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Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Capt. George Landrum
March 5, 2001
Cabo San Lucas - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fly Hooker Fish Report
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 26 FEBRUARY 2001
Harry and Linda Sanders are from Biloxi, Mississippi and are on their first visit to Cabo San Lucas. They are the owners of “Ole Biloxi Oyster and Shrimp Company” and are very busy processing shrimp 8 to 9 months of the year. Harry just started Saltwater Fly fishing last year, mostly for inshore species on the Gulf, but on this trip he is set up to try for something a little larger. He wants a shot at hooking and fighting a Yellowfin Tuna on his 12-weight outfit, a St. Croix rod and Reddington reel. Since it’s my day off he was nice enough to invite me to accompany him and Linda on today’s trip. Just so we would not get caught short on gear I brought along my 15-weight Reddington rod and Billy Pate Marlin reel. Hey, I love to fish also!
We started to trip heading out due south. The last reported Yellowfin were 42 miles to the south and they were reported to be mixed with lots of Porpoise. We had just passed the Arch and were out about ½ mile when Manuel spotted a Striped Marlin tailing on the surface. Juan tried to grab a Caballito from the bait tank but they were very fast and a little smaller than average. By the time he had one pinned onto the #9 live bait hook the Marlin had gone down. We were all excited and figured that this was a good sign for the rest of the day. We got powered back up and headed south again. By the time we got 10 miles offshore the water had gotten very rough and cold! What made us decide to head up into the Sea of Cortez instead of maintaining our heading was a report from another boat that was already 40 miles out. He reported that the water was getting rougher. Juan asked him if he had gotten anything in the boat yet and he reported that the only thing he had in the boat was a load of sea-sick anglers that wanted to go in. We turned to the east, looking for smoother and warmer water.
Harry and I spent a lot of time talking about fishing and his processing business. He told me that they had processed almost 4 million pounds of shrimp last year! I asked if perhaps he got tired of eating shrimp after a while and he said that there were so many ways of fixing them that he could go a whole year and never repeat the same recipe twice! Sounded a bit like Bubba Gump to me!
After having headed northeast for about an hour, at about 9:40, the port outrigger line snapped out of the clip and started to scream off the reel. Harry was into the fighting chair right away, hoping that it was a Marlin. Manuel notified us almost immediately that it was a Dorado instead, and a very nice one at that! The Dorado took a lot of line on the strike but after a 15-minute fight Harry had the nice Bull Dorado, estimated at 35 pounds, near the boat. Juan asked for the long handled gaff since the fish had only one of the two hooks in its mouth. Juan was able to pull the fish several feet closer to the boat when suddenly the hook pulled loose. Ahh ….! Oh well, it was a nice fight, got Harry warmed up, and we still had plenty of time left. Another hour of trolling produced nothing and listening to the radio we found that no one was having very much luck. Really wanting to use the fly rods, we decided to pull in the trolling lines and cruise in towards shore to try for Sierra, Roosterfish and just perhaps, a shallow water Snapper. We were about a mile out when I spotted a pod of Porpoise and we put out some feather jigs and cedar plugs to see if there were any Tuna with them. We had no strikes after making 5 passes on the Porpoise and we turned towards the beach to try there. Suddenly the port line went off again and this time it was Linda’s turn in the chair. It was a god thing too, since Harry was indisposed in the Banyo at the time! Once again it was a Dorado, this one a bit smaller, about 12-15 pounds. Harry almost missed the whole fight! This fish ended up in the box and now the Sanders’s had fresh fish for dinner! We cleaned up and tried working the area for more fish. We received a call on the radio that a friends Panga had some Red Crab for bait and they were catching Red Snapper. They offered us some of the bait if we wanted t try. I asked Harry and Linda if they wanted to give it a shot and they said sure! We got the bait, made the rigs and started to drop to the bottom. I thought we were fishing pretty shallow, about 250 feet. On Guam that was considered shallow, deep water was 450 feet plus. Harry and Linda were pretty quick to inform me that the depth we were fishing in was the deepest they had ever tried for Red Snapper in. Maybe it was the depth, but both Harry and Linda were able to catch Snapper to add to the fish dinners. Harry caught 2 nice ones and Linda caught one just a bit smaller, evening out the total numbers. I caught one also but Juan and Manuel said mine was not the right kind, too bony to eat! Oh well, just my luck.
We were running out of time by then so we put out the trolling gear and headed towards home. Our fingers were crossed that we would hook up into more fish on the way back but it was not in the cards. We did spot several Whales and Harry took some good video of the mammoth mammals as they swam along just under and on the surface. I had a great time today, as did Harry and Linda, we just wished there had been more fish! Thanks folks, we hope you come visit again because we really enjoyed your company this time! Until next time, Tight Lines from Mary, George, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” crew.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR MARCH 3, 2001
Jason Voss and his friend Craig are here visiting from very cold New York. All they want to do is catch a Marlin! Unfortunately the bite has been very slow this week due to the cold water and the abundance of bait. Juan and Manuel heard that good concentrations of Marlin had been found yesterday about 10 miles out of “Red Hill” and headed the “Fly Hooker” in that direction. The fish had been in an area of warmer water and the guys began searching for the temperature break when they got about 5 miles out. They were hoping that since the wind had died off that the warm water might have been brought closer by the currents. They saw several boats hook up, including one double header, but failed to see or raise any Marlin themselves. Juan said they spotted two Wahoo swimming on the surface but had no luck with them. They also found Porpoise about 30 miles out but only the first few boats on them managed to catch any Tuna. All in all it was a bust of a trip, but Jason and Craig have the “Fly Hooker” booked for Monday the 5th so we hope the fishing has improved by then. I really hope so since I am going with them, it’s my day off! Until then, Tight lines from the “Fly Hooker” crew.
Cabo San Lucas Fish Report
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR 26 FEB-4 MARCH, 2001
Capt. George Landrum
“Fly Hooker” Sportfishing
[email protected]
WEATHER: The beginning of the week was not the best, weather wise. We had winds blowing every day and on Tuesday we had solid cloud cover over the area. Surprisingly, on Thursday all this resulted in rain! This was the first recorded March rain in 24 years and I discovered the cracks in the ceiling I had forgotten to get repaired after the rains last September. Oh well, pots and pans caught the drippings. The rain washed off all the plants and kept the dust down but did not do much for the fishing. On Friday the front that brought the clouds and rain passed to the east and the skies began to clear. By Saturday we were back to warm, sunny weather.
WATER: Surface conditions were rough early in the week due to the approaching frontal system and the wind it brought. Many boats that tried to fish the Pacific side ended up returning early. After the passage of the front the water returned to normal with swells at 2-4 feet on the Pacific side and 1-3 feet on the Sea of Cortez side. There has been an area of warm water south of San Jaime Banks where there has been a temperature break of 4 degrees within a distance of a half-mile. The water was too rough early in the week for anyone to fish there but with conditions improving, perhaps today, the 4th, will show some results for the area. The Pacific coast side has had 68-67 degree water inshore, and the Sea of Cortez inshore has been registering temperatures about one degree warmer, on the average. About 20 miles out on the Sea of Cortez the water temperatures have begun to warm up to about 70 degrees.
BAIT: Most of the bait we have been getting the past week has been small Caballito, about 7” to 8” in length. A few Mackerel have been mixed in with the Caballito, but not many. As usual the price is $2 per bait. The water has been too green and cold for there to be any concentrations of Sardinas. For those who like to bottom fish, a few pangas have been selling ½ gallon bags of Red Crabs for $5.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Very few Striped Marlin were sighted earlier in the week due to the rough water but more have been seen since the front moved by. The bite was abysmal but has slowly improved. For the boat in the right place at the right time the hookup ratio has been about 20%, or one for every five seen and baited. Unfortunately very few were seen prior to this weekend. They are definitely found in the warmer areas 20+ miles out as opposed to the near shore ledges and points. Of the fish that have been caught, the majority of them were caught on live bait.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Very few porpoise pods are being found and those that are have been 30+ miles out for most of the week. Today they were found a bit closer in, about 18 miles east. With the availability of Red Crab in the area it has been difficult to convince these fish to eat the artificial or the live bait. The lack of Sardinas has hurt the efforts of the boats working the Gordo Banks although some of the boats have been having luck chunking for the Tuna. Fish that have been caught have been football 15-25 pounders with very few fish in the larger 30+ pound category.
DORADO: Some Dorado are being found near shore by the boats working the shoreline for Sierra and Mackerel. Occasional shoals of baitfish breaking water have been the indicator for the boats to turn out and try for the Dorado. Sizes have run from 12 to 35 pounds and most of them have been taken on artificial lures. Few floating objects were found this week but perhaps that will change this week due to the rains washing out the arroyos on Thursday.
WAHOO: Few Wahoo were taken this week but quite a few were seen. Again, perhaps the excess of bait in the area kept the bite from being good. Many of the Wahoo flags flying from the outriggers were being flown by boats that were catching Sierra inshore.
INSHORE: sierra were the target of the inshore fishermen and sizes were ranging from three to ten pounds with the average being 6 pounds. Small 9mm Rapalas in Orange, Red/White or Blue/Silver were working the best. The abundance of Red Crab coincides with the improved bite found by boats trying for Red Snapper. #4 live bait hooks with 4 Red Crab pinned on and dropped to rock piles in 200 to 280 feet of water were producing Snapper in the 2-5 pound range. Slow trolling finger mullet and small Caballito over the rocky points resulted in an occasional catch of Snapper 15 pounds and over. Roosterfish are slowly getting larger and now range from 10 to 15 pounds average. There have been few reported Yellowtail this week but that could be due to the rough water on the Pacific side. The water is cold enough for them so we will keep our fingers crossed!
Until next week,
Tight Lines!
Capt. George Landrum
“Fly Hooker” Sportfishing
[email protected]
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