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Fishing Report for San Jose del Cabo, Baja
Capt. Eric Brictson
March 17, 2001
San Jose del Cabo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Anglers - March 17, 2001
With the start of springtime just around the corner crowds of tourists have increased and though the unpredictable weather patterns continued this past week there were finally a couple of days where the high temperatures reached into the 80's. The wind could not decide which direction to come from, one day it would blow out of the north, then the next day it would be out of the south, then on the following day there would be no wind at all to speak of. While other areas of Southern Baja found only minimal action, the anglers fishing out of San Jose del Cabo, and especially from the panga fleets, had great fishing for yellowfin tuna, as the bite that had slowed almost to a standstill the previous week picked up where it had left off. Supplies of live sardinas remained steady but with the increased crowds it meant that you did need patience to wait in line for your daily supply. It was definitely worth waiting for the live bait because that is what about
90 % of the action was taken on.
Yellowfin tuna were hitting the live bait in the areas of the Gordo Banks and north to Iman Bank. The most consistent spot was on the Inner Gordo Bank where average catches ranged anywhere from 2 to 12 tuna per day. Most of the fish weighed 15 to 20 pounds but everyday there were larger tuna caught, including fish in the 70 and 80 pound class. With the lack of billfish and dorado action offshore that has meant that there was more pressure put on by the cruiser fleet, fishing in the same areas as the pangas and this caused the fish to become a bit more line shy than they had been. Anglers using 20 to 30 pound tackle had the highest percentage of hook-ups but when the larger tuna were hooked there was not much of a chance landing them on the light gear. So it was wise to have the 40 and 50 equipment ready to go for when the larger fish did come up. One of the main factors for the improved bite was that the water cleared up substantially, though the temperature was averaging a cool 66 to 69 degrees.
Other action included a mix of bottomfish like amberjack, pargo, cabrilla and several nice yellowtail. These were mostly hooked by working iron yo-yo style jigs off of the rock piles. There were also more than enough black skipjack around and at times they proved to be a nuisance when trying to catch the yellowfin tuna. Along the shoreline from Red Hill to Punta Gorda anglers found good action for smaller gamefish like sierra, pargo and roosterfish. Large schools of baitfish are moving into the area of La Playita and this should attract more gamefish. The roosterfish being caught now are mostly juvenile fish under ten pounds but the big ones should follow soon. Important note also is to remember to insist to your skipper that you do want to release all of the roosterfish that you hook in order to give them a chance to grow to maturity and insure the future stocks.
Good Fishing, Eric
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