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Fishing Report for San Jose del Cabo, Baja
Capt. Eric Brictson
March 16, 2002
San Jose del Cabo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Anglers -
March 17, 2002
As spring break approaches it does appear that more tourists are visiting Southern Baja, this could be a much needed boast to the local economy. The weather continues to be unpredictable during this transition period when winter gives way to spring. There was a front that moved in from the southwest and created higher swells, especially choppy on the Pacific, cooler temperatures
prevailed and there was quite a bit of cloud cover, but no precipitation. The Sea of Cortez had moderate afternoon breezes, but for most part was comfortable for anglers. Water temperatures fluctuated from 69 to 72 degrees, with the warmer areas being found further offshore. Early in the week the water showed encouraging signs, as it was clear and blue within a couple miles of shore, but towards the weekend out of San Jose del Cabo the reports were that a strong current was sweeping greenish and cooler water back into the region. Supplies of live bait held steady, as both mackerel and live sardinas were available, the supplies of sardinas were not as abundant as the previous week, but with patience they were being netted close to shore off of La Playita.
The week started off with a strong bite for a wide variety of species, with the most popular fish targeting being yellowfin tuna and dorado, but by the weekend the cooler conditions stirred conditions up and the action slowed back down to where it was a couple of weeks ago. The panga fleets out of San Jose on Monday through Wednesday found great action in the areas from Cardon to Iman for a wide variety of fish. Most common catches included yellowfin tuna of 10 to 25 pounds, amberjack to 25 pounds, yellowtail to 15 pounds, cabrilla to 12 pounds, pargo to 10 pounds, bonita to 8 pounds, dorado to 18 pounds and sierra to 5 pounds. The same spots where anglers could jig yo-yo's off the bottom and hook quality bottomfish were the same areas where tuna and dorado were also being found, with the live sardinas being the preferred choice of bait. Brought to the surface by the chum line of sardinas the tuna and dorado went on a great mid morning bite, for several days this continued, but then as the weather became more unsettled and the water conditions changed for the worse the action slowed back to mainly sierra and a handful of bottomfish. The larger boats were venturing further from shore, to as far as 25 miles out, this was where the water was blue and generally slightly warmer, but the reports were mixed, with striped marlin, dorado and yellowfin tuna making up most of the catch, but the overall numbers were down compared to local standards.
Hammerhead sharks were being caught incidentally by sport anglers from similar inshore areas, most were less than four feet in length, but were very fun to battle on lighter tackle. The shoreline has had scattered schools of sierra, once they were located they would readily hit on live bait and lures, but the schools were now much sparser and in certain specific areas practically nonexistent as a result of the gill netting that has pressured this fragile stretch of beach the past couple of months.
Good fishing, Eric
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