Baja Mexico: Magdalena Bay, Baja Sur & East Cape.
Capt. Gary Graham
October 23, 2003
Baja Sur - Saltwater Fishing Report
10/23/2003 REPORT FROM GARY GRAHAM'S BAJA ON THE FLY:
PROVIDING QUALITY SALTWATER FLY-FISHING 365 DAYS A YEAR IN BAJA FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: [email protected]; USA toll-free (800) 919-2252; Mexico 011-52-624-14-10373
Thurs., Oct. 23, 2003 Report covers the period Sat.-Thurs. (10/7 - 10/23)
EAST CAPE, MAGDALENA BAY, ZIHUATANEJO AND IZTAPA, GUATEMALA CONDITIONS
EAST CAPE, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
IN GENERAL: With the exception of two days of wind earlier in the week, the
weather has been as good as it gets. Johnny Delashaw, West Linn, Ore, after a great Spring trip last April decided to try the Fall version of East Cape and wasn't disappointed. Plenty of skipjack, bonito and smaller jacks put a pull on his fluff and bend his stick. On the larger side he landed one dorado in the 30-pound class and a much sought-after pompano (15-pounds.) Joe and Nick Turano, Houston, arrived midweek. Earlier this year they had fished with Ed Kunze in Zihuatanejo for sails and roosters. This trip, tuna and billfish were their target. The first day the skipjack and bonito bite kept them busy. The second day it was back to the plan and they were headed out to look for the porpoise with tuna beneath which have been tough to find. With the sailfish bite continuing, I won't be surprised if the boys get sidetracked and spend more time looking for sails and tails.
AIR & SEA -
Water temperature 81°-86°
Air temperature 72° - 95°
Humidity about 38%
Wind East at 5 mph
Conditions Mostly Cloudy (BKN) : 20,000 ft
Visibility 12 miles
Sunrise 6:19 a.m. MST
Sunset 5:56 p.m. MST
Oct 25 New Oct. 31 First Quarter Nov.8 Full Nov. 16 Last Quarter
o OFFSHORE: Only a couple schools of porpoise spotted this week 30 or so miles out. Sails offered the best action with stripes beginning to perk up.
o INSHORE: Cleaner water and skipjack, bonito and small jacks beginning to
bite.
o BEACH: Still tough to maneuver because of debris and cuts. A few ladyfish, small jacks and small roosters if you can find the bait.
BILLFISH - Last week the stripers went on a tear for a few days and then as if a switch was flipped it dropped off. Sailfish continued to provide the most consistent action.
YELLOWFIN TUNA - Played hide and seek most of the week.
DORADO - Still hoping for them to pop. It is still being in the right place at the right time. Some quality though.
ROOSTERFISH - Haven't heard of anything over 10 pounds for weeks.
JACK CREVALLE - Action a plenty for the smaller variety.
BARRILETE OR MEXICAN SKIPJACK - Back with a vengeance.
PARGO AND CABRILLA - Slow.
SIERRA - A few here and there.
MAGDALENA BAY, BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
IN GENERAL: From two to 10 miles outside the entrada all the way up to the Thetis Bank, football-size tuna are thick. Wahoo at the shark buoys 240° - 270° 14 miles out mixed in with dorado. Zack Thomas, Pacific Coast Sportfishing editor, reported the marlin at Thetis were unbelievably thick. Several other yachts transiting to Cabo also reported excellent fishing from above the Thetis to seven miles off of the anchorage at Santa Maria Bay. Inside the bay, the same yachts were complaining about how tough the mackerel fishing was. Esteros yielded good leopard grouper catches to go along with the continued corvina bite. The old standby spotted bay bass were there for the taking. I am headed there next week to fish with Anchorage guide Pudge Kleinkauf and her group for four days, so stay tuned. She always comes up a winner.
Water Temperature 67°-79°
Air Temperature 69°- 82°
Humidity 81%
Wind Calm
Conditions Clear
Visibility 3 miles
Sunrise 6:28 a.m. MST
Sunset 6:05 p.m. MST
Oct 25 New Oct. 31 First Quarter Nov.8 Full Nov. 16 Last Quarter
YELLOWTAIL - Entrada and entrance to Santa Maria Bay pretty good.
CORVINA - Want a rush? Try a popper.
SNOOK - We are ready, they're not.
HALIBUT - Chartreuse Clousers and sandy beach, slow retrieve along the bottom
equals action.
SIERRA - Slow this week or not noticed because of everything else going on.
ZIHUATANEJO, MAINLAND MEXICO
IN GENERAL: Conditions are improving this week, however the 84º cobalt blue
water is at 19 miles. We are still seeing about a two sailfish average per boat, but most of the boats are only fishing between 12 and 16 miles. The bait and the game fish are very abundant beyond the 19 mile mark.
Nineteen to 22 miles is still in the range of what qualifies as a "normal day" of fishing. As more captains awaken to the fact the fish are there, the fish count will go up.
Another encouraging sign is the commercial pangas are working an area about 30 miles out. They are scoring on the yellowfin tuna, and some of them have hit the dock at over 160 pounds.
The dorado are still a hit or miss situation, depending on whether you can find some floating debris or not.
The hot bite on the roosterfish action has slowed down a bit, but this is mostly due to the discolored water caused by heavy runoff from the rivers. We have had no significant rain in the last few days, so the inshore waters should clear up soon.
Water Temperature 75º-86º
Air Temperature 77°-91º
Humidity 66%
Wind WSW at 9 mph
Conditions Mostly Cloudy (BKN) : 25,000 ft
Visibility 10 miles
Sunrise 6:41 a.m. CST
Sunset 6:18 p.m. CST
Oct 25 New Oct. 31 First Quarter Nov.8 Full Nov. 16 Last Quarter
For more Information on Baja on the Fly's Zihuatanejo trips, go to:
http://www.bajafly.com
Baja on the Fly's Zihuatanejo report by Ed Kunze
IZTAPA, GUATEMALA
IN GENERAL: The weather has improved dramatically, and more boats are venturing out. In the past week, boats that went out had mixed results. The more experienced captains and crews were able to average 18 sailfish raised, and 12 sails released per day of fishing. The local fleet overall had 78 sailfish raised and 48 released in 3 days of fishing. A couple of marlin showed up, but either were not interested, or broke off before they could be released. The dorado are spotty at best. Inshore was a repeat of last week’s report with no one out trying the waters. The run out to the blue water was several miles
longer than last week.
Water Temperature 80º-85º
Air Temperature 75°-90º
Humidity 75%
Wind South at 9 mph
Conditions Partly Cloudy
Visibility
Sunrise 5:55 a.m. CST
Sunset 5:39 p.m. CST
Oct 25 New Oct. 31 First Quarter Nov.8 Full Nov. 16 Last Quarter
For more Information on Baja on the Fly's Guatemala trips, go to:
http://www.guatemalafly.com
Baja on the Fly's Guatemala report by Brian Barragy
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