three live baits, slow trolling back in. About 3 miles out they had a Striped Marlin come in and eat one of the baits. This fish was Mark’s and he began to fight it right away. Almost as soon as he began his fight another Marlin appeared and inhaled another bait. This fish was assigned to Margaret and eventually she and Pam both shared the honors of fighting the fish. Mark’s Marlin was the largest and after fighting almost 50 minutes he was able to bring the fish, estimated by all on board to be about 175 lbs, to the side of the boat for tag and release. Margaret and Pam had been alternating the honors on their fish and shortly after the release of Marks fish Juan was able to grab the leader on this one, estimated at 140 lbs. This was the 6th time the Marlin had been brought near the boat and it chaffed the leader thoroughly. When Juan finally was able to hold the leader and begin bringing the fish close enough to tag, the leader broke. It counts as a caught and release and the “Fly Hooker” returned to the Marina flying 2 Marlin flags in addition to the Tuna flags. One other Marlin appeared during the fight with the other fish, but they were unable to hook it up. Thanks, Margaret, we were happy to have you, Mark and Pam aboard the “Fly Hooker”. Sorry your son was unable to go. You’ll have some stories to tell him next week! We hope to see you again and until then. Tight Lines, from Mary, George, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” crew.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR FEB 7, 2001
We have the De Vito gang on board the “Fly Hooker” again today for their third day of fishing. Today they are out for the Marlin. After hearing about the two Marlin the “Fly Hooker” released yesterday, they had high hopes. The only fly in the ointment is the full moon, so they have their fingers crossed. Also the wind blew all night and it still blowing from the North this morning. They headed out to the Pacific side off of the lighthouse, the same general area they found the fish yesterday. A lot of boats were working the area and with the wind blowing the way it was, the ability to drop bait deep and drift with it was out of the picture. Juan and Manuel tried slow trolling with live bait. They spotted fish, but none were interested in eating. Finally they resorted to trolling lures and had one Marlin get aggravated enough to attack. This fish was fought for about 10 minutes before it managed to toss the hook. That was all the action for the day, but perhaps tomorrow will be different and the winds will settle down. The guys went ahead and booked for tomorrow so now will be fishing 3 days straight and a total of 5 days with Juan and Manuel aboard the “Fly Hooker”. Until tomorrow, Tight Lines from the “Fly Hooker” crew.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR FEB 8, 2001
The De Vito gang is at it again today. They did their best to make up for yesterday! The wind blew hard all night and was still blowing hard when we met them at the dick. After a discussion with Juan and Manuel, they decided to head up the Sea of Cortez and try inshore where the water would be more comfortable than yesterday. If the wind dies later on they will go offshore and look for the Marlin. Juan and Manuel worked the “Fly Hooker” up towards san Jose and they ran live bait slow and close in to catch 3 nice Jack Crevelle, not as large as the other day, but still respectable at 18-20 lbs. A very nice 20 lb Yellowtail was nice surprise fish. The water is not really as cool as these fish like. Don was the lucky angler on that one! They also managed to catch 2 Sierra and one very small Roosterfish along with a few Skipjack. About 9:30, the wind died down and they headed offshore to look for Marlin, with only 2 live baits left! About 12 miles outside Palmilla, they started spotting Marlin and the second one they tossed bait at was hungry! Everyone got a chance to fight this fish during the 65 minutes it took to get it to the boat, tagged and released! During the fight, several other Marlin were spotted swimming nearby. Immediately on the release of the co-opted fish, Manuel ran the “Fly Hooker” over to one he had been watching and Juan tossed a live bait to it. Again!!! All right and this time Don was the angler. This fight was only 18 minutes because the fish had tail wrapped itself, but it cam in alive and was tagged and released. That was the end of the action for the day, no more live bait left!!! Sure hope the fishing is as good tomorrow. I’ll let you know! Until then, Tight Lines from the “Fly Hooker” Crew.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR FEB 9, 2001
This is the 5th and final day of fishing for the De Vito gang aboard the “Fly Hooker”. They said this morning before leaving the dock that about the only fish they haven’t caught on this trip was Swordfish and Wahoo. They did not catch these fish on the last day either so they will have to wait until next year. After not much discussion they had back to the same spot they had so much fun at yesterday, this time with more bait! The “Fly Hooker” is headed towards the Palmilla area on the Sea of Cortez. That is where they found all the Marlin action yesterday. Unfortunately by the time they got to the area, the wind changed direction and the water was very rough. The fish had also moved and even though they spent the day searching, all they were able to get in the boat was a Dorado and a Needlefish. They lost one more Dorado close to the boat. A slow day with the rough water is not the way they wanted to end the trip, but they did have a great time and catch a lot of fish over the course of the week. Thanks Guys, we all look forward to having you back again next year on your annual trip. Tight lines, from Mary, George, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” crew.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR FEB 10, 2001
Today’s group fishing aboard the “Fly Hooker” would like to catch a Marlin. Cliff Young, his son, Mike are with their friends Jess and Lee. Mike and Jess run fishing charters out of Sitka Alaska. Jun and Manuel took the boat to the ridge off the lighthouse. They slow trolled and deep dropped live bait. They had one fish on for a short time, but he got away. A while later they got one to hook up and stay hooked up. Juan said the fight was only about 15 minutes on the estimated 120 lb striped Marlin. The experience of the angler was obvious to him!!! The Marlin was tagged and released to fight again another day. With the target of the trip taken care of, they headed offshore in search of the Tuna. Manuel spotted Porpoise and they worked them for a while with no luck. As the wind was blowing like crazy and the seas very rough, the guys decided they had had enough for the day and headed in early, before anyone got seasick. They had a great time and thanked Juan and Manuel for a great trip. Hope we get to fish with you again soon. Until then, Tight Lines, from the “Fly Hooker” Crew.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR FEB 11, 2001
Today anglers on the “Fly Hooker” got off to a bit of a late start, not showing up at the boat until 7AM. They walked to the Marina from Pedregal after they woke up late. Mar and his friend were looking forward to a day on the water and really wanted to catch fish. They went out on a Panga on Friday and caught a Dorado, now a Marlin or tuna would be nice. Juan and Manuel did their best, but out of the 5 Marlin Juan said they saw none showed any solid interest in the bait. One Marlin grabbed the bait, but did not hook up. Later they tried for tuna. Juan said the area they worked had nice 80 lb Tuna feeding; he could see them come clear of the water now and then. They hooked one and fought it for about 2 minutes before the hook pulled loose. No fish for the day, but the water was in good condition for a change. I guess the fish didn’t come out to play today in the calm waters. The boats in Cabo caught very few fish today. Perhaps it was something to do with the moon-phase. Anyway, we hope next time you guys have better luck and until then, Tight Lines from Mary, George, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” crew.
Cabo San Lucas Fish Report
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR FEB 5-11, 2001
Capt. George Landrum
“Fly Hooker” Sportfishing
[email protected]
WEATHER: this was an interesting week, because the wind never was able to decide which way to come from. The beginning and end of the week were very calm days, but Tuesday through Friday, the wind shifted direction and power every night. Wednesday, it blew strongly from the Northwest and many of the boats returned early. Sunday, it looked like a mirror out there! Temperatures remained comfortable with the highs in the 70’s and lows in the high 60’s. A slight sprinkle of rain on Saturday spotted the windshields and midweek we remained overcast.
WATER: Cool with temperatures ranging form 68-74 with mostly clear blue water except for the close inshore n the Pacific side. There has been a large area of warmer water just south of the Cape for the last two weeks, where it has been in the low 70’s and at the beginning of the week we had those temperatures out to 5 miles on the Pacific. The water cooled off, but the Sea of Cortez side has stayed about 70-72 degrees up to about 3 miles short of Gordo banks. Mid-week the water was confused with the excellent conditions, one day and the wind switching around and revering the next.
BAIT: Mostly Caballito for larger baits at $2.00 each. No reports on sardines locally. I am not sure of their availability or cost in San Jose this past week.
FISHING
BILLFISH: The bite was good at the beginning of the week with most of the boats getting shots at up to a half dozen fish a day and hooking one or two. As the week progressed the bite dropped off to the point that on Sunday, you were lucky to find a fish that would show any interest. They are still out there, but mostly feeding all night on this full moon. Sizes have been getting a bit larger and we were seeing more fish in the 130-180 pound range than we were last month. Hopefully the bite will pick up in a few days.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: early in the week it was hard not to catch a Yellowfin Tuna! There were porpoise everywhere and getting 20-30 per boat was common. Sizes ranged from footballs to 80 lbs with many in the 30-40 pound range. Mid- week a few boats found a dead whale floating about 30 miles out and for several days this area was subjected to some intense pressure. On Friday the fishing finally started to slow down and boats were reporting seeing Purse Seiners working within the 50-mile limits. Many of these boats were in the Gordo Banks and San Jose areas. When they were biting, most any type of lure was working, but favorites were 6” feathers on zucchini, pink/white and of course purple/white. Cedar plugs accounted for quite a few, as did Marauders. Larger fish were caught on live bait dropped deep ahead of the traveling schools. Chunking on Gordo Banks also worked well on the larger fish.
DORADO: Steady, but not red hot by any means. The fish being found range in size from 10-30 pounds and while many of them were caught near the dead whale, most of these were found near-shore. Slow trolling live baits seemed to work best and a few boats were able to get 3 or 4 fish this way.
WAHOO: The dead whale produced a lot of Wahoo on the second day, but more were lost than were caught. Some of the boats trolling Marauder lures at San Jaime for tuna were able to do the Wahoo tango and the fish caught were in the 20-35 pound class.
INSHORE: Small Roosterfish, a few sierra, lots of Needlefish and Bonito. Scattered Dorado and Yellowfin Tuna and an occasional Marlin off the Lighthouse. The start of the larger Pargo bite was this week’s production inshore. Prevailing methods have been the use of the slow trolled live bait with a few boats concentrating on drops and peaks and jigging with iron. Oh yeah and a few nice Yellowtail are starting to be caught.
NOTES: Lots of whales coming through now, Purse Seiners at the Banks, large Pargo on the points (use small live baits). This time of year, book your boat from a reputable company prior to coming down, that way you can avoid the disappointment of not getting the size or quality of Charter you are looking for. Avoid booking locally from anyone without an office or a license. Protect yourself and your money! A bargain is not always the way to go!!!
Until Next Week, Tight Lines!
Capt George Landrum
“Fly Hooker” Sportfishing
[email protected]
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