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Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Capt. George Landrum
October 8, 2001
Cabo San Lucas - Saltwater Fishing Report
Cabo Fishing Report
CABO SAN LUCAS FISH REPORT FOR SEPT. 23 TO OCT 7TH, 2001
CAPT. GEORGE LANDRUM
“FLY HOOKER” SPORTFISHING
[email protected]
www.flyhooker.com
NOTES: This report begins in reverse due to the recent weather we had, Hurricane
Juliet. My wife, Mary, did an update a few days ago just to keep everyone informed of
what is going on and I will just touch on that before I hit on the fishing.
Bad news; Plaza las Glorias dock is gone, the outer half of the new marina near the
navy base is gone and the older fuel dock got busted up a bit. Good news; only one
cruiser sunk, the “Redrum” and about 8 Pangas went down. Bad news; we are being
rationed diesel fuel at 100 liters per day. Good news; Monday the 8th is the target date
for being able to go back to normal.
We now have power and water back to the slips and it is difficult to tell there was a
Hurricane here at all, at least as far as the Marina is concerned. The water pipes to
town have been repaired half way down and should be completed soon, all the resorts
have water and power, just not many clients. All the restaurants and bars are open.
The main part of town and the marina are in fine shape, it was the outer barrios that
sustained the most damage and the businesses here need tourists in order to keep
income flowing for their employees. That is what the people need, and since the
fishing is great, come on down and help out! (Written to the music of “Dire Straits”
album “Brothers in Arms”, 1985 Warner Brothers. Long live Mark Knopfler!)
WEATHER: Hurricane Juliet brought sustained winds of about 105-125 mph and a
very steady and prolonged rainfall. Once the storm had passed, basically all this past
week, the winds have been light. There has been no rain, lots of sunshine and the
daytime highs have been around the high 80’s. The night time lows have been in the
mid 70’s, we have not needed to use any air conditioning at all! (Ride Across The
River)
WATER: All right, here is the interesting stuff! The runoff washed out tons of debris
and it has formed up into several distinct trash lines. These lines are out at six miles
and 18 miles on the Pacific side. The water inside the closer trash line was pea green
and 82 degrees on Tuesday, the water between the trash lines was green and 78
degrees and the water outside 18 miles was light green but colder at 75 degrees.
Since Tuesday the water has cleared up and the trash lines have tightened up a bit.
The outside water has become a clearer, off-blue and the rest has cleared up also.
The same situation exists on the Sea of Cortez side. When looking at the temperature
charts you can see a very distinctive band of warm water wrapping around the cape.
On the Pacific side this band abuts the western edge of San Jaime Banks, and if we
had the fuel available I think the action in this area would be outstanding. We have a 5
degree difference in temperature combined with a sharp drop in bottom contour and a
color differential and a debris line! What more could you ask for? (Maybe more than
100 liters a day in diesel?) (So Far Away)
BAIT: Bait is still available but yesterday we were not able to get any Caballito, instead
everyone had small jacks. They seemed to work fine, our boat caught a Striped Marlin
on them and the prices have been the standard $2 per bait. There are Caballito being
caught, you just have to be there at the right time. (Money For Nothing)
FISHING:
BILLFISH: Prior to the Hurricane there were plenty of Blue and Striped Marlin, along
with some Sailfish. For the past week the Billfish catch has dropped off and there have
been few Blue Marlin. For the most part it has been Striped Marlin and Sailfish. Our
boat caught two Striped Marlin in three days of fishing and we were one of the few to
be able to do that. As the water clears up and the debris lines start to hold fish, the
Blue Marlin catch should jump right back up there! The first few days after the
Hurricane the fishing was good for Sails and Stripes but as the green water spread out
the bite dropped off. Almost all the action on Marlin has been outside the outer debris
line, but as the food chain builds around the debris the action should start picking up.
(Walk Of Life)
YELLOWFIN TUNA: Again, the first few days after the storm saw quite a few large
Tuna caught, most of them in the 60-150 pound range. These fish were Porpoise
associated fish and were found as close as 10 miles out. As the green water spread,
they were further and further away. As of yesterday they had all but disappeared, but
as the water returns to its normal blue condition they should show again. There has
been fairly consistent action on the football size Tuna along the debris lines and these
fish are falling for small 6” lures in pink and white. Most of these footballs are between
10 and 15 pounds. (One World)
DORADO: Without a doubt the Dorado is the fish of the week in Cabo, and it just may
be the fish of the month by the end of October. All the debris in the water is
concentrating the fish and the action has really started to take off. Almost every boat
fishing has been able to get their limit of Dorado in a few hours and many of the boats
are going to sight fishing, just tossing live bait to the largest fish seen. Median size
has been 12 pounds but the average should go up quickly as the weeks go on. Slow
trolled strip baits along with the same feathers that are producing for the Tuna have
been the methods and lures of choice for most of the boats. The larger fish have been
in the 25-30 pound range with a few up to 60 pounds. It looks like the action ought to
really take off soon! (TheMan’s Too Strong)
WAHOO: Nothing to report here as far as I have seen this reporting period, but there
were a few Wahoo flags seen just after the storm. (Why Worry)
INSHORE: Most of the inshore action was non-existent this reporting period due to the
heavy surf and very green water. Most of the Pangas have been working the water just
offshore looking for Dorado and Tuna. (Brothers In Arms)
NOTE: Just a short addition, today we are allowed to have as much fuel at the dock as
we want, hope it stays that way. We got City water this morning. So come on down
and enjoy the fishing!
Until Next week ,Tight Lines !
Capt.George Landrum
“Fly Hooker” Sportfishing
[email protected]
www.flyhooker.com
"Fly Hooker" Daily Catch Report
Capt. George Landrum
"Fly Hooker" Sportfishing
[email protected]
www.flyhooker.com
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 18 2001
It was a great day for team “Buzzkill”, Jerry (the Jerry Scott Band), John, Jim and
Mike had been looking forward to this trip for quite some time, hoping for a chance to
catch a “real” fish. Ideally they were looking for a Marlin but as long as there was
action they would be happy. Everyone was on the boat by 6:30 and they were on the
way. It was not long before the effects of the night before and the swells began to
make Jim a bit sick. Juan and Manuel took the “Fly Hooker” to the Pacific side off of
Cabo Falso and started the day with plenty of action, catching 8 Dorado right away.
The first fish were hooked on lures and the rest were cut on live and cut bait. Most of
these Dorado were in the 10-12 pound range. The original idea had been to fish
assigned rods, then they took turns and evolved into a “you get that one, quick” kind of
day. Jim was trying to contribute to the fish attraction activities by maintaining a chum
line behind the boat. As the action continued to produce these small fish it was
decided to leave and look for something larger, after all, they had enough fillets! About
5 miles out they found mare Dorado and these were a bit bigger, running 20-25
pounds. After the fourth Dorado to the boat Manuel spotted some porpoise breaking
water a mile or so away and off they went, hoping to get a Tuna hooked up. The “Fly
Hooker” was the first boat to the Porpoise and on the first pass had a triple hookup.
Two of those fish, the ones on the outrigger lures, were brought to the boat fairly
quickly. Nice Tuna at #40 each! Mike was on the fish that hit the short corner lure and
Juan kept telling him to hurry up before the other boats in the area arrived. He thought
the fish was the same size as the other two but he was surprised when it came to the
boat to be gaffed. After being placed in the fish box the tail stuck out by 12 inches, this
fish was at least #70! With fish this size around more large lures were put out.
Another pass on the Porpoise resulted in another Tuna of #40 and by then other boats
were arriving. The third time around the Porpoise resulted in another strike, this one on
the bridge rod on a custom lure from “Hi-5 Lures”. Jerry started on this fish but he was
a bit worn-out from all the other action and Mike ended up finishing the Tuna off, an
hour after the hookup! The Tuna was as tall as Juan and the conservative estimate
was #150! By that time the Porpoise has disappeared and team “Buzzkill” was beat.
Time to go in and as they sped up the port prop threw a blade. Sigh, in on one engine
and then it was party time! 12 Dorado and 5 Yellowfin Tuna, what a day! The next
day, at the local watering hole, “Tanga-Tanga”, Jerry bought a round of drinks and the
guys were still pumped, with good reason! Jerry and Mike were finding it a bit of a
workout hoisting the 16 ounce beers, their arms were a bit sore. Now Jerry and Mike
have a good story to tell the other nine members of the band, and pictures to prove it.
Thanks guys, we look forward to having team “Buzzkill” fish with us again!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 21, 2001
Roger and John have been waiting to fish aboard the “Fly Hooker” for quite
sometime. With a new prop and new batteries the boat is ready to take the guys out for
some action. Unfortunately they don’t have great results today. Starting on the Pacific
side they saw no fish until mid morning. Finally a Striped Marlin appeared in the
spread of lures and tried to eat one. The fish was unsuccessful in the attempt and
Juan dropped back a live bait. The Marlin tried twice to eat the bait but did not hookup.
Frustrated the fish left, and frustrated, the guys continued fishing. A short while later,
bait was tossed to two other Striped Marlin that were found tailing on the surface. Both
of these fish disappeared as the bait was thrown. Must have woken them up! Juan
and Manuel decided to go around to the Sea of Cortez side and look for a Blue Marlin
and they did find one off of the Palmilla at well over 300 lbs. She hooked up long
enough to get a few jumps in before the lure was thrown. Plenty of excitement, but not
much fish to the boat. Sunday is another day, as they decided to give it another shot.
Hopefully with better results. Until then, tight Lines!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 22, 2001
Our good friend Rick Harris is back in Cabo for a relaxing vacation and had decided
not to fish this trip. His wife was nice enough to talk him into going out anyway and we
were glad to have him aboard. Juan and Manuel decided to try the pacific side and
hooked Rick up to 6 Dorado and one small Tuna in some fairly rough water. They were
back at the dock by 12:30 after a bumpy morning. Thanks Rick, we’ll see you next
time!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR 23 SEPTEMBER 2001
This is the second day of fishing for Roger Arnold and John Cobb and today they
want to catch fish instead of fight them! Juan and Manuel were able to get them
hooked into some good Dorado action today and they were able to get a good workout.
They did not get a Marlin but at least they had a great time! I would give you a bit more
information about this trip but I forgot to take notes! My fault entirely and I apologize.
Anyway, Mary and I thought it was very thoughtful of Roger to call and ask us if we
were all right after the Hurricane! Thanks a lot and we look forward to seeing you guys
again!
SEPTEMBER 24-OCTOBER 2...HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS, SURVIVAL AND
RECOVERY.
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 3, 2001
Our friend Andy Cline was here in Cabo for the Hurricane and he is house sitting for
the next 6 weeks. Yesterday and the day before we were hearing excellent reports on
the fishing for large Yellowfin Tuna on the Pacific side and we decided to check it out.
It was just Andy, myself and Juan. The road to San Jose was still washed out and
Manuel was not able to get into Cabo. It was a day late as far as the Tuna were
concerned, by this morning they had moved too far out for us to get to. We found that
the green water extended at least 30 miles out, as that is where we finally called a halt
to the Tuna search. A lot of debris in the water out to this point and we were able to
find a few Dorado in the root balls and palm fronds. Juan spotted a Striped Marlin
tailing down swell and as I took the wheel he ran down and pinned on a live bait and
pitched it out. The Marlin was on the portside of the boat and when the bait was tossed
he dropped out of sight and re-appeared on the starboard side. Juan reeled the bait
back in and cast again. Again the Marlin dropped down and this time showed up in the
lure pattern next to the short bait. Andy got on the reel and began to tease the Marlin,
reeling in and dropping back the lure. The Striped Marlin began to light up and Juan
worked the live bait from the distance it had drifted out to just along side the fish.
When we had first spotted the Marlin we had figured it at about 120 pounds, but as it
saw the bait it lit up like someone had thrown a high-voltage breaker! With it pectoral
fins fully spread and lit up like a neon sign it looked as if it was 300 pounds! It turned
just a bit and ate the live bait. Juan handed the rod to Andy and began to clear the
lures. The fish had not been struck yet and attempted to grab the lure closest to the
boat as Juan cleared it. The marlin then dropped down out of sight and Andy set the
hook. For the next twenty minutes the fish never broke the surface or came near to the
top of the water. Then the Marlin started to act in the classical style. We received the
full series of top water action after that! We got vertical jumps, half-body washing
machines, sub-surface washing machines, greyhounding jumps both away and
charging the boat, Flipper-style runs with the head and shoulders above the water, you
name it and this fish showed it to us! Definitely one of those occasions when you
wished for a movie camera. After 78 minutes Juan was able to get the leader and bring
the fish close to the boat. Andy backed off the drag to near 0 and placed the rod in the
rod holder. With the #40 pound test line out of the way and Juan holding the #100
leader Andy grabbed the tag stick. With only about three more feet to go before the tag
could be placed the leader finally parted. Oh well, no tag but a very nice catch and
release on a fish that we all estimated at 140 pounds! While working our way back we
came upon a weed line and picked up a few more Dorado then headed home. It sure
was good to get out of town and away for the day! Until next time, Tight Lines!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 5, 2001
Clint Chournos and his brother Lance along with their buddies Greg and “The other
chrome dome”. Between these four guys you might be able to come up with a full head
and face of hair. Clint and Greg have a bit of fishing experience behind them and
would like to get a Marlin while the other two want to catch fish and are not to particular
what kind. Juan and Manuel take the boat out to the Pacific side and head out looking
for some blue water. They find only green water and manage to get 8 Dorado. Three
of them were small fish they tossed back and five were in the 15-20 pound range and
provided some good fillets. That was all the action for the day but they are going again
tomorrow so it may be a different story then!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 6, 2001
The second day of fishing for the “Chrome Dome” team plus Greg and today is
specifically for Marlin. Juan and Manuel head out to the south of the Cape. yesterday
a few boats had found Marlin out about 25 miles and the water had gotten a little more
be there. All the way out the water was green and was still a little greenish when they
spotted the Striped Marlin tailing. Juan tossed the bait out and Greg was the
designated angler on the fish. It took him about 20 minutes to get the #100 Striped
Marlin to the boat and then Juan was able to get a tag into the fish. Success at last!
There was no other action for the day but the Marlin hunt had worked! Thanks guys
and we look forward to seeing you again! Until then, Tight Lines!
“FLY HOOKER” FISH REPORT FOR OCTOBER 7, 2001
Terry Johnson and his friend Don are the anglers on the “Fly Hooker” for today and
tomorrow and want very badly to get a Marlin. They have planned the two days of
fishing to give them the best chance at catching one figuring that with the average
catch at one every day and a half, if the fish two days they should be able to get at
least one! Juan and Manuel checked the sea surface charts and figured that the are to
the south of San Jaime banks is the place to try and that is where they head to. On the
way the pick up a couple of Dorado but when the arrive there are no Marlin to be found.
Not a strike all day nor a tailing fish seen by them so it looks as if tomorrow will have to
be the day. Juan did say that the water is starting to get a little clearer so that bodes
well for tomorrows fishing.
Until then, Tight Lines!
From George, Mary, Juan and Manuel, the “Fly Hooker” Crew
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