REPORT #1170 "Below the Border" Saltwater Fly-Fishing reports since 1996
East Cape
The inshore action for roosters and jacks continues to be off the charts. Plenty of bait along the beaches is attracting some of the best grade of roosters to be seen in years! Huge schools of jacks are also being seen daily cruising up and down the beaches along the shore.
Lance Peterson added another ‘grande’ to his 2009 total before leaving on a trip to the Caribbean and then on to chase roosters with our clients at Zihuatanejo.
Another noteworthy catch this week - actually last night in front of Rancho Leonero - Jim Ogborne, from Bozeman MT, landed an unusual catch…a small orange-mouth corvina on a chartreuse Clouser. While common in Magdalena Bay, this is the first one I can remember being caught at East Cape.
While many keep trying to will the offshore bite to turn-on, the facts indicate that it is still tough going for the billfish and dorado. While a few football-sized tuna are being found with the porpoise, if you aren’t one of the first boats to find them, chances are that you will be a spectator…not a player.
Water temperature 72-82
Air temperature 71-97
Humidity 56%
Wind: N 6 to 8 knots
Conditions: Mostly Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:31 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:05 p.m. MST
Magdalena Bay, Baja Mexico
Fishing the Esteros continues to be the best bet this week. There’s plenty of grouper, nothing huge, but along with the corvina and an occasional snook in some of the secret spots it’s enough grabs to keep things interesting.
There are good signs outside. If the wind would lay down a bit and if someone wanted to fish, there are both dorado and small tuna ten or so miles out in front of Lopez Mateos.
Bob Hoyt
Water temperature 69 - 77
Air temperature 663 -93
Humidity 97 %
Wind: WNW 15 to 20 knots
Conditions: Mostly Sunny
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:36 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:16 p.m. MST
Zihuatanejo, Mainland Mexico
Conditions have been improving dramatically this week. Early in the week, the fishing was as it had been this last several weeks; slow. Then Jaime Morales, the owner of the Vamonos Fleet, reported to me things started turning around on Tuesday.
The entire area is averaging a surface water temperature of 87º, and the blue water has come back in to about 12 miles. The game fish are coming with the favorable water conditions. On Tuesday the Vamonos I found a floating log and took a 20 pound dorado, a sailfish, and a very nice rainbow runner off it. Plus, Jaime's panga took a blue marlin only four miles in front of Zihuatanejo Bay. Other pangas also report several sailfish and a couple of blue marlin.
On Wednesday, the Vamonos I, with Leigh Bingham and friend, Chris, caught three sailfish. Martin, on the Nautilus also picked up a couple of sailfish. Remember, all of this is going on during the full moon period, so next week should be very good fishing.
Roosterfish and jack crevalle action remains strong.
Ed Kunze
Water temperature 78 - 83
Air temperature 81-101
Humidity 69%
Wind: Calm
Conditions: Cloudy
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 7:11 a.m. DST
Sunset 8:21 p.m. DST
Cabo San Lucas
All those striped marlin that we were seeing last week that would not eat a bait decided to get hungry this week. Not only that, they decided to move closer to us! The bite was going off only one to four miles off the arch during the latter half of the week. There were marlin everywhere you looked, tailers here and there, jumpers everywhere and groups of fish schooled up. The largest group I saw was 15 fish within a 30 yard circle, two on the surface and the others just underneath. They were biting well on live and dead baits; we had hooked one on a live bait and were clearing a rigged dead bait, just letting it hang back about ten feet when it was attacked by a brightly lit striper! There were reports on the radio of a few small blue marlin being caught as well, but I don’t have any hard information on them.
Some decent sized dorado were caught this week up in the warm water in the Sea of Cortez. The large fish were 40 to 50 pounds with fair numbers in the 20 pound class. Close to shore there were good numbers of small fish in the 6 to10 pound range. Most boats that got away from the marlin and made dorado their target were able to get a couple of fish per boat…not great numbers yet, but with some quality fish in there.
There were a few yellowtail and a few sierra caught inshore and the snapper bite dropped off.
George & Mary Landrum
Water temperature 75 – 78
Air temperature 72 – 99
Humidity 55%
Wind: WNW 14 to 19 knts
Conditions: Clear
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:34 a.m. MST
Sunset 8:05 p.m. MST
