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Fishing Report for San Jose del Cabo, Baja
Capt. Eric Brictson
April 28, 2002
San Jose del Cabo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Anglers -
April 28, 2002
The weather pattern in Southern Baja this past week went from cooler than average, to summer like heat wave just like. Thursday's temperature reached the 100 degree mark, then by the weekend it was back into the comfortable zone of the upper 80's. This warming trend helped boost the water average water temperature by as much as 5 degrees, as the current shifted directions bringing the 75 degree water further south and closer to shore off of San Jose del Cabo. Though there was not a large crowd of anglers in town, most of the ones that did go fishing were rewarded with fantastic action for striped marlin, wahoo and dorado. This was a special treat for the local panga fleets, that had been mainly inshore and bottomfishing for since January. Ocean conditions were mostly calm with the typical afternoon breeze prevalent, the moon was full, tides extreme and conditions seem to be shaping up just right for some incredible fishing to come in May.
For months the La Playita panga fleets had been targeting inshore and bottom fish action to provide sport for their clients, but all of a sudden the Gordo Banks has come to life with marlin, wahoo, dorado, porpoise, humpback whales, manta rays, whale sharks, pargo and red crabs. The water temperature warmed from about 70 to 75 overnight, and on Friday the anglers that happened to be scouting out the Inner Gordo Banks were lucky enough to encounter the arrival of schooling wahoo. The fish were hitting on trolled lures such as marauders, rapalas and skirted lead heads. Many double and triple hook ups were reported and the wahoo were also hooked by casting out yo-yo's, once a fish was hooked by trolling. Many fish were lost due to cut lines, as the wahoo were attacking the lures very aggressively. Only a handful of cruisers and pangas were fishing the Inner Bank, when they realized a huge school of wahoo was there, boats were catching anywhere from 2 to 6 wahoo, all nice sized fish of forty to sixty pounds. Of course now the word is out and the pressure will be heavy in the coming days. The pangas that arrived early Saturday on the fishing grounds had many multiple strikes and landed as many as 4 wahoo per boat, with reports of loosing that many other hook ups. The banks were just littered with red crabs on the surface and pargo (huachinango) could be seen feeding on the crabs and if fished with just the right finesse on light line, fly lining or with small split shot, could be caught using the crabs for bait. The fish were full of squid and red crabs, plenty of food to attract more gamefish, but also at times difficult to interest the fish into biting on anything but the crabs. Anglers were treated to sightings of both humpback whales breeching and whale sharks passing just underneath the boats, at the same time, a rare sight indeed. This coming week will be the back side of the full moon, which can sometimes find the fishing to be a bit sluggish, but with this warmer current now here, anything could happen, the fishing prospects are very encouraging and wide open for the coming month.
Striped marlin were now within the range of the panga fleets, the stripers are being found as close as four to ten miles from shore and particularly in the Gordo Banks region. They have been hitting on live bait and trolled lures, with sizes ranged from 120 to170 pounds. Dorado had been hard to find in recent weeks, mainly found further offshore, but in recent days they have been caught in increasing numbers and closer to shore, with common sizes from 15 to 40 pounds. The water is clean and blue on the Inner Gordo Banks, though the yellowfin tuna were not being found there now, it will most surely be only a matter of time before they appear, along with the larger marlin.
Good Fishing, Eric
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