Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Capt. George Landrum
November 14, 2005
Cabo San Lucas - Saltwater Fishing Report
Cabo Bite Report
FLY HOOKER SPORTFISHING
Captain George Landrum
[email protected]
www.flyhooker.com
Cabo Fish Report
Nov. 6-13, 2005
WEATHER: There was no change in the weather this week as our day time highs were in the low 90’s and our nighttime lows were in the low 70’s. We had a few high clouds late in the week but there was no rain.
WATER: On the Pacific side it was still choppy most of the time with the winds coming consistently out of the NW. The swells were 2-5 feet and for the most part the water offshore was nice and blue. The water along the beach out to four miles was a bit green and also a bit warmer at 79-80 degrees. Off shore out to the Golden Gate Banks and the San Jaime Banks the water was 77-78 degrees and past that it dropped to 74-75 degrees. On the Cortez side of the Cape the water was in great shape with an occasional late afternoon breeze from the ENE that would chop up the water if you were up around Punta Gorda, but closer to home things stayed very nice all day with minimal swells and water temperatures around 81-83 degrees. At the end of the week there appeared to be a very sharp temperature break running north-south along the 110* line with the east side at 82 degrees and the west side at 77 degrees, and less than a ½ mile area between the breaks.
BAIT: There were plenty of Mackerel available at the normal $2 per bait and there were also a few Caballito as well. I have not heard anything on the Sardinas.
FISHING:
BILLFISH: This week the buzz has been about the Striped Marlin fishing at the Finger Bank. Last week I mentioned it, this week I went. It is a 100-mile round trip and takes several hours of cruising to get there. I think most of the boats that can make the trip have been charging a fuel sur-charge. Anyway, Frigate birds everywhere and Striped Marlin slurping down big Sardinas like they were candy. I mean lots of fish! We had about 20 bites in four hours, went through our 10 live baits in the first hour and then had to figure out which lures would work. There were Dolphin and Whales, massive bait balls and Marlin everywhere! I overheard one boat say that they had 80 bites in one day! That does not mean that they were all hook-ups though, the fish were pretty focused on the Sardinas. There was decent action as well on the Golden Gate Banks with most of the boats there soaking live Mackerel and getting a few bites each trip. A great day on the Golden Gate was four or five Marlin, most boats hooked one or two fish. There was also Striped Marlin action just off the coast in the green water as there were bait balls in that area as well. As far as Black or Blue Marlin were concerned, the warmer water on the Sea of Cortez had a few, but there was little else there in any quantity so most of the fleet continued to work the Pacific side.
YELLOWFIN TUNA: There were two very nice fish caught out past the San Jaime Bank during the middle of the week, one weighed #250 and the other was #280. I saw quite a few football fish come in as well as a few fish in the 40-60 pound class, most of them from either due south at 15+ miles or out around the San Jaime in porpoise schools. Those big fish hit slow trolled live bait on the outside of the porpoise schools.
DORADO:
There were some nice fish caught this week from both the Golden Gate Bank and the Finger Banks. I saw one Dorado swimming with the Striped Marlin at the Finger, and at first I mistook him for a Marlin! He must have been at least 70 pounds! There was also decent action on Dorado close to home just off the beach, with the favorite method being to troll along until a hook-up occurs then slow trolling the area with live bait.
WAHOO: I caught a Wahoo this week at the Finger bank and heard of some others caught there as well, but there was no wide-open bite anywhere I heard of.
INSHORE: Most Pangas were fishing just offshore for Tuna and Dorado, but there was fair action in among the rocks for Pargo, with a few Roosterfish and a couple of Sierra in the mix.
NOTES: If you have always wanted to get into a great Striped Marlin bite, now is the time! I don’t have any idea how long it will last, nor how the weather will affect being able to get there, but the Finger Bank is going off. Buck up the cash for the trip and just do it! Best results during the week were by boats getting there early and staying late, 18 to 21 fish released a day. It’s going to cost you though, that’s a long way to run for any but the bigger or faster boats. Other than that, just check back next week for an update. And by the way, this is turning out to be a great season for charters (the boats and owners at least) since almost all the boats are going out every day. Maybe it has something to do with Cancun and Cozumel being out of the picture until at least the end of the year. Until next week, Tight Lines!
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